Had a few family problems this week (well thats an understatement) however hope I can now move on again.

 Having manually played with the flaps etc, it was time to repaint the centre flap and drive it with the servo, disaster struck !!!, I could only get about 20%, 30% if I almost rip the servo out of the wing. Closer examination revealled my G-10 horns I made were too small (short), enabling the push rod to foul the trailing edge. I ripped the flap back off, and re-made the horns much bigger, so they JUST cleared the top sheeting when closed.

Now that flap is just over 26" long, and when closed it actually goes "Snap" as it bangs closed (LOVE IT), and when the flaps are deployed

Thats over 6o deg of flap, not far off vertical.

Now I can use the template I made for the new horns and re-horn the other flaps and breaks, and get them installed and working via the servos. Must say its way cool watching the flap come down, and up. 

Hi, Grahamd,congrats on your thread,nice to see some real building still taking place,i supply jerrys plans etc over here and i have  new web site  its www.jmdesignsuk.co.uk

 jerrys plans are some of the finest ive seen and his attention to detail is exellent,i have seen a number of jerrys sbd's flying each one better than the next,phil clarkes built as a banshee flys as if on rails,so you should have no worrys on that score. could you please let me have some photos of the finished model to put on my web site. once again good thread ,well done .john

when installing retracts, you always find you need to remove/modify some or all of the existing ribs and retract hard points supplied either in the kit or from plans, BUT nothing like what was waiting for me.

 The Dauntless retracts when fully retracted do not use a gear door (another reason why I like them), instead the wheel center has a flat hub, and the tyres of the wheels are slightly proud of the underside of the wings. This produces another problem in that when they are deployed fully they need to be horizontal to the wing (center), CenturyJet (my retracts) have taken care of this by ofsetting the axle by about 8deg. So if you get the wheels sitting in the wing, then in the down position the legs look something like a FW190, but the axles are horizontal, problem is getting the two angles correct.

Heres "as supplied"

With the two pre-cut slots for the retracts (top), the angle is way out, I would end up with ALL of the wheel sitting on the wing. So out with the Dremmel.

As you can see I needed the retracts as low as I could get them, but still slightly inclined in towards the wheel wells. This doesnt leave a lot to hold the retracts in !!! So I added some new 1/4" ply ribs (see red marks in picture), and rather than use barers to hold the retracts I'm using again 1/4" ply cross grained, each layer of ply has its grain running in opposite directions so the strain put on it by the retracts should be fine. I've also used captive "T" nuts with epoxy. Then "belt and braces", I've added GF sheeting around the retract/wheel well areas and over some of the ribs. My 1/4" retract plates are also epoxied to the front of the main spar webs and the rear of the front leading edge cyparis.

Amazing build detail there Graham. Looks like she is going to be one cracking model.

With all your additional wood & glass fibre, are you not concerned about the additional weight? I assume you do have a weight target in mind.

Flying from grass I'd rather have the slight extra weight in the ply and GF around the retracts than anywhere else

 I'm sure I can save weight in other areas, for instance my flaps/dive breaks are probably half the weight of the original parts/concept.

Graham 

Wahay, months later and the damn retracts are now in and working.

This pic shows me messing with the angles to get them correct for the axle.

I also needed to space the wheels away from the retract leg (white bit), I'll probably make these from bar stock ally and drill them to match, but for the time being they are made from ?, wait for it.

Toilet hinge rod , £3.15 from homebase, hollow heavy duty nylon rod, just the right diameter for my temp needs.

Got the first pair of flaps and dive breaks working

OMG open and STOP lol, Do you think it will slow down any? Looking great Grahamd coming along well.

Lee

Lee, these are serious barn doors, dangle them out and watch the results! I've flown some full size aircraft that use spoilers and flaps as air-brakes and have almost left my eyeballs behind!

 This masterpiece will be an absolute joy to watch when its finished.

Graham, will the first flight be the aircraft unfinished or will you paint it first?

 Doug.

Grahamd, Well what can l say ...except brilliant.I have been away in the US for a month and just picked this up upon my return. I wish l had known about this plan/cnc kit earlier but seeing your build process l think (no l know) it would be just a tad beyond my building expertise.

I first saw the DD about 2 years ago when l was at the Smithsonian Air Museam in Washington DC. What a plane and with a surname of DAUNT...well l knew one day l would have to have one.!!! l started to look a while back and found one supplied by Anglia Models. It is a Complete-a- Pack cnc cut out and plans...but the plans leave a lot to be desired. It tells you how old the plan is when one of the few "tips" says  " it is well worth investing in the purchase of a plastic scale model to see how all the fairings fit and it will only cost you a few shillings ' !!!!!

I do love to build but this one has been a huge challenge for me and in reality l could not do it justice. I have never worked with retracts (and seeing your problems and how you resolved them) both on retracts and dive brakes...l know i have taken the correct decision to keep it simple for me. So....whilst a huge shame l have had to build mine with a fixed undercarriage and  simple flaps. There is not a chance l could have built those working dive brakes ...but it has been an absolute pleasure to read your build and see what you have done. And as to you being a standard balsa basher....l do not think so.

Anyway mine will be in essence a Sport scale look alike....but what the heck this hobby is all about getting the pleasure out of building and flying at your own level. We cannot all have your skills or the likes of Mick Reeves to build a Master Model  and we lesser mortals just have to look on in envy.

l have just about finished all the building and about to start on the covering. It is looking good....well at least it looks like a Dauntless.!!!!

Many thanks for sharing this build with us all,not least all the time to prepare the photo's and description as you progress. Cannot wait for the next installement.......

Best regards,  Geoff Daunt

Thanks Geoff for the nice comments, the build is on hold for a few weeks as my father has just been given days, if not weeks to live, as a hospital infection of mrsi has now turned into a brain tumor.

 Bare with me, I will return

Sorry to hear that news Graham.

 My thoughts are with you and your family, I wish you all well.