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An axiom in RC
flying states that “bigger flies better.” With the Funtana S .40
ARF, Hangar 9 has proven that a well-built and -engineered
.40-size plane can be just as stable and responsive as a much
larger model.
Hangar 9 has built a reputation for high-quality ARFs, and the
Funtana is no exception. From the simple and attractive UltraCote
covering to the included fiberglass wheel pants and cowl, Hangar 9
has yet another winner. There has been a lot of buzz on the
Internet about this aircraft and its abilities, so let’s take a
closer look.
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Inside the
box
First, inspect the components. The box has foam inserts to prevent
the parts from shifting during shipment, and inside, everything is
poly-bagged. The manual is well laid out and organized and
includes many helpful diagrams and pictures. The Funtana is
covered in UltraCote, and the fiberglass parts are painted to
match the covering. The kit includes a full set of hardware,
pushrods, wheels, a fuel tank and a tinted canopy. You’ll need to
supply the usual building tools and adhesives to put the Funtana
together.
Building
notes
• Wing assembly. As with most ARFs on the market
today, assembly starts with the wing. It comes in one piece, and
this greatly speeds up assembly. First epoxy the wing dowels into
place, and then fit the wing in the fuselage. A single 1/4-20
nylon bolt holds the wing in place. Because I wanted to really
wring this plane out in the air, I replaced the nylon bolt with a
stronger metal bolt for extra security. This is one area where
pilots who want to perform all-out aerobatics can never be too
careful.
After I had secured the wing, I aligned and installed the
horizontal stabilizer. Before you do that, make sure that the wing
is square to the fuselage. In my case, the right wingtip was 1/2
inch farther back than the left, which caused the plane to roll
slightly to the right during hard pull-ups. I discovered this
during the flight-testing. To fix the problem, I simply moved the
bolt’s blind nut 1/4 inch to the right to square the wing. To
ensure that the strength of the wing-mounting block wasn’t
compromised, I epoxied a piece of lite-ply to it.
• Tail
feathers. The horizontal stab
slides into a slot in the fuselage, and carbon-fiber rods that
brace the tail group provide a great deal of strength, which is
critical for the punishment that 3D flying subjects the model to.
I installed the stab, making sure that it was square and parallel
with the wing. To install the carbon support rods, you are
instructed to drill a hole 13/8 inches from the tip of the
stabilizer and a corresponding hole in the fuselage. The rods in
my kit were too short to allow them to fully seat in the holes, so
I simply relocated the holes in the stab. I then glued the
vertical fin into place and set the fuselage aside.
Now hinge the ailerons with the supplied CA hinges. I pushed a pin
through the center of each of the hinges and slid them into the
wing hinge slots, followed by the ailerons. There should be only a
tiny gap between the wing and the leading edge of the aileron. The
ailerons are truly huge and make up nearly a third of the wing.
These large surfaces provide a lot of maneuverability and agility
to the Funtana. When I was satisfied with their placement, I
wicked plenty of thin CA into the hinges to secure them. When I do
this, I have a rag with some CA debonder handy in case I drip CA
somewhere other than where it’s needed. Let the CA cure naturally
(without accelerator); the bond will be stronger.
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Left:
the Saito FA-72 nestles nicely in the Funtana’s cowl.
Right: the aileron linkage is a snap to hook up |
I laid out the parts
needed to install the elevators and rudder. Before I glued
anything into place, I assembled the elevator halves with the
joiner wire on my workbench. This is the perfect time to make any
bends in the joiner wire so that the elevators lie flat and
square. I hinged the elevators to the stab and let them cure, and
I installed the tailwheel assembly. To make the slot for the
tailwheel straight and square, I used my handy little Robart drill
jig and then cut the slot in the rear of the fuselage. I coated
the tailwheel wire with petroleum jelly to prevent it from being
glued to the bearing. I hinged the rudder into place and moved on
to the engine installation.
• Engine
installation. I elected to use the recommended Saito
FA-72 4-stroke in this airplane. It has the quick throttle
response and torque to perform the 3D maneuvers the Funtana S was
designed for. The Saito is an excellent match for this plane, and
with the proper propeller, it provides enough power to pull
vertically out of a hover and do everything I want.
The Saito nestles nicely in the engine compartment, and the
supplied mount fits it perfectly. The only quirk I encountered was
that the throttle arm is a little too close to the firewall to
allow a straight shot for the pushrod and clevis. I got around
this by making the pushrod a little longer than called for and
making a gentle 180-degree bend; this allowed the pushrod to be
connected to the throttle arm from the front, clearing the
firewall. I installed the provided fuel tank without a hitch.
For those of you who are thinking
about powering the Funtana with an electric motor, an entire
section of the manual details its installation. With a powerful
Hacker B-50 10L brushless motor geared 6.7:1 and an 8000mAh 5s4p
lithium battery (four parallel 5-cell packs wired in series), this
plane would be amazing and quiet.
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