Terence Moore Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 What you are left with after the strips are cut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share Posted December 8, 2013 Having removed material as per previous, now is the time to face the t/e of wings/tail and l/e of ailerons/elevators with 1/4" sheet balsa. It is important to cut the width oversize for the ailerons and elevators to allow for the taper in thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Once glued in place ( with my preferred aliphatic) the 1/4" pieces can be planed and sanded to follow the profile of the wings & tail; excess lengths to tips & root cut off, and centrelines marked for positioning of hinges. This sequence gives a better chance of correctly aligning ailerons & elevators, as it is much more difficult after bevelling their leading edges. The attached photo should appeal to fellow "balsa bashers" the long shavings a result of a new blade in the razor plane, and setting the depth of cut just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Having drilled for and dry fitted the Robart hinges ( 4 per aileron; 3 per elevator; 2 per flap) I bevelled the ailerons and elevators on both edges but the flaps only on the botoom, as they will only deflect down and are centre hinged. Then it was time to make up the wing and tail tip blocks from layers of sheet balsa. Once laminated the centre lines were marked on, and the outline cut , with most of the surplus thickness/taper sawn off to reduce the amaount of razor plane work before glueing in place with the trusty "aliphatic" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Wing and tail tips have now been shaped, using marked centre lines as a guide to equal profiles top and bottom. Ends of ailerons, elevators and flaps faced off with Minicraft fixed rotary sander (excellent set of modellers power tools) using the right angle guides, and then checking the control surfaces for equal length and width, very important for elevators and flaps, otherwise unwanted roll coupling can be induced. Next job is to face up the ends of the control surfaces with thin ply, which helps in keeping clean edges for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Ok, after the Christmas & New Year break, plus a spell "grounded" on to the project. I like to complete as much work on the flying surfaces as possible before either jointing them, or fixing in place. So, the wings came from Steve with suitable slots for aileron leads, capped with balsa strip. This allows for draw strings to be easily fed through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Steve also supplied aileron servo boxes ready made from ply 7 cut into the wing undersides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Apologies for clumsy fingers on postings where & seems to come up as 7. Must press harder on the button!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 I reinforce the aileron horn fixing with a small rectangle of 1/8" ply, bevelled to follow the l/e profile and complete the set up with the ailerons dry hinged, push rods made up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Now ready to start installing retracts. Steve supplied the wing with the wheel wells and mounts cut out & loose lined ready for final trimming. He also supplied the mounts made up of 1/8" liteply base; 1/4" birch ply mount and 1/8" balsa cover plate, ready again for final shaping. Alternatives were supplied to suit with and without coil springs in the legs. My photo shows that I am using e-flite retracts with coil springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Nicel crafted wheel well linings by Steve, just needed notching over blind nuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 One tip I picked up from building my "Revenger" was to strengthen the bond of the undercarriage mounting plates by drilling and pegging the four corners with1/4" dowels, driven and epoxied into the foam cores. The picture below shows this prior to the pegs being pushed down to finish flush with the top surface of the 1/4" ply plate supplied by Steve. This helps when flying from other than a smooth surface i.e. as per our club strip!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minty morton Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I like the dowel idea, i used it on my Dave smith smart move and despite many unsightly landings it has held for 10+ years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Similarly our strip is a bit rough, but the "Revenger" u/c mounts have held secure, even when the axles or legs have rotated ( I know I should file flats on them) . The dowels each have a pointed end, using a pencil sharpener, and are cut to length after sharpening, makinng them easier to hold,( a bit like a pencil in practice) Shall shortly be moving back to the fuselage build now that i have the header and pipe for the K&B 100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 The pipe and header from Weston UK. They can build in both vertical and horizintal offset, to allow for side/down thrust and also the angle of rake of the pipe. This is a fixed length pipe designed by them to suit approx 9000 rpm peak revs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 I have now set up the fuselage in my jig, concentrating on ensuring accuracy of centre line set up from wing area to tail end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 The wing centre section, previously assembled, slots nicely into the fuselage sides, all as per Steve's very accuratley pre cut parts. Still to fit the pipe mounting top section of 1/8" ply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Just when things were progressing nicely an avoidable delay. I bought an unused set of main gear e-flite retracts from a fellow club mate......no problems, buy the nosegear seperate. However a lesson learned.... when ordering the replacement nose gear it is just that! The retract unit only, so had to then order the noseleg. Fine, but again didn't read the web site properly, THE NOSELEG DOES NOT INCLUDE THE AXLE!!!!!!. My fault entirely, but frustrates the progress of the fus!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Finally received the nose leg and axle. There is a novel slotted and rotating metal arm to which the steering pushrod is connected, but on this and my "Revenger" I had to change it to the other side. Great care is needed as the thin rod along which it rotates is well and truly screwed tight. Essential to have the correct screw driver. Also the unit is mounted horizontally, and not to the back of the firewall, like air retracts etc. Therefore rails have to be epoxied to the fuselage sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 The retract unit can then be mounted on to a ply plate. I used 1.4" birch ply which is then screwed to the horizontal rails. This level of sturdiness is needed.......more traditional mounting to the rear of a firewall is much stronger, therefore the need to beef up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 And finally, the plate can be cut to clear the wheel (2" diameter) with a wider hole to allow the steering pushrod to pass clear of the unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Starting the installation of the engine, tuned pipe, and fuel tank next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 The original kit for this model had a fibreglass fuselage and canopy/pipe tunnel. Steve has done a good job of interpreting the shape in balsa wood and ply. The first stage of shaping the top is to block out around the engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 The next stage is to fit the sides to the pipe tunnel (seperated by cling film, as the whole structure is removeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Moore Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Then the balsa sheet and block canopy is framed up. This will be carved to approximate profile, the tunnel sides also shaped, before joining the two structures together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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