SeamusG

Nuf said.

Step 17: pin up the old plans and cover with economy plastic paint tarp from Lowes. Others have used this instead of wax paper so I’m going to try it out.

Step 18: bottom spar, W-2 & W-1T ribs, leading edge, & 2 sheets of 1/16 toilet paper trailing edge sheeting.

Step 19: TWB, top spar & spar webbing

Just to say that I finished these steps is my only contribution except that SIG’s wood had much to be desired. This may be my last SIG kit.

pic 1 - table & plan setup - access 360 degrees
pic 2 - pinned up spar w/ ribs located
pic 3 - leading edge glued up
pic 4 - trailing edge sheeting - no comment needed
pic 5 - small jig to put pressure on bottom trailing edge sheeting for gluing
pic 6 - trailing edge glued
pic 7 - W-1T ribs cut for spar brace
pic 8 - spar brace glued up
pic 9 - pre-spar webbing shot w/ wing removed from table
pic 10 - spar webbing fit and glued
pic 11 - junk top trailing edge glued to ribs using brute force
pic 12 - trailing edge sheeting trimmed / sanded flush w/ rib rear tips

TTFN

*JCB*

My Feedback: (9)

oh man, speaking of holes in yer plane from the screwdriver...my ONLY complaint about sig kits is that they use the cheap @$$ slot screws. I trashed all of them and picked up hex screws for everything when i built the Hog. It was WELL worth the investment of a few bucks!! I learned my lesson after building the SSE...

SeamusG

Step 20a: cut-n-glue top leading edge sheeting
Step 20b: cut-n-glue 1/16” cap strips.
Step 20c: remove wing from board

Step 21a: cut-n-glue tri-stock to support P-1 wing mount brackets & fit P-1
Step 21b: fit-n-glue maple B-1 blocks to P-1 & drill 3/16” holes for mounting bolts
Step 21c: align-n-glue P-1 plates, fill rib voids with balsa scrap, shape-n-glue B-4 in place (though the instructions don’t tell you to glue B-4 in place – just guessing that it’s supposed to be glued).
Step 21d: Remove wing from board (tech writer forgot to read his/her own work β€˜cause that was step 20c) & remove rib stand-off tabs.

pic 1 - top wing brace
pic 2 - fingers too fat to use instruction's technique
pic 3 - 3" sheeting lost 3/16" during "truing" procedure - wood pretty wavy
pic 4 - 1/4" tri-stock supports for P-1 braces
pic 5 - glue-up of P-1 & B-1 maple blocks w/ 15-min epoxy
pic 6 - da wing

SeamusG

The Fiberglass Specialties Astro Hog Bipe Cowl SK-26 just arrived. I thought that I’d take some pictures and share. In all pictures the cowl is fitted over the standard cowl cheeks & doublers. This will give you an idea of how much you have to work with if you have a longer engine than the one in the plans.

Pic 1 – left front – note the cowl cheek shadow behind the cowl
Pic 2 – left side
Pic 3 – bottom
Pic 4 – head on
Pic 5 – left side of fuse facing forward
Pic 6 – cockpit view of the foredeck and cowl
Pic 7 – right side of fuse
Pic 8 – bottom without the fuse sole glued in place.

If the cowl is moved far enough forward to allow full unencumbered access to the hatch then there is about ¼” of vertical space that can be used for air flow. This can be over the top or under the bottom. Of course the cowl can be cut so that there is no additional space. I’m thinking that I will move the cowl forward enough so that there is sufficient room to drop the puke-tube from the Saito back plate out the bottom.

If there are any pictures or measurements that you would like I would be happy to oblige if I can.

<edited> there is no accounting for digital camera auto-focus capabilities.

SeamusG

The pictures reflect progress thru step 25. The following text represents exceptions to the instruction manual or hopefully helpful comments.

Step 23a: I installed all of the 4-40 blind nuts in the P-2 and P-3 I-strut mounts. They all were marked for the amount the sticks out of the wing. All were painted white followed up with a clear coat. All blind nuts threads were chased with a 4-40 tap.

Step 24b: I used 1/16” x 6” x48” stock to create a seamless center sheet.

Step 24c: I used the suggested technique of using a sharpened 7/16” tube to enlarge the mounting holes. This is the first time I’ve used a tube to cut a hole. Everything was marked but be careful because the tube wanders very easily. I have one off-center and one centered hole. Oh, well.

Step 25a: the 22” sanding bar is great for truing up the trailing edge. A 33” bar would be better. At the suggestion of my friendly building guru I added β€œtrailing edge webbing” to shore up the trailing edge sheeting. I cut pieces of scrap 1/16” balsa into 5/8” high pieces that easily fit 1/8” recessed from the front of the trailing edge sheeting. Webbing was added to all bays. This added substantial structure to the trailing edge sheeting. I’m not sweating the added weight because I dropped 2 ounces of weight by using light aileron stock from SIG.

Step 25c: SIG shows using a plane for shaping the trailing edge. It does a very good job.

General note: Before working on the bottom leading edge sheeting I went over all joints with additional CA.

pic 1 - ?
pic 2 - tried using Titebond with tape - not a good approach
pic 3 - after straightening - lost 3/8" of sheeting width
pic 4 - tri-stock added for mounting brackets
pic 5 - mounting brackets 30-min epoxy - mine slipped a bit with clamp pressure
pic 6 - whew
pic 7 - the mounting brackets were really warped - had to strap 'em down - still off a bit
pic 8 - cleaned up epoxy around blind nuts 'cause this is gonna show
pic 9 - painted exposed portions - easier now than after covered
pic 10 - did the I-struts too
pic 11 - clear coated pieces
pic 12 - ready for sheeting.

continued on next post.

SeamusG

Continuation from previous post ...

pic 1 - ready to sheet the bottom
pic 2 - just trying to make sure that everything is flat
pic 3 - trying pinning the hell out of the leading edge sheeting with Titebond
pic 4 - epoxying the I-strut upper mount - REMEMBER - drill some holes in the W-2 rib 'cause the hole has just been filled by the I-strut mount
pic 5 - finished up mount
pic 6 - the holes for breathing while covering
pic 7 - 6" wide sheeting is gr8. also, ultracote tube used as sanding block for cutouts.
pic 8 - fav 4x4's used to hold wing upright - look ma, no hands
pic 9 - no point
pic 10 - oops, 7/16" hole offset
pic 11 - 1/16 trailing edge sheeting webs

SeamusG

Steps 26 thru 28 were followed to instruction manual. Just tossing out some additional pics of the build process.

I'm really ticked at Microsoft Office Picture Editor - It just tossed out 6 pictures. Not deleted, just disappeared. I'm not inclined to pull my forensic software to see if I can recover them because it's a 650 Gb drive!

Microsoft is to software as ?????? is to RC kits - fill in the ????? yourself [sm=angry_smile.gif]

pic 1 - notice the shim on the wing tip support - my wing tips were pretty warped
pic 2 - turned out pretty good
pic 3 - finished tip with aileron cut-n-sanded
pic 4 - the bottom - waiting for final finishing b4 covering
pic 5 - the top - ditto
pic 6 - close-up of tip / aileron profile

SeamusG

Bottom Wing

Steps 30 thru 33b – β€œnothing but net” – everything goes much easier on the 2nd wing.

Note: I moved the table out from the wall so that I could easily get to both the leading and trailing edges of the wings.

I pinned the spars to the board. I use ¼” thick balsa as alignment blocks for the front of the ribs rather than pinning them. I did use pins through the stand-off tabs just to make sure that the stand-offs stayed in contact with the building board.

Pic 1 – Ok – just had to mount the top wing to see how it aligns with β€œstuff”.
Pic 2 – contrary to instructions I’m doing both wings at the same time as I have plenty of room
Pic 3 – yes, the plans are covered with a clear plastic covering
Pic 4 – em, how come the I-strut mounts aren’t painted?
Pic 5 – B-5s trimmed and epoxied in
Pic 6 – luv those Harbor Freight cheap arse clamps
Pic 7 – spar webs and trailing edge sheeting in place.
Pic 8 – I used Β½ of a cloths pin to wedge under the bottom trailing edge sheeting while gluing the up.
Pic 9 – ready for leading edge sheeting
Pic 10 – water & ammonia solution softening sheeting – will let it dry in final shape to make gluing easier

SeamusG

Sidebar: Sullivan tail wheel malfunction at the field - and the fix

I took my 4Star60 to the field for its maiden flight Sunday. Everything looked good to go until I tried taxiing while attempting to take off. All of a sudden the plane to a HARD left hand turn with just a tad of rudder input. Chopped throttle & kill kept the prop in 1 piece. On closer inspection all looked fine until I tweaked the wheel left to right. There was a point that the spring tension caused the bent wire sticking thru the brass collar on the assembly (attached to the rudder) to flip over 90 degrees causing the tail wheel to snap full left. No doubt that it's an installation issue. This is the second time I have used this particular assembly. I must of bent the wire in such a way to add a double-bend that causes the problem - blah, blah blah ...

The fix - a friend showed me a trick that he recently learned. Run a bolt thru hole in the brass collar used for the spring. Take a length of fuel tubing, push it over the bolt head, safety wire the fuel tubing, then stretch the tubing a bit to add tension and screw the tubing to the bottom of the rudder in the same hole previously used for the spring.

Simple, easy to implement (needed to run a 2-56 tap thru the brass collar) and easy to repair at the field.

pic 1 - side view showing the fuel tubing stretched (I used 2 sheet metal screws - holes coated with CA to harden)
pic 2 - top view showing clean approach
pic 3 & 4 - just proud of how the 4*60 turned out. Saito 91 with a build weight of 7 1/2 lbs.

SeamusG

Building Tip: Do not build while distracted! Things like ignoring the plans, the instruction manual, good building technique results. Cost? Several hours of work. Having to jury rig some components. Making a trip to the LHS for more wood.

A moron at the field did something very disrespectful and (in)directly caused the crash of my SSE on it's maiden flight. Gotta keep sharp objects outa my reach for several days.

pic 1 - before image
pic 2 - there are no after images

Minnreefer

Sorry to hear about the loss, it is amazing how disrespectful people can be.

On a happy note, your hog is looking good

SeamusG

Steps 35: Bottom leading edge sheeting & cap strips
Steps 36: Glue up and shape TE
Steps 37: Install I-strut bracket P-3
Steps 38: Install wing tip assembly w/ sheeting

Building Note 35: LE sheeting - I tried a suggestion from my building mentor for laying the LE sheeting. After truing the 1/16” sheeting the trued edge was beveled a bit to allow the sheet to lay down a bit better at the LE. Also, the sheet was glued and clamped on the spar before pinning to the LE. Pins were placed at ½” intervals to try to minimize β€œflip up” at the LE. Titebond was used. Still had some gaps that will need filled during pre-cover surface finishing.

Also – plenty of damage control because I wasn’t thinking when I installed the cap strips. Definitely need to mark the bottom for significant things like β€œservo bay whose strips are flush to the inside of the bay and the 2 inside ribs that are sheeted and don’t need cap strips. Since I was concurrently building both wing halves I doubled the screw ups.

Screw up Note 38: When positioning the wing tip assembly it because VERY obvious that I somehow managed to glue up the tip rib with the top canted towards the root by a full 1/8”. I slapped a piece of 1/8” balsa on the end and sanded the rip rib back to 90 degrees.

Build Note 38: when installing the sheeting on the top and bottom of the wing tip the curved edge around the front of the tip and the straight edge that butts against the wing’s LE sheeting were beveled to improve amount of surface during gluing.

Pic 1 – using clamps & scrap to hold down sheeting to spar to save the holes
Pic 2 – tape indicates the servo bay – too bad this wasn’t done before gluing up cap strips
Pic 3 – finished wing sheeting
Pic 4 – tip rib screw up corrected
Pic 5 – holes drilled in I-strut lower bracket to improve epoxy β€œconnection”
Pic 6 – gluing up bracket
Pic 7 – cap strip installed around bracket
Pic 8 – clamping angle for alignment because I sanded the wood bracket at an angle

SeamusG

Steps 39: Installation of the dual servo bay structure per the instruction sheet provided with the dual servo bay kit.

Building Note 39: Do NOT follow the instructions and cut the hatch rails using the picture included in the kit! Measure & cut using the built wing structure period.

Also, the instructions say to position the hatch rail with its top surface flush with the w-2 rib top surface. EH – wrong! The rail needs to be flush with the top of the cap strip so that the portion covered will be flush with the cap strip.

Also, the instructions suggest 3/4" basswood servo mounts. Cut 'em a bit longer 13/16" to allow you to true up the ends. Other SIG kits suggest using a 1/32" shim between the servo & the hatch to stand the servo off the hatch by 1/32". If you do this (and I did) the extra length will give you a bit more room. The 3/8 x 3/8 basswood supplied by SIG was junk - way too soft and split immediately. I had some decent stock from my LHS that replaced it nicely.

Building Note: check pic 5 – little 1/16” balsa stock has been added between the front of the rail and the leading edge sheeting. Also, after drilling the mounting holes apply thin CA to the holes to harden them.

Pic 1 – the hatch rail positioned prior to gluing. Note the front and rear tips.
Pic 2 – the hatch rail seat has been shaped to match the curve of the cap strips.
Pic 3 – the hatch rails after sanding flush with the cap strips
Pic 4 – the hatch positioned before drilling mounting holes
Pic 5 – hatch cover installed
Pic 6 – the rail closest to the servo arm opening needed to be relieved a bit to ensure clearance for the arm

SeamusG

Steps 42: sand wings & roots
Steps 43: Attach wings with dihedral brace

Building note 43: had to clear out glue spooge from inner rib & spar joints. To ensure that brace would fit flush with rib the corners of the brace needed to be trimmed to clear glue fillet at the joint.
Also, 1/16” holes drilled into both root ribs at various locations to allow the epoxy to ooze thru to improve connection. After gluing alcohol saturated cotton swab used to clean up all exposed joints.

Pic 1 – post sanding
Pic 2 & 3 – test fitting wings at root
Pic 4 – brace slot & tools used
Pic 5 – fitted brace – note rounded corners on one end.
Pic 6 – test clamp w/ one end weighted to the board
Pic 7 – raised rib needs to be a 2 3/8” – spot on
Pic 8 – support 2 3/8” high fab’d out of scraps
Pic 9 – support beveled to match wing
Pic 10 – wings glued up with 30-min epoxy
Pic 11 – support view

SeamusG

Steps 44: Sheet bottom & top center
Steps 45: add trailing edge aileron extension
Step 46: glass the wing joint

Building Note 44: Dual servo mod shows routing servo wires thru the ribs w/o the use of a tube. If you prefer to add a tube – DO IT BEFORE STEP 44. Oh well.

Building Note 45: Dual servo mod doesn’t need the torque rods. Just taper the ends and glue them to the TE. The torque rod holes are filled w/ micro-balloon filler

Pic 1 – 1/16 x ΒΌ nailer added to the TE sheeting between the ribs.
Pic 2 – practicing art of voodoo doll technique
Pic 3 – TE aileron extensions w/o torque rods – need to remember to fill the holes
Pic 4 – ready to add fiberglass tape – after the finishing resin & micro-balloon filler dries
Pic 5 – filler has dried and sanded w/ 150 bar and 220 foam-backed block
Pic 6 – glass tape, sprayed with 3M 77, laid down on the seam
Pic 7 – thin CA applied – paper towel used to blot up any excess from pooling
Pic 8 – tape edges tapered w/ 150 bar
Pic 9 – glob of filler (finishing resin & micro-balloons)
Pic 10 – tape floated w/ filler – auto filler spatula used to give a good feathered edge
Pic 11 - same as pic 1 but with "nailers" outlined

SeamusG

Steps 47: Install ply plates (P-9)
Steps 48: Fit, carve and sand ailerons w/ wing tips
Steps 49: Fill & sand wing

It’s on to fitting the wing …

Pic 1 – 15-min epoxy of 1/32” ply plates (P-9)
Pic 2 & 3 – wing tips & ailerons shaped

SeamusG

I made the following change to Post 35.

Building Note: Step 51 addresses the mounting of the bottom wing. Part of the procedure includes marking the leading edge of the wing with sharpened ¼” dowels. If you hold off installing the fuse bottom front (FBF) until AFTER Step 51 the installation of the wing will be easier.

The following change was also made to Post 35 – Step 10c.

During sanding of the 1/16” sheeting the sheeting may become very thin. Consideration should be given to add 2 or perhaps 4 more stringers between F-5 and F-6. One would be added to each side of the center stringer. An additional 2 could be added above the bottom stringer. These can be added as part of 15b – file and sand the fuse.

Pic 1 - the concept before sheeting
pic 2 - the implementation after sheeting - 4 additional 3/16" stringers CA'd in place
pic 3 - mots

SeamusG

Mounting the wing …

Steps 50: center wing
Steps 51: install mounting dowels

Build Note 51 – I can’t express how much easier it is to deal with the dowels and wing mounting without the FBF. Even with fat fingers you can access the dowels and see the dowels & the leading edge holes.

Pic 1 & 2 – showing where I measured the wing to establish the LE & TE centers
Pic 3 & 4 – showing the measurements from aileron bay end to the fuse tail are identical
Pic 5 & 6 – the wing has been taped and the sharpened dowels are inserted into their holes and pressed to dimple the wing’s LE
Pic 7 – the dimples – pressed kinda hard
Pic 8 – no matter how hard you try (even drilling 1/8, 3/16, ΒΌ holes) it’s tough to get β€˜em to align first time. Without FBF you can see exactly how much and which way to move the holes
Pic 9 – after using ΒΌ bit to move the holes
Pic 10 – with the LE seated against the front former there’s and 1/8” gap to be filled
Pic 11 & 12 – dowels have been inserted thru wax paper and epoxied

After pic 12 I made sure that the measurement from the wing tips to the fuse tail were equal.

chashint

Still looking good.
Thanks for taking the time to post the build.

SeamusG

Steps 52: Fit wing mounts
Steps 53: Fit wing mounting bolts

Building Notes 52: Nothing surprising – just takes time. As noted previously there is a gap between the wing trailing edge and the fuse. I added a shim made of 1/16” standard plywood. When the wing was fitted it took pressure to get the back end to seat on the wing mounts. There was interference between the top of the wing and the wing saddle at and in front of the main spar. A sanding drum on the Dremel was used to carefully clearance the wing saddle. Several fittings later the rear of the wing sat easily on the wing mounts. After the bolt holes have been drilled and tapped I will create a paste of finishing resin & micro-balloons to fill in any and all voids between the top of the wing and the wing saddle.

Oops, there was something surprising – one of the mounting blocks was β€œless than quality” wood. Even though I step-drilled the hole (4 different bit sizes) when I tapped the blocks one of them split. I’m hoping that the CA that has wicked thru the entire split will take care of any problems – but need to keep an eye on it.

Also, after drilling the wing to ¼” the nylon ΒΌ-20 bolts did not easily thread thru the wing into the mounts. Rather the re-drilling the wing holes with ¼” bit I re-tapped both the wing and the blocks with the ΒΌ-20 tap AT THE SAME TIME. This cut slight threads into the wing holes. The bolts threaded in very easily.

Pic 1 – the 1/16” shim
Pic 2 – wing mounts with the surface matching the dihedral of the wing top
Pic 3 – the top of the shim matches the bottom profile of the wing. I may leave it and fill in behind and taper it – but it will be more stuff to deal with
Pic 4 – the light color of the wing saddles shows where the saddle was clearance sanded
Pic 5 – the wing blocks, shim and tri-stock braces epoxied in using 30-min stuff
Pic 6 – the boundaries of the mounting blocks were transferred to the mounting plate on the wing
Pic 7 – both the wing and the blocks have been drilled to 13/64. The blocks were tapped. Note the dark area down the center where CA has wicked thru the split.
Pic 8 – the wing has been drilled to ¼”. The holes do not align well enough to screw in the nylon bolt
Pic 9 – the bolts up nicely – the wing tip to fuse tail measurements are spot on
Pic 10 & 11 – the wings / saddle clearance is pretty good but will get some additional finishing attention.

sticktickler

Love those Hogs so much I enlarged the plans 16% for the Ryobi and built three of them. All covered in Ultracote and fly like homesick angels!

SeamusG

Steps 54: Assemble stabilizer frame
Steps 55: Build & apply stabilizer sheeting

Build Notes 54: Straight forward, used thin CA for 1st cut. After removing from table medium CA used for joints. Thin CA used for all other joints. Sanded with 22” bar & 80-grit then 11” bar with 150-grit.

Build Notes 55: 1/16” balsa sheeting trued with 22” 80-grit bar. 2 pieces mated using wide tape over entire joint. The pieces were flipped, bent up, glued with Titebond, flattened, cleaned with water, taped for structure then weighted under hard foam.

Pic 1 – pinned stab frame – used 2 different sizes of pins – small for ΒΌ x ΒΌ stock.
Pic 2 – glued, removed, re-glued and sanded frame
Pic 3 – trued sheets mated with tape
Pic 4 – panel glued
Pic 5 – panel flattened
Pic 6 – panel washed up
Pic 7 – panel taped
Pic 8 – pressed rat

SeamusG

While waiting for the stab sheeting to dry I went on to start on the elevators.

Steps 56: Cut out, attach and reinforce elevators

Build Notes 56: Scroll saws are so nice. Rather than use the left and right paper patterns for the elevators, I outlined one with water soluble pen, cut it out, sanded to the line, flipped it over and traced it on the other piece of stock. I used a 1/16” bit in a pin vice to drill guide holes for the torque rod. I then inserted a 1/8” bit in a bigger pin vice rather than use a power tool. A #11 Xacto was used to cut a guide trough for the torque rod. The 1/8” bit & pin vice was used to cut out the trough – sliding back-n-forth using the side of the bit to cut the material.

Pic 1 – pattern, guide line, scroll cut
Pic 2 – 1st side sanded
Pic 3 – 2nd side outlined
Pic 4 – the twins
Pic 5 – center line & location of torque rod transferred to the wood stock
Pic 6 – both sides have been aligned – ready for epoxy
Pic 7 – elevator pair w/ torque rod epoxied w/ 30-min, pinned and weighted
Pic 8 - torque rod joints are filled with finish resin micro-balloon paste

FentonFlyer

My Feedback: (11)

Good call on leaving off FBF until after you mark the wing dowels. I did the same thing. How the heck do you mark the leading edge if you cant get to the dowels?[&:]

SeamusG

Steps 57: Assemble fin
Steps 58: Cut-n-shape rudder

Building Note 57: I used thin CA to glue the fin pieces together. After removing & re-gluing with CA I used a paper towel dampened with acetone to soften the external dried CA. Worked pretty well. The LE and tip were rounded using hand-held 80-grit, 150-grit and 220-grit paper. The flat surfaces were sanded with bars and the same grits.

Building Note 58: I sanded and rounded the rudder leaving the thickness a bit more than the fin. I did this to give the control surface a bit more bite on initial input.

Pic 1 – fin glued up and removed
Pic 2 – rudder cut to shape
Pic 3 – fin LE center line
Pic 4 – finished fin
Pic 5 – fin & rudder taped to sand rudder profile
Pic 6 – finished fin & rudder – ready for hinges