An aerobat with attitude: Kyosho Sensation 1400 ARF

Model Airplane News, Oct 2000 by Trachten, Craig, Bell, Rick

An aerobat with attitude

Many modelers who buy Kyosho* kits have high expectations of quality. And, without fail, Kyosho delivers; flawless fit and finish, clear instructions and solid performance are the company's trademarks. The Kyosho Sensation 1400 not only meets these expectations, but it beats them, too. This airplane is constructed of the highest-quality materials, and it comes covered with a radical trim scheme. If you paid someone to duplicate Kyosho's covering job, it would probably cost more than you paid for the entire kit. The vivid graphics will certainly draw spectators' attention at the flying field.

OPENING THE BOX

The kit comes with a fiberglass cowl and wheel pants plus all the hardware needed, including the landing gear, wheels and fuel tank. The covering might be a bit wrinkled because of temperature variations, so start by smoothing it out. The kit I reviewed had only a few wrinkles, and a light once-over with a heat gun took care of them. just to be safe, I applied my iron to the scams at the wingtips and roots to make sure they were tight. You may want to direct your iron to the areas over the hatches on the undersides of the wing halves to ensure a tight bond before you cut away the covering.

Begin construction of the Sensation by attaching the ailerons to the wing halves. The ailerons are secured with the supplied CA hinges. A CA pipette with a fine tip affords the best results when pinpoint gluing is required. It's a good idea to have debonder close by just in case you make a mistake. The documentation does not specify which type of epoxy to use. My choice was 30-minute epoxy for everything, except on the wing roots; there, I used 2-hour epoxy. I enjoy the luxury of an extended work time and a stronger bond.

Before you join the two wing halves, remove the covering over the servo hatches. I cut out a small, square hole in the center of the opening, then slit the covering from the comer of the hole to the corner of the hatch opening. With my covering iron, I then tacked the covering down into the hatch. This procedure reduces the chances of the covering's lifting around the hatch.

Continue by epoxying the wing-joiner pieces together and then epoxying the wing joiners into one wing half. Now epoxy the wing halves together. It's a good idea to wrap the wing root with zto 3/4-inch masking tape. Any epoxy that oozes out when you join the wing halves will end up on the tape and not on your wing. Remove excess ooze with isopropyl alcohol. To finish wing construction, attach the front wingmounting dowels and rear mounting plate. The instructions call for epoxy for these steps, but I used CA gel. Drill a pair of 4mm holes for the wing hold-down screws and insert them.

It's time to install the aileron servos. I first secured the servo-mounting blocks to the ears of the servo, then I epoxied the assembly to the servo hatch. One of those pistol-grip bar clamps works well for holding everything in place until the epoxy has cured. Feed the servo wires to the exit holes and secure the hatches to the wings with four screws. Attach the horns to the ailerons, then attach the linkage rods between the servo and horn.

The next tasks are to install the engine and fuel tank. Instructions are supplied for installing both 2- and 4-stroke engines. Follow the steps applicable to the engine of your choice. I mounted an O.S.* Surpass .70 simply because I prefer to use 4-strokes. The included fuel tank is the three-line variety. When I use a three-line tank, I use dual clunks instead of the traditional one clunked line and one brass fill line. Clunking the second line makes it easier to de-fuel the aircraft. To help distinguish between the lines and prevent confusion, I use fuel tubing of various colors for the carb line, pressure line and fill line.

The empennage is attached as on any other ARF. First, trial-fit the horizontal stab and rudder, and mark their positions. Remove the covering from the area that will be epoxied, then epoxy the tail feathers into place. Have some alcohol and paper towels handy to wipe away any ooze. CA the elevator and rudder into place, and you are ready for servo installation. Install the servos configured as shown in the instructions. I am not an aggressive pilot, so standard servos are sufficient for my flying style, but if you want to take this aircraft to its limit, go for hightorque servos.

The supplied pushrods must be assembled. They are composed of hardwood dowels, wire and shrink tubing. They are relatively easy to construct, and they performed well. If you are an aerobatics flier, consider using fiberglass rods such as Dave Brown's* no. 5400. The most difficult part of the installation is getting the pickle-fork end of the pushrod through the fuselage. I feed chases in from the tail toward the radio compartment; place each end of the fork into a chase, then push. The fork will compact and follow the chase right out the rear. Attach with devises and keepers, and you are on your way to the final stretch.