SHORT SOLENT MARK IV – 2014 WINTER BUILD

[wollins]

Thanks!  So, in keeping with my goal to make this as scale as I can ... I've been working on replicating the slotted control surface hinges that the full size has. All was going well until I decided to look more closely at the pic.  CRAP! The slots for the full size are on the control surface side ... the slots for the surfaces I started (elevators) are on the H stab side!    Back to redo them all over again! 

I guess the lesson I should learn here is that if I'm gonna be deviating from the plans this much I'd better study the full size part I'm trying to replicate BEFORE I start on them!

Colin

[piker]

It's coming along really nicely, Colin.

I'm feeling left out as I'm not doing an big project building right now.  I'll be back at it soon.

Your Solent is going to be wonderful! 

[battlestu]

Mmmm... Solent Green 

[wollins]

I'll be back at it soon.

Yeah, wouldn't it be awesome to see the Stranraer, Sandringham, Solent, Albatross, CL 415 and CL 215 all at the same event? SIX flying boats!  That would be a spectacle, eh? 

Colin   

[piker]

Oh, it's going to happen!

An Ken R. showed his new Macchi M-33 at the meeting last night, which means we now have three or four awesome, Schneider racers to fly at the float fly's next year!

[wollins]

Finally finished the elevators.  As usual it took longer than expected.  Just needs a bit of filler and then a final sanding.  Decided against completely sheeting them as originally planned to save some weight. Instead just sheeted the tips and cap stripped the ribs.

Rudder up next!

Colin

[wollins]

Ok just another reiteration as to how awesome our club is! Over the last couple of months on more than one occasion I had mentioned that I was really having a difficult time conceptualising the scale flaps on this model.  Even after discussing it with Robert who was familiar with them I had all but come to the conclusion that I was gonna leave them off the model.

Well, Jack on his own accord (cause that's just the kind of guy he is!) offered to give it a shot to see if he could come up with something that would work.  Long story short, he came up with a prototype which all but convinced me that it could be done. 

I'll have to see if and how it could best be integrated into the wing of course but at first glance it looks really promising!  So, huge thanks to Jack or using his time and energy to come up with a potentially workable solution. As you will see from the pics and video its simple and elegant, yet practical.

Secondly, as you may have gleaned by now, my intent is to change so many things on this plane that to say it is "loosely" based on an Ivan Pettigrew design is somewhat of an understatement. In that vein one of the things that has to be changed/redesigned is the canopy.  This is where Robert was gracious enough to loan me the plug from which he pulled his canopy for his Sandringham. (which sports an almost identically designed canopy) 

Even though his canopy is a bit smaller than mine the plug will serve as a excellent model for the one that I will have to make, to pull my canopy. So huge thanks to Rob as well.  If this plane turns out half as good as I intend it to be, it will be so is large part to the help and input that I've gotten from the vets in this club.  So thanks again Rob and Jack!

Colin

http://youtu.be/wFgU1RjBwho

[Papa]

You're always welcome Colin.


Jack.

[wollins]

Ok so I started on the V stab and rudder etc ... and lo and behold ... found another thing that needs to be redesigned to look more like the real thing.    If you look at the full scale you'll notice the shape of the fin is quite a bit different from the plans I have.  So ... of course I couldn't let that go (it's the disease ... its not my fault, I can't help it! ) so I had to redesign my fin around that.  See pics of the plans and my mod. (outlined in red)

The other thing that I had to change was the sweep of the actual top of the rudder to the rear (like the full size) as opposed to the rudder going straight up as per the plans. The final thing that will be changed is the full size's rudder is about 85% of the length of the v stab as opposed to 100% as of the model's plans.

I've heard it once said that once you try for "Scale" you will never finish the model cause there's always more you can add/do. However, I'm having fun with it so we'll see how far I can take it without getting completely burnt out! lol! 

The real downside to it though is that it takes soooo much more time.  I'm 111 hours into this so far and all I have to show for it are four spinners, a fuselage frame and framing for the elevators and partial framing of the V stab! (basically redesigning the entire plane as I go along doesn't help either!)

Incidentally I'm pleased with how I got the upper fin to "key" into the lower fin, (I'm making the Vstab removable like the elevators) it wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be to get a clean slop free fit.

Colin

[sihinch]

I can't believe you're counting the hours that you've worked on it! 

[wollins]

You mean nobody else does this?    But seriously, I'm interested to see how much actual time these things really do take to build. (Plus it'll help me to gauge build times for my future projects.) And its not difficult, I just guesstimate the time I spent on it in any given day and write that number in on that day in my shop calendar. 

Colin   

[piker]

Taking the time now to get the shapes as close as possible, is a good idea.  It's frustrating to work so hard to build a scale model just to find out later that it's not as accurate as you thought, or would like. 

Modifying the shapes, or structure, as you're doing, is one of the great advantages (and challenges) of scratch building.  When building from a kit, you feel like you have to stick with the design as is, as the majority of the shapes are pre-cut for you and it would be a shame to toss them all out and start over.

Great work!  it's looking good!

[wollins]

Got it! (not quite but close!)

Colin

[wollins]

Little bit of progress.

C.

[piker]

Wow!  Lookin' good!


It's starting to look like a plane.  I love the open, wood construction.