Hangar 9: Cessna 182 Skylane

Model Airplane News, May 2004 by Abbe, Peter

The nose-gear servo is mounted on the bottom of the fuselage and is concealed beneath a plywood hatch with the receiver and battery pack. I had to enlarge the pushrod exit hole in the firewall to allow the pushrod and control horn the range of motion they required. A plywood spacer block mounted between the aluminum nose-gear bracket and the firewall provides adequate clearance for the nose-gear spring. Two nylon bushings in this bracket prevent the nose gear from binding. I had to grind down the metal horn slightly to achieve a proper fit between the bracket and horn.

The elevator and rudder servos are mounted on a plywood plate in the tail section and are concealed by a built-up hatch that is retained by a single wood screw. The servo wires are routed through a fiberglass tube to the cabin area. You'll need a 24-inch extension wire for each servo.

Although the manual indicates that standard servos are adequate for all control surfaces, I used Hitec 475HB servos in the tail because they provide 60 oz.-in. of torque on a 4-cell pack. The entire model rides on a single elevator servo, and in an airplane of this size, the extra torque provides some added peace of mind.

FINAL DETAILS

The cockpit's interior is basic and easy to assemble. The dashboard arrives painted and covered in black Ultracote. To finish it, you need only apply the self-adhesive instrument-panel decal and glue the assembly into the cockpit. I installed the tinted windows using RC-56 canopy glue and filled a few gaps in the rear window mount with silicone sealant.

The two-piece seats are finished with a simulated fabric and must be glued together with a silicone adhesive. Balsa blocks come glued to the cabin floor to provide a mounting base. The seats are retained by Velcro, so they're easy to remove to access the radio gear.

I painted a Pro Zinger 18×8 propeller black with white tips and topped it off with a 3¼-inch Tru-Turn Ultimate spinner. Tru-Turn manufactures this spinner specifically for this model and can customcut the cone to clear any desired prop. A Menz-cut cone allowed ample clearance for the Zinger prop and provided smooth, vibration-free operation. As the final touch, apply a self-adhesive Skylane decal to each side of the fin.

CONCLUSION

Any modeler would be proud to own the Hangar 9 Cessna 182 ARF. Its high-quality construction, scale appearance and good flight manners make it impressive both on the ground and in the air.

Dremel Tool (800) 437-3635; dremel.com.

Du-Bro Products (800) 848-9411; dubro.com.

Hangar 9; distributed by Horizon Hobby Inc.

Hitec RCD Inc. (858) 748-6948; hitecrcd.com.

Horizon Hobby Inc. (800) 338-4639; horizonhobby.com.

JR; distributed by Horizon Hobby Inc.

Tru-Turn Precision Model Products; distributed by Romeo Mfg. (713) 943-1867; tru-turn.com.

Zenoah; distributed by Horizon Hobby Inc.

Zinger; distributed by J&Z Products (310) 539-2313; zingerpropdler.com.