waynek

I have a set of Spring Air's which I think are an excellent design, but I thought I'd try these.

Am I crazy?

BTW, although I own 3 or 4 sets of retracts, I have never actually installed any into an aircraft. Just scarfing so far. Scarfology is very important in this hobby. Within reason.

Always a first time, eh?

(Yes, I said eh. I'm Canadian. eh.)

W

waynek

Thought I'd drop a few shots of what is to come for the wing and horizontal stab construction.

There was some serious 'agony and ecstasy' as i was fumbling through the cutting of the foam cores.

A local legend bailed me out.

Stay tuned for more. Hope you're enjoying, and getting out to the shop.

W

dust75

looks very impressive so far looking forward to seeing it finished and fingers crossed for a video of it flying

loadeddice3

Hi all. I've recently returned to model flying after a few years away. Although this thread appears to have stopped some time ago I thought I'd drop this in, just in case anyone needed assistance with details of any of the Loaded Dice series.
In addition I have begun developing Loaded Dice EP, starting with a 30, now a 60 & 60S. Obviously the powerplants require a rather different approach to the IC I became so familiar with; but just another challenge withing RC Precision Aeros.
Happy Xmas .....
Terry

waynek

Terry,

Thanks so much for replying to this thread, its great to have the designer along!

The thread did indeed stop but I will be starting it up again shortly. Work commitments have forced a move from one side of the country almost to the other but my shop is almost back up and running, after which I will complete this lovely design.

I did get more work completed than this thread indicates, the foam cores are cut and sheeted. I will document this aspect of the build in the next little while.

Thanks again for chiming in. Best wishes and Merry Christmas to all,

Wayne

loadeddice3

Hi Wayne,
No prob's; as I have indicated, if I can be of any assistance to you or any other model builder/pilot, just ask. It's great to see that there are still 'proper' model builders out there messing with that balsa 'stuff'...
Terry

waynek

Gents, my apologies for the break in this thread to those that have been following. As promised I'm back. I have just completed a move from Vancouver Island to Ontario.

Anyway the shop is back in operation and I will be posting pics of the wing construction shortly.

W

waynek

I'm going to try the more pics less talk method of build thread. If you have any questions or better yet, suggestions, please fire away.

Tools of the wing building trade. Gutted my hot wire setup and rebuilt. Works great now.

My Canadian-built hot wire bow. Note the clever use of hockey stick. And why not I say.

W

waynek

My Pappy always said use the right tool for the job. And if you don't have the right tool, make one. W

Calvinman

Nice power supply Wayne, I don't suppose you would want to let us know the components you used, maybe even a schematic? I lost my power supply some time ago in a purge of stuff I haven't used for 5 years or more. I like your bow, can you use a carbon fiber shaft eh?

Calvi

waynek

Cutting the wings was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. In fact it was a full-on gong show at first, good thing I was smart enough to try some practice runs on surplus foam first, or this would be an ARF build thread.

Anyway, some lessons learned:

- Get help. Unless you have a CNC machine or that special foam cutter gizmo, you need 4 hands and 2 brains to manually cut a foam wing.
- Use the right template. For my first attempt I just used a ply template. I thought I would be able to complete the wings without burning it. Wrong. I put about 3 or 4 layers of aluminum heating duct tape and then my results improved.
- Try and find help that has done this before. That will help a lot.
- Make sure your template is very, very smooth. Because any little ridge, bump or imperfection will be amplified along the length of your wing. Trust me.
- Ventilation is good.

W

waynek

For some reason my location is still showing up as Courtenay, BC. It should be Kingston. I'm having my team of experts work on that problem now.

W

Problem has been rectified by the IT department.

W

waynek

Hi Calvin, its a very simple setup with a +/- 12 VDC transformer, fuse, switch and 120VAC dimmer switch. Very close to this:

http://www.charlesriverrc.org/articl...amcutterps.htm

There are lots of designs out there, a quick net search will provide lots of returns.

Yah, re-use those old hockey sticks, eh. W

waynek

Pic 1 = Baaad.

Pic 2 = Goood.

waynek

Last few for today, Bat-fans.

These are the horizontal stab/elevator cores.

The templates are V1.0, they were re-done with aluminum tape later, but you get the idea.

W

waynek

Its also a good idea to draw a datum line along the leading edge so you know everything is aligned.

W

waynek

And trailing edge...

W

Hydro Junkie

I like what I'm seeing so far. As far as your comment about forstner bits, I probably would have used spade bits or a hole saw. Irwin, DeWalt and several other brands of spade bits have a raised cutting tip on the ends of the spade so you get a clean hole by drilling part way through and then turn the part over and drill from the other side to finish. Another option would be to pick up an oscillating spindle sander to sand the inside of the lightening holes. I use one often to final size and shape holes in my parts. This is the one I have:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Os...1?N=5yc1vZc2gh

waynek

Thanks, Hydro. Will definitely check out the spade bits.

W

waynek

Needed a smaller foam-cutter for the edge cuts, so I built one.

The Hakko soldering station came recommended from another site, I bought it last year. So far I love it and highly recommend it.

W

waynek

And here's the guy that saved me on this build, none other than Frank M., modeler extraordinaire, local hobby shoppe owner, and all around guru / legend on the west coast of Canada, especially Vancouver Island. Frank graciously gave of his time one evening after his shop was closed, giving me decades of experience and expert guidance in cutting my foam cores.

Frank exemplifies why the local hobby shop is so important and when I used to stop by his shop on Friday nights for coffee and R/C war stories, he was often too busy to chat, consistently giving that new guy technical advice or helping that seasoned veteran get past his latest hurdle.

Here's a couple of photos of 'the man' in his native environment, his shop. If you're ever on the Island, you have to stop by and see Frank and say hello. Model Supply in Merville.

Now I can help others cut their foam cores...

W

waynek

The cut cores get a very light sanding.

'Cause, technically, they're already the right shape...

W

waynek

Templates are drawn for the gear cutouts.

And transferred to the cores...

So far I have been applying all the skills I learned in Kindergarten.

W

waynek

Something I forgot to mention, the wings need to be very nearly (or perfectly) symmetrical. Obviously. Not trying to condescend here.. Sort of thinking out loud...

Anyway, to help with this I made my LG cutout template so that it lined up with the leading edge and root of the wing. This way the cutout will be at the same place on both wing halves without the need to measure...

Idiot proof, sort of.

W

Shawp dawg still on duty...

Hydro Junkie

And that, unfortunately, is what's wrong with the hobby these days. Too many at the local hobby shops have no clue as to what it takes to build or set up a plane, boat or anything else. They simply work there to get a paycheck.
The fact that you have a owner that not only sells materials but knows how to use them is a major benefit. All but one of the hobby shops in my area that had experienced hobbyists have closed and the staffers disappeared into the wind.