Zor

Thanks for the info FlyerlnOKC

I phoned the old LHS ( there is a new Great Hobby near here now ) and I was told "We never carried Monokote trim sheets. Why should we when we sell full rolls" .

This is not a priority for me so these two planes will sit there till the flying season start and if no one wants them they will find the garbage bin. Too bad because they are in good shape.

Regards . . . . de Zor

crowe04

The repairs are well underway and I plan on making some changes along the way, one of which is the way I had the receiver packs installed. The initial mounting had the two receiver packs strapped to the sides of the motor mount. This time I want to make two wooden retainer boxes that are attached to the firewall but still come out either side of the motor mount, similar to how the TopFlite ARF Cessna has the batteries mounted, I think this should be much neater and make it easier to access the batteries.

Zor

Hello crowe04,

Are you planning to glue this work ?
I do not see any glue in the picture.

Zor

crowe04

30 minute epoxy all round!

Zor

That explains why I could not see any tiny fillets at the edges of the parts.

Verynice and good gluing.

Thanks crowe04.

Zor

crowe04

I appreciate the comments, thanks, if you look closely there is an excess of glue in various places which makes some of the glue fillets rather large!
I am replacing all of the plywood parts that were damaged in the crash with marine grade plywood not the cheap stuff that was supplied in the kit. I found that the kit supplied plywood just doesn't have the strength that I feel is needed, this should also help with the CG as this time around I am planning on running with one lipo for the motor and not two as before.

airsteve172

It appears that you have this little monster completely under control. I would also tend to think that you're having a bit more fun or at least an easier time of it now than you might have had during the original construction since this is all familiar territory.

Nice work!!! It also looks like there's a pretty good possibility that this model will come out even better than it did the first time around.

Zor

crowe04,

Just so you understand what was behind my question.
Atached a sample of what I am used to see.

Zor

crowe04

Repair progress is slowly but steadily getting there!
Front firewall installed, most of the forward fuselage sheeting completed, instrument panel installed (fortunately the original instrument panel was almost undamaged in the crash), nose gear, motor mount and motor installed. New plywood side mounting plates for the two receiver battery packs have been installed either side of the motor mount. I've built up the glareshield with four layers of 1/32" balsa in progressively decreasing widths, blended in with balsa filler, to bring it more in line with the scale appearance of the full-size glareshield.

crowe04

The fuselage repairs are just about complete, it is really just filling and sanding to get the cowl to fair in to the fuselage that remains to be done.
Got started on the wing repair and installed extra 1/8" ply doublers either side of the main spar at the dihedral breaks (this time using better quality ply compared to that from the kit), hopefully this should hold it together.

airsteve172

Wow! The reconstruction looks to be very proper and quite professional. Rather inspiring actually!

I must commend you for as much as noticing that the glare shield is not in the correct scale configuration as originally designed in the kit, let alone being willing to make the necessary corrections!!! Other than yourself, I have yet to see any so-called "scale" enthusiast address this issue on ANY Cessna model!

The wing spar strengthening seems like a good thing to do. I used the original plywood parts to join the spar and was not impressed with their strength. To add some strength, I cut a groove in the top and bottom edges of the spar that run its full length and embedded 1/16" dia. carbon fiber rods into the spar and used CA to bond everything together. I thought this would be a good idea, but the resulting added stiffness to the wing framework proved to be far more dramatic than even I could have envisioned. I'm quite pleased, to say the least! This of course had to be done before sheeting the wing with balsa.

I look forward to seeing more progress with the continued belief that your model will come out even better this time around than it did originally.

crowe04

Thanks for the comments 'airsteve172' much appreciated.
The glareshield mod was extremely simple and took all of about 30 minutes to do, the hardest part was painting the underside where it meets the instrument panel. A bit of patience a fine brush and steady hand had it taken care of.
I should have done what you did with the carbon rods in the spar, brilliant idea! You don't have any photos of this do you?
Further to the ply doublers on the main spar I also put ply doublers on the center section rear spar near the mounting bolts. This spar isn't part of the kit design but a mod I made to the wing in the initial construction when I blended in the wing trailing edge center section to the rear window. I also inset spruce reinforcing strips in the main spar itself where they butt together at the outer panel to center section joins, I did this on both top and bottom spars. All glue joints for the repair are 30 minute epoxy.
The first photo is from the initial construction and shows the mod at the center section trailing edge incorporating the "new" rear spar. The second shows progress to date, all sheeting completed on the wing. Now it is time for filling and sanding!

Zor

crowe04,


Following your repairs is very interesting and you are doing a wonderful job of it.

I am not sure what is referred to as the "glareshield".
I also wonder how the red color got onto the top of the fuselage in front of the windshield.

I also wonder if the 1.2 labelled on the motor means it is an equivalent to a 1.2 cu. in. IC engine.
Just my usual curiosity.
Curiosity is what makes people learn more .

Zor

crowe04

Curiosity and questions makes the difference between wanting to know and learning or sitting back and letting it happen unknowingly!

The glareshield is the black panel that extends out over the top of the instrument panel and acts to prevent sun glare from obscuring the pilots view of the instruments. They are sometimes referred to as 'instrument panel coaming' as well. There are many various styles used on all types of aircraft but the type used on nearly all Cessna singles are very similar in appearance across all variants. In the case of the TopFlite kit the glareshield is merely an extension of the balsa top sheeting that covers the nose section (where the fuel tank sits) with no change in taper or contour. The full size Cessna glareshield is actually angled up from the base of the front windshield, this is where I used the multiple layers of 1/32" balsa to create the angled/re-contoured appearance. It is not perfect, but I think it looks a lot neater and more scale like than the kit method. The two photos show a full size glareshield and my mod to recreate it.

The red colour on the top of the fuselage in front of the windshield is filler. Where the plastic cowl meets the fuselage structure requires quite a bit filling to get the contour right. I use alternate colours of filler in each layer so I can see more easily where the low/high spots are.

I am far from having any real knowledge of electric model setups but the motor I have used the "Great Planes RimFire 1.20" is the equivalent of a 1.20 glow engine. Call it overkill but I like to have power to spare!

airsteve172

Hi crowe04,

Since you're doing such an exceptional job on the glare shield, might I offer a suggestion?

If you were to find some thin, supple black leather such as the kind that a jacket would be made out of, you could apply it over the glare shield for a very authentic look. It has to be leather however, not vinyl because leather will tend to retain its shape after being pulled around compound curves and not have a tendency to pull away from surfaces to which it's glued. Some 3M spray adhesive will hold it securely in place, but you'll have to trim the leather to end where the windshield begins.

It will take a bit of patience, but I think you'd find the results to be worth every bit of effort!
Of course, I don't know if you've gotten past the point where doing this would be impractical to attempt, but it might be something that's worth considering on another scale project.

By the way, that picture you posted of the real plane, it looks so crisp and fresh that I can just smell that aroma of a brand new interior! LOL

crowe04

G,day airsteve172,

Unfortunately things have progressed past this point as you pointed out and I did seriously considered using real leather but decided against it purely based on my self confessed short comings using that type of material. What I did use was a spray-pak for automotive plastic bumpers and interiors. I guess this type of product is available in other parts of the world but the brand I used is made locally here in Australia. The surface finish provides a thicker result as compared to conventional spray paints and actually looks very similar to a leather/vinyl surface.

airsteve172

I guess to at least some extent, we think alike because that would have been my second choice!

Zor

Thanks for the info crowe04

Zor

Zor

crowe04,

My line in my above posting _ _ _ I am not sure what is referred to as the "glareshield" was a way of asking you what you were referring to since there was not, at the time, any glareshield appearing in your pictures.

My remark brought up the best in this forum as follows.

I am flattered of being called a "coward" knowing where this came from.

crowe04, of course that writing is not from you. You posted an explanation of your reference and I thanked you for it.

There is always one in every crowd. It does not bother me. I have never called anyone a "coward".

Zor

EJWash1

My Feedback: (3)

"There is one in every crowd". Now kidding - your ARE that one! The most reported member of R/C Universe!

Being called a "coward" is nothing to be proud of. Neither is hijacking threads for self-serving blathering.

Deadeye

Ok, guys, let's get back on track with the thread. For those who don't want to see posts by certain others, please use the 'Block' feature at the lower left of your post window. Thanks.

crowe04

Further repair progress, the cowl is complete just needs the new "dummy" exhaust pipe, side vents, cowl flaps and inlet screen to be added then it all needs painting.
Fiber-glassing of the repaired areas of the wing and fuselage is underway. As per the original build I'm using quick drying acrylic varnish (minimal weight gain). With any luck it should be ready for priming and painting in the next day or two.

crowe04

The repaint has begun. Didn't need too much filling and sanding. The masking was certainly made easier having some of the existing stripes still in place, this time I used professional quality masking tape to get a perfectly clean paint line, well worth the extra expense!

heritageman

My Feedback: (4)

Crowe04, what is the total flying weight of the cessna?

crowe04

Prior to the crash it came out at 5kg (11lb) with no adjustment needed to get the CG correct. I'm fully expecting it to be closer to the 5.5kg mark after the repairs are complete though. I shall keep you posted.