RE: Pilatus PC12
Progress at last....
Luis, good to hear that the parts arrived. I hope you like them. I tried to send the following by email but it bounced back. Therefore, I'm hoping you check in here and see this post.
A couple of points that have come to light with my fuselage (I've been very slow because we've been busy at work).
With F4, you may need to hollow it out depending on what size/shape fuel tank you plan to put in. I was planning on a smaller one but have now decided to go for longer endurance and that means that I'll have to use either two smaller tanks in the current space, or cut the former to allow me to slip a larger one in. Remembering, the nosegear retracts into this area too.
Also on F4, the top slot is too large and of course needs to be packed so the 3mm top longeron will be secure. I'm just going to use a couple of ply scabs as there is plenty of strength in the nose area anyway.
You will need to check the clearances of all the slots as some were not quite wide enough. It only involves a few passes with some sandpaper, but it is better to find out before you have applied glue of course.
You will note that the triangular servo tray in the tail needs to be cut along the line so you can incorporate it. When I designed the smaller version, I initially had it cut in one piece and then realized that I couldn't push the tray through F13. Makes sense when you step back from it, but at the time I was pretty involved in it and the work was just "flowing" so nicely I didn't think about it. Also, this tray needs a little trimming on the sides, about 2.5mm from the rear sides, tapering to about 1mm at the front. Just put F12 and F14 at either end and you will see what I mean. The sides should be flush with the formers of course.
The ply nosegear supports also need about 2mm off the top surface so they end up flush with the formers.
Other than that, I've not seen anything of note. Hope you're enjoying yourself with this model. I'll be away in New Zealand for the next three weeks and will be getting back to work on the PC12 when I come home. I'll be contactable by email in the meantime for any questions.
If anybody else is interested, I'm going to do another run of parts once I have the basic structure complete and make sure any changes are done. At this stage, I'm going to be offering the formers and ribs (all the laser-cut parts) for US$250.00 plus shipping. Although they won't be available for a couple of weeks, I'm happy to take expressions of interest and keep in touch with you etc. Just let me know.
cheers,
Greg