The motor mounts on this aircraft are rather simple and seem to work well. There are two timber loops pre mounted into the wing, and the supplied sticks are inserted and glued into place. The foam around this section appears to be pre-set so that the motors are pointing in exactly the same direction. After glueing the sticks in place I slid the motor and gearbox into place and secured with two screws. At this point it became apparent that the manufacturer had not really thought about where the cable for the motors should run. So I again found myself digging some foam out to make room for the motor cables, along with the servo cable. There is no mention in the instructions what to do with these cables. In fact the instructions at times can be very vague. The further I made my way through them, the more I realised that you would need some experience in building other models, or you would find yourself scratching your head at times. It was also now obvious that the engine covers would also need to be trimmed to fit.
After dry fitting everything 3 times, I glued the engine covers into place. Now this is where I had thought of what I would do if I wanted to upgrade the motors. The engine covers would have to come off, and if I glued them on too well, it would be a nightmare getting them off again, so I only ran glue in places where I knew I could slice through. At the back of the engine covers I used tape, also aiding in their removal to change the motors if need be. if it turns out that she flies fine, I may look a securing the motor mounts and remove the tape.
With both engine covers installed it was time to move on to the tail section. This is where the instructions tell you to mount the main wing to the fuselage. However, I decided against this as the wing is huge, and I just knew it would get in the way. So i decided to put it to one side and mount the tail section first.
The tail section was rather strange to me. All of the models I have built has the horizontal stabilizer inserted into the vertical stabilizer. However this aircraft's stabilizer is glued to the top of the bottom half of the vertical stabilizer. Are you still with me? Ok... maybe the pics below will better explain it.
I am a little concerned about he strength of this setup as there is nothing other than the glue. It does seem stable enough, but I added a little more thick CA around every join to be sure. Mounting the stabilizers was quite simple.
The manufacturer has made it easy to line everything up by including these little bumps that line up perfectly with hollows. Just add glue and stick her down. I measured everything and it was aligned perfectly. This was a great inclusion. If you did not have these little bumps to line it up, you would have Buckly's chance of getting it straight. So 10 points for that one.
The rudder is supplied in the pack with material hinge pieces. Just cut the slots like you would any other and glue into place. Another 10 points to the manufacturer for already having the rudder cut a 45 degree angle. Unlike other models where you have to sand the angle, this one was done for me. One thing I will say... if you have never mounted a control surface using hinges like this, dry fit 5 times and make sure everything lines up nicely, because once that CA sets, it is done!! I would also like to mention the hinges in the ailerons and elevators. These are something I have never seen before. It uses plastic tube. Like fish tank bubbler tube as hinges. They are factory fitted, and I must say, they look and feel fantastic. How the perform is not yet determined, but first impressions are good.
Now the supplied method to connect the push rods to the control horns is nothing short of insane. After inserting the push rod through the hole in the control horn, a small piece of black tube on the end is all that stops the push rod from popping out. Of course there was no way I was going to go down that path, so I used the tried and trusted method of a control clamp. You know the ones... you screw the clamp to the control horn, slide the push rod through and tighten the Allen screw down on the push rod. There are no pre-installed clevises, so unless you solder your own... you will need clamps.
In part 4 we mount the main wing... That's when the fun starts!!
Review of the Aussie Flight Catalina PT3
