hercibird

Now I have to go to the doctor; I just fell out of my chair laughing so hard.

Nice work Kim.

-steve

V35BFLYER

Kim and the Commander.....

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Well I'm glad to see no humor nerves were damaged...

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Too funny! Good job.

GEARED

This was a good one!
Very funny!
Geared.

V35BFLYER

Hi guys,

Tomorrow, Tuesday, it will be 5 weeks since my hand surgery. Other than a wicked looking scar on my right palm, I'd have to say I'm feeling pretty good. Been going to physical therapy twice per week which includes ultra sound with heat and electro-stimulation. Then my therapist hooks me up to this weird-looking contraption that simutaneously applies suction and more electro-stimulation in four places on my hand and forearm. And finally, a 15 minute VIGOROUS palm massage to again stimulate the nerves in my hand, at which time I'm about ready to pass-out! But it hurts good!

Anyways, I'm thinking maybe in about two more weeks I should be ready to resume work on my T34C. (My middle fingers and most of my palm are still totally numb as are the insides of my first finger and pinky, but I can hold a pen/pencil as my thumb never was affected). When I do get back to the model, I think I'll start working on the cockpit as the assembly and painting won't be too strenuous and I can take my time. Of course, I'll post pics as my work progresses.

hercibird

Kim, that's great news. It's nice to see you are healing well.

BTW, I'll be in Mobile next month for some annual CG pilot training. I won't be too far from NAS Whiting if you need me to get any pictures of the T-34. I think you still need the inside of the engine cowl door. Just let me know what other areas you need documented and I'll see if I can work it in for ya.

-steve

V35BFLYER

Feels good to be back at the workbench after two and a half months! So I thought I’d pick up where I left off and get the access door finished and the inside panel made, that I created in my head a couple dozen times while my hand healed. I had always intended to have a single point on the plane where I could not only turn things on and off but also to recharge everything and I figured that this was as good a location as any. (I fabricated the panel from 1/8” plywood).

Next I plan to get started on the cockpit, in earnest, but I think I’ll leave the canopy alone for now as it will only get in the way fitting the cockpit in place.

The hand continues to heal, s l o w l y, but I do have feeling in my thumb and first finger so I’m able to hold tools pretty well. And last but not least, "Midge" ran away from home so until he returns, I put "Babs" back in her box.

GEARED

Hi V35BFLYER!
I see your hand is healing well and fast. This is good news.
Good job on that pannel.
Are you going to have brakes on your model?
Geared.

V35BFLYER

To answer Geared's question......no. No brakes. I will have onboard two air tanks to handle the mains, the nosewheel, and the inner gear door cylinders. I haven't decided if the mains and inner gear door cylinders will be independent from the nosewheel, hence the dual pressure gauges, but they are there, just in case.

Spent some time working on the Horizontal and Vertical Stabilizers. I started on the cockpit, then realized I'd better get the elevator and rudder and their servos "squared away" because once the cockpit is in place, it woulda been a tad difficult to get back into this area. And the work continues........

V35BFLYER

On-going (slow going) build of my T34C. Got the rudder and elevator servos and pushrods pretty much squared away this week as well as the air tanks location and plumbing lines.

Also, I’ve been breaking-in the big Moki (2.10) running it a couple times per day with a rich mixture, using a 20-10 Master Airscrew 2-blade. This is one amazing engine and by flipping it backwards (per the instructions) it starts almost every time on the first flip! And yes, I am using 0% nitro with Sig Pure AA Castor Oil blended into my Byron fuel. This bad boy puts out close to 5 hp and runs butter smooth.

V35BFLYER

THERE REALLY IS A METHOD TO MY MADNESS!

Sometimes I think I’m just too much of a perfectionist and get bogged down in the “minutiae.” I continually run hot and cold about just how far I want to take this project. Do I make it a “trailer queen” so that someday, maybe, I might possibly enter it in a competition somewhere? Or do I just build the darn thing, paint it and fly it? Don’t ask, �cause I just don’t know sometimes!!!

I must have given this access hatch a million hours of thought until the “eureka” moment came! Of course I can’t claim to have come up with any sort of an original idea, but went ahead and posted these pics for any of you out there who someday, maybe, might possibly need a simple solution to an otherwise vexing problem.

And that is………Do I fabricate, from scratch, some type of a metal latch to duplicate the real thing, buy a simple latch from any of the hobby suppliers, or do I try and create something (without going to an awful lot of “make-work”) that gives me the “look” I’m after and also does in fact, work? I think I got what I was after, but you be the judge. I don't think I'll experience any elctrical interference. If need be, I can substitute the interior magnet for a small washer, a steel slug, or something similar.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Very nice solution to the problem V35B, thanks for sharing.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Excellent, and SCALE, hatch work.

rack

My Feedback: (11)

look up this ad in rcu its the scale cockpit for your plane , you should be able to get it for under a 100$ there arnt too many ramons being built good luck vern


http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=512405


but you probly already have one

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

That cockpit is for a Frankel T-34 which is much larger than the RT kit.

V35BFLYER

Vern,

Thanks for the heads-up! But if you look closely, you'll see who the seller of that 1/4 scale cockpit is.......ME! I've had it for a long time when I thought, way back when, that I might be able somehow to use it on my T34C 1/5 scale Mentor I'm building. Chad is correct. It is way too big for my model. That's why it's FOR SALE.

Did a little "re-do" today. I thought that my first attempt at making a faux exterior latch for my access door was kinda lame, so I spent about 30 minutes and made a new one. I'll probably have to re-score the kydex once it's painted to get the latch lines to really pop, but then again, who's gonna look at it that closely?

rack

My Feedback: (11)

yea i guess i nead new glasses

V35BFLYER

One thing I have found very beneficial about the RC Universe forum, is the great amount of shared information. I don’t want to come across as an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but if I have experience with certain materials or techniques, I’m more than happy to share them.

With that having been said, I spent a few hours today working on my canopy and it reminded me of when I was in a manufacturing business years ago making things from fiberglass and using quite a bit of different types of plastic, mostly transparent sheet material.

I have found that the people making canopies for RC airplanes, use some form of what I call the “soft” or “polymer” plastics. PETG, Polycarbonate, etc., has stiffness, toughness, is transparent as well as having excellent impact strength, and is easy to form and fabricate. (You may have heard of the product “Lexan,” which is a trademark of General Electric; it is a polycarbonate plastic).

Other types of plastic include Acrylics which exhibit a more “brittle-like” quality but have much better optical clarity and are used in full-size aircraft windscreens/windshields and side windows. I can see no use for them in our RC large canopy applications.

As I mentioned above, working with my canopy today I was reminded of the things that I used to discuss and pass along to others when working with PETG and Polycarbonates, the stuff of which our canopies are made from. One important thing to remember is that soft plastics scratch very easily! Almost too easily. Also, they are not too difficult to cut in the thicknesses typically found in RC applications. If I cannot cut a canopy with a good pair of scissors, I’ll use the small steel saw blade attached to my Dremel, the one I cut my hand on, and not a fiber-reinforced “cutoff” wheel. Why? Because of heat! Using a small one inch steel saw blade on plastic at higher rpm’s, gives me an almost instantaneous and fine-line cut, although you have got to be CAREFUL and wear eye protection! That little blade tends to jump if you do not hold it perpendicular to your cut line and FIRMLY in your hand. After I make my initial cuts, it’s just a matter of finish sanding using any number of the Dremel attachments as well as good old fashion sandpaper.

For minor, repeat minor, repeat MINOR surface scratches a terrific product that no one should be without is called Safe Cut. It has a talcum powder-like abrasive in it that does wonders on both hard and soft plastics. I’ve used it for years with great results.

I’ve also used regular car wax for protecting and shining soft plastic canopies……..wax on, let dry, wax off. And REMEMBER, always apply polishes and waxes with soft terry cloth towels, by hand. And never, ever use paper towels. They are a fine-grit sandpaper that will scratch and dull, over time, almost any plastic.

V35BFLYER

Two sets of Canopy Rails for Warbirds, a Dremel, a few files, sandpaper, some paint, and a LOT of patience………

V35BFLYER

Continuation........

V35BFLYER

Manually.....both canopies will slide back and forth manually. I decided not to go the servo route because of all the extra work involved. I want to get this project DONE and on to my Bf109!

V35BFLYER

Just got back from a week's vacation to the "Big Easy." Got both rail sets epoxied in place, body-filled, and sanded. I'll re-paint the rail sets after I've gotten the canopy sections installed and sliding properly. When they're done, I'll post pics.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Fantastic as usual!

V35BFLYER

“Psychotically-driven scale”………found this phrase on another forum. I think this applies rather well to my mind-set at present because I must be psychotic to be going to these lengths!

All joking aside (not), this canopy has just about done me in! The hours I have spent getting this thing cut into sections, aligned, epoxied, CA’d, masked, taped, sanded, body-finished, and screwed together borders on cruel-and-unusual punishment!

The alignment on the canopy is critical. What I did was start with the back canopy and work forward. Got it completely mounted and sliding fore and aft, before aligning and mounting the center fixed-in-place piece.

I epoxied a strip of brass directly to both insides of the front and rear canopy sections. Using the 7/32” square brass “slider” material, I cut pieces to run inside the rails. Then it was just a matter of drilling and then screwing 4-40 screws into the square brass sliders after I had tapped the slider holes. See the pics. And, a good lubricant for the sliders is a very light coat of STP.

Continued in next post......