Building or rebuilding an Airfield Cessna 182

[RightFly]

I received this plane from Nitroplanes last December and have just started putting it together. The nylon control clevises first of all will not stay closed. Further squeezing the small pins into the locking hole seems to put stress cracks in the base of the pins – that sort of bothers me. That other concern I had is the servo end of the control rods attach to the servo arms with a z bend. This set-up seemed to offer little adjustment.

My thought was to find the neutral position of the rudder and elevator servos then placing the servo arms perpendicular to the servo body. Then the length of the control rods could be set so that the rudder and elevators were in a neutral position. The current set-up would not very easy to do. I have removed the existing control rods with the intent of placing the z bend on the control surface horns with the rods attached to the servo arms with Dubro E/Z Connectors. That gives me the adjustability I want.

The existing control push rods are only 0.30 diameter wire about 21” in length, which from what I have read is basically for micro or mini size planes. The question I have is, should I strip the support tubes out so I can use 2-56 size rods – 0.074 diameter? Or, is the 0.030 diameter wire control rods not a problem – the plane is a 55” wingspan size.

First glance, it will be very difficult getting the larger control rod tubes installed.

[CrimzonRider]

Originally Posted by RightFly

I received this plane from Nitroplanes last December and have just started putting it together. The nylon control clevises first of all will not stay closed. Further squeezing the small pins into the locking hole seems to put stress cracks in the base of the pins – that sort of bothers me. That other concern I had is the servo end of the control rods attach to the servo arms with a z bend. This set-up seemed to offer little adjustment.

My thought was to find the neutral position of the rudder and elevator servos then placing the servo arms perpendicular to the servo body. Then the length of the control rods could be set so that the rudder and elevators were in a neutral position. The current set-up would not very easy to do. I have removed the existing control rods with the intent of placing the z bend on the control surface horns with the rods attached to the servo arms with Dubro E/Z Connectors. That gives me the adjustability I want.

The existing control push rods are only 0.30 diameter wire about 21” in length, which from what I have read is basically for micro or mini size planes. The question I have is, should I strip the support tubes out so I can use 2-56 size rods – 0.74 diameter? Or, is the 0.30 diameter wire control rods not a problem – the plane is a 55” wingspan size.

First glance, it will be very difficult getting the larger control rod tubes installed.

I just bought mine in feb and been flying with it about a week or so. i bought the kit so i could put my own motor and esc and servos in it, i am still a beginner but this plane is a little tricky to trim for me but now it is a blast.
As per your 1st ? there should be some little rubber bands 1/8" that go around your clevis to keep them shut.
I also had the same trouble with the little pins lining up with the control horn took my smallest xacto knife and just reamed them out a bit, i guess you could buy bigger more robust if you think.

As far as the rudder and nose wheel control rod, i just used a zbend rod with threaded end also, the way they did it there was no adjustment.

Lastly, i hope you meant 0.030" dia control rods I have had no probs with them, honestly they are quite robust compared to my first plane the apprentice 15e but I have not crashed it yet also.

Also, as I said before i am still learning to become more and more competent but the servos are small 4 12g sub micro in the wing for flaps and ailerons 13g for elev and i think a 17g for rudder and nose gear. hope this helps just this morn got no.10 flight on her still messing with flaps
welcome to the addiction!!

[RightFly]

Originally Posted by CrimzonRider

I just bought mine in feb and been flying with it about a week or so. i bought the kit so i could put my own motor and esc and servos in it, i am still a beginner but this plane is a little tricky to trim for me but now it is a blast.
As per your 1st ? there should be some little rubber bands 1/8" that go around your clevis to keep them shut.
I also had the same trouble with the little pins lining up with the control horn took my smallest xacto knife and just reamed them out a bit, i guess you could buy bigger more robust if you think.

As far as the rudder and nose wheel control rod, i just used a zbend rod with threaded end also, the way they did it there was no adjustment.

Lastly, i hope you meant 0.030" dia control rods I have had no probs with them, honestly they are quite robust compared to my first plane the apprentice 15e but I have not crashed it yet also.

Also, as I said before i am still learning to become more and more competent but the servos are small 4 12g sub micro in the wing for flaps and ailerons 13g for elev and i think a 17g for rudder and nose gear. hope this helps just this morn got no.10 flight on her still messing with flaps
welcome to the addiction!!

Hi! Crimzon

I quess the wire size I initially had in my post would not have much flex. Yes I did mean 0.030 and 0.074.

Thanks for your thoughts - yes, it is hard to imagine those small servos able to flex even the small wire control rods. I believe I will go ahead with the 0.030 wire stuff. Changing the dia of the control rod tubes is too much hazzle.

I appreciate your insight and good luck with your flights. I am still at the HZ Champ level and planning on some alieron flights with a Flyzone J3 cub soon. I am saving the Cessna for the 3rd or 4th plane.

Roger

[CrimzonRider]

No prob glad to help....everyone here at wf is so helpful and informative

Also the little down-curved winglets at the end are awful fragile, just did a baby cartwheel couple hrs ago and one broke off mine have packing tape on them to make em stronger also the nose gear is crap I have had prolly three good landings not greasy at all, and it still bends it hasnt broke off totally, but i am becoming suspect, bad engineering on their part, still looking for a way to beef it up or just totally rip it out and make my own out of wood....other than that awesome little zippy plane have fun and tha lights are cool too!!!

[RightFly]

Originally Posted by CrimzonRider

No prob glad to help....everyone here at wf is so helpful and informative

Also the little down-curved winglets at the end are awful fragile, just did a baby cartwheel couple hrs ago and one broke off mine have packing tape on them to make em stronger also the nose gear is crap I have had prolly three good landings not greasy at all, and it still bends it hasnt broke off totally, but i am becoming suspect, bad engineering on their part, still looking for a way to beef it up or just totally rip it out and make my own out of wood....other than that awesome little zippy plane have fun and tha lights are cool too!!!

I have read that the nose gear is a weak design on another RC site. Since my field is grass and not as smooth as it should be, once I get the control rods back together I will look at that. But you must have a different model than mine - I don't have lights. Anyway your help was appreciated and good luck with your repair.

Your right about the members on this site. Helpfull without the arrogance. I still visit a couple topics on RCU but have spent most of my time here since registering last week.

Roger

[CrimzonRider]

Just gettin this thread started again, not too many Airfield Super Scale 55" Cessna 182's out there.

I have enjoyed this plane since the day that I maiden, it is an incredibly strong plane. I think this is because I taped all weak points, tail feather and the wings. I don't think I even added more than an oz. to the AUW. The addition of wing struts really make the wings rock solid, hardly any flex at all. I bought the kit from Nitroplanes and added a neo-dym 10-1000 which with a 3s 3200mah battery and a 11x9x3 prop, I am getting 406 watts WOT(which is the max of the neo10, by accident and a watt meter found that out!) and about 225w at half throttle. Only approx 285watts with a 3s 2200 20c battery(recommended battery) and its hard to get the CoG right with this battery, as you have to put the battery as close to the motor as you can.

This plane has great internal airflow, it actually has a little compartment behind the firewall just for ESCs. For me this plane is pretty zippy and has a lot of vertical(144w/lb) with a new battery, but if I fly 1/2 throttle I can get almost 15min flight times. This is definitely not a beginner plane, maybe a 2nd or 3rd.

As with a lot of planes, the nose gear was crap. Built a new gear out of 6011 welding rod, and it is almost indestructible. The front wheel pants came off too, they drag a lot on grassy landing strips.

Another thing I don't like is the control surfaces and how they attach pretty weak. I really haven't a had a horrible crash with it, yet. But I am planning on cutting the ailerons and the flaps off and installing either CA hinges or pin hinges because the ailerons are showing some weakness along the hinge point after only 16 flights. The flight this morning and last nite was awesome as always.
I know a lot of rc'ers like the super cub and other advanced beginner planes, but I still do not know why the 182 is not a more popular plane than it is IMO. I guess I am partial to it, because its similar to what my dad and gpa flew back years ago.

Hope you have a good flight with whatever your flying!
have a good one
cr

[RightFly]

Hi Crimzon

What an awesome bending job you did on the nose gear strut! You have some pretty intricate bends there. I agree with you on the control surface hinging method - but I will probably get a couple flights before rehinging them.

I picked up a Flyzone J3 Cub this winter and plan on using that as my second plane. Then I have a Flyzone SkyFlyMax that may share the "second plane" duties with the Cub. So I will fly the 182 3rd or 4th depending on how you do the math.

I appreciate the tips you have provided - it really helps. The Cessna 182 series have always been a favorite civilian airplane of mine. The owner of the company where I worked had owned two different versions and either one was fun and easy to fly.

I am still wating on weather and the snow to go away. This weekend temeratures are predicted in the mid fortys so the fun may begin then.

Roger

[CrimzonRider]

lol. the bending part was actually easy. It took a couple times to get the right height. I just used a vise and a piece of small allthread and used two pair of big pliers and wrapped it around 3.5 x's.

Also me and my big mouth talking about not crashing(earlier post) Can you say LAWN DART Really not too bad of damage, but my 3blade prop is toast and I cant find one 11x9x3, so I fixed the plane with CA and expoxy and put on a 10x8x2 prop that I had laying around. Couple hours later, I almost crashed on take-off, i guess torque roll, left wing dragged the ground at 17mph, but I saved it. Flew pretty good, then crashed again pretty bad. Big Time Lawn Dart, Tore a wing strut off and just barely can see a crack in wing. I have plenty of time to take apart and repair, wind and the rains coming tonite.

p.s. Anyone know much torque roll, I have read alot about here at WF, but the disscussion was mainly about jets and hi-power. It is the first time I have had this problem, the only difference between the two last flights was i went from a 11x9x3 to a 10x8x2.

have a good one
cr

o yeah I forgot Nose gear still perfect!!!!!!!!

[RightFly]

Originally Posted by CrimzonRider

lol. the bending part was actually easy. It took a couple times to get the right height. I just used a vise and a piece of small allthread and used two pair of big pliers and wrapped it around 3.5 x's.

Also me and my big mouth talking about not crashing(earlier post) Can you say LAWN DART Really not too bad of damage, but my 3blade prop is toast and I cant find one 11x9x3, so I fixed the plane with CA and expoxy and put on a 10x8x2 prop that I had laying around. Couple hours later, I almost crashed on take-off, i guess torque roll, left wing dragged the ground at 17mph, but I saved it. Flew pretty good, then crashed again pretty bad. Big Time Lawn Dart, Tore a wing strut off and just barely can see a crack in wing. I have plenty of time to take apart and repair, wind and the rains coming tonite.

p.s. Anyone know much torque roll, I have read alot about here at WF, but the disscussion was mainly about jets and hi-power. It is the first time I have had this problem, the only difference between the two last flights was i went from a 11x9x3 to a 10x8x2.

have a good one
cr

o yeah I forgot Nose gear still perfect!!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear about your "hard" landings. Maybe this is an opportunity to rehinge . I can't help you on torque roll as I don't have enough experience. I would have thought the 3 blade prop would been a more of a problem with one inch more of pitch and diameter in addition to the extra blade.

Hope someone answers this question.

Good luck on the rebuild.

Roger

[CrimzonRider]

I thought also that the three blade would have some clearance issues too. But I love it, now I cant find another. I can tell you definitely the 3 bladed prop has lot more thrust and a big bump in watts. 10x8x2 at WOT was 286watts, 11x9x3 at WOT was at 406watts, (the 182 weighs 2.812lbs) but I rarely keep it there. I have read alot about how 3 blades are less efficient and how 2 blades are the way to go. That being said, I will buy another 3 blade when I get the chance.

cr

[CrimzonRider]

Finally NitroPlanes, thanks, a few parts are back in stock.
Also found a 11x9x3 Master airscrew for real cheap at rcslot.com, cheapest I found at I think 7 bucks.

Pretty windy last week so I completely re-hinged all surfaces. It flew lots better, during the last few flights seems to be more responsive on low rates and on high rates it is just outa of this world awesome.

Yesterday had 3 good flights, little windy at maybe 10-15mph, decided to charge batts and go again, even though it was getting windier, maybe gusts up to 20mph. WRONG IDEA!! steady wind at 10 with gusts to 20-25, dumb thumbs and big gust got me on landing. Busted nose pretty good, but the repaired wings, from the last incident, held up good. Fuse at little more tattered and bent upward slightly. I should've stayed home and watched baseball GO BRAVES!!, but that wouldve been too easy. As the thread says......TIME FOR REBUILDING!!!!!or repairing....lol

have a good one
cr

[kenchiroalpha]

Hi
I use an 11x7 on my Art tech 182
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAA35
Should work great for you as well
Take care
Yours Hank

[CrimzonRider]

Hey ken

what is your motor on your art tech 182? 480? or bigger

have a good one
cr

[kenchiroalpha]

Originally Posted by CrimzonRider

Hey ken

what is your motor on your art tech 182? 480? or bigger

have a good one
cr

Hi
Mines a brushless setup, motor im using is this one
http://www.hobbypartz.com/bmoubrmo.html
Heres the specs on the stock Art tech 182
http://www.art-tech.cn/english/Artic...?ArticleID=268
Take care
Yours Hank

[Flysohigh]

i cannot find out with a battery suggesting around a 2200mah pack how much will this 182 weigh? website says 1100g flying weight but i find that impossible

[CrimzonRider]

Originally Posted by Flysohigh

i cannot find out with a battery suggesting around a 2200mah pack how much will this 182 weigh? website says 1100g flying weight but i find that impossible

my info sheet that came with the plane says:

1410mm ws 55.6in
1100mm 43.3 length
1525g weight

you might be reading about a different version of the nitroplanes Gkemy 182. At last count, there might be 10 or so, same basic plane, some versions come with a 1800mah 11.1v battery, and different motors, that might be the difference.

have a good one
cr

also with the 3200mah batt, it almost weighs 60oz.

[Flysohigh]

Originally Posted by kenchiroalpha

Hi
I use an 11x7 on my Art tech 182
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAA35
Should work great for you as well
Take care
Yours Hank

wow I must admit this cessna looks alot nicer than the nitroplanes 182 I just ordered. Is this a foamy or balsa? Also what are the specs I would love to know if they sell this model RTF or Rx-r.

[kenchiroalpha]

Originally Posted by Flysohigh

wow I must admit this cessna looks alot nicer than the nitroplanes 182 I just ordered. Is this a foamy or balsa? Also what are the specs I would love to know if they sell this model RTF or Rx-r.

Hi
EPO foam
Heres the specs
http://www.art-tech.cn/english/Artic...?ArticleID=268
Take care
Yours Hank

[CrimzonRider]

Originally Posted by Flysohigh

wow I must admit this cessna looks alot nicer than the nitroplanes 182 I just ordered. Is this a foamy or balsa? Also what are the specs I would love to know if they sell this model RTF or Rx-r.

Can u say Photoshop! All shiny and the lites twinkling, but yeah i do like it too, especially the stickers layout. It has a little more in the department of eye candy!!

up in the air you cant tell a diff, at a local club, one guys has the arttech and 20yards away the only thing you can tell whats diff, is the nose gear strut and color of stickers.

have a good one
cr

[Maladroit]

I also have a Version.4 Sky Trainer 182. The maiden was very nice, because I had an experienced pilot take it up and then bring her back down. I flew her once it was safely up @ 200 feet! But one of the wing struts detached (factory-supplied glue) so that ended my day.

The next day, after epoxying all 4 strut mounts, I decided to take her up on my own.I was literally shaking in fear that I was about to destroy this awesome plane, but she went up without a hitch. But I couldn't seem to get her to trim level. She just kept rising! I finally decided I'd better bring her down, but she was handling erratic and i knew I was in trouble. She came in hard - yep another lawn dart.
But to my horror I realized I had activated the FLAPS and that's why she was all over and kept rising.
The crash bent the weakest link: the 3-hole aluminum prop adaptor. I was able to straighten it, but not perfectly - like everyone else, I was waiting on Nitroplanes parts.
I gave it a rest and decided to try again a week later. This time, I had a great take-off, a really fun flight and had a perfect landing lined-up.I decided to use the flaps when she was about 4 feet from the ground. This made the plane BUMP up, sail right and splash into a nearby pond.
I actually had to jump in to get her out! It figured that when I was about 5 feet away, the bottom dropped off, so I had to swim to get her! HA! (I can laugh about it now. Good thing I'm in FL, the water was not that cold.)



After drying out for a few days and dbl. checking all the controls, I flew her again. Another gREAT flight, But I misjudged her height and distance and I clipped a cable TV wire.
I actually recovered from the hit, and slid in clean, but the spinner was lost forever and the adaptor was bent again.

I started leaving nasty messages with Nitroplanes at this point. It had been 3.5+ weeks and they had no idea when a new prop adaptor would come in.
I ended-up making one from a 3-hole, hat-shaped furniture piece made out stamped metal. It just happened to have perfectly-aligned holes and a 6mm thread in it, so I used JB Weld to hold a piece of 6mm threaded rod inside the 6mm threaded hat fitting! It worked!
I wanted the epoxy to cure, so I waited 3 days and then painted the red over with Forest Green. I love the look.

Today, I finally had the proper aluminum CNC'd prop adaptor, (Hooray!) so the plane was ready to go. But once I got her outside and secured in my truck for the short 1/2 mile ride, the winds were whippin'.
I said, "No Way!"
Tonight, after reading this tread and others, I concluded that MY issue is with the Airfield transmitter. There's no dual rate or training mode on it. Every throw is at 100% and I happen to be a heavy-handed newb. So, I've decided to wait until I have a new receiver in the Sky Trainer. This way, I can bind it with my DX6i and set some lower rates and expo to smooth things out. If I can fly an Airfield P-51 with my DX6i, I can fly this mild mannered, but absolutely beautiful bird!

So, I expect to be flying the Cessna by Thursday, with a good receiver and a better tx. It should solve all of my over-steering issues.
(And I'll ignore those awesome flaps for now, LOL).

Thank you for the great info you guys have out into this thread!
(Sorry about the lenght of this...)

Mac

[CrimzonRider]

I kinda do like that forest green. Good paint job

have a good one

cr

[Flysohigh]

Besides epoxy what else is needed to build the airfield 182? How long does the build take and is there any prior building skills required?

[CrimzonRider]

Originally Posted by Flysohigh

Besides epoxy what else is needed to build the airfield 182? How long does the build take and is there any prior building skills required?

With moderate building skills, I built mine in about 1 hr. I bought the kit, so it took maybe an additional 3hrs to install servos, wires, motor and esc.

In hindsight, the planes fuse halves are put poorly together at the factory, but the glue is very marginal, behind the firewall it was already split, so I put a little extra 30min epoxy in between the halves.

Also I applied epoxy to the wing halves and carbon tube. Take your time with the tail feathers and the stab, so that they are properly aligned. Pretty easy all in all.

Also i added two plastic washers to top motor mount screw, need just a tick more motor down thrust.

have a good one

cr

[Maladroit]

Originally Posted by Flysohigh

Besides epoxy what else is needed to build the airfield 182? How long does the build take and is there any prior building skills required?

If you are new to the rc hobby - as I am - you may be confused by the wiring that is all routed to the under-belly with ZERO instructions enclosed.

For example, the flaps servos and 4 LED light leads all work on CH5 and CH6 but there was no CH6 on the receiver, so it was trial & error for me, plugging and unplugging until I had everything working right on the transmitter. A simple one-page photo or diagram would have really helped.

Remember that this is considered to be a "trainer" so newbs are going to buy it and attempt to wire it.

Also, when ordering this plane, be sure to order an extra prop and prop adaptor. An extra spinner would be a good idea too. Because if these break or get bent, your plane is grounded for a week or more.

Nitroplanes has a bad reputation when it comes to parts and although they are trying to improve CS, it's futile if they don't have parts for their customers.

[CrimzonRider]

Since learning how to fly last year, this airfield 182, IMO is one of the best aileron trainer birds out there. Very good 2nd or 3rd plane for newbs.

But the problem with this plane, is NITROPLANES.COM. They are the worst when it comes to customer service, and all parts are eternally on backorder.
Before you order, make sure you read the support forums, and the complaints and then decide whether to order or not......

Such a shame, this plane is definitely a blast to fly, looks and flys great!!!!

have a good one
cr