Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I've just started building my 4*120.

I am using an Adjust-O-Jig to build my wing panels. I really like this jig for building any type of straight panel that doesn't have any taper too it. You get a perfectly straight wing, everytime. It takes quite a bit of time to actually set it up. You have to measure out all the rib spacing and then lock the jig down, but it's worth the time and effort.

Here are the first pics of the right wing panel. It took me about 2 hours to set up the jig and get all the ribs set and strapped down. But once I got the CA bottle out--I made quick progress. My total time spent glueing on all these sticks you see in the pics was about 15 minutes.

This plane is designed to have an 81" wingspan. But, since all the stringers, and spars are actually 42" long, I've decided to make each panel 41.5" long. When joined together, I will have an 83" wing. This will increase the wing area from 1205sq.in. up to approx. 1235sq.in.

I'm going to use a Ryobi 31cc gas conversion engine on this plane, and they aren't as light as the 120 size glow engines that are spec'd. for this plane, so I don't think an extra 30sq.in. of wing area will hurt things.

You'll have to pardon the messy work bench. When I start building a kit or assembling an ARF--I don't spend the time to clean the workbench before snapping picks. I put a few pieces together--and then snap a few picks. Then I grab the glue and hit it again. If ya don't like messy workbenches, you probably won't like this build thread. Your going to see a lot of pics with my workbench in various stages of messiness. Rarely clean.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I'm headed off to start the shear web pieces on the main spar and the trailing edge. I'll also begin the center section sheeting.

More pics tomorrow.

CTDave

My Feedback: (1)

Tell me about this adjust o jig and where to get it,sounds like a neat thing.I like anything to make things easier.I don't mind the mess it is easy to get lost in the build.I am thinking of the 120 for a winter project so I will be following your build actually it will be one of a few winter projects,we get a lot of snow and cold here so I am stocking up on things and I can't do any shoveling anymore so hey more time to build.

C_Heath

Im right with ya! Is that Peach Brandi in the Mason jar? LOL I ran out of CA so Im gorunded till I get to the LHS[:@]

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

The Adjust-O-Jig is no available anymore. Collectors item? I bought it about 6y rs. ago and have held onto it. If memory serves me correctly, it was about $125 at the time.

The mason jar is full of rum & coke, but it looks like all the ice was melted by the time I took the pic. Look hard--you'll probably find a pack of Marlboro Lights somewhere in the pics.

Hey, if ya can't drink & fly--you may as well drink & build.[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

I got the trailing edge sheeting on both the top and the bottom. I got all my shear webs in.

Chris:
The plans don't tell ya to install shear webs in the 2 bays in the center of the wing panles. This is so that the dihedral brace will fit in.

I've made a small change. Most wings will have to install plywood or balsa webs on the front and back side of the spar where the brace goes in. This makes a "pocket" to hold the brace in--and also makes a larger glueing surface for the brace.

Our brace is only 5/32" wide, so you can glue a piece of balsa in between the top and bottm spars. Glue a piece in the front and the back. This makes the dihedral brace pocket smaller and it closes it all up. Now when you install the brace, your glue won't run all over inside the wing panels.

I'm uploading a pic that I drew. This is a top view of the wing panels at the center section. On the left is the LE stock. The dark shaded are in the center is the brace, and you should be able to see the lines that represent the spar and the pocket webs that I've added.

C_Heath

Im 3/4 through the right wing. Check out the difference in the 81 incher opposed to the 63 inch span of my Alpha 40 trainer. This things gonna be a monster!

bump

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Lookin' good!!

I'll post some more pics of my progress soon. I got a new ARF in the mail today, and I've been busy drooling over it. Haven't touched the 4* in 2 days.[]

I'll get busy on it again tomorrow. No point in starting a build thread if I'm not gonna post pics.[:-]

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Alright!! Here's some more pics of the wings. I've got a bit more sheeting to do, but I can't complete it until I pull the wing off the jig.

As you can see, I've added some diagonal braces in between the rib bays. This is the same way that the 4*60 wing is built. These diagonal braces will add a tremendous amount of torsional stiffness to the wing.

Before I put the torsional braces in--the first wing off the jig was VERY flimsy feeling. I was able to hold the tip and root ribs and twist the wing quite a lot. After installation of the torsional braces--I can't budge it unless I twist pretty hard. Lots of strength, for a minimal amount of weight. The torsional braces are made from 3/32" balsa.

At the LE of the root rib bay, I've added a small balsa filler block. This is the area where the wing dowel will be epoxied into the LE of the wing. The plans only have a small lite-ply brace thats glued in between the top and bottom of the first stringer. I don't trust this little piece of lite-ply as my only means of keeping the LE attached to the wing when pulling high G maneuvers. The balsa block will add some additional glueing surface to the dowel and frontal area. Again, a minimal weight gain for a tremendous gain in strength.

Look at the 2nd and 4th pics:

This is the dihedral brace area. The dihedral brace goes into the first 2 rib bays. The brace is only 5/32" wide. But, the main spars are 1/2" wide. According to the instructions and plans, you simply notch out the first 2 ribs for clearance, and then slide the dihedral brace in untill it touches the 3rd rib. Epoxy it.

Thats not going to work for me. The problem is that there is not a "pocket" for the brace to glue into. By just sliding the brace in and glueing it to the top and bottom spars--you will get minimal glueing area. This is because the dihedral brace will only be glued to the spars. Nothing else. Remember, this brace is only 5/32" wide. Just barely over 1/4" in thickness. You have no way to contain the epoxy once you slip the brace into place. The epoxy if free to run all over inside the wing, and get on anything BUT the area where you want it.

My solution:
I've added a simple balsa web--similar to a shear web. There are 2 balsa webs. One in the front of the dihedral brace and one behind it. The front balsa web runs from the top spar to the bottom spar, and is flush with the front of the spars. The rear web is placed so that it is just slightly snug to the dihedral brace when it's inserted.

What I've essentially created is a boxed pocket for the brace to glue into. By putting balsa webs in front of the brace and behind it, there will be no place for the epoxy to run out. All your epoxy will be contained to the area immediately surrounding the dihedral brace. This provides additional glueing area for the brace as well. You will not be relying solely on the glue where the dihedral brace contacts the top and bottom spars. I now have a complete boxed pocket for the brace to glue into. Tremendous glueing area.

I used only 2 or 3 drops of thin CA to install these additional webs. They just need to hold in place. If you flood the area with CA, your likely to end up with a big goober of hardened CA INSIDE the pocket that we're trying to creat. If you get a big goober of glue in there---your dihedral brace is going to hang up and it won't fit anymore. This would be BAD.

Just tack the webs in with enough CA to hold them in place. The epoxy will do the rest when you glue the dihedral brace in.

Again, minimal weight gain for a tremendous gain in strength.

And the pics:

Kenj

First time user. Can someone let me know how this works. I would like to talk to RC Pilet
Thanks
Kenj

Kenj

Looking to talk to RC Pilet

BobbyGee

My Feedback: (3)

Do you see the little icons in the frame below the text box?

Click on the one labeled "PM" and that will let you send the author of that post a Personal Message. Find a post by RCPilet and click on PM in that message.

BobbyG

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I sent you an email. Then I went to my email and found the one you sent me. Good luck.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I've just hit a snag in th e build process.

I didn't move my firewall back. I just glued it in the stock location. The problem is that the Ryobi is quite a long engine when it's completely assembled. The back of the prop is about 2" in front of the cheeks on the sides of the fuse.

I don't like the way it looks. I think it would look better if the back of the prop was only about 1/2"--3/4" in front of the cheeks.

Another concern is the moment arm of having that much weight sticking out so far. I am planning on installing 3 servos in the tail anyway. 2 elevator servos and 1 rudder servo. The conmbined weight of those 3 servos is about 5oz. That will counter-balance 15oz. in the nose. Give or take a little.

I am mounting the Ryobi 1/8" off center to the left. I'm anticipating needing some right thrust. I'll have to fly it and then make right thrust adjustments with some thin washers behind the left side of the mount.

The wing is almost finished. I have to install some servo mounts in each panel, and then glue the panels together. I usually prefer to cover my wings first, and then join the 2 panels. But, this wing requires some fiberglass on the center joint. I'm not going to use the 2" fiberglass cloth that came with the kit. I've gone to the auto parts store and bought some 4oz cloth. I am going to glue the 4oz cloth just slightly more than 4" wide on the center joint. The fuselage is 4" wide at the wing saddle, and I want just a little bit of fiberglass on the wings where they rest in the wing saddle. So, if I glue the 4oz cloth on about 4.25" wide, it will be just a little wider than the fuse. I want the glass to ride on the saddle, instead of just the balsa sheeting on the wings.

I've sheeted my wings out 1 more bay than called for in the plans. The first 4 ribs on each panel are undersized, so that when you glue the sheeting on, it will be flush with the surface of the rest of the wing. All I did was cut my sheets long enough to go all the way out to the first full sized rib and I just butt glued the sheeting to the side of it. I have 11.25" of sheeting on each panel at the root.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Pics of the Fuse and the wing sheeting.

I am going to use an HS-77 Low Profile servo for each elevator. They will fit on the sides of the fuse, if I cram them up forward near the 6th former.

You can see that I'll need about 7.5" for my linkage rods to the elevators.

Total wing length turned out almost 83.5" long.

Wing sheeting in the center section is 11.5" on each side.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Sorry to keep posting. I can only upload 4 pics at one time. My 'puter is running slow on uploads.

Does anybody have an opinion about the engine location? I'm not sure if I should move the firewall back and get the back of the prop closer to the cheeks or not.

If you look closely, you can see the hose clamp on the front of the engine. Thats for the Hall sensor. I'm using a C&H ignition on the Ryobi.

Here are pics of the engine:

C_Heath

looking good, keep posting!

Im gettin ready to sling about a bottle and a half of POXY !!!!!!!

Im goin in!

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

You done yet? Let's see some pics of yours.[sm=thumbup.gif]

I'm going to beef up the landing gear mount. I've had one of these planes before, and I know that the gear mount is weak. I plan to add some ply and some tri-stock.

I also plan to add some more meat to the front of the F2D former. this is where the wing dowels will slide into the fuse. It's just 2 pieces of 1/8" lite-ply. I am going to put in some more ply and I'm also wanting to install some brass tubes to keep the dowels from wearing down and getting sloppy.

I'll take detailed pics and post them. Probably won't be untill tomorrow or the next day.

C_Heath

Im hangin right with ya less the motor. Ill be slow now though, gonna move the cockpit back 3 inches and add Wing tips.

Gonna epoxy the wall in a sec.

Shes big aint she?

Shew weeee

lol

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Put your blind nuts in the tail for your tailwheel assembly. Look at my pics. I got mine mounted. I can take it off for covering and assembly, but if ya don't put the blind nuts in now--it only gets tougher later on.

Lookin' good.

I left my cockpit stock, but I'll be cutting the canopy WAAAY down. I want it to look small and tight. It makes the nose look longer, and I don't like that big bubble look with the stock canopy.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I've got the holes cut for the tail servos. I had enough room to put the rudder servo in the side. My initial plan was to put it on the bottom. I like it on the side, and I'm glad I had the room to put it there.

HS-77 Low Profile on the elevators and a JR4721 coreless on the rudder.[8D]

Even though the fuse sides are lite-ply--I added another lite-ply brace behind the screws for all the servos. This just adds a little bit more wood for the screws to bite into. I didn't want to chance just screwing the servos to the fuse.

Taildrager-inactive

My Feedback: (11)

For Roybi engine move firewall back 1 1/2" to 2" install servos in tail under lightening hole cover.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I just ran out of thin CA.

Lucky me, I made an order at Tower on this past Tuesday. Hopefdully, I'll get a little box from the mailman tomorrow. I ordered some CA, and a couple other items.

Can't build the tail feathers without thin CA.

I was going to quit for the night, but as I'm typing this post, it occured to me that I can build my servo mounts in the wings. Then I can glue my wing halves together. I'm pushing hard. I want to get this thing framed up.

Then I can cover it and FLY IT!!

C_Heath

ummmm ut oh, I glued my wings tonight. Havnt done the servos [&o]

that gonna be a problem?

Im not happy with the wing anyway. Didnt line up tp good.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

It shouldn't be a problem. It will just be more work to handle the entire wing while you install the servo mounts.

I got one servo mount finished. I just took a piece of the lite-ply from one of the lightening holes in the kit and glued it between 2 ribs. Couple pieces of tri-stock underneath, and I was ready to hack the hole for my servo.

I'm using JR4721 coreless on the ailerons.

I'll post pics tomorrow

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Here's my idea for a color scheme.