Not So Elder

[octagon]

Hi Guys,
I wanted to share what I have been working on the last 3 months or so. I was on my way to the dumpster with a bunch of crashed or no longer flyable planes. I had a wing in my hands from a BUSA Laker that I built some years ago. The wing was in good shape so I decided to re-purpose it. I have a scratch built TF Elder that is a lot of fun and the Laker wing was about the same span as the Elder. For those who don't know what and Elder is, it was a kit by Top Flite that was created to mimic a WW1 monoplane fighter. Think of Endeiker and you will have an idea. But I didn't need another Elder as I haven't crashed the one I have yet. So I started to think, How about a low wing Elder? Like maybe something they would have done in the next generation back in  1916. Because I was cutting away a lot of the fuse to make a low wing saddle, I used 3/32 ply for the fuse. I decided on pull, pull for the tail as it is lighter and Elders need a lot of nose weight normally. I had some pre made landing gear from another kit and so, after an afternoon of trying to bend 4 mm piano wire into shape, I decided to use what I had instead. But it left no provision for shock absorbing gear, and in my experience, the Elder bounces unless you grease it on. So I have tried to see if I can help that with a kind of rundimentary shock absorbing system by cutting a slot that will allow the axel to ride up and down, held in the lower position by O rings. In order to be able to get to, and adjust the rudder and elevator surfaces, I created a magnetic hatch behind the cockpit. It will fly on 5s and although I haven't put it on the scale I think it will finish at about 6 1/2 pounds.  The only thing left to do is install the ailerons and fashion a tail skid, probably another 3 hours work. So, it is not really and Elder, but a decendant of one, hence the name, Not So Elder.
Happy New Year everyone. Health and prosperity to all in 2025

[GuyOReilly]

Love it!!
Happy New Year!