adrenalnjunky

My Feedback: (18)

I don't think the gear placement is that far off - looking at the 3-view on vansaircraft.com, the mounting and rake are about correct - I think that the leg ont he gear on the fullscale 6 is typically wider at the fuse and tapers down to the wheel.

I think the particular angle that we see makes it look like the gear doesn't trail much, but I think the centerline of the wheel is just behind the trailing edge of the wing, and the mounting point of the leg is a couple of inches forward of the leading edge.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Chris: You are right. The photo doesn't show the rake-back as much as it is. But if the centerline of the wheel is at the leading edge of the wing, which it is, you know it has to be raked back the correct amount.

adrenalnjunky

My Feedback: (18)

Jim - are you going to vac form your own canopy? If so, you planning on a single long canopy, or maybe a 2 piece setup? I am designing a removable top hatch into mine for access inside the fuse, and was thinking about splitting the canopy at the bar behind the pilot's head.

Also - is that a Quart of Pennzoil that's going to be pulling fuel cell duty?

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Chris: Yes I am going to try and vacuum form my own canopy. It will be in two pieces, split over the top like where there is a roll bar. I made my entry doors into the radio system on the sides, using hidden hinges. When it is covered, you will never know the doors are there. To make the canopy, will need to build a mold - then a furnace, and forms to hold the plastic while heating and forming. It will be a BIG job.

Yes - that is a Pennzoil can doing the duty of a fuel tank. I use that in ALL my planes. Direct one-piece line from the felt filter inside the tank to the carb. Two other lines - one to fill - one to vent. NO fittings required. Simple, cheap, and better than any tank on the market.

RVator

My Feedback: (1)

Nice work. It really looks good. I was bitten by the RV bug before the RC one by a coworker that built a quickbuild RV6, his kit number was the 53rd quickbuild. I too would like to build a full scale RV 8. What are you going to power it with?

Jim Messer

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RVator:

Engine not selected yet. Somewhere in 80 to 100 cc class. That's all I know at this time.

dwolf89

Hey grampa! Thanks for recomending that I check out this forum, This is looking awesome, can't wait to see the finished product!

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Hi Dennis,

Glad you like. You will see it fly one day. Am busy now converting all my models to the new Spektrum DX-7 systems. This one will fly on DX-7 also.

Grampa

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Here's another brief up-date. The fuselage has been completed and covered with Ceconite. The covering has been given three coats of nitrate dope, thinned 50/50 with laquer thinner. Then it has been primed with one coat of white latex paint before applying any color coats. The top side will be orange, and the bottom will be yellow. Sidewalls will be white.

The next step will be to install wiring to the ailerons/flaps, and other controls. Install batteries and switches also. Then do the fairings around the landing gears, and make molds for the wheel pants. It all takes time, so will do another up-date in about two weeks.

CAPtain232

My Feedback: (40)

lookin' great Jim......you really know how to make a "MESSER" of things don't you??!!!

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

I'm of German decent. In German, Messer means "knife" so I can cut through anything and make a "mess" out of it. How did you know?

Selleri

Anyone want to guess what Willy Messerschmitt forefathers did

Jim it sure is looking good, can't wait to see it finished. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

I have a lot more work done on the airplane - radio installed, and the canopy mold is made. The wheels are on, and fiberglass wheel pants were made to fit over 5 1/2 inch wheels. I am waiting for two large 4 x 8 ft. plastic sheets to arrive, one to be .031" thick, and the other .040" to form the canopy. The engine has also been purchased - have settled on the Zenoah GT-80 which I believe will fly this model realistically. Will post some more photos in a couple of days when I get a chance. Once the engine is fastened to the firewall, I will then proceed to build the cowl, and it will be all downhill from there.

Selleri: Thanks for bringing this old post forward, and thanks for keeping me up-dated regarding my good friends in Iceland. Sorry about the Tomahawk misfortune.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Here is an up-date on the progress for the RV-6. First of all, the mold for the canopy is finished, made up of cardboard, foam blocks, and lots of balsa. It is finished with several coats of clear butyrate dope - I used that because I have lots of it just waiting to be used in some manner.

The plastic is here - one sheet of .031 and one sheet of .040" thickness. Sheets are 4' x 8' - so I have plenty to work with.

I did some testing using some old plastic, and I find that I can drape the plastic over the form, and using an extra pair of hands fitted with two pairs of gloves, the plastic can be formed over the mold using a heat gun. One guy works the gun while the other is constantly forming the plastic to the mold. It's a slow process, but I believe it will be a lot simpler than trying to vacuum form. I will do it in two pieces - the windshield and the top.

The mold is 27" in circumference and 27" long - so doing it in one piece would require a sheet of plastic about 30" square. Doing it in two pieces will require additional square inches.

Following are photos of the mold by itself, and setting on the fuselage to give an idea of what the plane will look like with a canopy in place. It doesn't fit tight because of some beefing up I had to do on the underside of the mold.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

As you can see by the previous photos, I have the cowl under construction also. There is a Zenoah GT-80 bolted to the firewall, and the cowl framework is being constructed around it using balsa. When I get it to the point of near finish, I will cover the front section of the fuselage nose just ahead of the landing gear with waxed paper, and then fiberglass the whole cowl so that the cowl joint will be just forward of the landing gear - and not where it now appears to be. When the fiberglassing is done, then I will balance the airplane. If it comes in nose-heavy, then most of the balsa cowl framework will be removed. Should it come in tail-heavy, however, then the cowl will remain as built - keeping the balsa framewok intact. I have a fiberglass arrowshaft in place for the CG, so that the model can be hung from the ceiling to do the balancing. I will post pictures of this process when the time comes.

The radio and servos are installed, and this shows in a photo of the cabin with the canopy mold removed. The instrument panel and cabin details are still a long way off - that will be the last chore.

LN-JET

Great looking build!
I recommend a large oven in stead of the heat gun method, and seeing the way the original canopy is split, you should have no problems pulling it manually in two parts.
For my 30% Saab I used .080" PETG to get scale thickness and feel. The sheet was 4" longer than the plug at the ends, and wide enough to almost meet under the plug.
Along the sides I fastened the plastic to 1"X1" spruce, to have something to pull by. The front piece of the pictured canopy is 16"long by 14" wide.

regards

Lars

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks LN-JET for your input. I have already formed the windshield using the heat gun, and it turned out about 90% good. Had a problem drawing around the ovals, and got a couple of wrinkles close to where it fits the fuselage. I can cover them with a molding, but am going to try drawing another using the kitchen oven. I experiment as I go - that's the best way to learn. Your canopy sure looks good - I hope my second one will be likewise.

WHIPLASH45

Nice job on the RV-6. Your fuselage construction is a work of art must have been tough covering it up. Just a thought on your canopy problem. Years ago I did a 1/3 scale RV-4 with plans for kitting it (never materialized). I needed a quick canopy for the prototype. I built a hollow wooden box approx. size was 1 1/2"x8"x20" out of pine 2x4 and some cheap 1/4" Luan ply. The top of the box was temporarily left open. A second peace of 1/4" ply was cut to the outside perimeter of the box. A hole the shape of the top-view profile of the canopy was cut into the center of the top plywood cover. The inside edges can be smoothed and debured. Rounding the edges is not really required. A sheet of plastic (in the case of the RV-3 prototype I just used cheap acrylic from the hardware store, as long as all of the edges are glued to the fuselage, although brittle unsupported, when fully supported at the edges the acrylic is very strong and will not crack). Somewhere in the edge of the box locate a female air hose fitting.

Using what ever means you like lay the plastic sheet on the top of the hollow box and then lay the ply wood top over that and attach it so that it is more or less is air tight. It doesn't have to be able to hold air pressure completely. A dozen small wood screw around the perimeter will do the job. Screw though the top 1/4" ply the plastic sheet and into the edge of the box. For a canopy like the RV-6 that is not tear-drop shaped you could make two canopies at once by making a double tear drop and cutting in the middle. Place the box in an oven. Depending on plastic type and thickness set the heat for 250 to 300 degree F. Thick plastics like to be cooked slowly to heat more evenly and cook out any moisture which can and will cause little bubbles in the plastic. Polycarbonates like to be pre heated at low temps for several hours before being heated to a molten temp.

Cook the entire contraption (Luan ply smells good when cooked, my wife is used to it now) until the plastic sheet is floppy and sinks into the box. Get your air compressor ready, or a bicycle tire pump will work. As long as the volume of the box is not to big (it doesn't have to be) it will not take much air to - you guessed - it fill the box with air. The trick is to fill it slow enough to not blow a hole in the plastic but fast enough to create the desired canopy height.

This method of "blowing" a canopy is very easy and has been around for many years. The up side for big models is that it is very cheap and fast. You may have to play with the shape of the top cover form to get exactly the shape you want, but acrylic is cheap. The finished canopy in many ways is better than a vacuum formed part since the plastic is not in contact with anything during the forming process.

I have probably made this sound a lot harder than it really is. I have used this technique for everything from 3"-4" 1/2a canopies to 24" 1/5th scale Jets.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

To WHIPLASH45:

Thank you very much for that explanation. Right now I am in the process of making a furnace out of styrofoam with a small propane grill acting as the heat source. I have a frame built and the sheet of plastic stapled to it. Since I already have the molds, I plan on making a second box that will serve as the vacuum box with each mold in place. I have a large shop vac that will do that job. If all else fails, your idea will get some real consideration. I appreciate your taking the time to explain it to me. I had never heard of blowing a canopy before, but I can see how it could work.

CliffordH

My Feedback: (9)

Jim,

The RV-6 is beautiful as your planes always are. Have enjoyed your posts on it and others.

Cliff

WHIPLASH45

Make sure you use the aluminum insulated foam sheet. I have also used regular pink or bluse styro with heavy alum. foil glued to the inside surface. Also use a piece of flat metal on the burner to help distribute the heat. With the oven you describe you can easily get temps above 300 F. Good luck.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

Up-date on Vans RV-6 progress:

As you can see by the following photos, additional progress has been made. First of all, a Zenoah GT-80 has been installed for power. This is a heavy engine, and when I did an initial balance, it was nose heavy, so the batteries are now going to be mounted at the extreme tail end of the airplane. Cut into the bottom, and presently building a battery compartment. And all this time, I thought it would come out perfectly balanced. That's how it goes sometimes.

The cowl is finished, not as good as I would like, but I made it without making a female mold first. I made a wood cowl to fit the front, then fiberglassed the whole thing, and then cut away most of the wood that made the form. But, all in all, it isn't that bad.

My first attempt at making a canopy failed. That's what I will concentrate on next, as the airplane is finished except for that. The radio is installed, and all controls are working, so it's ready to fly.

I will upload three photos at a time.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

That worked so here are three more photos. The instrument panel is just a hodge-podge assortment of instruments that I made. Since this is a "home-built", you can do it any way you want to. Right?

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

I am posting photos of the final balance of the RV-6. I balance at 27.5% back from the wing leading edge, and build this into the fuselage using a fiberglass arrowshaft at the balance point. The airplane then can be hung from the ceiling and balanced accurately.

Note the use of an incidence meter. I balance with a full tank of fuel at 1.5 degrees positive. When the fuel tank is empty, most of my planes will register about 8.5 deg. positive. The quart of oil laying on the fuselage in the tank position, represents a full tank of gasoline.

Note that in this case with the heavy GT-80 engine, the battery needs to be placed way back at the tail to achieve the correct balance. I have a hatch back there, built in from the initial balance attempts.

adrenalnjunky

My Feedback: (18)

Good looking bird Jim - what size spinner is on it now? Looks like you'll almost need one 1.5" larger to fit the contour of the front of the cowling.