Japanman

O.K, I thought I`d better post a few pictures of what I have been doing.

I covered the wings yesterday- I used light silk over whitefoam (with balsa stringers top and bottom) put on with waterbased polyurethane. I was not sure how this was going to be, I have made a couple of test pieces before, but covering the whole wing is a different thing. But as it turned out, it was not too hard to get onto the wing at all- it was easier than the japanese paper I used for the vampire- and by jingo, it is a lot tougher than paper! I was surprised how much more the wings weighed after the covering had dried- but it is not too bad- they weigh 20gms each- thats about 1.8oz for both- given how strong they are I can live with it. One thing that also was a surprise was the ease at which I was able to cover curves- I did the whole wing in one piece. top and bottom including the wing tips- that silk just moulds around curves beautifully. The hardest thing was holding on to it, and hanging it up with both sides covered!

I have also done a bit of work on the fan unit- because of the riversand (read: grinding paste) that blows up into the air in dustclouds, I decided that I had to build in an air filter, otherwise with a pipe, that V.A wouldn`t last long. I built it onto the side of the fan unit in 0.8mm ply- with an oiled filter foam ring to do the work. Gee... and I said I`d be extra vigilant about weight

And I have decided to install gear AFTER I have had a few test flights...

J.M

p.s I`ll have to upload the images later- Nuts!

Japanman

----photos----

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

very nice! Looks like we'll be seeing flight pics soon!

Japanman

Man, at this rate I`ll be test flying in the snow[&:]!

Well, here are the completed bits I have been working on for a bit- it`s been really slow going as I was knocked of my scoot by someone and recieved a broken arm. I guess you could say that I met an interesting old japanese man who was a poor driver and somewhat disarming by nature...
but man, try working with one hand to see how much it slows you down!


Well, I have now got a tailplane builtup with a servo inside. I overbuilt the rudder a bit- I might yet take to it and open it up a bit to let the weight out
still, at this stage it weighs 40gms all up which seems O.K- add 10g for covering.
I think I`ll have to get my brother to send me my litespan and balsaloc to cover it.

BTW have you started your corsair Pt?

BTW This is starting to look like a MiG, don`t you think?

J.M

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

DOH!
Sorry to hear about your accident. I'm beginning to believe that motorcycles are evil. After the third time that mine attracted a car at high speed(close calls), I sold it.

Yep, It looks like a mig! I like how you handled the tail. The corsair II is still being drawn. I'm trying to draw it in 3d then make slices for the formers. I've never done it before so I'm having to learn it now.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HI JM! Sorry to hear about your arm, but it looks like you've been able to make good progress on the MIG. The silk and poly urethane looks good. I never realized how high up on the fin the elevator is until I saw the photo. Those fuselage sections really blend nicely into each other, I think the trick is to not let the glue seep out to where it interferes with the sanding. It looks to me like you are getting real close to roll out day, if your arm isn't better by that time just send me your plane and I'll get it all trimmed and wrung out for you so you can fly it with one arm. You better think twice about putting on landing gear, or I will have that old man run into you again[X(]!

Japanman

PT,
it isn`t the motorbike thats evil... its those tin brain ovens on wheels...
I think if everyone had to ride a motorbike for a year before getting their car licence the roads of the world would be a lot safer.

CP
I`ve only rough sanded the fuse so far- I used a japanese polystyrene glue that seems to sand really well- there are still faint ridges but when the foam has a coat of polyurethane they sand off without a trace[8D]

J.M

DualdudE

Darn...the only thing epoxy cannot fix

The plane looks nice, the fan even nicer. I would never have managed to create a fan myself, awesome work

Japanman

Weird...
I threw all caution to the wind and tried covering the rudder in silk with waterbased polyurethane.... went on fine, but went loose as it dried!
Luckily enough i had no problem pulling it all off.

I`m going to wait for the litespan now..[&:]

J.M

Japanman

Well, it is a whole month since I wrote the last post. There is one good thing.. I can use my arm again!

I have been working on and off on the Mig getting little bits done here and there. It has been nice to just cruise and build it slowly- sorry C.P I know you want to see this finnished yesterday!

Looking at what I have done so far since the last posts- there is quite a bit- but not that you`d immediately notice it.

This morning I glued the wings to the centre piece of the fuselage and carbon wing joiner/ribs. I have mounted the aerolon servos in and made and mounted the aerolons. I also found that the Y harness I bought was not the one for the job- it has a reverser built in and when I plugged the servos in to try it I found that I had an ideal setup for flaps..... doh!

After thinking about it for a bit I realised that it was better if I made my own Y harness anyway. I really want to keep the weight down so the standard servo wire is too thick and heavy for what I want. I went to my local electronc parts shop and had a hunt around- luckily they had PCB pin blocks (same spacing as servo plugs) and some thin computer 'ribbon' multistrand wire. I did consider going to copper transformer wire but I don`t have confidence that the thin insulation vs engine vibe.

So nowI have some nice, super light plugs and Yharness wires to go. it worked out cheaply too!

I have done a few other things like cutting the throttle cable to length and 'tinning' it with silver solder and putting in a Z bend to take the throttle servo.

It is amazing how much time these little details take! But it occurs to me that It won`t be long and I`ll be gluing the whole sh-bang together.. it dosent seem long to go now.


J.M

Japanman

This morning I buried the servo leads into the wings and soldered up the Y harness. I also glued together the rear fuse and attached it to the mid section and wings.

The whole thing is looking more and more like a plane...[8D]

I will have to start thinking about making the canopy soon, has everyone seen this?

http://www.thestuarts.freeserve.co.uk/page4f.htm

It can`t be that easy can it??

J.M

Attached are photos of the plug and wire I used- look how much thinner it is than standard servo wire!

mclintock

My Feedback: (3)

Thank you so much for that link showing how to make canopies from retail display pack plastic.
It seems that I can't buy a pack of gum nowdays without it being encased in that clear plastic armor; it's nice to see a good use for the dread stuff.

Japanman

Sorry I didn`t post it sooner. It seems like a good way to make very light canopys. I`ve just glued together some blocks of balsa to carve my plug from- so I`ll let you know how easy I found the process to be.

J.M

Hey D.B is this a similar process to your drinkbottle one?

Big Al-RCU

Hi JM, that's almost exactly the method I use, and yes it's really that easy.
I would offer two suggestions that make it easier (at least for me).
One, mount the plug on a stand or some sort and then pull the plastic/frame down over it.
Two, heat it over a stove top burner. Hold it six of eight inches over the burner depending on how hot it is. Poke it with your finger and after a couple of trys you will be able to tell precisely when its ready to pull. (If your worried about burning yourself, use a pencil to do the testing :-)
Al

Japanman

Al,
Thanks for the tips- Today I had a go with a bit of plastic I had lying around saved for this very thing. Dam, it was the kind that turns white- but I got a test run, and yes it is easy!

What plastic do you use? I went out and bought a sheet of plastic that looked likely- I figue that or a soft drik bottle and I`ll be in business.

J.M

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

I don't know if you have a local hobby shop, but ours (if 80m away is local) carries the K&S sheets. (so does tower) I'd be even more interested to know if the coke bottles will work. Nice solder job!

Japanman

Hi,
Well... no luck on either count ! the sheet I bought went soft but not soft enough, and then melted. The coke bottle shrank like crazy... More experimentation needed![:'(]

J.M

Japanman

...
Dang,
I have had no luck at all. I wonder if the canopy is just a bit too big to mould easily- it is about 100mm long and 40mm deep which seems quite a lot of draw. I have so far only managed one fully moulded canopy, the very first one which is white in many places.

I have so far tried every bit of decent looking plastic I can get, including p.v.c and p.e.t (sheet).

What is used for vacuum forming? My problem has been that the plastic is just not getting soft enough- it goes rubbery, then goes white in every case.

What I need is the correct plastic for the job I suspect. Anyone know what that might be?


J.M

Big Al-RCU

JM that's a bummer. I, like the chap on the website, just save the plastic 'windows' that come with the various items from the dept store. They all work great, (after all thats how they were originally formed for the display/package). I have a manila folder full of odds and ends. The biggest variable is the thickness. It's totally uncontrolled even on the same piece of flat material. I foolishly threw out lots of good pieces because the edge (after forming) was paper thin. Turns out that is an 'optimized design feature' :-). The thin edge is fully supported when glued in place and the center/ top unsupported portion that needs the strength is the thickest. And speaking of glue, I thought everyone was using Wilhold R/C-56 for canopies. That's the milky white stuff that turns transparent when it drys and cleans up with water. Stays sorta flexible. Is there anything better?
And so far as size, your 100mm is very similar to my 1/2 A canopies and that should be no problem (with the right material). The deeper it is the thinner the edges but as I said that isn't always bad.
Al

Japanman

Thanks for the tips Al,
I am going to keep at it until I get it to work. Right now as i mentioned before my problem is the plastic either being 'rubbery' and not soft enough to form, or turning white.

I hope to get some deccnt plastic some time soon!

J.M

Andrew

Hey JM --

Here is a [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_671577/anchors_671577/mpage_1/key_vacuum/anchor/tm.htm#671577]thread[/link] by Bipe Flyer with a fairly extensive description of his vacuum forming procedure. He has a lot of experience pulling parts of different shapes and working with various plastics.

the "other" andrew

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

JM, I've got a link for you... http://www.warmplastic.com/photos.html
It's just a tidbit of info.

Big Al, Elmer's used to make caulk in a bottle that looked like their white glue bottles. They might still make it, but I haven't seen it lately. I've got a bottle that's about five years old, It's thicker and easier to use. And cleans up with water.
Ok, I looked it up on their website. here's a link... http://www.elmers.com/product/produc...asp?pCode=E945

Japanman

Thanks for the links and info everyone,
I am starting to feel more confident that I can crack this one.[8D]

J.M

Japanman

Got canopy, can finish plane.

I tried so many bits of clear bubble pack plastic I was starting to wonder if it was just me overheating the plastic that was making it go white. but then I tried the lid off a noodle box and BINGO! no whiteness and I got a canopy... but it was too thin[] I guess the right kind of plastic is just not used much here in Japan.

I emailed D.B a while ago about his softdrink bottle process and I thought it was time to try something different. I hope you don`t mind me detailing this, D.B, but basically it works around the bottle shrinking when it gets hot- so I packed in my canopy block into a bottle that I`d cut the ends off and hit it with myblowtorch- a poor substitute for a heat gun. No luck here. Yesterday I gave it another go, but this time in the oven. This worked extermely well as the whole bottle gets soft and shriks uniformly.
Excellent! thanks D.B!

I am going to get some more of the noodle lids to make smaller parts from- it is just too easy! shame I couldn`t get in a bit thicker sheet.

J.M

**Just uploaded a few images- of the pressmoulded canopy, of what happened to all the other plastic when I tried it. and of some home cooking**

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HI JM! Congratulations! For awhile I thought we were going to have to send DB over there to do your canopy for you! As usual, you persevered and got it done. Now I'll bet you will become a vacuforming madman, and come out with your own line of sheet plastic models? It sure would be great to be able to have a plane with a carbon tail boom that had a ultra light and purely cosmetic fuselage!
Hope to see your screaming MIG soon!