I'm not against tissue tubes. For retro-fitting, they are great to have. Of course, if you use a purchased VP hub, the tissue tube is very nice for the initial installation, too.
The initial installation (or retro-fitting) is not a one time thing done at home. You must fly the prop to make sure that everything is balanced. The work done on the bench is only the start.
I initially used tissue tubes on my LPP, F1L, and EZB props. I personally found making pitch adjustments of the blades to be difficult. You have to fly the prop, unglue the spar, pull out spar from the tube (slightly), rotate it slightly, put it back, glue. Then fly it again to see if your adjustment was good. It's a painful process. Almost every time, I over adjusted.
Now, I tweak the spar. It is much easier to make minor adjustments this weay.
--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "mkirda@..." <mkirda@...> wrote:
>
> Most of these guys have also been flying 20+ years and don't make beginner's mistakes.
>
> Kang, I have aligned prop blades on an A2Z fixture. Glued, let sit 20 minutes to dry, then do the other. Double-check and all is perfect. Put into box. Next flying session,I take out and get shakie-shakie. Put it on the fixture and find that, in the box, one is no longer in alignment. It isn't loose in the tissue tube - I have to use acetone to get it loose, re-align and it works great after a drop of glue.
> So I like my tissue tubes. {grin}
>
> Regards.
> Mike Kirda
>
>
> --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "Yuan Kang Lee" <ykleetx@> wrote:
> >
> > Brown, Kagan, Richmond, Cailliau, Schramm, ... don't use tubes.
> >
> > Who's old fashioned, modern, and post-modern?
> >
> > I agree that retrofitting a prop with different blades is a good feature. However, I don't think doing so at the flying site (during a contest) is the right thing. Retro-fitting should be a planned activity, IMO. I don't carry around back-up prop blades. If I had back-up prop blades, I would build another VP hub and complete the unit and test the unit as a whole.
> >
> > When I attach the blades, I make sure that the whole prop is aligned. The prop alignment is adjustable because I use Ambroid (with kevlar and tissue) to attach the prop spar to the carbon "spar rod".
> >
> >
> > --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "mkirda@" <mkirda@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Call me old-fashioned, but I want a tissue tube in there somewhere...
> > >
> > > Seems too easy for a blade to get slightly misaligned with no way to adjust. Also if a blade breaks, I want to have spares available that I could easily add. (After breaking two prop blades last night, I see a lot of advantages to this.)
> > >
> > > Regards.
> > > Mike Kirda
> > >
> > > --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "Yuan Kang Lee" <ykleetx@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Gary,
> > > >
> > > > > What keeps the .020 carbon rod from sliding out
> > > > > of the .020/.040 tube? Is it the .011 rod in the .015 hole?
> > > >
> > > > Yes.
> > > >
> > > > > the prop spar is glued into the .020 carbon rod.
> > > >
> > > > Yes, the prop spar needs to be attached to the .020 carbon rod and the .011 rod. There are several ways to do this, and I will take some time to explain in better detail in the next couple of days. For now, here is the quick description, including how the sparless blade is constructed.
> > > >
> > > > A Blade Construction
> > > >
> > > > - form outline (wet) with twist on prop block 1
> > > > - on another prop block 2, put down double sided tape along a trace of the outline
> > > > - place dried outline with twist on block 2, using double sided tape to hold the outline down
> > > > - put in temporary straight ribs
> > > > - apply boron to first side
> > > > - remove outline carefully from prop block, place outline with boron side down on block
> > > > - apply boron to second side
> > > > - replace temporary straight ribs with real ribs
> > > >
> > > > B cover
> > > >
> > > > C glue on spar
> > > >
> > > > D put on VP hub
> > > >
> > > > I'm experimenting with orders of steps B,C,D. One way is C,B,D.
> > > >
> > > > Another way is (a la Steve Brown):
> > > >
> > > > - glue prop spar to 020 rod and 011 lever arm before assembling VP hub
> > > > - assemble VP hub
> > > > - build outline/ribs on VP hub + spar assembly
> > > > - cover
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Warthodson@ wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Kang,
> > > > > Thanks for posting the VP hub photos & text. The diagrams & dimensions were especially helpful. As I understand it, the prop spar is glued into the .020 carbon rod. What keeps the .020 carbon rod from sliding out of the .020/.040 tube? Is it the .011 rod in the .015 hole?
> > > > > Gary Hodson
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > From: Yuan Kang Lee <ykleetx_at_>
> > > > > To: Indoor_Construction <Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > Sent: Wed, Mar 6, 2013 10:06 am
> > > > > Subject: [Indoor_Construction] Re: carbon VP hub data?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > I look forward to your feedback -- how it can be constructed simpler, alternate materials, etc.
> > > > >
> > > > > The hub is strong and light, at 70 mg. It should withstand the impact of an exploding motor.
> > > > >
> > > > > There is one kink to be worked out. Although the hub's action is very smooth when you work it in your hand, in flight, I believe there is some binding. In a normal flight, this means that the return to low pitch happens in jumps. I heard it pop into low pitch this past weekend in the F1D contests. The flight result was still very good -- I flew a 14:45 with a half motor at 25'.
> > > > >
> > > > > The big problem happens when the prop hits the ceiling, obstructions, or when the model is steered from the front. The VP goes into low pitch and is stuck there -- this happened when I flew in Atlanta. At Torrance, I flew no touch, so this problem was not detrimental to the final result.
> > > > >
> > > > > When I started building VP's back in October last year, I built one or two of every existing type to better understand how they work. Two things struck me -- the existing VP hubs require precise fit of components, and the wire hinge was the smoothest. These observations led to this VP hub, which uses a modified wire hinge and does not require a precise fit. (I'll go into this later.)
> > > > >
> > > > > I was mostly excited when I thought that this VP hub may be accessible to everyone. I guess we'll have to see about that.
> > > > >
> > > > > I want to extend this design to F1M / Pennyplane and any larger and heavier indoor models. I hope this would encourage more people to fly VP's indoor. I have espoused before that indoor flying in a low ceiling gym using a VP is the "ultimate". It allows gentle flying of our models, and brings maximum enjoyment if indoor flying.
> > > > >
> > > > > -Kang
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Nick Ray wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hello Everyone,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The INAV site has been updated with an article on Kang's hub. I want to
> > > > > > thank Kang for putting that together for us so quickly.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > http://indoornewsandviews.wordpress.com/
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Regards,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Nick
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
Received on Thu Mar 07 2013 - 13:47:47 CET