Blade47

OK I have the wings skinned and the hatch covers in place ..Pic 1

Pic 2 shows ( not so well ) the wing center joiner ..what you can't see is that I have used a wood pecker to peck the wood ( both sides ) and also used it on the foam ..this way the epoxy will have little holes to fill in and acted as pegs when joined.

Just a side note on the wing skins LE and TE edges ..I used water based contact glue for the the whole wing ..you have to use the contact glue for the skins but I also have used the glue for the LE and TE on other kits and works well ..NO messy epoxy and a way easier to sand...just make sure when you put the LE/TE on that it is right on the money or your going to have a problem ( you may not get it off )

Pic 3 Shows the trench that I have put in for the servo wire ..it is the same depth as the width of the connector ... I then lay in a string that I can later pull the wire to the middle ..make sure you do this BEFORE you put the belly pan on... do this for both sides.

Pic 4 just show the hatch cover back in place along with 1/16" gap filler over the trench.

Next up to join the wing half's ... put the wing tips on ...then start the belly pan.

Blade47

Well I have the wing half's done and the tips in place ...you may find that the TE may need to be sanded down about 1/16" from the top to match the aileron stock ... when you put the 3" in length aileron stock on the TE you may see the difference .. so I sanded the length of the wing to match. i also went with 2" length to give myself an extra 1" on each aileron to make up for the fixed inboard one's ... clear as mud so I will take a pic of that.

The manual says to put the wing top side done to join the wing half's but I have opted to place top side up and put 3/8" under each wing tip on the TE edge to keep the wings level and even...a pic of that to come as well.

I can see now when I was letting the epoxy set why most have opted out of using the rudder option.... seems when you use them you will have to take the connection off each time you remove the wing from the main fuse ..... as the servo is in the fuse and the rudders are attached to the wing ....DOH... I missed it on the first go around,,,,, sooooo .... going to have a look at putting two sub servos in the wing to run the rudders and one in the fuse for the nose gear ...hmmmmmm.

There is no mention of fiber glassing the top and bottom of the center section where the wings half's join so again I am going to use a 2" strip top and bottom ...just remembered my first RCM trainer and I had glassed the top and missed the bottom for what ever reason ( was in a dive and pulled up ) and the wings on the four flight decided to slap together and make like a parachute .... there after on ALL my planes I glass the T/B.

Later

Blade47

Three wing pics for you ... shows the Tips, T/B fiber glassing and the wing ready to have the nose cut off .... after you put the 1/4" dowel in the nose of wing you may want to put a 3/32" ply cap over it to support the dowel and finish the front end of the wing.

I have now figured out how to hide the rudder controls with out putting in two servos in the wing or have a control rod running across the back end I will let you know as I go along.

Blade47

OK Pic 1 Here is the end cap on the nose of the wing ..I used 1/32" ply to cover over the foam and add support to the 1/4" dowel

Pic 2 The start of the belly pan for the wing

Pic 3 The belly pan covered over ... I used 3/32" and not the 1/8" they ask for ... I used it across the whole bottom.

Pic 4 The inside of the finished belly pan but I have not put the top servo tray in yet.

Pic 5 The wing and the fuse right side up.

Pic 6 This is the fuse..wing.. motor mount.. nose bearing..two servos and wire ...the OVER all plane HAS not been sanded so there will be weight lose yet.

Now onto mounting the fins and rudders and what not.

Later

Blade47

I just noticed in my own posts that the wing is .1 lighter then the fuse at this point ( without fins and other hardware ).... any guesses as to what the final weight will be on the finished plane?

Blade47

As you can see the belly pan is finished ..for now I used 1/4" balsa instead of the light ply in the kit ... I also added a future possible servo hole for the rudders ..I have them almost worked out.

The Fin base's you may need to do some work on ... I first sanded each one to fit the wing ...make sure that if your not going to use the aileron setup that is stock that you leave a 1/4" dowel gap between the base and the TE of the wing ... I also fitted the main gear and made the adjustment now rather then latter when the fin base is mounted to the wing ... and have done most of the sanding on the base now versus later when it will be harder to do.

Later

bob27s

My Feedback: (19)

thats looking pretty good so far.

Blade47

Well Thanks Bob!! good to see that you are still checking in on the project

Blade47

Here is a picture that is worth a 1000 words

Blade47

Working on the fins ...man they are going to take a bit of time to do right ... I would advise you do all the fitting, hinge and sanding before you mount them onto the wing or it will be a bear to finish later.

Blade47

And the other side with the hinged Rudders ... not much more to do on the main build ... have the ailerons to cut/hinge and the inboard fake ailerons to put into place... after that I will work on the rudder control

Saving the best part that everyone LOVES to do ....... SANDING SHAPE ...Baaaaaah ..mind you if I was Don I would be at sanding for months just for the fun of it ...sand till I re-kit the plane in balsa dust ...hahahahaah

dsanquisd

My Feedback: (9)

I built the cutlass several years ago. Here are the problems I had trying to fly it. 1. The main lg angle is critical for take off. Mine would leave the ground and then come right back down and then take off again. Get rid of the two nose wheels and just use one. Very hard to taxi with the two wheels. Add triangle stock to both sides of the fins top and bottom as this is a weak area.

Our club test pilot flew mine and had his hands full. Landed short of the runway the first flight. I had my hands full also and put it into the weeds. That is why I added the triangle strips to the fins. Super looker in the air. I sold mine before I tore it up. Had a Magnum .53 engine installed - plenty of power. Good luck with yours.

Don Sanquist

Blade47

Thank you for the information Don [sm=thumbup.gif]. After I had taken the above pictures I did install 1/2" Tri top and bottom of the fin bases ..it does show this on the plan ..but you are right it is/or would be a big weak point.

In later kits there is a addendum sheet that gives more information about the nose/main gear placement .. the throws that are to be used ... and the BIG one ..the correct starting point for the c/g.

As for your plane leaving the ground early .... was going to ask you ..did you put the 3" ( 4" total with the tip ...8" total with both tips) reflex tips on? I was think that this may make the plane leave the ground early .... i opted to use only 2" and add a 1" to the ailerons.

If you can remember anything else about your flights ... do drop by again add to the information pool

Thanks again.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

Hey, I resemble that remark.


I would be upset if it wasn't true.

Don

Blade47

You can see where I am going with the rudder controls ... ... and when done they will be hidden ,,, and if the rudders do not respond well in flight I can always glue them into place.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

Okay, now I see what you're doing.

Since you'll have 100s of flights on yours before I get to the point you're at now, let me know how it works. I think I'm still going to embed my servos in the wings.

First snow occurred here yesterday...didn't stick but that means the winter build season is here. Gotta get that Mig done so I can start on the Gutless.

Looks good, Pete.

Don

Blade47

Now you can see what I am going to do .... [sm=biggrin.gif]

Blade47

Add two more pics to the above post.

Blade47

I am taking a break from building as I am waiting for parts ..so in the mean time I am just sanding and shaping sanding and shaping saaaaaaanding and sssshhhhh zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

you missed a spot while sanding

it's over there ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/\

Don

PS: Nope, not done yet

Blade47

OK on with the ruff molding, shaping and sanding ... need to do the bottom fuse and wing first so that I can take the wing off and complete the final sanding a shaping of it.

The fuse I can take my time on after that.

Blade47

Ruff sanded the bottom of the fuse and belly pan so I can now take the wing off

Blade47

[] I am still sanding [:'(][:'(][:'(] ...but .... I am getting there

Blade47

The main fuse is coming slowly along ... I have also built the aft stinger into place and the Top hatch is done as well.... more sanding to follow...[:'(][:'(][:'(]

Blade47

Don? While whittling away with my trusted Buck Knife on the front end I had a look at those BIG air brakes on the front engine intakes and was thinking ( I know I shouldn't do that ) How about I use some Aileron stock to take the edge off the bluntness??

Anyone can jump in here and let me know what they think.