Nathan King

It's coming... An occasional dusting of frost, the yard speckled with leaves, and a cool breeze...

FALL!! Which means building time!

While looking for a project this winter I came across a Fresh Aire kit, immediately gobbling it up. After looking for one year I finally found a kit of this beautiful model. In case you haven't guessed yet, I will be building it this winter and posting my progress on this thread.

For those that don't know I like to research my subject and thoroughly get to know the model, it's capabilities, intended flight envelope, specifications, and it's designer. The Fresh Aire was designed in 1987 by Doug Ferguson who is an avid pattern pilot and works in the full-scale aviation industry. The prototype first flew in 1990, and after slight modification (kicking the wing tube against a fence) flew beautifully. This successful model was later kitted and sold by "RC City". The airplane was originally designed for a YS 1.20, but I plan to install a YS 1.10 since it's lighter and has comparable power to the older engine.

Day 1: - Wednesday, September 5th

My kit is an original before it was mass-produced, and the quality it top notch!




The wings have been honeycombed and servo/retract slots have been cut out. I plan to use Spring Air retracts. The leftover "angel hair" foam has since been removed.The left and right wing cores weigh 39 and 41 grams respectively. The left horizontal stabilizer core weighs 11 grams, and the right horizontal stabilizer core weighs 8 grams. The fuselage weighs 552 grams, and the canopy weighs 49 grams. The engine pan weighs in at 96 grams.



Is it just me, or does this airplane have beautiful lines?

Due to time/money constraints (College) coupled with my perfectionist nature this build will take quite a while. Be patient, I am working on it.

propbuster

My Feedback: (1)

While the Honeycombing looks cool, I don't see where the small weight loss would effect anything in a 6 to 7 lb plane. My foam wing cores come in at really light weights to begin with!

Nathan King

To each his own. I really don't want this to become a honeycombing debate, so my final word on this will be that it's not just about weight. Weight distribution has much to do with how the model will fly. Even a little weight that far from the control axes and center of lift can make a pronounced difference in handling. Think of a "teeter-totter". A 50lb kid sitting 10 feet from the center will equal a 100lb kid sitting 5 feet from center. Each gives 6,000 inch pounds of torque, but less weight was used on one side. When a model only weighs nine pounds, a couple of ounces are a large percentage of total weight. My airplanes are not "worse" for having it and yours are not "worse" for not having it. Do whatever you like.

Atlanta 60

My Feedback: (18)

Your Right...That is Beautiful Nathan!! Look forward to seeing more of her in the future...

Have Fun....

Chuck

cllaurit

Honsetly if you want to HC then do it as it will make a lighter wing panel.

I remember this plane from the early 90's, they flew great and looked good.

flywilly

My Feedback: (121)

The Fresh-Aire has very elegant lines, reminiscent of the Silent ST that NAruke designed (first 4-stroke pattern ship). I'm sure it will fly well with a YS 1.10.
As for honeycomb wings... been there, done that. A PITA for marginal flight improvement. I built 4 Mistresses - 2 without and 2 with HC wings back in the early 90's. I bet digital servos would have done more to improve flight performance than HC. The current designs all have more highly tapered wings and I'm not sure there's enough area to justify the effort. Of course most of the current pattern designs are ARFs so who knows what lurks beneath, though I think most of the Asian planes are all balsa.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of the completed Fresh-Aire!

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

One should consider that, along with the reduction in weight from the foam that isn't there as a result of honeycombing, there is also the reduction in weight from the glue that isn't there to fasten the sheeting to the foam that isn't there--assuming you apply your glue to the cores instead of the sheeting during the process, of course.

Rick

Nathan King

Hey, I'm still here. I apologize for falling off a cliff but couldn't get much of anything done during building season since I was forced to relocate my wood shop from the basement to the garage. You-know-who was tired of dust being tracked upstairs despite my best containment efforts. []
I am now left with building during the flying season. This is fine since we've had some real crappy weather lately (snow, rain, and driving winds). The flying weather around here during summer is really made up of non-flying days punctuated with the occasional good day, so there shouldn't be much trouble finishing this. Oh, how I love living in the plains!

Anyway, I am currently cutting all wood pieces to make a 'kit' before assembly. I am, more specifically, working on the fuselage formers. Instead of taking the plans to a copying facility I use the old waxed paper copy technique. The paper is taped to the plans then carefully cut with a razor blade. This requires a light touch but isn't difficult since the waxed paper cuts so much easier than the underlying plan paper. After the copy is cut (on the outside edge of the line of course) I use it to trace the pattern onto the final wood. The wood is cut with a bandsaw and sanded carefully before being stamped with a number in red ink corresponding to the plans.

Atlanta 60

My Feedback: (18)

Very Kewl trick Nathan...I've never seen that before...Glad you got this sucker in work again!! She'll be sweet one for sure...

Chuck

dhal22

i finally started cutting parts for my Blue Angel project and am using wax paper in a similar way. i'm watching this one also.

david

Nathan King

Okay, just don't expect to see the same workmanship from me as *ahem* another Blue Angel build going on around here.

I plan to get wood tomorrow to start sheeting the wings and stabs (once my retract mount is in). That will be fun!

flywilly

My Feedback: (121)

Glad you finally got back to building!! 'You-know-who'?? I presume you're married... You gotta take a stand, man! I've been 'married' to this hobby since the '60s and my wife since the '80s... don't make me choose!!
I haven't used the waxed paper method since the '60s! Now, you can also buy a translucent plastic material called 'See-Temp'. About 1/32" thick, it makes great templates that are quite durable. Of course, you can't beat the price of waxed paper!
Anybody remember 'oiling' the plans to build wings/stabs? You literally applied oil (preferable vegetable oil) to the plans so you could see the outline from the back (the reverse). I think I built a few free-flight models that way. There are MUCH better methods!
Keep posting your progress, Nathan. Very enjoyable to watch!
Regards,
Will

Nathan King

I was planning to post progress pics today, but instead you get a small rant. I apologize in advance...

Where do you guys get your balsa?? I'm done foraging all over town just for enough good balsa (and still overpriced) to complete a project.

Atlanta 60

My Feedback: (18)

I don't know..I havn't ordered any yet but need to soon to skin some wings...

I've read more than one person say "Sig is the ONLY place to get contest balsa" :
http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...FV4.html?E+Sig


Then I've heard others mention these sites:
http://www.nationalbalsa.com/balsa.htm
http://www.dbalsa.com/
http://www.balsausa.com/
http://www.specializedbalsa.com/

From what I understand with most of those suppliers you need to specify you want lightweight contest balsa and there may be an additional fee??

I think I''ll probably try Sig...

Have Fun...

Chuck

Chris Moon

My Feedback: (8)

Nathan, enjoy your build and thanks for posting your work. As you know there are too many "legends in their own mind" type guys around here who are going to poo-poo whatever you post because they have a better way. Funny, but I don''t recall ever seeing their names as current/ or former Champions so their titles of "expert" must have been self proclaimed. Heck, if you want to cut out pineapple and banana shapes into your wings to save weight, go for it. It''s your plane. Lots of us like to see different ideas and techniques. It''s called learning and some guys seem unwilling to accept any possibility that there COULD be another way to do things other than "their" way. Thanks again for posting your work. Many of us do appreciate it.

PS- This is not directed at anyone personally, more of a general observation

flywilly

My Feedback: (121)

I''d recommed Lonestar, but they incinerated (literally). Hopefully, they will be back in business if they aren''t already. I''ve bought a few hundred dollars worth of contest balsa from them and been happy with all of it. I''ve also used SIG balsa and never been disappointed. Some of the LHSs that I''ve patronized over the years have stocked SIG balsa and I''ve found it to be very convenient on occasion. My dad has purchased quite a bit of wood from Balsa USA. He buys more than required and picks the best of what he gets (I''m not convinced that his method is very cost effective). I''ve heard good things about the quality of wood available from Nationalbalsa.
-Will

Nathan King

Well, not as much progress as I''d hoped. We actually had nice weather this Sunday, so I maidened my Christmas present. It''s a beautiful airplane and has dead neutral static and dynamic stability with the CG moved aft a bit, so it''s a pleasure to fly and has plenty of power.

I also began the process of tracing my former onto some light ply. The only aircraft grade ply former will be the firewall. I couldn''t start cutting because my band saw blade needs replacement, so I''ll have to wait until tomorrow.

dhal22

i''m building by blue angel with wood ordered from nationalbalsa.com . i literally used the materials list that 8178 listed and my price was 2/3rd''s of his cost. so far i have found a couple of heavier pieces that i will discard or ask for a replacement sometime and one piece is warped. so i don''t know if that''s a bad track record out of a $100 order of wood. i will use them again, but i might specify contest grade, which will cost more of course.

david

Nathan King

Cool. I wouldn''t consider a few pieces out of $100 worth out of line at all. Oh yeah! I just went on their page (and a few others that were mentioned) and the prices are like 1/4 of what I pay at my hobby shop. Sweet! [8D]

Nathan King

First former complete. I haven''t used my bandsaw for a while, but it appears I still have the touch. [8D]

Nathan King

It also fits nice and snug. I love it when that happens.


Note: It isn''t exactly in position in this picture, so don''t worry about it. I didn''t have the plans out to check the exact angle.

BERUSTY

My Feedback: (3)

Fresh Aire

Nathan,

I know you will not forget to trim the edges of the fiberglass opening to about 5/16 of an inch. You will save a tiney amount of weight and reduce the wear and tear on your hands.

Rusty

Nathan King

Yeah, I haven''t even removed the seam in the fiberglass yet. I''ll get there, but thanks for reminding me and thanks for taking time to view the build. It was a pleasure to meet you last summer. Will I be getting the same opportunity this summer?

Nathan King

Well, bad news. At the field yesterday I witnessed one of the original 12 Fresh Aire kits go down. The pilot lost all elevator control and the airplane dove straight down - the airframe is a total loss. He was still using original servos, so I'd bet the servo just failed after all these years of heavy flight loads.

Anyway, I would like to pose a question here. What do you guys think about electrifying this airframe?

pimmnz

That would make it hard to pick up...oh, I see, you mean a liktrik motor with magic smoke tanks...it ain't the same, you know.
Evan, WB 12.