Newbie building help
 

hi guys

ok, ive got a set of Mamselle 52 plans that i want to scale up X2. but i have never built an airplane before :S

i have to mail order balsa wood, so the sheets i order are actually pretty short so i will have to make the fuselage stringers in 2 pieces and join them in the middle somehow... but how?

and how do i attach the rudder/vert stabiliser to the rear fuselage assembly?

as i said ive never gone beyond cutting a bit of balsa into an airplane shape with a craft knife so i need all the help i can get, if you can post pics of how you attach everything together it would be very helpful ;)

- foamy

RE: Newbie building help
 

Foamy,
You're not going to want to hear what I'm going to say, but we/I would be doing you and the Beginner's Forum a disservice if I didn't say it. If you have no building experience building a plane like that from plans is probably going to be above you head. Most plans like what you have expect the builder to have the knowledge to do certain steps, things such as you have asked...
Most experienced builders have no problems when things like this aren't spelled out in the instructions because we have built enough that we can look at the plans and know the best way to do things. I do understand that the plans you have are of your "dream plane", but in all honesty I would wait for awhile until you have more experience under your wings to build this plane. Pick up a couple of easier kits to build to help get you more experience. A few that come to mind right off the bat would be the Sig Four-Star, Goldberg Tiger II, or Bruce Thorpe Engineering Venture. All of these are great kits to cut your teeth on and start building the experience you need to build your plane from plans.

Ken

RE: Newbie building help
 

I would strongly suggest you start out with a kit. Since you never built a plane at all before, perhaps you could start out with even one of the stick and tissue models to get your feet wet.

Just My opinion

RE: Newbie building help
 

Hi

The mamselle 52 looks a nice plane and certainly a suitable plane to start with, Just build it as it is. to scale it up to double its size is not just a case of building it bigger, you need to have a reasonable idea of how strong the airfarme will need
to be to cope with the flying stresses and bigger engine.

also a double size one will get expensive. a big engine prob at least a .90 ,many rolls of covering and a couple of trees worth of balsa.

If you really want a large vintage type plane go for one of these kits

http://www.benbucklevintage.com/shop...ndex&cPath=1_5


Simon

RE: Newbie building help
 

I agree, start out with a good quality kit or two to learn construction methods and gain confidence, then jump into a scratch build. I've built exactly 10 kits and only now do I think that I might be ready to do doing something from scratch. When I do, it will be a simple Das Ugly Stick. Eventually I'll work my way up to some UltraSport 60 plans that I have.

RE: Newbie building help
 

Hello Wild and gl with your dream I myself I have a dream plane too, the B-25 Mitchell. I was getting ready to purchase it and realized after reading an article in Backyard Flyer(March 2007) www.backyardflyer.com that I was no where near ready to attack that project. On page 32 - 36 (Kit Building Basics) it shows you the basics and some great tips. The magazine suggested if you have never built a plane this Miss Stick Jr. was a good plane to get your feet wet. The kit is only $24 and comes with the plans and wood. It looks like for about another $50 -$75 you can do the guts of the plane. http://www.hobby-lobby.com/miss-stikjr.htm I talked to some guys at my airfield and showed them the article. They thought without any experience before this would be a great plane to start with also.

Good luck Wild

RE: Newbie building help
 

to join stringers cut the ends at 45 degree angle this gives the most surface area to connect the two pieces of balsa together. If doing this to a lot of stringers make sure the joints are not in the same part of the aircraft because this is a weakned area spread the joints out behind different formers. If necessary you can reinforce the joint by putting a doubler spanning the joint but it all depends on what piece of the plane you are actually assembling. There are no set 100 % answers, different situation call for slightly different solutions. Experience on something you are not going to agonize over and are willing to make some ugly changes as you learn the craft of building models will make building your dream model easier stronger and reliable. As you build a plane hat is different from original design specs you have to think and know about strengthing the frame and wings becuase a small span of balsa requires a lot of force to break but as you increase its size and apply the force to the ends it becomes easier to break. You might also need to determine where you can lighten a model by removing wood by making lightening holes in wing ribs. Experience in how too run controls and linkages is also important because the plane being built larger might shift the cg backwards or forwards and the ability to notice these things early on in the build and make allowances for mounting gear in different locations with accesibility is a must so that you don't add dead weight to an aircraft

RE: Newbie building help
 

Foamy,

Listen to what RCKEN said (post #2) it's good advice. Then scale it up X2 and really listen.

Darren

RE: Newbie building help
 

I support the idea of getting one of the stick and tissue kits and building it. You will teach yourself a lot in a very cost effective manner. As far as joining sticks together the join needs to be longer than 45 degrees. I recall reading a join that is 12 times as long as the stick is wide is as strong as the stick. I don't cut them quite that long myself. ;)