sigk

Hi MHester
Thank you very much for posting the pictures. Wow !! this sure is aggressive! Wow!
The first thing that came into my mind was if anhedral was added, you would have something resembling a F104 Starfighter wing.
And now I would like to build a Tempest. I even have a motor waiting for it. This is so great. There is nothing I enjoy more than when modelers get creative themselves, not to mention if they are bold enough to do something different from the rest.
To just copy a full size aerobatic plane is NOT my thing.
MHester you are really on to something here.

sigk

Here the stab is being aligned to the wing and the fuselage.
And the leading and trailing edge have been added.

sigk

Setting the incidence for the stab and wing.
The thing to do here is to work slooooowwwwly.

sigk

Now is a good time to glue the F1 to the fuselage and the rest of the floor behind it.

sigk

With the F1 glued in place this thing has started to look much better.

sigk

Back to foam cutting, now the fuselage top.
Then the last thing to cut will be the fin and rudder.

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

I start cutting the wood this weekend. Sigurdur has me thinking of changing the design to a foam turtle deck.

Dominique ACM

Hello,

What are you using to draw your plan ? Is it possible to have a dxf or a iges copy ?

Thanks

DG

sigk

Nice work Dreadnaut. Keep sending pictures. Really interesting to see how this project will turn out.
You mentioned earlier that you are changing to double taper wing and reducing the root cord. Does the Giles have a snap-spin problem?

sigk

The tube for the antenna is in place and the floor under the fin has been added to the fuselage.
To help align the foam top, scrap balsa was glued to the fuselage sides.

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

Dominique ACM- I am using AutoCAD 2000i. I am flattered that you are interested in the plan. It is my first try at designing a 2m pattern plane. The design is not tested, and will probably need to be revised before I could release the plan.

sigk- I am unaware of any problems with the Giles. I am reducing the area of the wing so that it is closer to the size of a Hydeout. I decided it after talking to a friend who suggested it. I fly intermediate, and am just coming off about two years out of the hobby. I don't really know what I'm doing, but hope to learn.

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

Ok, it's time for a lesson in glassing for you who have never done it. I'll show you just how easy it really is.

First, prep the surface. Sand and fill everything until it's as smooth as glass. I use bondo ultra (lightweight), glazing putty and light weight spackling paste for the pinholes and very small stuff. The bondo is used only around the cowl and tail fillets, where a lot of filling and shaping is required. Always use balsa wherever possible, sand it down, then putty and sand the rest. Don't just throw bondo at it or it will weigh a ton.

Next seal the balsa. You can either brush on balsarite and sand with 600 grit, or use hair spray (aqua net works well). Eitehr way, sand lightly until it's as smooth as glass.

Now you're ready to glass this thing. Cut pieces to fit the detail areas first, such as the pipe tunnel and the tail post. The fuselage itself is done with only 2 pieces, but the details need to be done first. The pipe tunnel is done with 2 oz cloth, and the rest of the plane is done with .6 or .75 oz cloth.

Mix some finishing resin and thin mixture with straight acetone. I use anywhere from 2-1 epoxy to acetone, to 1-1. It just depends. The resin should be slightly thicker than water.

Put your glass pieces in place, then using an acid brush, apply the resin through the cloth. It should become transparent, looking like wet wood. Spread it thin, but make sure there are no dry spots.

Leave an edge extending about 1/4" to 1/2". Overlap pieces if necessary to get all of it covered, then let it cure overnight.

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

After the resin has cured, trim the excess cloth from the edges with a sharp razor blade. Sand edge lightly with about 320 grit.

Next lay the fuse on it's side and cut a piece of cloth a couple of inches larger all the way around. Mix about 2 ozs (total) resin and cut with acetone as before. Begin in the center and work outward, this pulls the cloth tight and removes wrinkles. As you get to the edges and center lines, cut the cloth so it overlaps the centerline about 1/4". Now lay the resin to it and again, let it cure overnight.

After the resin cures, sand the centerlines and overlap with 320 grit paper. Be careful not to sand through the glass or you'll have to patch it.

Now repeat the proceedure for the other side, but this time cut a nice edge down the centerlines and lay it down with resin.

Walk away and let this whole thing cure for at LEAST 2 days before sanding again. I let mine sit for a week if I'm not pressed for time (but I usually am).

After the resin has fully cured, sand the whole thing with 400 or 600 grit paper. You want to break the glaze, but not sand through. You should barely hit the cloth. Now you're ready for primer.

There are other methods and tricks, such as talc as filler, massaging in micro balloons, you name it, it's been tried. But this way is teh standard, easiest way to get a wood fuselage ready for paint.

Next step: Primer and paint! And since it's not here yet, that part will have to wait. Oh well, it gives me time to cover my wings and stabs.

-Mike

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

Dreadnaught, the biggest problem with the Giles design is that the design of the wing and tail doesn't allow it to snap cleanly. I put some double taper in my wings and keep the span down to 73-74". Keep the stab area around 25% or less, about 23% being ideal. Any more and it doesn't snap well, any less and it becomes unstable.

Just a thought.

-Mike

tph1

My Feedback: (12)

Mike, How far up on the cowl do you go?
Tom

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

Only about 3/8". Anything more is just dead weight.

-Mike

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

I'll defiantly try the 25% stab thing since I haven't cut the cores yet. I actually intend to cut two or three sets to try out different dihedral angles. (I'm not sure I'll have enough foam after trimming off the yellow parts-see photo) I have moved the wing up so that it is much closer to a mid wing.

As for cutting epoxy with acetone, I have never heard of this. I have heard of cutting it with alcohol, but I usually use un-thinned West System for this. I like to squeege the epoxy to the cloth with a square of soft 3/32 inch balsa. I hold it so that the grain is vertical so that it will bend around curves

BTW, since the thing is starting to slightly resemble an Extra 330 S, I have tentatively named it the EXTRA-vaganza. (Ya gotta say it with a New York / Italian accent)

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

The acetone allows the resin to go on very thin, much thinner than squeegeeing with something. As a result, the difference is a couple of ounces on a wide body fuse (I've done it both ways). But either way works fine, and west systems is the BEST resin out there. But it is pricey.

I used to use alcohol as well, but acetone works better. Alcohol works fine too, but doesn't quite go into solution with the epoxy as well. Plus acetone is actually marketed as epoxy thinner. At first I was afraid it might attack the glue joints, but it doesn't.

-Mike

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

Whoops my mistake, I meant 3/16" not 3/8".

-Mike (again)

tph1

My Feedback: (12)

I think I'm gonna give it a shot on the next plane

flyintexan

My Feedback: (1)

This thread is fantastic...keep it going guys....wonderful, useful information.

Sigk - Thank you for all the foam core pics...I just completed my first set of faom wings. Thank you for all the help your pics provided.

MHester - I will be glassing my next fuse......thanks to you. BTW, I used Solid Edge to design my 2M.


Thanks again for a great thread,
Mark
www.geocities.com/markhunt_2000/INSIGHT

sigk

dreadnaut it's good you are back to the wonderful life of aeromodelling and straight in to designing, I say that's coming back in style.

sigk

MHester thank you for sharing your knowledge on glassing, obviously it's more work, but the end product is so much more rewarding not to mention how much longer it can last.

sigk

The foam top is ready and it fits just fine. But it will not be glued on to the fuselage until later.


flyintexan great you could actually use some of the pictures.

sigk

And now some pictures of the fin-rudder in progress.