RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Free Bird,

My Mach 1 is from plans. I'm the one that had pictures of the fuselage with the AX.55 mounted in it.

Clay

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Ahh yes ... I remember seeing those pics and admiring the fine craftmanship!!

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Really, I need to quit studying this Banshee and get busy on the Mach 1. But I thought I'd make one more observation about the Banshee. I think this airplane would be a good canidate for plug in wings. Plug in wings would solve a bunch room issues and it would be easy to do.

Clay

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

My first Banshee had Goldberg mechanicals, never got them to work quite right. The second, from J&J, had fixed gear. my first successful retracts were Rhoms, in my Niris.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

I wish someone would bring back the Rom Air retracts. They were good reliable gear.

Clay

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Agreed. I never had a problem with my Rom-Air landing gear. Worked as advertised every time.


Ed Cregger

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

OK, here we go! I started on the build today.

Here's what you get in the short kit. Missing from the pic are the plywood reinforcements for fixed gear installation and the ply nose ring. The parts are CNC router cut and look pretty good, clean up will be minimal. A small amount of hardware is included. The plans are 2 sheets and they are copies of the original J&J plans from the kit. That was a nice surprise! The only thing missing from the kit is the canopy, Erueka is in the process of making a new mold of the canopy. One thing that should be included with the kit but isn't, is a BOM of the various sizes of wood needed to complete the kit build. I'll list what I use as I go along.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

There's a bunch of parts that aren't included in the kit, mostly parts that are cut from 1/4", 3/8" & 1/2" sheet stock. I had a copy of the plans made to cut up for patterns. Before starting construction, I made the obvious parts, I'm sure there'll be some more down the road. In this pic are the rudder, fin & dorsal, nose blocks, wing tips, rear fuselage filler blocks, wing L/E & T/E filler blocks & elevators

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Here's some of the tools and adhesives that I'll be using. I mostly use wood glues for construction and CA for tacking. CA is very difficult to sand smooth, usually the surrounding wood disappears before wood in a CA joint. [:@] Three tools of importance (to me anyways) is a Foremost Miter Sander, a Master Airscrew Razor Plane and a Master Airscrew Balsa Stripper. I especially like the balsa stripper as it allows me to cut strip stock from sheets instead of buying various strips from the LHS. The other 2 tools speak for themselves.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

I decided to build the stab first, so the first thing to do is gather/make the parts needed. The balsa stripper comes into use first thing, as the stab L/E & T/E are 1/4" x 1/2" strips of balsa. The stab is a diamond airfoil that's sheeted with 1/16" balsa. The top and bottom sheeting are the same and easily made by measuring the dimensions for the plans and transferring them to the sheet.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

One thing to be careful of is that the stab ribs may all look the same, but they're not. The L/E is thicker than the T/E. Shown here is rib #2, the difference is fairly obvious.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

The first step is to lay out the rib locations on the bottom sheet. I pinned the sheet into place on the plan and with a straight edge, drew the rib locations on the sheet.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

The center rib is laminated from 2 number 1 ribs. I have several heavy machinists blocks that are perfectly square and are excellent for ensuring things like ribs are exactly vertical. I also placed one against the edge of the sheet and pushed the rib against it. I used this process for gluing all the ribs in place.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

When the glue had dried, I used a sanding bar and lightly sanded the aft part of the ribs to even them up and added the top rear sheet. As you can see, I used the metal blocks to align the top sheet.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Next the forward top sheeting is added. Be sure to slightly bevel the rear edge of the sheet so it mated tightly to the rear sheet. For all gluing, I used Sigment, as I like the ability to perfectly align the parts. I used the blocks and a few pins to tightly hold the sheeting to the ribs while the glue dries.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Excellent write-up, Rick. I remember the Banshee stab was easy to build straight because the aft part of the diamond was flat on the building board. The canopy is easy to do from scratch, just a flat sheet of celluloid, and some 1/4 and 1/16 balsa.

Nice looking kit. That may be my next build.

Eureka needs to offer the main gear legs for the SPA purist.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Thanks for the kudos Nic ...... I agree about the main gear, it should be a part of the kit. Still undecided about retracts. Maybe convert to a taildragger and do away with the nose gear hassle.

FB

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

---------------


Well, this certainly explains why the price was so reasonable. <G>

Don't know how I missed this information on their website, not that it matters substantially.


Ed Cregger

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

I was a little surprised at first when I opened the box. I thought some parts were missing, not a big deal, just adds to the experience!

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Freebird&Ed..... I talked to Don the other day and asked why the landing gear wire was not included with the kit. His answer was that he had been unable to find anyone to bend the wire so it wouldn't loose its temper and easily bend. He felt it was better to leave us to our own devises so as not to have complaints about it. Being a mid wing I see his point. He suggested to use the next size wire up from what the plan shows to help with this issue. I also asked about a materials list, so maybe if we whine alittle about it he will include it with future kits including the Troublemaker. I was going to order my kit today but he wasn't in, so I left a message. I can't seem to make up my mind whether I want to go the foam wing or built up. I have done both over the years and really don't have a preferance one way or the other. Freebird, I noticed you went the built up version, what was the biggest reason? I was told in a private e-mail that Don uses 2# foam for cores and that person wasn't happy about the difference. Maybe you guys could enlighten me about foam weights. I don't know the difference. I haven't made a decision either about the landing gear, I just can't see a Banshee as a taildragger. I'd like to go with retracts but our field is kind of rough in spots so I doubt that I'll go that direction. I think that the aluminum gear would just destroy the sleek look of the airframe so I will most likely go with the origional trike set up. Suggestions from you guys building will be very welcome...........HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!! Sugarfox. [ Freebird, thanks for the build thread ]

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Sugar: I understand Don's logic about the landing gear, however there are some out there that have a hard time (pun not intended) bending the wire for the gear, me included. IMO, any gear would be better than no gear. At least it would get some modelers off the ground. I hemed and hawed for several months before buying his kit, but figured, what the hey, as I really love these birds. I also have his Troublemaker and plan on getting an Eyeball next. Perhaps Don should contact Jeff Petro (Primus fame) and see who his landing gear vendor is. I totally agree with you about making a taildragger, but I may go that route for retracts, I haven't decided yet. I still want to build a Troublemaker this winter, so tri-gear (fixed) maybe the way to go to speed things along. Like I said, still undecided.

As far as built-up vs. foam, I really enjoy the building aspect of a model and getting it right. I think that it takes a little more finesse to get a built-up wing right (JMO). Although, open bay structures does limit finishing options when compared to a fully sheeted wing. I guess one of the things I'm trying to capture (maybe re-live), is keeping the airframe as close as possible to the original.

At the end of each assembly, I plan on having a list of material used so there'll be a BOM at the end of the build. Don't thank me for the build, thank WEDJ, his Perigee build has been a big inspiration. We fly SPA together and he is very knowledgeable, I'm just trying to keep up. :) If you have any suggestions during the build, sound off, all are welcome! Stay tuned!

FB

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

*blush*

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

ROFLMAO!!:):)

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

Hey Guys, I talked to Don again and got my kit ordered. I want to clear something up about his statement on the landing gear wire. It's not that he doesn't have a supplier who can do the wire right its that the cost envolved is prohibitive. I guess for the numbers to fit his needs the cost is thru the roof and would add considerable cost to the kit. He just does't thinks its worth it. I did mention this thread to him so maybe he will join us. I've talked to him for over an hour by phone and he is really committed to doing things the right way. Not many people like that anymore, old school. Anyway it was a pleasure to reminisce with him.

RE: Eureka Banshee Build Thread
 

I built several models with Goldberg retracts, but never got to "field test" any of them. Something always came up that diverted me from modeling, so I sold them, unflown. Never heard any complaints from the buyers, but I wasn't exactly in a position to either.

I understand that the Goldberg retracts went through several improvement phases over the years, with the final product being very good retracts. You did have to be a bit of a mechanical genius in order to get along with them, but I'm sure you never had a problem like that at all. What most of us did have problems with were the fixed position, non proportional retract servos.


Ed Cregger