Flyboy rubber band for propellor too long?

[koen]

Hi all,

Frst post here.

My 10 year old son got a FlyBoy model kit and has been building it with lots of fun (and a little bit of help of me). It's his first build, so it is not super neat, but I think he did a great job.

Last night he put everything together, but the thing that stumped us was the rubber band that powers the propellor. It seems to be way too long, and sits just propped up inside the fusilage. According to the instructions we tied the two loose ends together, so it is already half its original length. It doesn't really seem possible to wind it up to make the propellor spin. Also the nose bearing part sits loose in the hole on the front of the fusilage, which doesn't seem to help in getting the propellor to spin properly.

Did we miss something, do we need to trim the rubber band, or is this really the way it should be?

[Phugoid]

Hi,

Welcome!

The rubber band can be longer and often is. If you stretch out the rubber band by holding the plastic nose plug/bearing (whilst someone holds the model by the rubber mounting peg at the rear) until is is stetched to about 1.5 times it's "loose" length you can wind the band using the propeller. As you add the winds let the nose plug get closer and closer to the nose, then pop it back in whilst holding the propeller. This is called stretch winding - in its simplest form.

If you and your son get in to the hobby a bit more you can get a winder that winds the band quickly using gearing (often 1:10, ie 1 turn of the handle winds the band 10 times). This saves sore fingers and makes the winds easier to count which is important to avoid snapping the rubber band.

Don't forget you need to lubricate the rubber using castor oil or similar.

The rubber that Guillows supply is poor, you can buy better stuff cheap (as well as a winder) from Peck Polymers in the States, or SAMS in the UK

[supercruiser]

I built the Flyboy when I was 10 years old. Back then it was called the Cloud Buster.

How long is your loop of rubber band?
You may need to fold the rubber band loop in half. This will look like 4 strands of rubber when installed in the airplane.
Of course, it is really just that original loop that you tied the ends together, just folded back over it's self. Get what I mean?
By the way, it's works better if you can install it with the knot near the back end of the fuselage, near the motor peg.


My Flyboy had 6 strands of rubber --- the one loop of rubber was folded in half and then folded again. This looks like 6 strands of rubber running down the length of the fuselage.

Please, keep us posted on how things go.

[koen]

Thanks for the replies.

We will try to fold the rubber band a couple of times, and I'll post back later to report on how it works. I don't recall reading about lubing the band, but I'll look again at the instructions.