Winter build project: Wolfgang Matt’s ATLAS

Thanks for the servo suggestions Jon, I know Mike is happy so far with his servo choice and I don't know how many flight he's had on his Blue Angel but it's got to be quite a few by now. However, because I'm a bit cautious I think I'll play safe and probably go with the JR's. I'd like to run a separate RX battery 7.4V, so the HV servos would seem to be a good choice, except that the retracts are 6V max. So I'm guessing it's not that difficult to wire in a regulator just for the retracts.

I'll do the snakes and piano wire route as well then, presumably these need to be fixed to the fuselage before it all gets enclose. As Mike will undoubtedly get there a long time before I do so I'll just 'borrow' his design

I'm assuming the nose retract wants to be bolted through the retract plate with captive nuts rather than just wood screws?

I used self-tappers for the retracts

JonTappin wrote: Have you used these a lot Mike? Maybe I'm a radio snob, but I would struggle with putting a 4 quid servo into anything I cared about. I just can't see how a servo that cheap could possibly have the same quality components as a 15-20 quid servo. If I was scratch building a model I would prefer to spend a bit more for the peace of mind.

I'm sure I'll be and :blush: if they fail in flight and cost me a model. Time will tell.

Just thought I'd share a picture to show where I'm at with the Atlas.

More details on RCGroups

That cavernous fuselage is taking shape nicely Mike.

My build is currently stalled as I await a few bits in the post for my building jig. I figure I'm likely to make a few planes and so might as well build it now rather than come up with a temporary aid that will get me though. This does have the advantage that I can sit back and see how Mike plans to get the motor back in now that it's all nicely sealed off, I suspect it will be a bit of careful scalpel work.

Chris001 wrote: That cavernous fuselage is taking shape nicely Mike.

You wish! These things are pretty tight getting big fingers and the hardware into.