kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

I really think you will have something where the lines fall nearly perfectly, and have a "dead ringer" that Ed himself would have to take a good hard look at to tell them apart. [8D]

I can't wait to see how it's going to come out. You can already tell a lot about how the stripes/lines are going to fall. I could be wrong, but I've studied those pictures so much, I don't think so.

BTW-I recently edited the above post..you might want to go back and see if it has the edits.
Duane

rg1911

My Feedback: (1)

Bill,

Neat! I have never seen an X-Acto sharpener and normal pencil sharpeners are too small. Now that I know it exists, I'll look for the X-Acto. I've been doing that sort of tapering, but with whatever file was handy.

Richard

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

You will be amazed and pleased with how quickly and easily the X-acto sharpener works to taper wing bolts and dowels. Sure beats the heck out of files and sand paper. I use to chuck my dowels in a drill and sand the taper in while the drill spun, but this sharpener is way better and faster.

rg1911

My Feedback: (1)

Bill,

Here are the weights (digital postal scale) of the 20 pieces of 3/32"X3"X48" contest grade I got from National Balsa. (I did get the less-clear stuff to save a few bucks.) I measured the plans and took a SWAG at how many of the 3" sheets I'd need. If I run short, I have some contest grade I've been hoarding for some years.

Weight.....Qty

0.6 oz.......3
0.7 oz.......4
0.8 oz.......9
0.9 oz.......3
1.0 oz.......1

Total 15.5 oz. and 2880 sq. inches (.00538 oz per sq in.)

The 8 sheets of the 3/32X6X48 supplied sheeting weigh a total of 1 lb, 1.6 oz and come to 2304 sq. inches (0.00763 oz per sq inch).

So there is a savings using the contest grade. At my altitude, the difference could be noticeable. At sea-level with the 1.20 AX, I'm not sure.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Richard

patternflyer76

Leaving it loose is exactly what I did. I left it loose up until i started to sheet the top/bottom. I slid the skeleton of the wing on and trimmed/cut the spars until they fit close and I also turned the W1 around the other way so that the balsa side was up against the fuse. This way you could sand it very easy to make it match the fuse perfect.

As for the sheeting I glued the main spars back to the TE on first and let it dry well. I then used CA medium working from W-1 to the tip doing a bay at a time so that I could hold it as it dried. I use baking soda for accelerator. Works great and is a lot cheaper, safer, and quicker than liquid accelerators. Just sprinkle some on the CA and it is almost immediate curing. Be careful it really gets hot.

Thanks:

Kevin Clark

rg1911

My Feedback: (1)

Bill,

Where do you get the quick-drying lacquer spray you use for the reveal coat? Wally World only has enamels, and the auto paint store doesn't carry it because it's classed as hazardous and the paperwork is too annoying.

If I can't get the lacquer, I'll see if there's such as thing as yellow quick-drying primer.

Cheers,
Richard

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

Some additional pictures of the wing featuring photos of BOTH of them.

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

Final set of wing pictures, (unless more research into specific angles is needed), this time featuring my wing. These pictures give a feel for how everything fits together. Taking a cue from Jeff about his future plan for the kit, note the crude removal of wood...especially from the plywood ribs.

Note top sheeting is already in place in one photo, the jig has been flipped over, and the rest of the "bottom stuff" added. In the other pictures, the pre-sanded top sheeting is about to be added, while the bottom sheeting is being glued in the background, held down by big lead weights I got 30 years ago, (lead stays "fresh" for a long time). After gluing and drying, a second bead of medium gap filling CA is run down from the L.E. and T.E. on each rib to ensure there are no gaps.

As mentioned earlier, you can see some of the wood weights written on the spars to make sure the heavier pieces are sent to the left wing, (the sheeting weights have already been sanded off). If there is a marked difference in the weight of the pieces, avoid ALL the heavy stuff going to the same wing half to keep from having to add weight to laterally balance.

A more traditionally modern 2-servo system was used for the ailerons using modern extensions. Protect the wire where it goes through the holes to protect from possible vibration damage.

The false L.E. and L.E. are added after the sheeting is complete, and a center line drawn to make sure the sanding is uniform on both sides, (when sanding, you don't want that centerline to be sanded off). The little magnets are great for holding everything in place without pins.

Duane

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Richard,

Thanks for the info and the effort. It has helped memake the decision to slow down and wait for an order of sheeting. A little extrapolation figures to give me nearly a half pound reduction in wing weight. I am guessing that the review on the National Balsa sight came from you. Thanks again.

Bill

PS - I have hadsome luck finding fast drying guide coats at the local hardware stores and local chain type auto stores such as Auto Zone. Basically any where you find spray can paints read the label for its particular properties ( fast drying being the one quality that I look for most). What I am getting at is that it does not necessarily have to be lacquer. I have even used Krylon as a guide coat. At the auto stores check the spraycan primers in particular. They usually come in grey or black. Also, flat or semi-flat products tend to be of the fast dry genre. I hope this helps.

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Duane,

In the last photo of the wing, the servo lead appears to have a different means of "protection" at every other rib and then noneat the ribs that are open. Can you explain a little more about what you used to dothis? I am a little hesitant to add yet another tube to run the servo wire through. Also the servo hatch mounts appear to be four blocks instead of the two suggested in the kit. I did determine that in order to install my servos inside the wing, I was going to have to notch both sides of the two mount arrangement, essentiallyleaving a four block arrangement. I realize that this is a small point, but I was just curious.

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

You are very observant and detail oriented..I'm honored that you would ask, but in this case it's pretty simple...in fact there was no reason for doing the alternate "every other rib" protection thing...I just didn't have enough gromets, so I made do with some foam I had to cushion the wire. The opening was so large where the wire went through on the ply ribs that I felt there was no need for anything.

As for the servo rails, I'm at work now and can't remember exactly why, but I think it was a case of not seeing the need for the extra weight involved in having full hardwood rails, so I simply glued small blocks at the corners to hold the hatch door.

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Well I think I have finally decided how I will fit the wing root to the fuselage. First, let me point out that I sanded so much on the fuse sides that the area between the wing leading edge and trailing edge is no longer flat( big Oops). Soooooo, I am going to make a soft rib W1 to go between the wing root ply rib and the fuselage. Then I can carefully sand it down accordingly to close any gaps. I am having to do this because my root rib W1 was already glued solid before I checked the fit( another big Oops). But no problem I really enjoy the build. After I have the root rib fit the way I want it, I will lay the sheeting on the wing while it is attached to the fuselage and fit it to the fuselage and then glue it to the wing frame. BTW I went ahead and installed the .3150 CF tubes in the wings at a total cost of 5.6 ozs. but  that should be more than off set by the contest balsa sheeting I ordered this morning and carving out the wing tip blocks.

PS- This is the first time that I have built a two piece shoulder mounted wing, so a few errors are helping to add to my learning curve

rg1911

My Feedback: (1)

Bill,

I was knocking the rough surface off the stab when I noticed what appears to be cracking in the primer. I'm assuming it's caused by the last remnants of the &^%$*! enamel finally drying/curing completely.

The question is: Can I continue on as normal or do I need to sand back to bare wood and start over?

Thank you for the clarification on the guide coat paint. Since all I'm now looking for is fast-drying/ready-to-sand-in-minutes-not-days paint, I should be able to find something. I'll check some of the auto parts and hardware stores.

Cheers,
Richard

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Richard,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but cracking is not good. Usually it comes from applying too many coats too fast. The best way to eliminate the problem is to sand the cracks completely out and reprime. Thats not the only way, but it is by far the best way. I'm sorry about that! I suppose the best advice that I can give you is to lighten up on the heavy coats. Light to medium coats while letting each coat flash off before the next coat should give you satisfactory results. Just don't give up. Keep trying and you will get it. If it makes you feel any better, my first paint job ran off on to the floor.

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Well, I have run into another problem. It seems that the more I get done on the Simla the less room I have for indoor photos. Holy Cow this thing is big!

rg1911

My Feedback: (1)

Bill,

I had a feeling that sanding way down was the way to go. I think it's time to haul out my Black and Decker Mouse and let electricity do some of the work.

Your Simla is bloody beautiful!

Cheers,
Richard

rg1911

My Feedback: (1)

Bill,

A question about the 2-part urethane I bought. (It's Original KlearKote Transparent 5185 with a 4.4 VOC and the medium hardener for a pot life of 8-10 hours.)

All the information says to spray it. I don't have any spray equipment, so I'm hoping that it can be applied with a brush. I had planned to buy a bunch of those inexpensive spongy brushes.

What's your experience say?

Thanks,
Richard

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

Ditto that from Asheville...looks like a Simla all right. I used to have the only one. [] Keep up the good work.

I know it's early, but it looks like you have more nose wheel length than you need IMO, even for a two blade prop. I'd retract it into the fuse a bit.

Duane

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Richard, I'm not familiar with that particular brand, but experience tells me that similar products usually have similar properties. The "stuff" I'm using is also made to be sprayed, but I brush it on in the beginning.Two coats to lay up what ever coveringI'm using, being sure to let it cure between coats.Then a light sanding with 180 grit. After that two more medium coats either brushed on or sprayed on followed by block sanding . After that I can prime or paint depending on whether or not Ineed hide any small imperfections. Thats pretty much it.

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Duane,

You are exactly right.I cut the nose gear down once already, but it still hits the bottom of the motor mount. There's still about a 1/2" left to be cut off. Boy, you really have studied those early photos of Ed's Simla. I won't be sure until I actually get some color on her,but I think the fuselage is a little thick (top to bottom) aft of the wing to the tail feathers. What do you think?

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

I think it looks pretty close. Take the thrust line, wing, and other visual cues and place the black, white, and red stripes accordingly. If the plane is right, it will look like Ed's, (the various stripe widths will be the same as Ed's, and will fall on the same places on your plane as Ed's. Just be sure to print out and refer to these pictures when you mask off your Simla.

Attached is the best side view we have of Ed's Simla to date, and the top view that made the whole project possible in the first place...these pictures are personal photos belonging to Ed that came out of his estate, and are the most important pictures when it comes to masking off the plane to exactly capture Ed's color scheme. Because we didn't have a direct side view to measure, we did our best to come up with the proper fuselage shape based on what we had, but as you will see, there were a couple small inaccuricies with the fuselage of the prototype. These have been corrected to the best of our collective ability in the kit.

Note the position of the top of the black stripe, and where it falls on the fuselage...just below the wing L.E. Note where it disappears into the rear section. Secondly, note the length and position of the black "dash" above the wing, and how it cuts through the top of the wing half. The top line of the "dash" essentially goes through the thrust line and spinner...that places it exactly on the fuselage. As close as we tried to get our prototype to be, when I put the dash topline on the thrustline, my "dash" is too high in relation to the wing...the wing had to be raised, and it was for the final kit. That's how we knew it had to be moved, and by how muchIF I put the top of the black stripe, and the dash where they were supposed to be, (under the L.E. and through the thrustline). You can see how all the lines are inter-dependant on each other...the paint scheme won't look exactly like Ed's unless everything is right.

The top red stripe tucks just below the stab, and look where it begins below the engine cut-out, you will be able to figure it from its position to the spinner. Using all the cues, when the striping is completed, it turns out my white stripe is too "tall" or thick, (I have no alternative if I use the other cues...that's why the paint scheme is such a good measure of the accuracy of the model), but yours should be about right.

You will notice that all the lines fall properly on the wing, stab, and fin....that's because they are accurate. Everything falls exactly where it should to match Ed's picture. Good luck with your painting when you do it...but first we need to discuss the WING TIPS...MORE TO COME.

Duane

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Spent the day working on getting the wing root ribs to fit the fuselage. Ultimately, I wound up breaking the glue joint of the rib at the leading and trailing edges. Then I bolted the wing to the fuse with the guide pins in place, clamped the leading and trailing ends of the root rib against the fuse, and epoxied them back to the leading and trailing edges. Now when I receive my sheeting I will fit it to the wing while it is still attached to the fuse and then remove the wing from the fuse. Then all I have to dois glue the fitted sheeting onto the wing while it is on the build bench. If everything goes as planned it should give me a nice close fit on the wing. Notice the reflection in the second photo on the clear coated unpainted side of the fuselage. That's why I use the clear that I use.

billberry189

My Feedback: (1)

Duane,

I was a bit concerned about hurricane Irene hitting NC. so I looked up Ashville and it appears as though you won't have much to worry about as long as you are near home this weekend. I hope Jeff and Kevin and others are all out of harms way. Good luck. Later...............

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

THAT'S SOME CLAMP YOU'VE GOT THERE!! If I were building another, I'd be sure the fit was better. Being this was the first, and the first time I had ever built-up plug-in wings, I just built the thing, used the spacer and hoped for the best, assuming it would fit. It DID fit, but it was Kevin's fuselage.

I see you glued in the spacer pieces provided by Jeff to get the right angle, (hopefully) between W-1 and the fuslage. It's funny the difference in how people think...it NEVER occurred to me to glue those pieces in, (though it makes perfect sense to do so...why not)?? I simply used them as spacers only. Go figure!!

I thought about possible ways to close the gap, even considering wing saddle tape, in the end I sanded as best I could to close the gap...then just moved on. While I would have liked a perfect joint, let me assure everyone that the plane flies just fine with a space there.

Duane

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

Kevin lives 20 minutes from me, and Jeff is in South Carolina, within 45 minutes of Charlotte, NC. It's a very wide state.

In fact, in the area around a hurricaine, (just outside it), the weather is frequently beautiful without a cloud in the sky, (all the moisture is drawn into the hurricaine itself.)

Duane