speedracerntrixie

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Got all the foam cut had had to mock one of them up. Now the fun begins. The vacuum pump is going to be running for about a week. Any suggestions on who had balsa at good prices? I just figured out that I will need 40 sheets of 1/16x4x42 and 20 sheets of 1/16x4x36..........$$$$

d boothe

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If that is your wife helping you cut wings for a model you should be ashamed. Never have i seen that in this hobby! Just kidding, How are you sheeting the wings, glue, epoxy?

JeffH

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Where are you getting your foam?

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I don't know about ashamed but I do feel like a very lucky Bast****. Yes that is the wife helping me cut foam. If you look at the top left corner of the pic, you can see my two warbird racing airplanes. She learned to cut foam on those two airplanes. Right below those is the fuse to my sailplane. With a huge smile I can tell you that she is my caller for pattern, IMAC, pylon and thermal flying. Who could ask for more?


As far as foam goes. I don't really have a good supplier. There is a place here in the SF bay area that I buy from but I go will call it so I don't have to pay for shipping. Even though a sheet of 4"X4'X8' runs me 115.00. I don't mind that too much as I tend to get 3 sets of 33% wings out of it but the last time I shipped a set, it cost over 50.00 to get them to the destination.


On the two builds I am doing, the wings and tail are sheeted with 1/16" balsa in a combination of 6 lb and 4 lb stock. Usually I like to put the 6 lb sheets at the airfoil hight point and the lighter wood at the leading/trailing edges. I vaccum bag all my sheeting and because of the cold temps I was going to use Poly glue but the wife suggested setting up a folding table withmy bagging equipmentin the living room so I can go with the lighter epoxy method. Epoxy really needs to cure at a min of 65 degrees. If not the first time they are exposed to any real heat you have the possibility of your wings bowing. I have used both epoxy and poly glue with great results for both. I would not go with any kind of contact cement on wings this large, both for strength and weight issues.

d boothe

My Feedback: (16)

Possible lead on foam, your local commercial contractor sales place that sells synthetic stucco, Dryvit, STO, Parex brands and plaster, sheetrock materials will have foam up to 3 or 4" thick sheets around $30.00 for a 2X4 bag. Normally its called EPS, It may not be the density you are looking for but its worth a try. Also any company that cuts foam shapes for stucco work will sell foam pretty cheap. Its very available here in coastal Alabama. Im just not set up to cut wings.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I tried the construction type places and found the foam unacceptable. One really needs virgin foam. The construction stuff is usually partially recycled. What happens is they take foam scraps, grind it up and throw it back into the production process. What happens is you get hard chunks in the foam and it dosent cut as well. It ends up heavier too. Getting the balsa for the wing sheeting is looking like a process as well. Ordering it online is looking like a long lead time and who knows what will show up. My LHS will order it as well from Sig but 48" length of contest balsa dosent seem to be available any longer. There is a local shop that has some 6" and 4" peices, enough to do one set of wings but looks like that is going to run about 100.00 per wing set. Maybe it's time to think hollow composite wings LOL

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

$100 for some sheeting! Yikes, now I know why I can't afford the 30% birds - it's not the gas, it's the wood and paint! Never mind how much MK might be required to cover one of them wings... [:-]

But..., these are very nice birds SRT, there's no denying that. Do you plan to Koverall the fuses or some such? Will the rest be glassed?

David.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

David, in all fairness that is for Sig contest grade balsa. I could do it for half that if I wasn't being so picky with the wood. In the long run the additional 50 bucks will save me around 3 oz per wing panel. The one of the two that I end up keeping should be with me for a few years so the up front investment is worth it to me.

As far as finishing goes, they will be all Ultracote with Monokote trim. I am figuring on two 10M rolls of the Ultacote andfour 6' rolls of Monokote for the trim. I'm not quite ready to reveal the color scheme quite yet but it is very close to one of the Red Bull Race aircraft. Think red white and blue LOL. As far as the glass parts, I have used the Pactra R/C car paints as a base in the past with great results and the trim paint will be Duplicolor, then sprayed with a automotive clear.

I should be finished with the tail section sheeting and will post updated pictures over the weekend. Stay tuned, they are starting to look like airplanes.

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

Looking forward.

I'm interested in seeing how the paint combo turns out for the parts and how it matches to the covering.

Any reason for the particular UC/MK combination as chosen? Does MK trim apply to UC base better than all MK say?

David

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

David, as much as I hate to say it Monokote just isn't what it used to be. The white especially seems almost impossible to work with. Truth be told, I would prefer the old Monokote over Ultracote but as of now the Ultracote is the way to go. As for trim, The method I use to apply trim with Monokote is to apply it like window film with Windex. The Windex will activate the adhisive and you are able to squegee all the air and fluid out from under. After sitting for 24 hours I simply go back over it with an iron and it is there for good. No air bubbles because they were all squegeed out. This method does not work with Ultracote. The Monokote over Ultracote system was used on the 2M Laser pictured erlier on this thread.

d boothe

My Feedback: (16)

I second that, I have had the same issues and results with covering lately. Better looking finish job with MK trim over UC applied with window cleaner. I put mine out in the sun [when available] and let it bake on a few hours.

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

Well, I'll have to try that. I recently used MK white on a sheeted foam wing and it was a good workout (actually the wing's right there in my avatar). I found the only way was to iron down lengthwise along the max airfoil thickness and then iron down and away toward the LE and TE. I happened to have an old roll of white which I used on another model previously and it was a walk in the park compared to this one.

What gets me though is why Horizon sees it fit to charge $16 for a roll of UC when MK sells it for $13. I don't consider UC to be that much better... but I'll try it again. I guess its the German engineering...

I learned a few tricks about it though. 220 degrees glue activation, 300 degrees, it begins to shrink (about 18%), 350 degrees maximum shrinkage and can't be shrunken again later so I'm told one should shrink at the lowest possible shrinking temp so that it leaves you latitude to shrink again in the future after a sun bake for example.

What I'm not crazy about with UC is the "satin" sheen of the finish compared to the "gloss" finish of MK. What do you guys think of the $17 Solarfilm which I believe is made in England?

David.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

The current Ultracote product has a better gloss then it did years ago. Not the same an Monokote but better then it used to be. On my pattern airplane nobody has noticed that the white and all the trim has a different gloss. It's really not that noticable. I usually will keep a coat of wax on it too and that brings up the gloss of the Ultracote quite a bit.

bem

My Feedback: (1)

Hi,
I use TCnano Gelcoat sealing on the planes I have that is covered with Oracover film (same as Ultracote in US).

/Bo

R_G

My Feedback: (1)

I remember using Solarfilm years ago. I was just getting to learn about iron on covering at that time, but I do remember that I did like the way it went on. It seemed to shrink better than Monokote, easier to get over compound curves. I think it was much thinner/lighter than MK which could explain why it shrunk better. I don't remember what the gloss was like, too loooong ago! I'm surprised that it's still available. Is there a North American source for it?

RG

doxilia

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Good to know Ralph. Horizon carries Solarfilm. Andy swears by it.

David

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Been moving right along with the Lasers. Got the tail feathers sheeted and sanded. The wing sheeting will be here on Monday so the weekend projects are to prep the cores and replace the glass parts that I sold. With a little luck I can have all 4 wing panels sheeted in a week. I have to do them one at a time due to the size of my vacuum bagging system.

d boothe

My Feedback: (16)

Just wanted to put in a good word for speedracerntrixie for sending me a cowl, canopy, wheelpantz, vertical stab faring and templates for turtle deck on the 1/3 laser build. He seems to be full of good info and is willing to share. Thanks, need more in the hobby like you. My build is close to starting, waiting on landing gear. Keep up the forum I might need something else!

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Thanks for the kind words Derek, Havent done alot to them lately. I have the root ribs and leading edgeson the cores and need to sand everything in prep of the sheeting. The wing skins are taking more time then I thought, each one is 6 sheets of wood that have to be edge trued and taped together. I did find a gently used DLE 55 and MTW canister setup for a good deal and have that on the way. With any luck I will have a 3 day weekend this week and can make some progress

lfinney

My Feedback: (44)

i wished the UC had MK's adhesive, the lower gloss i can live with but the adhesive is weak at best

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Got some work done during the week. My DLE 55, K&S header and MTW 75 canister showed up ealier in the week so I got that all mocked up. Wing sheeting for both airplanes have been taped together and are waiting for their turn in the vacuum bag. I need to get to Tap Plastics and get some 2 mil mylar before the wings can be sheeted. Looking to have them ready to cover in another month.

speedracerntrixie

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Got one core in the vacuum bag. Some pics in sequence, only 3 more to do!! LOL

speedracerntrixie

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More

d boothe

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that looks awsom! hey how did you do the landing gear block, looks like a solid 1/4" piece of ply in the pic.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Derek, yes it is 1/4" ply. It attaches to F-1 and goes between the bottom stringers. Then the side braces go in place inside of the stringers. Triangle stock is put in the corners inside and then will have a layer of 4oz cloth tieing it all together on the inside. Makes for a strong setup.