<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">and todays work, so far. the upper bulkheads, stringers and the ply top on the front with the with the cabane strut supports. got a little funky with the epoxy...</span>

Crash, looking great. It's going to be a head turner with the transparent covering. The only prob with the fuel usually is the nitro evaporates out, but I often fly without nitro and still get great results. As long as you are getting sufficient RPM I wouldn't worry about it. I've used 4 year old fuel in an old beater plane with no ill affects, and it was stored in an uninsulated garage through Iowa summers and winters.

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">thank you.my fuel has been about the same way. with going overto the dirt all the time, i hardly get a season to fly. so i get in what i can, and hope for the best while i'm out. but mine has been sitting in a storage shed and now my uninsulated garage, pretty much the same as yours. but yeah, long as i have good RPM's i'm not going to go poring it down the drain for the sake of buying new. i know it still has nitro in it, cuz when i get it on my hands, it still has that rubbing alcahol coldness to it. not just a oily feeling.i can't wait to get the mini done as well, even if i have to wait a while to get a little time on the trainer to work out the jitter bugs again, just to take it out and show it off a little. and if i do get a little confident and decide to throw the skis on it for the maiden, who knows... </span>

Winter is some of the best flying if you can handle the cold.

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">i'm looking at the HS-81 and -82 hitec servos for the ailerons. (out on the wing) i've only used standard servos on my planes, with average 42 oz/in torque, but the -81's have 36 at 4.8v, and the -82's have 38 at 4.8v. i'm not sure how much is really necessary for aileron application, and i'm sure the difference isn't really that much; i'd just like to make sure they're going to be enough power for putting around and getting a little crazy with the plane later on after i get used to it before dropping the cash for them. nothing crazy, but if i do a snap roll or something, i want to know it's going to be enough to pull it off. without spending much over 20 bucks each, they're about the best i could find for the mini's with the power. i have to remeasure the wing thickness again, but i may still look at the 225MG servos, if the others aren't sufficient.</span>

Don't forget that one standard servo is enough for both ailerons, so two with slightly less power each should be more than sufficient. Plus you aren't going to have the big barn door controls with lots of deflection.

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">got the stabs and feathers done yesterday. (i hate working!!!)damn camera died, so i will get photos up this afternoon. i'm so tempted to go buy the covering so i can do them and see how it looks transparent. i got all of the fuse done now as well. with the exception of the filler wood on the forward of the fuse under the nose. trying to decide what size tank to use. i could cram a 12 oz in if i wanted to; should make good times with the .40 motor. i'm thinking of putting the servos and such up behind the firewall, and the tank over the wing for the concerns with the c.g. balance as the tank empties. what do you guys think? some posts i've read say the plane comes out tail heavy to begin with. maybe that would alleviate the need for the added weights on the nose??? how would the farther distance from the motor effect the operation of the motor? problems pressurizing the tank? do longerfuel lines cause more issues?</span>

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">the tail feathers are done. here's the pics. this is my new pilot i recruited from Michael's store. pretty cool. i put the carpeting in the cockpit too. yesterday i ordered the covering, some fuel line and a tail wheel assy and some 1/4 scale guages from towerhobbies. i also found a new hobby shop, but it's about a 45 minute drive to get to. probably a good thing, so as to not spend too much money. wore work to come soon. i'm having problems fitting the cowl on the front end, but will get started on the wings after while. </span>

I like!

Excellent job!

I never would have thought of using felt. It looks great!

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">a little progress on the bottomwing. i got all the ribs glued down, the T.E. glued down, and the sections cut for setting the dihedral for the wing panels, seperate from the center section. some of the other parts, the dib gussets, i think will have to be done after the wing is removed and i can work from the bottom. the instructions for some of it are kind of confusing on how to do it with the wing still on the board. being able to handle the wing will make things a little more simple, i think. here's the pics.</span>

Be sure to add the optional shear webbing.

Brian

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">dang Brian, you read my mind. i was just going to post and ask if i should. the instructions and plans don't mention anything about it, but i have on all of my other planes. next question... should i on both sides, forward and aft, of the spar? grain going up and down, yes?</span>

Allways vertical grain and I usually put it in between the spars right down the middle, however front, back or both will work (I have heard that when a twin spar system fails the top spar breaks upward, but most full sized A/C use it in between). The most important thing to remember is it has to be fully glued and fit snug side to side, and if in between, it has to fit snug top to bottom as well. Anywhere that is does not have a tight fit or is not glued well will create a shear point. It can be a bit tedious fitting them but will add a tremendous amount of strength,and is well worth it.

I won't say this is wrong. However... Many a kit emphasize this is not necessary at all. Personally, I have always found myself doing just as cfircav8r suggests here.

On my first miniplane I used 3/32 inch ply. The other two mini's used 1/16" balsa. The grain is vertical. One side (either side of the spar) is sufficient. My shear webbing was glued on the aft of the spar.

Another option in place of the shear webbing is the truss system with 1/4" balsa sticks. It is 6 one way, a half dozen the other. Whatever floats your boat.

Lookin' good!

Brian

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">so, criss-cross BETWEEN the spars? (not an "X", but a diagonal)?cuz i only have about a half or 3/8inch between the top and bottom spar. i think i may do the shear webs.</span>

Crash,

Shear webbing is perfect.

Here is a pic of what I was talking about regarding the truss method:

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">somehow i thought you were talking about that way. another question... how much trimming was necessary to get the cowl to fit on your plane? i had to do quite a bit for it to go on far enough to not see the ply inserts on the side of the nose. i'm not sure if it needs to go on that far, but even the circumference of the nose area was alot bigger than the inside of the cowl. i put the ply inserts on at the same place as shown on the plans, but i couldn't even get the top of the cowl over the fuselage to begin with. that's why i have the turtle deck at the very forward still removed. did i do something wrong with it? everything was built over the plans.</span>

You've built it right. Lots and lots of sanding and shaping. Particularily on the bottom and sides.

Brian

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">that's fine then. i was starting to freak out that something was wrong. must be a Sig thing. </span>

<span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">i got much of the bottom wing done yesterday. i didn't realize how much time it actually takes to get everything perfect. i still need to do the cap strips and the aileron work and cover the center section of the bottom aft edge. i went a little different because of the servos going on the wing panels instead of the center wing.the leading edges are all good. the blocks for the N-struts will still need to be cut out and installed. there's a lot more to this wing than i thought there was, just looking at it. i've decided to see if i can't fit the standard servos in the wing. i think when i was looking at them before i was just looking at the thickness of the wing rib; not with the cap strips installed. if i need to, i will just cut the corner down a tad bit on the mount part of the servo to keep it from jutting out under the skin. speaking of skin, i got the clear and transparent red from towerhobbies the other day and am getting anxious to cover. funny though, last i remember, I HATE COVERING!!! but i'll post pics this afternoon of the wing done up as much as i've got it. maybe get a little more work done on it also; kitchen pass has been submitted. </span></span>

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">here are the pics of the wing from the work i got done the other day, and a couple of others, from the nose of the fuse. the pic of the center wing, i was planning on installing two dowels instead of just the one, at the L.E.. i didn't get to work on it yesterday, as i hoped to, but i still need the shear webbing on the T.E. of the main spar. lastly, my instrument panel as layed out, and then what i was wanting, but couldn't find labels for.</span>

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">here's some more pics of the mini; getting there...</span>

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">and some more...</span>

Awesome job , awesome pics. Can't wait to get started on a few kits of my own.