Supermarine Stranraer

[battlestu]

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

[Wingnutz]

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.    He 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!

[piker]

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!

[piker]

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.

[Michael]

Immaculate construction! 


Nice.

[piker]

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!   

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. 

[sihinch]

I was very excited (about the plane), last night after putting the mayor pieces together

What do they look like?  The Mayor pieces? 

[Papa]

They are the ones with the chains!


LOL


Jack.

[piker]

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!

[Michael]

It just proves that you're ready my S$%T,

[piker]

Oh crap 

[piker]

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.

[wollins]

Damn, just when you start to get cocky, you're humbled by the master! Awesome lookin', my friend!

C.

[piker]

Oh, Go on!   

[piker]

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.