Well, it's a little early to kick off this build thread, but I'm so excited about this build and I just turned in my plans to be enlarged. The plans I ordered from England are for a 1/12 scale Stranraer, which puts the wingspan at 85". Well, I figured that was too tiny, so I'm enlarging to 1/10 scale for a wingspan of 102" That's pretty big for a biplane, but the wings are pretty high aspect ratio (long and thin) so even at this scale, the plane will not be TOO big. The fuselage will still be smaller than my Sandringham, as will the wing cord.
I'm excited about this build because it's a twin engine, biplane flying boat. It'll be all built up from balsa and a little ply, and I'll glass the fuselage and use silver, 21st Century fabric on the wings and tail surfaces.
I'll try to get as much building done this winter as I can, but I can't be sure that I'll have the plane flying next summer.
I don't plan to start on the Stranraer until the new year as I've committed to myself that I'll finish my Water Bomber, repair the Sandringham, and finish my building project from last winter, the SE5a before I start. But I may have a moment of weakness and start cutting balsa before then. ;D
Wow! What a cool choice! Keep us posted! Looking at the rest of your list, I'm wondering if you have floats for the SE5?
I've considered it.
I figured it's time to get serious about this float flying thing. And I'm having thoughts of a new strategy for next float flying season :o
So...the new strategy? ???
I said I was having thoughts. I didn't say I HAD a strategy yet ;D
But I'm thinking along the lines of a combination of scheduled events, various locations, flexibility to take advantage of good flying conditions, and a simplified retrieval system. I'm open to input and discussions.
BTW, some of the nicest float flying is done from wide open water, like Lake Ontario, when the water is vast and calm. It offers such a sense of freedom that you can't experience at a grass field (other than perhaps a sod farm... but even that isn't as flat or smooth), or a small lake, pond, or bay. I hope to do as much of THAT type of flying as possible next year... somehow. Maybe we're talking about sunrise flying. That might be REALY nice.
I think we should change the winter scratch building course to be this plane. what a beaut!
Quote from: piker on October 22, 2013, 03:26:06 PM
I said I was having thoughts. I didn't say I HAD a strategy yet ;D
But I'm thinking along the lines of a combination of scheduled events, various locations, flexibility to take advantage of good flying conditions, and a simplified retrieval system. I'm open to input and discussions.
BTW, some of the nicest float flying is done from wide open water, like Lake Ontario, when the water is vast and calm. It offers such a sense of freedom that you can't experience at a grass field (other than perhaps a sod farm... but even that isn't as flat or smooth), or a small lake, pond, or bay. I hope to do as much of THAT type of flying as possible next year... somehow. Maybe we're talking about sunrise flying. That might be REALY nice.
Rob,
I'd love to respond to your thoughts about Future Float Flying but I fear if I do it here, I will further divert the thread from the Stranraer...can we start a new Float Fly Strategy thread with your thoughts as the catalyst?
Bill
I can see why you feel excited about the build.
And about a flying schedule.
Sunrise?
That's before noon isn't it?
Ken
Quote from: piker on October 22, 2013, 03:26:06 PM
BTW, some of the nicest float flying is done from wide open water, like Lake Ontario, when the water is vast and calm. It offers such a sense of freedom that you can't experience at a grass field (other than perhaps a sod farm... but even that isn't as flat or smooth), or a small lake, pond, or bay. I hope to do as much of THAT type of flying as possible next year... somehow. Maybe we're talking about sunrise flying. That might be REALY nice.
The answer is clear Robert- you guys should come down here to beautiful Norfolk county, where we have BOTH a sod farm flying field AND Lake Erie, (which is much nicer than Ontario, BTW.) Simple! ;D
Your project is amazing- it'd be great to hear what you have in mind re: power, AUW etc.
Tom
Tom, maybe we should take you up on that offer sometime next summer. It would be a great road trip.
I'm thinking of a couple of E-Flite 60's on 6 cells each at this point. I MAY consider 90's on 8 cells each, but at this point I don't think I'll need that much power. It'll be a lumbering type plane ;D
Robert
Well my plan to stay focused on my repair and completion jobs, before I start building the Stranraer, has gone out the window. THAT stuff is no fun when all I want to do this time of year is to get into balsa building. So, I got the plans enlarged, and figured out how the thing will be built, and then today at lunch I made a trip to the hobby shop and bought a bunch of wood and glue. I got A LOT of wood, but this is only the first batch. Here's the bundle on the way back to work ;D
There he goes bragging about how much wood he's got.
Oh, there's a lot more wood where THAT came from... And I hope to use some of that wood when I get home tonight...
Curious about where all that wood is...between something I'm sure!
Picked a colour scheme yet Rob? Canadian???
It was on the front seat of my truck.
Colour scheme? Weren't they all just silver? I certainly would like to do a Canadian version, but I'd like to keep it WWII era. Do you happen to have a picture of the Canadian WWII version?
How about this one?
The fate of this particular aircraft, RCAF Stranraer 951, is an interesting story:
Basically, Stranraer 951 landed in the Pacific, west of Vancouver Island during a patrol mission on August 23, 1942, probably due to engine failure. Stranraer 950 located the floating 951 and saw that the plane was damaged but floating, and the crew were awaiting a rescue boat as it was too rough for Stranraer 950 to land. 950 had to return to shore and as night fell, the relief Stranraer was unable to locate the floating 951. However, a submarine WAS spotted in the area, and by day break 951 was no longer seen again and the crew was lost at sea.
I think this particular aircraft will do nicely as a building subject as it was RCAF, used during WWII to patrol the Canadian shoreline, and there are some nice pictures with a compelling, if sad, story.
http://www.aviationmegastore.com/supermarine-stranraer-pt1-queen-charlotte-airlines-72-006-whiskey-jack-decals-wj72-006-airliner-decals/product/?shopid=LM4b63a0dc8b6b664508d746b022&action=prodinfo&parent_id=212&art=48261 (http://www.aviationmegastore.com/supermarine-stranraer-pt1-queen-charlotte-airlines-72-006-whiskey-jack-decals-wj72-006-airliner-decals/product/?shopid=LM4b63a0dc8b6b664508d746b022&action=prodinfo&parent_id=212&art=48261)
http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234949175-supermarine-stranraer-pt1-queen-charlotte-airlines-172-thunderbird-models/ (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234949175-supermarine-stranraer-pt1-queen-charlotte-airlines-172-thunderbird-models/)
http://www.airlinercafe.com/photo_784.details.large (http://www.airlinercafe.com/photo_784.details.large)
Here is a Canadian subject not military but with lots of character.
Jack.
Actually, CF-BXO is the one in Hendon that is done up in RCAF squadron markings.
I think it looks nicer than the military version.
Jack.
So, Robert, ....
... you bought some wood.
Have you cut or glued any of it yet? ;D
Quote from: Papa on November 16, 2013, 11:01:44 AM
Actually, CF-BXO is the one in Hendon that is done up in RCAF squadron markings.
I think it looks nicer than the military version.
Jack.
I like the QCA version as well...so much so that I have QCA graphics for my Norseman. QCA operated three Stranraers and the story of each is included in QCA founder (Jim Spilsbury)'s book Accidental Airline. I liked the story of RCAF 951 but the QCA Stranraers have some pretty neat stories attached to them too! I'll go back and see what I can find about CF-BXO. Interesting if sad story attached to the RCAF plane but pretty sterile paint job!
Sheesh! You guys are harsh! ;D
When I built the Sandringham, I chose that design over the Sunderland because of the graceful lines and colour scheme of the civilian airframe. When I look at the Stranraer, I see it as very utilitarian and thought it would be fun to build the wartime version with open gunner positions and maybe some depth charges attached to the wing. I agree that the paint scheme on the later version is prettier, but I thing that version loses some of it's wartime character. Besides, I need another war bird for the great, TEMAC, Warbird day :)
BTW, yes, I've started construction. I've been creating the bulkheads which are made up of 1/8" balsa with a layer of Obichi on each side. The two center bulkheads, where the wing attaches, will be faced with 1/32" play, and a bulkhead at the aft end will be faced with 1/64" ply where it slots into the center section of the stab for anchoring. I only have three more bulkheads to make up, then I post a picture for ya.
Okay, I'm looking forward to the bulkhead pictures, which raises the question..."What's the difference between a bulkhead and a former?" ??? Bulkhead almost sounds nautical...former sounds...I dunno...aeronautical? ??? ???
Hmmm. I've just always called them bulkheads. I don't know why...
From Wikipedia:
"A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an aeroplane."
"A former is a structural member of an aircraft fuselage, of which a typical fuselage has a series from the nose to the empennage, typically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The primary purpose of formers is to establish the shape of the fuselage and reduce the column length of stringers to prevent instability.[1] Formers are typically attached to longerons, which support the skin of the aircraft."
I guess I'm making formers... Anyway. Gotta get at it!
O.K. Picture time.
As you can see, I've got all my "formers" laminated and cut out and I've assembled them, upside down, onto the top fuselage crutch. There are more to add onto the tail end, but they don't go on until the fuselage is flipped upright, as they create the structure that is mostly above the crutch. Next up is the keel, stringers then lower fuselage planking, before it can be removed from the board. Overall fuselage length will be about 5-1/2 feet.
Looks fabulous. Kinda like a dinosaur!
That is the neatest and cleanest building area I've ever seen!
very clean... maybe too clean :)
BTW how did you cut those formers so nice?
Well, I DID tidy up before my next build, and got two, fresh, sheets of pink foam. I need to put my batteries away. The ones that are on the foam are holding it flat. It was lifting in the middle.
Mike, band saw for the outsides and notches, and scroll saw for the inside cuts. Then fine tune with a bit of sanding. I photocopied the formers from the plan, spray glued them to the wood, cut out, then peeled the paper off.
Thanks for the kind words, guys! I'll keep going :)
Progress has been slow on the Stranraer, but I have pushed past a couple of areas that were challenging.
Since my last picture posted, I've added the keel and stingers and started planking the bottom half of the fuselage. Because the fuselage is built around a crutch, near the top of the fuselage, the thing is built upside down on the board and planked up to a certain stringer to make it stable before it's removed from the board. This is a bit challenging as you have to work upside down (part of the time) and on the opposite side of the structure. It would have been easier if I was able to walk all around my workbench. Another challenge with this technique is the need to leave the tail end of the fuselage incomplete until the fuselage is removed from the board as that part of the structure is ABOVE the crutch.
First challenge was planking the thing. It felt more like I was building an old sailing ship than an airplane, but I think this is what appeals to me about flying boats :) The "hull" is planked with 3/4" wide strips of 1/8" balsa, often trimmed to shape to help follow the compound curves... and there are a lot of them in this hull shape. What you will see in the photos is the state of the planking so far, which is rough sanded, without any filler yet. I'm quite pleased with the way it's turned out so far, and the hardest part is done. BTW, the sanding had to be done with a curved sanding block to get into the inside curves of the fuselage shape. This step is what I've been plugging away at, with what little time I had, over the past few weeks.
Next up, and something that moved along much faster once I was able to spend a little more time on it over the past few days (mostly yesterday), was the construction of the tail end of the fuselage. I had to figure out a way to do this (no instructions with this plane :)) in order to keep things straight, not twisted, and in the right location. I ended up raising the fuselage above the plan on some simple, temporary, supports, to the correct height in order to build the tail portion upside down on the plan. I had to determine which pieces went where to create the stable structure, and the determine what the pieces looked like from the views on the plan. I eventually built it up as you can see below (both as built over the plan, and with the fuselage sitting upright), ready for sheeting after some hard points for stab mounting and servo mounts are installed.
At this point I'll probably move onto the wing center section construction (maybe after a little more work on the cockpit area) as that will be needed to establish the wing mounting system in the fuselage. Of course I also need to add all the internal bits in the fuselage, like servo wiring (the tail servos will be located in the tail structure), lights, landing gear mounting hard points, etc., before I close the whole thing in with the final planking.
Anyway, I'm quite happy now that I have the fuselage to this point as I think it's looking very interesting with its unusual, 1930's hull shapes.
Nice! Really nice!
Your workbench, however, is disgustingly clean and neat!
Looks fabulous! Really, really gorgeous.
An ambitious project Rob, and beautiful workmanship.
Bigstik
I guess it's time for an update on the Stanraer build. First, thanks for the kind words, guys. I'm enjoying the construction as I move slowly forward.
The fuselage, that some of you saw at the TEMAC Pilots Meeting last week, was taken to a point where I need to develop the wing center sections, cabane struts, and mounting method before I can go much further on the fuselage to start closing it in. I guess I should post a picture of the fuselage here, for record keeping :)
That turned my attention to all the ribs I needed to cut out for the wings. Now, this is a biplane with a 102" top wing, and about a 92ish inch lower wing. That in itself means a lot of ribs. But it seems the designer of the model chose the scale rib spacing (and number) which places them closer together than what would be considered normal, or adequate for a model. Scale rib spacing is cool, but it meant I had to cut out a pile if ribs. You may think I'm crazy, but even though most of the ribs are the identical, I decided to NOT use the stack and band saw method and instead opted for a ply template and individually hand cut (with a single edge razor blade) rib. I chose this method because I like the smooth edge the razor blade leaves versus a fuzzy edge that the saw leaves, and since these edges will be directly under the silver covering, I wanted them to be nicely done.
So, at this point all the ribs are cut out and all that's needed is a hole in each rib for running the wiring and about half of the rib need to have a section cut out of them to allow for the aileron LE and wing TE separation. But at least that job is mostly done and I'm ready to start building the wing panels... not that I need them for the work I need to do on the fuselage, but I might as well as the wing plans are on the bench and the fuselage it off to the side.
So, the pictures are not very exciting, but the first one shows a stack of 94 identical ribs when I thought I was done, then realized I needed 104, so I had to start cutting again. The second picture shows the rest of the ribs of various shapes, less the 10 that I cut after I took the pictures. The grand total is 131 ribs for this plane!
Woops! I forgot to keep my post short. Sorry Simon.
Quote from: piker on January 14, 2014, 10:20:01 AMI decided to NOT use the stack and band saw method and instead opted for a ply template and individually hand cut (with a single edge razor blade) rib.
This does not surprise me in the least. I travelled a lot of miles to get your reference pics so you'd better do this plane justice! (Lookin' great) ;D
Colin
I think HobbyKing are bringing out an 80" ARF of the Stranraer. Due any time soon! ;D
Yes, Colin. It was very nice of you to travel to England JUST to get pictures of the only Stranraer still in existence for me ;D I have already referred to the pictures quite a bit as there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the Internet about the plane. Certainly not many detailed pictures. I'll be using them even more as I do the detailing.
And Simon. I wouldn't be surprised.... but that doesn't matter. It's about the craftsmanship, the process, and the creation, not just about the "having". Home cooking versus fast food ;D
Quote from: piker on January 15, 2014, 10:49:44 AM
Yes, Colin. It was very nice of you to travel to England JUST to get pictures of the only Stranraer still in existence for me ;D
Well. since I was there I figured I'd get some pics of the Typhoon also.
;D ;D
104 identical hand cut ribs??? Wow! Home cooked? This is gourmet! Gastronomie magnifique! :D
It's been a long time since I posted anything on my Stranraer, but I have been working away, quite steadily on it, and I'm having fun with the build. Unfortunately, I've reached my deadline of the end of January, so I'm putting it aside while I get back to my other repair and detailing projects, namely the Sandringham repair, SE5a detailing, and CL-214 Water Bomber completion. But, before I do, I took a few pictures of the Stranraer for posterity :) See below.
Basically, since the showing-off of the fuselage at the January TEMAC Pilot's Meeting, I've been working on the wings. This was the next logical step as I need to build the center sections of the wings and mount them to the fuselage before I can close in the fuselage with planking. While building the center sections I figured I'd get the basic structure of all the wings built. And that's where I am at this point.
I was surprised when I first put the three sections of the upper wing together, that the wingspan didn't look that large. It wasn't until I put the wing vertically that I realized I had to move to the area of our house that is open to the upstairs, as the upper wing is 8-1/2 feet tall and the lower wing is just a bit shorter. I don't have a picture of that, so you'll have to use your imagination.
Anyway, this project is on hold for a bit. I'm hoping to get back to it before the end of March.
That looks wonderful. Congratulations.
What a shame that you've got other (awesome) models to repair.
Wow! Nice clean work. (as usual) How do you ensure there is no twist in your wings? Do you use jigs etc?
Colin
Thanks Simon.
Yes, as much as I would like to keep building the Stranraer, I'm also excited about getting the poor Sandringham (Humpty Dumpty) back together again, and hopefully make it nicer than before. I'm also motivated to finish the detailing on the SE5a. Really, each of these four projects is quite different from the others, because of the various stages of completion they're in. The Stranraer is fun because it's at the bare construction stage, the Sandy, because it'll be nice to see it coming back in shape again, the SE5a because I can focus on the small details that bring the model to life, and the Water Bomber because it's a relatively simple film covering job that I plan to finish off a bit better than in it's previous life and it'll be a blast to fly with its new power system. It also means I'll get my seaplane fleet back up to the level I want with the Stranraer coming along to add to that.
Colin, I use a flat building board :) In THIS case, the airfoil section is not flat on the bottom so I shimmed the rear spar off the table by an amount that allowed good, flat contact with the front spar... 3/16" in this case.
Woops! Sorry for the rambling, Simon ;)
That's a lot of progress !!!
Figured Rob had to be the only modeller in Ontario brave enough to tackle a scratch-built Stranraer...he's not.
Was at The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton today and got talking to the museum's modeller, Don Wilson who just happens to be scratch building...you guessed it...a Supermarine Stranraer!
The model is 8'6" ws and will be static rather than RC but really accurately detailed...I've never seen so many ribs in one wing!
Don also sells balsa, spruce and basswood, so if you're stuck 905-945-5647.
Photos include one of Don holding the correct scale machine gun (Lewis gun?) for his Stranraer and a photo of him holding one of the turnbuckles he'll use to rig the Stranraer when it's ready
Don's fellow builder Art Gillard was there too, sanding the Stranraer fuse...Art used to fly the museum's full-size Canso! (PBY if you're American)
Don's handiwork is all over the museum, including an 8' ws Norseman in one of the "galleries"!
Please excuse the image quality...I'm still using a six year old "dumb" phone to take pictures.
Wait.... So he gets to build models all day long?
I have only one question... Does he need any help and I can start right away :)
Quote from: battlestu on April 16, 2014, 11:06:55 PM
Wait.... So he gets to build models all day long?
I have only one question... Does he need any help and I can start right away :)
Yup...he gets up and builds models all day. :D H
e doesn't get paid but the museum pays for his materials and provides a workshop with more aviation ambiance and atmosphere than a lot of us will experience in a lifetime. Workshop space is a non issue.Helpers? He's already got Art. After that, you're second in line...right after me! ;D
That's cool! And the exact same scale as mine. I'll have to pay the museum a visit.
Many of us have known Don (very casually...he probably wouldn't remember me) from Don's Balsa for years!
Thanks for posting, Bill!
Well... I had to go down a few pages to dig up my old build thread. The last time I posted any progress was almost a year ago!
I have been working away at the Stranraer for the past couple of months, but mostly just finishing construction on the four main wing panels and most recently the center section of the upper wing and the nacelles. I had to do some head scratching to determine my preferred way of attaching the various bits of the plane together and whether my construction techniques were going to be strong enough, or alternatively, too heavy. I still don't know for sure, but I'm moving ahead anyway.
Below are a few pictures of the work I've done over the past few days. I'm at the point of building the main, cabane strut structures where strength and alignment are critical. I've created some brass attachment pieces that will have all the steel music wire soldered to them. The pictures show the foam alignment jig I created and a couple initial solder joint. BTW, the solder joins look dirty in the pictures but will clean up nicely with a bit of acetone. That black stuff is just the burnt acid flux.
Immaculate construction! ;D
Nice.
Thanks Michael.
I have no pictures for today, but I was very excited (about the plane), last night after putting the mayor pieces together to get a feel for the size and proportions of the model. It's the first time I've seen the model as more than a bunch of pieces and as such I've reached a milestone in the construction timeline. There's still much to do, but it's starting to look like a plane! ;D
My goal is to have the model, fully assembled, rigged and with the power system and control system fully installed to show-off at the February Pilots meeting. Then I can cover and paint by the end of February to meet my schedule.
Quote from: piker on January 08, 2015, 10:41:39 AM
I was very excited (about the plane), last night after putting the mayor pieces together
What do they look like? The Mayor pieces? ;D
They are the ones with the chains!
LOL
Jack.
You guys can make fun of my spelling mistakes all you want. It just proves that you're ready my S$%T, even WITHOUT pictures!
It just proves that you're ready my S$%T, ???
Oh crap :-[
I was able to finish the cabane strut metal work last night (although I still need to fine tune the brass pieces and solder joints). The structure that you see here is VERY stable.
Next up is the outer wing attachment rods and the metal fittings for attaching the flying wires. I need to get this stuff worked out and in place before I can continue with the balsa construction and sheeting.
The other photo is a pond I would like to get access to for float flying. Ya never know. Rob? Jack? You know about this one.
Damn, just when you start to get cocky, you're humbled by the master! Awesome lookin', my friend!
C.
Oh, Go on!
Progress is slow on the Stranraer as I have little time to work on it, but I'm trying to move ahead a little at a time.
Last night I was able to reach a milestone with the mounting of the lower wing. I'm using 4x 1/4-20 aluminum bolts through the center section "spars", through hard points in the fuselage and into nuts glued to the underside of the hard points. Normally going through spars like this would be a no-no, but in this case, the spars are seeing little bending loads as the wing is a flying wire tension arrangement, not cantilevered. These "spars" are really just hard attachment points for the cabane struts, flying wires, etc. The only bending loads they'll see are vertical shock loads from the motors attached to the top of the cabane struts, but that's not much.
Oh ... to be an engineer. sigh! Man, that structure looks "machine made". Don't know how you make your structure look sooooo neat. (I leave that for the outside! ;))
C.
After figuring out the cabane strut framing and getting the wing center sections mounted and past that hurdle, I felt like getting back to some balsa construction so I can get the rest of the major components built. So I've started on the stabilizer and will then move onto the fins (two of them) and the tip floats.
The stab and fins are build per the usual English style of laying a sheet of balsa, that defines the outer shape, onto the board, then building the upper half of the stab on that. When that is done, you flip the structure over then build the bottom half. I guess in principle this makes sense, but I'm not sure I'm a fan. One problem is that once you lay the sheeting over the plan, you can't see the plan anymore and therefore can't see what's supposed to go where. I did transfer the rib locations onto the sheeting, but other than that, I'm relying on cell phone pictures the see the rest of the construction sequence. Then, when I flip it over to build the bottom half, there will be no pre-set way to ensure it stays flat on the board. Sure, I can shim it up as usual, but I could have done THAT without the central sheeting, so the sheeting does nothing for me. Oh well. It was worth a try.
The picture shows the top half finished. I'll flip tonight. The big gaps between the stab and elevator will be filled with solid, soft balsa blocks that will be shaped to create the shaped elevator LE.
Another work of art.....
It's depressing really ... ;D
C.
I don't know what you guys are talking about. It's just some rib and spars. But thanks. You're TOO kind ;D
I figured I'd better post a couple of pictures to make sure my build thread doesn't disappear onto the second page. :)
So, I've been working a little here, and there, on the Stranrear, with the little time I have. I don't have a lot to show. Just the current, almost finished state of the rear stab and fins. I need to do a fair amount of sanding to get them looking more wing like, and I need to fill in the gaps at the front of the stabilizer to create the shaped LE. I'm trying a different (for me) approach to the hinging method where an aluminum tube guides the 1/16" music wire hinge pin through the various hinge points. It's working out very well and has created an easy way to install the stab after covering.
The other picture if of one of the tip floats I glued up last night. after that is a picture of the same tip float beside one of my Sandringham tip floats, which coincidentally, is the exact same size. Interesting (I think) ;D
Quote from: piker on February 18, 2015, 04:58:40 PM
It's working out very well and has created an easy way to install the stab after covering.
Cool! Is that the only advantage?
Colin
Impressive!
I hope your's and Colin's flying boats will on the water and in the air this summer.
Cool! Is that the only advantage?
Colin
[/quote]
Is that not enough? Being able to establish the hinging method and securing everything while the structure is open then easily removing the surfaces for covering, then easily reinstalling for final assembly? ;D Umm... what else... it's a great way to ensure a straight hinge line through the various hinge types before committing to the final hinge location.
Actually, I'm still not sure how best to hinge the ailerons on this plane as they have a similar inset type hinge line. The problem is the aileron tips curve around a bit at the wing tip so there's not a straight line shot to the hinge line. However, I'll have to revisit that area and see if I can use a similar method. It would solve some problems.
Quote from: Michael on February 18, 2015, 07:55:08 PM
Impressive!
I hope your's and Colin's flying boats will on the water and in the air this summer.
I hope so too! Sooner rather than later in the flying season.
I'm at the point now, with the Stranraer, that requires a bunch of mechanical types details. Things like removable tail mounting, tail control surface servo mounting, landing gear mounts, wing joiners, etc. I'm glad to say that I'm moving through these things so I can soon finish sheeting the fuselage and wing center sections. Then I'll be almost finished construction. However, that's still some time away.
The below pictures show the stab/fins in place on the fuselage with the rudder servos mounted in the stab, and an overall view of the tail sections after sanding and shaping. I've also includes a blurry picture of the elevator servo mounted in the back end of the fuselage and another view from underneath.
Very impressive!
Had the good fortune (learning experience) to see this in person last night and I have to tell you, the pics don't do it justice. It's like it's been made by machine as opposed to by hand. Clean, crisp construction.
Colin
Well, it's been a LONG time since I posted anything on my Stranraer build thread, so I figure it's time to bring it back to life...
I had put the build aside last Spring as the Winter building season was coming to an end, and I had other build priorities for the summer... oh, and some real life priorities too, like renovations, house buying and selling, etc. So after a summer away from the plane, I was able to set-up a temporary workshop in our new house and get back to work.
I've been working away at various aspects of the plane. I finished planking the fuselage, created and sheeted the lower wing center section, sheeted the upper center section, and planked the nacelles and tip floats. I still need to build the cowls and the interplane struts, and create the fairings for those. The plane is roughly sanded at this point, but it's coming along. I hope to be glassing and covering within the next couple of weeks.
Another reason to bring this thread back to life is because I'll be bringing the plane to the Pilots Meeting tonight. I'm looking forward to showing it off a bit. :)
That was amazing (last night at the meeting)!
This model is the most impressive and ambitious project I've seen, and Robert's work is fantastic!
Michael! >:(
What about Cliff's float plane? ;)
Thanks for bringing the plane out to the meeting. I have to say that the plane is amazing. The quality of the craftsmanship is incredible.
Carry on. ;D
Wow! Thanks guys.
I must admit I'm quite proud of it so far. I just hope I can do it justice and finish it off properly for the summer.
Quote from: sihinch on January 14, 2016, 01:03:11 PM
Michael! >:(
What about Cliff's float plane? ;)
Cliff's float plane was second best! ;D
Thank you for bringing the plane out for the pilot meeting. Beautiful plane. I look forward to see the maiden flight. :D
As the Brits who designed the Stranraer would say..."Splendid!"
Once again, the old guard at TEMAC have provided inspiration and something for the rest of us to strive for.
As impressed as I am with the model, your skill and your courage to take on challenging projects, I'm still trying to understand how load is transferred from the centre section of the Stranraer's wings to the outer sections...the steel pins used for display look wholly insufficient for the job...think I asked at the meeting but I'm still not sure I understand...
???
Hey Rob, draw us a picture. I think you described it by saying something about how the cables tie into the centre section, but a sketch is worth a thousand words.
Robert, I think this should be your next winter's float plane project!!
https://youtu.be/vNpiD9ddKCI
Just 12 engines!!
Probably not. There are lots of prettier flying boat subjects out there in history ;D
But very impressive!
Work continues on the Stranraer. I've been working on it steadily for the past few months, but it still seems to move along very slowly.
Anyway... This weekend I worked on the interplane struts. There are 8 struts in total. My approach has been to cut brass plates that fasten to the wing hard points and act as fastening points for the struts and flying wires. Through these run short lengths of 1/8" steal rod. These all had to be bent to the angle of the struts, then inserted through and soldering to the brass. The struts are made from airfoils shaped aluminum extrusion with short pieces of wooden dowel glued into each end. The dowel is drilled to accept the steal rod, which will be glued in. The struts are loaded in compression, so there's no risk of the steal rods pulling out of the dowel.
The trick was to figure out how to solder the steal rods to the brass pieces in the correct orientation, so when the aluminum struts are added, they line up with the rod at the opposite end of the strut. To do this I used two pieces of aluminum tube (I would have used brass if I had the correct size in my scrap bin), joined with a piece of the steal rod. That way the tube could slip over the rod to be soldered, at one end, then extended to slip over the other end. With this in place, the two rods were lined up and could be soldered accurately. Not a huge discovery, but it solved the problem for me.
Next step was to cut and sand the aluminum extrusions length, then add the dowels and drill. Alignment of the wings, in all directions, including dihedral on each side, is critical with this step. I had to proceed carefully.
At this point I have all struts cut and ready for fine tuning. After they are all correct and glued, the next step would be to add the flying wires. But that will wait until after covering and painting.
I also added the weird LE to the elevator and hinged the ailerons. I'm getting very close to being ready for glassing and covering. Final sanding is next.
Gosh that looks sweet! Wanna hear something funny ... I'm looking at those pics and thinking I don't recognise that workshop .... THEN I remembered it's youR new house! Damn I'm getting old! lol! Anyways, how is the LE "weird"?
C.
As usual, impressive!
Thanks guys....
The LE looks like below. It's shaped for dynamic balancing, I guess. The outer portions are symmetrical, the next section is curved up, and the next down. I assume the idea is that when the elevator is deflected, the appropriate portion, ahead of the hinge line, is exposed to the wind, reducing the load on the controls.
Anyone's workshop that looks as neat and tidy as that is weird.
Can't argue with the weird part, but that room isn't my worksop. It's the upstairs bedroom that has a smaller room off the side, which I'm using for my temporary shop. That room is a bit messier ;)
I'm taking the whole upper floor of the house off this summer, to be replaced with a nicer, more useable space... if things go according to plan.