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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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I completed the gluing in the Du-bro hinges on the rudder and elevators with 30 minute epoxy. I used a Robart hinge point for the bottom rudder hinge to make room for the rudder control arm.
I glue the elevators first so I can make sure they are both in alignment. The hinges are countersunk so the control surfaces have zero clearance to seal the hinge line without adding unsightly covering to seal the hinge line. I let the epoxy set over night before moving the control surfaces to break loose any epoxy that gets into the Du-bro hinge. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
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All the hinges have been glued in with epoxy.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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Progress photos. Need to complete the canopy installation and then the radio gear.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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To prepare the canopy for installation I’ve been sanding it so that it fits the shape of the fuselage top. First I rough cut the canopy to fit and then used the sandpaper. I did this by wrapping sandpaper around the fuselage top with the grit facing up and moving the canopy back and forth to sand the bottom of the canopy. I decided to leave the sharp drop off curve on the back tip of the canopy because cutting it off would have lowered the canopy too far. I sanded the canopy until I had a good fit around the complete bottom of the canopy edge and the fuselage top.
Next I put a piece of back trim MonoKote with backing on the top of the fuse and pressed the canopy down on it and lightly cut the edge protruding from under the canopy. I then removed it and cut it out. I made sure that the all of the orange MonoKote that would be under the canopy was ironed down tightly on the fuselage. Next, I carefully marked out the center of the fuselage and marked it on the front and back area of the canopy space. I found the center of the black trim piece and marked it with a small piece of masking tape on the front and back. I sprayed Windex on the top of the fuselage and using the tape marks placed the black piece in place and worked it out smooth. I let it dry while I washed the canopy inside and out with dish soap and warm water and then dried it with a soft towel. Next, I drilled a small vent hole in the top of the fuselage near the back of the canopy space. The canopy must have an air vent or it will not stay attached to the fuselage. I then positioned the canopy over the black trim MonoKote and taped the canopy down tightly. A small bead of Pacer Formula 560 canopy glue was run around the canopy and fuselage joint. The 560 is white but when it sets up it is clear. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
man that thing looks awesome. You do great work. I can just picture it flying the SPA schedules.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
Any additional finishing around the canopy after the small bead of canopy glue. Any other glue you might use? You sprayed the fuselage with windex, removed the backing from the black piece of monokote and taped it in place? I guess the windex activates the glue behind the monokote.
Jim ORIGINAL: 8178 To prepare the canopy for installation I’ve been sanding it so that it fits the shape of the fuselage top. First I rough cut the canopy to fit and then used the sandpaper. I did this by wrapping sandpaper around the fuselage top with the grit facing up and moving the canopy back and forth to sand the bottom of the canopy. I decided to leave the sharp drop off curve on the back tip of the canopy because cutting it off would have lowered the canopy too far. I sanded the canopy until I had a good fit around the complete bottom of the canopy edge and the fuselage top. Next I put a piece of back trim MonoKote with backing on the top of the fuse and pressed the canopy down on it and lightly cut the edge protruding from under the canopy. I then removed it and cut it out. I made sure that the all of the orange MonoKote that would be under the canopy was ironed down tightly on the fuselage. Next, I carefully marked out the center of the fuselage and marked it on the front and back area of the canopy space. I found the center of the black trim piece and marked it with a small piece of masking tape on the front and back. I sprayed Windex on the top of the fuselage and using the tape marks placed the black piece in place and worked it out smooth. I let it dry while I washed the canopy inside and out with dish soap and warm water and then dried it with a soft towel. Next, I drilled a small vent hole in the top of the fuselage near the back of the canopy space. The canopy must have an air vent or it will not stay attached to the fuselage. I then positioned the canopy over the black trim MonoKote and taped the canopy down tightly. A small bead of Pacer Formula 560 canopy glue was run around the canopy and fuselage joint. The 560 is white but when it sets up it is clear. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
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Thanks for the positive comments eness76-RCU!
Jim, I use the Windex so it will not stick until I get it positioned correctly but I understand that it does cause the new MonoKote glue to get sticky. When the 560 sets up it makes a very nice fillet around the edge of the canopy. Remember I sanded the bottom of the canopy so it had a perfect fit on the fuselage and there are no gaps. The sanding actually beveled the edge of the canopy to the shape of the fuselage. It looks pretty nice as is! In the olden days before 560 I used an “old” tube of CA that would not fog the plastic for the glue and then put a piece of trim tape around the bottom of the canopy to hide the CA joint. But the 560 looks pretty good without any tape. It makes the canopy look like it was molded into the MonoKote. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
So you waited for the black piece of monokote to dry, but did not apply any heat to it. Thanks for the detailed information on the canopy glue. I received a Utter Chaos 40 in the mail this week, not sure if I'm going to stick to the canopy in the kit or order a kaos canopy from Tower or similar canopy from Great Planes. I always liked the look of the dirty birdy canopy.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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For the last few days I’ve been focused on the radio, push rods and the engine to engine mount installation. Not working on it too hard though!
I knew the airframe was going to be very light so I installed the servos as far back as possible. The balance looks good with the battery in front of the servos and then the receiver. I don’t like putting the battery behind the expensive PCM receiver but the airframe needs to balance. See image below taken while I was test fitting the radio. Lots of room compared to my first Cold Duck that used the big old Kraft KPS9s. The push rods for the elevator and rudder look like they are going to work very well but I haven’t connected them to the servos yet. I’m using push/pull cables for the nose gear and throttle and I installed the outer plastic cable tubes. I marked the engine position on the Dave Brown motor mount and drilled and tapped it with a 6/23 tap. I test fitted the engine and it looks good. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
It's looking great. I really like that style of canopy compared to the teardrop shape. It looks a lot better on round fuselages, sort of P-51ish I guess.
Are those 3001 servos? and can you tell me the difference between them and 3004s? They're both BB rated at 44oz torque. That's a nice rx. I bought a new Futaba 6EX -PCM Super a few months ago that came came with the R127, but is capable of using a PCM rx. I've been planning on buying an R138 to use with this radio and my next project. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
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ORIGINAL: rainedav It's looking great. I really like that style of canopy compared to the teardrop shape. It looks a lot better on round fuselages, sort of P-51ish I guess. Are those 3001 servos? and can you tell me the difference between them and 3004s? They're both BB rated at 44oz torque. That's a nice rx. I bought a new Futaba 6EX -PCM Super a few months ago that came came with the R127, but is capable of using a PCM rx. I've been planning on buying an R138 to use with this radio and my next project. The S3004 is the standard servo that is provided with most of the Futaba systems. It uses a different mounting system that is made up of rubber strips rather than the customary grommets that are used on most Futaba servos. The S3001 uses the standard grommets and cost a little bit more. I didn’t realize the mounting difference so I sent the S3004 back and got the S3001. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
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I finally got the nose gear, linkage and engine mounting done. I had a very hard time with the nose gear and it took hours to solve the problem. When I put the engine in the mount it would slightly distort the back area of the mount that is used for the top bearing point for the nose gear and caused a bind. The darn fixed gear is such a pain in the neck compared to working with retract gear units!!
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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I completed the rudder, elevator and nose gear steering linkage. I used Sullivan clevis connectors with lock nuts on the push rod ends. The lock nuts keep the clevis from fretting the threads on the push rods. I like the Sullivan connectors because they have snap locks that lock the pin on the connector and hold the clevis together. Next, I need to complete the throttle cable installation, aileron servo, install the main gear strut retainers and glue in the wing tongue.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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I completed the throttle linkage installation. The RJL K.61 carburetor is located further forward on the engine than most. I thought I had provided enough clearance around the carburetor before I started the MonoKote work but I discovered that I needed more room for the carburetor throttle arm. I made a round notch to provide clearance for the arm and then re-sealed the MonoKote edge with epoxy.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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I usually countersink the aileron servo mount down into the wing to provide clearance with the servos in the fuselage. The fuselage is pretty tall on the Cold Duck and does not have clearance problems so I decided to install the aileron servo mount on top of the wing.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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Our cleaning lady managed to accidentally push my wing into an immovable object and put a nice ding in the tip. I made sure that MonoKote was sealed good at the tip and then injected a few drops of water into the dinged area from the underside of the tip. I used a syringe with a super small needle. I let the water soak in and then heated the dinged area with my MonoKote iron. Wetting and heating the balsa expanded it and removed the ding. I’ve used water and heat to remove balsa dings before but never MonoKote covered balsa. The syringe I used is labeled 1/2cc Tuberculin Syringe 27G1/2 that I obtained from our local pharmacy for $.25. They asked a few questions about what I was going to use it for, but provided it after they were comfortable with my use.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
"My Cold Duck's dinged it's wing tip. I need a syringe!". Makes sense to me too. Sorry couldn't resist.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
ORIGINAL: jpurcha "My Cold Duck's dinged it's wing tip. I need a syringe!". Makes sense to me too. Sorry couldn't resist. |
RE: Cold Duck - Build
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Another wing tip repair example on my kit built Tower Kaos 40. This one was dinged in pretty badly and came out great. This technique may not be a new idea but I’m impressed. What a great way to repair that hanger rash that distracts from the looks of your aircraft and makes them look ratty!
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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I completed the installation of the wing tongue by gluing it into the front of the wing with epoxy. Before gluing I rechecked the wing alignment with the tail.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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The lower side of the wing trim is complete.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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Wing and tail trim is complete.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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More trim work. White band with dark blue stripes.
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
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Main gear is attached. Seems odd to be bolting on fixed gear!
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RE: Cold Duck - Build
Typical great covering with the checker monokote.
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