Derek,

Thanks for posting on the thread. This is great news! I had heard from someone that the new kits were just the basics so I'd assumed they were short kits of sorts.

I'm glad to hear they are actually better and cheaper than the old ones!

That F18 sure looks tempting...

Thanks, David.

Thanks for the information. I ordered my Tsunami 40 this past Saturday. Really looking forward to getting started. Talked about it at the club field yesterday and several flyers expressed interest. One bought my Somethin' Extra, so I relly do need to get started ASAP. (I do have a Seagull Ultimate to fly until the Tsunami is built)

ChiefK

ChiefK,

I hope you decide to do a build thread on yours. If not, please do post a picture every once in a while on this thread.

BTW, I would be infinitely grateful if you could trace the root and tip ribs on to paper and send them to me. I've inquired with others who have the kit (including Juno) with no luck. If you don't mind, please let me know and I'll send you my coordinates.

I'd like to build a foam wing with retracts if possible. I'm not sure whether the retracts will work as they'd have to be moved back somewhat in order allow them to retract into the wing. As it stands at the moment, the design is such that the wheels extend about a radius in front of the wing LE.

However, the CG should allow the retracts to fit. We'll see...

I've got to get down to business and finish her up... holidays will be here soon.

David.

No problem David... it'll be a bit though. Got an email from Derek saying that Juno was going to shut down the last two weeks of December for holiday travel. So it's not likely I'll get the kit until sometime next month.

ChiefK (Greg)

Greg,

there's no rush. When you get your kit and have the chance, I'll do the wing then.

Many thanks, David.

Mmmm...

I really ought to finish her up!

Ok, here's a running list of things that come to mind for a starters:
[ul][*] Glue exit guides[*] Glue all hinges[*] Attach elevator control horns[*] Attach rudder control horn[*] Install Pull-Pull linkage[*] Install aileron linkages[*] Install throttle linkage[*] Drill tank pressure tap on tuned pipe[*] Install and mount tuned pipe[*] Notch main gear struts for collars[*] Apply thread lock to all collars[*] Tint and install canopy and striping tape[*] Re-shrink covering with air gun (cold temps caused some wrinkles)[*] Apply decals[*] Balance longitudinally and laterally[*] Adjust all control throws[*] Charge and condition battery pack[*] Run a couple of tanks through engine and tune exhaust system
[*] Wait for winter thaw[*] Maiden the tidal wave[*] Fly her inverted across the runway, push and roll full stick straight up until I see a red flash - bank rudder, chop throttle and wait to pull until I hear whooooosh![*] Do a split-S, let her sail in and wait for the rubber screetch! Ahh...
[/ul]
David.

David,

I can send you the rib tracings now if you're still interested.

ChiefK

David,

I just started putting the pieces together and have a few questions.... and requesting your thoughts about....

1/8" fuselage sides are butt glued to splice forward and aft sections. - only 1/16 balsa doubler in wing bay to reinforce that. Wing bolt blocks are also just glued to balsa sides. I'm thinking 1/16" ply would be better.
1/4" ply firewall/engine mount bulkhead is directly glued to the 1/8" balsa fuselage sides. No ply reinforcement is indicated. I'm thinking, why not just extend the 1/16 ply from the wing bay into the fuel tank area up to the firewall. (I plan to have a strong OS .55AX up front).
Decided to 1/16" sheet the stabilizer.... so now it's 3/8" thick instead of 1/4" thick.
Main gear ply rib doublers were not even close to the right shape/size. Remaking from rib tracings.
I was thinking a 12 oz fuel tank would be good. Fits, but no room for foam. Thinking either a smaller tank or widen the fuselage a little.
No engine thrust adjustments indicated on the plans. Do you agree that 0-0 is right?

Probably more issues later, but those are good for starters.

ChiefK

Greg,

absolutely! and thanks. Did I send you my email and/or postal addresses?

David.

If I were to rebuild, I would also change the way the F2 former (behind the tank) is built probably using 3-ply laminated 1/16" balsa cross-grained capped with 1/32" ply (or maybe just a 1/4" former) cut out to fit the round tank. Nothing else needs to pass through F2 except the throttle pushrod.

I would also add a half section former somewhere in the radio compartment probably where the stringer is shown to provide more rigidity in this area. Ply doublers might void the need for this though.

Make sure you drill out the F2 ply section for the wing dowels, per plans, before building the fuse and mount your wing before finishing the front section. It'll be much easier this way to get the wing installed and square.

Finally, I would add at least one if not two more formers to the turtle deck to support the 1/16" sheeting as it tends to crack post sanding in between formers.

I found the fuse the most labour intensive aspect of the build. Plenty of sanding.

I hope this helps,

David.

No... I don't have your contact info.

Thanks for the feedback for the Tsunami. I had also thought that additional formers through the turtledeck would be a good thing. I remade the lite-ply ones provided with balsa ply. Regarding the firewall, per plans, only two 1/4" triangle stock supports were drawn. I assume the designer was relying on the top and bottom blocks and triangular stock to be the primary source of support for the firewall. Laid the engine (in the Dave Brown mount on the plans and the firewall placement seems exactly right. The round Sullivan fuel tank sounds like the way to go. Thanks also for your "if I had it to do over..." comments. They are invaluable. We ( modelers) should share these kinds of thoughts with each other all the time.

ChiefK

Greg,

glad to be of help. It'll be cool to see another Tsunami!

I'll send you a PM with my coordinates.

David.

Greg,

did you get my PM with my coordinates?

David.

I did get your PM David. The tracings will be in the mail today.

Greg

Greg,

I received your rib tracings today along with a nice photo of an Ultimate bipe! (Seagull?)

I really appreciate your help with this. I hope to get to the foam wing in the near future. Skinny retracts and wheels will be required!

Gotta finish some stuff on the bench first...

Thanks, David.

Happy to help David. Seagull is right. That Tsunami tip rib is VERY thin isn't it. I was going to glue the firewall in yesterday. Had it all set up, but had trouble controlling the fuselage side flex up front (more flex on one side than the other), and it cracked the built up former at the top, where it's essentially 1/4" sq. I had to pull the firewall out before the epoxy set to rethink the process. Going to try a temporary lateral support piece where the crack occurred. This seems like it should work on a trial fit. Does that sound reasonable or should I put the 1/4" triangular support in early, or both, or something else? Maybe the 1/16" ply fuselage side doublers worked against me here?

Greg

Greg,

yup, thin ribs indeed!

Yes, the F2 design is my least favorite part of this kit. The doublers undoubtedly made the fuse sides hard to flex. Given the added strength, I would consider two things. First, I would either build up the frame of F2 with hardwood rather than balsa. Alternatively, if it's still an option, make the entire former of ply. You can cutout a rectangluar ring for the top half and use the available bottom half for the wing dowels. Don't forget to drill out the holes in the bottom for the dowels as shown on the plans. If you haven't done so yet and your FW is not in place, it should still be fairly easy by drilling from the front.

Secondly, I would spray a good dose of windex (or anything with ammonia) on the outside of the fuse sides before gluing in the FW. Use 30 min epoxy or slower, bring the fuse sides in, tape in place, align on plans top view to make sure your nose is symmetrical and the FW is parallel to F2 (square). You can then reinforce the joint with triangle stock and optionally with glass cloth and resin. For a 55AX I would do both as that engine will make Tsunami seriously ballistic!

You could also work some carbon strips into the frame of F2 - just an idea. If you're going to use a 12 oz tank, I'd recommend fitting a cylindrical tank and have the plumbing exit in the engine mount ring. You can mount the tank to the FW via a 1/16" ply ring fronted with some dense foam. Finally, I'd also recommend fuel proofing the tank area before closing it up. It's a pain to do afterward as I discovered.

Hope this helps.

David.

David,

Thanks for the ideas. I don't really want to rip F2 out now. I can leave the lateral support in until the top and bottom nose blocks are installed. I think the designer felt that these blocks would serve as the main source of strength for the forward fuselage. I can now bend the fuselage sides sufficiently to install the firewall, and they look to be flexing uniformly. I will certainly use your windex/ammonia trick when I do that for real. I ended up with a Kavan 12oz tank. It fits very nicely and is much more space efficient than the round tank and the slant tanks I also have. I think I'll be buying Kavan tanks from now on.... I'm that impressed.

Will add more as I proceed.

Greg

Greg,

I was just wondering how your Tsunami build was coming along?

Actually on that note, I'm also wondering how your Tipo turned out! After continuous threats (to myself) of having a Tipo build underway, I'm going to begin in earnest this weekend. Some things are done but my mind hasn't been there so it doesn't quite count. Time is up and it is due...

Actually I'm a tad disappointed that I wasn't able to finish my little Deception build before continuing on the Tipo but I need to advance on the T60.

Show us some pics!

Cheers, David.

David,

I've tried to respond at least twice, and had my message disappear. I'm gonna try again.

The Tsunami build is coming along. Most of the little pieces have been glued to bigger pieces. Wing panels are ready to be joined. Fuselage is pretty much complete. Tail pieces had been assembled. Still have a substantial amount of shaping and sanding to do. None of the big pieces have been joined to the fuselage yet. I'm hoping to have it flyable within 30-40 days. Have been unable to just focus and get it done due to work schedule and family considerations. On that note, I haven't touched the Tipo since I got the Tsunami. I think I made a mistake restarting that project. Our flying fields are not very suitable for retractable landing gear, and I had already committed the build to a retract/flap arrangement.

I am thinking I need a SPA legal airplane more than I need a ballistic style airplane. I have a Webra Speed .61 and a Kraft .61 waiting for an airframe, but haven't decided on which airframe as yet. I'm thinking Dirty Birdy, Intruder, Atlas, Tiger Tail, etc. Don't really like the look of the Daddy Rabbit (although I know it can be a great flying airplane). Got any thoughts on my dilema?

Have you gotten your Tsunami into the air yet? I need a full flight report when you do.

Hopefully this message will successfully upload.

Greg

Looks like it did Greg!

It sounds like your Tsunami is coming along nicely. Curiously we've switched gears and I'm now working on Tipo's! Go figure. At the moment I'm in the process of assembling components: sheeting (stabs done, wings underway), rudders, firewalls and accessories that will be needed. Within a couple of weeks I should have all the necessary building materials and accessories. They will be built using Kraft Multicon retracts [8D] and Rossi/OS 61's with pipes - evidently.

I haven't really given too much thought to which classics translate to SPA legal best. I have never run a 4 stroke engine and don't think I will anytime soon - they're just too dear for my pockets. Gas and electric on the other hand do interest me but have little bearing on SPA. It'd be a matter of going through the SPA legal designs but my inclination, if building for SPA, would be to try out something classic but perhaps also scale or scale-like. I'm thinking something like a Calypso or a Dalotel. For all I know neither may be SPA legal but they both would look nice with fixed gear tail dragger as well as 4c engines. I find 4c engines have no business in noses which fair into spinners. Scale cowls on the other hand... That's just my heritage speaking though.

I recently received an invitation from an old client/friend to go visit him in the countryside where he has his own RC runway! Unfortunately, 'round these parts, February tends to be a bit chilly! I've never ventured into the concept of ski flying but not because I don't like the idea of ski's but rather because I can't feel the sticks. Besides, you never know what's up with the batteries. One day I'll give it a go - probably with an electric - a new part of the hobby for me.

In any event, upon the maiden of the winter's builds, full reports will be posted!

David.

It turns out there's quite a bit of SPA activity around here, and the grass fields everyone uses are better suited for fixed gear. That, plus I'm leaning toward keeping it as simple as possible now. I had two DB's in the early years, so I'm kind of leaning that way. Your suggestion sounds intriguing too. I'll see if I can find some plans to look at. I may be at a disadvantage flying a 2 stroke engine, but that's what I've got so that's what I'll use.

We do get kind of cold in North Carolina during these months (it was 27 for my morning walk today), but we tend to fly anytime we can get blue sky and acceptable winds. Flew the Ultimate last Saturday... next weekend is looking bad though. Cold, rainy, and windy. Three strikes and we're out. If it was really nasty all winter long, I could get more building done (I grew up in Buffalo, so I do know what "nasty" is).

Will post a photo or two as soon as I stick some of the big pieces together.

Good talking to you again.

Greg

David,

Unfortunately I had a major surprise when I joined the wing halves. They're lined up exactly right at the root, but I have a serious graduated alignment issue along the entire wingspan. I'm going to try "fixing" it by ripping off all the sheeting and then redo, ( I may have to rip out the braces too, they really made the wing very rigid, but I want to know if you had the foam wings made from the rib tracings I sent you. I think I'm real interested in the foam wing option now.... and, I think I'll resume the Tipo build for a while.

Greg

Ouch!

sorry to hear that Greg. I'm not entirely sure what you mean but it doesn't sound good. Were your wing panels uneven or warped before joining?

In my case, one of my wing tips was warped up due to the long time between the partial build and the finish of the panels. There was nothing built into the wings yet to prevent them from warping (only partial sheeting and no cross braces) and they were subject to repeated changes of temperature and humidity over the years. It wasn't serious however and I was able to correct it by weighting the wing properly and having the covering straighten things out. Of course, had I paid attention, I would have noticed this before sheeting the wings!

I haven't gotten around to cutting any cores yet as I've been working on the Tipo's. It's just a matter of taking (finding) the time to do it. When would you like to return to working on the Tsunami (and the cores)? You probably already know this but shipping of cores is pretty steep these days just because of their size.

David.

Chief,

Before you destroy your wing, WATER is your friend. Get it soaked, bend into the right shape, and let it dry. You might want to wait until the weather outside is nicer so you can let it sit out in the sun for a while to dry. Once you cover and shrink it, the humidity will be pretty much constant inside the wing and it won't change shape.

The other option is to just build a new panel. It might be a lot less discouraging compared to destroying your handiwork.

Andy