shd3920

LEFT SIDE OF FUSELAGE:

Photos 1 & 2) Left fuselage uncompleted side is now placed on top of the right completed side, on top of the film so that glue does not stick and permanently glue the two sides together.
Photo 3) With T-pins locking the two sides together, repeat the steps that was done to the right side:
A] 1/4"x1/2" balsa upper and lower fuselage rails glued in between the front doublers and the stabilizer base. B] Center stringer and vertical supports of 1/4" square balsa added and glued in place. C] As with the right fuselage side the overhang at the stabilizer base will be cut off later when the left side dries completely. Then both sides will be sanded smooth to remove glue bumps and such.

Hossfly

"tigerdude426" please allow me to say CONGRATULATIONS for this thread that you are doing here. As an OLD time modeler, flier, and builder, I am amazed at your posting. You are definitely a breath of fresh air in a smoky back-room. You are definitely to be commended.

Now as an active competition modeler in a world when there were no ARFs, and having seen our world change and evolve, I have a number of opinions that I might offer. However the important ones have already been offered to you, so I will just add a few "me too" to those.

Power Plant: I have flown this model with a number of beginners, and I keep one for myself for helping those that may need some help or not yet ready to commit. I have flown several engine makes. Mine is a Super Tiger .40 with a small restrictor in the Carb's rotating barrel. (I do all ST .40s and .45s that way, which only dumps about 500 peak RPM but ELIMINATES the throttle-up sputtering that some have with the newer (last 10 years) overbored ST Carbs) It is more powerful than the LA however I have a number of STs in all sizes so I use them. With the low prices of ST, I see no real reason for buying anything else. You will realize very little difference between a .40 and a .45, Now going to a .51 is a jump.

I frequently instruct students with the OS LA 40. I think that is one sweet little engine which when using an 11-4 or 10-5 prop will haul that Tower 40 Trainer around the sky very well. Once one understands the air-bleed carb, it is just great. It will do fine and as has been stated above, will allow you to learn to FLY the machine.

WING COLOR: Along with the above recommendations, do the bottom in either total white or DARK, Blue / Black / Red / or ORANGE with 3-4" wide WHITE stripes (Black or Blue if all white) in a diagonal along the bottom of the wing. SEEK RECOGNITION vice cutesy. Once you start flying you will understand why. If you think differently, go check the wing colors of some GOOD AMA Pattern or IMAC competition pilots. See the difference on the underside. That is one reason they get and STAY good! [8D]

Other than that, build the model how you think it should be built. Don't be afraid to reinforce areas around the tail feathers, wing mount and especially the firewall. Use fiberglass on the wing center and around the firewall. That wing will haul another pound around so make it strong where strong needs to be.

And BTW your use of monokote or whatever will last a lot longer than the ARF covering which will start pulling away after a few hours of oil soaking.

Best of luck with your job -- well done.

edited: to add "Black or Blue if all white"

Charlie P.

I agree. I've had more enjoyment reading through this thread and flipping through the images than I have in reading the last six Model Avaition magazines. I'd rather follow a trainer kit build than a squadron of ARF 540 clone reviews. Everyone has different approaches, equipment and background so there are always tips and ideas that come out of these.

Keep it up!

shd3920

ORIGINAL Hossfly:

(QUOTED) "tigerdude426" please allow me to say CONGRATULATIONS for this thread that you are doing here. As an OLD time modeler, flier, and builder, I am amazed at your posting. You are definitely a breath of fresh air in a smoky back-room. You are definitely to be commended. (END-QUOTE)

First of all let me say thank you for those kind words. I am always trying to do my best to help those beginners in need of building help (the best as I can provide as there are still certain things I still need help with concerning certain steps in building)


(QUOTED) I frequently instruct students with the OS LA 40. I think that is one sweet little engine which when using an 11-4 or 10-5 prop will haul that Tower 40 Trainer around the sky very well. Once one understands the air-bleed carb, it is just great. It will do fine and as has been stated above, will allow you to learn to FLY the machine. (END-QUOTE)

Thank you for the advice, I was wondering what size prop would be good for this engine. Thank you for answering my unasked question.

(QUOTED) WING COLOR: Along with the above recommendations, do the bottom in either total white or DARK, Blue / Black / Red / or ORANGE with 3-4" wide WHITE stripes (Black or Blue if all white) in a diagonal along the bottom of the wing. SEEK RECOGNITION vice cutesy. Once you start flying you will understand why. If you think differently, go check the wing colors of some GOOD AMA Pattern or IMAC competition pilots. See the difference on the underside. That is one reason they get and STAY good! (END-QUOTE)

I have been advised by certain members to come up with my own design and not copy the manufacturer's design as it will stand out. As a multi-kit builder with 3 planes ready to fly I do agree with that. And have decided to do the same with this one, which shall be to do my own design. I have decided on white wings with dark-blue horizontal bands going across the front length of the wing, with top of wing having diagonal stripes of red, yellow and light blue. I already have a model with vertical bands so I don't wanna do that again, and I am doing diagonal stripes on the top of the wing so I don't want the same on the bottom. The fuselage, stabilizer/elevator and fin/rudder will also be white. The fuselage will have the traditional black windows (already have a layout designed on my computer) and may or may not have colored stripes. I am going to have the same stripes on the stabilizer as I will have on the top of the wing with the bottom of the stabilizer solid white.

(QUOTED) And BTW your use of monokote or whatever will last a lot longer than the ARF covering which will start pulling away after a few hours of oil soaking. (END-QUOTE)

I will not use Monokote ever, as I can not get wrinkles out of it, I am using Towerkote for this build. Too bad about the ARF covering pulling away, I hate hearing this as I have an ARF Eagle 2 on it's way - It will be my 1st ARF attempt.

shd3920

ORIGINAL Charlie P:


(QUOTED) I agree. I've had more enjoyment reading through this thread and flipping through the images than I have in reading the last six Model Avaition magazines. I'd rather follow a trainer kit build than a squadron of ARF 540 clone reviews. Everyone has different approaches, equipment and background so there are always tips and ideas that come out of these. (UNQUOTE)

Keep it up!

Thank you so much for your compliment also. It is so good to be appreciated. And it feels great to be helping you beginners who want to build their own pride and proudly see it fly. I sincerily hope I am achieving my goal in helping you learn the basics of building, and convincing you to try your hand with this fantastic (yet expensive ) hobby. It is well worth the time and expense.

I am always open to hear all member's different approaches, equipment, backgrounds and always your tips and ideas

shd3920

OK, now back to the building. I had a very busy day so didn't get much done:

Photo 1) Fuselage triplers ready to be glued in place.
Photos 2 & 3) Test fit formers F2 & F3 prior to gluing triplers in place to insure against interfering with placement later.
Photo 4) Triplers glued in place. I used thick CA for these to make things easier.

I am going to try to do a bit more tonight, it's 9:30 in the evening here. Will post any progress I make tomorrow.

But please feel free to leave your comments and ESPECIALLY your suggestions, tips, hints and what-have-you. Love to hear from you. Bye for now.

shd3920

Wing hold-down dowels:

1/4" holes drilled through both right and left halves of the fuselage for the wing hold-down dowels, using the notches in the upper triplers for alignment. I used a double-layer wallboard base to drill through beneath the fuselage halves to both protect the worktable and to prevent the wood from splitting as I drilled.

shd3920

Firewall:

Photo 1) One F1A and two F1B pieces of die-cut 1/8� plywood that will make up the firewall.
Photos 2 & 3) Center the F1A former on top of the two F1B formers so that the top notches on all three align. The punch marks on F1A must be visible on the front of the firewall.
Photos 4 – 7) When all the formers line up perfectly glue together all three pieces, in the same order as when you test-fit them, with 30-minute epoxy.
Photos 8 & 9) After epoxying the firewall together clamp them overnight until completely set, making sure the edges are flush and the notches remain lined up. Use enough epoxy so as it squeezes out from the edges, then wipe away the excess with a cloth and rubbing alcohol.

For the next steps in building the firewall I have to refer to the firewall cross section drawing on the fuselage plans. At this point I must decide which engine I am going to use, and I will be using the O.S Max 40LA .40 as originally stated.

I have to skip the firewall installation for now as the order from Tower Hobbies that includes the motor mount for this kit has still not arrived and I don’t know if I have to reorder. So let’s see what I can skip ahead to:

shd3920

Formers F2 & F3:

Photos 1 & 2) 3/16� holes drilled into the 1/8� plywood F2 former at the punch marks for the throttle and steering arm pushrod tubes which shall be installed later in the build after the engine has been permanently installed.
Photos 3 & 4) Holding former F2 in place with a builder’s triangle until CA is dry.
Photos 5 & 6) After former is completely dried I reinforced the joint at all contact points with 30-minute epoxy. Triangle keeping former F2 squared with fuselage side while epoxy sets. It is important to make sure the tab of the former is on the BOTTOM to accept the bottom fuselage sheet later. It is also very important to make sure you do NOT get epoxy in the notches on the side of the former as the servo rails will slide into those notches later on in the build. Also do not get epoxy into the dowel holes that were drilled earlier.
Photo 7) Former F3 held in place with triangle while medium CA dries.
Photos 8 - 11) After F3 is dried completely it is reinforced at all contact points with 30-minute epoxy as was F2, then held square against fuselage side with builder’s triangle. Again make sure not to get epoxy into the servo rail notches on the side of the former or the wing dowel holes. On the F3 former it is important that the wider tab is kept at the TOP so it will accept the fuselage top sheet later.

shd3920

Left fuselage half glued onto formers F2 & F3 with medium CA, then reinforced at all contact points with 30-minute epoxy. As with the right side do not get epoxy in the servo rail notches on the side of the formers or in the wing dowel holes. VERY IMPORTANT to keep the fuselage perfectly square at this step as it will affect the rest of the build, and cause the fuselage to be crooked throughout.

Photo 6) OOPS, forgot to trim off the fuselage rails behind the stabilizer base . I will do that later after the formers dry completely.

shd3920

As much as I love building trainers, I am beginning to think I am ready for something a bit more sophisticated and challenging.

Do you think I am ready to build something like this?

[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=001058804&I=LXVK57&P=K]Herr Pitts Special Kit .061-.074,30" [/link]

I am talking only about building, NOT FLYING. I know all about learning on trainers and believe me I will. I just want something a bit more challenging to build, and I love the looks of this plane. It is gorgeous.

So what do you think - I think I'm ready for a different build, and I promise I won't even attempt to fly it until I have learned all there is to about the basics. I just want it to build.

NorfolkSouthern

From the looks of how well you're doing with the trainer, the Pitts would be an easy project. They're all laser cut, and they literally assemble themselves, from what I've read. Oh, get the Pitts. It'll be a quickie project for you and hopefully we'll all get to see what an actual Herr kit looks like going together. And you'll get a nicely crafted work of hart to hang from your ceiling!

NorfolkSouthern

bruce88123

Just to keep the temptation down, and assuming it comes out real pretty, just hang it for display "in the bones". That will keep you from getting impulsive and flying it on a whim some day. Did you notice that it will need mini servos and perhaps a smaller RX?
Other than that it should be a great next build for you.

flybug

Hey tigerdude, great job on the build; I think you are more than ready to take on that Pitts. I've attached some pictures of my ole Tower trainer wing the left wing came with a 6.5" red stripe.

Happy holidays all

shd3920

Thank you.
Nice Tower Trainer there. I heard from certain members that 1)the covering of the Tower Trainer 40 starts peeling off in a short time after buying it 2)that it likes to veer off to the right at takeoff and 3)that it has an extremely heavy bounce at landing

Any of this happen with your flights of this plane? How well did it fly for you? Any complaints about the flying, covering, or otherwise about anything about this plane?

shd3920

Photo 1) 1/8" plywood landing gear plate epoxied in place. My first modification was done here with the plate. I did not feel the landing gear plate was strong enough, even with the bottom sheet in place, so I reinforced the landing gear plate inside the fuselage with a 2nd 1/8" ply plate and 1/2" tri-stock (as you can see in photo 2).

Photo 2) 1/4" square balsa stick glued in place for the servo rails. Glued between formers F2 and F3 in the side former notches with thin CA. Notice the strengthening of the landing gear plate I did.

Photos 3 & 4) Skipping ahead a bit to test fit the servo tray. Perfect fit.

Photos 5 - 11) Very disastified with the fit of the die-cut 1/8" ply forward fuselage bottom. Applied thin CA at all contact points, but there were so many gaps that I had to first reinforce all points inside the fuselage with 30-minute epoxy (photos 7 & 8). Second I had to fill in all the gaps and seams in the fuselage sides and bottom with patching plaster (Photos 9 - 11). I like using the plaster much better than wood filler and spackle as it is much more smoother and easier to spread, fills nice, dries real quick, sands smooth and does not flake or peel.

ChuckW

Looks good so far. I friend of mine was going to get the RTF version. Maybe I'll talk him into getting the kit instead so he'll appreciate the plane a little more.

shd3920

Pin the die-cut 1/8" balsa aft fuselage bottom over the top view of the plans. carefully align the fuselage sides and aft bottom and glue in place with medium CA, keeping a check on the alignment as you go. The aft fuselage bottom fit much easier than the forward fuselage bottom , but there were still some gaps and seams I had to fill in with patching plaster (photos 3 - 8).

shd3920

One die-cut 1/8 ply former F4 and one F5 glued in place against the aft fuselage bottom with medium CA, reinforced throughout the inside with 30-minute epoxy.

LATER TODAY . . . . BACK TO THE FIREWALL, I found a usable engine mount to use.

shd3920

Photos 1 - 2) Top formers F4 & F5 glued in place with medium CA then reinforced with 30-minute epoxy. Tail ended sanded roughly to shape.

Photo 3) Added scrap balsa sticks to top of fuselage behind F3 to help support bottom of rear window and fuselage top.

Photo 4) Added scrap balsa stick in front of F1 to help support bottom of front window.

Photo 5 & 6) Die-cut fuselage top glued in place. Rudder pushrod exit slot MUST be on the left side. Used thick CA here with (you guessed it ) reinforcement of 30-minute epoxy. This fuselage shouldn't fall apart - you think???
It is very important NOT TO GLUE the section of fuselage top that is above the stabilizer base behind former F5. This section will be glued after the fin has been permanently glued in place.

shd3920

Here we go back to the firewall:

Photo 1) Referring to the firewall cross section drawing on the fuselage plans I marked the center lines onto F1 (firewall).
Photos 2 & 3) Engine mount centered on the lines I drew and clamped in place. I will drill the 1st two holes that are exposed outside the clamps.
Photos 4 & 5) This will be the second modification I will be making. Instead of using the traditional bolt and blindnut connection I am using extra heavy machine screws for the mount.
Photo 6 - 9) After drilling the starter holes remove the clamps and screw the large machine screws part way into the firewall. Remove the screws and reinstall the motor mount in the two finished holes.

shd3920

Making sure the engine mount lines remain matched up to the firewall lines drill the remaining two starter holes. Then remove the mount and screw the last two large sheet metal screws partway into the firewall as before. Remove the screws and reinstall the motor mount with all four screws.

Remove the motor mount again and squeeze a couple drops of thin CA into each hole in the firewall to strengthen the wood around the screwholes. Let the glue set for a couple minutes then rescrew the screws partway into the firewall to rethread where you added the thin CA.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Tigerdude,
I'm curious as to why you didn't want to use blind nuts for the motor mount.

Ken

shd3920

I have seen planes with screws in place of bolts and blindnuts and in my opinion I find them to be much stronger and no blindnuts to fall out of the firewall, leaving me a problem of removing the bolt from the loose blindnut (which had to be cut out with wire cutters cause I don't have Dremel tool) and did a little damage to the fueltank area as it was an enclosed area with no hatch.

There are many kits out there that use screws instead of blindnuts and have never heard of any problems with them.

Sorry if I am wrong with this opinion, but I still say the screws are stronger.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I'm going to disagree with you here Tigerdude. First of all, if you put a small dab of epoxy on the back of the blindnut it will not fall out of the backside of the firewall. To say that screws are stronger isn't looking at the whole system. With a screw you have a just the threads to transfer the power of the engine to the fuselage. But with a blind nut you have a larger surface area with the back of the blind in contact with the firewall to transfer that power to the fuselage. And lastly the threads that you have cut in the wood are nowhere near as strong as havign the metal threads of a blindnut. On a smaller engine like you are using on this plane it might not make too much of a difference, but when you get to bigger engines it's a bad practice as they can pull the threads out of the wood without even trying.

Ken