I have been away from the project for a few days but something that stumped me was how to check the formers that had to be hand drawn and cut out. so i glued in a few that i was sure of and flipped the fuse over to check the others that i have created. those appear to work just fine. the top piece of balsa is just being used as a straight edge that will stand up for photos

David

Hey Dave, Keep those pictures coming. Forget working for a living and those two kids and wifeget back to building the BA. She'll understand, mine does. You can fly yer old stuff anytime.

unfortunately a deal for a nib OS .61 SF - pump engine with a nib OS header and OS pipe fell through this weekend. due to some email snafus the seller did not get my agreement to buy the package and sold it to someone else. man i wanted that engine!

david

finally got a weekend to spend some time on the build. the 2 top side fuse pieces were a difficult installation. the sides had to be leaned inwards as they mated to the formers from back to front. with lots of tape, some clamps and even a couple of screws i got them glued down. the top piece was comparatively easy. as with my king kobra build and other blue angel builds i installed an empty pushrod tube for my receiver antennae wire before i glued the top piece down. i was so excited about making some more progress i started some rough sanding of the sides before i glued the top piece on. common sense says there will be plenty of time later for sanding.

with plans of using a pumped .61 SF i soon realized that 8178's (or Howard Engineering's) method of installing a fuel tank is a great way to give the fuel lines a little bit of room. pushing the round cap of a tank through the 7/8" firewall hole i drilled left no room for tubing between the pump end of the engine and the fuel tubes.

david

Now that's what i'm talking about!!![sm=tongue_smile.gif]

David

i also have a fuse progress photo here. some basic shaping has been done but the most difficult shaping phases are still ahead.

david

Looking good Dave.

Looks great Dave. I didn't know you could buy an OS muffler with a J'Tec Snuffler already attached. That is a Snuffler, correct? I put one on an old Max-H .40 and it really cuts down on the objectionable sound.

David

the muffler came with the engine purchase. it is a very large muffler. i have no knowledge of the performance of the muffler so i posted it along with the other photos hoping for some expert comments. the engine also came with a jtec engine mount that has an anti vibration bolting assembly. again i have no idea if that is anything worth using.

thx, david

Fantastic Dave!!!

That engine is too Kewl!! [8D][sm=bananahead.gif][sm=punching.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Excellent...

Chuck

Great news on the engine and keep the posts coming on the build! Great progress.

i may be a rookie at building but i really enjoy it. thx for the comments guys.

david

moving into the more difficult shaping stages of the fuse, i've dug into my national balsa order for some of the balsa blocks i ordered. the blocks feel way to heavy/hard to use, although i've done some cutting and shaping of some pieces. i have contacted national balsa about the density/weight and await their reply. i will probably just reorder the blocks in contest grade weight. it's time to place a misc. parts order with tower also, so maybe i will have the blocks included in that order.

david

progress is slow, mostly due to inability to actually work on the project and it's flying season[sm=tongue_smile.gif][sm=teeth_smile.gif]. lots of tracings have to be done and this weekend i did get the firewall, tank floor and a nose ring glued in.

david

unhappy with my nose ring installation for several reasons i decided to remove it. namely, i think a full round lite ply former is better than one cut on the sides to slip between the balsa sides and more importantly the 1st nose former i installed wasn't straight. the sides of the fuse didn't bend inwards evenly. by using 2 square outside crutches i was able to draw/force the fuse sides evenly to a 2 1/2" spread (the size of my spinner). since the fuse wasn't sitting flush on the former clamps i screwed a piece of spruce over the top to encourage it to cooperate during the nose former installation. also i used some threaded stock through the fuse to clamp the nose ring while the glue was drying.

david

deep in the blocks of balsa are actual shapes we recognize. it just takes a heck of a lot of cutting carving and sanding to get there. one step at a time gets me closer to that shape.

david

a router is an interesting tool. you had better know when to stop. it makes an already light piece of balsa ridiculously light[sm=teeth_smile.gif]. also the engine and tank compartments needed the room so the excess wood had to go.

david

Looking good Dave. I've decided to hurry and build an arc out of gopher wood. It wont stop raining here...Ron

Nice work David. Keep your fingers away from that blade!!!

Nice Bessey clamps there Dave. You really don't skimp on anything do you.

DM

That is looking sooo sweeet!!
Your a rookie?? I've been building for decades and if this was my build, I would show it off to everyone I knew!! Damn nice job.

DM

if i remember correctly, i've built 2 trainers (my 1st was about 1980), a 4 star 40, and a super sportster 40 (both in the early 90's) and my king kobra that i have ready for paint. not really a rookie but i've never scratch built a plane. without a doubt, i would be completely in over my head without an excellent build thread to refer to. thx for the comments.

Bessey clamps?

david

more nose work is done. starting to look like a blue angel. and i will have to backfill behind 1 half of the lower nose blocks. it ended up being an 1/8" short so i opted to slide it forward, figuring that it would be easier to shape the raw balsa up front and worry about sanding glued balsa at the back.

david

more importantly, i finally got around to ordering to ordering a set of spring air retracts. that is the last of the big purchases.

david

Beautiful work, David. It's taking on that BA shape.

David