RE: Curare Build
 

The canopy does not come with the kit. I ordered it separately from ParkFlyer Plastic in North Richland Hills, TX.

David: yes, the engine mounts are SIG EM001. I could not find a "whole" mount that would fit, the Dave Brown is too wide.

The fuel tank is from Hangar 9, HAN2479 (from an Alpha).

Thanks for the suggestions Cratecruncher, I also got a suggestion via PM to soak it in acetone to dissolve the castor oil gunk. I'll get back to messing with the Rossi at some point, but for now my focus is on making the OS fit and planning on a swap out later.

RE: Curare Build
 

Tank tray layed out, ready to cut. Engine is now bolted to the mount.

RE: Curare Build
 

Thanks for the heads up about the canopy,good luck with your build I will follow this thread,I intend to order a Eureka Curare early next year,will get a canopy at the same time,just finishing up a Sig King Kobra first :D

Mark

RE: Curare Build
 

A word of warning about this particular canopy, though. While it looks like a good fit in the width and height, it is shorter than the canopy shown on the plans. This looks like it will be pretty easy to deal with by extending the turtledeck forward.

RE: Curare Build
 

I decided to make up for the loss of strength due to the deletion of the engine mount rails by using a little triangle stock. The fuel tank cap still fits into the hole in the firewall, but just barely.

RE: Curare Build
 

And like everything else in the nose, the throttle pushrod is a tight fit.

RE: Curare Build
 

Whew!

just made it Mitch.

Say, did you cut a new firewall rather than use the one provided by Don?

David.

RE: Curare Build
 

David,

No, that is the kit firewall. I made measurements of the firewall and made a CAD drawing. I used the drawing to plan the engine mounts, tank hole, and nutplates. I glued my drawing onto the firewall with 3M spray 77. It was a good fit. I used the drawing to cut the tank hole and drill for the nutplates.

I've been using this method since 1986, to modify parts or to do scratch design. It was the reason I first purchased a computer. Back then it was a Hewlett Packard AT286, a wide carriage dot matrix printer, CADKEY version 3.x, and a program called FPLOT.

Sometimes I remove the paper, sometimes I leave it on. In this case, the paper is getting a little ragged as you can see in the photos. It makes the part look bad in the pics but it's just the edges of the paper curling up.

Mitch

RE: Curare Build
 

Framing has begun. The tank floor holds the firewall and F3 in the correct alignment.

RE: Curare Build
 

That's what I suspected Mitch.

What type of glue do you use to bond the paper to the balsa or ply? I've heard that "rubber cement" is the preferred adhesive but does it not soak into the wood somewhat? How does spray on adhesive work for the task? Does the paper come off easily with that or does it pull wood with it as it goes?

David.

RE: Curare Build
 

I use 3m spray 77 just because that's what I've always used. The paper does not come off easily, but you can remove it and the glue with a razor blade and sandpaper. I only remove it if I need a good bond in that area.

A question for anyone who may know:

Why is frame F3 narrower at the bottom than the top?

All the other frames are rectangular. The plan shows this clearly so it's not a cutting error.

This complicates the fuselage jig.

RE: Curare Build
 

F4 aligned with the help of a template made from the top view of F4 on the plan.

RE: Curare Build
 

F3 is narrower at the bottom because the former is sloped and the fuselage is tapering at this point. The fuselage jig is not made any harder, simply glue the former to one side at the angle indicated by the top view of the fuselage.
Evan, WB #12.

RE: Curare Build
 

Thanks Evan. Done.

RE: Curare Build
 

Dry fit of fuse jig. Triangles are doweled to the base. The tapered F3 former requires the clamp to close the gap at the top (bottom of aircraft).

RE: Curare Build
 

guys, just dampen a rag with rubbing alcohol and rub it on the plans that you have 3m-77ed to your wood and the paper will just peel right off. neat and clean result.

RE: Curare Build
 

Yep, that worked like a charm!

RE: Curare Build
 

Internal structure added for servo tray and wing mounting plate. I'm now ready to join the sides in the jig.

RE: Curare Build
 

Final glue-up of the fuselage. That's it for the weekend, I'm gonna go watch some football.

RE: Curare Build
 

Greetings,

I remember scratching my head about precisely the same thing when I built a Curare from the British RCM&E magazine plans together with a friend many years ago. I got it when we did a dry run of the fuselage jigging.

As I'm sure you noticed, F3 in a Curare fuselage isn't vertical, it slopes so that the bottom is further forward than the top.

At the position of F3, the plan view of the fuselage is narrowing towards the nose of the aircraft. The bottom of F3 is further forward, so the bottom of F3 needs to be narrower than the top, by the same amount as the fuselage is narrower than where the top of F3 is.

I hope the attached diagram makes this clear. The red lines show how the fuselage tapers towards the nose. The bold black outline is F3.

Best regards,

George

RE: Curare Build
 

Hey Mitch,

You're moving right along on your build and doing a great job as well, I might add. Keep up the good work....:D

David

RE: Curare Build
 

George,

Yes, the picture clears it up very well. Thanks.

David: Thanks for the words of encouragement. Things will move much slower during the work-week. I'm thinking about taking an extra week off during the Christmas break just to keep up the momentum. Is that sick or what?:eek:

Mitch

RE: Curare Build
 

btw, just in case anyone is wondering about the white plane in the background:

own design

RE: Curare Build
 

Hi,
No that is not crazy. I will take 3 weeks free during Cristmas (lot of overtime to take out in free time), I might start with my Curare also then to get much of the basic build done during that period. My last Curare I built was built and ready to fly in 2 weeks but that was like over 30 years ago, I might not have the endurance like I had back then when I could build a whole day with almost no break. It is the finish work with paint and such that usually will take most time at least for me.

/Bo

RE: Curare Build
 

Small progress today, nosegear trial fitting. It looks OK to me.