beardelight

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Howdy,

I am thinking of building the Daddy-O from the June 2005 issue of Fly RC. I already have the receiver, servos, and motor from a previous plane. I recently finished my Sig Somethin' Extra, but I have never built an airplane from a plan. Can someone help me here, or is this kind of thing just a figure it out yourself. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Any special techniques for cutting out parts, where to get the plans enlarged (kinkos??), etc. . . .

Thanks,

Beardelight

Campy

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1. First get the plans enlarged to the size you want/need. Any place that does blueprints (or Kinkos ) would be good.

2. Get 2 sets of plans printed up. One set you will build with, the other set you be using to make your parts from.

3. For cutting parts - While you can do all the cutting by hand, I would suggest at least a scroll saw.

I will use the wing ribs as an example. In the case of the wing ribs, because there are usually more of them than anything else, do the following: Cut the wing rib piece from your second set of plans. Now make several copies of this - YOU WANT AT LEAST ONE PATTERN REVERSED/MIRRORED. You do not want to stack much more than 5 or 6 "blanks" together for a scroll saw. Next, cut the number of pieces of balsa you will need for the that part PLUS 2 OR 3 EXTRA - make sure the "blanks" are at least 3/8" larger ALL THE WAY AROUND than the rib. Now using a glue stick, "glue" the pieces together in a neat stack.

Next, use the glue stick to adhere one of the rib patterns to the stack of blanks - make sure one of the stacks has a reversed/mirrored pattern on it. Cut the stack out BEING SURE TO STAY A MINIMUM OF 1/16" OUTSIDE THE LINE. Now sand the blanks JUST A HAIR ABOVE THE LINE. After you have cut and sanded all the stacks of blanks, adhere the stacks to each other using the glue stick. Make sure you have a rib pattern showing ON EACH END of the assembled stacks (this is where the reversed/mirrored pattern comes in play). Use a long sanding block, sand all the ribs TO THE LINE. This will work best if you have the ribs on the work bench while sanding so they are equally supported.

At this point you should cut out your notches for the spars also. I draw lines across all the ribs to indicate where the spar notch(s) are and use a modeling saw to make the cuts. If there are lightening holes, depending on the shape of the lightening hole and the thickness of the stack you may want to divide the stack into smaller stacks or separate all of them and do ONE RIB, then trace the outline of the lightening hole on the other ribs. If the lightening holes are round holes, use a "Forstner" (spelling ?) bit with a piece of pine or other harder wood underneath as a backing.

To separate the individual rib from the stack, use your hobby knife with a #11 blade and CAREFULLY insert the blade between 2 ribs. Often, just inserting the blade is enough to get the ribs to pop apart. This is where the extra ribs come in handy (in case one or two get damaged ). Mark the ribs with the part number using a SOFT LEAD PENCIL.

You will do the other pieces basically the same way.

Once you have all the pieces cut, sanded and numbered, lay your plans on the building board and cover them with some wax paper. Take the original (small ) print and pin it up wher you can look at it for reference (it is kinda hard to see the plans with everything on top of them )

Now you can start pinning your parts over the plans and start building.

It sounds difficult, but it really isn't. The hardest part is making all the parts of your "kit".

Hope this helps.

beardelight

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks Campy,

I will post some pictures as I finish the model.


Beardelight