Really a nice job...colors are great too and the pattern.....but, I've got a question: Why didn't you use those big wheels that were in the first picture on this thread??

Any more progress?

Haven't been working on the Fun 51 as much lately, but have got some stuff done. The rudder seemed a bit on the flimsy side - probably because I enlarged it keeping the same structure. So, I added a little reinforcement to it as you can see in pic 1. I added some extra 1/8" x 1/4" to make the "X" in the middle, and also added more 1/8" x 1/4" to the trailing edge (in the longer bays). This stiffened it up quite nicely.

Also cut slots for the hinges in the vertical stab and rudder. And cut the slot in the fuse (for the plastic hinge piece) and the hole in the rudder (for the wire) for the rear landing gear. Oh yeah, had to groove the fuse and rudder to clear the plastic hinge too. Then covered the rudder in Cub yellow Monokote - you can see it test-fit to the fuse in pic 2.

I also started on the wing. All the sheet and stick for the wing comes in 36" or less lengths, but the wing is built in one piece and is 44" long. So, all these need to be spliced into the correct lengths. I spliced all the sheets/sticks first, except for the leading edge since this is used as a jig to set the trailing edge on while building the bottom of the wing. In case anyone is interested, I used 15 degree angles on the trailing edge sheet, sub-leading edge sheeting, and the main spars. I used 45 degree angles on the leading edge sheeting, and 30 degree angles on the trailing edge.

The wing has been slow building so far since the slots for the top spar (wing is built upside down) needed quite a bit of shaping as they wouldn't allow the ribs to sit at the right angle for the trailing edge. They were also not cut deep enough for the spar material provided. So, I made a simple sanding tool out of some scrap 1/4" x 3/8" balsa and sandpaper to help out with the task - pic 3. The bottom spar fit quite well with a minimum of sanding to a couple spar slots and the spar itself.

I got lucky on the bottom spar because I forgot that the splices should be at opposite ends of the wing until I had already glued it to half the ribs - it just happened to be in the right place - whew!! Pics 4-6 show where I am at the moment on the wing - just need to get the rest of the sheeting on so I can flip her over and do the other side. The 1/4" square basswood at the lower parts of some of the ribs is for servo mounting - I think it's really cool how all the servos and the rx/battery mount in the wing! Very clean.

I used CA for the wing, so far, since it is a lot easier to do than wood glue. Clamping wing ribs, especially ones this tall, is a pain. I will be using a new (to me) technique for gluing the leading-edge and other sheeting, so I'll let you know how that goes next time....

Got all the bottom wing sheeting & cap strips done. I started with the leading edge sheeting where I tried a method I've seen mentioned a couple times on the forum. The idea is to apply wood glue to the ribs and spar, etc. then lay the sheeting down to get some of the glue onto it in the right spots - pic 1 (I hinged the sheet to the spar with masking tape first). Then I let the glue dry until it wasn't shiny any more (around 20 mins.). Cranked up the covering iron to max (around 380F), and ironed the sheeting down to the frame. The heat melts the glue underneath which makes the two parts bond. It is painstakingly slow since it takes a while for the heat to get through the sheet - might be quicker with thinner sheeting (this stuff is 3/32"). It works, but the bond isn't very good so when I took the wing off the board, I went over the joints again with CA. Maybe I remembered the procedure incorrectly [sm=confused.gif]

Anywho, I then did the center and aileron servo sheeting as well as all the cap strips - pic 2. For the rest, I used CA and also Titebond with weighted telephone book on top for the center sheet. Also did the access hatch (for the rx/battery) which is made from 1/16" ply and screwed in with #2 self-tappers - pic 3. Pic 4 shows the mounting rails for the hatch. Since the wing is curved in the hatch area, I added some 1/32" balsa to the tops of the left and right rails and sanded the wing profile out of it so the hatch would lay flush with the wing. As you can see, I also got the holes for servo mounting out the way as well.

For me, this was the kit from heck! I got a Fun 51 for Christmas last year with a Super Tiger G-40 engine. Mine came with NO wing ribs. You must of gotten the deluxe kit. I emailed Tower. No response. I called, talked to someone. Nothing. Called again, and they sent me two rib sheets. One of each kind, 4 ribs. I scrounged around the shop and found enough scrap pieces of 1/16 sheets to make the rest of the ribs. The wing actually came out.

I decided to try new techniques on this bird. I glassed the fuselage to add a little strength. The epoxy got real hot in the little plastic cup and hardened way before I even had one side done. I used my heat gun to liquify the epoxy to spread it around before it got too hard. But what a mess. I used polyurethane to finish glassing. The wing build was going well and I fitted and epoxied the wing. After it was dry I noticed I glued the dang wing on upside down! Arghh! I couldn't take the wing off so I rebuilt the hatches and re-fitted the servos.

I used Nelson LiteFab to cover the wing and Koverall to cover the tail. I did say I wanted to try new techniques. I painted it using nelson paints. It came out actually nice.

My Fun 51 is a little heavy which makes it more touchy than normal. But it does fly nice on the Super Tiger G-40. I may switch it to a G51 for more power.

Sorry about the big pictures. I haven't figured out how to upload them right.

It looks like a control line plane........nice job!

Any progress ?

Nice kit for the money. I purchased 2 of them and built a P82 Twin Mustang with two LA.46's. Way to much motor but it will scoot! Flys great. 63" wingspan and added some length to the fuse.

Here is mine, I have the wing almost completed, and now in the proccess of sheeting the fuse. also a pic of my desired trim scheme. I plan on a super tigre G-51 since I have one in my gp rapture and its powerfull and the same size as a .46. I added some extra stringers to the fuse around the windshield area and belly scoop, and plan to use epoxy to glue the skins to the air frame.

Sorry for the long delay to anyone who might be following this build (I took a few month hiatus from R/C). I started working on the Fun 51 again the last few days and have a little progress to report.

1st I'd like to compliment out2pasture on your Fun 51 - it turned out great despite all the problems you had with it

The first thing I did was to make some paper tubes for routing the servo wires in the wing - pic 1 and pic 2. Then I sheeted and cap-stripped the top of the wing and started to fill and sand it - pic 3. All pretty straightforward stuff here.

But, I got bored with the wing, so I moved on to covering the fuselage First, I traced the canopy outline from the plans on tracing paper and used it to help me make templates out of poster board for the covering - pic 4. I decided to simulate a gray "bottom" of the fuselage even though it's just a profile. Pic 5 shows the fuselage covered - other side is exactly the same.

Well, on to finishing the wing. I think I'm going to cover half of it, then slide it into and glue it to the fuse before covering the other half.

paper tubes are a great idea.

WOW! that fuselage looks great!

Thank you very much for the compliments texasclouds!

I forgot to mention that I also framed up the ailerons - see pic below. The plans call for 1/4" x 1/4" stick for the left/right and trailing edge of the outer frame, but that seemed too flimsy to me, so I substituted 1/4" x 3/8" for them. That made the ailerons 1/8" wider, but I kept the length the same as the plans.

Sounds like you have a lot of your build done. Please post up some more pics as you go along. That trim scheme looks sweet too.

Nice build. Now that I have the twin Mustang flying well I think a new Fun51 with retracts might be a good project.

I'm back on it now...will do the ailerons and elevators tomorrow. Your fuse came out sweet ! I might cover mine before gluing the wing also. Just seems easier. I built the profile 38 a few years back, and it was a mother to cover assembled.

Thanks for the compliments folks! I am still slowly sanding the wing - can't stand doing much at a time right now.

bps: Yeah retracts would be a cool challenge on this plane - long as they don't add too much weight [X(]

dragzila: I imagine a P-38 would be a bear to cover after assembly! Post up some more pics as you go along...

I have the fuse sheeted and trimmed. Did the stab and rudder today. Still have to do the ply motor mounts and beef up the landing gear area. Decided to go with a Super Tigre 40 to keep costs down which is the whole point of this design. Worse case is the plane at 3.5 lbs....the 40 should yank it around with authority. BTW, Great planes killed the profile 38 a while ago....guess it didn't sell.....too bad. I never should have sold it. The fun 51 is geared for close in hot dogging ! The vids on you tube show them flying so high you can't see it. can't wait to fly mine !

A&PMECH.....How bout it ? Did you get yours up yet ? The weather must be good up there by now.

Looking good dragzila!

Thanks a bunch....do you or anyone else know if this thing builds nose, or tail heavy ?

Just Goofed off today....with the holiday and all...did manage to dry fit the landing gear and stab/rudder.

Good question on the tail heavy vs. nose heavy. It has a pretty short tail moment so I'm guessing tail heavy won't be a problem, but I'm not sure. At least there is a decent amount of room for adjustment on the motor. I plan to mount that last so I can adjust it for CG purposes.

Ditto on the motor placement AviationNut....How's yours comming ? Have you glued/covered the wing yet ? What about decals ? One thing I like about this 50.00 kit.....besides the motor and radio gear...the only accessories you have to buy is wheels,spinner,and fuel tank.

No more progress to report here - a lot to do around the house lately. I bought some SIG decals at the LHS a while back, but they look horrible (blotchy as heck), so I'm going to order some Major Decals for .40 size - just the standard stars 'n bars. Hopefully will be doing some more soon...