Photo 1: Wheel wells are cut, main gear legs cut to size with wheel attached.

Photo 2: The main gear is retracted using the hand pump to verify the wheel well opening.

The wings are joined with 30 minute epoxy. The blue masking tape keeps the excess epoxy from getting all over the place. Once the epoxy sets, sand flush with the tape, and avoid gouging the soft balsa. The dihedral brace in made of 1/8 ply. Next is a 6" wide layer of 6 oz. fiberglass, this time with Bob Smith Industries 20 minute epoxy. It sands easier, like polyester resin. Maybe a bit overkill, but I will err in the conservative with this one. Dihedral is 1" each tip, or 2" total. I am the fat bald guy holding the wing.

Beautiful work. I'm really enjoying all of the details and valuable info in your posts.

David

Likewise Robert. She should be ready for finishing in a few weeks!

BTW, nice Century VII you've got there! I have one too except it dates back a few years (to say the least) and is in mode 1 - from the days I used to fly M1. I have debated about switching it to M2 so I can use it again after all this time. I even got a Spektrum module for it - and it works! A couple of problems though which Horizon might be able to help me with:

First, it brought down a plane (and gave me a scare on a couple of others) due to its trainer switch function. It will cut out RF if accidentally deployed even without a cord attached. Second, it suffered some cosmetic damage to parts which could be replaced as a result of the dissolution of a 10 year relationship - in this case, my dad's second. Aside from having my models thrown on the floor and jumped on by said spouse of his among other things, my radio gear suffered brick tossing too. If only for this reason, I'd like to get that radio working again to satisfaction. Such is the path of my modeling career in younger years.

Build on!

David.

David- Thank you for the positive feedback. I sometimes wonder if I overdo the details. I am glad to know they are of value to others. That's why I do it.
Doxilia- I still fly the C-VII in my .50 pattern arf practice plane. I bought it new in 1987. It has countless hours of airtime,and continues to serve me faithfully. I cut off the handle on the trainer switch for the very reason that you stated. The original airborne pack is deep in the bottom of lake Tahoe due to an alcohol related (R/C) seaplane misadventure, many years ago. This radio is not going in the Vertigo, I have a new Futaba 7C on 2.4 GHz with JR DS 821 digital servos. The spektrum module idea is intriguing.

Have you ever had a warped fiberglass fuselage? This fuselage had a twist in the wing saddle section, which was visible when sighting down the bottom mold line (center line). I tried heating the fuselage while twisting in the opposite direction, but the material has enough "memory" to where is would spring back to where is started within a few hours. The solution was to add a laver of 6 oz. fiberglass using polyester resin. Polyester resin was used because Skyglas fuselages were polyester layups. Kind of a drag, as polyester tends to become brittle with age, and this piece is no exception. Unfortunately, this added a little pork to a weight sensitive project, but lightweight doesn't mean much if it is crooked. Using the paper towel method of blotting up the excess resin in the layup helped mitigate the weigh gain. I will have to add a bit more reinforcement down the road as I tackle the engine installation.

Wing mounting, Part 1. The most serious flaw in the Vertigo II is the wing saddle. There is roughly 2 degrees of negative incidence in the wing saddle, depending upon where you position the wing fore and aft. The wing is actually too narrow of a chord. The chord at the root is what it should be if it were at the fuselage side. The chord should be longer as you project it toward the actual centerline. Consequently there is a gap at the leading edge when you move the trailing edge back to the rear of the saddle, which is the correct position.

Fortunately, I figured this out 33 years ago. Wing cores that I cut for this airplane in the future will have the correct root chord, and the fuselages will have a correct saddle. But that is for another day.

Here is my solution for this particular aircraft. I cut a bulkhead from 1/4" ply, and capped it with 1/4" balsa to save some weight. I want to key this into the old brittle fuselage really well to add some torsional rigidity to this section. The wing bolts will anchor the other end of course. I used three dowels rather than the regular two for a bit of overkill. The middle one is not really necessary, but it looks cool, and makes me feel good. I will back this up with a gusset, and some glass strips to the leading edge.

The wing is shimmed to the correct incidence, thanks to my trusty Robart incidence meter. The wing is aligned correctly, and the leading edge is epoxied to the front mount. I epoxied 1/16 ply wing screw plate to the trailing edge. The wing hold down piece the mounts in the wing saddle is cut from 1/4" ply. I tap the 1/4-20 threads right into the plywood. To save weight, I put the piece in the Bridgeport, and mill a slot to take out some unnecessary material to save some weight. This piece is epoxied in place with 5 minute epoxy. The wing saddle flanges are much stiffer now from the added layer of glass applied to the inside of the fuselage from the previous step. This wing won't be falling off anytime soon.

If I laid everything out correctly, the bolt holes will come out right on or really close to the marks on the bolt plate (wing saddle). We will see in the next post. Stay tuned.

The wing is bolted in place now. The drill hit the marks really close. One little victory at a time.

Getting some good idea's here. Very nice.

Vince

Photo 1: Front wing mount finished. Added gusset and a strip of 6 oz glass, fibers oriented on a 45 degree angle with epoxy to tie the plate to the leading edge better. Looks cool.

Photo 2: Time to fix the wing saddle gap. I wrapped the center section with wax paper, mixed up polyester resin and microballoons, slopped in onto the wing saddle, bolted the wing in place. Bolt threads sprayed with mold release so they wont stick. Set out i nthe hot afternoon sun (91 degrees today) to speed cure. Looks good there, wing and fuselage screwed together. Looks more like and airplane.

Photo 3: Wing removed, and excess trimmed away with a knife while somewhat soft. A couple of spots need touch-up, I'll do that when I finish up the wing fillet contours.

Finally got some shop time. The wing is getting quite a bit of hangar rash in my small hangar, so I am going to finish it up, to mimimize further damage. The belly pan will be last. That is because I only have one, and I need more. So I need to save it for use as a plug.

The first thing is to finish off the wheel wells. Three evening's work produced what is shown here. Also shown sitting on the main gear for the first time. Enjoy the pics. Next will be aileron hinging, linkage. Then final sanding and covering. Either Econokote of Ultracote.

-Robert

Mounted the bellypan. I used a leftover paper tube from a Venus II kit for the wing bolt guides. Lightweight, served me well for two years on my Venus. And free. Blended the bellypan into the wing, and blended the wing fillets. I had been using polyester resin and microballons, the fuselage and bellypan are polyester on this one. Hassle. Why doesn't someone make a product like that? Wait-they do. It's called BONDO. So that is what I used. I had forgotten how easy that stuff is to sand.

The edges will surely get chipped,etc from handling, so I'll call it done for now. Next is aileron hinging, linkage. Then spackle, final sand and the covering. I'll paint the bellypan when I paint the fuselage.

Robert - Did you modify the fillet's on the fuse ? I never tried Bondo, good suggestion, especially for the sanding part. What is your finish choice? Looks great.

Vince

Fillets: I just carried their curvature out to tangency with the wing surface. Wing fillet sections tend to be somewhat truncated. The downside is that is produces a fairly thin edge, which can/will chip, so the edges still get rounded a bit. Carrying the curvatures of a design out is a part of model building that I really enjoy.

I have used Bondo for things (other than car bodies) like low temperature composite tooling, but this is the first time that I am using it on something that actually leaves the ground. This is a learning experience, and we will have to see what the results are.

As far as finish, I was always partial to K & B Superpoxy, or Hobbypoxy paints, these are no longer available, so I have been looking at Klass-Kote. It appears to be close to a replacement product as you can get these days. Plan B will be rattle cans. That seems to have worked well for you.

-Robert

Rattle can's, yes worked well for me. I used to just put them out in the sun to bring temp up, a guy told me to put them in hot water, 1/2 up, and spray better, last longer. I sent the new YS FZ110S to the Repair center, I gave up. Have you tried to get some SPA activity out there?
Vince

Most people out here don't even know what pattern is. Most folks here play with their china foam electric flip-flops. They park at one end of the field. We call it "Toys-R-Us". I park at the other end, with the IMAC guys. We have mutual respect. There is hope, we see some of the sport fliers taking some peripheral interest, and even emulating some of what we do. Like trying more than one roll in a row. There is always hope. I am hoping to generate some interest with the Vertigo, and the P-7. We have one well know flier in our club, Jim Oddino. He flies during the week. I know that there are some So. Cal. folks here on this forum. I have actually corresponded with one guy about getting together and having some informal activity. But I need something to take to the field. So the work continues...

-Robert

The wing is finished. The covering is Econokote, my new friend. I will paint the bellypan when I paint the fuselage.

-Robert

I have a Skyglas short kit of the Vertigo II, I would be willing to part with. The fuse is fiberglass of course, but it appears to be gel coated because it does not look like the above pics. It is white and very smooth. The wing cores and stab cores are in good shape.

What's in the kit?

Fuselage
Belly pan
Wing cores
Original wingskins (door skin)
Stab cores
landing gear blocks
plans

I picked this up at an auction here in Ohio.

The wing looks good. Its getting close.

Sent you a PM

The Vertigo is looking good, Robert.
Nice covering job on the wing, can't wait to see the fuse painted.
Chris...

I sent you a PM.

-Robert

Tom, Chris, thank you for your compliments. Now, on to the next challenge- the motor mount. You will see what I mean as soon as I can post a pic.

-Robert

Robert. Sent you a PM.

Vince http://www.classicpatternassociation.com/

http://www.classic-patternrc.com

Vince

[X(] Man, you workout a deal fast!

Ron