Good Morning. Uhh, Afternoon? What ever. Lots of fotos today. The first few are the wing trailing edge parts with their new Koverall skins. I guess if you've see one you have seen them all. I covered them first just to get the hang of the Sig process. That way I hope to have edged up the learning curve a little when it comes time to cover the wings and fuselage. The last time I covered an airplane I used the "bottom,sides, top" method. Anyone got a better one, please share it with us. I bought three bags of cloth so I have lots.

I just mounted the nose scoop. I was not happy with the construction sequence but I could not think of a better method. Follow the instructions and it will work. It took a while to get it done, but short of a fiberglass cowl this is the best I can do. Speaking of a F/G cowl, how does one intrest the cowl builders in making some up? I know they do 'one offs' but I think this plane will need a glass cowl. I cant' see the ABS/ balsa setup lasting too long under normal conditions. If you fly your Tripe very often this setup looks a bit weak. ( Ken, you listening?) Time will tell.

My wife has forbid any use of nitrate dope in or near her house while she still lives. But I will manage to cover the rest of the plane somehow. We have ways.... More later

Howdy, Well I glassed the gear legs tonite. The plans call for them to covered with your favorite covering material. The factory used plastic and I am using koverall. But for things like gear I like to use very light F/G cloth and resin. It does not add a lot of structural strength to the gear, but it does make the wood stay in place better than Monocoat etal. At this point the gear cant' come off the plane so I had to glass the legs 'in place'. The first foto shows the template for the cloth in place . the second shows the it out flat.
You cut two peices of the cloth, (.75 oz/sq yd) Apply resin and cloth. when you fold the ears around to the back they should overlap by a 1/4 inch, give or take, with no need to trim the glass in place. The reason for the template is so I dont' have to mess with a larger piece. With the gear mounted it's a pain to align and cut the cloth while holding the airplane. If you have ever used the light weight cloth you know how hard it is to cut. The last shot is of the glassed leg. I lay the resin on pretty thick and let it soak into the balsa. Lay on and soak the cloth and when I am happy with the lay of the glass, squeegy off the surface. This leave a fabric like finish and needs very little sanding. I suppose that you could use water based polyurethane rather than epoxy, or polyester resin as in my case.

I really did not need to to this but I want the balsa filler to be a little tougher than it would be if done per plans. Plus I wont' worry about the gear deforming when I remove them to cover the fuselage.
More later.

Making slow progress. Today I slotted the tail plane and rudder. Glued the vert stab in place and gave the air scoop a coat of poly.Sorry no photos. I'll shoot some when the Horz. stab, elevators and rudder are on her. I know this is the time to install the nyrods but I am still thinking about how to secure them inside the fuse. There is a bulkhead at the forward end of the vert stab with holes to hold them but I feel that they need a holddown or two as the go forward. I guess it's time for the radio box. This plane feels very nose heavy right now, but I think I will mount the radio box on the design CG and hope for the best. I still need to install the fuel tank and plumb it. A question for you experts out there. Where is the "best location for my remote fuel fill valve? Should I place it level with the Carb or does it matter. I plan on mounting it just aft of the cowl/fuse join on the passenger side-- same as the carb. How does one plumb a pressureized tank for an overflow vent line? It seems counter productive to put positive pressure from the muffler, and then cut a hole in the tank to vent it. A fuel dot on the vent, perhaps? Am I missing something here. I have never run a pressureized tank befor. Your suggestions are more than welcome on this.
More later, Roger.

Please continue to update, especially the photos. I just received my Tri-Pacer and I am very excited to read about yours. I am very suspect to how this cowl works out. Are you using small screws to connect that ABS to the sanded nose? I can just imagine it sliding back and forth while the engine vibrates. Are you going to paint the ABS and the nose? How about your muffler? Pitts? I plan on reading this over and over during my construction. Thank you for such a thorough description of your progress.

On you fuel tank no vent is required. Wen you fuel any exess will flow out of the muffler line. as long as you have the muffler below the exost port. I dont use remote fuelers, The tend to cause air leaks. Try a 3 line system and a fuel dot.

The third line is atatched to a second clunk for easy defueling.

Thanks guys for the Info and the undeserved praise. I just returned from the west side of the state where we visited the kids and grandkids for Xmas. I stopped off at the LHS for one sheet of 1/16 th Balsa and dropped 30 bucks on misc hardware. Work will begin on the tripacer tomorrow. I will post some photos of the progress as it happens.

Is anybody planning an after market fiberglass cowl for this great kit? The wood/plastic sheet cowl is the only thing keeping me from buying one...it looks like trouble.

Yak

Yak, I have asked that question here and so far no one has stepped up. Maybe Ken at Mosquitobite planes would front someone a firewall, and the wood componants for the noseblock assy. It would not be to hard to make a mold if you had the parts. I have gotten too far along to use mine for a mold. I would love a glass cowl as it would make several operations easier. I guess the cowl makers would need to know if their investment would pay off. (how many kits sold) I think the market would be about 90% of TriPacer builders as the ABS cowl is the only weak feature of this kit. I have not flown mine yet so I really can't say if works or not. It looks pretty good, but I worry about it's durability. The Factory plane has been flown quite a bit at shows and it looks great. We will see how it goes as more of the planes hit the air this spring. Perhaps Ken would like to jump in here and share his experiance with the cowl. In any case you realy should buy the kit. It has been a lot of fun so far.

Remember the days when kits had a solid block of wood with a little tag that said "sand here"? We made the same idea more modern - laser cut layers to ensure accurate shape.

We have tested this kit to extremes. Loaded it with 30 pounds of weight and pulled it around the grass - destroying the wheels, but the fuse and all sections held with no trouble. We put oversize engines and made it scream at retarded speeds just to pull up with a 40Ëš elevator deflection in a snap. We flew it so high that the windshield cracked form the cold and vibration when over 4000 feet (we now have it made out of Lexan). We ran it full speed along the ground and snagged the dirt making it flip over it's face. We hit a tree (new wing), we installed an undercarriage that was 2" too tall for it, and it still handled. We put it in the hands of a competition class pilot at told him to do his worst.

I still fly that plane. You can see it on page 133 of the February MAN.

We answer every singe email we get. We stand behind out work. Would anyone expect any less?

As soon as we can get around the technical issues of providing a glass cowl that is as durable as the current one, then we will offer it for sure.

Thanks Ken, That's all I need to know. And Yes, I do remember large blocks of balsa that somehow became noses and cowls. I also remember vacuum formed ABS cowls in 3 or 4 pieces that were glued up and they were ugly. Now that we have the difinitive answer I guess we will have to wish for a carbon fiber/graphite cowl and wheel pants. I might even make one from aluminum using Ken's pattern. I think I have a piece of dryer vent that would work. I just hope I can get Sig dope to stick to it. (not really - Just kidding, well maybe not)

Just a quick post while the dope dries. I have had a tough time with the nose gear steering setup. The photos in the build manual show the tiller mounted below the air scoop. I tried it there and HATED IT. Very ugly. Ken at Mosquitobite said he hated it too so he moved it to the middle of the block as per DuBro. The tiller needs to be cut off a little (one hole) and Ken says that a hole drilled in the ply mount wont' hurt it. When you drill the hole in the firewall stay as far outboard as possable to avoid running into the tank. I used a throttle cable with a clevis but you can use your favorite attachment method. You dont' need a huge amount of throw on the steering. Because the TriPacer is so short coupled and the rudder is powerful 30 degrees each way is plenty. Maybe less. I intend to paint the whole area with flat black to make it dissapear.
More later.

Well, today I accomplished a major milestone. I covered the wing using one piece of Sig Koverall. Yes one piece! I am starting to love that stuff. You don't cover this wing like a trainer. You start at the trailing edge on the top and dope the fabric on the edges of the rear cabin top. all the edges of the windshield cutout at the leading edge and all along the trailing edge sheeting. No dope is applied to the ribs or the sheeting. When the top of the wing has dried turn it over and dope the edges of the windshield cutout and along the sheeting running fore and aft that corresponds to the fuselage sides. Dope the fabric to the trailing edge sheeting. Again leave the wing tips alone. Once all the dope has dried the fabric can be pulled tight toward the tips. I trimmed the cloth a 1/2 inch long and doped the bottom of the tips rolling the excess up over tip bow. Allow the bottom to dry and do the same for the top of each tip. when you are finished you will have about a 1/4 inch lap on the bottom which will be nearly invisable when finished. When you trim the excess cloth from the trailing edges leave a tab at the root and tip rib on the upper surface. These tabs will be pulled down to cover the exposed ribs and doped to the lower surface. You then shrink the cloth from the center out to the tips. Try to shrink both surfaces evenly. A little on the top and a little on the bottom as you work your way outboard. Shrink slowly as Koverall has been known to crush wings if not done carefully. The batteries in my camera died, so I will try to post a shot or two tomorrow.

As promised, here are some shots of the covered wing. It takes a rather large piece of fabric to do this in one pass. The tot of the cabin extends back beyond the trailing edge so you must add about 4 inches to cover it all. You can see the tabs at the tip ribs; they get pulled down and under to cover the exposed wood of the ribs. The TriPacer is the first project Ihave built using the Koverall fabric. You can use heat activated glue but the Nitrate dope process was recommended and I think it works great. The fabric can be moved around wile the dope is drying so wrinkles are not a problem. If you can stand the dope fumes this is the way to go. I have covered with paper, silk, pre-glued fabric, and plastic. I think I have found a new favorite.

Well, we are at the stage where the less glamorus aspects of building take place. Those of you building the TriPacer per the plans can skip this posting. You who are not happy with balsa stick pushrods might be interested in the way I installed mine. For starters, I found it necessary to switch my servo positions for the rudder and elevator. The plans have the push rod ends going through two pre cut holes in the aft bulkhead. These holes line up with slots burned in the fuselage sides. There are two slots on each side. You punch out the one that lines up with the holes. Because my nose wheel steering cable comes in on the starboard side I felt that I should place the rudder servo on that side as well. That meant that my rudder pushrod had to exit on the opposite side from where the kit was engineered. To make this story short, I had to drill new holes in the aft bulkhead. One lower and one higher than the stock holes. The reason for this is simple, I will not cross pushrods. Lots more work for me, but cleaner, I think.

The first photo shows the pushrod bracket I made and glued to the removable servo tray. it is 1/8 th basswood and a 1/4 sq. stick.

The second photo shows an intermediate brace C/A'd across the rear cabin former. It is a scrap piece of 1/8 th. balsa with a 1/8 th by 1/4 strip glued along the top edge as a stiffener and lightened with holes.

The third shot is of the fire wall being mocked up. Steering and throttle cables, fuel lines and remote glowplug igniter wire. ayou can see the igniter jack on the side of the fuselage.The messy area above the jack is where the remote fuel fill valve will be mounted.

The last picture is of the receiver antenna leadout. It will be glued to the fuselage spine at a slight angle, the antenna will run out and back to the vertical stabilizer and attached using a DuBro hardware set.

Almost ready to cover the fuselage and start final assembly

I have not posted in a couple of days but I have been working on the tripacer. I am ready to cover the fuselage but as my wife is allergic to the nitrate dope I have to wait for her to go to work on monday. I removed the landing gear and cut holes for my radio switch to mount on the bottom of the fuselage. The belly is made from ply so the switch will mount quite securely there. I stopped by the LHS while in Spokane yesterday. I complained about the sorry state of their colored dope selection. I was told that they had the best selection on the coast, sorry as it was. They said that dope is used so little anymore that it is difficult to get. They blamed the use of Monocote et al as the reason. I had planned a dope finish, or even auto paint but now I am giving serious thought to using epoxy by Klasskote. I have used K&B Hobbypoxy on glassed balsa and was happy with the results. Has anyone out there used it on Koverall? I know it is compatable, but wondered if there are any tricks I should know. Please comment if you have used it this way.

I will post some fotos of the covering process on the Fuse. I will shoot some as I go, rather than just the finished product.
More later.

The cover is complete. If you have used Koverall before this is no big deal. If you have not used it you are in for a pleasent suprise. As with most other planes we cover the bottom, sides and the top. With the tripacer I found that covering the sides was easier if the horizontal stab was not glued in. the stab gets in the way of the cover at the rear. Apply the material to the sides and cover over all the slots where the stab is glued, you can cut the fabric away with a knif after is has been shrunk. make sure to dope around the holes so the fabric stays in place when it's cut. Cover right over the window openings doping at the perimeter only. Once you shrink the fabric you can dope around the openings, When the dope is dry cut the windows out leaving about 3/8th to 1/2 inch of material. this is folded over the window lips and doped down. It is a nice finishing touch. As with the wing, the fabric is only doped at the edges. This covering system takes more time than film but it gives a very scale like finish. Any Questions?

Second post tonight. Some more photos. The first three shots in the last post show the fabric before shrinking. The forth shows the cabin windows finished.
These last shots are of the cover going on the side and top, and the finished product.
Now it's two coats of filler dope and on to paint.

More later.

Ah. the sweet, intoxicating smell of nitrate dope! I have applied the first fill coat of thinned dope with corn starch added. I could not find any unscented talc in the nearby village so went with corn starch. When the wing dried I noticed that the fabric at the tips had relaxed a little. I reshrank it and it looks better than ever. I have sanded the first coat with 420 grit in preparation for the second coat. It is starting to get shiny already. I need to get my order in to Klasskote for their primer and top colors. Does anyone have experiance with their epoxy paint? I am interested in how far it goes. I would hate to buy too much as the stuff is quite expensive. On the other hand, "not enough" is worse. I think I painted a pica T 28 with 2 pints of hobbypoxy (2 color, 2 catalist) back when it was available. Does that sound about right for a plane of this size? I will spray it on with an HVLP touch up gun. The wings, upper fuselage, and swoose will be cream and lower fuselage will be bright red. It is going to take a while for me to get to the paint stage but I will check in with progress reports as it moves along.
More later.

How are you aplying the dope and cornstartch? Brush or spray?....

Hi Mark, So far I have used brushes. I tried a foam brush but the dope eats them up. small pieces kept comming off. I switched to a 1 and a half inch art brush and it worked very well. I just got the touch up gun and have not tried it yet. The dope mix is a little thick to spray. Some guys recommend full strength dope but I find it goes on better when thinned about 25 %. I mixed the dope and cornstarch one to one and then thinned to a nice painting consistancy. So far it's working well.

Wascamp, Thanks for the info, I have an upcoming project that I'm thinking of trying the fabric and dope finish for the first time.

Mark. Actually the best filler is Aluminum powder. It provides a high degree of UV protection. You might find it locally or order some from Aircraft-Spruce. Talc and cornstarch fill ok but offer no protection from the sun. While our planes are not subject to the same level of exposure that a full scale airplane might suffer, the fill properties of Al. are worth the trouble. I have used the powder on full size planes and it can be thinned so the dope is sprayable. It leaves a good finish after sanding and the weight gain is minimal. I think you will find dope and fabric to be a very rewarding undertaking. It is more work, but it sure looks nice when finished. Plus it is tough as all getout. Good luck and have fun with it.

Me and my students have started our kit. Now the questions and posts will start flying. Interesting note: I put a pair of kids on the nose and they could not find the part. When class was dismissed I went through the box 13 times. It was not there and I notice pieces to the airscoop were not there either. I emailed Ken and he informed me that they video the planes being packaged, which I thought was cool. The piece was left out. I asked my principal if I could post pics of the kids, and the answer was, "with parental permission". I have to check each kids file. So look for those when I do all the paperwork. Now the model: Today the fuse group clued in the formers on the first step and it looked great. I was curious about the flexibility of the windows. I pushed it over slightly and it snapped. Did yours do the same or did you relieve the pressure on the backside with a blade? How do I post a pic, where do I go to learn?

Great, I was waiting for your class to check in on your build. Thats strange about the nose block parts being missing. They are 1/4 inch thick and all are on one sheet. Kinda hard to miss. As far as the window part goes, no mine did not break. The plans and instructions tell you not to completly glue the two pieces together at first. The window wall is pressed in at the top and when set, is glued at the bottom. Maybe your assemblers got ahead of themselves.

I think there is a tutorial on the forum for posting photos. If you cant find it use the old fashoned method. "Success thru failure" To down load you must use the "Post reply" button rather than the "quick reply" box. At the bottom of the post area you will see the "Click here to upload!" A pop-up will ask for the path to your fotos. hit Brouse and find what you want to show. Double click the foto and the path should appear in the pop-up box. Keep trying till it works. The system will only handle 300k or so, you might want to format your pictures down to 50k or less. It's easier to do than to explain. You can try a test or two to see if you have it right, everybody does.

One more thing, Let the wing group have all the 1/4 square sticks for their wing. The Fuselage needs them but you use short pieces rather than the long ones cut up. I made the mistake of cutting them to build the fuselage and found that the remaining pieces were too short to use when it came time for the spars. The wings will build so fast that the fuselage guys will not face a delay.

Easy to post a photo and here's how. I save my photos to "My documents' as a JPEG so I know where they all are. Now when you post look at the bottom of the page and you will see 'click here to upload', click on that. A window will come up and show 4 boxes with the word browse next to them, click on the first one. You will then be asked where the to find the photos, click on My documents, find the phote and click on it and the system will upload it for you. do this for all the photos that you want to download if more then one. If you have trouble give me a PM and I will help more.