Anyone building the Cobra, please post here. This should be fun as this is a unique plane. Do what ever modifications you want. Post as many pictures as you can. Post questions about the build and any suggestions that you have or problems that you have encountered along the way. Good luck with your build. Canopy, cowl and wheel pants are available from Fiberglass specialties. [8D]

Here is my first post on this thread. Does anyone have any thoughts about drilling holes in the wing braces to make them lighter. The one is made with 4 pcs. 1/4"ply glued together. BTW action hobbies can laser cut parts for you. If interested I can send the link via this thread. [email protected] this is the link for the web site.
http://www.lazer-works.com/main.html

Thanks for starting this build thread for the Cobra....I'll be starting on mine in the very near future; and I'll post some pictures along the way. Can't wait to see some of the builds of this great plane.
Hang in there.
Steve

Gene, what kind of glue do you use to glue the templates onto the wood???? Just screwing with you. In my kit cutting thread people fixated on that.

I wouldnt do anything to possibly weaken a wing brace.  I cant imagine there would be weight savings that would make it worthwhile.

AHHHHH!!!! rubber cement so I can take it off.

Agreed...

goirish,

Hope you found the wood you're looking for....I started cutting foam core wings and turtle deck....will cut out some formers later.
Found a cowl ( a little hammered, but fixable), so I can get the fuse going soon.

Here is a picture of a t-shirt that I had airbrushed with the cobra and our club name.

Snake Lovers..

Questions about alternative building materials always come up when scratch building. Two of the most often asked questions are:

*What about foam wings?
*Any substitute wood for fuselage?

Well, even though I cut all my own wings, I don't get into it for a living....but there are many who do....some of which are:
*flyingfoam.com
*matneymodels.com
*[email protected]

Every club I've ever been in has several foam cutter dudes who like to earn a couple extra bucks, so check locally. In spite of the rumors ARFs did NOT kill all the scratch builders in the world! Some of them are just hiding in their closets, waiting to come out!

Balsa wing skins are still very popular, but choice of glue is a toss-up. You can use Gorilla glue, epoxy resins, Spray 77 (careful about getting close with the new proplellant...it can melt stuff!), or Elmer's white glue for those who wish to save a little $$$.

As far as substitute wood for fuselages, etc. there is a type of plywood called "Italian Bending Poplar" (3 mm thick) 3ply in 4'x8' sheets having grain runniing either length-wise or cross-wise for your particular application. In my area a sheet runs $28.00 and can build a TON of stuff! Calculate what a 4'x8' sheet of balsa would cost for comparison and you'll get the point. A cheap set of hole saws from Harbor Freight does a nice job of cutting out lightening holes to bring the weight down even more (this poplar ply is already very light).

There must be a lot of ideas about building/building materials in this group; and it would be interesting to hear about them for sure. Hope to hear some of them soon.

Steve
Foggy Minded Mountain man

This build thread has suddenly gone dead....has anybody started this slick snake? Repairing a hammered cowling may not have been one of my better ideas, but it's starting to come together. In the long run it should work OK.

Took a couple of days last week to go to the mountains and take a good look at the colorful leaves...there was even a little fresh snow on the mountain tops. I cut my foam cores while I was there, but haven't started sheeting or cutting all those miserable angles. I'll wait on those while I do the fuse and tail feathers and everything else possible before I give in to the inevitable angle cutting dilema.

Hope you're all well and still have some interest in building this bird.

Still waiting on my wood. Ordered the cowl and canopy. Not sure if I will go with the wheel pants. We fly off the grass.

Wheel pants seem to last just long enough for the initial photos before the maiden flight; and then it's anybody guess how long they'll be around, eh? Even though we fly off a dry lake bed, it seems that wheel pants don't have a very long lifespan.

Hope your wood comes soon and some others join in with the build.

come on Guys. Let's get the build going

Just waiting on you Gene.

Just getting started on my Cobra. However, I am still waiting for wood. My plans are to do the turtle deck in 1/8" by 1/2" strips instead of going with a solid turtle deck. Hoping to save as much weight as I can, without risking the integrity of the plane.

why am I getting this message when I try to load pictues.

500 - Internal server error.
There is a problem with the resource you are looking for, and it cannot be displayed.

???????????? That message has been popping up quite often in other forums and threads. Another new thing with the servers??? Maybe.

will post pictures when they get the problem fixed.


Still no joy on loading pictures.

Hey!! maybe they got it fixed.

Here are some more pictures of the fuselage getting under construction. hope I am not over my head on this build

How do you load more than 1 or 2 pictures at a time. I tried 3 and it timed out.

WOW!!!! What a hard build.[:'(] These wings are giving me fits.[:@] Not sure I am up to the task on this build. Hope it looks something like the plans show[][][][:'(][:@]

At one point in time there was someone offerig foam cores for it. That was a long while back.

Boy that would be the way to go. Guess i will have to do some searching. Just got back from mowing the field. About a 2 1/2 hr job. But it looks good, we use a vacuum also

How long of an extension cord do you use for the vacuum?????????? Are you using a hover or a shop vac????????



Keep up with the build. You will do a good job.

A hand held black and decker. I've already worn out 3 pairs of bluejeans on my hands and knees

Gene

If you know of anyone that cuts foam wing panels can you give me a link.

The other Gene