WacoNut

I have a air powered 1/2" belt sander that eats blasa
It works great for breaking over edges and removing large ammounts of wood, you just have to be careful because it will eat anything. I sanded the fuse as you see it in about 10 minutes
Anthony

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

I use a razor plane quite a bit but a friend just put me on to a spokeshave. It works great!
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLJ10&P=7

WacoNut

I trimmed the canopy and the cowl and have the cowl halves taped together and everything sitting on the plane. So far it is shaping up nice. It will be about a month before I order the radio gear and engine for this plane so I am going to strip some servo's out of another plane so I can continue with the build.
Anthony

mmattockx

Make that one kit left, I just ordered the other one... I have liked the looks of this model for a long time and came close to ordering the plans from MAN a couple of times. Since they are about to disappear, I figured I better pull my finger out and get the order in. CubNut, I will be following this thread to the end for tips when I get at mine.


Mark

WacoNut

Mark,
You will like the kit, this is my 1st build with a foam wing and it was easy. I will be glad to walk you thru anything on the build if you need it.
Anthony

mmattockx

Hey Anthony,

I am looking forward to the build. I have a serious backlog of kits and plans to work through, but I didn't want to miss out on this model while I had the chance. The foam wing will be no problem, I have built a number of balsa/foam wings and I really like this construction method.

For anyone unsure of dealing with foam, check out Terry Brox's pattern wing construction page, it is a Bible for foam wing construction:

http://www.mackrc.net/patternwings2/index.htm


Mark

WacoNut

Mark,
I visited that site and got some good tips there, I had to deviate from his tips slightly due to know having a hot wire cutter.
Anthony

WacoNut

I finally made it to the hobby shop to pick up the control rods, tail wheel gear and a few other odds and ends. Unfortunately they were out of Robart hinges so it will require another trip in a week or two.
I was dissapointed to find the hobby shop that I normally go to which was 30 miles from my house went out of business and I had to drive another 10-15 miles to the next hobby shop. I always try to buy as much as I can from the local guys to help keep them in business. At the rate things are going I will have no choice but to order everything online[:@]
I will work on getting the control rods in and the tail wheel assembly worked out and hooked up then I will be able to finish the fuselage sheeting and shaping. I will post some pics later.
Anthony

WacoNut

I have the tail wheel assembly made, it will control the rudder at the same time. I need to take it to work tomorrow and weld a metal control horn to the wire before installing. I just noticed that I got in a hurry and removed the tape and rubber bands too soon that I had holding the foreward fuselage to the firewall wile the epoxy was setting up. The lower fuselage sides pulled away from the firewall approx. 1/8" . Now I have to grind that epoxy away and epoxy the firewall again. I will get that fixed up and let everything sit until tomorrow. Live and learn, I knew better than to remove the tape until the epoxy had time to fully cure.
Anthony

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Hi Anthony, The hobby shop issue is getting more major all the time. The closest to me is 60 miles. Most all of my purchases today are on line to the "big guys". We have them to thank for running the "little guys" out of business. More and more businesses are effected from the big guys in more ways than one. I know you understand what i mean. I have some Robart hinges hanging around. What size and how many do you need?

WacoNut

Thats a really nice offer,
I am using the standard hinge points on this plane, I think the super hinge points is a bit overkill on this size plane. I will be using 12 hinges on the plane.
Later Bud!!
Anthony

WacoNut

Well my 1st attempt at making the tail wheel wire assembly was a disaster,
I bent the wire to the correct shape and didn't think much about the control horn I was going to have to attach to it until I had it assembled. I could not get the horn to attach with silver solder and when I tried to tack weld it on this morning I burnt right thru the gear wire[:@] Back to the drawing board, I will bend another wire and I will get the control horn wire wrapped and silver soldered on before I attach the platic mount/bearing. Doing it this way I can use my propane torch to get a good bond with the silver solder.
Once I get this worked out I will install the control rods and hook up the rudder/tail wheel. I will then be able to complete the construction of the fuse. If all goes well I will be covering the plane weekend after next, the plane will be covered with Sig Koveral and I will fill the weave of the fabric with Minwax PolyC. Panel line and rivet detail will be applied. I have decided to paint the plane all white then put blue and green stripeing.
I will post some pics of the tail wheel gear when I have it finished.
Anthony

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Just checked the hinge stock. I have 2 packages of the large hinges and 1 opened package of the standard hinges with (guess how many),,,,,, 11. Go figure. Do you want them?

WacoNut

I just checked and I have 1 hinge in my parts cabinet If you will send them I will take them.
I just finished up making the new tail wheel gear and this time it worked out. The control horn is silver soldered on and I can twist the wire by holding the control horn and it will not budge so I guess it will hold in flight.
Anthony

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Glad you got the tail wheel worked out. Hinges will be on the way tomorrow.

WacoNut

Thanks Bud,
I have the fin epoxied into place and when that has cured I will mount the tail wheel gear and epoxy in the servo rails so I can mount the servo's and install the control rods.
Anthony

WacoNut

Here are some pics of the tail wheel assembly I made,
It will allow the linkage to remain inside the fuse and control the rudder and tail wheel at the same time. The plans call for individual control rods, this setup will save weight and trouble with maintenance down the road.
The dorsal fin will require some filling where it meets the fin and some sanding but the plane is starting to take shape.
Anthony

WacoNut

I have the rudder and elevator servo's mounted and the control rods installed,
The rudder/tail wheel assembly worked out great, there is absolutely no slop in the setup. I can now work on finishing up the fuselage assmebly over the next few days.
Anthony

WacoNut

I didn't get any work completed on the plane since last weekend, just too busy at work and long hours.
I did receive the hinges from OldScaleGuy and a nice gift along with them I will be putting alot of hours into the plane this weekend. I plan on finishing up the fuse sheeting and getting the wing saddle shaped and the wing mounting completed. I also picked up some Minwax sanding sealer to seal all the wood for preperation of covering. I will get all the hinges temporarily installed and everyting dry fitted. The cowling needs alot of trimming to get the 2 halves to match up then glass the inside of the joint. If I can get all this accomplished this weekend I should be ready for covering next weekend. I will post pics of my progress as I go this weekend.
Anthony

WacoNut

I have the wing saddle roughed in and the bottom sheeting glued on. I am using Elmer's Wood Glue to glue the sheeting on because I will be sanding into the joint when I contour the fuse to shape and the Elmer's sands much easier and wil leave a smooth surface. Once the glue is dry I will shape the bottom of the fuse then finish up the wing saddle and mount the wing.
I will work on hingeing the flying surfaces while I wait on the fuse to dry.
Anthony

WacoNut

I have the aileron's hinged,
The Robart hinges are installed in the aileron's, IMO these are the best hinges on the market. I am using 3 hinges per aileron. The fuse sheeting appears to be dry enough to start sanding. I will shape the fuse then finish up the wing saddle.
Anthony

WacoNut

I have the aft end of the fuse bottom shaped, turned out real nice.
The wing saddle has been trimmed up and I have the wing marked to the fuse ready to drill the 1/4" holes thru the fuse former and the leading edge of the wing for the 1/4" dowels. Now all I have to do is get my wife to come down and help me hold everything in position while I drill, that will be the toughest part of the build
Anthony

WacoNut

All the flying surfaces are now hinged,
I am going to install the wing mounting blocks in the fuse and close up the foreward bottom section of the fuse. There is ample room to install the tank and set-up the throttle linkage through the wing saddle. I have alot of work remaining, I need to add the wing saddle fillet and fillets at the tail feathers. Once this is complete I can give the plane a final sanding and a coat of sanding sealer in preperation for covering.
I am not going to use the wheel pants that came with the kit, I have a set from another plane that are a little more streamlined and should look very good on the plane.
Here are a couple pics of the plane dry fitted together standing on it's legs!!
Anthony

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Anthony, very nice!!! What do you use to make your wing fillets? Being an old traditionalist i have used Epoxilite over the years but i don't know that you can get that any longer. I have to do wing fillets on the plane i am working on soon.

WacoNut

On the Aircoupe's I used lightweight body filler, I am debating on how to make the fillets on the Chipmunk. I may make some ribs and sheet over them with 1/16" balsa for the back half and just use some tri stock for the front half and sand to shape. The fillets are not that large on this plane so it may be difficult to form sheeting for the fillets. I also thought about trying some lightweight spackleing compound. It sands easily and I could then give it a light coating of epoxy after sanding. I will post how I make my fillets when I finally make up my mind.
I just finished drilling and tapping the wing mounting blocks and I am getting ready to put a 1/16 ply plate over the wing bolt holes for strength. I will then work on the wing saddle and get the 1/16" fillet base epoxied into position and start worrying about building the fillets.
Later!!
Anthony