RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Cutting the hole for the wing tube was done prior to trimming out for the wing profile and gear plate location. I made a cross hair two inches from the end and half way up the three inch rib blank. I then drilled a small pilot and followed that up with my ever favorite tool a fly cutter. These can be very dangerous so if you need to use one be very careful not to take off any parts when they are spinning. Also drill from both sides to keep tearing out the opposite side when you break threw the center. I might drop a front shear web out of ply to tie the 3/8 plate to the two skins and the wing tube sleeve.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Got the root ribs cut out today from 1/8 ply. Need to cut the tube hole tomorrow on the fly cutter while it is setup. I will post pictures asap once my ipad recharges. I was also able to router out the opposite side for the gear mounts and ribs. Should be able to start sheeting by the weekend. Well the weekend came and went with a sore shoulder until last night. I was able to bond the ribs in last night and will install the gear plates and glue the cores back together tonight.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Well I got the inner two core for each side bonded back together last night. I used a liberal amount of gorilla glue to bond the spar tube socket into the two cores tonight. If you are ever using this adhesive and have not prior it expands until it hits a resistance. I always also add a few drops of water to make sure it has enough humidity to cause the expansion to occur. While the socket is installed pour a liberal amount into the grove left by the hotwire when you cutout for the spar tube and rotate the tube until you see a coating onto the sockets surface. Now add a few drops of water into the grove and rotate a few times to spread the mixture inside the passageway. Now the important parts, cover the grove and anywhere the glue may expand out and bond to the core blanks with masking tape. Sould you fail to do this you will have a huge mess possibly. Now install the aluminum or carbon joiner tube to keep everything round and weight the top of the core blanks to hold everything in place overnight. Next up the gear plates and outter core will get bonded on to the root ends once the socket tube is cut to length.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Started the morning off by removing the weights and flipping the core over to install the gear mounting plates. The gorilla glue did its thing and expanded to fill the void left by the hotwire cut for the wing tube. Now I am off to work while the plates cure today on the bottom side. Tonight's job is to add the root ribs and start the bolt down section reinforcement so that the cores do not crush when bolted onto the fuse. I sure am glad I got the iPad for documenting the build as uploading pictures to RCU has gotten very easy now.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Minor setback I forgot to weight down the gear plates after taking the pictures this morning before leaving for work and had to pry them off and rebond them tonight. The gorilla glue lifted them off the cores and ribs by enough during the day that I was not happy leaving them that way. Not a big deal this time they are getting bonded in with 3 hour epoxy and weighted down over night. Will get back to it in the am before going off to work.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Got back to work on the inner panels this morning after recovering from the nice weather and Ravens playoff game yesterday. Boxed in the gear mounting plates with some 3/8 balsa square balsa rails sanded flush. Added the 3/16ply root ribs and outter blue foam core sections for the inner part of the panel. Bonding the core blanks together so as to be able to line up the outter cores to the inner ones later today. Taking a break to watch the rest of the play off games while the glue dries. Unless something get in the way the cores should be sheeted by next weekend and I can then start the second set.

Bob and Jimmie I cut you out a set of the wood and carbon plates while I had the saw setup.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

All of the cores joined together waiting for the gorilla glue to cure tonight. Will take a break to watch the Patriots / Texans game for,the rest of the evening. Back on them tomorrow night.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Thanks Ron, let me know when I need to come over and start sanding!! :D

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Jimmie it won't be long.lol. I got the flap hinge boxes cutout and assembled tonight. I cut enough for all of three we are building. Using a dremel setup for routing again I cutout the flap hinge box locations into the bottom of the cores and then epoxied them in and will let the cure overnight. I set the boxes up for a large Robart hinge reinforced with a 7/3/ brass tube on the outside since the hinge centerline will be 1/2" forward of the flaps leading edge so as to allow it to fall away and replicate the gap that Nick setup on the std size. My std size flaps are very effective and with a little crow on the ailerons it will just about land at a walking pace. I didn't want to change that by using a simple flap hinge like some planes are using. Nick and I talked about this at great length when I visited him in November.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Started the second set of wings tonight. Got the gear ribs routed in flush and cut to match. Waiting on the second wing tube sleeve to arrive from TnT before I assemble them together and bond in the wing tube sleeve to set the dihedral. Tomorrow night the flap hinge boxes go in and the bottom side bolt mount reinforcement plates.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Great work, Ron. Are you still going with a 2 piece wing?

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Gary, yes for mine and Jimmies we are going with the two piece option. I thought long and hard about it as a three piece and went through a lot of ideas but for how large it is sitting on the gear actually made it worse for me storing and transporting them. I cut the cores in four sections so the inner panels are Dow 60 psi with a 1.5" 2024 tube running between the two panels put to the outter gear ribs. Landing and flight loads will no issue what so ever between the tube and structure. The outer sections are 1lb/cubic foot EPS and this will lighten up the tip weight to help cancel the higher weight inner cores and get the roll inertia down to a reasonable level. The entire wing is getting sheeted with epoxy as the adhesive with 1/32 ply skins.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

The wing tube sleeves showed up today so the second set should be ready to sheet mid week. And then I'll have both done and ready to mount to the fuse and build the inlets.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Got the tubes in the second set of wings and all of the hard points tonight. Looks like the skins will go on as planned by the end of the week. Thought about making three inch diameter tip tanks 18 inches long just to give it even more of that fifties jet look. I have a three inch aluminum tube already in hand and just need to make the nose and tail cones for the mold.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Got sick again and had to take a break from the shop. I did get all four panels ready to sheet last night watching the Ravens pull it out in the end. My buddy Troy had a great idea on how to keep the hinge boxes free from epoxy and will take a picture when we get to that stage later this week. Buy this time next week they should be sheeted and start cutting out the flap and ailerons for hinging and finishing. Next up the fuse inlets.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

I heard from a friend that there is another one almost ready to fly but don't know who it is or where they are.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

That was me that talked to your freind about a turbine that I have for sale. I still have a lot a work to do on the Turbinator before it is ready to fly. I have to order the retracks and servos. Then finish everything for covering. I am dividing my time out on another airplane and a couple of homebuilt turbines. But it should be ready by Spring.
Jeff

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Looks good!!! You are going to love it! I've had a couple of people ask if I would build them one after seeing mine fly. If I was not allergic to balsa dust.....I would think about it. [:'(] Building mine about did me in.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Finally the first wing is sheeted and out of the bag this morning. All went well until the bag started leaking once everything was covered and curing. Don't ever reuse a bag because they might have as this one did, a tiny and I mean tiny hole in them from prior bagging use causing them to slowly leak if you turn off the pump. Also check your bagging material before use as I had a roll of bag prior that had a tiny hole every few inches as the company who makes the bag had a contaminated roller system and it punched a hole every time the bag passed over it. I was very tired but spent the two hours late last night finding and fixing it before the epoxy fully cured and just left the pump runing all night. Getting a new roll of bag material today for the other three wing panels.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Picked up ten feet of bag today and got the second wing in just a few minutes ago. Here's a couple of pictures of the 5"x6" carbon patch cut on the +/-45 axis where the wheel well will land under the top skin, and the silicone fuel tubing filling the slot where the hinges for the flaps will reside. Thanks to Troy Lawicki for the idea of the fuel tubing, I had been thinking for days on how to keep them open and glue free until I was ready to install the hinges after sheeting and cutting off the ailerons and flaps.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Spent last evening visiting a somewhat local modeler who has built a cnc router table. Very nice but looks like another hobby diversion to learn programming and machine code. Not my bag might hire him out in the future though. Got the fourth wing panel into the bag tonight so tomorrow begins the layout and cutting off of the flaps and ailerons. Hopefully we continue the good progress thus far e past two weeks and no more diversions from being ill.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Another very productive evening tonight. Troy's tip on the hinge mounts worked great. The silicone tubing pulled right out with no issues. The flaps and ailerons are cut out on set one, along with the leading edges of both sets of cores. The wings weighed 3.7 lbs each after sheeting so I am guessing that the total wing weight will be about 10 lbs with the servos and gear. Got to keep the momentum going now.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

An Artist at work!!!!!,, looks GRRRREAT Ron. Sanding block is at the ready!!!!:D

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

We'll need it soon Jimmie, I'm cutting out the second set tomorrow night. I got the tubes for the tip tanks today from McMaster Carr and have one set of nose cones molded already I'll layup the second set tomorrow at lunchtime. This thing is really big; I trimed the wing to be 94"and with the tip tanks it will be 100" in span and 101" long. Troy has an idea on how to hold them on and be removable without tools for transport. We could also then have tips to fly them clean. You might need that Titan once you get it loaded up with the rockets and bombs.

RE: Enlarged Zirioli Turbinator 125% size
 

Second set of ailerons and flap are cut out. Jimmie we are rolling now, hope the retracts are in soon. I want to fit them before I cut any wiring holes out.