huck1199

Just got some hardware items from Hobbyopolis on *bay.  Bruce, who runs the online store is a great guy and has an extensive inventory of hardware stuff.  He must have bought out a hobby shop; he has some old interesting stock as well as current stuff.  Free fast shipping. He has 'buy it now' prices and will accept reasonable offers.  I usually buy several things to keep his shipping costs down. I highly recommend him.  This save me hunting for stuff at the LHS and hardware stores.

http://shop.ebay.com/hobbyopolis1/m...._from=&_ipg=25

TomCrump

Thanks for the link.

You are making good progress.

I especially like your choice of pilots !

huck1199

I mounted the aileron servos and cut out the ailerons - a job I was hesitant to do; but they turned out OK. A test fit of the wing tips found that they are a good fit. I think I will attach some mounting blocks on the wing tips to make it easier to epoxy the tips in place. What did you fellow builders do to attach the tips? Here are some pics.

TomCrump

I used mounting blocks, too.

huck1199

I cut the hinge slots for the ailerons and cutout the channels in the wing for the control rods. I am going to try Stix-it with the polyester cloth on the fin. I'll see how this goes before I cover any other parts. I applied one coat of nitrate to the fin and then a coat of Stix-it. I'll let that dry for a few hours and try ironing on a piece of cloth. I have used the cloth before with waterbase poly and it came out very nice. I shrunk it with a heat gun and it seemed to tighten up pretty well. We will see how it works with Stix-it and dope.

huck1199

Covered the fin with Sunline 100% polyester dress lining adhered with Stix-it. Applied two coats of nitrate dope after initial heat shrink with a gun. Came out OK. There are some tiny bubbles on the framework that I think came from the Stix-it when heated. I was able to re-heat and smooth them out with my finger. This works well and I think this must be done before sealing with dope as there is enough air holes in the fabric before sealing. That is one nice thing about this fabric - when shrinking on closed structures the heated air can escape through the fabric. With pre-painted fabric you would have to let the air out with a pin hole.

huck1199

The rudder is covered. I really like how the fabric can be tacked down on curves with no radius cuts. All the wrinkles come out with moderate heat from the gun. The Stix-it is kinda thick and fast drying so you cannot smooth it out like paint. When I got a section that was a little gloppy, and not smooth, I waited till it dried and smoothed it out with a paper towel dampened with thinner. So far It looks OK. The fin has two coats of dope now and the rudder is ready for dope. It is a nice breezy day so ventilation will be good for the doping.

Lowvoltage

Huck,
What are you going to paint with? I have been using Sig Koverall on a BTE Venture 60, and I think it is the greatest thing for covering since I used my older sister's hose to cover a wing on a control line profile Mustang back in about 1964. I use Stits Poly Tak on the trailing edge only and cover with the polyester cloth all around the component (wing, stab, aileron, elevator, etc.). Then I shrink it with my iron set at 250 degrees, then at 300. Then I put 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic on with a sponge brush. After the 2nd coat I start sanding with 400 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. The 3rd coat is just to satisfy my ego ( It looks like a spray painted job). If you are in a hurry, fire up the heat gun and give the wet Polycrylic a warm-up to set it. Just be careful. Too much heat makes bubbles.
Tom Crump and his buddies need to chime in here as I am doing this for the first time, but am having excelent results.

Joe

huck1199

Joe

What will you use for color? I will use LustreKote and Brodak byturatedope. I have used water base poly with the polyester cloth and like the ease of application.

TomCrump

I don't have much to offer, Joe. I've only use Polycryllic over solid surfaces.

I'm a Solartex type of guy. Im sitting here, watching you and huck, learning from the two of you.

I have sprayed Minwax Polyurethane (oil base), over Solartex. It required no thinning. I was pleased with the way it turned out.

Lowvoltage

Huck, I am using Poly Litefor color. It is fuel proof, and I am using a Saito4-stroke on the plane. http://www.stits.com/store/poly_lite_qts.html

I used the Polycrylic (no smell)instead ofthe Poly Brush (needs ventilation)because I ambuilding the plane in an apartment I useduringtheweek for aproject I'm working on. The Polycrylic fills the weave of the koverall very well andwet sands easily. It takes time to do it right, but Ihave found that Ienjoy it. I will spray two coats of silver Poly ToneUV protector overthe Polycrylic, and then two color coats on top of that.I have found that in practice with test pieces, if you goof up just wait. The paint willflow for a long time, andovernight the problem spot will likely be gone.

When I build the Spacewalker Iwill use koverallwith polycrylic to fill the weave, then primer, and thenRustoleum sprayedlike Tom did.

Joe

huck1199

Here are some pics of the elevator. For anyone interested in the process, it goes like this:

1 Apply Stix-it or Poly Tack to the entire framework. Let dry.
2 Cut an ample peice of Polyester cloth.
3 Iron down the horizontial perimeterof the piece being carefull to not introduce wrinkles. Use low heat to prevent the adhesive from bubbling.
4 Flip the piece and trim the cloth to with 1/4" of the piece.
5 Seal down the overlap to the edges with the iron.
6 Coat the edge with adhesive and let dry.
7 Cover the other side of the piece like in steps 2 and 3.
8 Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the newly covered side.
9 Shrink the fabric with a heat gun being carefull not to over heat and cause bubbles. Apply the sealer coats. I used nitrate dope here but WB Polycan be used.

huck1199

Started completion of the fuselage. Also the engine piston was polished and reassembled. I put some truse reinforcements in place; I used CA hinges cut with little tabs to tie the structure together. The top front of the fuse was built and sheeted. The center sheeting went on without a hitch. The left side was a pain; The wetted sheeting would not let the glue setup quickly. For the other side I edge glued the dry sheeting to the center with CA gel and then wet it with paper towels. When softened I the spead Titebond under the sheeting and taped it down. This method worked very well.

huck1199

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Lowvoltage

You are making some good progress. I like seeing the use of mylar hinge material to reinforce glued joints. Tom Crump even spliced some plywood on the inside of the fuselage to reinforce the splice between the front and rear fuselage sections. I am looking at the pictures and trying to figure out how I can install my Zenoah engine two top mounting bolts after the front sheeting is added. They will have to go in from the back because the mounting cup behind the motor is drilled & tapped for 1//4 - 20 screws. There may have to be a hatch installed that could even be used to place the ignition battery in if the plane ends up tail heavy as I think it will. You are doing very nice job on the build.

Joe

huck1199

Joe

It is kind of scary to enclose the fuse nose.  I pray the blind nuts  never get lost inside.  The build is going well; not too many hard decisions.  The CA hinges are the hairy fiber type not mylar.  They hold wood glue very well.  Let me know what kind of hatch you come up with - I may build another one of these.  I may slow down for a while - I just got my window order from Lowe's 20% off sale last month.  I am replacing all my house windows and putting vinyl siding up. 

TomCrump

Joe: On my Zenoah's cup mounts, I drill the threads out, and mount the motors with the bolts entering from the "front."

The blind nuts are CA'd, or epoxied in.

Lowvoltage

Thanks for the information Tom. I had pondered the idea of just drilling the threads out, but have mixed feelings about cutting on a new motor.

Joe

huck1199

Well, made some progress -
1. Covered the nose with sheeting and cut out the cockpit.
2. Installed the formers for the longerons.
3. Put some lite ply supports on the first two formers. If the pilot leans back he won't break the former out.
4. Cut, shaped and test fit the balsa block to the front bottom of the fuse. I don't think I will glue it in place, I think I will make it removeable so that I can mount the throttle servo and ignitionmodule next to the fuel tank and have access to all that stuff.
5. Test fit the engine to see how to setup the throttle servo and ignition. Found that the throttle arm can not be rotated on the carb throttle plate rod. The arm has a "D" shapped hole and can't be repositioned. It also has a strong spring that I think must be removed.

The build has been pretty simple up till now. The fun begins now. The 24 oz tank will fit nicely at the proper height if mounted just below the cockpit floor and offset to the same side as the carb. This leave plenty of room for the servo and ignition module.

Anyone else had a throttle arm angle like this (see pictures)? If so sugestions are welcome.

huck1199

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Lowvoltage

Huck,
I think some guys use a steering arm from a nosewheel assembly on the throttle shaft.

huck1199

Joe

Yeah, I will have to mount something on top of the throttle arm and connect the push rod from the other side. I am thinking of a servo wheel; the space is small. Your picture didn't come thru, but I get the idea. Thanks.

Anyone know if you can take an Rxcel module apart to take the plug wire off to snake it thru the firewall and the re-attach the wire? I am afraid to try it, don't want to destroy it.