Rico - SHE & Rico - SHE LW

60in EPP Crash Resistant Pylon Racer / Sports Aerobatic Slope Soarer

Designed by Stan Yeo

Produced by PHOENIX MODEL PRODUCTS

Introduction

The Rico-SHE is a stylish 60in EPP pylon racer I sports aerobatic sloper designed to meet the demand for more crash resistant pylon racers and conform to the new 6Oin EPP pylon racing class. It is intended that Rico-SHE is built with wing mounted aileron servos with the ailerons being used as flapperons with elevator flap coupling. In this mode Rico-SHE can perform must aerobatic manoeuvres including outside loops, horizontal eights and sustained inverted flight etc. As with all EPP models building time has been kept to a minimum; typically 8 -12 hrs depending on the skill and care taken. Field repairs are of the Elastoplast variety! Tools / Materials Required The only tools required are a modelling knife with spare blades, a pair of sharp scissors, 180 grade Wet & Dry sanding block, a tube of impact adhesive such as Evo-Stik, some runny super glue (please observe safety precautions on packets!), epoxy and a soldering iron.

R/C Equipment

The R/C Equipment used in the prototypes consisted of three metal gear micro servos (HS81MG) a 2/3 AF size Rx flat Nicad pack plus a Webra 6/ JR R700 7 channel Rx. All the items are available from PMP at competitive prices.

Building the Fuselage

1. Lightly sand the fuselage sides, top and bottom with 180 grade wet and dry to remove the 'release' agent. Remove dust with a small brush or vacuum cleaner. NOTE: If building the lightweight fuselage attach wingseat reinforcement to inside of fuselage sides. Also the top balsa blocks attached to these doublers are 1.5mm shorter than the front fuselage blocks.
2. Drill wing dowel holes in fuselage sides and fit fuselage distance pieces and nose former to one fuselage side.
3. Fit 4.5mm sq. strip, tail seat and triangular nose strip to fuselage. Check you have a left and right side!
4. Join fuselage sides together over plan ensuring fuselage is straight. Cut nose top to length and fit.
5. Cut fuselage top to length and glue in position.
6. Fit elevator servo to balsa bearers and determine which side of servo the elevator pushrod needs to be for the elevator to operate in the correct sense! Position inside fuselage. Dry fit elevator control rod. Position elevator servo in fuselage and cut elevator pushrod level with hinge line of elevator minus 45mm or 1.75inches to allow for threaded adaptor and metal clevis.
7. Remove pushrod and fit outer sleeve if not already fitted and fit the second elevator push rod to primary push rod as per the plan.
8. Fit threaded adapters and metal devises. DO NOT use locknuts on devises.
9. Refit elevator pushrod. Reposition servo and anchor pushrod conduit to fuselage side near the conduit ends ensuring there is sufficient
   
   control rod movement and does not bottom out at the push rod 'Y' joint.
10. Do not glue elevator servo in position until after the tailplane is fitted.
11. Fit fuselage bottom and trim to length. Drill hole for ballast bolts. Reinforce corner joints with 25mm wide strips of CW tape.
12. Spray the fuselage and EPP sides with spray on adhesive. When solvent has evaporated fit together and trim EPP flush with side but the nose former. Here 10mm is left on all four sides to form a cavity for nose weight. At the tailplane seat trim the EPP to the Vee tail angle.
13. Trimming the EPP is best done with a long bladed (X-Acto or similar) knife using the fuselage top & bottom as a guide.
14. Fit the EPP fuselage bottom as before and trim the EPP again using fuselage side as knife guide.
15. Fit EPP fuselage top (Front & Back). Round fuselage corners.
16. Glue 6ograms or 2 ozs. of lead to front of nose former in cavity formed by EPP sides. Fit nose block and shape fuselage i.e. round corners using sharp knife and 180 grade wet & Dry (use dry!).
17. Mark centreline of tailplane and remove a triangular strip from top side to allow tail to bend to 120 degree angle. Superglue balsa tail gusset in position to lock tailplane at required angle.
18. Mark elevator hinge line on tailplane and remove strip of plastic on one side to form hinge.
19. With hinge line uppermost, mark centre line of tailplane and cut V slot to allow Tailplane to be folded to 120 degree angle. Super glue balsa triangular TP centre brace in place.
20. Glue tailplane to fuselage using Epoxy.
21. Make hatch, shape and cover with CW tape.
22. Cover fuselage using CW tape. Overlap each strip by 6 - 10 mm or 1/4 to 318 inch. In high stress areas such the under the wing leading and trailing edges apply an extra layer of tape for added strength.

Building the Wings.

1. Lightly sand wing surfaces and remove dust as before. Trim and sand spar slots to accommodate mainspars. Unfortunately cutting tapered wings with spar slots result in a tapered spar slot. Remove waste from wing brace slot.
2. Fit top wing spars using Epoxy. Cut to length.
3. Fit 3mm bass trailing edges using Epoxy. Use masking tape to hold in position whilst Epoxy sets.
4. With wing upside down fit wing brace and bottom wing spars. Note trailing edges should form a straight line i.e. not be swept back or forward. Trim spars to length and shape wing tips.
5. Laminate ply rear wing braces and Epoxy in position noting orientation of taper.
6. Mark position of wing servos (plan drawing is full size. Outboard position of servo is dependant on servo lead length. Note servo arms both point outboard of wing.
7. Cut rectangular hole for servo in wing ignoring servo mounting lugs. Note it may be necessary to remove the mounting lugs of the servo.
8. Using Hacksaw blade cut slot in EPP for servo lugs and fit servo so
   
   that it is flush with bottom of wing. Note gap between top of servo and top of wing. From block of EPP removed for servo from wing slice off the required amount and fit in this void.
9. Remove wing servos for covering.
10. Spray wing with spray adhesive and cover wing with GW tape. Start by laying strip along TE. Then work forward overlapping the previous strip by 6-10mm. At the leading edge trim tape as you would if covering in film but overlapping top and bottom by 10mm. Cover top surface of wing with coloured vinyl tape I lightweight Fablon or iron on film. This serves two purposes, one to decorate model, the second to reduce the effects of ultra violet light on the CW tape.
11. After covering fit aileron servos. Cut vertical slot in wing to hide servo leads.
12. Cut ailerons to size and shape aileron leading edge. Note the ailerons are top hinged using Diamond Sellotape. Cover the ailerons, starting at TE using either an iron on film or coloured vinyl tape used to decorate wing.
13. Using scrap wing sleeving manufacture wing fairing, cover and double side tape in position.
14. Fit control linkages and adjust to obtain required throws (see flying section). DO NOT replace the plastic mini-snaplinks with metal devises. In the event of a mishap the plastic snaplinks will break thereby reducing the risk of damage to the aileron servos.

Performance Tweeks

A number minor of 'modifications' can be made to the Rico-SHE to enhance the model's performance for competition and sports flying. They are not listed as standard as most sports flyers would opt for durability and the simple approach.

1. The Correx tail can be replaced with 4.5mm balsa sheet and the angle reduced to 110 degrees to marginally improve directional stability at the expense of longitudinal (pitch) stability. If the Correx tail is replaced with balsa we recommend that it is bolted on and a spare is carried rather than being glued on as any damage to the tail could easily result in the model being decommissioned.
2. The aileron hinge gap can be sealed with Mylar strip (draughting film) and aerodynamic shrouds fitted over the aileron push rods.
3. A bolt on wing system can be used instead of rubber bands.
4. Appropriate ballast is used whenever the conditions permit but
   
   please remember that if carrying ballast allow a little more airspace to carry out manoeuvres and avoid over control.
5. Couple the flap and elevator so that when turning or looping etc. the wing can produce the extra lift required more efficiently.
6. By far the biggest impact on a model's performance is the pilot! Practice makes perfect. Fly Rico-SHE in as wide as conditions as possible and as often as possible, with and without ballast.

Flying

1. Set the controls to give the following movements for initial flights:
   • Ailerons +/- 12 mm
   • Elevator +/- 8 mm
   • Flapperons +/- 5mm
   • Balance Point 75mm +1- 5mm from LE
2. Adjust balance to within recommended limits. Prototypes required 50 - 8ogms of lead in the nose. Check alignment of wing and tailplane and wing to tailplane incidence (chord lines should be parallel). Laterally balance wing and check that it is not twisted. If the wing is twisted, twist back in the required direction and re-smooth covering tape in position. If model is fitted with flapperons check zero flap is in fact zero flap otherwise performance will be impaired!
3. Depending on the control functions installed will depend the aerobatic potential of the Rico-SHE. Remember all aerobatic manoeuvres require energy to perform a manoeuvres. If the model has insufficient speed it will fall out of the manoeuvre or perform it half-heartedly. Vertical or near vertical dives are not an efficient way to build up speed, 20- 30 degree dives are much more efficient. Avoid sudden control inputs. In most cases all they do is scrub off speed and lose height. Try to fly smoothly with the minimum of control input as not only do the manoeuvres look better but you will be able to perform more of them before having to regain height. Try stringing manoeuvres together paying particular attention to positioning. Be creative and set yourself targets for each flying session.
4. To check the elevators have no in-built rudder trim carry out a series of loops into wind and note whether the tail remains into wind and or attempts to 'screw out of the loop. Adjust elevators individually as necessary.
5. If the lift is good or you are having difficulty penetrating into wind try ballasting the model. This will increase penetration and help the model maintain speed through manoeuvres. Note when adding ballast take care not to disturb the balance point. We have found the optimum ballast to be 8 ounces or 225 grams. Take care when adding ballast as over-ballasting can lead to tip stalling and a degradation in performance.
6. The suggested control settings are a starting point and can be adjusted to suit your personal tastes. Adjust the balance point so that when the model is trimmed the elevator is more or less in the neutral position. An indication that it is about right can be gauged by the amount of down elevator required to maintain inverted flight. Please remember if the balance point is moved from the design position it will alter the elevator neutral position and will necessitate re-rigging the tailplane to return the elevator to neutral.
7. If you are using a computerised transmitter program in positive Exponential on the Aileron and Elevator controls. This will 'soften' the controls around the neutral position and facilitate smoother flying particularly on the elevator control.
8. Rico-SHE will take a lot of punishment. It is excellent for building confidence and will add another dimension to your flying but please remember if you take a big enough hammer to anything it will break particularly the lightweight fuselage version. The CW tape used for covering also degrades in ultra-violet light so store the model in a relatively cool place away from direct sunlight.
9. The RGI5 wing section is very efficient and performs well in light lift so with good ballast selection Rico-SHE will cope with most wind I lift conditions.
10. Finally should you require further assistance or advice please contact us either by letter, telephone, email or visit our website (http://www.phoenixmp.com) where you will find useful information on sloping etc.

Happy flying

Stan Yeo

Rico-SHE 010130