Pilot Yak 54 50cc Rebuild

[JRgraham]

** I decided not to continue posting progress so much here, since I have the complete re-build thread on Flying Giants. Rather, I will continue the progress on that forum only, so I am not repeating myself. So below is the link for anyone that wants to follow along as I continue this process **



So, this is the Pilot Yak 54, 88 inch 50cc bird that went down on me towards the end of last season. I was coming out of a stall turn, and began to pull up to level flight when the wings began to flutter. The wing cradle in the fuselage had broke free, and left nothing to support the wing tube inside. So, she flipped and flopped around as I kept trying to fight the controls to keep her in flight, until she just snapped over at the last 10 feet, and nose dived into the hard field.. near the trench at the gravel road

It was not much more than a stalled snap at about 10 feet.. but it came out as if it was full throttle from 100 feet, I tell you what.

Heres the before, and a couple after.. and how it sits right now, since I have 75% of the woodwork side rebuilt as of this posting.

[JRgraham]

Okay, well this is going to take longer than I thought, since I somehow lost all the pictures I took of this process so far
Lucky I posted them on flying giants, so I am taking them off of there to post back here..

For those that do not already know, Pilot has a new program. If you purchase an airplane from them and wreck it, no matter the fault, they will send you the pre-cut wood parts needed to rebuild it. All you do is send an email with a few photo's of the wreckage so they know what portion of the plane you will need the parts for.
In my case, they were good enough to even supply any hardware needed as well for the damaged area. Nuts, bolts, blind nuts.. even the aluminum L bracket plates for the landing gear and firewall brace's! My cost was under 90 bucks. yeah..

Heres a shot of the parts

[JRgraham]

Here is basicly deconstruction of the damage to get down to what is undamaged, and get to a rebuild starting point.

[JRgraham]

some more..

[JRgraham]

fuselage..

[JRgraham]

More tear down and some cleanup finally.

Most everything is self explainatory in these images so far, but if there are any questions or comments you have, feel free to post away

[JRgraham]

more..

[JRgraham]

Heres finished tear down, and at a starting point for the fuse.

[JRgraham]

I will be getting this caught up real soon. I had put it on the shelf all this while (since January.. seems like years ago now) because I was trying to get serious with my Pattern competition.. But, I just dont have the finance's this year to really be competitive. Besides the fuel cost my pattern plane has (harder to get, and $40 a gallon!) and the travel expense to make it to the contests, and not having the money to get a backup pattern plane together.. I have finally come to terms with reality.

Anyways, I have ordered the remaining parts that I need to get it finished (less a motor) from Tony Tan, president of Pilot-RC. He has made an exception for me, and agreed to ship me out the cowling and wheel pants unpainted. While the Race Green color scheme is just outstanding, in the air it was just a dark silhouette.. So I have decided to go with a nice Yellow. I may in fact go with something very close to the QQ Yak 54 101 that I was flying last year.

Anyways, just letting you guys know that the rebuild is back on! It may be a couple weeks before I really get back into it. Parts will be a week or more getting here, and I am wanting to do my best with finishing the Reactor Biplane (seen in the other thread here) before I do get back working on it.

So stay tuned!

By the way, Tony has just recently added some nice Pilot-RC apparel to his . Wing bags, propeller covers, hats and more! It is well worth checking out, and supporting Pilot-RC!

[JRgraham]

Something else about Pilot that is just beyond what most companies do. They will snap pictures of the items you have ordered prior to shipping them. They email you the pictures of the parts, in order for you to visually confirm they are what you intended to order and receive.

Well, here's what is coming. Canopy plastic, unpainted cowling and spats.. crap, while I was typing this, I realized they missed the spinner. Sent an email to let them know

Anyways, Tony not only gave me the wheels free, he mentioned having the new wing bags, hats and prop covers, and if I wanted any of those.. When I mentioned wanting them, but couldnt afford it just now, this guy responds letting me know that he is throwing in a hat and prop cover free too!

Man, I tell you what. Just when I think that Pilot could not top the last 'good deed', they blow me away yet again with generosity!

If anyone is in the market for an airplane, and is even contemplating whether to get a pilot, or some other brand of similar airframes.. GET A PILOT! While they are a China based company (only meaning having to deal with an over-sea's relationship, not the culture), Tony has proven over and over again that they seriously care for their customers! You just can not put a price on that!