As a thirteen year old will I be able to build the Dauntless

[James92]

To any experienced builders,

I would like some advice on Bulding the giant series Douglas SBD Dauntless, is there anything particular I should know? I have always wanted to have a flying Dauntless (dont worry I have my A certificate) and I would really like to have retracts and the closable cockpit. But my dad is keen to spoil the fun and is warning me to not put them in because it may weigh down the model. We are planning to run it with a small Brushless motor(Its an Outrunner Bm2408-21 Brushless motor and a 18A Xpower electronic speed controller).

could anyone comment or give some advice?

will she fly?

Thanks to anyone who can help.
James

[Dick]

James: For a flyer, the sliding canopy is fine. The retractable landing gear is another thing. It's hard to build right, and is fragile, would probably break on the first landing.

Dick

[EddieB]

Your thread topic and poll topic seem unrelated, as does most of the content of your post. I will try and hit all three items.

Building the Guillow Dauntless kit is certainly within the capabilities of someone 13 years old.
Successfully building an R/C conversion of the Guillow Dauntless with sliding cockpit and operational retracts that flies stable at less than warp speed will depend greatly on your previous building experience, how much time, research, and possibly money you are willing to put into it.
Here is a link to a thread on rcgroups.com that has much information about Guillow conversions in general and includes some info on the Dauntless in specific. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278820
The choice of brushed or brushless power frequently comes down to cost but some r/c conversions of static models almost demand the size and efficiency (to enable the use of smaller battery packs) of brushless motors. I would suggest that this build, as your goal is to include retracts and I am guessing at least two control surfaces would be a good candidate for brushless power, LiPo battery packs, and as small (lightweight) of servos and receivers as you can get away with. Use only as much glue as is needed, go with one of the very light covering options (poly span, so-lite, doculam, etc), and you may certainly wind up with a nice, flyable, conversion that includes retracts.

[Madman Stephan]

Wow, that's great! The Dauntless was actually the first plane I built ( I use that term loosely) when I was young after my older brother had given up on it. I have to tell you that it didn't turn out too good. To start with that level of difficulty and want to make it fly too? Well, good luck!

I would recommend starting off with the cheapest model you can find, just so you can practice your glueing and paper-covering techniques. Take your time, do it well, and learn from your mistakes BEFORE you start on the Dauntless.

I think the SBD-3 is a fine kit to build, but is more for display, than for for flying.

[supercruiser]

I think you ought to listen to dear ol' dad. Those retracts are going to add weight and are very difficult to install and get to work properly. The sliding canopy is o.k. I think the larger Guillow models are easier to build than the small ones because the parts are larger and easier to handle. It's all those options, like folding wings, retracts, movable controls , etc., than make the model difficult. Personally, I would start with the Cub 95 or the Cessan 180 from Guillow. They fly well and don't cost very much. When it crashes you are not out too much money. And much of the fun with balsa models is the learning process. I agree with the earlier post, you can use the less expensive models to perfect your technique.

[javisegura]

Hey!! I'm doing that!! I'm trying to convert a Guillows SDB Dauntless in a R/C plane, no retracts but glow engine... you can see my pics clicking the link. My work is not finished yet. It have more than 6 months of work (nights and some weekends), several hours of internet investigation, asking people, and I begin like you... I hope this info and the pictures help you in that proyect. (excuse my poor english).

http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g11/javisegura/SBD%20Dauntless/?action=view&current=photo9.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1