Adrian Page Super Cub

[Michael]

Fuselage.

First step is to cut the small tabs to free the laser-cut plywood parts from the scrap plywood.
I'm doing this slowly and carefully to make sure I don't break or damage anything. It's a bit slow, but there's a lot of really nice scrap plywood left over for other projects.

The instructions are not overly clear as how to assemble a right and left side of the fuselage (the right side has a two-part door, which functions as a hatch-opening for the battery), and which side is inside or outside, but by carefully looking at the parts, everything becomes apparent. I'll carefully show each step as I proceed.

Once cut out, I carefully sand what's left of the small plywood tabs.

This took more than a half-hour, and I'm getting a bit tired. I don't like to build when I get tired, as I'll be more likely to make a mistake, or even hurt myself. That's it for today.

I'll be busy at work the next few days, and I don't expect to get much done on this model during this time, but I'll be back at it soon.

[sihinch]

Covered by Tuesday then?

[Frank v B]

If covered by Tuesday, the maiden must be next Saturday


looking good!


Frank

[Michael]

Fuselage modification

The following is not part of the construction; I am changing the fuselage frame as mentioned in the first post of this thread, to look more like the airplane I am modelling.

I'm sharing these steps in case anyone is interested.

The first step in the fuselage construction is to glue the fuselage doublers to the front right and left frames, and then to the rear fuselage sections, however, I did not glue the doublers on first. I glued the rear and front sections together, and then sketched out what I would be cutting away, and what scrap wood I'd be adding.

Take a look at the photos; they tell the story.

Once the first side dries, I'll build the second side directly on top (with wax paper in between, to make sure they don't get glued together. Then I'll add the doublers to the outside of the frames (the door side is on the right).

[Michael]

Modification continued - not standard as per instructions

Left fuselage side has been modified same as the right, and now the outer plywood doublers have been cut to fit. Later on, I will have to use some additional 1/8" sheet to blend the outer plywood doublers at the rear and rear-top, and around the rear windows. I illustrate that when I get there.

Also later, I will add some additional doublers for strength inside the fuselage sides where the front and rear fuselage parts butt against each other. This is because my modifications eliminated parts of that glue joint, and the extra strength of doublers will make up for that.

The plywood outer doublers have carefully been glued in place, and the plywood bits on top, for the part that sits inside the wing, have been glued on. There are 2 parts per side, the inner part with a slot. They are seen in the top left of two of the photos in this post.

[Papa]

It looks very open, although as you say it's ply and will be strong when it is all joined up.


Jack.

[electroflyer]

   The Plywood frame is strong but brittle. My Cub had that bad crash and shattered like glass. But I gathered up all the parts and put it back together reinforced with balsa. Lesson here is Don't Crash!
lol
Glenn

[Michael]

Next step is to glue 1/4" square balsa sticks (longerons) to the inside edges of the fuselage frames. That would be the opposite side from each cabin doubler.

I cut small scratches into the plywood where the sticks would be glued to give the glue something to seep into.

I cut small alternating grooves into the top and bottom of the balsa sticks so they would bend easier, where needed.

The other images show where the balsa sticks end to fit the formers.

This step required 4 sticks of 1/4" square balsa, and took less than a half-hour.

[Michael]

Next I cut out (and sanded the edges of) the fuselage formers and other parts.

The small part in the bottom right of the photo would certainly have to be Robert's favorite piece; it's the rear floats attachment brace. 

[Michael]

Fuselage assembled (sides, formers, trays, tail supports) by tab-and-slot alignment, and held together with rubber bands.

I'll verify that the structure is straight and then I'll glue all the joints with CA.

[Papa]

Looks very good.


Jack.

[Michael]

Thanks, Jack.

I've added 1/4" square balsa sticks where shown for strength, as per the plans.

The wood under the battery tray is hardwood.

I have not added any of this strip wood to the list in the opening post since is left-overs from pieces already listed.

[Michael]

Kit modification

I'm installing 1/5 scale Piper Cub articulated bungee landing gear from Robart, and (Sig or DuBro?) 1/5 scale Cub wheels (wheel collar inside the hub cap, the hub cap painted orange).

These were installed in an older model that had crashed and I modified the fuselage to accept the old hardwood mounts with blind nuts. I used a fair amount of scrap balsa and plywood, and cut and sanded where needed, but everything now fits nicely.

The aluminum wing strut attachments were installed on these pieces of hardwood, and since I have the old aluminum struts, I left these on.

The kit calls for a landing gear block to be made or purchased (not included with the kit), but I would recommend that builders search for a similar type of working landing gear, as the installation is easy, and the functionality really helps with landings (and touch-n-go's).

[Michael]

1/8" dowels are added to each fuselage side to simulate (under the covering) the steel tube frame of the full scale plane. There are guides for this laser etched into the fuselage sides.

I've added this to the list of wood to be purchased, in the opening post.

[Michael]

A little more progress:

Sullivan Gold-n-rod nylon control rod sleeve in place with guides glued on, and with scrap balsa sheet near the rear 'outlet' so the covering will be smooth. The rods need to be trimmed, and the dowels from the previous post need to be sanded to a taper.

Dash and 3 (laser cut) stringers glued on. This will be sheeted.

Scrap balsa glued around the modified/added rear side windows, which will be sanded/tapered near the top of the fuselage, also so the covering will look nice. This should have been done earlier, but it seems OK now; I glued on the plywood wing-hold-down platform with doublers underneath.