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Joined: 7/21/2005 From: Greensboro,
NC, USA Status: offline
Thanks 8178. I"ve tried several methods of cutting parts over the years and using Super 77 to attach paper patterns directly to the balsa is the easiest and most accurate for me. A bit of thinner brushed on the paper instantly releases it from the wood.
I'm going to laminate the 1/2" x 1" LE from two 1/4" x 1" strips. This will be a bit stronger and a bit more warp resistant. The UFO wing is very minimal in its construction. There are no shear webs and no dihedral braces, and the spars are balsa, not spruce. I will certainly strengthen the area that supports the retract mounting plate; no ply doublers are shown on the plan (they're shown for the fixed gear blocks only). One idea I'm thinking about is to go ahead and sheet the entire wing and then glass it, which makes sense to me. It would probably create a nicer finish, too.
Here's a section of the plans. Note the instructions about joining the wing halves.
Posts: 799
Joined: 6/1/2003 From: genoa,
IL, USA Status: offline
If you are going to go the sheeting route.... here is something to think about. Dynamic Balsa offers foam wing cores along with the cores for the stab.
Click on "foam wings". In the right hand colum, click on "replacement wings". Click on the letter "U" and the wing/stab cores are the first ones on the list.
Posts: 158
Joined: 12/27/2001 From: Rockledge, FL, USA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: impactiq
If you are going to go the sheeting route.... here is something to think about. Dynamic Balsa offers foam wing cores along with the cores for the stab.
Click on "foam wings". In the right hand colum, click on "replacement wings". Click on the letter "U" and the wing/stab cores are the first ones on the list.
I just bought a set of these cores from Dynamic Balsa last month to go along with a glass UFO fuselage I stumbled into. The cores seem to be top quality. I should probably do a build thread on a foam and glass UFO when I get started.
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Joined: 7/21/2005 From: Greensboro,
NC, USA Status: offline
Thanks for the tip impactiq. Wings are my favorite part of the model to build. I really love cutting out ribs and all that.
SteveW, I think that would be a great comparison build with this one that I'm doing. It would be interesting to see how the weights compare. Who made a glass fuse for the UFO?
Yummy, freshly cut ribs!
< Message edited by rainedav -- 3/11/2006 4:34:38 PM >
Posts: 4759
Joined: 7/21/2005 From: Greensboro,
NC, USA Status: offline
I've set up the jig that the wing will be built on. It's nothing fancy, it just ensures that the wing is straight. The centerline of the ribs will be equidistant from the board so that the ribs are perpendicular to the board and both spars converge towards the tip at the same angles to the ribs. I did this because the UFO wing has dihedral. With a Kaos I would set it up so the top spar is parallel to the board and the ribs perpendicular to it and the board, and let the bottom spar angle upward since it's "dihedral" comes from the thickness taper. I guess it doesn't really matter, but hey, it's fun to work all this stuff out.
I haven't glued anything yet. I'm using two slotted gauges to make sure the ribs are square and lined up over the plans since they are up off of the board. Come to think of it, this is the first swept-back R/C wing I've ever built. It's already looking pretty cool.
Posts: 4759
Joined: 7/21/2005 From: Greensboro,
NC, USA Status: offline
I didn't do too much tonight. I'm working on one of the wing panels and got one side sheeted. Next I'll install ply rib doublers and cross braces for the retract mounting plates.
I'm thinking I'll put a servo in each wing. It's just so much easier than making torque rods and installing them in the wing. Although the design is straightforward, there's a lot more work to this one than with a Kaos.
Well, at least the arfers from the woodchucks (see pic).
The LE has been planed and sanded. Time to start the othe wing panel.
Mmmm, balsa! I just don't understand how anyone can think they get the same satisfaction from an ARF toy they bought complete as an aircraft sculpted from a stack of balsa by your own hands. Ah well, YMMV...
Is it wrong for a grown man to get excited by a built up wing?? I just love these build threads.
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Bridi UFO Build (all wood) - 
I just love these build threads.