Yes, Long Island Drone Society = LIDS

I still have the plaque from the front of the trophy.

Hey guys....

The new canopy now shipping with the Banshee is from the original pencil drawings of the banshee I got from Jim Martin..... In my humble opinion, it looks much better than the bubble type canopy that J&J used on the Banshee. I really like the 'flat top' look on the banshee. I was shipping the bubble canopy from the plug i got when I got the rights to the J&J suff for the last year and a half, Vacformed on site at EAC, so the Vacforming is not the issue.

The reason for the change was 2 fold. The plug I received ( plaster of paris ;( ) was slowly becoming unusable. I made 2 attempts to get usable plugs made, from highly recommended sources, and both were unusable, the 2 sides not shaped evenly. Making plugs is not my forte, unfortunately.

If someone can make a usable plug, I would have no problem Vacforming them. Also unfortunately, in the quantities that the older pattern planes sell at, getting a plug made is also cost issue. This is a venture based on my love of the hobby, not practical business logic, as are most RC ventures.

The new canopy is very easy to assemble:

1) glue the two halves together, forming a 'v' shape.
2) It would be a good idea to put a thin 1/16" balsa backing strip on the inside of the joint.
3) Wet the 'v' liberally, and bend it around the top of the Banshee, leaving a 'flat' open top, for later adding of the 1/4" piece,and the pointy ends goint together in the back. This must be done after the banshee is carved/snaded to its rounds shape, or it won't fit. Tape in place til it dries to shape.
4) Never glue a wet piece of balsa in place. As it dries, problems will arise from shrinkage.
5) Depending on the exact curve of your banshee top, slight sanding may be needed for fit.
6) Once glued to the banshee, lighly sand the top to be flat to accomodate the 'roof' . You can either glue it in place, and shape the fit, or hold it in place and trace the outline and cut to rough shape, sving shaping while attached.
7) you can sand the 1/4" piece to match the bevel of the sides, and just round off the top edge, leaving to top flat, (my personal preference) or round the top to get the bubble look. Some guys have subbed a 1/2" top piece for more sanding area for a bubble top look.
8) blend the bottom edge of the canopy to the fuse with your favorite compound.

The other side by product of the wood canopy, is that all of us 'painting challenged' builders can simply use covering that matches properly.

I will put the cad drawings on the EAC site, so people can download and modify a they see fit, along with a scan of the canopy section of the original drawings.

I will make one more shot at making a plug myself, for vac forming.. we'll see what happens. I have a couple of mis-pulls to work with for shaping.


Don @ Eureka Aircraft.

Thanks for the canopy instructions Don!

OK, back to the build!

After reviewing the plans, it was easy to see that the Banshee wing is not very difficult to build. But not so easy to build it straight. Only 3 ribs have tabs on them, and the 3/16" square T/E is not supported anywhere on the back of the ribs. Also, the dihedral angle is sanded into the root ribs, which leaves a lot of room for error.

I figured that it would be easier to angle the root ribs instead of sanding them, so the first thing to do was to figure out the angle of the root ribs so there would be 7/8" dihedral at each tip. What I did was to prop up the spar at the tip and then tack glue the root rib into place. Next I laid the spar flat on my workbench, and using an angle gauge that I bought at a home improvement store, I measured the angle of the root ribs, which came in at 3 degrees.

Now that was figured out, I could start building.

Note that the Banshee wing is built upside down on the plans. First thing is to pin the top spar in place. I consider this spar to be the foundation of the wing. After all, if it's not straight, you won't be able to build a straight wing. To ensure that the spar is straight, I first pin a long metal ruler down on the plans and then pin the spar against it.

Next, ribs 1, 6 and 11 are pinned in place. Make sure ribs 6 & 11 are verticle, I use the metal blocks and then glue the ribs. Now the root rib, #1 needs to be angled for the dihedral. Using the angle gauge, the rib is laid against the gauge and glued in place. Remember, the wing is built upside down, so the top of the rib is angled AWAY from the wing tip.

The T/E is glued to the ribs next, but first the back of the ribs need to be trued up so they are all even. I use a lenght of aluminum angle and place it against the ribs. If the ribs are not even, it's very obvious and the offending ribs can easily be sanded. I've never built a wing where all of the ribs lined up perfectly. You can see this very clearly in the before and after pics of the root rib. I also use a trued up sanding block to make sure the back of the ribs are verticle.

The T/E is added next. At the root rib, its 23/32" from the building surface, and at the tip its 3/8". Using some scrap wood, I made two blocks at the correct height and pinned them against the ribs. The T/E is then pinned to the back of the ribs.

To keep the back of the ribs on the plan, I place the aluminum angle on the ribs. Now, remembering that the T/E isn't supported, I used a long metal ruler, and placed it on the T/E stock and raised the T/E at rib 6 and pinned in place. I removed the support blocks and glued the T/E to the ribs.

Before adding the remaining ribs, I pinned the aluminum angle against the T/E so it wouldn't be pushed out of alignment. Each rib can now be fitted into place but not glued yet. As expected, each rib needed to be sanded to fit without pushing the T/E out. Now I placed the angle on the top of the ribs. Each rib should touch the angle to be properly aligned, either pin the ribs or use a small piece of balsa under the ribs to hold them in place. To keep the T/E aligned, I again place the metal ruler on the T/E and make sure its against the ruler as I glue the ribs to the T/E and to the spar. What all of this accomplishes, is that the T/E is straight from the root to the tip, is not bowed outward and all of the ribs are even from root to tip. It takes a lot longer to explain that to actually do.

That's all for the moment - gotta do honey do's!!

FB

Free Bird,

Glad to see you back at it!! Keep up the good work[sm=thumbup.gif] Your posts are very informative and they are teaching me ALLOT!!

Nice job.

Thanks! You guys are making me blush.....

Exellent work Freebird.

Sorry for the delay guys, life has a way of really getting in the way of our hobbies. I should be able to get back on track mid-week.

FB

Boy, do I know what you mean. When the wife gets back tonight with the camera, I have to take a photo for my build thread.

OK, it's been too long on the boards and sorry for the delay. I'll be getting back to this build in about a week. The boss will be gone for a week, and I need to pass the time somehow!

FB

any updates?

Astro,

Sorry to say that there hasn't been any progess. Life keeps getting in the way (work, family, honey-do's, flying). I also had a major home improvement project to do, added a 24x12 deck to the house. Now that the flying season is winding down, I'll be starting up again very soon. I also find it very difficult to build during the summer. Thanks for the interest!

FB

Just to let you know, you have my interest too. I've ordered a Banshee from Eureka, and expect it in soon. Don has been "under the weather", but does anticipate shipping shortly. Let you know when it arrives.

Doug

Very cool Doug! Can't have enough Banshees out there! Which version are you getting, built up wing or foam?

FB

I went with the wood wing (Balsa Fly’s Better!), figuring that I could do a neater, and stronger install of retracts. I’m thinking mechanical retracts, and am leaning towards a Dave Brown set. Motivation will be either from an OS Blackhead, or a Webra 61 Speed; both circa 1975, and need to be broken in……….

In regards to a fuel tank, may I suggest that you take a look at the Sullivan brand 12oz tanks if you haven’t already? Either the Rectangle, or the Slant, appears to almost fit as required. Also, the Sullivan Flex tanks in the 12oz size ought to be good candidates.

Yup, winter is right around the corner, and I’m sharpening my X-acto blades.

Doug

What to build, what to build............................................. .

Doug - excellent choice, IMO. Are you doing a taildragger? You might have a tough time with those engines, the nose is very tight and you'll probably have to move the firewall back, which takes away room for the tank, again a tight fit. I've got both tanks that you mention, either will work, you just need to rotate it 90 degrees, details are on the plans.


Nic, I know what I what to build, just need to find the time. You know, that stuff that's difficult to come by......

FB

Guys, Just a suggestion on the fuse. Build a hatch on the bottom so you can access the tank and nose gear stuff when something screws up. Notice I said "when" not if. I'm almost ready for a finish sand and on to the dreaded covering. Freebird, I'm jealous, I want a 24x12 deck too. But I'm to lazy to sit on my nice big front porch.....................sugarfox