"If I build with magnifying eyeglasses to the best of my ability, the model will look pretty good with no magnification"
Hi Allan,
I've used an Optivisor with a 3 dioptre lens for years, and it's nearly time to move up to a #4....it sure helps when cutting parts for just the right fit!!
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Yesterday I met with Don (Abufletcher) at the San Diego Aerospace Museum and we had a great time talking WW-I. Here we are with another illustrious airplane guy we met there... I am the one in the denim shirt. Abu is the young guy on the other side. The pale looking fellow in the middle didn't have much to say... Also here's an skid idea from a Photoshop study, which is designed to flex a bit under hard loads. I am trying to simplify mechanically and save weight where I can.
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Today I worked on the tank box, which is slightly enlarged for the 10oz tank. F-2 was not changed because it had to retain the motor mount rails. F-4 was reworked and F-5 was remade. The tank side was extended and the tank top is new. Servos rails are moved around a bit. I also ripped the new servo rails out of hard pine, vs the rock hard spruce provided. I think it glues on better and isn't such an ordeal to screw on the servos. I might accept an 8oz tank but I think 6 is too small. Saito recommend an 8-12oz tank with a 50 or 56 and I am using a 62. I build the tank box out of the plane and will soon attach it to the right fuselage side. This method helps me maintain squareness rather than adding the formers individually. This method would work better if the parts had tab-slot construction to lock them into position easier (hint, hint). Next issue is tank accessability, which I consider a must. I have had to pull tanks out of planes and work on them (any bad landing will pop the clunk to the front end - plus tanks can go bad. In this case, I will just cut away the brass tubing at F-4 to get tank access. The music wire can still go through because it would be removable later if needed. Although I make (and may suggest) changes, I will say that this is a very nice kit and fun to build.
I'm told that a loose fitting length of plastic drinking straw over the clunk line will keep it from folding forward, yet still allows the clunk to move freely. It has to be a loose fit on the line yet too small to fit over the clunk......I've used this idea but really don't know if it made any difference.....didn't hurt anything though.
We expect to see some new airplanes in the New Year!!
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quote:
ORIGINAL: allanflowers Next issue is tank accessability, which I consider a must.
I'm not sure how this is set up on the Pup, but on the Snipe there's easy access to the tank from the large hatch on the bottom which extends from the firewall to the former behind the cockpit. It is necessary to cut away part for the brass tube that the 3mm music wires pass through but that's not really a problem.
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Things are interfering with my building this week. Hopefully it will pick up next week. I did get some of the wiring access holes drilled and the fuse sides attached. The elevator jackshaft, or whatever one calls it, required some added structure behind the seat area, which I have installed.
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I don't know why, but somehow when I see the fuselage sides glued together I always get this irrational feeling that the model is halfway done! Maybe it's a reflection of the proverb: "Well begun is half done."
< Message edited by abufletcher -- 1/9/2008 4:00:32 AM >
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Finally got some time on this project. I always struggle with keeping the fuselage straight so I take a long time at this step. The fuselage rear is now pulled together and the tail plates, top and bottom, are installed. A small error on the kit parts requires trimming former F16 to allow for the upper balsa tail plate. This part is important to keep the alignment true so I did it with care. I substituted a wood dowel for the 5mm brass tube tailpost to save weight. My plane will not mount the tailskid from that post anyway so brass would be overkill. I also substituted an aluminum tube with a bamboo dowel for the fin mounting, vs brass and music wire. Note the little jackshaft for the elevator links, which is now installed behind the seat rather than in front of it - to allow a more open cockpit for my pilot. I have been staining the wood to get a better cockpit appearance and now have to stain some more, at least in the mid-fuselage area.
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I spent five hours today, all on the tailskid/wheel unit. The wood strut was relieved to provide a spring action, or at least break before the tail structure is torn apart in a hard landing. Hopefully this will work okay and it is lighter than a real spring action design with a bungee cord or whatever. Time will tell if I was wise to use this design. The tail wheel unit incorporates a Mini Lite 1" Dubro wheel and the axle from a .60 size Dubro tailwheel bracket, from which the 3/32" music wire was reworked. The brass arm I made and soldered to the wire was too thin so I had to sandwich some thin plywood onto the top of it. Dubro Mini E/Z connectors are used for the linkage attachments. Much of the time was spent fabricating the little brass box to carry the spindle shaft and to sleeve over the wood strut. This was a good test of my silver soldering and I am happy to be more or less done with it, other than finishing touches. The skid & wheel unit comes in at 8 grams (.3oz) so I am happy with the weight issue.
< Message edited by allanflowers -- 1/13/2008 11:47:11 PM >
Alan, you're joking right? you are not really putting a tailwheel unit to a pup right? You can just use the original skid with a spring, making it really funtioning: there is no taxiing possible/nescassary anyway ??????
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Frank, I am doing a version of the RAAF Pup. I love the clean fresh look of this plane and it is an easy subject to do (excellent documentation photos, minimal weathering, no machine gun, no fuselage stitching, very opaque white covering which is more forgiving of see-through issues like the CD Designs tailfeathers construction, etc.). Of course it has a tail wheel so I feel obligated to reproduce that - although the addition of the wheel makes weight savings elsewhere in the tail rather important. If God doesn't like my choice then He will probably tear this wheel off on my first landings
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More fuselage work today. I glued in the brass wing mount tubes and reinforced them. The rear one is straightforward but the front one is now split to allow fuel tank removal down the line, if needed. The music wire will still go through, of course. Then the grooved cabane mounting blocks and landing gear mount blocks were added. A little work (plywood buildup) was needed on the front LG blocks to make them fit ala the drawing. The rearward cabane block was cut into two pieces to improve the cockpit interior view. The cabane wires will still go through from side to side and tie it together structurally. Since these blocks were cut, I added some fore and aft gussets to compensate. There are also two small hardwood blocks for the rigging that were added on the fuselage bottom edge. Next I will start on the side structure and have started by relieving some of the pieces for slightly better cockpit interior realism.
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Scale Aircraft >> RE: CD Scaledesigns Pup build 
RE: CD Scaledesigns Pup build - 
Maybe it's a reflection of the proverb: "Well begun is half done."
