Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Full documentation of Wendell Hostetler Pawnee build.</p>

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Man is that a beautifull plane! Just a little out of my price range to get finished and in the air.</p>

Alan</p>

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

This is my first time building a kit like this. Got the plans from Wendell, the kit from Precision Kit Cutters, and the cowl from fiberglass specilties. I will post lots of pics during the build for anyone else to use as a reference. As I come across things during the build that are confusing  I will post them here for feedback. Since this is my first "semi-" scratch build I hope it will be a good guide for anyone looking to take on such a endevor in the future. Move over wimpy Hanger-9 Pawnee here comes the big dog! So, here is my game plan for this. The building will start in July with the test flight projected before Oct. I talked with Wendell and he confirmed that my 75cc 3W would be a good fit. I want the finished weight under 24 lbs. I will also install an aerotowing connection. So, any helpful advice on how to approach this would be appreaciated. Intill then keep your fingers out of the prop!

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Hello!
I have just got the Pawnee plans in the mail but have not decided if i am going to start buildning yet. I have 100 hours in the full scale and I would verry much like to have it as an RC model. What do you think of the kit from Precission Kit Cutters and about the cowl Sammy? Is it worth the bucks to have them send me the cut balsa over the pond to Europe or could I as well start up my jigsaw and cut it myself? Please keep us posted about your progress!

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Been looking at this one myself, good luck on the build Sam, will be
checking in on you often also.

Bill D.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

I have heard good and bad about precision kits. I currently have three that need to be built. They are laser cut and looking at the peices all seems fine. I have not placed the parts over the plans yet to see how accurate they are. The cowling looks great. Material is thick and stout, finish is good. Very happy with that. I bought a tri-pacer cowl from stans fiberglass (under new ownership) and it looks good also. The cowl and wheel pants I bought from another individual for the stinson 108 is only ok. The material is thin and flinsy but the finish is ok. In the wheel pants where the two halfs are joined the tape is wavey. I will have to remove these parts and redo the glass tape to ensure the integrity of the part.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

I also just got the plans, and am planing to order from Precision as well. We have a beautiful example locally near Atlanta for documentation. Should be a fun project

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

I'm currently building Hosteler's Cessna 195, with a kit from PCK. My glass parts are from Fiberglass Specialties.

The parts are cut accurately to the plans, and everything is there. Wood selection, in places, is questionable. The sheeting is rock hard. All in all, I'm satisfied with the PCK kit.

The glasswork from Fiberglass Specialties is up to their usual standard. I've been using their parts for years, and have nevver been disappointed.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Hello to everyone watching this forum. Just letting everyone know Im still here and building will begin in two weeks. I have been enjoying the nice weather and flying the Hanger-9 pawnee to gain some experience with the handling of the pawnee.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Everyone out there must be excited, because Im getting exicted. Build time is getting close and last night I just couldnt help myself. Last night I took the pawnee parts out of the box and unrolled the plans. Everything looked good. Made a quick invintory of the kit and everything was there from what I saw. The wood was all good quality and in great shap. It was shipped UPS ground so I was expecting some broken things and all survived fine. I layed the parts over the plans to check for accuracy and everything there looked good also. After looking at the plans for awhile my game plan is to build the fuselage first, then tail assemblies, and finish up with the wings. I have added some photos for everybody.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Here are the pic's.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Thanks for the photos Sammy! They look good! I have found a Brittish kit cutter who also does the Pawnee. http://www.belairkits.com Maybe that is a better alternative on my side of the pond. Please keep us posted.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

I have spent the last four evenings looking over the plans and getting a feel for what must be done for the build. I have decided to start with the spar box assembly since it is built into the fuselage. Once this is built framing up the wings should go quickly. Last night I built the spar boxes. I took some pictures which I will post tonite with an explanation of my building process.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Couple nights of building to update everybody with. Last night built the wing spar joiner box forward and aft. I glue the 1/4x3/8 hard wood to the bottom of the ply first then put the joiners in and glued the strip stok on the top. This made for a very tight fit but is still functional. I used white glue to glue this all up. worked very good. Make sure to mark what wing joiner went on which side. The opposite joiner may not fit correctly. I did not do this and had to figure out which one went where and due to the tight fit one got stuck and it took quite a bit of force to come out.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

At this point it is quick to build the wings up so I did. I glued up the ribs that attach to the wing box joiners. Used mercury CA thick here, made the whole process easier and quick.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

I taped the right side of the assembly to the building table. On the plans I took a strip of 1/4x3/8 hardwood and marked off the location of the wing ribs on it and then used it to mark 3 more of the same. I inserted the wing joiners into the box assembly and then slid the spars under it and used white glue to glue it. If doing this make sure not to glue the wing panel to the the center wing assembly. I used a wing rib for proper spacing of the forward and aft lower wing spars.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

At this point it was easy to just glue the wing ribs in place over the marks made on the spars. I only mark the lower spars glue the ribs to it then grab a unmarked strip of stock and glue it to the top of the ribs.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

So far Im really happy with the kit supplied by Precision Kit cutters. I was a little worried about doing a build like this but after studing the plans and thinking out the whole build process it is not difficult. If you have built a couple of kits with instructions before and use them as general guidelines I think you could complete a build like this. Hope this thread is helpful and encouraging to everyone.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Next, I glued the doublers to the ribs with servos.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Next I glued up the wing tips and attached them to the wing. Wendell shows pictures on his plan of scoring the outer portion of the spar to get the taper to the wing tip. I scored the inside of the spar for a neater taper. You can see this in the pictures. My only suggestion here would to be not to glue the W% wing rib into place intill you have attached the wing tip and cut the spar annd tapered it. It just made the fit easier. Mine was off a little so I broke it free and reglued it after the tip was in place.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Tonite I glued up the 3/8x1 balsa strips to make the leading edge.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Today its time to glue the leading edge to the front of the ribs. I did this with the wing standing upright to try and avoid any warping. Ater it dried I cut off the excess overhang leaving a little just in case.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

Next I glued the top sheeting to the leading edge. Once it dries I will finish glueing it to the ribs and main spar.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

There will be a little delay in posting some updates. I have bben working this weekend to finish up th right wing. I wanted to get the building process in order. This way when I finish the other wing it goes smoothly and there are no mistakes. After all I want this to be a step by step guide to help some one build this plane. I almost have the right wing finished. I just need to shape the leading and trailing edges. I will post a finished pic of the wing when its done.

RE: Wendell Hostetler Pawnee
 

OK here is one thing I ran into while finishing the wing. BEFORE you sheet the top of the wing you should shape the hardwood points for attaching the wing strut. Lucky I still have the other wing panel with only the ribs and spars on it. So, I set it in place. Marked it and shaped it. Once the sheeting is all done it is easy to glue it in place since there is no shear webbing on the wing spars. I will be adding shear webs to my spars though. I plan on this plane towing gliders and having some serious flight loads on it at times.