Guillow's Spirit of St. Louis • RC Conversion build

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The Spirit of St. Louis, the iconic aircraft piloted by Charles Lindbergh alone across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris in 1927.
This is a highly modified RC conversion build, of the Guillow’s Spirit of St. Louis balsa model kit. I found this at my local hobby store and thought it would make a good customization for radio control.This particular version of the kit is die cut balsa which made it a bit tricky to assemble at times because I wasn’t sure of the accuracy of some of the notch placements and depths. I think this kit would really benefit from laser cutting. The fake engine cylinder placement on the cowling maybe could have been marked better as well.
Overall it was a bit more involved than I had anticipated, I think because I thought it would be a bit larger than it turned out. Finding space to squeeze in the electronics was more challenging than expected.
I strengthened the framing to hold the heavier weight and covering. I used MonoKote aluminum colour and sprayed over it with clear matt finish.
Over all, another fun and challenging build. It’s always interesting and surprising to learn the details and true stories behind these types of historic aircraft.
There is a maiden flight video of this model on my channel.
Motor: A2212/10T 1400KV
Speed Control: 30A
Receiver: FlySky 6 channel
Battery: 800 mAh 25C 11.1V 3S1P
Servos: 3X 9g micro
Prop: 8 inch EP-8060
Weight including 70g battery is 450g
Triumphant Return by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
Artist: audionautix.com/

Опубликовано:

27 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 105

@MrSeth1867 Год назад

I have one on its way because of your video, hope i can do half as good a job as you have done. Your video is a great building aid for me. I would love to see your maiden flight good or bad. Amazing videos! You took a lot of effort and care making them …. Thanks

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks, glad you liked the videos! Let me know if you have any questions as you get into your build.

@thenerdoligist1292 Год назад

Excellent work again. Love the turned aluminum tape. With the CG in the right place, it should fly nicely. Most of my planes have no dihedral and flat bottom and fly very well with ailerons. Of course landing on those wheels and “suspension “ might be a challenge

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks! Ya, I think it should fly alright, the full size version made it across the Atlantic in one piece.

@WarrenBrown-w3b Год назад

Just amazing work. Love the amazing build quality and extra touches you put into it. Really liked seeing how you added the wing servo. I'm building this model now for RC now and was fumbling my way through it. Your build looks FAR more elegant than what I've done so far but it helped me considerably to fix the issues I was facing. Thanks so much for this!!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

I know the struggles with converting a model like this to RC, lots of decisions both with scale details and structural changes. I'm glade you found something helpful in the video. Let me know how yours turns out, and thanks for watching!

@funscalemodels9782 Год назад

Very nicely done model. Really enjoyed the video, keep them coming!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks again FSM!

@jasonrackawack9369 11 месяцев назад

The aluminum tape is genius....I did an old 1950s sheet balsa rubber powered kit and hand painted the rows of swirls as silver dots.....really wish I had seen this idea first.😉👍

@punkworkschannel 11 месяцев назад

Thanks, but I got the idea from watching a movie clip from that old Jimmy Stewart movie. They are building The Spirit and adding the swirls to metal sheeting, I just did the same in miniature on the aluminum tape. I was surprised that it worked out. Thanks for watching!

@jirihamersky6152 Год назад

Thanks for more great videos, more precise work, like everything on this channel.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks for watching!

@ONETTH 27 дней назад

Very cool

@punkworkschannel 24 дня назад

Thanks, check out the maiden flight on my channel.

@diyfireking Год назад

It's amazing. You did very well. 👍👍

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Had fun building this one. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@charlesbola1971 Год назад

Beautiful job congratulations.❤❤❤ I building this kit year ago.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks, had fun building this model!

@whhsfordian Год назад

Great build.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks for watching!

@nickanrc Год назад

Nice build and nice video, congratulations!! !

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks, had fun with the build and learning some of the history of this airplane.

@ModelAV8RChannel Год назад

Just found your channel. Came up in my suggested feed so I checked it out. Absolutely a beautiful build. That said...most conversions like this are using much lighter electronic components like the motor, board, and linear servos from a UMX plane. Not to mention while your finish is gorgeous, it too has added a lot of weight. Most builders still use the light weight tissue and dope on this kind of project. No doubt yours looks better than anything like that, but for what it is, this is very heavy. That coupled with the fact that there are no stability additions like enlarging the vertical and horizontal, or adding dihedral, I think it will be a challenge to fly if it is flyable at all. Not trying to rain on your parade, just genuine concern. You worked hard on it. I'd be very happy to be wrong. Good luck on your maiden.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Yes I agree, it did end up being on the heavy side. The tail surfaces are small and that worries me a bit. We'll see how this all works out. Thanks for watching and your comment.

@conradboykoii1170 Год назад

To help with stability, you could incorporate a stabilizing gyro. A fellow did that with a Durafly Spitfire that he modified for scale purposes and he said it worked great.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

@@conradboykoii1170 A posibility, thanks for the tip!

@jasonstarnes3838 Год назад

Ive been watching all your vids. Great work and perseverance. You need to try a dumas kit. I personally love the dehavilland dragon. Ive built many kits over the years but never any that small. New subscriber waiting on the next build!!!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Yes, Dumas makes some interesting kits! Thanks for watching and subscribing!

@RealSamuelMach Год назад

Looks amazing! I love the creativity of the aluminum tape “or so i think” for the nose! The finish is beautiful! Great work!❤️

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Yup, aluminum tape. I saw a clip from the 1957 movie "Spirit of St. Lous" starring Jimmy Stewart. In that clip they are building the plane and adding the swirl pattern to the aluminum for the cowling (Ah, that's how it's done!). Just did the same thing in miniature.

@collinmccallum Год назад

amazing!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks "Making Model Airplanes"! Had fun putting this one together, a bit more challenging than I expected but that's always how it goes eh. I checked out your channel, great work and lots of interesting models!

@TinyHouseHomestead Год назад

Vurry NIIIIICE! 😁👍👍🇺🇲

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thaaaanks!

@thermalascension Год назад

Nice 👍

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks ✌

@BHARGAV_GAJJAR Год назад

Wow just realized SOSL had no cockpit windscreen to see directly in front ?

@punkworkschannel Год назад

The plane was really just a flying gas tank, and that tank had to be at the centre of gravity. Lindbergh looked out the side windows to navigate, and he did have a small periscope to see forward if needed. It is amazing that he was successful in flying non stop from New York to Paris way back in 1927. Thanks for watching!

@bobmillerick300 9 месяцев назад

What did you use in the drill press to give the circle pattern in the alum tape???

@punkworkschannel 9 месяцев назад

I had a bunch of Dremel bits and I found one that was about the right scale for the swirls, I was surprised that it worked as well as it did.

@lilgreencanoe2936 7 месяцев назад

Did you have to enlarge the rudder at all or did it fly ok at the plan shown size?

@punkworkschannel 7 месяцев назад

I tried to keep this model as scale as possible and that small rudder really made it challenging to fly. If I was building this again would enlarge the rudder.

@212ntruesdale Год назад

Another masterclass!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks for watching!

@charlescarter6146 Год назад

You got a video of flying it i hope?

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Not yet, I will post one as soon as she gets in the air. Thanks for watching!

@richardbrowne3641 Год назад

Awsome build! I have the kit in my collection. I never knew you could buy the aluminum duct tape and design it and stick it to the plastic parts. That a trick I never thought of. Did the plans for the wings instruct you to put more support in them? How did you install the top wing aerons to work with one servo? What size electric motor is in the airplane? What receiver is in the airplane?

@punkworkschannel Год назад

I saw a clip from that Jimmy Stewart movie and realized I could do the same thing in miniature with the aluminum tape. I made some major customizations to the wing structure (not on the plans) to make it strong enough to carry the extra weight of the RC components and covering. Basic aileron hinge set up, I used a light weight flexible control cable that runs form one aileron, to the servo, then to the other aileron. I think the other information is in the video description. Thanks for your interest!

@bradleyblauvelt1572 Год назад

How long did this take to build?

@punkworkschannel Год назад

As always, these projects take 3 times longer than I anticipate, the devil is in the details. I think this one was about a month but not sure how many hours as I just worked on it when I had time. Thanks for your interest!

@stephengould9385 Год назад

how well did fly? I looks great!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

I will post a video as soon as I get it in the air. Thanks for your interest.

@stephengould9385 Год назад

@@punkworkschannel Did you fly it?

@punkworkschannel Год назад

@@stephengould9385 Working on that...

@Ch.y337 Год назад

Can I buy it???

@punkworkschannel Год назад

I bought this kit at my local hobby shop, or you might be able to find it online. Thanks for watching!

@chipwright6193 Год назад

Great job again! I learned about jeweling from that Jimmy Stewart movie too, but it never crossed my mind to jewel aluminum duct tape. That was a great idea! 💡

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks, I think it added to the scale look on this model.

@SagaofaCrew Год назад

The other Balsa Flying Model Company from Wakefield, MA ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FBoGWCl6yiM.html

@punkworkschannel Год назад

That's really interesting! I'm very familiar with the "Angular Drive Mechanism" (I grew up in Canada), but I've never seen it used in this way, Very Cool! Those kits look like like a lot of fun. Thanks for the link!

@RealSamuelMach Год назад

I would love to see you build the Guillows 172 sky hawk. And rc conversion

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Ya, that sounds like an interesting kit, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for watching!

@ssnydess6787 11 месяцев назад

That was a fantastic journey back to my child years building those models. Your craftsmanship is fantastic. I am curious as I may get back into this, what glue did you use for the vacuum formed parts to the balsa and what did you use for balsa to balsa? We just had Elmer's back in the day, lol. Thank you!

@punkworkschannel 11 месяцев назад

For balsa to balsa I use regular carpenters wood glue because it's not toxic and no fumes. I prime each part with a thin smear of glue to let it soak in then just a small amount of glue and hold or clamp for about 5 minutes. As for vac formed plastic parts I use 5 minute epoxy but very sparingly as it is toxic. I also used on this build very small wood screws for the cowling so it could be removable. I very rarely use CA as it is toxic. I think Elmer's would still work well! Hope that helps and thanks for your comment.

@chillville5571 Год назад

Great job bringing justice to this model! We need to see it fly though. Why build it powered it you're not going to fly it?

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Coming soon...

@AstroPilotchannel 4 месяца назад

What kind of bit did you use to engrave the circle pattern on the cowling? Wonderful job!

@punkworkschannel 4 месяца назад

I have a bunch of different Dremel Tool bits and I was lucky to find one that was flat on the end and the right diameter.

@AstroPilotchannel 4 месяца назад

@@punkworkschannel thanks, I’ll see if I can find something like that. I plan on adapting this kit into a foam board hybrid while still using some of the original parts and plans. Thanks again for the great video.

@GeorgeYeremian 2 месяца назад

I have just started to build the Guillows Spirit Of St. Louis and find it very different and challenging form their other models. Your video is so informative and I find it a great resource as I move through the building process. Maybe you can answer one question- why do the plans call for adding 1/16" stringers to the nose along with tissue, when it only gets covers with the plastic cowl? Thank you-

@punkworkschannel 2 месяца назад

My build in is highly modified and I may have changed a lot of what the plans called for as rubber power. I think the stringers add structure and strength for when the rubber motor is compressing the plastic cowl. I'm not sure about the need for tissue under the cowling, maybe a bit more strength? The great thing about these model kits is the ease of modification.

@GeorgeYeremian 2 месяца назад

@@punkworkschannel Thanks, that makes sense. I have added stringers but will forgo the tissue, especially where I build as a model display and I don't need the added strength.

@richardbrowne3641 3 месяца назад

Awesome build! Great teaching video to build from. I have the kit. I never built it. What cell motor, servos, reciever, batery did you use?

@punkworkschannel 3 месяца назад

Thanks! Here's the info: Motor: A2212/10T 1400KV Speed Control: 30A Receiver: FlySky 6 channel Battery: 800 mAh 25C 11.1V 3S1P Servos: 3X 9g micro Prop: 8 inch EP-8060 Weight including 70g battery is 450g

@richardbrowne3641 3 месяца назад

@punkworkschannel what cell power does this run off of? 2, 3, or 4? I was going to use a 2 cell system with a 3000kv motor, 2.5 to 4 gram servos, and a self leveling receiver with a built in speed controller sold by E-flite.

@Ch.y337 Год назад

What is on the end of the wing struts, something covering the wire but I can’t see exactly what you did there? At 11:19 in video.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

The top of the struts have small screws that attach them to small ply blocks in the wing. Then the strut fairings are carved balsa to replace the vac formed ones supplied with the kit 8:39 in the video. These are attached to the wing with two sided tape incase they need to be removed. The lower end of the strut where it attaches to the fuselage has a bent wire that slides into a slot in the fuselage frame. Hope that helps!

@Ch.y337 Год назад

Thanks!!👍✌🏼🙏🏻

@ronaldrose6885 Год назад

Nice!!! Did you make a wicker seat??

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Lindy didn't have a radio, not an option on this version, so no room left for the seat! Thanks for watching!

@Ch.y337 Год назад

Also, what did you use in the drill bit for the swirl effect? It looks like an eraser??

@punkworkschannel Год назад

I found a Dremel tool abrasive bit that was flat on the end and just the right size. I just made sure that I didn't apply too much pressure. I think anything the right size with fine abrasion would work, you could probably make something from a wood dowel with the right diameter and really fine sandpaper glued to the end. Hope that helps again!

@Ch.y337 Год назад

Awesome! I wouldn’t have ever been able to attempt-complete this kit without your EXCELLENT video! Thank you, thank you. Appreciate your timely responses…

@willamcombs1106 Год назад

What? We don't get to see it fly?😢

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Soon...

@scotabot7826 Год назад

Not going to fly? Come on man!!

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Thanks for your interest! Coming soon!

@billbright1755 Год назад

“ where’s Ireland “

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Ya, great scene in that Jimmy Stewart movie!

@cal-native Год назад

Fantastic build video😍. And i think your choice of music complemented the subject matter beautifully - very reminiscent of Copeland. Great job 👍❤️

@punkworkschannel Год назад

Glad you enjoyed it! I'll post a video once I get it up in the air!

@thomashiggins4923 7 месяцев назад

That was a beautifully put-together video - and full of useful techniques as well. Many thanks! Tom (from France)

@punkworkschannel 7 месяцев назад

Thanks Tom (from France)! I have a maiden flight video on my channel for this model, you might find interesting. I have been to France a couple of times, it is a beautiful country and the food is the best!

@tonymccarthy9273 4 месяца назад

Very good job of a lovely aircraft

@punkworkschannel 4 месяца назад

Thanks! If you haven't all ready, check out the maiden flight video on my channel.

@jimsmalleimb7709 Год назад

Looks really good, but man it's HEAVY. It's gonna have to have some serious airspeed to keep in the air, and if you're not spot-on perfect with the landing, the fragile gear will be toast. I recommend landing it in tall soft grass like a field of timothy.

@RealSamuelMach Год назад

It doesn’t look that heavy to me considering the size. Just alot of stringers. But idk hard to tell on a video.

@jimsmalleimb7709 Год назад

@@RealSamuelMach Guillows kits are engineered heavy to begin with, due to construction design and inferior wood (I have the same kit... Guillows tends to use a denser balsa than would normally be used for such models) and all that plywood and other structures added during that build. Plus, the metalized Monokote and dull coating which is a lot heavier than doped tissue really adds weight on a relatively small model like that. Every gram adds up. With all flying models, especially electric-powered ones which have to carry a heavy battery, you must save weight wherever possible, not add to it. That model will have a very high wing loading which will mean it will have to fly fast to stay aloft, and the faster it flies, the more difficult it is to control and, especially, land. Its only saving grace is the fact that the Spirit did have a larger-than-normal wing for its size... as it was designed IRL to carry a very heavy fuel load. So, theoretically, it is an ideal model to build as an electric flyer.

@punkworkschannel Год назад

This model has a lot of wing area so I think it will be OK in that regard. What I am a little worried about is the small rudder with the flat wing. I think it might just flop around in the sky. I heard that Lindbergh helped with the design and wanted it to be difficult to fly so that he wouldn't fall asleep. Not sure if that's true. Thanks for watching.

@jimsmalleimb7709 Год назад

@@punkworkschannel : Yes, the flat wing will make it somewhat unstable, but you have ailerons so it should be manageable. If you were to rely completely on rudder, it may be almost impossible to control. You will find the ailerons will be more useful than the rudder in this case. Ideally, a little dihedral would help it be more stable, but then of course it would not be scale. Another thing that would help flight characteristics and stability would be to increase the size of the tail feathers, but of course that would also fudge the scale appearance. And, although it may not have been built deliberately so, it is true that the real plane's inherent "squirliness" of relative instability did help Lindy to stay awake during his flight.