rfan_1: I have had plenty of issues with joining halves in the past to teach me to leave access to it, hehehe... thanks for the heads up though.

Okay, while I was waiting for the sheeting on the second wing half to dry, I started thinking about the firewall/mount. A little info: I am planning on attempting the foam plug -> plaster mold -> fiberglass cowl route to tidy up the front end of this plane and allow me to easily make new cowls if I change the exhaust from the ugly ST stock exhaust. I am using a Dave Brown 90FS mount with a Supertiger G90 engine. I have attached pictures of my preliminary layout. I am really not sure about how far out to mount the engine, but I am thinking I will hold off and try to get a little balance idea down the road before committing to drilling the engine mounting holes in the mount and shapeing the cowl plug.

Questions:

1) Does the top mounting hole location look like it will be too close to the fuel line hole (strength is the consideration I am thinking of)?

2) With the side mount engine, the carb will be lower. At what point do I need to measure the drop to readjust the tank floor? The carb venturi?

Well, I test fit the wing halves together with the dihedral brace today and.... WOW, did I get the root ribs a loooooot better this time round. There is about a 1/32" gap at the bottom of the ribs which could be 1/64th per root rib in error... I think that is perty good!

Got a thing to go to for my wifes work tonight, then I am flying in the morning, then I need to stop at the LHS and grab some 30 minute epoxy (don't trust myself with the 15 minute stuff I have now), and then I will join the halves tomorrow and post some more pics.

Patrick

Nice Figment!
Mines going slower [&o] Finished gluing the right wing ribs and
spars with Titebond II today. And TRIED to get the root rib correct,
which I think I did for the most part. However, I found that the root
rib bows from top to bottom, so when I glue in the top spars I'll
straighten it out more to match the dual tool angle.

Building Note: For gluing, I tacked all the parts using thin CA and then used a
small nylon bristle brush to spread on the Titebond II into all joints.
Should I use medium CA for some of this building or will the Titebond be
sufficient?

Until tomorrow....

I am using thin and medium CA for tacking, but I used titebond exclusively when going over everything making sure all was glued well. I think I need to see about getting a little brush like you... I am making HUGE messes with the titebond and toothpick application

Nice work so far mjcelli!

More tomorrow,
Patrick

Figment,
That hole does look pretty close to the fuel lines opening if you plan on using a blind nut there. You'll have to make sure that the tooth of the blind nut has something to bite into.
Today I tacked my 4*60 fuse /w CA and then went over all the seams with titebond, except for the firewall. I used 30 min epoxy for that. I then painted both sides of the firewall and the insides of the nose cheeks with a thin coat of epoxy also. That should take care of the fuel proofing in that area.

mjcell,
Medium CA will do just fine and be a lot quicker also. I'm using titebond because I had a serious respitory reaction to excessive CA fumes a couple of weeks ago and I'm ot taking any chances of a repeat performance. I'll use CA to tack but I've got a strong cross ventillation going when I do.

RFan

rfan: How's bout some pics for moral support here

BTW, another reason I have gone to titebond is that it is sooooo much cheeper to build a plane with it than using all that expensive CA.

Patrick

I'm using these 'epoxy brushes', [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXE269&P=7]Epoxy Brushes[/link],
to apply the Titebond, but I got mine at the local hardware store. Seem to work well. And ditto on the
cost issue for Titebond versus CA! My main concern was that medium CA may "wick" its way into
the joints better than the Titebond, but this may not be an issue.

Cool! More 4*s!

I like the wood glue better too, except for the drying time. The key is to get a good even coat on parts to be attached before getting them in place, and avoid using too much. Good tip on the epoxy brushes! I rarely use CA to "tack" pieces together, unless it's in a hard to reach spot. Titebond will hold parts together just fine when clamped, and doesn't need any "help" for a strong joint. Don't worry too much about tiny gaps (1/32, 1/64)... as long as the joint is good, it won't make a difference, and is easily hidden in the final product.

Figment, I think the fuel line hole/mount hole spacing will be ok, but make sure you turn the blind nut points so that they go into the wood on either side of the space between the holes. Should be fine, looking good so far. [sm=thumbup.gif]

Small suggestion if I may for both of you:
I noticed ya'll are putting pins through the spars to hold them to the building board, try crossing the pins over those pieces instead. By poking holes in them, you're weakening a pretty critical structure. Pins through the sheeting are ok, but always try to keep square stock intact.

Here's a quick shot of the fuse before the FBF was installed. The FBF needs to have some warm water run on the outer side so that it will conform to the fuse easier. I ended up pinning the very front ends to get them to stay put. The FBF was a very snug fit, which made it easier. Next is bracing the landing gear block.
RFan.

So, no flying anywhere in TX today as far as I can tell

I got my wings joined. Maybe I am a perfectionist, but I just am never happy with my wing joining. There is just the slightest of deviation between halves and that just annoys me. I am sure everything will be fine after sanding, filling, glassing and covering.

Anyhow, I am on a death march for the next week at work, so, not sure how much I am going to get done this week. I am still going to try to get the wing done and the fuse started, we'll just have to see I guess.

Speaking of the fuse, I want to add a tank compartment hatch. Anyone want to put in there $.02 in on how to do it? I was thinking of changing out fuse top fomer T-1 with lite ply and making two of them. At the front of the hatch I could use the dowl method common on wings, while at the back I can use screws. My biggest concern is how to get the whole curved top to match. I am thinking of building as normal, then cutting the hatch out and adding the dowls/screw mounts and extra formers.

Patrick

EDIT: Forgot the pics.

Wing joint looks good can only hope mine is as good

Sounds like a good plan, but I would build the extra formers in, then cut the hatch out. Be sure to just "tack" them in slightly, so they're not permanent.

Figment,
Here's a link to another 4*60 build that show a fuel tank hatch on page 4.

http://groups.msn.com/PuttsRCHomePag...ld.msnw?Page=1

RFan

Great work on the 4*! I'm glad you found my build thread helpful. I could have never completed my build without the help of all the people here on RCU. There were times when I got very frustrated and didn't know if I could finish it or not, but I had this nagging sense that I would let a lot of people down if I didn't push through those frustrating moments. I'm glad I had everyone on here to keep me going

Ken and the others are right on the money about flying this baby for the first time. I can't describe to you the feeling of sheer joy/terror when you finally get her in the air. It is worth it, trust me. I can't wait to start my next build, but with baby number two only days away, it may be a little while before I can start another build

Mountaineer,
How far away are you from starting another kit? Do you have radio/motor? Or do you need everything??

Trust me, I remember what it's like starting a family and trying to get into this hobby. I did it all and threw in getting a business started and running. So I know exactly where you are coming from. Hang in there, you'll get it all together before too long.

Ken

Ken:

I will probably work on doing some mods to my nexstar this winter, but no real building. With baby number two and a high likelyhood that we will be selling our house this spring, I just don't see another build in the near term future, but you never know I may catch the itch during these long winter months and before you know it have an awsome warbird on the building table

RCKen also did a detail for a hatch on MountaineerFan36's 4*60 build.
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3070885/mpage_31/key_saga%2Cbegins/tm.htm]Fuel Tank Hatch[/link]
(hope link works heh)
Just another idea...I'd like to do the same on mine.

BTW, anyone ever try to use thin magnets to secure the hatch to the fuse (mounted on hatch and fuse)?
Someone at the club mentioned this to me and he said he never had a problem with the
hatch coming off and it's quick to take off too!

There was an electrified 4*120 at my field earlier this year that used magnets on the hatch... it blew off once that I know of, I beleive he just added stronger magnets.
Not sure how the hatch was actually done, if I remember right, it was built up as figment was considering.

Mountaineer, glad to see you back! Best wishes for baby#2 and mom! (and congrats!)

Sorry I am so MIA in the thread right now, but work is crazy through the rest of the week at the least.

Thanks for the links and responses about the Tank Hatch. I like the first link and will probably go that route with some thicker balsa along the sides and sanding it down to shape.

As far as magnets go, I saw that asked about mounting a cowl somewhere. The consensus seemed to be, if I remember correctly, that it would add more weight than needed and would not be anywhere near as secure.

Mountaineer, congrats on the new bambino when it arrives. Hope everything goes smoothly for you and your wife.

No more progress on the wing yet this week.

Patrick

I suspect that with some neodymium magnets you could get the size/strength issue down ok. Heck, you could probably find a set where the problem is that it's too hard to take apart. Not dure exactly what their weight runs, but the magnets are pretty damn small and strong.

May I suggest too, that if yo havent installed the FBF yet, dont glue it on untill you have done the wing mounting, leaving it off makes it a biliion times easier to install the wing dowels

Arrrrgh![:@] I'm at the part where I'm supposed to sand down the trailing edge
and apply the sheeting. I don't think I quite understand the instructions at this
point as far as trimming/sanding the trailing edge and applying the sheeting over
it.

Can someone (figment??) be so kind as to post a couple pics showing up close side shot and back end of the trailing edge please? I've looked at every pic I could find in other posts and can't quite make out the trailing edge. [&o]

Thanks!

Gosh I hate being a newbie!

Can't post a picture but they want you to use a long sanding block and sand down the existing trailing edge stock so that the rib surface flows smoothly and flatly into it. Right now, as you follow down the rib and get to the trailing edge stock there is an abrupt change of direction. The trailing edge stock needs to be tapered so that when the sheeting lays on it all is flush and smooth.

Kind of hard to put into words. Hopefully someone can get you some pictures or drawings. A good drawing of this would be real nice Ken/Minn if you have one

I threw together a pic for you...

Basically...sand what is red in the pic...so its even with the ribs...

...pic