RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Here's what I got done today:

Started by epoxying the 3/8" square motor mount stick into the first two formers after aligning and measuring the length of the stick with the motor and gearbox temporarily installed. Also added some 1/8" diagonal braces in the ailerons(as an afterthought) to stiffen them up some, and finished the final sanding on the wing and ailerons. They had a lot of flex, and I plan to put lots of stress on this plane. :D

Began covering the wing inside when it got too hot in the garage, starting with the bottom, and working in quarters to conserve the limited amount of covering(Ultracote transparent purple) that I have. The wingtips weren't too bad to cover, just had to play with the heat setting on the iron to get it "just right".

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Just a couple more shots of the wing, covering in progress. Also a couple after the wing is finished, mounted to the fuselage, with the motor temporarily installed again just for grins and pictures.

This part(covering) isn't difficult, just really time consuming to do it right. ;)

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

AHHH yes, I am a sucker for transparent covering. This design is an excellent candidate for it too being such a nice looking structure with all the webbing and stick built surfaces. Only one problem I see... there's some funny looking round thing mounted on the nose where the engine is supposed to go:D:D:D. Oh well, I guess I can overlook that. But only because you're doing such a beautiful job on the construction. I may do a 1/2a conversion of it. Keep up the good work!:)

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Me too. There's nothing better than transparent covering with sunlight shining through it, revealing all the carpentry and "guts". [8D]
Funny little round thing.... Ah, well, I'll try harder next time. :D

Not too much to report for the last two days, very busy as usual, but managed to sneak in some building time. Slotted the horiz. and vertical stabs for hinges, as well as the elevator and rudder. I used a piece of 1/16" ply for the servo mount running across the fuselage just in front of the cockpit. Had to add a couple of balsa "rails" for it to sit on because I cut it too narrow to fit tightly, but it works out good as it adds a bunch of strength the that portion of the fuselage.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

More details of the servo tray and servo installation. Using Cirrus 4.9 gram micro servos for rudder, elevator, and ailerons. I also drilled 1/16" holes for the pushrod guide tubes to pass through in the three aft fuselage formers, and glued them in place with the extra hanging out the back.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Next to be added now that the tubes are installed is the bottom rear fuselage sheeting, cut from 1/16" balsa. I had to trim the bottom of the fuselage by about 1/16" so the sheeting would sit even with the bottom of the wing. Everything glued from the inside, and sanded even with the fuselage.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Last little bits for today... I cut the pushrod guide tubes flush with the fuselage and used a sanding block with 200 grit to smooth the ends down to the fuselage. Used thick CA to fill the gap where they exit the fuse. sides, and more sanding. Also covered the rudder and elevator. I'll add the tiny little control horns(Du-Bro) later on after I get everything hinged.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Here's progress for today.... it seems to be going slower than I anticipated, I keep having to do other stuff. [&o]

I added 1/8" diagonal braces inside the rear fuselage (Another change) to kind of "tie" the fuselage formers together. Also sanded the fuselage front top sheeting flush where the battery/radio hatch attaches.(no picture-sorry). Got the horizontal stab and fin covered, as well as both ailerons. That's about it besides some additional swipes with a sanding block to remove "fuzz".

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Well, due to little guy being sick, and way too much work all at once for me, nothing got done this week. I did manage to sneak in a maiden flight on a trainer - yup, it flies very much like a trainer. No suprise there. :eek:

Today I made some progress, and should have it ready to fly by Sunday. Installed the cockpit "floor", and added the top fuselage (battery) hatch, made from 1/4" balsa. Some sanding with a sanding block... and presto- one hatch.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

I cut a round toothpick for retaining pins in the back of the hatch, pressed into the former to mark the correct location, then drilled the same size holes in the balsa former by hand. Covered the inside of the cockpit with black monokote, and the hatch with pearl white ultracote.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Covering the fuselage.... (see pictures) Used purple transparent ultracote under the pearl white for the fuselage stripe. Cut the purple about 1/8" larger than the cutout in the white for overlap, which makes it nice and smooth when covered, and hides the seam.

Not much to say for about 3 hours of measure, cut, cover, measure, cut, cover, etc...

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

And finishing up for tonight, here's some shots with all the covering except trim on the wings. Radio setup will be installed tomorrow, along with finishing touches and some testing. :D

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

I hope it flys as good as it looks .Joe

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Very inspirational. Thank you very much for all of the hard work that you must have put into the pictures and detailed writing of this thread. I'm new to the sport and haven't built a plane from scratch yet, but after the AMA article and this thread I am determined to make it happen. There's just something about that plane that is really cool. I can't wait to see (and read) how it all turns out after it's finished and flown. Keep it coming!

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Well, here's some of the progress from last weekend - I haven't gotten around to updating the build because I've been flying my tail off. :D

Hinged the ailerons, elevator, and rudder using CA hinges cut down into 1/4 original size, Also installed the small control horns on the elevator and rudder. I cut a small square of covering where the control horns sits on the surfaces so the glue sticks to the balsa instead of covering, also drilled two 1/16" holes for the pegs, and ran the .032" wire pushrods through the tubes that were already installed in the fuselage.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Here's a shot of the finished installation on the tail. Next, I started working on the other end of the pushrods at the servos. I had to "modify" the servo arms to fit, as they were too long to fit in the fuselage without hitting the sides and getting stuck. I also cut the unused side off - didn't need them, so it might save a gram or so... :eek:

After cutting the pushrods down to approximate length, I attached them to the servo arms using the Du-Bro mini EZ connectors, with a drop of lock-tite in the screw holes so they don't work loose, then screwed the servo arm to the servo, making sure that the radio was ON and centered, and keeping the actual control surface centered at the same time. I used a few pieces of balsa stick rubber-banded on either side to hold the control surface while I adjusted the servos for center(not shown - had to charge the camera)

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

I used short lengths of 3/32" brass tubing for the connection to the aileron torque rods, just crimped one end flat with pliers and drilled a .032" hole for the pushrod in each one. Very carefully soldered one on each torque rod, making sure that no solder dripped down into the wing itself. Hooked up the servo similar to how I did the elevator and rudder. While I had the soldering iron hot and ready, I also soldered connectors on the batteries and speed control.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Here's a shot of the motor installation and antenna routing. Motor is held in place with two servo screws, installed from either side. If and when I do another, I'll drill a hole through the motor mount stick to accept a bolt and nut. Antenna passes through a 1/16" hole in the bottom aft fuselage. Also made a 1/16" ply tailskid to keep the rudder off the ground. I'll add a tailwheel eventually. Packing tape on the bottom of the wing for belly landings.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

First flight was successful! All it needed was a gentle underhand toss into the wind at about 3/4 power and away it went. After adjusting the trims a click or two, it flies straight as an arrow, and rather fast for a plane this size. All up weight turned out to be 16oz. with battery, just a little more than I had planned, but it has about 35oz. of thrust! [X(]:D

Vertical climbs are extremely easy, and it does just about all the aerobatics I could throw at it on low rates. No 3D, but that's not what this one is for anyway.

Unfortunately, during a vertical power off dive(for trimming ;) ) the right aileron seperated from the wing. I still had control, although somewhat sluggish in roll, so I brought it down nice and easy with power off and landed in the weeds. Only damage was a hole in the covering on the right wing(from weeds on landing), and obviously I had to go find the aileron.

Upon further inspection, it turns out BOTH aileron torque rods had worked thier way through the thin balsa and had gotten extremely loose-resulting in flutter and loosing the right aileron.

Observations:
1. Aileron-torque rod connection needs to be stronger.
2. It needs landing gear at my field.
3. I should fly slower. ;)

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Now for the fix: Reinstalled the aileron, patched the hole in the wing, and installed a 1/8" ply plate in the bottom of the fuselage for the landing gear mount. Used 1/2" triangle stock to reinforce the LG plate, along with a tight fit to the fuselage.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

I added small 1/32" ply squares top and bottom on the ailerons where the torque rods attach to keep them from breaking the ailerons as they flex(see previous pictures), Also installed small landing gear salvaged from another small model, installed with large servo screws.

Here's a shot of it sitting on its gear... I need to remember to cut the motor on touchdown so I don't break the 9x6 prop, there's not much clearance! (about 1/4") And finally, another ready to fly shot - all fixed up. :D

Second and third flights were without incident, both hand-launched, landings were no problem(I actually made the runway this time! )
NICE flying plane, aerobatics are very smooth, and it flies pretty smooth. Most of the flights were at just above 1/4 throttle, with occasional bursts of power to climb or perform manuevers. It handles a breeze well, but I would not fly it above about 10mph winds or so. Flight time has generally been about 12-15 minutes, depending on throttle, using 1350mah 11.1v Lipo. I'll dress it up and install a pilot when I get back from the desert in October. :D

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Nice work! I have enjoyed keeping up with your progress and the plane looks great. I may have to try one myself sometime (if I can ever get caught up on all my other projects). Thanks for keeping us informed. Glad your workmanship paid off.

Brian

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

You've got a really good looking plane there -- I've thoroughly enjoyed your build thread. Sorry about your mishap, but is sounds like you had it under control and have corrected the problem. Let us know how the next flights work out.

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

Thanks guys, it's been fun. The next two flights were successful, but I won't be able to fly it again until October, when I get back from Kuwait. Gonna fly a foamie UcanDo over here when my wife gets it mailed out. I don't want to risk shipping damage on a built up model. :D

RE: Rodger Dodger Build
 

I have been inspired by your building thread and have been spending time studying the plans. Unfortunately not everything is clearly marked and there is room for confusion.

> I omitted the 1/32" ply fuselage doublers behind the wing for now. <
Actually, this is not a little plywood triangular gusset but a continuous sheet of plywood that extends from aft of the wing all the way to the nose. That is what "1/32 ply doublers to here" means. I checked with Sarpolus on this. He also suggests some lightening holes in the plywood

No specs are given for the top and bottom of the fuselage. The plan should have been marked 3/32" sheet on top and 1/16" sheet on the bottom.

The drawing of the alternate version tail with operating rudder does not fit onto the original fuselage as drawn. It is larger overall the non-moving rudder and should just be fudged to fit.

Thanks for all of the great detailed information you have provided.