2015 Design Contest - Airrow Two
11-29-2015, 03:09 PM
#101
I'm paranoid about elevator joiners.
I'll poke a bunch of holes in the vicinity of where the joiner is embedded into the wood and soak the area with thin CA...or else use medium CA to secure a half wrap of 1.5 oz FG cloth to surround the area where the joiner wire enters the wood.
The last few years I've been using either 1/8" or 3/32" aluminum welding rod for joiners. They seem totally flutter proof. You need to test the rod for flexibility before buying some, not all alloys allow cold forming.
I'll poke a bunch of holes in the vicinity of where the joiner is embedded into the wood and soak the area with thin CA...or else use medium CA to secure a half wrap of 1.5 oz FG cloth to surround the area where the joiner wire enters the wood.
The last few years I've been using either 1/8" or 3/32" aluminum welding rod for joiners. They seem totally flutter proof. You need to test the rod for flexibility before buying some, not all alloys allow cold forming.
Last edited by H5606; 11-29-2015 at 04:37 PM.
12-06-2015, 05:46 PM
#102
Finished sanding/filing taper into tail section parts and added scab patches (elevs fragile now - may not be worth effort on thin mat'l in the future). After some consultation, drew up more horn sketches; removed mat'l from heavy wingtip in an attempt to mitigate sacrilegious weight added to the other tip. Began blending/rounding all corners on the airframe.
12-06-2015, 06:11 PM
#103
Funny how paranoia is contagious.
The typical joiner [that I've never been brave enough to try with 1/2A RC] is the old hunk of 1/8" birch dowel that so many 1/2A plans call out for. The dowel isn't cross drilled to help anchor it to the balsa, it just lays there next to the balsa
At most it would get a wrap of cloth soaked in Ambroid glue to help bind it better to the balsa elevator half.
When you consider all the time and effort it takes to build the rest of the plane..just a couple of toothpicks cross drilled through the joiner and into the balsa seems worthwhile.
I like the look of your tallest control horn, that one will give you the most precise control.
The typical joiner [that I've never been brave enough to try with 1/2A RC] is the old hunk of 1/8" birch dowel that so many 1/2A plans call out for. The dowel isn't cross drilled to help anchor it to the balsa, it just lays there next to the balsa
At most it would get a wrap of cloth soaked in Ambroid glue to help bind it better to the balsa elevator half.
When you consider all the time and effort it takes to build the rest of the plane..just a couple of toothpicks cross drilled through the joiner and into the balsa seems worthwhile.
I like the look of your tallest control horn, that one will give you the most precise control.
12-10-2015, 05:40 PM
#105
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Whats up fella's? Hahaha same old stuff goin on here..Good to see ya CP.. was cleaning up some planes for the BARKS swap meet next month , Its a pretty big event for Burlington ,NC and I have taken up some drone flying, there pretty fun if your not too serious and don't need a $900 one! MJD good to see you too...Rog
12-16-2015, 03:45 PM
#106
Progress slowed a bit - cut ailerons free, fabricated control horns, and - because of not mat'l matching on my part during construction - shaped lead weight for right wing panel.
Last edited by H5606; 12-16-2015 at 03:52 PM.
12-16-2015, 08:45 PM
#107
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Whats up fella's? Hahaha same old stuff goin on here..Good to see ya CP.. was cleaning up some planes for the BARKS swap meet next month , Its a pretty big event for Burlington ,NC and I have taken up some drone flying, there pretty fun if your not too serious and don't need a $900 one! MJD good to see you too...Rog
02-01-2016, 05:39 PM
#108
Aileron servo pockets, aileron LE's beveled and hinged, missed on planned hard point for horn so had to add back block for horn mounts, fabricated pushrods. Not seen in any pictures, tops of servo mounts are capped with 1/16" balsa sheet to act as depth stop/floor. At this point, I'm scratching my head trying to get two ail servos working with a five channel Rx and computer radio w/o a Y-harness. Thinking out loud - have option to move 1 spline fwd on output arms to achieve some mechanical differential to combat adverse yaw but not sure what I'll do yet. Hoping hard mounting servo with transmission of vibration doesn't cause problems.
Last edited by H5606; 02-01-2016 at 05:58 PM.
02-18-2016, 06:00 PM
#110
I've done it to one airframe in the past and seemed most stable, non-sagging covering job so thought I'd do same here; brushed all surfaces to be covered with two coats of white glue/water mixture, sanding between coats. Not sure second coat was necessary as it didn't sand well. Heard hair spray helps covering adhere as well - haven't tried it but will try it in future. Also perforated entire surface of airframe with holes from a block full of pins. Vacuumed, tacked off surfaces, and started covering small parts.
02-28-2016, 06:00 AM
#111
Covered TE aileron cut-outs and then covered wing in single pieces bottom and top. Before covering top, opened up holes for servos with soldering iron and ran string leads through to facilitate wire runs. Since wing LE is straight, Sharpie run along tabletop made for nice surface gauge prior to trimming excess covering.
03-13-2016, 05:09 PM
#112
First time using one of those "pro tips" out of an instruction manual worked well here; cut Monokote using soldering iron and cardstock template for wing to fuse fairing. Covered bottom of fuse. Monokote hinge was labor intensive but looks like it will work well. Trusted source tells me I should've used same technique and saved weight in glue and hinges for the ailerons too. Hairy supervisor lost interest in the glacial movement-like progress and appears to have fallen asleep. Final one for fun with Monokote and perspective.
03-16-2016, 08:29 AM
#114
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The soldering iron trick is a good one for ply plates, removing film from tail surface mounting areas, opening up die/laser cut holes etc. - sure beats trying to cut film without slicing into the structure. And those nice sharp blade edges seem to last for all of about 9" of cut.
03-19-2016, 02:22 PM
#115
The original Minnie Mambo gear was a little wide where it mounts to the fuse; access to power shear at work and some .050" aluminum helps to create new gear leg. Doodling to lay out tail fin logo.
Found strip of 1/2" width balsa, anchored down to table, that's then covered with a length of Scotch tape to use as multi-color panel assembly stooge courtesy of something I learned from a M.A.N. build article by Dan Santich. What's really neat is Monokote doesn't bond to it and only sticks well enough to create the multi-color panel when pieces are ironed together. Cut fuselage side pattern using tracing paper and relieved key areas to locate horizontal stab, sight glass/window, and fake exhaust manifold. Once the multi-color panel is made, its applied as a normal piece of covering mat'l.
Final one of pattern laid over assembly stooge.
Found strip of 1/2" width balsa, anchored down to table, that's then covered with a length of Scotch tape to use as multi-color panel assembly stooge courtesy of something I learned from a M.A.N. build article by Dan Santich. What's really neat is Monokote doesn't bond to it and only sticks well enough to create the multi-color panel when pieces are ironed together. Cut fuselage side pattern using tracing paper and relieved key areas to locate horizontal stab, sight glass/window, and fake exhaust manifold. Once the multi-color panel is made, its applied as a normal piece of covering mat'l.
Final one of pattern laid over assembly stooge.
04-02-2016, 11:25 AM
#117
Bonded blue and white pieces on tape covered balsa strip and added stripes to create multi-colored sides. I finally took the time out to use the striping tool that I've had for years but lost patience for because it seemed like you needed a Doctorate in PHDs to assemble... Once set up, seems to work well especially for constant width, narrow stripes.
Created similar window installation plate with tape covered balsa form. Found out the painful way to remove adhesive on clear Monokote before ironing in windows...
Fabricated and ironed on in-line exhaust manifolds.
Created similar window installation plate with tape covered balsa form. Found out the painful way to remove adhesive on clear Monokote before ironing in windows...
Fabricated and ironed on in-line exhaust manifolds.
04-18-2016, 05:11 PM
#121
Couldn't resist cosmetic additions to enhance appearances at the expense of adding some weight. Dismayed that covering added significant weight to tail; probably have to add dead weight up front...
