Grumman AF-2 Guardian build thread
09-02-2015, 08:45 PM
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Grumman AF-2 Guardian build thread
I am getting ready to start my AF-2 Guardian build thread from my Dick Katz 80" Guardian plans. I was just wondering if anyone has any information/ suggestions for my build before I start.
Thanks
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10-01-2015, 12:54 PM
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I have started building my AF-2 Guardian. I have ordered custom retracts from Century Jet Models since they made Guardian retracts already for a larger size of the Guardian. The Dick Katz plans had a one piece wing drawn but I wanted to build a 3 piece wing with a carbon fiber wing tube and sleeve. I had the plans turned into a laser kit from Laser Design Services and decided to build the wing first. Then I took the center section ribs which I had made with ply vs balsa and drilled them all at once for the wing tube so they would be exactly straight. I placed the wing tube right behind the main spar so I could glue them together for strength. So I am currently building the center wing section. The three piece spar has been glued together and cemented in place. This should allow me to get and keep the proper angles during assy.
11-06-2015, 07:04 AM
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Attached are my first build pictures. I have also included a picture of the custom retracts built for me by Century Jet. They look and feel terrific. I will be fitting them to my wing next.
11-25-2015, 08:15 AM
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I have completed the build of the wing and converted the one piece design to a 3 piece wing with a carbon tube. You can see that the retracts fit the wing well. I did have to double up some spars and cut out some of that balsa for the retracts to freely retract and extend. There are some funny angles in the retracts design both in the wing design and the retracts design. It appears that Century Jet retracts did a great job of capturing those funky angles in the design. I have completed the rough build of the flaps and ailerons also. I added some tubes that I could run the air lines through and easily replace anytime after the wing is covered. Off to the stabilizer and elevator build.
12-03-2015, 12:46 AM
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Great project, love the Guardian. I was not aware of a plan for the airplane other than that of Jerry Bates so this one was a bit of a surprise. Looks good and I will be watching for updates.
12-11-2015, 03:05 PM
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So you can see the stabilizer as I glued the pieces together. There were no laser cut parts for the stabilizer except the tip pieces. So all parts were drawn and cut by hand using the blueprints. The same goes for the elevators except there were rear edge pieces and end pieces in the laser cut package but all other parts were hand drawn and cut. The plans call for sanding to shape. The rudder and vertical Stab have no laser cut parts either so guess I'll have to do the same building and sanding to shape.
Next shown is my fuse skeleton with the center parts cut out & removed in order to insert my center wing section. The next photo shows the fuse with the center wing section in place. I made set of legs to hold the fuselage level in both axis and then assembled the rough wings with the carbon rod in place and then glued the center wing in place using slow curing Hysol for super strength. I made sure the wing was level left and right and also used a piece of string to ensure the wing was square with the tail of the fuselage.
At the same time I had to ensure that the wing had the required 2 Degree angle of incidence measured from the fuse center longitudinal axis. I had to remove some of rib material in the forward part of the center wing in order to make room for my cockpit since I want to have a full bodied pilot and a detailed cockpit. I doubled up the left and right side ribs with basswood so I shouldn't have to worry about strength after removing the center forward rib material.
Next shown is my fuse skeleton with the center parts cut out & removed in order to insert my center wing section. The next photo shows the fuse with the center wing section in place. I made set of legs to hold the fuselage level in both axis and then assembled the rough wings with the carbon rod in place and then glued the center wing in place using slow curing Hysol for super strength. I made sure the wing was level left and right and also used a piece of string to ensure the wing was square with the tail of the fuselage.
At the same time I had to ensure that the wing had the required 2 Degree angle of incidence measured from the fuse center longitudinal axis. I had to remove some of rib material in the forward part of the center wing in order to make room for my cockpit since I want to have a full bodied pilot and a detailed cockpit. I doubled up the left and right side ribs with basswood so I shouldn't have to worry about strength after removing the center forward rib material.
02-04-2016, 09:24 AM
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So here in the first two slides, you can see the rough pilots cockpit and the rough second compartment. The third slide shows my rough stabilizer & rudder waiting to be glassed. Then you can see the installed tailwheel I made. Its a tandem arrangement as you can see that I built it per the plan and according to the pictures I have of the Guardian. Then I have pictured the second compartment roughed in and painted. I have made some scale Radar screens and switches etc to install later.
There you can also see the entire plane as it sits today with the retracts extended and the tail section just sitting roughly in place. Notice the fuselage hatch in front of the cockpit to get access to the battery compartment with the slanted holding tray. There I will fit 2-5 cell LIPOs to have 10S to the E-flight power 160 electric motor eventually. I have glued some extra basswood pieces to provide more strength for the weight of the batteries. I also made a large section of the fuselage belly removable so I can mount the rudder and retracts servos under the second compartment floor. I will mount the Air tank under the cockpit aft of the battery compartment. Some longerons were added to provide fuselage strength for a removable section on the belly.
And lastly you can see how I mounted the tailwheel into the rear of the fuselage similar to the plan.
At the moment I plan to mount the receiver/smart-fly power center in the area between the cockpit and the second compartment so I guess I will make some sort of door(s) or removable hatch there also, I may change my mind on that, but I'm not sure yet. I'm also not sure where I will mount the batteries for the smart-fly power center. I'll wait and see how the CG calculations go first.
There you can also see the entire plane as it sits today with the retracts extended and the tail section just sitting roughly in place. Notice the fuselage hatch in front of the cockpit to get access to the battery compartment with the slanted holding tray. There I will fit 2-5 cell LIPOs to have 10S to the E-flight power 160 electric motor eventually. I have glued some extra basswood pieces to provide more strength for the weight of the batteries. I also made a large section of the fuselage belly removable so I can mount the rudder and retracts servos under the second compartment floor. I will mount the Air tank under the cockpit aft of the battery compartment. Some longerons were added to provide fuselage strength for a removable section on the belly.
And lastly you can see how I mounted the tailwheel into the rear of the fuselage similar to the plan.
At the moment I plan to mount the receiver/smart-fly power center in the area between the cockpit and the second compartment so I guess I will make some sort of door(s) or removable hatch there also, I may change my mind on that, but I'm not sure yet. I'm also not sure where I will mount the batteries for the smart-fly power center. I'll wait and see how the CG calculations go first.
03-17-2016, 12:04 PM
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Below are pictures of the battery compartment I built in the forward part of the fuselage with a hatch on top. You can also see that I am glassing the wings, rudder and stabilizer now. I was concerned about the battery compartment being strong enough to hold the two 5-cell 5000mah batteries so I made it out of plywood and beefed up bottom supports. I had to angle the batteries to ensure both would fit with the attaching wires.
03-17-2016, 12:15 PM
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The second photo below shows the second cockpit (Radar Operator) being roughed in with some rough controls. More details will follow. I couldn't figure out how to keep these photos in a certain order for some reason. Then you can see the pilots instrument panel and right side console. Pilots console is pictured in various stages of assy. I made all controls etc out of different size styrene plastic parts.
03-22-2016, 03:49 PM
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04-27-2016, 11:58 AM
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Here you can see a number of various photos of my fuselage skinning process. I use a combination of sheets of balsa and planking to cover the fuse. I fiberglassed the tail parts before attaching them to the fuselage. I found building and attaching the 4 "Finnets" to be a pain. I made a "crutch" to help me keep the finnets straight and in-line vertically as I epoxied them to the stab.
I also made hatch covers for both sides of the electrical bay which is just behind the cockpit and one folding hatch for the 2nd cockpit for the sonobuoy/radar operator. I plan to have that door a working two hinge door just like the real Guardian. On a couple of the photos you can see progress I have made with the scale "Mad Boom". It works well so far with the continuously rotating servo.
I also made hatch covers for both sides of the electrical bay which is just behind the cockpit and one folding hatch for the 2nd cockpit for the sonobuoy/radar operator. I plan to have that door a working two hinge door just like the real Guardian. On a couple of the photos you can see progress I have made with the scale "Mad Boom". It works well so far with the continuously rotating servo.
04-27-2016, 12:15 PM
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In these photos you can see the fuselage about ready to cover with cloth and Zpoxy Resin. Finally finished the fuselage cutouts for the oiler cooler doors(upper) and the exhaust pipes (lower).
06-06-2016, 01:21 PM
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In these pictures you can see all of the different compartments I have to build. The battery compartment is on top of the fuselage right up front, the receiver and flight control batteries compartment is just behind the Pilot and the second cockpit for the radar operator is just behind that. I have built the bi-folding door just like the full scale aircraft to install at a later date. I am test fitting the pilot and his chair in the cockpit and the Radar Operator into the second cockpit. I don't intend to have a third crewman like the full scale aircraft just due to weight.
06-06-2016, 01:36 PM
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I begin my first attempt at making my own cowl. I filled the four cuts in the fuselage with foam and then taped the firewall with painters tape. I then glued the foam block to the painters tape so it could be easily removed. I then covered the front of the fuselage with a few layers of painters tape so that I wouldn't tear up my fuselage when sanding the foam plug. I sanded the foam block to shape, filled the imperfections and sanded more. One I got it the shape I wanted. I covered the plug with 3M #77 spray glue and when it was good and tacky, I laid the base layer of fiberglass cloth. I then mixed up my West Marine Epoxy Resin and wet the cloth good, removed all excess resin with small foam rollers and then laid the next layer of cloth on it when it was tacky. All together I repeated this process with two layers of heavier cloth, two layers if fine cloth and then the gel coat. I was very pleased with the way the gel coat sanded and finished.
07-21-2016, 06:47 AM
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So the plane is finally looking like a Guardian with the cowl, wings and hatches temporarily in place. I glued the pieces of MDF board together so I can begin forming the Canopy plug to later vacu-form the canopy. I installed the Nav lights in the wing tips and ran the wires through the tubes I glued in place when building the wings. I used some bright LEDS from MyTrickRC for the lights. I have also put the panel lines on the fuselage using 1/32 tape and primer method and I have begin burning the fasteners in place with my soldering iron and small brass tube. On the restored Guardians I have seen, you can't often see the rivets on most of the aircraft panels since they are flush rivets and don't show when painted. The fasteners stand out pretty well however so I'll probably just do fasteners where they should be.
07-21-2016, 01:04 PM
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I bet that's a nice looking plane. The Guardian is quite ugly but I like it anyway. I was the CO of a Navy VS squadron whose first aircraft was the guardian and the squadron's last aircraft was the S-3 Viking which I flew.