cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

A shot of the finished elevator pushrod... Temporarily installed both completed pushrods (except for the solder clevis at the servo end). Note there's not enough opening in the former cutout to allow the pushrod to reach the servo arm. I'll just trim enough on both sides to let the pushrods fit without contacting the fuselage, plus a little bit to allow for engine vibrations. Attached both pushrods to thier control surfaces, and cut the servo end to length using a clevis to gauge how far back to cut the wire with the control surface and servo centered.

cwrr5

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After cutting the pushrod wire to the correct length, I removed both pushrods and soldered a clevis on each one at the servo end. Also made the cut-outs in the fuselage former I mentioned earlier to clear both pushrods, and reinstalled the elevator and rudder pushrods. I changed the exit holes for the pushrods on both sides to allow the elevator to exit higher than the rudder pushrod, so there is enough room for them to slide past one another. I filled the huge exit holes from the kit with scrap balsa, CA'ed in place and sanded.

cwrr5

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Next up is the throttle cable... I drilled a 1/8" hole in the firewall even with the bottom of the throttle arm on the engine, and another in the second former at the same height as the servo arm to feed the nyrod cable tube through. Used a couple of scrap balsa blocks CA'ed in to hold the bend in the tube, and added a drop or two to the the tube to hold it in place. It will be more permanently attached when I do the fuelproofing with thinned epoxy. I slid the cable through the tube, and cut it to length so that the threaded pieces and clevis on each end match the length between servo arm and throttle. I'll adjust some more later on to keep everything working in sync with the throttle stick on the radio.

Oooops! Sorry! Didn't take a picture of the servo end, but it's the same as the engine end of the pushrod.

cwrr5

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I put the receiver and battery in the plane, and installed the switch and charge jack, and plugged in the servos and battery. Added the wing and weighed the finished plane (except for fuel tank and covering) at 47.7 oz.

Anyone care for a three-view+ of the almost finished plane? (I'm making drawings from these pictures to finish planning the color scheme)

cwrr5

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A few more shots... My #1 helper seems to approve.

Yes, he might actually get to fly this one, it's just his size.

bruce88123

CWRR5 - post 299, did you mean to use a 1/4" dowel instead of the 1/8" you listed in the post?

Otherwise looking good.


Edit: Dowel size was corrected.

cwrr5

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Oooops!

You got me there. Yes - 1/4" dowel. (I was half asleep at the keyboard again )

Thanks.

cwrr5

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Finally had a chance to get back in the workshop after this hectic week...

Got the fuel tank parts laid out and assembled. Using a sullivan 6 oz. tank, should give me LOTS of flight time on a .25, throttled back. [8D]

cwrr5

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Temporarily installed the tank in the forward fuselage and cut fuel tubing to the appropriate length for the carb and muffler lines. I also added a fueling valve to make it easier to refuel the plane. The fit in the engine compt. is pretty tight, so it would be a real pain to try to take the fuel tubing off the carb to refuel. I had to carve and sand a bit in the bottom of the hatch to clear the little "bubble" in the top of the tank for the pressure line so that the hatch will fit.

I thought about using a fuel dot and three line tank setup, but I actually like these better.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Added scrap balsa supports (two pieces) for the elevator and rudder pushrods at the mid-fuselage former, all CA'd in place. The fiberglass bearings glued into the supports just keep the pushrods from rattling around due to engine vibrations, and keep them from flexing too much.

Kind of a pain adding these after everything is built, working through limited space. In the future, I'll probably do this earlier in the process.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Now that everything is setup and ready to go, it's time for filling, sanding, fuelproofing and covering. [:'(]

I removed the rudder and elevator halves, along with the clevis' at the control surfaces, and pulled the pushrods up into the fuselage so I don't have to work around them when doing the finishing. Also removed the landing gear, tailwheel, fuel tank, engine, engine mount, switch and charge jack, and the fueling valve. I left all three servos in place, as they are a little difficult to get to(my hands are too big ). Also removed the throttle clevis and slid a piece of heat shrink tubing over the threaded end of the cable to keep from getting anything in or on it while I fill and fuelproof the fuselage.

I filled all the gaps in the ply fuselage joints and any dents that may have appeared while assembling everything. Most of what you see in the pictures will be sanded off after it dries.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Finish-sanded the fuselage, working down to 1000-grit paper, and fuelproofed the engine compartment, fuel tank area(as much as I could reach), and the wing saddle, along with all the little openings in the fuselage for switch, pushrods, etc. Used thinned 30-minute epoxy for the initial coating, and the parts that show will be painted after covering.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

After all of that stuff had cured for a day or so, I started into the covering... Usually I start with the wing, but I decided to change up and do the fuselage first so I can get the white area in the middle of the wing lined up right. Covered the rudder and fuel tank hatch, going slow and keeping everything tight&smooth.

I left the front of the hatch flat instead of sanding it like the instructions "suggest". It's easier to cover this way.

cwrr5

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Covered the top joint between stab and fin next, using a small trim iron, and overlapped the covering over each surface approx 1/8" to 1/4". When I cover the horizontal stab and fin, I'll have monokote over monokote to seal the joint (fuelproof), and it looks better.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Used the same technique on the bottom joint between fuselage and horizontal stab.

cwrr5

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Covered the bottom of the fuselage next, wrapped the covering up on the sides about 1/8" or so. The covering on the sides of the fuselage will overlap and seal this seam also. The covering also extends around the front cheek pieces to the inside of the engine compartment about 1/8". When I paint this area, I'll scuff the covering with a green scrubby-pad, and overlap the paint onto the covering to provide a little better seal and hide the edge of the monokote a little.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Covered the vertical stab in two pieces, left and right, with the edge of the covering lined up at the corner between the vertical stab and fuselage, and overlapped with the covering that's already there.

Kind of a neat effect in these pictures, the reflection of the horizontal stab lines up with the facing side, making it almost look like the covering and tail is transparent, even though it's not. [8D]

bruce88123

Covering going well so far. This is the same method of filletig the corners first that RCKen promotes, as do I.

Keep the posts coming. Tigerdude is at this stage too and I'm sure this info will be great help to him.

cwrr5

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Thanks - I hope so.... that's (partially) why I took over his thread.

Covering will be mostly done by next week (hopefully), engine break-in shortly after, then maiden scheduled for next Saturday or Sunday, depending on weather. (aka: WIND [:'(] ) I keep slipping the date back due to being busy with other things, getting ancy for the first flight though.... pics to follow shortly after of course, but sorry, no video though. (no equipment)

cwrr5

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Only had about an hour this morning to continue covering, and decided to try something different with the window frames. I usually paint them or just leave them bare wood, but I'll try covering them instead this time.

I cut approx. 1/4" strips and attached them around the inside edge of the windows with a trim iron, then cut the excess from the outside flush with the surface of the fuselage sides, and left the inside alone for now. Not sure how I'm going to finish the inside of the cabin yet - I'll think about it some more today.

The folded paper towel under the fuselage is to keep from scratching the covering on the bottom while I hadle the plane during covering.

R T W

Looking good CRWW5

cwrr5

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Thanks.

Spent another couple of hours working on this plane this morning, and made some more progress, although didn't get as far as I had hoped. It really eats up a suprising bunch of time when you build, take pics, build, take pics. Just like Ken said in his PIF thread, I don't mind a bit - it's great to be able to give a little bit back to the hobby from time to time.

I decided to just tack the inside pieces of the window frame covering down, and paint over when I finish the inside of the cabin. Also added a small piece of balsa cut from scrap at the tail/fuselage joint to fill the gap at the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer, on both sides. This will give the covering something to attach to, so there won't be an ugly wrinkle or gap in this area.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Next, I tacked an oversize piece of white covering in place using low heat just around the windows, and very carefully cut the window areas out with an x-acto(with a fresh blade). Once I was happy with the holes, I gently pulled the covering off the fuselage and set it aside for now. I added a piece of clear covering for the windows, attached with high heat around the edges(not in the middle!) on the trim iron. After that had cooled, I cut around about 1/4" outside both windows, and removed the excess clear covering. The windows have a wrinkle or two, but they'll disappear once I add the white covering to the fuselage side.

I had one heck of a time trying to take a decent picture of the clear stuff! Hopefully these illustrate the steps well enough.

cwrr5

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Here's another shot of the "windows", after hitting the edges again with the iron. I added the fuselage side covering, making sure both window openings are perfectly lined up, and tacked it in place with the trim iron again. To cover the rest of the side, I just gently pulled the wrinkles out while heating and pressing the covering down, working away from the windows in all directions. SLOW is the name of the game at this step, letting the heat from the iron do most of the work. I covered the ply parts up to the edge of the turtledeck, and back to the stab first, then attached the covering to the stringer, then all the way to the top of the fuselage, pulling it tight the whole time. Used a thin sheet of ply under the covering to cut against, and cut the covering around the stab to fit.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

As I reached the edges of the fuselage, I trimmed the excess with a new, sharp xacto blade. Once I was happy with the covering edges, I used a trim iron set to high heat, and sealed all the edges. The covering at the bottom of the fuelage overlaps about 1/8", and the seam is barely visible. My camera isn't able to show it.