Mako17

Nope problem Zor, I've been building it for like the last 1 1/2 years of so, It's something I work on when I have nothing else to do, One day she will fly. I remember the plans say flying weight is like 8- 8 1/2 lbs. If it come in under 10 i'll be happy, Maybe when I go home in Apr-May I may get a little more done on it. But I'll only be home for like 3 weeks or so then it's back to the Desert until November.

yel914

I had a little time this morning-when my @#@$%& internet was down, so I took the cowl, engine and fuel tank out and took some pics for a more clear understanding of what I did on my Sig Skybolt. So, here you go.

Jaybird

That is terrific! Since most are finding they have to add weight and space their engine out on the GP Kit, the extra weight is actually serving a purpose and makes everything accessible. That would be a great solution for those putting a smoke system in my opinion. I'll keep it in mind as I move forward. Does your plane have right thrust built into the firewall like the GP kit does? That might be the only complication in designing the tray.

Thanks for sharing!

Jaybird

Jaybird

Can anyone with the built GP kit place their bottom wing with one panel on a flat surface and tell me what the distance is from that surface to the underside of the last rib at the main spar? I bugs me that the manual doesn't give a dihedral measurement to confirm the assembly when it's placed in the wing saddle with the upper wing and struts. I assume it's not given because they intend for the parts when assembled to provide the proper position, but I'm a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy and I'd like to make sure it's at least in the ball park. I built a small electric ARF Aeronca Champ in which the wing panels attached to a center section with an aluminum wing tube that was rather loose fitting and and was suppose to be properly postioned with the pre assembled struts. I went by the instructions but I had to redo and assembly several times and was never really happy with it and it never flew well. They didn't give any measurements either and it was frustrating. I haven't looked at the wing plans yet, so perhaps it's already there and I just haven't found it yet.

Jaybird

Zor

yel914 and all readers,

I am writing this for the second time. When posting I had a message that apparently the server had to or was in a rebooting process and I got an error message indicating such server action. I lost all my text. I do not find it practicle to save every posting before sending it.

I mainly wanted to thank yel914 for his good cooperation and super idea.

I am now dreaming of a 1/3 scale Skybolt all made of modules.
A power module incorporating fuel tank, throttle servo, engine mount and engine, prop and spinner, cowling, all detachable in one unit without dissassembly.
A tail assembly including rudder and elevator servos and flying wires.
A wing assembly including flying wires.
A removable landing gear assembly.

All is possible with a bit of thinking.

Again thanks to yel914 for sharing a nice idea.

Zor

Zor

jaybird,

I regret I cannot clearly understand what you are after in your post #276 .

According to the manual the bottom wings are joined at their center according to the following procedure.

The fuselage structure is all assembled including the cabane.
The top wing is all assembled ready for covering
The I struts are ready for painting.

We install the top wing on the cabane and sit the top wing and fuselage upside down on the workbench.
We insert the I struts in the bottom surfaces of the top wing.
We insert one low wing to one I strut and sit that wing root on the fuselage.
We do the same with the other low wing.

Now with the center line (span wise) properly marked and centered to the fuselage, we butt the spars, LE and TE and proceed to make the joint and cement it.

The dihedral of the low wing is set automatically.

We then finish the structures at the center of the bottom wing per manual.

I wrote the procedure above for the readers who might be wondering what you are looking for. Myself I do not clearly understand what you need and do not wish to guess or assume.

Zor

yel914

The firewall idea was just my spin on someone else's trick, but thanks, glad to help. Thinking outside the box really does aggitate those little grey cells nicely No engine offset on that engine and firewall, BTW.

Jaybird

Thanks Zor,

I'm looking for a dimension to verify that the lower wing is at or near the intended dihedral angle. Most planes that I have built (even ARF's) give a dimension to use to check that the joint created by the root ribs is at the proper angle. Since this assembly doesn't have two flat root rib surfaces that meet up, I would think it could rather tricky to get points created by the leading and training edges and top and bottom spars trimmed properly to set the dihedral.

I'll just follow the directions when I get to that point and see for myself what happens. No one else has said anything about that part of the build so I guess it isn't a problem.

Jaybird

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I like the removable firewall, and I can appreciate all of the work that went into it, but I can't help but wonder...

Why bother?

I mean, you can remove the bottom wing with two bolts and pull the tank out through the radio compartment. So why go through all of the trouble of removing the spinner, prop, cowl and firewall?

Jaybird

True, but I would think that if you used rubber bands to secure the tank to the plate it would be hard to get in to unhook them and them even harder to reinstall them. It all depends on much convenience you want later on or anticipate you might need. To each his own!

Jaybird

biplanemurphy

Just cut the rubber bands. Then use long forceps to reinstall new ones.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I just pack the compartment with foam

Jaybird

All very good points. Since I haven't gotten that far in my build, I wasn't aware that that there is access from the radio compartment to the tank.

Thanks for the information.

Jaybird

Zor

Hello all participants,

It is interesting to read the comments posted.

I even see that a hatch was made on top of the fuselage front between the cabane wires.
The fuel tank can be seen but I do not see that it can be taken out because of the base of the cabane.

I am adding here what I thought when I decided to make a hatch under the fuselage between the landing gear and the firewall.

The manual is not very clear as to the installation of the fuel lines. The print in my copy is very poor to visualize the routing. Really there is no routing determined in the pictures of the manual.

I visualized that the fuel line would have to be quite long so the tank could be pulled backward and enough lines out to be able to disconnect and handle them. Re-installing the tank (or a new one) would make it imposssible to route the fuel lines where I wanted them.

I wanted to install a fuelling valve. Where would it be isntalled? How could I access it" What if it leaked as many have reported ! ! ! and may have to change it. It had to be accessible.

I wanted the engine inverted and planned to install a glow plug connector ahead of the wing leading edges.

Because of the many reports of this plane ending up tail heavy, I wanted to install the battery right behind the firewall (which I did).

I was planning to install flying wires but did not yet know exactly how I would do that. I thought that may be they would be complicating the wings removal. They do not now but I did not know that at the time.

All kind of reasons to have a hatch where I made it.

I can now access and remove the battery and the fuel tank without removing the wings.
I have short fuel lines routed how I wanted them.
I have access to the socket for the glow plug heater.
I have access to the fuel filling valve.
I do not have to move anything in the fuselage (radio, wiring) to make clearance to get the tank out via the low wing opening.

The electrical switch and charging connector is in the c-ock-pit (proper spelling is rejected by the bad words filter) which opens like on one version of the full size Skybolt.

Note that I read and studied the manual thouroughly before starting any building.

I am quite happy with the final results but am planning further modifications to extend the landing gear height to have more prop clearance to the ground and limit its up trajectory.

Paint some registration on the wings and fuselage sides.
Try to spin an aluminum spinner ( $64.00 + tax and six weeks delivery which means 3 months).
Reinforce the present prop spinner (the second; the first one exploded).

Hey . . . lots of fun yet.

All have a great time . . . spring is coming and the flying season.
I used to fly in the winter occasionnally when I was a young kid.

Zor

yel914

You can access the fuel tank from the lower wing cutout? DOH! Actually, I wasn't really sure about accessability when I built the plane because I didn't have the kit, just the plans and no manual. I anticipated a problem and went ahead and did the removable firewall. Overall, I'd say it's a good trick to have in the toolbox, even if it was overkill.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

It's been a few years since I had my Kit-Built Skybolt, so I don't remember the exact setup, but I DO know that I later modified it for a smoke system. I removed the tank, put a small tank for smoke oil in the tank compartment, and slid the tank back in behind it. The tank now sat far back (mostly in the radio compartment) but I was using a YS 91, so fuel draw was never a problem.

In all of that modification, I never recall having to do any cutting to get the tank out, so I'm 99% sure that I just slid it out from the rear

Jaybird

I've been able to put in a few hours during the week on the fuselage sides and doublers. It's hard to get the die-crunched parts to fit together tighly, so I did the best I could and decided which would be the right and left hand sides. I then put model wood filler along the outside seams and sanded them down. I have one of the "mouse" type orbital sanders that someone had mentioned before and it was really handy to work that large surface. I filled and sanded a couple of times and it looks pretty good. It seems like one of the hardest parts of the fuselage assembly is getting the sides with the doublers to bend around the forward formers. I decided I would try pre-forming the side plates (without the doublers) using the "Windex" technique and strapping the sides in place around the formers. The sides by themselves bend fairly easily and the Windex helped. It sat overnight and should be ready to take apart and add the doublers to this evening. I plan to tack glue the doublers (which are very soft, even crumbly) together and then attach them to the formed side plates. Hopefully this will make the final assembly go a lot smoother. I have also pre-drilled a hole for the pushrod tube in the last tail former so that it's ready to install if I go with the single center elevator horn. I was looking at the ARF version manual and saw that they use two separate pushrods for the two halves and clamp them together at the servo with a couple of set screw collars. I may go that route instead.

Jaybird

Zor

jaybird,

I could keep silent but I am opening my big mouth in a cooperating spirit and as one that has put this kit together more recently than any other I am aware of.

The firewall is installed at an angle to provide about 2 degrees of right side thrust. Notice that the doublers have recesses wider than the firewall thickness.

The firewall left side goes to the front of the recess in the left doubler and to the rear of the recess in the right side doubler. Just a little detail easy to miss.

You may check that firewall angle before gluing.

The picture shows you are doing fine.

Take your time and make sure of every fit before using the glue .

Zor

Jaybird

None of the formers or firewall are attached at this point. The firewall was further back when I started strapping things together but slid forward when I stood the assembly on it's nose. I am aware of the right thrust created by the tank mounting plate ( I have written on the plate which end is the firewall and the top surface, which was not stamped) and that the front pockets are wider than the plate to accomodate mounting the doublers on either side and making the doubler part stampings the same (not left hand or right hand).

Thanks for the heads-up and I appreciate the help. I'm on track so far I think and hope to do a lot this weekend.

Jaybird

Rflyin

My Feedback: (6)

Hello,
After 4 years on and off building my Skybolts done. Saito 125 for power and Minns washer pump smoke system. Weight came in a shade over 9 lbs.
First flights will have to wait till the snow and anxiety clears.

Jaybird

Looks great! Nice job and good luck with the first flights!

Jaybird

Zor

Rflyin,

A beautiful Skybolt and a nice finishing scheme. Congratulations.

You can simply insert answers in red under each question.

I am very curious and have some questions if you can find a moment.

Which kit? Great Planes or Sig?

I also installed a Saito 125 ... What orientation did you use?

Size of fuel tank in liquid ounces?

Approximate length of fuel hoses?

Prop size in your pictures?

Are tail fethers all glued in? (yes or no)

How did you get the Super Skybolt lettering? (Cut it yourself?)

Did you use the original cowl? If not what did you do?

Where are the smoke fuel tank and pump installed?

Covering: I used fabric and dope. What did you use?

Controls: I used the Y to the elevators. How about you?

Are you planning to install working flying wires on tail and between wings?

Many thanks if you can find a moment to reply.

Zor

Rflyin

My Feedback: (6)

Ok. Here goes.
Great Planes
Inverted
14oz
8"
14x7 3-blade MAS
Tail glued in
Skybolt lettering cut from the plan sheet
and Monokote 301 method used
Original Cowl
Smoke and fuel tank side by side
pump under tank floor accessed thru hatch
Monokote
Y to elevators
No wires

While building this kit there were times I hated it and times I loved it. But when was all done I sat back and admired the aircraft itself, its clean lines and the way it looks like its going 100 mph while sitting on the bench. And felt some sadness knowing this kit is no longer made.

I'll be keeping a eye out on Ebay for a kit.

Rick

Zor

Rflyin,

Thank you so much for your reply.

You Skybolt is absolutely beautiful and the finsh scheme is striking.

Just one more question.
How is your Saito 125 installed?
Orientation and muffler.

Zor

Edit . . . sorry for above question. A better look at the pics I see your engine is upside down.
How is the muffler oriented?

Rflyin

My Feedback: (6)

Zor,
The 125 is mounted inverted on the included mount. I'm waiting on a 90 degree muffler adapter that should let me swing the stock muffler under the cowl centered and just in front of the landing gear.

Rick