flyingagin

Well good for you!

What kind of cowl are you planning on making? Wood or fiberglass? A wood cowl should not be a problem in cooler or even cold weather. But a glass, yeah you need some decent temps for the resin to properly cure.

On wooden cowls I always had some fiberglass to the inside for both structural stiffness and strength and also as a good fuel proofing layer.

On another note it looks like we will be moving late this month. A good friend and his son are back there now fixing the place up for us as it was a bit rough. They took a load of our stuff out with them. Then spent a day unable to drive down the road that the property is on, even though they were in easy walking distance. Had to wait for the road to be cleared of snow enough to drive a heavily loaded van down. We should be fine when are are living there as we have a 4 wheel drive F250 truck.

Lucking forward to see you go forward.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

Hey you're that much closer to moving that's fantastic news! Timing is great too, once you're settled in the weather will be favorable to get some flying in
The cowl will be glassed 100%. I'll make a plug out of stacked blue foam insulation and glass over that. Since this is a one off cowl I don't mind making my plug out of sacrificial material, and it's quick to shape so bonus. The roll of true red Ultracote arrived today so I'm getting a surge of motivation to get it covering ready.
Working on base for the wing fairings today. I'll admit I've never built up fairings before so this is taking longer than a normal task would. Part of going above and beyond the norm for the sake of aesthetics

flyingagin

I have done wing fairings just a few times. A pain in the behind. First time was on a CL profile fuse .35 powered Magician. I used Hobby Poxy light (and light it is not) to mold the fairings. Is it even still sold. Since then I've carved them a few times from balsa. But I try to avoid them.

I have been trying to go above and beyond on all of my builds of late unless it is specifically built as a rough and ready trainer. Part of pushing my skill levels up.

The plane in my Avatar cowl is made the the way you are going to do yours. I just happened to have a bunch of pink foam, so I used that.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

Haha yes! That's exactly what I'm planning to do for cowl construction. It's always worked and looks great every time. Should I get a bout of insanity I'll make wheel pants to match though they'll honestly be for maiden pictures and most likely be removed afterwards (by the grass)
Im not liking the fairing process so far but I'm learning as I go along. Part of the hobby that is building. Always push your limits and never give up.
At this point nobody would believe this aircraft came out of a Four Star box Think kit bashing is a very large understatement for this build.

flyingagin

Just had a thought (need more brain cells for 2).

Should be able to make wing fairings (or any other fairing) with foam then glass over. Light easy to shape. Glassing might be bit tedious. And then the sanding sure would be. I just might try it at some point.

Ken

flyingagin

I di one cowl where I used modeling clay for the mold. Wrapped a cling wrap around the engines (engine bolted onto the plane). Then I added the clay. It worked very well. All of the cut outs were already there as I just did not glass those. But man O man trying to get all of that clay out of the mold afterwards was a nightmare. Not sure I really did. Also getting the cowl off the first took hours and hours of digging out clay. Never again.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

I ran across a build where foam was used with balsa formers in strategic locations for shape and glasses over. I almost went that route but last minute changed my mind in favor of sheeting. Once it's sanded and covered I think the ones I made will look the part good enough for 5' photos
I can see where a clay mold would be a nightmare to remove all the material once finished. Think I'll stick with foam if for nothing else ease of removal. The little bits that stay behind get dissolved with mineral spirits nicely.

flyingagin

I like where you are going with that. Tedious but worth while. That is exactly where I am thinking one could do the job with foam and then fiberglass over it. Would make a convex profile much easier also. Except for the glassing part. I can see bubbles and lifts developing.

It boils down to no easy way to do it.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

While creating that fairing I made duplicates for the other side. Now that I know how this goes together and have the parts it should go much better and less frustrating.
Before I quit for the day I'll bust out the spackle and fill any spots needed. Sanding will be the next task for another day.

Jwhitacre1

Anytime I put covering over glass it doesn't turn out quite as smooth as I want. That was in the back of my head and I think contributed to the sheeting route. Hardest part of sheeting was working out the shape of the sheeting. The balsa I had was pretty low density so it took the bends pretty well once wet.

Jwhitacre1

Research and time to build first side- 3 hours
Time to build second side- 30 minutesBoth sides are complete and the spackling on necessary spots.
Next time I'll have to finally buckle down and sand everything to this point nice and smooth.

flyingagin

I don't have any pics of it but I made a fuse for a low wing twin that was normal framing and sheet sides. But then for the turtle deck and canopy I used blue foam and shaped it. Then glassed with 4.25 ounce crows foot weave (satin is another term for it). I glassed the whole fuse. I intended from the start to use this method so my fuse framing and sheeting was on the light side figuring the glass would add the necessary strength. It ended up pretty strong for the weight.

But it did take a lot of work to get everything perfectly smooth. I left the foam. I did hollow out the foam out to a wall thickness of maybe 1/4" to 1/2".

Ken

Jwhitacre1

Sounds like it turned out very nice even if it was a lot more work. I agree either glass the whole fuselage and paint or go all wood and cover. At least that's the methods I've lived by for years without problems. I think a glassed and painted fuselage does look better if done right and the time to make mirror smooth, but I enjoy the ease of covering and being done whenever possible.

Jwhitacre1

At the end of the day an airplane only looks as good and fast as the cowl does. Because of this theory I put a lot of weight on how it looks because it can ruin the build if done poorly.
After a few days of thinking I've decided to go a bit out of period. I feel a Spitfire looking cowl without the exhaust will look the best. I might change the scoop on the underside of cowl to something a bit different but what exactly I'm still working that out. That's my update til the weekend.

flyingagin

The cool thing about this cowl making method is you get a good look at what it will will look like and can easily, cheaply change it.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

Absolutely! Hacking off a section of foam and remaking part is nothing but time spent. The cowl is a bit off from happening yet but it's good to have a plan ahead of time, and it keeps the motivation going.

Jwhitacre1

The wing is the closest to done so I'm putting all focus into it for the day. I cut out the opening to access the wing bolt and installed a rocket motor lug. It worked out pretty good size wise and stout enough to hold form over time. I added balsa wedges on the LE of the wingtips too and bottom for more defined shape once covered. Those are drying now so in an hour or so I'll sand this wing in prep for covering. The goal is to have the wing covered and as much of the trim on as time allows.

flyingagin

It will be nice to have a big part done or mostly done.

I tend to bounce around from assymbly to assymbly. But then I have to wait for assymblies to dry as I mostly use Titebond II.

I ran across something new (to me) that I will try,

Super PHATIC ALIPHATIC Glue

Super PHATIC ALIPHATIC Glue

Sounds good for many of my airplane building needs and reasonable cost.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

I usually use titebond as well for most construction that doesn't need to be set fast or epoxied. I'll have to keep that glue you linked in mind for the next build, thanks!

The "base" covering is on the wing top and bottom. Ailerons are covered and hinged, and servos mounted in wing halves. All in all it was a very productive day! Monday I'm going to try and get the bulk of the trim on the wing. Should go fast once I get templates made for what I want.

flyingagin

I'm liking that. Looks great

Ken

Jwhitacre1

Thanks! It's definitely coming into its own. The trim will be tedious but will really make the look.

flyingagin

Trim is ALWAYS TEDIOUS.

Try pinstripes and doing stars as pinstripes.

Saw a video of a guy in Brazil that does incredible work with pin striping free hand. He does that for CL planes. His brush moves at a rather good rate. Years ago so I have no ideal where to look and the site is down for good that he posted on. Bummer.

Ken

Jwhitacre1

Here's the fading checker pattern I want to do on the bottom of the wing. Regular checkering seemed too ordinary....or maybe I hate myself Either way it will make for a good look despite the extra effort.

Jwhitacre1

Anyone that can hand pinstripe is a hero in my book. That's some next level skill and rock steady hands.

flyingagin

How the heck do you do that? Is there a film like that or do you paint it that way?
I think you hate yourself. Wouldn't it be easier and faster to just drop a brick on you foot? But I sure want to see it. Either one

Ken