Posts: 176
Joined: 7/15/2006 From: Dallas,
TX, USA Status: offline
Flying foam did a great job for my wing cores. I actually emailed the guy my autocad drawings and he was able to ship the wings and stabs a few weeks later.
I actually had the trailing edges of the cores come down to a sharp point, and they were still cut perfectly!
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
Progress continues as we start the Thanksgiving holiday. The vertical fin has been permanently glued to it's base block which is only tack glued to the rear main fuse. I then carved that base block which essentially fairs the fin into the main fuselage. Generally speaking, I had to do a bit of trimming here and there to achieve proper fin positioning and alignment as the sum of several small errors had to be compensated for.........but I'm confident that she's straight. The rudder pieces are almost ready for assembly. I'll be using 2 sheets of 1/4" balsa sandwiching a 1/32nd ply center. I like this method as it ensures a straight control surface and allows me to keep track of an accurate center as I shape the piece. The ply center also toughens the edges/corners. I'll be cutting slots into the large piece of ply which is where the hinges will go into the rudder. After the vertical fin is done, I'll pop off the main block and once again hollow inside where able. I'll then install the carbon dual elevator pushrod system that you see in the photos. It arrived today in the mail from Central Hobbies and looks to be a quality unit. I also received a Gator plug-in adjustable stab mechanism which will be installed a bit later. Speaking of hinges, I have to make yet another trip to the local hobby shop to get some! As mentioned at the start of this thread, I'm starting back into the hobby from scratch after a long layoff. After I stopped flying years ago, I slowly got rid of everything including hardware. As I progress on this project, I'm finding that I need this and that....stuff that modelers usually have lying around. I don't mind the nickel and dime factor, it's the repeated trips to town that annoy me. Maybe I should plan a bit better....hmmmmmm?
Posts: 3031
Joined: 5/25/2004 From: _ , USA Status: offline
Nice job on the vertical stab. One nice thing about using the plug in horizontal stabs is they really simplify the complexity of the wood parts in tail area.
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
The vertical fin and rudder have been shaped. This phase has been the most tedious part of the project thus far.
A quick trip to the hobby shop and I had the hinges required to hinge and tack the rudder to the fin prior to sanding. As you can see in the 1 photo, I slotted the rudder's thin ply core to accept 4 hinges. The 2 rudder horns for the pull-pull will later be attached near the rudder's bottom with horn bolts going thru the bottom hinge. I then sandwiched the perimeter ply core with 2 quarter inch pieces of balsa plank on either side. Before tacking the rudder to the fin, I carved the rudder to it's rough shape to minimize the sanding once the whole unit was together. While the fin is structuraly strong, some parts are fragile to handling during the carving and sanding process. Next step is to break the entire fin unit from the fuse then hollow it's main block from the bottom. Removing this unit also gives me unrestricted access to the rear fuse innards as I've yet to install the elevator pushrods and antenna guide. Once all those steps are completed, I'll permanently glue all the carved blocks back into place and finish the shaping and sanding.
Turkey last night, turkey sandwiches for lunch today and turkey leftovers for supper tonight. Enough for this coming week's lunches as well. Sound familiar??
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
The fin assembly broke off nice and clean. For hollowing, I start with a straight blade x-acto to remove the big chunks. I simply cut 'v's into the wood and pull out large pieces. I follow with the drum sander mounted to my Dremel tool....works great!
In the end, I wonder how much weight I'm saving? Hard to tell really but every bit counts I guess.
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
In an effort to shave additional grams, I removed more balsa from the inside of a few of the blocks I had already hollowed out. As well, I cut out the air vent holes in the bottom of the fuse just behind where the glass cowling ends. I cut those vents are as per the plans to maintain an authentic look. With the electric setup, instead of a header and pipe running down low the inside of the cowl, I will have the ESC either just ahead or behind the nosegear depending on balance requirements and the battery also hanging low in the vicinity of the CG. The rear vents seen in the picture combined with the standard vent that I'll cut in the front of the cowl should provide adequate cooling of the electrical components.
Just weighed the fuselage including all blocks and vert fin/rudder (minus canopy and cowl) and I'm sitting at 590 grams.
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
1000+ hits!! That's nice to see. Hopefully these build threads serve to motivate and provide insight into different building techniques. I know I've certainly enjoyed following 8178's progress.
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
Just finished installing the elevator pushrod system, the rudder cable guides and the antenna guide. A fair bit of work was required to install that pushrod system from Central Hobbies. You must ensure a linear path (minimize any bending) for both the carbon rods and their housings, otherwise you build significant friction into the system. In the end those cool looking carbon rods exiting the fuselage with high quality couplings to the clevices add up to a classy setup.
Time to start re-gluing blocks and the vertical fin to the fuse and proceed with final carving and sanding.
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
The 2 rear bottom blocks and vertical fin assembly have been permanently re-glued to the main fuse. Photos show the elevator carbon rod exiting the fuse, the rudder cable guide, as well as the antenna guide tube exiting the bottom of the tail.
I'd say she's starting to look like an Aurora! I'm hoping to hear back soon ref wing/stab cores so I can get on with the rest of the project.
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
I'm preparing the nose section to accept the nosegear mount. The original Aurora (and Cosmos) have the nosegear offset from center line to minimize the amount of offset required in the header. Since I have no header to contend with, I'm going to centrally mount the nosegear. The 1/4" plywood gear mount will be extra wide though and will contain 2 sets of holes/blind nuts to allow both a central or traditional offset mount. Again, I'm looking to retain a glow motor option in case I change my mind one day.
< Message edited by Bootalini -- 12/5/2006 6:08:30 PM >
Posts: 146
Joined: 9/5/2006 From: Ottawa,
ON, CANADA Status: offline
Christmas came early today!! A hearty thanks to:
-Ryan McLaughlin who donated an MK nosegear and Supra mains to the project. He had these lying around gathering dust and although used, they're in great shape and will be perfectly at home on the Aurora. I don't know Ryan from previous which illustrates the camaraderie and good-will within the vintage pattern community!!
-Peter T.......aka PTXman who's been a great friend and cerebral source these last 18 years. Pete donated all the goodies you see in the box including 2 sets of those hard to find Gator Plug-In Wing Adjusters. I was having a hard time finding those things.
I tried calling Flying Foam today but no answer. I sure hope I can get cores delivered in time for the Christmas holiday.
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RE: Aurora 60 Build Thread - Electric Power - 
