ChrisMH

Well, I know there have been a couple of other Skybolt build threads lately, but I don't care Here's mine.

Some changes I plan to make (or changes I'm considering):

1. One major change I'm considering is the finish. I'd like to glass and paint instead of covering with film. I like the look of the glass finish so much better, but I've never done it before, so we'll see. I know the Skybolt tends to build heavy, so I'll wait to see how much weight I can remove before making my final decision. The wings would have to be fully sheeted, but that appears to be the only additional material that would have to be added to support the glass. If I can remove some weight in the fuse, it might be feasible. Opinions welcome.

2. I'll be replacing all of the control hardware. It's all 2-56 and I prefer the stiffness of 4-40. I'll also be replacing the control horns with either Robart or DuBro heavy-duty.

3. Pull-pull rudder

4. I'll likely replace the 2-piece firewall with a single piece of 1/4" aircraft ply. I may replace some of the other ply pieces as the quality of some of the wood seems a bit dubious.

5. Fairings on the upper wing mount (maybe)

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure I'll find some other stuff.

OK, on the the pics (hopefully they showed up in the right order...but I'm sure you can figure it out if not):

1. The obligatory "before" shot. I was lucky enough to get this kit on eBay along with a Stan's Fiber Tech cowl and wheel pants, and a 2 1/2" aluminum spinner...all for $165. Good deal

2. Closeup of the cowl & pants. These are very nice...much better than the stock ABS.

3 & 4. Lots of parts! Everything's marked & accounted for, so...on to:

5. Fin & rudder framed up.

TBC...

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I'm dying to know what your finished weight is going to be

parrthd

great to see another bolt going together.......looking foward to following this one as well.......

if you didn't see mine, final weight was 9lbs 4oz and the 1.20 surpass had LIMITED vertical but flew the plane VERY well.

good luck....i'll be here with you.

ChrisMH

I'm dying to see what my finished weight will be, too

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Limited vertical with a 120, holy cow. My Bolt with a Saito 120 can keep going stright up till it's out of sight. Are you sure you have the high end tweeked?

ChrisMH

What was your final weight?

I've got a Saito 1.20 for mine, too.

Chris

mmattockx

Since you asked...

I would glass the fuse and use Koverall on the open bay stuff, than paint it all. It gives a gorgeous finish and you can leave a bit of the fabric weave showing for a nice scale touch. The Koverall will also be much lighter than sheeting the wings and then glassing and painting.


Mark

ChrisMH

I was reading about Koverall in another thread earlier today. It sounds interesting; I think I'll order some & play with it.

Thanks for the suggestion,
Chris

parrthd

it could be the engine. this was an older 1.20 surpass that hadn't been ran in quite a while before being put on the skybolt. maybe it'll do better when things loosen up a bit. it could also be the prop i'm using. just went with the suggested 15x8 i could go to a 15x7 or a 14x8 and get a bit more out of it.

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Mine came at just under 9lbs.
Try the Graupner 14-8 3 blade, it pulls like a horse and looks really good on the plane.
Why not go with Koverall on the entire plane?

mmattockx

After I posted, I was thinking I should have mentioned this, too. Koverall goes over sheeted areas with no problems and then your entire finish is consistent. Scale, as well if that matters to you...

Mark

ChrisMH

I was thinking that, too. I think there's plenty of opportunity to cut some lightening holes in the fuse sides aft of the wing, which I couldn't do if fiberglassing.

So...it's decided

ChrisMH

Another good night in the shop. Good to be building again

1. Straightening the fin TE and rudder LE.

2. Jig I use to straighten and square edges of control surfaces, sheeting edges to be jointed, etc.

3. I'm using Robart hinge points. I prefer to drill for them when all edges are still square...so I did it before the rudder is tapered.

4-5. The bonus is that I can join the surfaces using 1/8" dowels and sand it as a unit to ensure everything is flush. (Credit to Paul at Airfield Models for this fantastic idea...at least that's where I saw it )

6-8. Tapering the rudder. I don't remember where I saw this idea, but it works great. Taper the first side using 3/16 wire on the LE and 1/8" wire on the TE. Flip it over, leave the 3/16" and replace the 1/8" with 1/16". Results in a nice uniform taper. I know the directions say the TE should end up at about 3/32", but 1/16" is close enough.

9. Fin & Rudder sheeting joined.

10. Stab and Elevator frame up started.

Oh, the blue stuff on the fin/rudder is some of the pics is Evercoat polyester filler. The die-cutting was a bit crunchy in some areas.

TBC...

MasterAlex

Looking good Chris! A couple of questions for you ...

Are you using sandpaper in that Jig? Having trouble seeing it. Is the paper only on the Vertical side of the jig?

Can you elaborate a bit on this process? Are you sanding everything down until flush with the wires? Making everything slope evenly from "front to back"? A little more explanation on that process would help me tremendously.

Looks like you have a great deal of experience in the shop. Hopefully I can absorb some of that experience through the forum.

Thanks for sharing with all of us!

-MA

ChrisMH

Yep. It's a piece of aluminum angle with 220 grit sandpaper glued to it (3m super 77). I used a left over piece of formica (the white strip) from a kitchen project to create a low-friction horizontal surface to slide the piece being trued on.

I can take a couple of close ups if that's not clear enough.

The wires act as a stop to create a straight taper between the leading edge and trailing edge of the rudder. I just use a sanding block that straddles both wires and sand until I'm not taking off any more wood.


Chris

MasterAlex

Thanks Chris,

That helps a great deal.

-MA

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Great idea with the wires, I'm going to have to try that.

ChrisMH

Made some progress this evening.

I build slowly, by the way...I say it's because I'm meticulous. My wife has another word for it...but whatever


1. Got a package in the mail today. I've never used Koverall before; should be interesting. I think I'll buy an airbrush when I get to the finishing stage.

2-3. This is a jig I made to cut clearances for the Robart hinge points. It allows me to cut uniformly for all hinges. I use the jig on the LE of the control surface to mark the location of the cutout. Then I use a square to extend that location to the left and right sides of the control surface. Then I align the jig with the marks and cut along the edges. Some cleanup on the inside and you end up with:

4-5. A nice clean clearance. And they'll all be the same, which appeases my need for uniformity.

6. Sanding block I made to bevel control surfaces.

7. The sanding block makes it easy and quick to make a nice clean bevel on both sides.

8-9. The results. A nice tight hinge joint with plenty of travel. Pretty happy with this one. Now...to repeat it 6 more times.

10. I'm sanding the elevators as a unit to ensure they're symmetrical.

11-12. Now that the elevators are symmetrical, I can trim the ends of the stabilizer to match the elevator balance tabs. Can't get much better than that

Hmmm...do I take too many picutures?

TBC...

mmattockx

I get that from the wife, too. Pay no attention to her...

You will like the Koverall, especially the finished product. Get a touch up gun for your spraying. An airbrush is OK if you are artistic and want fine detail, but the touch up gun is what you want for the base color(s).

Nope, just right on the pics. I don't know how you get anything done, stopping to take them, but keep it up. Excellent build thread so far.


Mark

ChrisMH

I'm deviating from the plan's use of dual pushrods to control the elevators. I'll be using a torque rod with a single pushrod. Should be a touch lighter and a bit simpler.

1. I made a torque rod with 1/8" wire and 5/32" brass tubing. I chose 1/8" because it's beefy enough and because the combination of the tubing and wire puts the rotational axis at exactly the same point as the Robart hinges. So no binding.

2-3. Torque rod installed, hinge holes drilled, and elevators sanded flush with the stabilizer.

4. Elevators tapered using the same method I used for the rudder.

5. Fuselage sides glued up. I filled in the die-cut holes for the pushrod exits. I'll drill angled holes (using brass tubing) for the elevator pushrod and the rudder pull-pull wires once I figure out exactly where they will run.

TBC...

parrthd

great job thus far........don't worry about the pics. i took 186 on my build and didn't even snap as many as i wanted to on certain parts. LOL

i kept my camera sitting on my instruction manual so all i had to do was pick it up and snap a pic whenever i looked at the manual or between steps.

ChrisMH

It was actually nice enough to fly here today...so I did. Maidened my Skeeter 36 (electric 3d from Billy Hell RC), which flew great...except I stripped the gears on two Futaba 3110 servos...haven't investigated that yet...kinda disappointing. Did a little building, but nothing major. Mostly sanding. Every time I sand I'm more in love with my Delta air cleaner. Lovely.

1. Horizontal stab sheeted. Seriously...it's under there.

2. Elevators sheeted.

3. Fuse sides are complete with doublers. Die cutting on all of these was terrible.

4. I made a new firewall out of 1/4" Baltic birch (far right). I don't know what kind of plywood this kit uses, but it's awful.

<rant>
OMG what is up with the quality of wood and die-cutting in this kit? The balsa ranges from rock-hard to soft as jello. Maybe I got an old kit. Maybe the dies were old. But this is some of the worst stuff I've seen. I do believe I'll end up remaking most of the fuse formers, plywood ribs, and any parts that hold the wings on. Disappointing. Good thing I love the way the plane looks as much as I do. Note that I did buy the kit on eBay, so it may have been old. I hope so, and I hope the new ones are better.

I think you can look for me in the scratch-building section after this...
</rant>

TBC...

ChrisMH

Aaaaaand the pictures. I shouldn't drink and post....

mmattockx

While on the topic of scratchbuilding, wood quality and remaking parts...Are the plans from this kit enough to scratch it? If not, has anyone traced/scanned/copied the formers and ribs, etc. to allow a scratchbuild? Wanna share? I like to scratchbuild first, but I don't mind a well made kit. But paying $$$ for crappy wood and poor cutting that I need to redo on my own time and nickel isn't acceptable to me.

Any help and/or info appreciated. It is a gorgeous aircraft that shouldn't be ruined by a poor quality kit... PM me if you want to take it off list, etc.


Thanks,
Mark

ChrisMH

I'll be tracing everything as I go. You never know when gravity will insist.

Chris