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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/5/2006 11:46:26 PM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline 		Bill,

No, Henry County High School....similar neck of the woods though.

The guy you need for the wings is Mike Dunphy of PAC RC. They're awesome folks, and Mike cuts GORGEOUS wings...computer controlled machine, the whole nine yards. Presuming you guys are building to a 78" span, he'll even have all the needed templates right in the system once he does mine. Note, however, that Mike DOES have a "real job" during weekdays, and cuts wings on evenings and weekends. Depending on how many cutomers he's got waiting on wings, it may be a bit before he can get to 'em, but they'll be worth the wait.

If you're talking about the framed up wings over on the back wall, no, those are from a Giant Aeromaster actually. And no, I don't recall seeing a JD Extra up at Danielle's, but as we've discussed before, I don't get up there much at all. No disrespect of them...they're an awesome shop with great people. Since I'm in LaVergne, however, they're a solid 45+ minutes away from me, while PAC, in Smyrna, is < 5.

FInally, I'd love to chat more with you about y'all's project, as well as flying in general. Feel free, if you wish, to fire me off an e-mail or PM, and we can exchange phone numbers.

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(in reply to Stickbuilder)
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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 12:04:04 AM   
ChrisMH



Posts: 220
Joined: 8/27/2006
From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: gboulton

I really MUST share this...I know, i know, it's not anything special, nor is it anything a few thousand of you haven't done before...but for ME, it's a pretty nifty bit of engineering.

I scraped together a "test" control surface this evening, to practice making the hinge line the way I want it. I'm hoping to duplicate a scale look and function, with a rounded LE and TE that mate up, with a center point hing mostly concealed in the hinge line. Not only does this add to the scale appearance, but it significantly reduces the airflow disruption over the hinge line, versus standard "point to point" angled TE and LE.

I still have some practice to do to get the edges to marry up closer to "flush", but for a first effort, this ain't too bad for little ole me.

I've left these pics a bit larger, to show some of the detail:



Lookin' good.

Those hinge points are nice...I'm using them in the bipe I'm building and going for the same gapless (or nearly so) hinge line.

The bipe you're building is very nice looking...I may have to do one one of these days. Although probably on a bit of a smaller scale.

Chris



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Chris Hogan
WACO Brotherhood #15 - http://www.houseofmoy.com/waco

(in reply to gboulton)
       Post #: 52

RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 12:08:11 AM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisMH

Lookin' good.

Those hinge points are nice...I'm using them in the bipe I'm building and going for the same gapless (or nearly so) hinge line.

The bipe you're building is very nice looking...I may have to do one one of these days. Although probably on a bit of a smaller scale.

Chris




Thanks for the kind words, Chris. If you're ever interested, be sure to check out bipe flyer's original .40 sized plans for the Bulldog, which I've linked to at the top of this thread.

As for the "gapless" hinge line, I've worked through a couple of "prototypes" now, and am going to try one more tomorrow. I THINK I'll have it down perfect with that one. once I've ironed out a solid and repeatable process, I'll share it here in this thread in considerable detail, for anyone who may be interested.

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The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. - Milton Friedman

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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 12:49:44 AM   
Bipe Flyer



Posts: 4978
Joined: 11/6/2002
From: Mission, BC, CANADA
Status: offline 		Very nice job so far, Gordon! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.



< Message edited by Bipe Flyer -- 12/6/2006 12:50:24 AM >

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1/2A all the way!
Club Saito #151

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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 2:01:32 AM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the kind words, Andrew...that means a lot coming from you, oh master of the Bulldog plans.

Did you EVER think that those original little 1/2A plans would spread THIS far?

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The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. - Milton Friedman

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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 2:11:09 AM   
Bipe Flyer



Posts: 4978
Joined: 11/6/2002
From: Mission, BC, CANADA
Status: offline 		Yes, it is surprising how many different sizes have been built. They've been built with a 35" span, 44" span, 56" span and now 2 78" span versions.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this baby though.

< Message edited by Bipe Flyer -- 12/6/2006 2:12:14 AM >

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1/2A all the way!
Club Saito #151

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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 9:26:50 PM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline 		Well, i have everything I need now for what i hope will be the final prototype/test for the "gapless" hinge lines. I'll try to get to it tonight, and will document the process with pictures.

Also, I'm going to try to start tonight on the cowl, which I'll be glassing over a one-time (I HOPE! ) styrofoam plug. The plug has begun life as a not quite cube shaped cube, pieced together from various bits of styrofoam laying around the shop.

BEHOLD, gentle readers, the craftsmanship and exquisite detail that is the STYRO-CUBE!



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The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. - Milton Friedman

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       Post #: 57

RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/6/2006 11:08:36 PM   
Nogyro



Posts: 1917
Joined: 11/30/2001
From: Puryear, TN, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: gboulton

BEHOLD, gentle readers, the craftsmanship and exquisite detail that is the STYRO-CUBE!




As long as the finished cowl turns out a bit smoother than that, you'll be in good shape!


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Frank

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       Post #: 58

RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/7/2006 2:14:51 PM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Nogyro
As long as the finished cowl turns out a bit smoother than that, you'll be in good shape!



Oh, ok, fine. Since you insist. I was going to go ahead and just use what I had, but I didn't want you laughing at me, Frank.

Here, is this better?







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The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. - Milton Friedman

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       Post #: 59

RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/7/2006 3:01:22 PM   
Richard D Bahmann aka/Wrongway



Posts: 1993
Joined: 1/7/2004
From: Ormond Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Curious, what do you glue the styrofoam with and what is best to shape it with?

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RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/7/2006 3:24:50 PM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: rdb127
Curious, what do you glue the styrofoam with and what is best to shape it with?


You can glue it with pretty much anything. A lot of folks use the 3M contact cement. In my case, since I didn't feel like spending $12 for a can of it, I just used some wood glue. Just clamp it lightly and let it sit for an hour or so, and it's fine.

As for shaping, it's totally dependent on what you're trying to accomplish. In this case, I used an old hacksaw blade to cut off large rough chunks, then used progressively finer sandpaper to bring it down to shape. As silly as it sounds, it really is a case of starting with a big block, and cutting/sanding away everything that doesn't look like a cowl. You can draw lines on it to guide you, or whatever you want to do to help.

I will, however, give you a word of warning I JUST learned...do NOT use the fiberglass mat stuff to do this. You'll never get it to sit down flat, and it'll shed huge clumps of tangled mess...effectively ruining your nice styrofoam plug, and forcing you to head off to Wal Mart for more foam, right after you finish answering a question in your build thread.

Ask me how I know.

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The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. - Milton Friedman
       Post #: 61

RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/8/2006 1:19:10 AM   
ChrisMH



Posts: 220
Joined: 8/27/2006
From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Status: offline 		Hinges...

You may or may not be interested in this, but I thought I'd share a simple jig I made to cut uniform clearances for Robart hinge points.

Makes it pretty durn simple to cut uniform hinge clearances.

Chris



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Chris Hogan
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(in reply to gboulton)
       Post #: 62

RE: Jim LeRoy Pitts Bulldog - Scratch Build Thread - 12/8/2006 1:21:10 AM   
gboulton



Posts: 1862
Joined: 5/28/2005
From: La Vergne, TN, USA
Status: offline 		That's an awesome idea, Chris...thanks, I'll be stealing that!

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The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. - Milton Friedman

(in reply to ChrisMH)