Mods-R-Me
Posts: 802
Joined: 6/13/2005
From: Antelope Valley,
CA, USA
Status: offline
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The build has slowed down a bit due to me constructing the fuse plug, wing, and tail booms simultaneously. I usually update at least once on the weekends but the Modkat is a point where all the components are dependant on each other causing me to multi-task.
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Fuse Plug 4
I'm done sanding  (figure 1)! The fuse is not perfect, but it's good enough to fiberglass. To really fine tune the plug, it must be coated with primer to see all the hi/low spots and divots. Then, fill & sand, fill & sand, fill & sand all over again  . I will admit that the toughest part of the plug was to get the tail end symmetrical (figure 2). The color difference between the white spackle and grey primer kept playing tricks on my mind or maybe I was going crazy for all the effort, take your pick  .
 
Figures 1 & 2
I knew it was time to glass because the Bondo cracked along the edges every time the plug was repositioned. To combat this I beveled all the seams with a sanding block (figure 3). The edges will be built up using a hard mixture of tooling resin after the plug is glassed. This way the seams will be almost as hard as the plug. When fiber glassing, the most important consideration is weather. Epoxy needs to be at 70 degrees and above to cure properly. Also, the humidity needs to be as low as possible (~50% and below). To get a real time reading of the weather, I went to Lowes and purchased a thermometer/humidity gauge for $12 (figure 4). As you can see from the readings, this is not the best day for fiber glassing.
 
Figures 3 & 4
Solution? A space heater and dehumidifier (figure 5). These units do not need to be very big since I work in a very small area. I got the temp up to 75 degrees and the humidity down to 30% after a few hours- TIME FOR GLASSING! First, I wiped down the plug with alcohol to remove all contaminates (figure 6).
 
Figures 5 & 6
Next, I covered the top of plug in one layer of 5oz fiberglass cloth (figures 7 & 8). After it became tacky, I flipped the plug over and feathered the edges with an 80 grit sanding block (figure 9). Then, the bottom was glassed (figure 10). I stopped this process here because the wing needs to be completed before the plug sanding begins. There is a large fairing between the fuse and wing. I plan on molding the bottom of the fuse with epoxy and filler to achieve a gapless wing saddle area. This is much easier to do once the wing is sheeted.
 
Figures 7 & 8
 
Figures 9 & 10
Wing Construction 2
The outer wing construction is pretty straight forward (figures 1 & 2). One thing that will be instituted in the production model is a self aligning leading edge (LE)/trailing edge (TE). The ribs will slide into notches cut into the LE and TE. This will negate the need to a bunch of "T" pins and 90 degree squares. I guess I forgot to put in that feature while my rushing to get a plane in the air  . I did find that the hinge point holes were right on though  (figure 3).
 
Figures 1 & 2
Figure 3
What’s Next?
1. Finish left wing panel
2. Install final fuse details
More to come,
Mods
< Message edited by Mods-R-Me -- 12/11/2006 5:16:23 AM >
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Kelvin "Mods" Verrett
www.MRM-RCModels.com
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Extreme Speed Prop Planes >> RE: Kingcat-Like Design and Build 
RE: Kingcat-Like Design and Build - 
) - Sig Koverall and paint/dope. It is a polyester 
. That's one of the main reasons why I started designing my own. 
