tuwood

Thanks for the kind words. I found myself improving throughout the build process. The right wing (2nd one) came out better than the first on both the glueing & the covering because of the experience i gained on the first. I can't wait for the next kit.

I had read several posts saying the exact same thing about the control rod's so I let the kids go taunt the cat's with the stock ones &
bought 2-56 dubro pushrod's all the way around. I also bought a mini steel pushrod assembly for the throttle because I didn't want to mess with the cable flexing.

As for the J-hooks, I have seen many posts regarding them & figured they'd be OK. I am going to use zip ties, per someones recomendation (i forget whose), but I agree that a couple rubber bands on their would probably be fine.
As you can see in the picture I did epoxy my J-hooks in just for a little extra comfort.

I hope to maiden her within the next week, it looks like we'll be in the 40's next weekend (heat wave) so hopefully saturday or sunday. I'll certainly try to get some video, or at the least give you guys a flight (I hope) report.

krossk

My Feedback: (27)

You may want to cover or fuel-proof the wing roots. Even though they are not directly exposed, you will certainly get residue that can seep back from the joint and will soak into the wood and under your covering since it isn't firmly ironed down all the way to the edge. Crank a trim iron up to high and go over the edges on the root to shrink and seal them.

bruce88123

Don't forget to slip a piece of fuel tubing on those aileron clevis's, to keep them on. Don't look like the locking type in the picture.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

BB, the question is whether or not regular yellow glue will penetrate the charring to make a good joint. We know CA does; but many of us have begun using regular carpenter's glue/aliphatics in lieu of CA. I've built three other SE's, all with CA and no sanding of the charring, and like you had no issues. This one I'm about to start will use mainly aliphatic.

I agree with one of the above posts that suggests just knock the "glaze" off of the charring with a sanding block. That's what I'm going to do.

Man; you guys are keeping me hopping from SE build thread to SE build thread; gotta have a program to see who the players are...

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

Nice having seperate build threads though since all in one gets confusing and really long to sort through...

tuwood

Thanks for the tip. I had thought about fuelproofing it & was going to see if any fuel got on the wood when I broke in the engine in. I don't have a trim iron so I cranked the heat up on my regular iron to get the wing edges where they're at now. They're actually fairly flat, but the light makes them look real bad in the picture. I may try taking the sock off my iron & see if it'll get them to shrink down more.

They don't come out very well in the picture but they have black tubes that slip over the clevis's to keep them secure. They came with the clevis's & are basically the same thing as fuel tubing.

bruce88123

OK, I see them now.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

Steve,
I didn't see the mention of alphatic in the post I responded to, sanding before using the alphatic is probably a good idea but why not odorless CA?

Tony,
Take the sock off the iron and it'll seal the edges better. I just covered an entire plane and didn't even bother with the socks I have. To retighten the covering later I use a heat gun which comes in handy for many other things like heat shrink tubing and taking sticky back sandpaper off T-sanders.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Not sure of just how good that stuff works (one hears stories); and every place I've seen it for sale wants your first-born male child for a bottle.

But mainly because CA doesn't sand worth a crap.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

If you were complaining about fumes I'd understand but if sanding is your biggest concern I say you need to use less and be neat so you don't have to sand CA. The build goes so frikken fast with CA and the fuse doublers are the only area where alphatic is called for.

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

Got the first piece of sheeting installed. Glued and pinned in place to dry first.



After the sheeting dried I used a wet washcloth to dampen the outside of the sheeting and it layed down on the ribs much easier. Got the glue down on the ribs and spar and placed a shirt and some bags of pea gravel on the wing to keep the sheeting flat against the ribs and spar. With the weight on the front of the wing it rocked forward a bit and lifted the back end. I weighted down the TE a little and added a few more pins to keep it in place and straight.



Hope to put another piece of sheeting on tonight once this one dries.

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

Hit the LHS and picked up some needed items for this build.

Picked up my covering amongst this stuff. Going with Deep Red and White Pearl Ultracote:

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Well, perhaps you can show me how to avoid "sanding CA" on a butt joint, such as where wing LE sheeting meets LE stock, the sticks in the tail surfaces, etc.

I do use CA is certain places, such as on ribs under sheeting, etc.; and as for how much glue, I use enough...

Actually, I was taught that one should use epoxy on wide, flat surfaces. The water in aliphatic usually causes the wood to curl when used in laminating, such as those doublers. Its one of the few areas I was told NOT to use aliphatic.

Whatever. Different strokes, and all of that...

tuwood

But the fumes make me so happy! [sm=sunsmiley.gif]

I actually planned on using wood glue on my kit when I started but after trying to glue my first two pieces together I decide that I was far too impatient for that.

I did use too much CA on several areas on the first wing & the sanding was a nightmare. With the lessons learned on the first one & about half as much glue, the second wing came out very nice & I barely had to sand any CA. [8D]

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

Beveled the trailing edge using a 22" T-bar and got the trailing edge top sheeting glued and secured...



I wish I woulda had the t-bar sander for my LT-40 build. Great tool to have to do the job right.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

I use a 22", 11"and 4" all handy tools for building. Another handy tool that I use to rough out the bevels is a small plastic plane
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXAA64&P=ML
which is faster and makes less dust. After it is close a lot less sanding to get the final result. It'll also come in handy to do the fillet on the tail feathers and leading edges of the wings.

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

DOH! I picked one of those planers up today(that very model actually). Not used to having it in my toolbox. Thanks for the tip!

falcon6171

My Feedback: (5)

I glue a piece of 1/4 inch triangle stock to the trailing edges then just blended them in with a sanding block it gives you a great hinge point and allows massive deflection on the control surface

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

I plan on picking up some 1/4" tri stock. I saw mention of that in one of the other SSE build threads. Good stuff.

Kostas1

Good job there!
Keep building and posting picture of your progress!
It till be a beautiful plane in the end.

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks, Stas!

Installed the rib caps. A little bit of moisture on the outer surface made these a little more flexible and easier to curve and pin in place.



The middle sheeting grafted pieces are drying at the moment. Will install them tomorrow.

Test005

This looks great, very good progress and nice quality...This SSE will be nice. Keep up the good work and enjoy.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

Geek,
Why are you using alphatic instead of CA? I wonder if it'll come out much heavier?

bruce88123

The weight gain, if any, should be negligible.

Aliphatic is much more "people friendly". No fumes, no stuck fingers, easy to sand, no allergic reactions, time to position parts.

Not everyone is in a rush to build. Some enjoy taking their time. It's part of the hobby.

somegeek

My Feedback: (2)

What Bruce said.

Used CA a little on my LT-40 build but liked using Aliphatic more as a newbie. Maybe down the road I'll give it another go with CA, but I like using Aliphatic for now.