Stephen Belshaw Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 A slight change of plan on the elevator servo, I couldn't get it installed on one side of the fuselage as intended and at the same time leave enough room to route the snake inners that will take the closed loop steel cable. Instead I fabricated a 1/16" ply plate to place the servo centrally and leave just enough room either side for the snake inners: Servo in place with the ball joint visible that couples with the peg on the elevator: From below showing how snug it is: And from the side: Rudder and elevator hinged with Robart style hinges, fibreglass control horn bonded in to the rudder, so that about clears up the back end: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 Forming the coaming over the rear turtle deck and routing the wing cables that will feed both ailerons and airbrakes: A little more work on the cowling, gradually taking shape: And, thanks to the tip off from Kevin b, I sourced a file for the VW aero engine on GrabCad which I can print on my Anycubic Vyper. This is the second attempt which will be refined for the "production" version. I still need to figure out how to do the Heath Robinson exhaust system: Tail feathers completed and covered in very old stock silver Solar-film and HobbyKing Carmine Red. They can be tucked away now, safe from hangar rash: Building a joiner box to carry the wiring and wing fixings, I'm deviating from the plans which utilise small screws and rubber bands to retain the wings, instead I'm proposing to use mini click-fix nylon wing retainers (one per wing) which will be fixed at max wing thickness position: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 That looks great!! How do you get a gap between the pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarlyBird Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 This shows you how Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 8 minutes ago, Peter Miller said: That looks great!! How do you get a gap between the pictures? Just press the return key after each picture, I usually tap it three times. I do drag and drop my files in to the main box though rather than uploading a selected file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Now moving on to the wings. Peter suggests laying down the lower cap strips and sheeting, then bonding the spars to them, followed by the ribs and then the trailing edge and so on. I've never built a wing this way before, it seems the TE is notched to accept the ribs but the ribs are shaped to a fine point and would be the wrong angle as they flow in to the TE. Unless I'm misinterpreting something, perhaps Peter could shed some light on this for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarlyBird Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Any photos of the plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarlyBird Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 also is there a section through the ribs?, there usually is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 I have just been through the original article an cannot see any reference to the trailing edge. The magazine only shows a very small plan of the fuselage and no wing plan so I am not sure where the references to the TE is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 (edited) Had another look at this and did a dry fit with everything in it's correct place, seems I made a schoolboy error or suffered a senior moment by neglecting to factor in the cap strips! Stand easy chaps! I can see I'm going to have to be super accurate notching out the trailing edge .......... Edited December 30, 2021 by Stephen Belshaw Typo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Glad that you worked it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 Moving on to the wings, I thought this was going to be quite time consuming but, batch producing the cap strips, scarfe joining the spruce spars and leaving overnight for the aliphatic to set, plus everything else being laser cut, put me in position to crack on with what turned out to be a fairly quick process: I came across one small snag, the half ribs around the aileron area were all too short, maybe a mismatch between the plan and the laser cutting files: A bit of scrap infill will quickly sort that and will be buttressed by the 1/4" sheet trailing edge, using a combination of Superphatic and CA the first wing was soon done in its basic form and quickly followed by the second: Whilst all this was going off I had the 3D printer running and in between balsa bashing sessions let loose on my artistic side in order to furnish the T31M with a pilot: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Looking great!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 On 29/12/2021 at 14:54, Stephen Belshaw said: Forming the coaming over the rear turtle deck and routing the wing cables that will feed both ailerons and airbrakes: A little more work on the cowling, gradually taking shape: And, thanks to the tip off from Kevin b, I sourced a file for the VW aero engine on GrabCad which I can print on my Anycubic Vyper. This is the second attempt which will be refined for the "production" version. I still need to figure out how to do the Heath Robinson exhaust system: Tail feathers completed and covered in very old stock silver Solar-film and HobbyKing Carmine Red. They can be tucked away now, safe from hangar rash: Building a joiner box to carry the wiring and wing fixings, I'm deviating from the plans which utilise small screws and rubber bands to retain the wings, instead I'm proposing to use mini click-fix nylon wing retainers (one per wing) which will be fixed at max wing thickness position: Stephen where do I get the minifix click wing fixings. I cant find them anywhere, please Bas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Bas, these are what I bought https://www.lindinger.at/en/Building-Accessories-More/Catalogues-Promotional-Items/TOPMODEL-CLIP-FIXING-MINI-ARRANGEMENT-2-PAIRS-FOR-WING-MOUNTING/9708832 As I mentioned before I am in Hungary so that supplier is convenient for me, they will ship to the UK I think if you cannot find them locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 (edited) Stephen, cant quite fathom out how they work. I assume that the hollow screw fits in the wing, the long screw base /split end fit in the fuzz and the split end pushes in the hollow section in the wing. So it's the shoulders on the split end that do the holding. Use the wedge to just lever the wing off.!!! dont the shoulders wear down in time? Bas Edited January 5, 2022 by Basil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 6, 2022 Author Share Posted January 6, 2022 15 hours ago, Basil said: Stephen, cant quite fathom out how they work. I assume that the hollow screw fits in the wing, the long screw base /split end fit in the fuzz and the split end pushes in the hollow section in the wing. So it's the shoulders on the split end that do the holding. Use the wedge to just lever the wing off.!!! dont the shoulders wear down in time? Bas Although I've had similar on previous models I've never actually used this specific type before, the T31M will be the first, but my understanding is that the long bit goes in the wing and the shorter female end goes in the fus. Previous ones I had were retained by a circular spring, like a mini keyring, but these are friction fit and I have heard that they can be a bit of a fight to "unclip", they will also need very accurate alignment to function well. I'm not to far off from fitting them so we'll see ................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 6, 2022 Author Share Posted January 6, 2022 Quick question for Peter. The plan shows webbing only on the front face of the front spars, coming from a glider background I'm used to taking them all the way out to the wingtip. No webs on the reverse to form an enclosed box around the brass wing joiner tubes and nothing at all on the rear spars. I'm assuming that the struts do the work the webbing would otherwise have done and that I have correctly interpreted the plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 My standard wing structure for aerobatic models is leading edge sheet back to the spar and just webs all along the front face of the spare. However I can't really remember on this model. IT does look as if I did not use webs beyond the brass tube. It also looks as if I didn't use webs on the rear spar but I would have filled in between the spars with balsa round the tubes. If you want to add webs all down the spar please feel free to do so. I have to admit that when I look at another person's plan I quite often say "I wouldn't have done it that way!" and so I have absolutely no objection to people building for my plans to say the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Thanks for the reply Peter. I'm building this closely following your instructions from the RCM&E February 2010 edition, using it as a learning curve for building something other than my normal gliders so will stick with it as is I think. I now have the leading edge on and the wing panel feels strong enough and also very light so, not looking for extra work or adding weight I'll carry on as per the plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Well I used to throw mine around a bit (Not too wildly) and it never failed. The struts take a lot of that load. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Wing building continues. Top sheeting added, leading edge and top cap strips. Trailing edges notched out with three hacksaw blades taped together, quick, easy and accurate leaving just enough wood to fine tune with a file: Wing tips built using the supplied laser cut flat sheet and scrap, ailerons finished and roughly shaped: Airbrakes made from laminations of 1/32" ply and 1/16" balsa, simple sheeting surround: Leaving me with a pair of basic wing structures needing servo installation, wing joiner tubes, root area top sheeting and sanding: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Lying in bed in the early hours thinking, I wondered if you might be interested in building my Easter Eagle Senior. This powered glider is big. 82" span but with a very low aspect ratio wing. The result is a glider with amazing performance. I sold mine to a friend who uses it with a compact Canon camera. He flies at Minchinghampton Common and is always amused when the local glider fliers turn up...try and fly,then say "No lift today" and go home while his Easter Eagle is staying up for an hour on a 2200 Mah battery. My Easter Eagles have proved my theory about low aspect ratio gliders over a long time but the best proof came at a huge Vintage Glider Rally a few years ago at Tibbenham. There it was a perfect day, calm, warm and sunny. Gathered at the rally where all the great names is high performance gliders from the past, Minimoas, Rhonsperbers etc. About midday a huge thermal came through and everyone scramble to get airborne.It was a wonderful sight to see at least 20 great sailplanes going up in the lift. What really made my day with the proof of my theory because right at the very top and going up faster than all the others was a Slingsby Sedbergh.. Yes, the good old "Barge"! Two Easter Eagles in formation. I seem to remember that the smaller one was the 55" span version A shot of my village taken from the EE Sr from over a mile away. The arrow is pointing at my house. I am not sure if the EE Sr plans are available from Sarik. Must check but I have PDFs if they are not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Belshaw Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Well, that's an interesting proposition Peter but it would have to slot in to a very long build queue! Still available at Sarik https://www.sarikhobbies.com/product/mag1516-easter-eagle/ Purely from an aesthetic point of view though I'm not a fan of V tails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 The one at Sarik is my original 55" one from many years ago. They don't list the Senior one so if you care to PM me you email address I can send you the PDFs. You can easily change the tail design. I like the V tail as it protects it against landing in rough ground but I don't mind people changing things to suit their own preferences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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