flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

My comp. has been at the shop for a few days, so today its supposed to be an ice storm,, I go get my puter from the shop , head to the main hobby store for balsa, before the storm hits, their closed for the weather,,so I go to Janets crafts,,they have balsa but its like 10 different sized sticks,no planks except 1 piece of bass wood, sooo on to Martys Arts supplies,,closed for the pending ice storm,,so I'm holed up at home waiting on the storm ,,it is actually snowing as I write this about as slow as you could possibly imagine,,at a flakes/hour amount,ah well its past my bedtime anyway and I have my Schoolboy from BobHH's EarlyRC I bought for my .020 peewee ( last call to help me find a throttle sleeve for it?,((no its not))) the shrike went to the back burner because of the 1/2a 4 star and the schoolboy, I gave Fireman a copy of the 1/2a 4star at the meet,,and I bought some glue sticks to try that method to cut all the ribs out on the bandsaw at the same time.....good to be back,, the puter store wiped out my entire favorite section so I came here first!!

BMatthews

Sounds like it's time for someone to mail order in a Big Batch 'o Balsa so they can't be caught by surprise like this......

.... (as I swivel my chair around to look fondly at my Big Box 'o Balsa that rivals a big LHS's stock)......

I'm not making any promises but I'm hoping to start on a model for this in the next day or two. My biggest problem is that I've been away from the Xacto knife for so long now that I'm caught trying to decide what to make first!

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Thats good advice Bruce, I may peruse the Tower catalog for a new stash, cause even if open, the 3 combined store have a marginal supply of wood and I know what I need,, it is a lot of wood even though it wouldnt be half as build up as the real 4 star,,no sheer webs or stuff like that.....but while I'm here and since I have to go with the .061 and its a low wing, not a floater, what weight is gonna be good for it???range? it is 35 " ws with a 5.25 chord. plus ailerons,,I need to know what to build toward weight wise...would really like to go .074 with it and may after the contest,, but need to build it for the .061 norvel, all input is welcome..Rog

BobHH

My Feedback: (18)

Rog, just got in today a throttle sleeve for the .020 from Steve Adams. Looks great ! Now waiting for the parts for the Tee Dee .020 I got at BARKS so I can have another .020 with throttle. I am not sure on what to put it on yet. I want to start my contest plane but I am behind on kit orders again and trying to get caught up. Maybe next week....


Bob Harris
Early RC Models
www.earlyrcmodels.com

BMatthews

That's a bit small for the wing there Rog. I'd fudge the design a little and widen it to 6 or even a full inch to 6.25 if I was you. The 061 will be PLENTY of power for that bird and still be super sporty. An 074 would put the model more into the full on 3D category.

It's no secret that I like light weight models so my first inclination is to say 16 oz. But in truth it'll flly OK up to probably 18 to 20 although your low speed flying will suffer and stall recovery at that weight will suffer and the vertical will suffer and.... well, you get the picture... Or am I preaching again?

Webbing of the spars is still a good idea even at this size. Webbing ties in the upper and lower elements so you can use smaller wood for spars than you would otherwise use but it'll still be stronger than the larger unwebbed wood. Just some 1/32 glued on the front or back edges will make a HUGE difference even at these sizes.

For wood I'd suggest you go to the specialty places like Lone Star or one of the others. There's lots of others but I can't remember then at the moment. Tower sells bulk wood but I doubt it's graded at all so it's a bit of a gamble.

BMatthews

Here's a [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Balsa_wood_supplier/m_2540180/tm.htm]LINK[/link] to a thread in Scratch BUilding about balsa suppliers.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Hi Rog, I was hoping to score on a bulk balsa buy at the swap meet. No luck on that one.[&o] Like Bruce tho I have a decent stash

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

Rog, Vic, etc.

I too have tried to buy balsa at the Swap Meets but I've had the best luck at the bi uns like Wrams and Toldeo (which I haven't been to in years). Maybe the Southwest show would be a possible source. Also, I agree with the recommendation to buy from the specialized suppliers. What I used to do is make up a 'wish list' and check the magazine adds for the best price. Then go with the low bidder. Sometimes their bundle prices can work out weel too particularly if you can use shorter sheets. A good local source for people near Fuquay-Varina, NC (yeah, for those non Carolina 1/2A Crew people that is a real name) you can't beat Johnny Johnson. He's a super nice guy, is open two evenings a week, and doesn't change his prices on old stock (which includes 4-6 pound goodies).

Yes, I too plan to really hunker down and start cutting balsa on the Skyrocket contest project - soon.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Hey Vicman, I've never seen any bulk balsa at our swap meet before maybe you could bring some next time? Bruce I went with Lonestar,,since I bought a couple of ace kits from them, I dont think they still have any but they are still listed...order a bundle to make my 4 star and some extra ply for my stash.....good advice.....Rog

Will look at the extra inch for the wing if it doesnt throw the look off too bad....gotta be scale you know.....Actually the 4 star is a GIANT simple series the way its built

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

BobHH I just emailed Steve about getting just a sleeve from him since I have a lathe to turn the cylinder down with..Bruce I just double checked and the ACE foam wings are slightly shorter in both chord and length than my wing plan...and I would really rather stay scale with this....I did make an order with Lone Star online...Oh Bob I may ask for your printer services on the 4 star,,hoping to stir up some interest in my club for 1/2a maybe with some free plans at the next meeting, I will contact you about that later..Brain got a set maybe you could copy his after he pieces them together?..Rog