Frank's Stinson Voyager 50" span- Death by 100 sticks.... no stones!

[Frank v B]

Had a laugh reading Michael's post about his wife asking him to go build an airplane with lots of sticks.  There is no way my buddy Michael is going down this road alone.  http://temac.ca/smf/index.php/topic,7322.0.html

Found this kit in my shop.  It is an Easy Built Stinson Voyager.  50" span originally built for a Cobalt 05 electric.  I believe I bought this from Ken Rawlins at last year's club swap meet.

Googled the plane and noticed it had flaps that only came out below the wing.  The top of the wing stayed solid.  Will incorporate this.  If it looks good at the bare bones stage I may cover it A La Piker (transparent covering).

Will decide on the power as it comes together.  Will probably go for the lightweight option. (smaller battery, smaller motor, smaller servos, lighter covering, etc.)

Frank

[davidk]

Don't know what it is about yellow planes... but that's a great picture... and particularly next to the car.

Glenn put those kind of flaps on his Vampire EDF... pretty cool.

[Frank v B]

Finished cutting out the parts.  Turns out one of the cowl formers is missing so I will have to fake it.

The punishment has started.      AUGHH!!! 

Frank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in5H8Zg4jME

[Frank v B]

Building the cowl:

BTW: don't ask me why I started with the cowl.

Problem:  one half of the large former was missing and the entire middle cowl former was AWOL.

Solution:
- copy the large former and glue together mirror image. Photo 02- pinned to the board.
- made the middle former out off 4 individual pieces of balsa that will be glued in the corners and then sanded. Photo 03

Frank

[Frank v B]

Cowl finished!

Photo 04- New  (missing) former made out of 4 pieces, clamped while glue dried.
Photo 06- Cowl finished

[Frank v B]

Stabilizer:

The stabilizer looked weak.  Maybe enough for a rubber model but nowhere near strong enough for RC application...in my hands.

Upgrades:
- trailing edge of the stab was changed from balsa to spruce and twice as wide.
- ribs were changed from 1/8" square to 3/16 x 1/8.
- the center section was supposed to be sticks, I made it from 1/8" solid balsa.

Note: I always cut sticks oversize at the ends (leading edge, trailing edge) and trim them afterwards.

Frank-proofing the model.


Frank

[Frank v B]

Elevators.

The plan showed two separate ones joined with a wire.  Not strong enough when the wood is only 1/8" thick.

Approach
- Cut both halves as one piece but left about a 1/4" wide bit of balsa joining the halves.
- Cut a slot behind the balsa bit and inserted a hardwood dowel about 3" long.  See first photo.
- Cut two pieces of 1/64" plywood about 4" long by 3/8" wide.
- pinned the elevators to the board and snugged a metal ruler up to the leading edge to guarantee the joint dried absolutely straight.

Frank

[Frank v B]

Sanded the elevators and thought they were a little flexible along the grain.  I know the guy who will be flying this plane.  Belt and suspenders!

I cut back the cut-out for the fuse and rudder by 1/8" (approx.) and glued a balsa stick across the grain.

Note:
- The sticks were left long and the balsa brace is higher than the elevator thickness.  A few quick passes with a sanding block and it will be perfectly flush everywhere.
- The assembly was pinned along a metal ruler again to make sure it remained straight while the glue was drying.

Frank

[Frank v B]

Starting the fuse:

Problem:
The plan calls for 1/8" square balsa to make up the fuselage crutch.  1/8" square cross members then become the formers to make up the width of the fuse.  Then the rounded formers are added on top and on the bottom to round out the fuselage box.

Decision:
No way for 1/8" balsa.  Either 3/16" or 1/4".  Sorted through my collection of sticks and have enough for either.  Now I have to match the sides.....because.... if the density of the wood is not the same, the fuse side with the softer balsa will bend more than other side.  No banana fuselages for me.

The photo shows the difference in the wood sizes.

Final decision: Will go with 3/16" wood*.

Frank

* quick math:
- 3/16" wood has 2.24 times the cross-sectional area of 1/8" wood
- 1/4" wood has 4 times the cross sectional area of 1/8" wood.

[Frank v B]

Photo16- The black area on the plans are the two fuse sides that have to be built out of.... 3/16" sticks.
Photo 17- the matched density sticks for sides 1 & 2 so the fuselage will bend straight towards the tail.


Frank

[Frank v B]

One fuselage side completed.  The glue is going to dry over dinner.  The second fuse side will be built on top of this one so..... all mistakes are symmetrical.

After the second side is done, I will be adding sticks from the bottom of the fuse to the top of the cabin top to act as doublers for the window area.  Lots of stress there because of the wing... and the pilot.

There is other stupid stuff on the drawings like no upper re-inforcement on top of the stabilizer slot.  Will add that before commencing side 2.

Frank

[Frank v B]

Photo 20- the second side built on top of the first one with waxed paper in between.
Photo 21- made vertical doublers to support the cabin structure and the wing.  The round toothpicks point to the doublers... before I trim them.

Frank

[Frank v B]

The fuselage sides are put together with formers.

Problem- there are many formers missing.  Have to fake them.  Luckily there is one for the top at the trailing edge of the wing (F 5) and the front bottom 3 around the landing gear.

Put blank formers on top and will cut the slots in once the glue has dried so they all line up.
Will add them to the fuselage bottom once the frame has dried.

Frank

[Frank v B]

Fuse is almost finished:

Biggest problem- there was no firewall!!!  Picked a 160 watt 3S bell motor because it was the lightest and can swing a 10" prop. It is 15 amp continuous and picked an 18 amp ESC.  Built it into the cowl and made the cowl removable in its entirety. Held on with 2 registration pins and 4 sets of rare earth magnets.

Photos:
25- fuse without the cowl.  Two Hitec HS 81 servos for elevator and rudder.
26- fuse view from the nose showing the magnets and registration pins.
27- bottom view.  All the stringers in place.
28- the cowl with the motor and ESC in place.
29- side view of the cowl.

Next: the wing.


Frank

[Frank v B]

Just weighed the plane:

Fuse (not covered) incl. servos, receiver, motor, esc and 800 mah 3 cell lipo is 10.7 oz. 
The finished plane will probably come in at less than 2 pounds.

80 watts per pound is more than good enough for take-off.

Frank