Speed 400 Cloudster Project
In order to have a removable receiver mount, one
needs a plate that attaches to the bottom of the receiver with Velcro and
screws to the fuselage frame. As part of the Cloudster's on going weight
saving effort, the receiver plate is constructed primarily of 3/32" balsa
with two 3/32" plywood cross strips embedded in the balsa. These cross
strips are drilled and threaded in the center for 2-56 screws as shown
below.
This plate was clear doped twice with sanding in
between coats so that the hook side of the Velcro would stick securely. The
picture below shows the hook side of the Velcro applied to the receiver
plate.
The attachment for the receiver plate was made
out of 1/32" sheet balsa. Three strips of 3/32" X 3/16" balsa was glued to
the top of the 1/32" sheet balsa as shown below so as to form a U-shaped
guide for the receiver plate. The receiver plate slides into the U-shaped
guide, which aligns the holes for attachment from outside the fuselage.
Two small balsa blocks were drilled and pieces of
ABS tubing was CA'd in the holes. These two blocks were glued in place on
the bottom of the 1/32" balsa sheet as shown below.
Then the 1/32" balsa sheet assembly was glued
into the bottom of the fuselage frame as shown below. The ABS tubes
were intentionally left long so that after the fuselage's bottom stringers
are in place, the two screws can be inserted from outside the fuselage as
shown below. The tubes will be trimmed and sanded flush with the bottom of
the finished fuselage structure.
This final picture shows the receiver plate
installed in the fuselage. You can see the hook side of the Velcro that the
receiver will attach to in the picture
below............................Tandy