Chad Veich

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These birds are really looking sweet! Can't wait to see some pics of them fully framed up. My "Perestroika" version is FINALLY getting some glass on it and could be flying in a month or two. You can never have too many Yaks!

MFLOOD3800

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Here are a few picks of my Tsunami wing halves, tail sections and rudder.

This build is fun, and this thread has been a great help, that and the many phone calls to Tim.
I have the bottom rear wing halves fitted with 1/2" carbon fiber strip.

I have the wing set up for the front dowel requirements, but will be looking into making this a 4 bolt wing.

Iron Dog

Sorry for the late reply, Marty, but it has been a hectic week for me. Am glad that you are willing to keep us posted on your Tsunami build. I see you already posted some pics on that, and will look at them shortly. Just wanted to say that I am glad you feel comfortable posting them here, as well as asking any questions -- regarding washout or anything else. As stated previously, the building techniques are similar enough . . .

I prefer the Robart hinges on the stab/elevator and fin/rudder, personally. And, even on the ailerons. I am behind on my posts for the CzechMate build so you haven't seen this yet, but I forgot to add a balsa block in my cut-out aileron sections while the structure was open and that block would have been easier to install, so had to opt for CA hinges on my ailerons, instead. I will endeavor to catch you all up with our progress, soon.

I have always used a 4-bolt setup for attaching my wings to their fuses when I build ALL my P-51s; and, believe I showed some pics and included at least some details within my "Trinity Build" thread when building my "Galloping Ghost", if interested. (I'll have to go back and look, myself.) It has always worked great for me, and has held up to Gold speeds on the one my father-in-law and I built for Sullivan. The only drawback is it may be TOO-secure -- asking 4 bolts to all give-way simultaneously in a crash to minimize damage hasn't worked well, so far. All my crashes have caused significant damage to the fuse. (But, if you know me, you know there isn't much I do half-way. When I crash, I crash hard! So, was it the bolts not giving way, or simply me coming down hard and/or at a bad angle, etc.? Hard to be sure.)

Iron Dog

Thanks Chad! There is something about that slight, gentle curve in the leading edge of the wing of those Yaks that is unique and gets me excited as it starts coming together. (Oops, I'm getting ahead of the progress of my posts, again.)

I've been drooling over your CzechMate/Perestroika kit and build thread for a long time now! I've always wanted one of your kits, too; but find I have too many unfinished projects, already. Regardless, I have always been impressed by your design work and your helpfulness. When I went to the Fresno Championship Warbird Race, some of us that camped out were talking one of the nights, and I mentioned that I had been wanting to build your kit. Two pilots that said they saw your friend's prototype CzechMate fly. They stated that it was really impressive in the air. I look forward to seeing your Perestroika take to the air, too.

Iron Dog

Now that we received some of the other parts we needed to finish the wings, and the basic framing of the upper half of the fuse is at a convenient place to pause, we returned our attention towards finishing the wing panels.

Tim shows the process of installing the bottom sheeting (similar to that described earlier):

- Trial-fit sheeting piece to ensure edges will fit without gaps and completely cover the panel.
- CA accelerator is misted on the internal side of the sheeting piece (but only at the leading and trailing edges) and set aside.
- Thick CA is quickly applied to rear of spar and trailing edge of top sheeting.



- Sheeting is aligned and pressed down in position. Start at the spar towards the root end of the panel; then press the sheeting against the spar, working your way towards the tip.

Iron Dog

- Glue the sheeting to the spar, only. Keep the other sections of the sheeting away from the ribs (if you accidentally applied glue to the ribs) and trailing edge, as much as possible, while applying pressure as necessary to ensure that the sheeting has adhered well to the length of the spar.

Iron Dog

- Press the sheeting down across the rest of the panel -- quickly, but incrementally, towards the rear.
- Use a wide straight-edge to firmly press the two trailing edge pieces together, while simultaneously pressing them firmly against the building surface. This guarantees a trailing edge that is as straight as your building surface. (Tim used a level; I used a long sanding bar.)




Flip the panel over and apply thin CA to each rib from the spar to the TE, in order to glue the sheeting securely to each rib.





Tim shows a beautifully straight trailing edge on his wing panel.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Thank you Iron Dog for the very kind comments, much appreciated. I FULLY understand having too many projects! I am too busy with customer projects to work on my own stuff and have had to enlist the help of a couple of good friends to get "Perestroika" done. With any luck I will have it back in a few weeks and it will need only detail and paint so I hope to finish it pretty quickly. The prototype "Czech Mate" from my design is still in good shape but has not been flown in a couple of years. I don't suppose it will see any more racing. I think the gentleman who built it is, unfortunately, done with warbird racing and quite possibly r/c flying in general. I am trying to talk him into selling me the airplane if he decides to get out of it completely. He was always very complimentary about the flight performance of the airplane so I am excited about the prospect of getting my "Perestroika" finished.

Such a cool airplane, though most people think it's a Hughes Racer. That's a pretty good compliment though!

FlyerInOKC

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It does have a beautiful profile! I think I like it a little better than the Hughes H-1

MFLOOD3800

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Chad that is just gorgeous. There was guy in the USRA Giant scale racing that kitted one of those a few years back and it was super fast- he won the dash for cash with a straight and level pass of 259 MPH. Great flying, looking and handling plane.

Did you race this ever or just fly it? I dont know if Id want to risk this in a mid air.

MFLOOD3800

My Feedback: (51)

Got my wing halves done, including the L/G cut outs which I boxed in with 1/16 balsa to house the Hobbico retracts.
I built the L/G structure according to the plans because I watched Jeffs Tsunami land and when it touched down it stuck, so I feel good about the angle and location. I also completed the aileron servo hatches which I also added a bit more frame work rather than just relying on the inside 1/16" wing sheeting and then the ailerons got cut out built up at the cut line with 1/4x14 sanded and shaped to airfoil and drilled for control horn. I decided to use 1/4 scale Blue CA hinges on the ailerons. The area, IMO, just isnt big enough even for the small 1/8 Robart hinges.. I opted for 3 hinges per surface. I ended the evening by epoxying the wings together with 2 ton. I have the recommended 5 3/8" dihedral, even though it looks extreme to someone used to flying nearly flat wings.

Tomorrow I will glass the center sections and over lap out to just past the L/gear mount at rib 4 top and bottom.
I will have to use 2 oz and 5 oz cloth as that is all I have. That way when I get back I can start on the fuse.

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the kind words Mike. The pictured airplane is not mine but belongs to a friend who built it from my plans and parts. Power comes from a "massaged" YS 1.40 and it was easily capable of breaking out of silver. It was raced two or three times but the owner retired it for exactly the reason you mentioned, potential of mid air. It represents a pretty large target on the race course and he did not want to risk the investment of time and money against a bunch of guys flying $99 Phoenix Model Strega missiles! My own model will be of "Perestroika" which had the stock Yak-11 vertical fin arrangement. I won't be racing so my model is getting glass and paint as well as a modicum of scale detail. Below is a pic of it prior to starting the finish work.



And the full size "Perestroika". I do love the lime green!



I will now refrain from hijacking this thread any further and will, instead, look forward to more construction pictures of the subject models. Thanks for indulging me gents!

MFLOOD3800

My Feedback: (51)

I too felt bad about clogging up Ollies build thread so I just went ahead and started one of my own, it wont be full of details, but will at least offer a less skilled builder an opportunity to see key areas that might be a bit problematic or confusing. I am not a builder so I figured I was the perfect candidate to do that type of thread.

Iron Dog

Chad,

Even though I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting you face-to-face, I hold you in such high regard, your comments are ALWAYS welcome! (And that Perestroika is a beauty!)



Marty,

I hope I have made it well known the high esteem I have for you, as well. I am grateful for the comments, and the additions to the thread. I really just want to be of some small service to others that may be considering this kit, or any of Tim's other kits, or even just want to build a kit; but, may hesitate due to the perceived difficulty of "building from a kit." * My hope has always been that others feel free to make this thread their own, ask questions, and especially to share in this experience.


So gentlemen, I would never view your comments as anything even remotely close to "hijacking" or "clogging-up" this thread. On the contrary, I am very appreciative that you felt comfortable enough to participate, and hope you will continue to do so.



* Besides, when comparing the time I spend in modifying an ARF vs. building from a kit . . . by the time I strip all the covering off; sand off all the color residue and sand other areas that were not sanded properly anyway, re-glue key joints ("Yes", I have found built-up horizontal stabs and even firewalls that were not even glued at all, in sections -- which would have resulted in catastrophic structural failures, almost immediately had I not removed the covering and inspected it), fiberglass the center section of the wing and reinforce the stab and other structures as necessary; replace all the crappy hardware with quality hardware; then recover the ARF; I found I have saved little time compared to building it myself. Add to that the fact I love building even more than flying, and the joy I have when I am able to bring something "different" than the rest out to the field and to a competition . . . assembling an ARF becomes a far less rewarding experience to me.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Thank you for the very kind words Iron Dog, they are much appreciated. I might actually be blushing a little bit! I would love to meet up with all you guys at some point and put faces to names. If you make it to any races here in Arizona please be sure to let me know you're coming.


And my apologies to Marty for calling him Mike. Not sure where that came from! Sorry Marty!

MFLOOD3800

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Chad,
Im scheduled to be at Speed world in Feb for the Q40 - classic, and then again in March for the RCPRO race.

Do you race?

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

No racing for me anymore Marty. I am a scale builder at heart and simply don't have enough time to do both. Not to mention my eyes and reflexes ain't what they used to be! If I can make it out to either of the Speedworld events I will do so. If you want to shoot me an email reminder a bit closer to the event date my addy is cwveich@cwvmodels. Looking forward to possibly meeting up.

MFLOOD3800

My Feedback: (51)

Sounds good Chad

Iron Dog

Accidentally left out some details in posts #131 and #132, so updated those posts for accuracy. (Feel free to review, or not)

This set of steps are a repeat of what Tim did to glue the bottom sheeting of the wing to his panel. They merely document one minor deviation Eric and I made when completing ours:

Before I glued my sheeting, I used a long sanding bar to sand out a slight curve in the balsa sheet that each of us found we had in our sheeting. (Tim opted to fill the resultant gaps in his panel, Whereas I (and Eric) decided to sand first in order to all-but-eliminate any gaps between sheeting pieces, where they mate at the spar, before they happened.


Me (Ollie) sanding the edge of the sheeting at the edge of my workbench.



Bottom sheeting applied to my right wing panel (right pic), and my left panel (left pic).

Iron Dog

Once the bottom sheeting is glued in-place, the trailing edge must be "trued." I used a long straight edge -- in this case, a long sanding bar -- to trim the longer side of sheeting very close to the other, using a razor blade. I then sanded the trailing edge with the same long sanding bar, until they were mated perfectly.

Iron Dog

Next, trial fit both panels together to make sure they mate appropriately. If one panel's chord is slightly bigger than the other, sand it to match the shorter panel. Then, sand and round the trailing edges of both to the desired taper.


The carbon fiber strip gives a fair amount of strength to the TE, while showing where the centerline of the airfoil is, so it is easy to sand and taper to.



Here, Tim and Eric sand their trailing edges.

Iron Dog

Once the trailing edges are finished, work can begin towards cutting out the ailerons.

First, cut out the aileron pattern from the plans.
One special note, here: I have suggested to Tim that it might be beneficial to include a template specifically for this purpose, in the finalized version of his plans. As it stands now, this pattern should be cut out including the extra 1/4" thickness that is in front of the aileron itself. (Later, a 1/4" edge piece will be glued to the panel and contoured to the the rest of the panel, preserving the airfoil shape. This will be the material to which the aileron is hinged.)


Tim uses a straghtedge and an Exacto knife to cut a perfectly straight edge along the lines printed on the plans.



Next, line up the edges of the aileron pattern with the tip and TE of each panel. With a pen, trace the outline of the LE and inside edge of the aileron onto the panel. Do this on both the top and bottom sides of both panels.


Tim traces the outline of the aileron onto one of his panels.

Iron Dog

Instead of tracing the entire length of the paper pattern, I use the pattern to place "tick" marks at the corner and the edges of the pattern. Then, use my metal ruler to draw a perfectly straight line, using the tick marks as a guide.

Iron Dog

Tim gives Eric an assist in doing the same:

Iron Dog

Before cutting out the ailerons, Tim glued-on his leading edge pieces. He slightly beveled the mating sides to match the changing taper angles of the panel. By the time I managed to snap the pictures below, he had already used a razor plane to match the contour of the sheeting.