RE: Hog Bipe Build - 2009
Step 1 cont.
This plane may be used with floats. To help ensure that the inside of the fuse stays dry the hole in the FW is filled with a putty made of 2-part Finishing Resin & micro-balloons. Sized holes for throttle and fuel lines will be drilled later. Oh, the AL60 engine mount has a cross member that nearly covers the hole requiring a relocation of the fuel lines.
Building note: I like to develop a saturated putty of resin and micro-balloons for each of the 2-parts. After making the 2 globs I mix them together to ensure that I have plenty of time to work with them before the mixture sets up. I keep a glob of unused putty when I’m away from the model so that I can monitor how the drying of the epoxy is progressing. When it gets to the consistency of cold cookie dough I will trim the area filled with a razor blade or Xacto knife to keep sanding to a minimum.
I created a solid (aka no stringer notches) version of F1A and epoxied it to the back of the FW.
Step 2 - F-5A is epoxied to F-5.
Building Note: When gluing wood I position the softer stuff proud of the harder stuff so that when sanding for sheeting or covering I sand soft balsa rather than hard lite ply. This applies especially for wing ribs & spars too. Also, when using epoxy I trace the outlines of the smaller component on the bigger one. I use a craft painter’s spatula to apply the epoxy within the lines – a very thin and consistent application. Once the pieces are positioned and clamped / pinned / weighted I use a cotton swab soaked in alcohol to clean all perimeter joints of spooged out epoxy to minimize sanding issues, ensure good fitment and improve cosmetic looks.
Step 3 – Fit 6-32 blind nuts to the LG plate. To fit the Dubro LG I created a new LG plate to size. I located, drilled and fitted 4 6-32 blind nuts that align with the predrilled holes of the LG.
Step 4 – F-3B is epoxied to F-3.
Building Note: The instructions suggest aligning the pieces with a drill bit. I had a couple of ¼” dowel pieces that I inserted in the holes before clamping the pieces. Once clamped, the pieces were removed and all glue boundary surfaces were cleaned with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.
Step 5 – Epoxy fuse sides & doublers.
Building Note: The doubler was carefully positioned on the fuse side and nailed to the board using 8d spikes. I traced the outline of the doubler. I positioned the new larger LG plate on the doubler and marked the doubler for cutting. The doublers were cut and sanded for the new LG plate. I put a thin coat of 30 minute epoxy inside the tracing lines. The doublers were re-positioned using the alignment holes. All exposed glue joints were cleaned with a cotton swab saturated in alcohol. The doublers were then weighted.
TTFN,