bruce88123

Yeah, my little nickname for them. I like them and it is nothing personal. Just to be different.

Does your scanner leave it in raster or in vector format. My CAD programs work in vector of course. Most scanners leave data in raster and then you have to convert before you can modify. If you are just looking to reprint, no conversion is needed. Be careful it doesn't adjust the scale on you though.

We have a roll feed plotter here that I have access to and can plot about 4 ft wide by whatever length I need as long as the roll is full. I've seen them do 40 footers.
I usually just email my drawings over to the dept and they run them for me when the printer/plotter isn't busy

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

Sounds like a similar setup to what we have. It's a two part machine: scanner and roll feed plotter (glorified inkjet really). I think ours only prints as wide as 36" though, not 48" like yours, so I wouldn't be able to reprint at work (hello Kinko's!).

I'm not sure about the format, but raster should be fine since I'm only going to use the scans for reprints. And I'll definitely be checking all the settings to make sure it scans at 100%. Should I need vector for some reason, I have people who could convert it for me.

I am wondering how large a file the plans will create when I scan them. They're 38" by 50" which isn't exactly small, and I intend to scan at high resolution.

tychoc

LOL. bruce, you didn't specify if they were glued in with epoxy or just CA......

-tychoc

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Naw, just sit them in there... they'll be good. (BTW, CA doesn't work - I tried that )
I'm getting the urge to try an experiment, similar to the SAE competition just to find out.... Might actually be kind of funny in a sick, twisted sort of way....

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Kiswa,
It's great to see another flyer get into building. I can assure you that it will be one of the most rewarding things you can do in this hobby, just ask Mountaineerfan36 about the silly grin on his face when his 4-star finally flew!!

I was reading through your post and I didn't see mention of one important thing, something flat to build on. While ceiling tile is good for pinning to, it will conform to the shape of the surface it's sitting on. The biggest key to building a good flying plane is to build the wings and fuselage straight, this is done by building on a flat surface. I use a 2'x6' hollow door I purchase at Lowe's. If you ask for one that's been damaged you can get them pretty cheap. Lay that down and then put your ceiling tile on top of that. It will make for an absolutely flat building surface.

Other than that, I wish you the best of luck on your build.

Ken

bruce88123

KISWA - I think you are right, our plotter may be @ 36 inch too, it's about 1/2 mile from here in the drafting dept. High dollar inkjet is right, about a 1/4 inch every pass of the head. Big plots can take a while. They used to have a penplotter but this is much more accurate it seems. No paper feed errors.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

It looks like I'm going to be building on the back porch. The wife isn't terribly excited about me building in the house, and I don't want to build in the garage (it's hotter than the back porch).

On the back porch, I have a stone topped table. I'd say it's pretty darn flat, and that's going to be the surface supporting the ceiling tile. Fortunately, I also have an oscillating fan I can take out there with me while I build. You'll probably never see where I will be working on the plane. I'm thinking I'll be taking all the photos inside in the guest room (where all the supply photos so far have been taken) as that's where I'll be storing my progressing model as I go along.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Sounds like that will work, just watch out for rain.

Might be interesting to see photos from the porch, I haven't seen any from where someone built outside. It would be a nice change in scenery. [8D]

krossk

My Feedback: (27)

Interesting - just be sure that if/when you move your building board inside that the glue has completely dried and that the inside location is as close to flat as possible. It doesn't do much good to lay it up flat and then let it dry crooked.

I'd love to be able to build on the back porch, but with my building season, I'm not sure how well snow and wood glue would mix [sm=bananahead.gif]

bruce88123

It's usually easier, I think, to heat a portion of the garage than air condition it. It's way too hot in my garage, heat index today of 110+. Thankfully I have a spare bedroom turned into a shop area. Snug but workable, keep the big tools in the garage.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

The porch is covered, so rain shouldn't be an issue.

I'll definitely be careful about moving in-work parts from the porch to the house. I certainly don't want to build straight and dry warped. (EDIT: I'll probably just put the thing on the floor, that should be pretty flat and we don't have children or pets yet to mess it up.)

That would just be depressing.

I wish I could build indoors, but I think it's better to go with outside work to appease my wife. She's been overworked at her job lately, so she hasn't had much fuse left for when I see her and immediately start gushing about my plans for building this plane. Apparently, having my first kit isn't the coolest thing ever.

DamonTX

Oh boy...and this is most likely just the beginning. You need to find her a hobby or do the dollar for dollar plan like many of us do. Except it seems she gets 2-3$ for every dollar I spend on RC but hey she doesn't complain anymore.

bruce88123

I don't suppose you can talk her into flying with you like " the jetgod" and his wife Eva or Kyflychick and taildragger21? Seems to work well for them.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Tried that with mine, but after about 10 minutes on a glider, she handed it back and walked away.

Just not interested in flying, but very supportive of my "addiction". Got a little co-pilot in training though, so all is not lost.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

She has absolutely zero interest in RC.

And, (un)fortunately?, I can't get her to spend money on herself no matter how hard I try. The only problem is, she doesn't want me spending the money on myself either. Go figure.

It's all good though. She's generally very happy to see me all excited about RC. They've just been overworking her the last week or so, and she's getting burnt out.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

I'm really looking forward to that myself. We're hoping to have a kid ourselves in the near future. And I will definitely do my best to interest him or her in RC from the get-go.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Trust me, you won't have to try to interest a kid, it's automatic just because that's what daddy's doing. (for a while anyway)

MannyEdge

My Feedback: (9)

It sounds like you have everything you need to start building. What are you waiting for? I have a thread here on RCU in the kit building forum. I started a couple of weeks ago on my SSE and it is my first kit. I was reading through your thread and I was thinking about my building table. I am using a ceiling tile also, but it is over a cardboard table. I am hoping that it is leveled. I have a level in the room and I never thought about checking it to seeing if it was leveled or not. I am going to call my wife. Well, she said it looked pretty level with the tool.

Does anyone know how to check the wings?

Good Luck!!! It is a great kit for beginners. You have to love the detail instructions.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

Work to be over so I can go home and get started!!!

bruce88123

Check the wings? About 80 mph across the field and then an 8G pull up should check it pretty well.

The key word is not "level", it is "flat". Often confused and mis-used.

Laying a long straight edge across your table will quickly tell you if it is "flat" or not. You may want to place your tile on top of MDF or Melanine (sp) as these usually stay fairly flat. A piece of coated shelving isn't too expensive and available at Home Depot/Lowes.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

I was just about to edit my previous post to say that, but you beat me to it.

Level is good, but flat is what matters for a straight wing and fuselage. If you build on a warped surface (even if it's level) you build a warped wing or fuselage.

My having a flat stone-topped table on the back porch is a good thing, 'cause I know that sucker is flat!

bruce88123

I hate building on lumpy stones.

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

smartarse

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

Question!

Should I mark all the parts in the kit so I'll know exactly what each part is? Or would I be able to figure it out by the plans? I'm mainly thinking about all the wing ribs here.

What do you guys think?

EDIT: Speaking of the plans, I scanned them in this morning. They are in two .tiff files and each one is about 130MB. Very nice scans though, so I'm not at all worried about cutting up the plans to work on them. I can always print out new ones from my scans!

bruce88123

If the ribs have differences I would mark them. I use a fine Sharpie and try to mark in an area that won't show thru the covering on the spars and things like that. Probably can mark the ribs anywhere. Mark lightly to not damage the wood.