Top Flite Cessna Skylane Kit build thread

frajolex · January 07, 2015, 05:45:07 PM

A few weeks ago I bought 2 new planes... The first one was the Skyline Sokhoi Su26 ($155 at General Hobby), the second one was the Top Flite Cessna 182 Skylane ($189 at Great Hobbies). while the Sukhoi comes already assembled, the Cessna is a laser cut kit that will demand lots of work from my side, specially because this is the first time I'm building a kit, so expect some mistakes and lots of questions.

Does anyone here already built this kit? If yes, please raise your hand(!), I will definitely need your help.

The kit looks really nice, and according the plan, the first section to be built is the horizontal stabilizer.

I've been pinning the pieces over the plan, and it seems this approach is working well...

One of the parts that is concerning me is the Wing.... according the plan, the wing is divided into 3 sub-sections...which should be glued when you complete the assembly, making it one single piece.... Now comes my question to the experienced builders (@piker, @Michael , @Papa, etc)...

Is it possible to "adapt" this wing to make it 2 pieces, or even keep 3 pieces? I would love to have this wing like the foamies, where you have the carbon rod holding the pieces together.

I'll be posting updates as soon as they happen!

Papa · January 07, 2015, 06:42:41 PM

If you have not built a kit before then this will present some challenges. You can do it but you will need to take your time and read the manual many times over before you build a part. What advantage did you hope to achieve with a two piece wing?

If you wish you can bring it to our build class next Monday with your board and we can have someone look at it for you and offer advice.

Jack.

frajolex · January 07, 2015, 06:47:48 PM

lol! I want 2 piece wing so it can fit my Kia Forte!

Otherwise I won't be able to carry anything but the cessna inside.

I know it will be a real challenge Jack, and that's why I'm not rushing the process... in fact, I'm really going slow, I want to leverage your experience to ensure I'm building this properly, with everything in its place.. I will bring the foam with the pinned pieces to our club meetings @ Colonel Mustard so you guys can take a look and give me some advice... Monday I will be there, I also want to get the Morphine plans and wings.... I'm ashamed I didn't have real time to attend the classes before, it was a rushy end of the year.

battlestu · January 07, 2015, 08:09:01 PM

I also have the same kit ... But it is mostly built when I got it from Cadez.

Haven't done anything with it yet. I wanted to clear up some other kits first before I started working on it

Greg

frajolex · January 07, 2015, 08:15:22 PM

is it covered with balsa already? if not, can you post pictures of the stabilizers?

Michael · January 07, 2015, 08:43:59 PM

I built the Top Flite DC3 kit, and had intended to make a 3-piece wing (for ease of transport), but the design didn't lend itself to an easy modification, and would have required extensive changes and work.

As Jack said, if you bring it to a meeting, we can have a look and maybe make some suggestions.

battlestu · January 07, 2015, 11:54:02 PM

Quote from: frajolex on January 07, 2015, 08:15:22 PM
is it covered with balsa already? if not, can you post pictures of the stabilizers?

Sorry it's already been covered.
I can also bring the main wing to the meeting if you want to take a look at it.

frajolex · January 08, 2015, 01:31:11 AM

Initially I would like to see the stab / elev, but since you have both main wing and stab / elev ready, I appreciate if you can bring it to the next meeting... I'll be bringing my stab on Monday along with the plans so that you guys can give me some ideas

piker · January 08, 2015, 10:22:32 AM

That will be a great build, Andre. It's great to see you getting involved!

And your construction style looks very good so far. Nice and neat and well planned. You'll do fine.

frajolex · January 08, 2015, 12:02:00 PM

And to make you happier Piker, I'm planning to put this baby on floats.

piker · January 08, 2015, 01:45:51 PM

Of course! Scale EDO floats for you too!

battlestu · January 09, 2015, 10:47:07 AM

Quote from: frajolex on January 08, 2015, 01:31:11 AM
Initially I would like to see the stab / elev, but since you have both main wing and stab / elev ready, I appreciate if you can bring it to the next meeting... I'll be bringing my stab on Monday along with the plans so that you guys can give me some ideas

no problem I'll bring it out to the next meeting

frajolex · January 11, 2015, 09:01:47 PM

Made some progress on the horizontal stab and elevators.... I must say, this is way more difficult than I thought..... specially because I don't have specialized tools... (all I'm using is a cutting knife, a razor blade, a rule, and sand paper).

I'm struggling to cut the balsa properly... but I think I'm doing OK.... so here are the horizontal stabilizer and elevators.... note that the wing tips still need some work... comments / suggestions are always welcome.

frajolex · January 13, 2015, 09:48:18 AM

After a good chat with the experts, I was able to pretty much finish my horizontal stabilizer... I consider it 95% done, the only missing step is filling / sanding to smooth the lines... I'm already building the fin / rudder... it should be ready soon.

sihinch · January 13, 2015, 11:50:50 AM

Looks great Andre! And it was great of you to come to build class last night.