Martin McIntosh Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Thanks Geoff, it was the colour which threw me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share Posted October 30, 2020 I decided to glass the air intakes as I think it will add a bit of strength and also be a better surface for painting. I used epoxy resin for this. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted November 1, 2020 Author Share Posted November 1, 2020 I have added the air vents to the top hatch and also 3d printed and fitted a sprung catch. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 Been a bit busy with other stuff lately but have fitted the mylar hinges into the control surfaces and pinned them with cocktail sticks. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 I have finished fitting and pinning all the control surfaces and thought I would put all the pieces together, for the first time, and see how it looks. As we are in lockdown again, I think I will go ahead with the painting and have it fully finished before the maiden. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Geoff, looks like you have been making some great progress! I stalled for a while with life getting in the way, but looking to pick it up again now. Im left with a couple of problems I need to solve after I was sent the wrong retracts. First one is that I’ve got holes in the place that the front retract goes that I need to close off before trying to mount the new retract. Any tips on the best way to do that? I remember seeing an article on this for firewalls a while back so I might start digging through old magazines, but thought it was worth asking before I do that. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 If the holes are just a little out as is usually the case you could try filling them with epoxy or gluing a thin ply plate over or underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 I have been doing little bits here and there: Glued one the side air intakes Installed the LiFe batteries, lighting PCB and redundancy receiver as far forward as I could. And added some detail to the cockpit. Almost ready for painting I think. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Looking great. What size of LiFe batteries are they? Assuming that you are going to paint it red you will need to apply white primer first because red by itself tends to be a bit translucent and it could turn out blotchy. White underneath will bring out the colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 Thanks Martin, the batteries are Zippy 1100's As I had used red in the 'sauce' i was hoping that I would get away without having to use primer, as I am doing all I can to try and keep the weight down. The paint is B&Q Valspar that I had mixed and seems to cover quite well. I might have to do some tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 I had some Ferarri Red water based paint mixed up at great expense; a mistake because I should have got acrylic which I thought at the time was the same thing. It would not harden over Halfords primer but it fine with a coat of fuel proof lacquer. Surprisingly it also bled very badly through the masking tape edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad_flyer Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 I have just noticed your clamp joiner. Very good idea, makes a long clamp without going to one that is really too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 Little bit more done: I have CNC cut all the horns from epoxy sheet and installed them. At this point I thought I would put everything together so I could weigh it before final painting and see how I am doing with the CofG. The AUW with everything execpt the push rods is 4.6kg. I can achieve the CofG with no added nose weight but the batteries need to be pushed well forward (a couple of inches beyond the battery tray. This is going to give me issues securing the batteries. I need to do a bit of head scratching. Maybe split the canopy and make the back half removable, or perhaps some sort of sliding battery tray affair? More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Same problem with mine which is one reason (excuse?) for not taking it to the field. Sorry TN but all of your designs turn out tail heavy (Hawk, Hunter, Gnat, Hurricane, Provost, 62 and 72" Spits, Vulcan, etc etc. I am very particular about the grade of wood I use at the rear ends. Most of my own designs need weight in the tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 So, spent a couple of days tinkering with the battery tray and have come up with this: First job was to remove the unwanted bit from the original tray I then cut a new tray and added some 3d printed locking blocks. Then cut some slots for the locking blocks to fit in. I then added a back piece and some slotted tabs for fitting velcro straps. I re-inforced these with some cocktail stick pegs. The last thing was to make a locking catch. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham R Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Geoff, Could I ask you how you go about designing and drawing your air intakes as I need to print some for a couple of projects. I use fusion360 for simple things such as servo mounts etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 Hi Graham, I am also using Fusion360. I'm still learning as I go. I started by drawing a rectangle the size that I need and then extrude it into a cube. Then draw an elipse on the top face and extrude away the bit you don't want, which gives you this: Then I select the top edge and produce a fillet: I then use the shell comand to hallow it out: I then select the inside face of the flat end and extrude it away: Hope that makes some sort of sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 If you print it and find the dimensions aren't correct, I find it easier to change this in the slicing software (I use Cura) rather that going back to Fusion to edit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham R Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Thank you very much Geoff.You have ben a great help. Much appreciated. I will now give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham R Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Hi Geoff, I have managed to design and print one. Thanks for your help once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Looks good to me, well done young man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 So, here is the battery tray finished off. I have glued some anti-slip material to the base. Next job is to glue on the canopy. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 Canopy going on. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew exton Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 17/01/2021 at 17:08, Geoff Gardiner said: Canopy going on. /sites/3/images/member_albums/42665/886687.jpg /sites/3/images/member_albums/42665/886688.jpg More later... hi did this get finished & flown andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 Hi Andy, It's on hold at the moment because I have lost my workshop/building space whilst I re-jig my house. Hopefully will be back on it soon as it is nearly there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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