Many thanks to RC India; the motivator to keep my interest in the hobby live and sparkling.

I was lucky to be among the winners of the Sweepstakes 2014, and a few days later I got a call from Sanjeev and Kartik Shah of RC Dhamaka, warmly congratulating me and asking me if I had thought about my RC goodies . The Shah brothers are among the nicest gents in the Indian RC scene ; it is not for nothing that RCD is rated the best Hobby Store in the country.

Well, I had been drooling ovr the Multiplex Tucan for some time, and had even earlier queried RCD about motor etc. And, here was my chance 

Sanjeev suggested I post a build log; so, here it is sir 

Unboxing

The kit comes very, very complete. All you need are a couple of bottles of cyano. Multiplex oozes class: whether in the precise manual which has almost nothing left out, the quality of each and every part - even the small fasteners are superior  , and most of all the superb engineering. Parts go together without any fuss, and each one is designed to optimize strength:weight, and structural integrity. As a professional engineer, I just love it.

Dubba hi dekh ke lar tapak rahi hai!

 

Come to Gurgaon and fly it 

Construction

An extremely straightforward construction by-and-large







The laser cutting is about as perfect as it gets. 3 mm spruce ply is used to form a rigid M Frame for the fuse

The motor is mounted on aluminium stand-offs. Machined SS Washers are used so the bolts don't cut into the wood

Thumps up

Since I did not use the MPX or E-Max motor, but used a NTM 3548-900 KV instead, I did a test fit early on. It fits fine; except the motor will only have 2 mounting screws on the supplied motor plate. I added thread locker to ensure safety.



4 X 17 gm Servos used, plus one 19 gram Metal Gear for the steering nose wheel

Thanks Doc. Was just thinking of you  

I had to select a suitable prop for the motor. The model weight is expected at 1.85 Kg with a 3000 mAh LiPo. I was looking for 400 W+  power with 2 Kg+ thrust.



More details on the test rig are: http://www.rcindia.org/electric-power/selection-of-motor-esc-prop-and-lipo-for-foam-planes/25/  Reply 31 onward including a lively little discussion

After various iterations and trials, a 14 X 7 APC type prop gave me 2400 + grams thrust with 530+ Watts max.There was enough ground clearance too for a 14" prop.

 
Beautiful plane in hands of great aero molder

Very Nice Sanjay Sir Looking forward for the maiden.

You are making me majboor to come to Gurgaon and live there.

Come Nitesh. I'll adopt you, and make you study 14 hours a day and get you into IIT. While you study I'll fly 

Hi Sanjay,
The way you are blogging looks like you will have the plane ready for maiden tomorrow...  Super blog and build speed... Like your testing kit.. BTW I have that motor on my Formosa 2 plane which weighs 1.5 kg . I do not have to launch it , it just flys out of my grip when I let it rip... I use a Sharma Model white prop on it which is very forgiving on heavy landings...

Do share the video of maiden too...

No Issues.
Atleast I can destroy something  and remake it while you are flying. 

Thank you Manoj  

The wing is simple: 3 parts plus the ailerons

Dee - I already maidened it this morning  . Successfully   

Nitesh: Besides the 14 hours I'll make you study at home, you also have to attend school and go for 3 private tuitions and 2 coaching classes daily 

No issues even now as that will make me active as I'm very lazy nowadays. You would surely see an all India topper from Gurgaon. But that could make me fat, fat and fatter as I'm already fat. Now don't tell me to run.

Eagerly waiting for the maiden Sir...
And yes that was a good piece of discussion... It is still giving food for my brains... 

Steering nose wheel





Sorry, I couldn't take a pic of the steering arm and servo/pushrod 

Doc Nayeem, for a Dr. you sure do a lot of lateral thinking. Or, are you a Ph.D. in Physics?

The hatch cum canopy is just two pieces, the clear plastic top and an Elapor base. Joined them with Cyano and ran some tape around to keep them fixed.

MPX has give a pair of magnets and a ply "tongue" for retention. I was sure it would fly off during higher G maneuvers so I cut a shallow slot and put a small piece of Velcro

I didn't use the Elapor spinner supplied. Looked tacky and as if it would fly off soon. Used a 2 1/4" plastic spinner from RCD.



Lots of wires. Used differential aileron to reduce (possible) yaw



Yards and yards of decals! Used Colin (Glass Cleaner) sprayed on the surface first so I could manipulate them - I never get these right    Later squeeze out the excess with a soft cloth

The Moment of Truth; the Hour of Judgement 

First did a little taxying to check the tracking. It was going to the left.......so took off anyway 

What a superb Flyer!! Responsiveness plus stability. Easy on throttle from 50% to 100%. Crisp precise rolls. Aahh..... Dil Khush Hua