Mark Ellis 1 Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Hi Chaps. I Also was Given the Ballerina plan from an old magazine quite recently. I decided to go ahead and build it as I like open cockpit sports planes. This is my third project. and have spent a lot of time reading threads from various builders from which I have gained a lot of good advice. I wondered how much interest there still is on here as my build is nearing halfway completion.........I may have questions as I consider myself a Newbie? Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Elen Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Hi Mark, Welcome to the forum! It would be great to see some pictures of your Ballerina. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 yes, put the build up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Yep, we like a build, plenty picys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C. Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Still flying mine it's a great model, recovered to fus this year as it was getting a bit tatty. Pleasure to fly and would build another when this one expires Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 I will be watching and I will try to answer any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 So this is as far as I have got. I have cheated this time and bought the woodpack, which has saved a lot of time. I am building it as an electric version as you can probably see, I have constructed a battery hatch which detaches between F2 and F5. The battery goes through F2 all the way forward to F1. In my limited experience I have found electric models to be tail heavy! The speed controller and servos are already installed. This is a brief description of my progress so far, I have started work on the wing this week so I may well put some more pics up as that progresses. One question that springs to mind right now is should there be any side thrust or down thrust when fitting the motor, its not been discussed much in the forum? One final note tonight.........I make many mistakes and am a bit of a botcher but I enjoy building my aeroplanes and the 3 planes I built so far have all flown and still intact Comments and questions very welcome Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Elen Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Hi Mark, There is no side/down thrust shown on the plan, so mine had none of either. Flies a treat. I find there is a bit of ‘bodgery’ in everything I build. Better to not worry about it, just learn from it and move on. Your fuselage looks 👍 Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Everyone, or at least many people ask about side and down thrust. My desingns are set up with 0-0 incidence and thrust lines so they tend to fly straight. Any swing on take off is corrected with a quick dab of right rudder. There have been many electric conversions including one in my own club. Trust me, I am a bit of a bodger too. I tend to build too fast. Nothing wrong with a bit of a bodge. Fellow club members will tell you that one of my common comments is "It looks good at 50 feet!" At leat they don't fall to pieces in the air and they do fly well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Hi Mark. I built mine for electric, too. It flies well on a modest 450W 3s setup. I use some 4000 packs that I had to hand, and the cg worked out fine without adding ballast. Here's a view of my battery bay in case it helps - the lid is side hinged using film, and held shut with magnets. Enjoy the build, you will enjoy the flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Whoops! Just spotted in my photo that I did have to add a little lead after all. I've been flying it for 2 or 3 years, that's my excuse for forgetting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 Hi All First of all, I would like to thank those who have contributed their thoughts and ideas so far, its much appreciated but this being my first time on a forum, i don't know how to reply to individual posts from forum members. I have started work on the starboard wing, not glued much yet cos I want to see how things fit together and sort out any difficult bits which can be done easier and better (or more correct) early on in the build. An example of which is placing the mounting supports for the aileron bellcranks to the relevant wing ribs. I decided to keep to the original plan and use 1 servo for both ailerons. From what I have read, I understand R1 & R1a should be glued in position on the first half of the wing 90 degrees to the spar, as are all the other ribs. The angle when the two halves of the wing are joined is created by R1 and R1a on the second wing half (port wing) when they are joined together. Is this correct? I will post pics as my progress with the wing continues. Thanks Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 You are right. One of the trickier things is getting the two ribs to join perfectly in the centre when joining completed wing halves, My sequence solves that problem. The two ribs match perfectly. We had a club member who built a Ballerina. He did not read the instructiosn and went his own way. He then moaned load and long because there was no guide as tothe angle of the ribsand he ended up with a big gap at the bottom of the joint. He was most peeved when I pointed out what an idiot he was. Edited By Peter Miller on 19/08/2019 21:18:28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Posted by Tom Sharp 2 on 20/08/2019 01:02:25: Mark, click on quote to reply to an individual post. Cheers Tom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Posted by Mark Ellis 1 on 09/09/2019 20:29:27: So work on Ballerina is going at a slow pace but I don't have to worry about being the first one to finish lol. This is progress so far on first half of the wing. Looking forward, as far as the undercarriage goes, apart from the undercarriage saddles has anyone used apoxy to secure the undercarriage struts. Is this necessary? As the nights draw in I expect to have a lot more time during the winter months to finish this project in time for our Clubs model building competition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 No, I just used my usual Aliphatic resin to secure the U/C mounts. and saddles screwed down to hold the wire in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Elen Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Looking good Mark👍 Mine are not epoxied in. Just saddle clamped. How are you liking wing building? It’s my favourite part of a build. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Posted by Mark Elen on 09/09/2019 20:57:32: Looking good Mark👍 Mine are not epoxied in. Just saddle clamped. How are you liking wing building? It’s my favourite part of a build. Cheers Mark I do enjoy my building wether it's the wings, fuselage or any other part of the aircraft. Some people get satisfaction from completing the daily crossword, I get mine from having something I made that actually gives pleaure after it's completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven S Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Using saddle clamps rather than epoxy will allow the horizontal section of the wire to act as a torsion bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Posted by Mark Ellis 1 on 09/09/2019 22:18:40: Posted by Mark Elen on 09/09/2019 20:57:32: Looking good Mark👍 Mine are not epoxied in. Just saddle clamped. How are you liking wing building? It’s my favourite part of a build. Cheers Mark I do enjoy my building wether it's the wings, fuselage or any other part of the aircraft. Some people get satisfaction from completing the daily crossword, I get mine from having something I made that actually gives pleaure after it's completed. I have had a good look at your build Mark by the way.........quite impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Elen Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Thanks Mark👍 I really enjoyed it. Really good that Peter is here too, to give you a nudge in the right direction if you need it. Keep posting the pictures. We all love a build blog. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis 1 Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 Posted by Mark Ellis 1 on 27/10/2019 16:38:50: So I haven't gone away, I'm still building my Ballerina. As you can seeI have started on the Port wing and hoping to put many more hours in to the build now the dark nights have arrived. Progress was slowed following a holiday to RC Hotel in Corfu plus a little experiment in Gyros ( which cost me a few bob) and a repair job or two on a couple of my other models lol. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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