diggs_74

Finally finished getting the wing zero'd and potted in.. I laid up the "hoop" last night so once that's dry I'll get it sent out to Mr. Allen for final approval.

I'm going to get started on the wing fillets.. Does anyone have a good material for making them?

Scorpion Racing

I used my laminating resin, milled fiberglass and fumed silica (carb-o-sil) to make a thick putty. If you have some thin mylar film that will conform to the shape you want, you can use it as a form and pour the resin mixture into it. You could also use a foam form, covered with clear packing tape as a release film, and do the same thing with it. As long as you wait till the resin mixture cures, the packing tape will come right off and leave a slick surface.

You say you are sending in the hoop now? I though you had to wait till it was built and see if it fly's first! I am trying to finish the wing plug for my Q500 before I send it and Invictus out for the final paint. Looks like you may pull ahead!

diggs_74

It will fly, the question is how well.. I figure if it doesn't fly well, the "hoop" area probably isn't the culprit

If you saw the entire plug as it sits now, you'd be surprised if I had it done for the 2012 Nats..

Scorpion Racing

I know what you mean, I have modified the canopy hatch so many times I forget what it looks like! Of course, the 2012 nats might just be about right!! I need one more day on it, and then just run a guide coat over the whole plug to make sure it is ready for paint.

Maybe I should lay up a hoop now too...

diggs_74

If you do, remember that the 12.5 sq/in cross section doesn't include any fillets.. That's the other reason I'm doing it now..

Scorpion Racing

Yeah, mine is cut thru the canopy hatch and fuselage area where the wing mounts, so it is kinda 6 of one, half dozen the other. Who knows, if I get bored I might do it now!!

D.E.

Glad to see you going!

I did my fillets by putting a piece of 1/64 ply mounted between the wing and fuse with a piece of wax paper protecting the wing. First I shaped the ply piece to look like I wanted the fillet to look when looking straight down on it from above. Mix a batch of epoxy with alot of microballoons then with the fuse on tis side at about a 45 degree angle pile the slurry mixture on top of the ply and fuse ( dont try to do it all in one app let it gel and put on another pile ) When dry sand everything off that doesnt look like a fillet.

That being said I did a large fillet on mine as the real airplane has and it makes it a real beatch to get it out of the mold so be careful.

D.E.

diggs_74

I was kind of planning the same thing Dave except that I was going to use some .005" prepreg glass from ACP instead of the 1/64".. I wasn't going to get quite as big with them as you did but they will be much larger than my originals.. Thanks for the heads up on the molding.. I was considering doing a separate mold for the saddle area so I could get the fillets nice and sharp without worrying about getting them out of the mold.. I'm not sure that is the right thing to do with all the stress that area gets during flight.. On the up side would be the very open area for joining the fuse sides..

kane

For building up fillets I use Super Fil from Poly Fiber, sold by Aircraft Spruce. It is epoxy (doesn't shrink) and sands like Polyester and balloons. It is pre-mixed with filler so all you have to do is measure it out and mix it up. Works extremely well!! I also use 1/64th ply (with the grain running across the saddle of course).

DK

daven

My Feedback: (1)

Dan got me hooked on Super - Fil a few years ago, I love the stuff.

diggs_74

Ok, super-fil it is.. thanks for the info

diggs_74

Got my order of Super-Fil today.. Put down some prepreg glass between the fuse and wing, then put down the first layer of the fillet.. I figured I would do it in a couple applications in case I screwed up the ratio or something..

Back to sanding on the H-stab plug while it dries..

diggs_74

Got the wing fillets roughed out.. That super fill stuff is great.. It took a while to dry since it's a little cold in the basement but other than that it turned out pretty good..

Also got the H-stab roughed out and will get some glass on that tonight..

Scorpion Racing

Loos good Lee, did you taper the fillet off the trailing edge way back into the fuselage, or just kinda short?

Can't wait to see how much fun that fillet is to mold!!

diggs_74

It will taper into the fuse but I wanted to get the main part of it roughed out first..

Yes, molding is going to be an issue.. I don't see anyway around doing a separate mold for the saddle area.. The up side is that I will be able to make them very sharp, the downside is another mold flange and parting board..

Scorpion Racing

OK, I see how you are going to do it. That should work fine then. I don't think you will have an issue with the additional mold piece removable now. Good call!

Remember months ago when we talked about having the muffler indent on the bottom of the fuselage and I said it wouldn't be a big deal? Well, welcome to the 3 part fuselage mold because of the stupid little dimple! [&o] I also had the idea like you for the wing saddle since my wing is a double taper with a high aspect ratio which gives the wing saddle a dihedral effect. I ended up modifying the wing mounting area to eliminate a forth parting plane. I am starting the molds for my Quickie this weekend and man, is it a lot simpler to do than the Q40!

Ahhh, the joys of modeling....

Enjoy it!

diggs_74

It is a joy isn't it.. I will say, the first time I flew my own composite quickie design and it took no trim on any surface, that makes it all worth it..

diggs_74

It doesn't look like much but it's smooth.. I should have the fillets finished up tonight.. I did continue the fillets past the TE of the wing same as the full scale but it didn't show up in the pic.. Once wing fillets are done I will get the H-stab set and mounted, it's just kind of sitting in the fuse plug in the pic.. Might even be able to start priming (again) next week..

diggs_74

Sorry for the delay in posting my progress.. I was off all this week for deer hunting but managed to make some progress on the AR-6 (also shot 3 deer).. I had to put a coat of primer on the fuse plug so I could see where I'm at. That's why there is some discoloration in the pic, a single coat of primer doesn't cover much but it will show the imperfections.. There are a few spots that need some attention but not as bad as I was expecting.

GSJames

Looking better every day. I sure hope it's as fast as I think it will be.

A nice 10-pointer walked through the yard the other day. My wife thinks they are her pets!

diggs_74

Thanks Gary, I'm sure it will be at least as fast as my thumbs can make it, maybe faster

Well, as far as pets go, they taste better than dog or cat

diggs_74

Just an update.. Still sanding and filling although less and less each time.. I don't want to do this again so I'm trying to make it as good as possible.. Admittedly, I've been spending some time on a snowmobile and not as much on this.. Hoping to get more done over Christmas since I'm off and finally not driving somewhere for the holidays.. I'll see about getting some pics posted although it doesn't look much different than above..

diggs_74

After many delays and breaks, I put the final coat of primer on the AR-6 fuse plug today.. Should also have the V-stab plugs completed today too. Someone told me making molds was a love-hate arrangement.. Not so sure about the love part. I'm going to start a new thread for the parting board and mold making process..

I'll post the finished pics shortly.

diggs_74

Got the framework completed for the parting board.. I'm hoping to start on the flange tonight..

diggs_74

Well, it's only been 2 years in the making but here is the first AR-6 fuse out of the mold.. It turned out pretty good for a first pull. The next one will be much better I think.. I shot on some primer to see where the pin holes where and there are a few.. But in the words of Lyle Larson (I think) "can you see those at 200mph?"

Anyway, this one will work for testing the wing.. I hope. [X(]