cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

While the glue was still drying, I searched through the box and found the wingtip brace pieces, smoothed them up some, and installed them on the right wing panel. As installed, they don't fit with the rounded wingtip piece, so I added a piece of 1/4"x3/32" balsa I cut yesterday for capstrips, and glued that to the bottom of the brace to support the wingtip. This is one of the few times I'll use CA in this plane. I used medium gap-filling CA for a little extra strength, and to fill in any mis-matches in the angle between the ply brace and tip rib. The "extra" at the end of the strip will be sanded off when I get ready to do the top sheeting.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Took a break to visit the LHS, and buy all of his fuel tubing and a good bit of his stock of balsa. Oh well, guess he needs to put an order in. It's so nice to live right around the corner from a hobby shop! [&:]

When I got back, the right wing sheeting was dry enough to handle (checked with a toothpick). Clamps off, weight moved, sheeting is nice and flat with all the joints solid. Glued up the right wing the same way, added magazines, clamps, and sandbags. Yes - there is a wing panel under there somewhere, I promise!

Wingtip brace done the same as other wing, and I managed to CA my fingers together, again. Arrrgh. [:'(]

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Last little bit for today... sanded the edge of the wingtip piece at an angle to match the rib, and made sort of a jig with scrap to hold it in place while the glue dries. Installed the wingtip with wood glue, now both wing panels are drying... took a computer break, and going to work on another build while all the glue dries and cures overnight.

Hope I'm not taking over your thread too much tigerdude, sorry if I am!

Too much detail? Not enough? More pictures? Less pictures?

shd3920

WOW, there is that much of a difference in weight. Did not realize. I gotta start being more weight conscience myself. Didn't realize I coulda been saving weight by making simple adjustments like that. Every ounce of weight saved is always an improvement.

Your build is coming along beautifully. I wish I had the ambition and time that you got - I should have had all the covering completed a week or two ago, not giving myself satisfactory building time - and it seems like my Skylark 56 Mark II is on a long delay while I concentrate on this project. People gonna forget about that thread pretty soon, wish I could finish this more quickly so I can go back to the Skylark.

And, yes. The wingtip braces were cut short by the manufacturer - I also had to add scrap to the tip to have them meet properly.

No, you go right ahead. I can't tell you enough how I am enjoying this build. The detail is great, explain it all and some - I love reading it (making me see certain things I could have done differently [like pin the cap-strips down first on the plans while doing the wing - I did it at the end when the wing was complete. And now I wish I had used balsa tips as well]) And don't you dare stop or reduce the amount of pics, you keep right on posting them, I am looking at each and every one - and enjoying the neat build you are doing compared to the not-so-clean one I did (hardly any glue marks at all on your build).

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Yeah, I was kind of shocked, really. I only checked them on impulse, while I was moving some stuff around, and bumped my scale.

Thanks for the compliments. Don't worry about how long yours takes, it will get finished when it gets finished. Better to take your time and do it right, than to rush and screw it up. I've been putting 3-4 hours a day into mine, but only because I'm off from work for the next two weeks, and can spare the time. I also build a little faster because I've been doing this for about 20 years now, and know most of the shortcuts and tricks to get it go together with less fuss, and the process is familiar after building a "few" kits.

I know what you mean about the Skylark... so many planes, so little time!

bruce88123

It'll be easy to revive the Skylark thread when ready. One preject at a time until you have a few under your belt. Otherwise it may get confusing.

bruce88123

cwrr5 also has the advantage of having accumulated a lot of tools over the years that make a lot of tasks easier and faster. If you stay with the kit building, as I think you will, these will gradually accumulate for you as your budget allows. You will also develop your own "style" of building that will be different (not better or worse) than ours. It will adapt to fit YOUR talents, budget, facilities and desires. Just take it easy and let it flow.

shd3920

I know its a bit early, but I am curious - - - What do you think your color scheme will be? Are you going to add a pilot or two? I really love your building - you will be done in not time at all. So now that you have gone this far with the building and aside from all the discouragements in certain parts and plans - What do you now think of the Air Scout? Any deep regrets?

Oh, you better believe it, I am staying with it and not making the mistake again to give it up . . . I built models years and years ago, but gave it up before completing - so technically this is not my 1st build pursay - just the first one I saw to the end. And this time I am here to stay. As a matter of fact, I am already looking into getting a Lt40 trainer for a winter project (((nothing like looking forward huh, let's get one finished first ))) so that my .46 tiger pro and miscellaneous tanks and such can have a plane to occupy.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Color scheme is going to be metallic green and white monokote, with black trim stripes. My wife(and son) are going to design the scheme, I'll fine tune it (for max. contrast and easier application) when I get ready to cover it. A couple of pictures below - my camera doesn't do nice colors too well. Probably a single pilot.... I'll see what my son comes up with. Who knows?

Nope. Only regret is not building one sooner. Parts and plans are small stuff, a lot of us have gotten "spoiled" by laser-cut kits, ARFs, and RTFs. It's a true obcession when you toss all the wood that came from the box and start over from "scratch".

Good choice - It's a nice, easy build, and a great flying plane. I'm planning to build another one soon too - from plans. (after I finish a whole heap of other projects)

shd3920

Green and white, that is gonna look so awesome, can't wait to see

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

I hope so!

Got a little bit done today before going out to fly. Pulled all the clamps and sandbags, magazines, etc off the right wing, and managed to drop it in the process. [sm=tired.gif][sm=disappointed.gif] I wasn't awake enough yet - 1st cup of coffee.

No damage, except for some extra dents in the sheeting ahead of the overlap that I'll have to deal with at some point. I cut the trailing edge sheeting where it hung over the tip rib, and sanded the end flush(again). I also beveled the balsa wingtip to match the tip rib and pinned down the wing and the scrap triangles to support the wingtip, and glued the wingtip in place.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

I think if I was going to do this over again, I would install the wingtips first, then extend the trailing edge sheeting all the way across past the wingtip. The manual doesn't mention it, but it's shown on the plans, and makes more sense. Now I gotta put something in there to support the top wingtip sheeting. [:@]

Next step is the wing center section, so far I've found all the parts needed, and done some sanding to even up the edges and remove the splinters. Another spot where I'm going to deviate from the plans, I'll install the dihedral brace pieces in the center section first, then to each wing panel.

At least the flying went good today. [sm=lol.gif]

bruce88123

You're right, your good photos of the plans do clearly show the trailing AND leading edge sheeting continuing out to the tips w/o a splice. OOPS, bad directions. Just put a 3/32 doubler on the rib for the tip sheeting to rest on/attach to. Only needs to be 1/4" thick or so.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

yeah, I had planned on running the LE all the way out, but totally missed the trailing edge. definite OOPS! I probably won't add that much in there, just a strip of 1/8"x1/16" where the wingtip sheeting butts against the TE sheeting. It will have plenty of support when glued to the sheeting along with the extra piece, plus the rest of it.

Been out flying my Kadet with GPS onboard, and data link to a laptop(I didn't use it today). In one "test" flight, it flew 11.25 miles, at an average groundspeed of 30-32mph, climbed to 5600ft(field is at 2500ish) just for grins(and that's about as far as I can see it), with a loooooong deadstick down after that. Interesting, it even shows the "bounce" when it lands, and those were some smooth landings!

shd3920

Was going to start my covering today but realized I ran out of sharp razor blades [:@] [:@] [:@] but maybe I will get some done in a day or two after going to the hobby shop, plus gonna get a replacement harness switch while I am there. So because I couldn't start the covering AGAIN today, I did little work on the Skylark (see other thread of mine regarding that issue).

[] Still can't find a tiger pilot!!! []

Digger44

My Feedback: (4)

cwrr5, Here's a pic of my STIK, with the same colors you chose for the Air Scout. Good contrast in the air and looks great on the ground. Although on the STIK scheme it was hard to tell up from down to begin with from any distance. The bottom looks just like the top.

shd3920

I love those colors. Beautiful plane Digger44 . Can't wait to see them colors on your Air Scout cwrr5

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Thanks digger! That's a real nice looking plane! We'll see what my "pit crew" comes up with for the scout... it will be interesting, I'm sure.

Speaking of which, my "crewchief/#1 helper" paid me a visit in the shop this morning to check everything out. It's always better to have someone else check over your work periodically... he had a few comments, but seemed rather pleased with the progress.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Speaking of progress, here's the little bit I got done so far today. Only spent an hour or two on it, had to take care of a few things.

After realizing my mistake with the top sheeting (crappy instructions, my lack of attention to the plans, and got in too much of a hurry to add the wingtips. [sm=angry.gif] ), I decided to add small scrap balsa to support it where the top trailing edge sheeting stops at the wingtip. I also filled in where the leading edge should have been with scrap, and sanded that to match the existing LE.
To get a nice clean fit for the top sheeting, I sanded the wingtip to match the tip rib and checked the fit with some 3/32 sheet. If it looks like there's a lot of glue in the wingtips, that's because there is. I added a "fillet" between the tip rib and wingtip to reinforce the joint, and in the process of getting it into the joint, it smeared across the wingtip. (no way to avoid that). It looks a lot better in person!

Both wings are ready for the center section(next) and sheeting. [8D]

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

I put the wing panels and plans out of the way and started the center section by pinning down the lite ply base. I was considering cutting lightening holes in it, but this area needs all the strength it can get, and the weight savings aren't worth it. glued down the front center wing block, and weighed it down with a sandbag to dry.( and took a break to work on the 4* )

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Using the front half rib and one of the dihedral braces to measure the correct distances from the leading edge block, I marked lines for the front dihedral brace, center spar section( I added it for a little extra support for the braces), and the rear dihedral brace. I discovered yet again that it's difficult to hold the camera, draw a line, drink coffee, line pieces up, eat breakfast, and get a good(not blurry) picture all at once. I need three more hands!

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

I added the bottom center wing spar piece, cut from 1/8"x1/4" spruce, and glued it in. Grabbed the first heavy thing I could reach to weight it down... didn't realize what it was until I came back about an hour later!
The dihedral braces and top center spar were installed with 30-minute epoxy, clamped and pinned. Used the front half rib squeezed in tight to hold the forward dihedral brace against the spar, and made sure the center wing "box" is square while the epoxy cures.

bruce88123

Looking nice. Did you trim the corner of the triangle to keep it out of the glue joint? Show them about that.

Also, explain to the new guys why you are mixing epoxy in the plastic lids. I know why but they may not. It is a good idea.

PS. Buy a tripod.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Thanks. Good idea! It's time to show some of those tricks that we use without realizing it!

The triangle thing is pretty simple really. We have so many things on these planes that need to be at a right angle, you just can't do it right without a good (model)builder's triangle. The problem is though, the corner often has a fillet of glue which will get on your tools. Not so bad with wood glue, as it just wipes off(with water and a paper towel if it's started to dry), CA and epoxy are a mess though, and darn near impossible to remove from the triangle(or square) without messing it up. Easy fix, just cut the last little 1/8"-1/4" inch off the corner, and no need to worry about it getting "stuck".

1st picture: Corner of the triangle gets in the glue (no, I don't use that much - illustration only! )
2nd picture: If this was CA.... [:@] (it's not in this case - wood glue for easy cleanup)
3rd picture: Cut the corner to keep it out of the glue, your tools last longer when you don't have to chip glue off them.

R T W

Well done for us beginners. Make sence when you think about it.