Brodak Flite Streak

Ken Cook Sat Feb 12, 2022 8:19 am

Trying to clear out my basement over the past year, I've given many models away. One was my Flite Streak. I love the Streak, I personally never found another model that outflies the Streak in terms of it's size. I gave away my ARF Streak which was a real toilet to begin with. It suffered from design issue, warps, covering issues, leadout problems etc. I repaired all that I could and in the end, I could've built a true Top Flite version. The ARF introductions essentially ruined my club and never once did I see a newcomer trying to fly one. It was stated, if you have no time, it will get you in the air quickly. I really need to see that personally as I see the majority of them are plagued with irreversible issues.

I gave away my Top Flite Streak to a fellow club member who gracefully smashed it in front of me 3 weeks ago. I had that plane for at least 15 years. Beautiful paint job and good running engine, diminished in less than 3 minutes. I decided to purchase the Brodak.

Against my better judgement, I knew what I was in for but this was really more than what I thought. I essentially purchased a $120 dollar box of templates and I will leave it at that. I set this up for bladder and installed a tube in the outboard wing panel.

Fuse needed some help so I cut it from nose to tail and epoxied in carbon fiber strip
I also applied phenolic pads under the engine for stiffness and to offer a little more footprint for the engine lugs.

The plywood doublers from the kit were no good in my opinion, not wide enough and they should've left the outboard doubler solid but they cutout the engine. I made a new correct set. This is great if your building a tuning fork which is what it resembles and acts like if you leave it.

There is a design issue with the spar on this model as it doesn't allow the center rib to engage properly. In addition, they have you cutting out the area for the bellcrank which isn't done until the model is assembled, This isn't a easy task to do inside the wing afterwards as you crack and break the spar in doing so. I beefed up the splice by epoxying some carbon plate across the joint at the top of the spar. This design uses some stupid dowel setup which I've never seen and I find it useless so that won't be getting installed. I installed the triangular gussets on the outer ribs of the bellcrank platform

Bladder tube installation awaiting center sheeting. Leading edge in this kit is two pieces, the wood provided now resides in my trashcan. Far too light and one piece was crooked as a banana. I glued them together but the stronger piece overtook the lighter crooked piece. I cut new pieces from hard 1/4" stock. I prefer to keep the two pieces from the same stock when doing this. I straightedge, and mark the straight side with a x. After parts are cut, I flip one around and glue them together. This offered me a very straight leading edge which I glued off the model and installed after wing assembly.

Levent Suberk Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:50 am

Thanks for sharing Ken.

Ken Cook Sat Feb 12, 2022 11:49 am

I also should mention the vertical grain balsa not horizontal in between the trailing edge sheeting which is seen in the last picture. Not included in the kit, those pieces were essentially a entire sheet of 1/16" x 3" x 3'. This type of wing construction demands it and foregoing the step results in poor construction, it becomes very warp prone and it flies poorly due to wing flex. A real must and it should've stated this on the plans. Installing them is a real pain in the rear. I fit each one independently and insure snug fits. I use yellow glue to install them which makes placement and movement possible over CA which I despise.

oldguy Tue Mar 01, 2022 10:47 pm

That's looking great, hope you post some more of the build. Was the wood that bad from Brodak?

Ken Cook Wed Mar 02, 2022 3:45 am

Much of the wood selection is incorrect due to being A grain and far too light because of laser cutting.The plywood doublers were not wide enough as well. I ended up putting silkspan on the entire model which is a pain in the rear. It took me 3 days to get the model completed and to date, I'm still doping the model. It took 3 coats on the fuse and then silkspan, with a additional 3 more coats which it still needs another. The Polyspan on the wings has nearly 6 coats and it doesn't even have a shine to it yet. I'll be using colored Jap tissue on the wings for decoration. Due to the cold, I really have the material thinned out. Were going into the sixties this week which will help immensely. I haven't weighed the model as this is of no concern to me as it feels quite right. I believe this will have no performance issues at all and this really should be a great model to fly.

firstwordisee Wed Mar 02, 2022 12:48 pm

Wow that club member must of felt pretty bad, must of been an awkward moment.

Ken Cook Wed Mar 02, 2022 4:16 pm

No, he didn't seem bothered. He just shrugged his shoulders. He likes to involve himself usually out of turn in conversation. I figured I would try and better his flying by offering him a well built ready to fly plane. This is the equivalent of looking up the answers in the back of the book, nothing gained.

rsv1cox Wed Mar 02, 2022 6:20 pm

Ken Cook wrote:Much of the wood selection is incorrect due to being A grain and far too light because of laser cutting.The plywood doublers were not wide enough as well. I ended up putting silkspan on the entire model which is a pain in the rear. It took me 3 days to get the model completed and to date, I'm still doping the model. It took 3 coats on the fuse and then silkspan, with a additional 3 more coats which it still needs another. The Polyspan on the wings has nearly 6 coats and it doesn't even have a shine to it yet. I'll be using colored Jap tissue on the wings for decoration. Due to the cold, I really have the material thinned out. Were going into the sixties this week which will help immensely. I haven't weighed the model as this is of no concern to me as it feels quite right. I believe this will have no performance issues at all and this really should be a great model to fly.

Forecast is for warmer weather this weekend Ken, but possible rain. Maybe covering it then will work out.

I built a Flight Streak once, still have a vision of it in my brain. But I don't know what happened to it. I must have given it away when we left Maryland. I think to the son of a friend. Thankfully if he crashed it, I wasn't around to see it.

I have been looking at this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165354524256?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3D7897e6beae41470981291c586128fc04%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D165354524256%26itm%3D165354524256%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2060778&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

Perhaps not your cup of tea.

firstwordisee Wed Mar 02, 2022 6:37 pm

Ken Cook wrote: No, he didn't seem bothered. He just shrugged his shoulders. He likes to involve himself usually out of turn in conversation. I figured I would try and better his flying by offering him a well built ready to fly plane. This is the equivalent of looking up the answers in the back of the book, nothing gained.

Thats a shame, it takes all kinds but the ungrateful KnowItAll's can be some of the worst.

Ken Cook Wed Mar 02, 2022 7:20 pm

Today, when i got home I was able to lay down a decent coat. I had the top of the fixed flaps that required the last bit of silkspan. I put that on and coated the wing a additional time. I probably have 7 coats on the wing and it still isn't looking covered. Polyspan takes a lot of coats to get a decent finish on it with just using clear. Any sanding makes it fuzz and your back to square one. It's certainly looking neat though. It's been a long time coming. I still have two original Top Flite kits left and I really want to do those.

oldguy Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:02 pm

Ken Cook wrote: No, he didn't seem bothered. He just shrugged his shoulders. He likes to involve himself usually out of turn in conversation. I figured I would try and better his flying by offering him a well built ready to fly plane. This is the equivalent of looking up the answers in the back of the book, nothing gained.

That is terrible.

Ken Cook Thu Mar 03, 2022 3:36 pm

The Streak is together with the exception of the rudder. I recently picked up this round tip squirrel hair brush which is totally awesome. Very long handle, it holds paint like no other brush I ever owned and it makes the final outcome look spectacular. During this build, I started another profile which is a Sterling Mustang which I had for close to 40 years now. That is coming along quite well. I figured I'd dope this one at the same time. I'm getting pretty doped out.

Ken Cook Sat Mar 05, 2022 7:51 pm

Here's the Mustang. The nice weather allowed for some more doping. I applied 3 coats and put silkspan on all parts. Today I was able to get 2 more additional coats. Now to decide what paint scheme to use. I recently picked up some toner which can be added to clear. It also can be used to dye epoxy. This one has me at a crossroad, military scheme, racing? I might just make it all one solid color. Power will be a new Enema .25SS ball bearing engine I have. I also elected to no landing gear on the plane, they fly bad enough I don't need any additional nose weight.

Ken Cook Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:20 pm

I covered the rudder with carbon veil. I was planning on doing the fuselage as well. That was outright horrible stuff to work with. Itchy, nasty stuff, the fibers got in between my fingers and literally drove me crazy. That crap is OUT!!. It made things stronger than I ever imagined but it took about 8 coats of dope to bury it.

So the weather got to a so so temp and I was able to get some buildup coats on the plane. I have 8 coats on the entire plane with two additional needed coats to bury the stars. All exposed balsa surfaces are covered with K&S 00 silkspan, this is the last of my K&S stuff. I also covered the entire Sterling Mustang with it as well. I've pretty much had it with cutting stars. I cut a few each night. Cut 6, throw away 3, cut 10 more and I have a mountain of Jap tissue piling up on my table. To my surprise, this plane is weighing in now in the pic at 13 oz's. This is really remarkable. My old Top Flite kit built Streak was on the heavy side but it flew tremendous in the wind. This has me a little concerned. This Streak might fly terrific when the wind is mild and then when the wing picks up it gets blown out of the tops.

oldguy Sat Apr 02, 2022 11:54 pm

That is some nice-looking work, Ken. What engine are going with on your Streak? This is making me to want and try to build a .35 size streak next. I like the clean look with the stars.
Thanks for sharing, I like seeing peoples builds.

Ken Cook Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:39 am

The engine I want to use is my older FP.20. If that doesn't work out, the FP .25 and LA .25 is the same case in which I have both. I also have a Magnum Pro.25 that fits the same pattern.

getback Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:44 am

Ken the plane looks beautiful ! and you put a lot of hard work in it and it shows , sorry but i am not a big fan of the stars or it just don't fit right or something ? Probably me hope it fly's well , you said it came out lighter than your other one what was its weight if you remember .

Ken Cook Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:53 am

The fuse is going to be yellow with a black cockpit. Eric, I'm not out to win any beauty contests. There's also a reason for the random stars. While this is Polyspan which is stronger than silkspan, it still gets holes in it. Flying in and around the tall grass can easily puncture a wing even on landing. Having randomly placed stars makes it easy to patch a hole if needed, cut a new one and dope it on. The old saying " Chrome doesn't get you home". The fuse is going to be yellow with a black cockpit. I build so much that I really don't have days to spend taping and painting. I fly and fly a lot. When building a plane like this, it can have a lifespan of 10 seconds or 10 years. I need it to do what it was meant to do and when it's flying at 80 mph, no one is going to see my stars. I prefer the retro look. Yesterday was too windy and it was a bit on the cold side when not in direct sun. I find dope to work better in direct sunlight. It lays completely flat and I find I achieve a better shine with clear. A FP .20 is under 7 oz's, this plane will have no problem with everything installed being a tad over 22 oz's. I know my stock Top Flight Streak was in and around 28+. The FP.20 is the same one I had on the old one and essentially, it was carrying two engines. However, regardless of weight, it flew terrific in the wind and it was maneuverable. I originally had some Fox combat specials on it.

firstwordisee Sun Apr 03, 2022 1:15 pm

Nice work Ken, I think it will look great in the air.

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