Baudis Antares 20E

[Phill Tadman]

Hi all

My 1/3 scale Baudis Antares 20 E arrived yesterday

The team at Baudis were very helpful in sorting out the specification. I finally settled on a high modulus, double carbon sailplane only version for LDS linkages, MKS servos with custom paint and decals. Pavel and Jiri kept me updated with the construction progress and delivery details.

It came in a huge box that was extremely well packed. It took me about 15 minutes to open and excavate down through various levels of protection before I arrived at the model.

First impressions are of a very well built and finished model that is extremely stiff.

More pictures and build details to follow.

Phill

[john greenfield]

Hi Phil

You have got a very good and capable model there. I am sure it will bring you many years of enjoyable flying.

AEB

[Phill Tadman]

Hi Phil

You have got a very good and capable model there. I am sure it will bring you many years of enjoyable flying.

AEB

Thanks John!

Have you ever flown one?

Phill

[Phill Tadman]

Phew it fits in the car!

Phill

[john greenfield]

Hi Phil

You have got a very good and capable model there. I am sure it will bring you many years of enjoyable flying.

AEB

Thanks John!

Have you ever flown one?

Phill

Yes Phil.

I have flown several (in different countries !?) and can tell you than when properly set up they are very good. For many years it was one of the top GPS racers and still does well in competition now. Several have been entered in the GPS World Cup this year.
Also makes a great sport model.

AEB

[roo Hawkins]

Hi Phil what a nice Christmas present to yourself l look forward to seeing it . ROO

[Phill Tadman]

Hi all,

Looking at starting the build with the outer ailerons.

This is a Linear Drive System (LDS) with MKS HBL6625 HV servos.

Baudis provided the LDS system and wooden frames cut to size for the MKS servo.

I'm a little unsure of how to fit the LDS, the main confusion being how the LDS horn fits into the aileron. I think you need to cut away a small area of the aileron wiper and then slide the horn into the top skin of the aileron.

Here's my plan, so any comments or corrections would be most welcome!

1. Determine the lateral (span) location of the LDS horn
2. Cut away a small area of aileron wiper and aileron slot in the horn until the hinge pin hole sits above the aileron hinge line.
3. Cut a small notch into the wing top in front of the horn to allow forward movement for up aileron.
4. Glue the LDS horn into the aileron with the slot on the top skin.
5. Test fit the LDS pushrod to the horn to determine the chord location of the bearing for neutral aileron.
6. Glue in the servo frame aligned with the LDS span and chord points determined in 1 and 5 above.
7. Cut the end tab off the MKS servo so it fits in the servo hole.
8. Loosely screw in the servo with LDS servo horn attached.
9. Feed the LDS pushrod through and attach to the LDS aileron horn.
10. Attach the LDS pushrod to the servo horn.
11. Fit and secure the LDS bearing.
12. Add blobs of epoxy to stop the pins falling out.

Phill

[Phill Tadman]

I've prepared the servo cable extensions for the outer wing panels.

I wanted to use something a bit more durable than JR connectors and am using MPX connectors with female servo pins crimped and then soldered onto the wires and then the pins pushed onto the MPX tags and soldered.

Wires covered with heat shrink and the whole encased in hot glue using a mold I got from Bernie at ESoaring gadgets.

Phill

[Phill Tadman]

Hi all,

Inner wing panel loom today.

MPX connectors soldered as per outer wing panel.

Servo cables laced together and then foam tied at strategic places to stop cable loom rattling in the wing.

Phill

[Phill Tadman]

Fitting the wing LDS this week.

I asked for some advice from Baudis who helpfully sent a diagram detailing the LDS horn locations and some advice for fitting the servos. The sequence is pretty much as I'd thought but the servos are screwed to the frames before fitting and the LDS pushrods are attached at the servo end.

The diagram shows recommended dimensions for the MKS HBL 6625 I'm using for inner and outer ailerons and the MKS HV747 for flaps. I placed the inner aileron horn location centre at 578mm from the tip to allow access to all the servo mounting holes. All servo bays had to be widened to allow the servos to fit.

The flap LDS horns are not recessed into the flap like the ailerons. The control surfaces were packed out with ply shims to ensure a snug LDS horn fit.

The LDS horns were glued in with some new epoxy from West Systems: 105 resin and 206 slow hardener. With a 5:1 mix, the epoxy has a syrupy consistency good for wetting out. Mixing in a collodial silicate additive for thickening to a mayonaise consistency helps for bonding and gap filling. A trial run shows a pot life of about 1 hour with a green state at 2 hours. Fully hard after 15 hours. The epoxy seems very good but I've found I'm allergic to its sanded dust!

Phill