Have not built anything in a week. Sorted through my plan selection and picked 4 potential ones....then I got a phone call from a friend asking whether I could build this kit. Are you kidding me! I believe!! There is a higher power.
- 48" span
- ailerons, no flaps but...let me get into it.
- 200-250 watt power system.
The photo shows the separated parts in the box and the left-over flashing outside the box.
Instructions, plans.
I hear screaming from my workshop. 100 spare servos, 20 spare motors and 25 ESC's going "Pick me!" 8)
Frank
Just in case you would need inspiration for the colour scheme. ;D
Also, I know a guy who flew that plane. ;)
Guy
Guy,
Done!*
F.
* I have yellow and blue covering.... and I don't want you to have a tantrum at the field if we show up with another colour scheme. ;D
Sub assemblies.
Good thing I always build against a metal ruler when joining pieces that have to be straight. That is the front part of one fuselage side.
The knife point shows a gap at the top of about 1/32 of an inch. The fit is good but the alignment is off.
F.
ps: now I know why the owner got frustrated. This kit was designed for scratch building, then it was optimized for laser cutting a few years later. The joints do not show up on the plans.
I suspect the instructions were written by the guy who was probably fired from Balsa USA and wrote their old instructions. (from my post on Rob's Sopwith "I have only built one balsa USA kit and that was in about 1990. It was a box of balsa and a type-written one page instruction sheet that essentially said:
"Thank you for buying our kit. Put all the balsa pieces together properly, add the covering, add engine, radio and fuel. Happy flying" ;))
Frank, are you building it for him or for yourself. I love Guy's colour scheme. Great colour to see in winter or summer.
Rob,
re: your question "Frank, are you building it for him or for yourself."
The answer is YES.
We will see what it looks like when it is finished and then maiden it. Then ownership will be decided.
Frank
ps: this non answer is for self preservation. If I say "I am building it for someone else".... no issue at home. If it is for me it will beg for the "fine, which plane are you getting rid of?" That's modelling's equivalent of "which one your children do you like best?" Let sleeping dogs lie. ;)
Death by 1000 clamps.
There were two of each of the two main formers (at the leading edge and trailing edge of the wing) so I decided to laminate them. The plan only shows one of each. The extra one will only add strength where most fuses break. Also laminated the two identical nose block pieces.
The clamps are the Dollarama tomato clamps and are great for this kind of work. Two sizes. All these green clamps were $2.50 plus tax.
I am using Lepage's Express fast drying wood glue. There are many clamps because the moisture in the glue will affect it while it dries. I do not want it to curl overnight.
Note the two pins in the nose block lamination. The two pins are to stop the wood from sliding while drying.
Frank
ps: I cannot use CA. My wife is allergic to it. I don't want to test that theory in case the allergy is not just CA but all model airplanes. :)
I don't think I ever seen Frank happier! ;D
Yep for happier.
Happiest would be this project and Spring!
F
-Fuse sides received the tri-stock and 1/4" square longerons. Will let it cure overnight.
- formers have been prepped to accept the 1/4" square balsa longerons
F.
Adding the formers.
When a fuselage pinches in at the nose and the tail, I set the middle cabin formers first to make everything square. Added the 3 cabin formers to one side and let it cure. In most planes the formers at the leading edge and trailing edge of the wing are 90 degrees to the fuse sides. I glue these first then let them cure.
step 1- prep one fuse side with formers. In this case I let the first former cure in the 90 degree position so the rest would follow suit automatically. (photo 13)
step 2- add the middle formers 90 degrees to the fuse side (see triangle) and let the glue cure. Photo 15
step 3- add the second fuse side.... to be done tomorrow.
Do not add any other formers nearer the nose or the tail or you will get a banana shaped fuselage. Since the fuselage pinches in, none of these will be 90 degrees to the fuse side.
This kit has interlocking formers and wing plate so these all have to be glued to lock together. They all have to be done at the same time. Clamps are so they can cure overnight without working loose.
F.
Second fuse side installed.
No other formers yet until this dries. When the other formers are inserted it is critical it be done on a center line so it is straight.
This will happen tomorrow.
Frank
Your photos depicting the construction techniques are great for information to those who are looking for guidance in matters of construction.
Thanks Bruce.
Pulling the tail end of the fuse together.
Challenge: to make the fuse as straight as possible.
Approach:
1) Draw a datum line on your building board. I used a black magic marker. See pen pointing to datum line in photo 24
2) mark the bottom centres of each of the 3 main formers. See photo 24. The fuse is inverted. The forward of 3 formers had a gap in the bottom. The green tape is to mark the center line of the former.
3) pin fuse on the board so the center lines of the 3 formers are on the black datum line.
4) trim the back end of the fuse so the sides can be squeezed together. I marked it visually (black line on the balsa), then cut it. Final sanding is easy. Pull an emery board (2 sided with sandpaper) between the squeezed side and move back and forth. Photo 26. It automatically sands both sides at the correct angle. Photo 27
5) Glue and clamp the back end together and make sure the joint is directly over the datum line. Photos 28 and 29.
Let dry and cure overnight.
Frank
The rear deck.
They want you to build the back up with a 1/2" x1/2" square balsa on the rear deck and then add a 1/8 " rear deck. Then sand the corners round.
Two tricks:
- Note the magic marker line on each side in photo 31. This will be covered up by the back deck but it will appear if I sand too much. This is my sanding stop line.
- the rear deck has a break in it. Did not want to do it in two pieces so I scored the bottom with a hobby knife, then filed in an angle with a triangle file. See photo 31 as well. The score line is to the left of the triangle file. The wood has been filed. I carefully bent it, put glue in the file line and pinned the deck in place. Photo 32
Note: top deck grain runs lengthwise. Fuselage bottom sheeting will have the grain running cross-wise.
There is nothing on the plan indicating the shape of the dashboard. I used scrap 3/16 balsa and glued it in place. It is larger than it needs to be. Will contour it when it is dry. Photo 33.
Frank
How to figure out the pattern for the dashboard.
There was no drawing for the dashboard. I glued a blank piece of balsa in place and let it dry.
The top was sloping so I had no idea how high to make it. The only thing for sure was the width. It stopped at the fuselage side.
Trick: I cut a bamboo stick to a point (one side only, not in the middle), rested it on the first two formers and scribed the contour into the dashboard balsa. Cut the corner properly and sanded it to the right height. Total time- 5 minutes.
F
Have been quiet for a week. Work and life got busy.
Have completed the following:
- installed the landing gear. Just sandwiched the wire between two plywood plates, filled the gaps with balsa and let 5 minute epoxy do its job.
- added doublers in the nose. The plans and the kit appear to be of two separate and distinctly different styles. The way on the plans will not work. Go figure.
- sheeted the bottom at the back.
- Have decided on two hatches- battery hatch on the top behind the firewall and one in the bottom behind the landing gear (servo and radio access)
Back to some serious building and tinkering* tonight. 8)
Frank
* tinkering is required when the kit is either poorly deigned (not this kit) or the parts cannot build what is drawn (this is the case).
For Guy:
How To Build a Hatch. a battery hatch on the top of a fuselage behind the firewall. The bare fuselage- photo 56
Note- I do not cut anything accurately. All the pieces are larger than required. They will be shaped with a few strokes of a sanding block. This way it does not have to built accurately.
Step 1- Make the pieces out of balsa. This hatch uses 5 pieces which are then covered when the front of the fuse is sheeted. The main pieces are the front and the back. The only semi accurate cuts are the notches so it sits below the fuselage edge and stops the hatch from movie sideways when finished.
Photo 55 shows the 5 pieces.
Step 2- clamp the front and back pieces in place. Place waxed paper between them so they are not accidentally glued in place. Photo 57.
Step 3- glue the side and top braces in place. Make sure there is waxed paper between the wood and the glue. Photo 59- all 3 braces are glued in place.
Step 4- sand to shape (to come).
Step 5- sheet the front of the fuselage with the hatch structure in place (to come).
Step 6- cut the hatch free from the top sheeting (to come).
Step 7- add magnets to hold the hatch in place. (to come)
F.
What the hatch looks like and rough trimming.
Photo 60- the hatch when the glue dried.
Photo 61- the hatch in place. Note how rough the shape is compared to the fuselage.
Photo 62- mark the formers on the front and the back.
Photo 63- the former marked on the hatch. It was rough cut slightly larger than this to be safe.
Photo 64- the rough cut hatch in place- ready for sanding to shape.
F.
Motor selection
It calls for a 200-250 watt power system. Have picked an E-Flite 480- 910 kv- a 250 watt motor.
"Always overpower an airplane. You can always throttle back.... if you have to!"
Frank
Sanding the battery hatch.
step 1- put masking tape on the existing formers so they are not sanded. Photo photo 65
step 2- put masking tape on the sanding block about the same width. It needs to rest on the formers but not sand them. The only sandpaper is in the hatch area
step 3- make some dust! Sanding finished in photo 67. Note the sanding did get some of the green masking tape.
F.
WTF!
The nose former was wider than the fuselage. Glued 3/16" balsa to the outside of the fuse from the landing gear to the nose former. Clamped in place.
Note: I use wood glue. The clamps are very important because the moisture in the glue will curl the sheet balsa. The top was clamped. The bottom was pinned to keep it flat while drying. Photos 69 and 70.
Glued the bottom sheeting ahead of the landing gear in place. Photo 71
F.
Doing the curvey stuff.
The curved top of the fuse forward of the cockpit is done in two layers of 1/16" balsa. The first layer had the seam in the middle. Tried to do it in one go which did not work well. This second layer was done with a staggered overlap, one half at a time. Will do the second half tomorrow.
Before gluing each piece, I soaked both sides with water via a wet towel. The carpenter's glue helped in curving the wood. Pinned each new half and will let it dry overnight.
It is starting to look like an airplane. Did the rough sanding of the rear fuse last night with a razor plane and a sanding block.
F.
Cowl,
Had to increase the diameter of the cowl because of the double layer of the cowl top and the extra sheeting on the sides.
Added a layer of 1/16" balsa (cross-grain) to the perimeter of the cowl.
See photo of the cowl pin cushion. Added 3 rubber bands to keep everything together while the carpenters glue dried.
F.
How to install magnets on a cowl or hatch.... without having to be accurate. (self aligning).
Basic principle-
i) randomly install magnets on one side (in this case the fuse) and glue in place flush with the balsa surface.
ii) place a piece of waxed paper and keep in place with the second set of magnets. This way the orientation (north/south poles) are automatically correct. The waxed paper is so that if the glue runs it will not glue the cowl to the fuse. Photo 95.
iii) push the cowl in place and dent the balsa to locate the magnets on the cowl. Photo 93
iv) drill a hole for each magnet in the cowl much larger than the magnets. The magnets will automatically float in place.... perfectly aligned and in the correct north/south orientation (yes, I have installed them backwards, that's why I use this method). Photo 94
v) fill the hole with glue (yes, 5 minute epoxy) (Photo 95) and install in place. I held it in place with the green masking tape. Photo 96
vi) allow to cure vertically so the glue stays in the hole. Photo 97
F.
Same for the magnets in the battery hatch aft of the firewall.
Photo 5000- Waxed paper on the magnets, 5 minute epoxy in the hole for the magnets in the fuselage.
Photo 01- rubber bands to hold the hatch in place while the epoxy dries.
F.
...after a 1 week illness....probably due to lack of balsa dust in my system.... back at it.
- installed the motor with proper clearances. An E-Flite Park 480. A terrific motor for a plane this size.
- all the hatches magnetized and sanded.
- bottom battery hatch made
- stabilizer/elevators finished- used a bamboo dowel (Dollarama) to connect the center section of the elevators. Once dry, added a layer of fibreglass over the joints. See photo 15.
Time to put this project aside now that the fuse is finished and the wing is next.
Have to start prepping my planes for spring and the March 20, 11:33 am date at Rogo Field to usher in spring.
Frank
If you don't want conflicting paint schemes you can model it after another famous Bird Dog currently on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida..
https://www.historynet.com/maj-buang-lys-daring-feat-to-save-his-family/
First non-US pilot landing on a US carrier. Non-Carrier aircraft on a carrier.