vmsguy

Date: December 6, 2007
I didn't like how my attempted repair was coming along. So I took the plunge and decided to remove the entire top sheeting. I cut away what I could, then used a plane to remove the flat area on top of the wedge shape pieces. It took about an hour, but the razor plane helped a great deal. Once it was removed, it was time to start back building.

First, with the servo wire tube now installed, I thought I'd add a little more rib covering. This really makes the wing look more complete. (Picture 1)

With the sheeting removed, I needed to prepare the area for the new piece. With final sanding and filing, I managed to crack a rib. The crack didn't go all the way through. But I still took some glue and clamped it together. (Picture 2)

I continued sanding and filing. (Picture 3) But I remembered a couple areas that had presented challenges, or presented weaknesses. The first was the wingtip. I had cut an edge in it that would be difficult to fill. So I glued a piece onto the wingtip in this area. I'll file off excess before I put the sheet on. (Picture 5) The second area was the area on the trailing edge between the ribs. While handling the wing, I noticed the area was very weak, and once by merely squeezing, I almost broke through the wood. So I decided to add braces between the ribs. (Picture 6) They don't have to be perfectly centered. They won't be seen. They're are present only to strengthen the gap between the ribs.

Now, I let all the glue dry tonight, and hopefully tomorrow night, I'll put the top sheeting on again, and it'll be right this time.

Picture 1: More rib covering glued into place.
Picture 2: The entire trailing sheet removed.
Picture 3: I cracked one rib. A little glue, and a clamp.
Picture 4: Nearly ready for a new sheet.
Picture 5: Adding filler piece on wing tip.
Picture 6: Sheet braces added to trailing edge.

vmsguy

Date: December 7, 2007

Not too much work tonight. First, I filed the wing edge down to what I wanted. This was the small piece I glued on last night. Then I went to work and glued the top sheet on. This time, I used scrap balsa to keep from denting the actual sheeting. (Picture 1, 2, and 3)

Picture 1: Top sheeting glued in place. Notice the scrap pieces protecting the wing from damage.
Picture 2: Top sheeting glued in place. Notice the scrap pieces protecting the wing from damage.
Picture 3: Top sheeting glued in place. Notice the scrap pieces protecting the wing from damage.

vmsguy

Date: December 8, 2007
I got a bunch done today. First I removed all the clamps and inspected my work. It looked worlds better than my first attempt. It's nice to see the wing and glue-ups look so nice. Then I went on to make the final cut of the trailing edge. I measured exactly 9" from the back edge of the lower wing spar. If you remember earlier, I had measure 9 - 1/8" This turned out to be a bit too far, and the back of the wings would flatten out. It actually was a blessing in disguise, the extra eigth inch gave me more area to spread glue, and as it turned out, the glue joint of the trailing edge benifited from it. Now I can cut a little of the bottom sheeting as well as the extra off the top. Like I said, I made my measurement, then carefully clamped my new straight edge in place. I left the wing overhang the building board slightly, and clamped the straight edge, the wing, and the building board all together, so nothing would move. (Picture 1 and 2)

A new blade in my knife, and I went to cutting. I carefully cut along the straight edge. When I got to the end, I didn't simply move the clamp. I put a new clamp in place first, then removed the first clamp. (Picture 3 and 4) Then I brought the knife back to cut the remainder. (Picture 5) I went along the entire trailing edge checking for obvious bumps and kutting them away before I finally removed the trailing edge.

My work ended with a couple sliver size gaps between the sheeting. I squirted some glue into the gap, then wedged some shavings into the worst places. (Picture 6) Once the glue was dry, I sanded it smooth. (Picture 7)

Now to work on the right wing.. Finally!!! I started by cutting and gluing in trailing edge reinforcements (Picture 8, 9 and 10)

I spent a little time to install the servo wire tubes. (Picture 11)

Finally, I'm ready to install the top sheeting. Learning from my first attempt, this went better. First, I used the straight edge again to cut the sheeting down to size. Well, I left an extra half inch for overhang. It also gave me a good edge for the fit against the notches in the ribs. Then I went to work with the big bottle of glue and brush to apply glue to all the surfaces. As you can see in the pictures, there's a lot of surfaces that need glue. (Picture 12)

Again, learning from before, I used scrap and clamped the sheeting in place. Since I would be waiting for glue to dry, a little more glue wouldn't hurt, so I went ahead and added the rib covering to the top of the wing. Clamping it down.. of course. (Picture 13)

Now wait for more glue to dry. (Pictures 14 thru 17.)

Picture 1: Clamping straight edge to top of wing, preparing to cut trailing edge.
Picture 2: Clamping straight edge to top of wing, preparing to cut trailing edge.
Picture 3: Add a clamp, remove the end clamp, and complete cut at end.
Picture 4: Add a clamp, remove the end clamp, and complete cut at end.
Picture 5: Add a clamp, remove the end clamp, and complete cut at end.
Picture 6: Stuff and glue some shavings in the crack.
Picture 7: File and sand excess once glue has dried.
Picture 8: Add reinforcements to right wing.
Picture 9: Add reinforcements to right wing.

vmsguy

Date: December 8, 2007

Part 2.

Picture 10: Add reinforcements to right wing. Add Servo wire tube.
Picture 11: Wing ready for sheeting.
Picture 12: Lots of surfaces for the glue to go.
Picture 13: Add rib covering sheeting.
Picture 14: The clamps holding sheeting in place.
Picture 15: The clamps holding sheeting in place.
Picture 16: The clamps holding sheeting in place.
Picture 17: The clamps holding sheeting in place. The wing is in there somewhere!

vmsguy

Date: December 15, 2007
Before I get back to working on the fuselage. A few things about the wings. First, I thought I'd take a few pictures. Up to this point, all the pictures were with clamps and stuff. I thought it'd be nice to take a few pictures without the clamps in the way. (Pictures 1 thru 4).

Work on the wings are on hold for now for a couple reasons. One, I need to buy a router table to make the leading edge. Two, I have yet to build the servo mounting areas. I am waiting on delivery of an onboard camera. As I've said, there are two servo bays on each wing. I want to make both bays identical I can't build them until I have the camera on hand. Then I can build the bay for the camera. The camera is expected to arrive in early January.

Next, before starting in on the fuselage. I cleaned. I had totally messed up two building areas. So I spent a couple hours cleaning everything up. It'll make working on the fuse easier. Besides, it doesn't have to stay clean. It's just nice to start out clean once in a while.

On to the fuselage. I taped the plans and wax paper down to the building board and set to work. The front sides were ready for a while. (Pictures 5) So the next step was to cut the side pieces and braces to size. I used my bandsaw and ripped 3/16" by 3/4" pieces for the top and bottom side pieces. With two pieces pinned together, pieces were cut to length and shape. Next I cut the vertical braces. (Picture 6)

Not time for gluing. I put a 3/8" scrap on the inside of the "left side." To make positioning easier, I put strips where the first two bulkheads will eventually glue. Then I pinned it to the plans. (Picture 7)

Next I went to work an pinned the side braces in place. This took some time. I needed to place the pins so they wouldn't interfere with the side edge piaces. So they needed to go in at angles. Three pins per piece, to keep it from moving. Once the side braces were in place, I went ahead and glued on the bottom side edge piece. (Picture 8)

The top side edge piece came next. The end needed to be fitted where it met the bottom side edge piece. (Picture 9) It took some fitting, but eventually I got an good clean jount that needed just a little clamping to get a good joint. (Picture 10)

I made sure the butt joint was held in place with another pin. (Picture 11) And pinned the rest. (Picture 12)

I left the glue to dry overnight. I need to get some 3/16" by 3/8" stock. I need some in four foot length. I need some for the center side piece. Once I have that, I can proceed to make the other side of the fuselage.

Picture 1: Wing halves done for now.
Picture 2: Wing halves done for now.
Picture 3: Wing halves done for now.
Picture 4: Wing halves done for now.
Picture 5: The fuselage sides, ready for building.
Picture 6: Cut the fuselage pieces.
Picture 7: Pin "left side" onto plans, a 3/8" spacer under it.
Picture 8: Glue bottom side piece to vertical braces.
Picture 9: Top side piece needs to have a little extra cut so it fits against bottom piece.
Picture 10: Glue top side piece into place. Clamp top and bottom together.
Picture 11: Butt joint glued together. More pins to hold it.
Picture 12: The center area glued and pinned.

vmsguy

Date: December 17, 2007

Just a little work tonight. After stopping at the hobby store, they didn't have any balsa the size I wanted. So tonight I cut two strips on my bandsaw. Once the strips were cut, I ran the sand paper over the edges to clean them up. Finally onto the fitting of the piece.

To fit the piece, I slipped some paper under fuselage. (Picture 1) Then I traced the angle onto the paper. (Picture 2) I pinned two strips together, and glued the paper onto strip. I cut the paper and wood into an initial point. (Picture 3)

A test fit told me I needed to file the point a little sharper. (Picture 4) I use the file to clean up the strips. I continued to keep the two pieces pinned together until I had the joint looking good.

Once the pieces fit well, I opened up the glue bottle and put the piece in place. (Picture 5 thru 7) Now, for the glue to dry. Tomorrow I should be able to start on the other fuselage side.

Picture 1: Paper under the fuselage.
Picture 2: Trace angle onto paper.
Picture 3: Cut the angle onto stips.
Picture 4: Test fit angle.
Picture 5: Glue piece into place.
Picture 6: Glue piece into place.
Picture 7: Glue piece into place.

vmsguy

Date: December 18, 2007
I started work on the right fuselage side. The first step was to remove some pins from the front part of the fuselage, then pinning the right side on top of it. A little wax paper on the back part so the two parts wouldn't be glued together. This time, the inside of the fuse is shown face up. (Picture 1)

Next a little wax paper on the back part of the fuselage. (Picture 2) I then went ahead and glued the top and bottom side stringers in place. I was very careful to make sure the side stringers matched the ones below them. After the top and bottom pieces were in place, I test fitted and glued the center stringer into place. I pinned everything down near the side braces. I will glue them in place once this glue dries. (Picture 3 thru 6)

After the glue had a chance to set up. I added the vertical side braces. I didn't add the last one on the tip of the fuselage. I wanted the glue to completely dry and I can remove the clamps and sand first. (Picture 7 and 8)

Picture 1: Wax paper and right fuselage put in place atop the left side. This time facing up.
Picture 2: Wax paper in place at the back of the fuse.
Picture 3: Fuselage side pieces glued in place.
Picture 4: Fuselage side pieces glued in place. Pins placed to avoid side brace locations.
Picture 5: Fuselage side pieces glued in place. Pins placed to avoid side brace locations.
Picture 6: Fuselage side pieces glued in place. Rear clamped together.
Picture 7: Side braces put in place.
Picture 8: Side braces put in place.

vmsguy

Date: December 19, 2007

Now that the glue has had a chance to dry, I can continue fitting out the fuselage, prepping it for joining it with the bulkheads. First I did some sanding, getting all the joints looking their best. (Picture 1)

I needed to mark the eventual location of bulkhead #3. (Picture 2 thru 4.)

Next I marked the rear side of bulkhead #2. The bulkhead is 1/4" thick, so I used some square stock. The smaller stick is much easier to use. I pinned it in place, then traced the line. (Picture 5) Once the line was drawn, I removed the stick (Picture 6)

Next came gluing on the landing gear reinforcement. This is a triangular stock 3" on the two short sides. I decided to make my just a little bigger. I added 1/4" in each direction. Here's a trick I found to work really well. When clamping two surfaces like this, one piece may want to float and slide out of position. So before I applied clamping pressure. I pushed two pins through both pieces. (Picture 7) Now the piece won't slide. It worked really well! I used scrap material to prevent damage. I used a larger clamp so it could reach further into the material.

Next I put stringer doubler in place. This piece is made of spruce. It strengthens the fuselage, but it also provides the mounting point for the servos. It has to run from the back edge of bulkhead #2 to the front edge of bulkhead #3. Again, I glued and clamped it, using scrap on the balsa side to prevent clamping damage. (Picture 9 and 10)

I went ahead and glued the landing gear reinforcement onto the left fuselage. I made a small mistake. I forgot to mark the location of bulkhead #3 on the left fuselage side. So I couldn't put the stringer doubler onto the left side.

Next up, the remaining doublers and preparing the bulkheads and landing gear mount. I haven't found suitable landing gear yet. I have an email into a possible source. I need to verify the size of the mounting area. This will determine if I can continue with building the fuselage to the width as specified by the plans. Or if I will have to make the fuselage narrower for smaller landing gear. Also, as I build this area of the fuslage, I must keep in mind the mounting for the wing struts.

Picture 1: Right fuselage side, sanded and ready to move on.
Picture 2: Right fuselage side, marking location of Bulkhead #3.
Picture 3: Right fuselage side, marking location of Bulkhead #3.
Picture 4: Right fuselage side, marking location of Bulkhead #3.
Picture 5: Right fuselage side, marking simulating Bulkhead #2.
Picture 6: Right fuselage side, rear of Bulkhead #2 marked.
Picture 7: Landing gear reinforcement pinned in place.
Picture 8: Then securely clamped.
Picture 9: Stinger doubler glued in place. Notice scrap pieces to prevent clamping damage.
Picture 10: Stinger doubler glued in place. Notice scrap pieces to prevent clamping damage.
Picture 11: Left fuselage, Landing gear reinforcement glued and clamped in place.

vmsguy

Date: December 20, 2007

My work started where it left off the lastnight. First, I made up for my oversite, I transfered the bulkhead #3 line onto the inside of left fuselage side. Then I put the center stringer doubler. Next I worked on the upper fuselage doubler. For this, I lightly clamped the doubler onto the fuselage. No glue, just to hold it in place. I placed the square along the fuselage line, (Picture 1) and traced the line on the other side of it, to transfer the line onto the doubler stock. (Picture 2) I cut that piece, then set clamped in place again to cut the other end to length. Once it was cut, and I was satisfied with the test fit, I glued and clamped it in place. Again using scrap to protect from the wood being scrunched.

Next I started on the bottom fuselage doubler. Again I lightly clamped the piece in place, and used the triangle to replicate the line. (Picture 3) I cut it, and cut the other end to length. Then I clamped and glued it in place. I added some wax paper where the doubler meets the landing gear plate brace. Glue will squeeze up where these meet, the wax paper will keep the scrap from being glued to it. (Picture 4)

Now I repeated the process on the right fuselage side. Transfering the angle onto the top fuselage doubler. (Picture 5 and 6) And continuing onto gluing and clamping the top and bottom fuselage doublers in place. I set both fuselage sides aside to dry. (Picture 7)

Picture 1: Duplicating fuselage angle on doubler.
Picture 2: Duplicating fuselage angle on doubler.
Picture 3: Duplicating fuselage angle on doubler.
Picture 4: Left fuselage, all stringers and doublers glued and clamped.
Picture 5: Duplicating fuselage angle on doubler.
Picture 6: Duplicating fuselage angle on doubler.
Picture 7: Both fuselage sides; glued, clamped and set aside to dry.

vmsguy

Date: December 21, 2007

Tonight I got a little prep work done. I ordered some landing gear today. Hopefully I'll see it sometime next week. The new landing gear is supposed to be exactly what I will need. I will wait until I have the piece in my hands before I starting cutting and gluing.

In the meantime I can do a little work getting the fuselage ready to join. First, I lightly clamped the two sides together and sanded away rough edges left from the glue-up. In particularly, I paid close attention to where the landing gear mount attaches. I will need this to be flat. (Picture 1)

Next, I need to straighten the edges of the doubler strips. Bulkhead #2 and #3 butts against these doublers and these also need to be straight. (Picture 2)

Once that was complete I started prepping the nose of the fuselage to prepare the firewall. Here is one place I deviated from the plans. The plans call for a 1/2" x 1/2" mounting running lengthwise along the fuselage. This hardwood mount block goes through the firewall and extends towards bulkhead #2. One top of this block, is a 1/4" plywood engine mount. Since I plan on using an electric motor on this plane, I will use a radial mounting system. I will also try to build in a sub-firewall, inspired by a glow-to-electric converstion thread. To that end, I will thicken the fuselage cheeks providing a great deal of strenth for the fuselage to mount against.

First I glued a 1/4" x 1/2" strip vertically on the inside of the fuselage, being careful to align the edge with the front line denoting the fuselage location. (Picture 3) Once this piece was in place, I glued a sheet of 1/4" balsa to the inside of each fuselage cheek. (Picture 4 and 5) Once the glue is dry, I'll cut away the extra material, and the fuselage cheeks will be ready. This extra thickness will provide a very strong mounting area for the firewall. I'll sand down the cheeks so they're rounded off nicely.

Picture 1: Sanding fuselage sides to match. Particularly landing gear mount area.
Picture 2: Make sure ends of doubler strips align. Bulkhead #2 rests against these.
Picture 3: Glue 1/4" x 1/2" stick along front edge of firewall location.
Picture 4: Glue and clamp 1/4" sheeting along fuselage cheek.
Picture 5: Glue and clamp 1/4" sheeting along fuselage cheek.

vmsguy

Date: December 22, 2007

I got started today finalizing the front of the fuselage. I removed the clamps, and then clamped the fuselage halves together. I fired up the bandsaw and carefully cut the extra stock away. (Picture 1) With the fuselage still clamped together, I took my file to it, to remove the extra, shape it into what I wanted, and get an initial smoothness. (Picture 2 and 3)

Finally, to start on the firewall and bulkheads. My first task is to build the sub-firewall. I had cut the firewall already. So it was onto to the sub-firewall. The firewall is 4-1/8" wide. There is 1/4" thick cheeks on each side. Subtract the width of the cheeks from the width of the firewall, and subtract another 1/8", and need to cut the sub-firewall 3-1/2" wide. The motor I believe I will be using is an e-flite 60, (Picture 4) the mount is is about 2-1/4" wide. To have a little extra I decided on making the sub-firewall 2-3/4" high. So, off to the bandsaw and some careful measuring and cutting.

With the sub-firewall cut, I wanted to do a test fitting. Aligning the top of the sub-firewall with the actual firewall, then centering it left-to-right, I clamped them together. (Picture 5 thru 7) I then held the firewall in place on the fuselage in place. In the picture you can see a gap between the sub-firewall and the fuselage cheek. This is by design, the sub-firewall will not attach to the fuselage cheeks in any way. (Picture 8)

With this verified, I clamped the sub-firewall to the back of the firewall. I drew lines 1/4" and 1/2" from the sides and bottom of the sub-firewall. I also measured in 1/2" from the top and marked it on the inner line. (Picture 9 thru 11) The lines 1/2" from the edges are the location of drill holes. You may be wondering why clamped the sub-firewall onto the back of the firewall. I marked the engine mounting cross lines on the front. I need to transfer that onto the sub-firewall.

To accomplish this, I first drilled four 9/64" holes. I drilled these on the 1/2" lines and marks. (Picture 12). Next I flipped the assembly over, and drilled a hole through the centering lines. (Picture 13) I then moved the sub-firewall to the front of the firewall, and put machine screws through the holes in the corners and clamped it down. (Picture 14) Then drew new centering lines onto the sub-firewall. (Picture 15)

At this point, I'm mostly done with the firewall until it comes time to installing the battery and electonics. But I have more work to do on the sub-firewall. I cut more plywood 1/4" to a thickness of 1" and glued pieces to the back of the sub-firewall. Remember the lines I drew earlier? These were guidelines for these pieces. Essentially, I have made a box, but without a top and back. (Picture 16 thru 18).

My plan is to mount the motor to the sub-firewall, and mount the sub-firewall to the actual firewall. The sub-firewall will not be glued to the firewall, only held in place with machine screws. This box serves a few functions. First, it provides some of the stand-off distance the motor will need. Second, it will provide an interchangeable mount point for the motor. If I need to change motors, I only need to make a new sub-firewall for the new motor, this can serve as a template. And third, it will provide a good area to add weight if the plane turns out tail heavy.

NOTE: Look forward to February 22, 2008 entry. The screw holes ended very close to the motor mount holes. The screw holes need to be mounted further away. I originally thought of drilling the holes around the edges, actually through the edge-wise plywood stand-offs.

Next task, making bulkhead #2. The plans call for a 1/4" sheet of balsa. I am using plywood. I plan on using a hook-style wing mount, I want the extra strength of plywood. First I cut a piece to size. I also cut a second piece I was planning on using as a doubler. (Picture 19) Next I marked where I wanted the center area and the socket for the wing hook. Then drilled some holes near each corner. (Picture 20 and 21) Then I went to work with my coping saw. A scroll saw would have done the job more quickly, but I took my time, then used my file to clean up the edges. And finally some sanding to make it look good. (Picture 22)

A little more work before calling it a night. First, the glue was dry on the sub-firewall. I took it out of the clamps put it against the firewall. There is no glue between it and the firewall. In these pictures only the friction of the machine screws held the assembly together. Before I install the firewall, I will need to increase the size of the holes so blind nuts can be used. The pictures show what I am trying to accomplish. The sub-firewall provides 1-1/4" stand-off from the firewall, and it provides an area for nose weight to go if needed. The top hatch will cover the top when I get that far. And finally, Because I won't glue it to the fuselage, it's easily detached and replaced for a different one if I have to resize motors. (Picture 23 thru 26)

Finally onto the final bulkhead. The plans call for 3/16" balsa, with two holes drilled in it for control rods. I chose to use 1/8" plywood, and like bulkhead #2, I cut the center out. The plywood should give me more strength, and the center opening will provide more room for whatever control rod I decide to use. (Picture 27)

Picture 1: After cutting the cheek reinforcements on the bandsaw.
Picture 2: After some filing and initial sanding.
Picture 3: Left fuselage read for firewall fitting.
Picture 4: E-flite 60, probably motor, sitting on plans.
Picture 5: Firewall marked with motor centering lines.
Picture 6: Sub-firewall sitting in place on top of firewall.
Picture 7: Center sub-firewall left-to-right, and clamp to hold it.
Picture 8: Check to verify sub-firewall doesn't hit fuselage cheeks.
Picture 9: Next, transfer centering lines onto sub firewall.
Picture 10: Mark lines 1/4" in from sides and bottom.
Picture 11: Mark lines 1/2" in from sides, mark 1/2" from top.

vmsguy

Date: December 22, 2007

Part 2.

Picture 12: Drill holes where the inner lines meet.
Picture 13: Flip firewall over, and from the front, drill hole where centerlines meet.
Picture 14: Move sub-firewall to front, put machine screws in two corners, then clamp.
Picture 15: Mark centering lines on sub-firewall.
Picture 16: Glue 1" ply pieces to subfirewall, along sides and bottom. Then Clamp.
Picture 17: Glue 1" ply pieces to subfirewall, along sides and bottom. Then Clamp.
Picture 18: Glue 1" ply pieces to subfirewall, along sides and bottom. Then Clamp.
Picture 19: Pieces for bulkhead #2 raw pieces.

vmsguy

Date: December 22, 2007

Part 3.

Picture 20: Lines drawn and holes drilled.
Picture 21: Lines drawn and holes drilled.
Picture 22: Inside area cut out sanded.
Picture 23: Sub-firewall and firewall together.
Picture 24: Provides 1-1/4" of stand-off.
Picture 25: Provides area for weight up front.
Picture 26: Not glued to firewall, can be removed/interchanged if I need different motor.
Picture 27: Bulkhead #3 almost ready.

vmsguy

Date: December 23, 2007

Work starts today gluing bulkead #2 into place. First I used a big clamp to hold it against the fuselage. But it wasn't quite square. (Picture 1 and 2) I clamped a piece of a tri-square and then a horizontal clamp to pull it into square. (Picture 3)

Onto bulkhead #3, first clamped and pinned a piece of scrap onto the stringers. I will use wedges to press the bulkhead into the doublers. (Picture 4) I then glued the bulkhead into place, and used the wedges to hold it. I used a tri-square and horizontal clamp to hold it square. (Picture 5)

But then I bumped it. Argh!

Next try, it turned out the bulkhead was leaning a little the other way, so the horizontal clamp was needed to pull the bulkhead forward. (Picture 6 and 7)

After a few hours for the glue to dry, it was time to glue the other fuselage half. The fit was very close, I only needed to pull the bulkheads apart a little for the other fuselage half to fit. The key was to get glue everywhere needed, and to apply as clamping force everywhere I could. To do this, I tried pinning some horizontal scrap in place, so I had something to for the clamps to pull against. Now, only wait for the glue to dry.

Picture 1: Bulkhead #2 glued onto fuselage.
Picture 2: Not quite square.
Picture 3: Horizontal clamp used to pull bulkhead into square.
Picture 4: Scrap pinned to provide wedging force.
Picture 5: Bulkhead #3 in place.
Picture 6: Second try. Wedges pinning bulkead against doublers. Horizontal clamp pulling it square.
Picture 7: Second try. Wedges pinning bulkead against doublers. Horizontal clamp pulling it square.
Picture 8: Fuselage halves clamped together.
Picture 9: Fuselage halves clamped together.
Picture 10: Fuselage halves clamped together.
Picture 11: Fuselage halves clamped together.
Picture 12: Fuselage halves clamped together.

vmsguy

Date: December 24, 2007

The work started with removing the clamps and admiring my work a little. (Picture 1 and 2) This is the place where everything seems to take shape.

Next I started putting in the tri-stock to reinforce bulkhead #2. With the fuselage on the its right side, I laid tri-stock on both sides. (Pictures 3 thru 6) Note: DO NOT add reinforcement tri-stock on the back of the bulkhead. It gets in the way of the landing gear mount bolts. Wait to do this after the landing gear has been mounted and all the blindnuts for the landing gear are in place.

Next I needed to install the firewall. (Bulkhead #1) I drilled the sub-firewall mounting holes a little larger to accomodate blind nuts. Also, I marked a 3/8" by 5/8" rectangle on the lower left of the firewall. I made it 1/2" from the side and bottom so it would clear the tri-stock on the inside. (Picture 7)

Before I glued it into place, I wrote the appropriate thrust angles onto it. This is so they will remain with the airplane, no matter where it goes. (Picture 8 and 9) After the glued dried, I added tri-stock behind it. I left a 1/4" gap at the top of the fuselage. This is for a cross brace that will serve as a mounting point for the hatch. (Picture 10)

Some more time passed, and glue has dried. I flipped the plane over and applied tri-stock to the left side. (Picture 10 thru 13)

Picture 1: Fuselage out of the clamps.
Picture 2: Fuselage out of the clamps.
Picture 3: Tri-stock reinforcing bulkhead #2. Note: Do NOT add tri-stock reinforcement on the back of this bulkhead. It gets in the way of landing gear mount bolts.
Picture 4: Tri-stock reinforcing bulkhead #2.
Picture 5: Tri-stock reinforcing bulkhead #2.
Picture 6: Tri-stock reinforcing bulkhead #2. Note: Do NOT add tri-stock reinforcement on the back of this bulkhead. It gets in the way of landing gear mount bolts.
Picture 7: Firewall, marked for ESC mounting.
Picture 8: Firewall glued and clamped in place.
Picture 9: Firewall glued and clamped in place.

vmsguy

Date: December 24, 2007

Part 2.

Picture 10: Tri-stock reinforcing firewall.
Picture 11: Tri-stock on the left side.
Picture 12: Tri-stock on the left side.
Picture 13: Tri-stock on the left side.

vmsguy

Date: December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas to all...

I continued with fuselage construction. I glued on the landing gear mounting plate. Then, I flipped it upside down on the plan and pinned it in place. The next step is to bring the back of the fuselage to a point. Again this is where I differ from the plans. I am planning on a twin-tail arrangement. This will require a few changes to the rear of the fuselage. Before I can continue with the fuselage, I must build the stabilizer and rudder.

So off to another work bench. I laid out the plans, the wax paper, and the lower spar. (Picture 1 and 2) You will notice a bell crank in the picture. I need to mount this bell crank in the center of the stabilizer. First I need to decide on a mounting method. I first cut a 3/16" piece of plywood. I was going to glue this on top of the center spar area, and provide a mount this way. I put a blind nut in the plywood. (Picture 3,4 and 5) Then I put 1/8" mounting balsa inbetween the center two rib location. (Picture 6) When I test fitted everything, I found the bellcrank arm would be too high, the stabilizer ribs aren't very thick, the top of the bell crank was near the top of the rib. I will need to drill holes through the ribs for the linkage to go, and the hole would have been too close to the top of the rib, weakening it severely. I needed a new plan.

New plan, I removed the 1/8" balsa mounting plate, and replaced it with a piece of plywood. Before I put it in place, I drilled a hole, and inserted a blind nut on the bottom. (Picture 7) Next, I put the bell crank in place and marked the location of the hole. (Picture 8) I measured the distance from back of the spar to the hole, 1-1/4". (Picture 9) Then I transfered that distance to a rib. (Picture 10) Next I measured to the top of the bell crank, (Picture 11) and transfered that measurement to the rib. It turned out perfectly. The rib was about 3/4" thick at this point, and the measurement was 3/8" from the bottom of the rib. (Picture 12)

Next, I drilled the ribs. I carefully stacked 13 ribs together, clamped them, and drilled them all at the same time. I only need 12 ribs, but I drilled one extra to serve as a template for future use. These holes will provide the pathway for the linkage out to the end of the stabilizer.

Finally I could do a little more assembly. I glued down the first two ribs. (Picture 12) Even though the plans do not call for it, I plan on adding sheer webbing to the stabilizer. I do not want the twin rudders twisting the stabilizer. But that will be for tomorrow.

Picture 1: Ready to start stabilizer build. Lower spar in place.
Picture 2: Ready to start stabilizer build. Lower spar in place.
Picture 3: Blind nut in 3/16" plywood.
Picture 4: Blind nut in 3/16" plywood.
Picture 5: Blind nut in 3/16" plywood.
Picture 6: Balsa gluing surface on the bottom of the stabilizer.

vmsguy

Date: December 25, 2007

Part 2.

Picture 7: I swapped out balsa plate for plywood one. Blind nut already installed.
Picture 8: Marked location of furthest hole.
Picture 9: Measured distance from spar to hole. 1-1/4"
Picture 10: Distance transfered to a rib,
Picture 11: Measured from bottom of stabilizer to top of bell crank.
Picture 12: Transfered distance to rib.
Picture 13: The center two ribs glued in place.

vmsguy

Date: December 26, 2007

Rear stabilizer build continues. First, I made some sheer webbing pieces. The plans don't call for any, but I wanted to prevent twisting. The twin tails will put stress on the stabilizer it wouldn't see with a single tail, so better safe and strong then sorry. I used 1/16" material so it shouldn't add too much weight. I ripped some balsa to width, then set up the fence and cut a bunch to length. Pretty easy with the right tools.

First, I glued on the top spar. This gives a gluing surface to the sheer webbing pieces. Next I started adding ribs. I'd glue on a web piece, then the rib. Once the glue dried, I'd come back and add another set. (Picture 1 and 2)

Once I added four ribs to each side, I needed to figure out how to make the last bay. I needed to consider how to mount the bell crank. I also had to consider how the monocoat was going to go on. And I had to figure how how I was going to attach the rudder. I eventually decided I would cut new ribs. These ribs would be like the ribs I was already using with a few exceptions. (Picture 3) The new ribs are 1/16" smaller to allow for sheeting to be added. I will build a hatch between the lower spar and the trailing edge sheeting. Now to put it together.

I measured the edge of the sheer webbing. (Picture 7) Then I measured from the last rib 5" (Picture 8) and cut a sheet to fit in this space. I glued the webbing and the sheet in place. (Picture 9) Finally, I glued the two last ribs into place. (Picture 10) I paid extra care to make sure the last rib was perpendicular to the board, and perpendicular to the spar. This rib has to be as straight as I can make it.

Picture 1: Vertical stabilizer mostly ribbed.
Picture 2: Sheer webbing in place in front of spars.
Picture 3: End ribs cut. A combination of the regular rib, and the plywood center rib.
Picture 4: The left end of stabilizer. Last sheer web in place.
Picture 5: The left end of stabilizer. Last sheer web in place.
Picture 6: The left end of stabilizer. Last sheer web in place.
Picture 7: Edge of sheer web marked. Barely visible on bottom spar.
Picture 8: Measure and mark 5" from last rib.
Picture 9: Sheer web and bottom sheeting glued in place.
Picture 10: Last two ribs glued in place

vmsguy

Date: December 27, 2007

Not too much work today. First I thought I'd add a picture of the modified rib. Words sometimes don't explain well enough. I put a new rib on top of an older one, and took a picture. (Picture 1) Notice the older ribs is visible on the top and the the front half of the bottom.

Next I finished up the right end of the stabilizer, adding the sheer webbing, lower sheeting, and the two end ribs. (Picture 2)

On a whim, I looked through my balsa stock and found some 3/8" by 1/2" leading edge. The plans call for 1/2" by 1/2" oh well. This will have to be close enough. The first test fitting showed me the material was a little to tall. The stabilizer rib wasn't quite 1/2" tall in the front. I pulled out my razor plane, and a few swipes later, it fit well. So I glued and clamped it in place. (Pictures 3 and 4)

Next on the agenda, figuring out the trailing edge material. I think I can come up with something similar to what I did on the wing. But that will be another day.

Picture 1: A new modified rib sitting atop an original. Notice the material missing.
Picture 2: Right end of stabilizer completed.
Picture 3: Leading edge glued into place.
Picture 4: Leading edge glued into place.

vmsguy

Date: December 28, 2007

Work today shifted to the fuselage. After looking over a couple different tail wheel assemblies, I settled on using a pull-pull tail wheel. I won't be setting it up as a true pull-pull system, but I needed the arm to be offset from the wheel. I will connect the servo arm, via control rod to this arm. With this decided, I needed to decide how wide the back end of the fuselage will be. I measured the width of the tail wheel, and decided the inside of the fuselage will be 1-1/2" apart. (Picture 1)

I put a square down on the centerline of the fuselage, and moved the fuselage together. Like the rest of the fuselage, I put piece of balsa beside the fuselage, and pinned it in place so that the fuselage was correctly positioned. (Picture 2 and 3) In the pictures, you see one fuselage side has vertical brace, and the other side doesn't. I later remove the brace. I decided it wasn't necessary, I might end up putting a 1/16" sheet on the inside of this area, just to reinforce the joint a little.

The fuselage wanted to bow, I wanted a straight line. I put the straight edge along the balsa strip, and made it straight, and pinned it down. (Picture 4)

Next came the gluing of the top braces. The plans call for a butt joint, the top braces were to butt up against the side braces. I didn't like this idea. While it may look better, I don't think it is as strong. Instead, I ran the top braces the full width between the fuselage sides. I measured at the bottom (the top of the fuselage, 'cause it's upside down.) and got a length, then I made two pieces the same length. I glued braces 2 and 4, (Picture 5) then went back and cut, glued, and clamped braces 1 and 3. (Picture 6)

Once this glue dries, I will take a hot iron, and run it along the bend at bulkhead #3. This will be to help get a good bend at that point. I will also work on putting on the wood at the very tail, including wood for tail gear mounting, as well as considering how to run control rods. I also have to consider how the stabilizer will mount. I need to glue on the stringers that run the length of the bottom of the fuselage.

Back to the front of the fuselage, I added fuselage doublers in the bottom of the tank area. This provides a wider area for the fuselage bottom to glue onto. (Picture 7) Once the glue dried, I filed the extra off to match the line of the fuselage, then glued 1/4" balsa onto the bottom of the fuse. Two pieces formed the bottom of the tank area, then I added a 3/16" piece just in front of it. My plan is to plane the leading edge of this area down to a thinner edge. (Picture 8 and 9)

After a break, I came back and removed the clamps from the top and bottom rail braces. I glued the rearmost top and bottom rail braces in place. I also glued down some plywood for the mounting of the tailwheel. (Picture 10)

The plans call for 1/4" by 3/8" stringers to go down the center and each side of the top and bottom of the fuselage. I don't like this. I will put 1/4" by 5/8" strips down each side instead. I want to cover the joint made by the braces. Plus I hope this will provide a little stronger fuselage. I am still worried about fuselage twisting.

Picture 1: Placing tail gear where I want it. Deciding on width of tail.
Picture 2: Pinning end of fuselage in place. 1-1/2" apart.
Picture 3: Pinning end of fuselage in place. 1-1/2" apart.
Picture 4: Use straight edge to pin down guide bar.
Picture 5: Two top rails glued in place.
Picture 6: Four top rails glued in place.
Picture 7: Fuselage doublers in tank area.
Picture 8: Fuselage bottom glued and clamped.
Picture 9: Fuselage bottom glued and clamped.
Picture 10: Rearmost top rail brace glued in place. Plywood tailwheel mount glued on.
Picture 11: Doubler for Bulkhead #3 glued and clamped.

vmsguy

Date: December 29, 2007

The first think I did today was remove all the clamps. It's kind of nice seeing it without signs of construction all around it. Next I worked on the front of the fuselage. I used my razor plane to slim down the 1/4" and 3/16" balsa sheeting on the bottom of the fuel tank area. I slimmed it down at an angle so the leading edge was about 1/8" thick. Next, I filed down the excess on the edges to match the fuselage sides. Then worked it over with the sandpaper for an initial sanding. (Picture 1)

Next I started work on the stringers. Last night, I realized the stringers would only have a butt joint to hold their ends in place. So I added some 1/16" sheeting on the landing plywood landing gear mounts. (Picture 2 and 3) This will give the stringers more area to glue to. I started with one side, glued it into place. After the glue dried, I came back and glued on the other side.

Next step, gluing the center stringer in place. Rather simple really, I worked from the tail towards the front. At every brace adding glue, checking the stringer for center, and clamping into place. (Picture 9)

Another deviation from the plans. I added 1/8" square balsa braces along the sides of the fuselage. I added these in the hope it would stiffen the fuselage without adding too much weight. It took time, working around already positioned clamps, making sure each piece fit then gluing it in place at each end and in the middle. I hope it was worth it. (Picture 10 and 11)

At this point, I believe I've done all I can with the fuselage pinned down on the table. I'll do some more sanding when the glue has dried, but after that, I'll flip it over and add the stringers to the top. I'm almost to the point where I need the wing to be ready for mounting. Woo Hoo!

Once the glue had dried I did a little more sanding, then pulled the pins, and removed it from the building board. I flipped it right-side up, and snapped a couple pictures. (Pictures 12 and 13)

Then I went to work further strengthening the fuselage. I added a doubler on bulkhead #3, (Picture 14) and then added cross bracing on the bottom of tail section. This took time, but I hope it will be worth it. (Pictures 15 and 16)

Picture 1: Fuselage bottom of tank area after initial shaping and sanding.
Picture 2: 1/16" tab to glue stringers to.
Picture 3: 1/16" tab to glue stringers to.
Picture 4: Doubler at bulkhead #3.
Picture 5: Outside stringers glued in place.
Picture 6: Outside stringers glued in place.
Picture 7: Outside stringers glued in place.
Picture 8: Outside stringers glued in place.

vmsguy

Date: December 29, 2007

Part 2.

Picture 9: Center stringer glued in place.
Picture 10: Cross braces glued in place.
Picture 11: Cross braces glued in place.
Picture 12: Fuselage removed from board.
Picture 13: Nose section from above. Still needs a couple pieces of tri-stock.
Picture 14: Doubler glued onto bulkhead #3.
Picture 15: Cross braces glued into bottom of fuselage.

vmsguy

Date: December 30, 2007
I didn't do too much work today. I set the stabilizer on the fuselage. I needed to know how the pieces will fit together. I also need to figure out how I will make the transistion between fuselage and stabilizer. (Picture 1, 2 and 3)

I found I will need to add surface are on the bottom of the stabilizer. Not for any structural reason, but to have area for the monocoat to adhere.

Picture 1: Stabilizer set on fuselage.
Picture 2: Stabilizer set on fuselage.
Picture 3: Stabilizer set on fuselage.

vmsguy

Date: December 31, 2007

Work started with gluing the top stringers in place. (Picture 1) I stopped them at the top brace, just up from the stabilizer position. (Picture 2, 3, and 4)

I've settled on how I will transition from the fuselage to the stabilizer. Once the glue dried, I could begin. I started with cutting two wedge shaped pieces to be glued atop the side stringers. These are 1/4" thick at the back, and tapered down to nothing on the front. Next I cut a end piece that sat across the side braces and matched up the wedges. (Picture 5)

Next I glued stringers in place. (Picture 6) At the end, I cut two small pieces to fit between the center and side stringers. (Picture 7)

Next, I need to finish the stabilizer mounting. The plans calls for a 2 degree positive incidence. I have to read the instructions and formulate a plan.

After reading the instructions, I didn't have a lot to go on. So I decided to plug on, and hopefully I'll be OK.

First I clamped a couple pieced of scrap between the servo mounting rails. This is the centerline of the fuselage. Then I placed my angle finder on them. I placed a block under the tail, and kept sliding it forward until the I got a reading of zero. (Pictures 8, 9 and 10)

With the fuselage "level" I moved the angle finder to the tail. (Picture 11) I placed some scrap on the tail section, and took my measurement. It came out to 2.5 degrees. I won't quibble over a half degree. (Picture 12)

Next I went to work on the wing saddle, I need to add two stringers along the top edge of the fuselage. (Picture 13)

Next came putting some tri-stock in the tail to support the stabilizer. First, I cut 1/2" tri-stock to length. Then I pinned some 1/4" flat scrap to one side. (Picture 14 and 15) Then placing glue only on the tri-stock, I clamped it in place. (Picture 16). The 1/4quot; stock serves a couple purposes. First, it is the same thickness as the piece that will eventually go there. So it serves as a spacer, by aligning the top of the scrap with the top of the wood, I get the correct depth. Second, it helps hold the tri-stock in place while the glue dries. In the picture, the clamps on the ends, hold the flat stock in place, the clamp in the middle reaches around the flat stock, and applies pressure to the tri-stock.

Picture 1: Top stringers glued and clamped in place.
Picture 2: Top stringers stop one brace before stabilizer.
Picture 3: Top stringers stop one brace before stabilizer.
Picture 4: Top stringers stop one brace before stabilizer.
Picture 5: Wedge shaped pieced and addition brace in place.
Picture 6: Stringer pieces added.
Picture 7: Filler pieces between stringers.
Picture 8: Angle finder placed on fuselage centerline.
Picture 9: Tail is raised until meter reads zero.