whaturi

my girlfriend noticed how much fun i have been having with my fusion ARF that she took it upon herself to get me the kit for christmas!

i have maybe 4 gallons through the ARF and it has seen better days. and 4 crashes. and one full throttle flight (failed servo). the plane still flies, but my abuse has left it with a few broken bones. i am not sure how detailed this thread will be, but i will be sure to include the most important parts and of course the best part.. the finished plane and a video! i LOVE how the ARF flies and hope to get this even lighter than the ARF mainly by equipment selection. the ARF weighed 4.6 pounds.

first i taped the fuse plans down and seperated all the stuff. very nice quality balsa and superb cutting.

first step was to CA the fuse sides together. it is all interlocking and fits perfect. i can tell right now this is going to be a fun build, very cutting edge stuff here.

BobbyRichardson

OK, I see why you haven't been hanging around the hobby shop lately. I will buy one myself if you promise me it will fly like your old one.


Bobby Richardson

whaturi

hey bobby, it was nice to meet you the other day! get one! you'll love it. awesome pattern and awesome 3d.

the secret weapon of this plane: carbon I beam!

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Hey Vince, looks like you forgot the wax paper over the plans! You are going to love this build. The laser cutting is top notch and the interlocking fuse sides is something OMP originated and something I'm pretty proud of. Maybe I should patent the idea to keep others from copying the idea...or maybe it's already too late![:@] Anyway, the wing construction is also an OMP original technique and pretty much guarantees a straight wing.....as long as your board is straight. I think you are going to like how fast this will build. Keep the thread going, I think you could be done in time for the New Year's Day Freeze Fly! haha

whaturi

worked out a pin system after some frustration. i glued depron to my building board. got started on the fuse.

whaturi

i deviated from the instructions a little and CAed the first fuse sheeting on, taking care to keep the wing tube and wing dowel holes in order as a glued. now i will gorrilla glue the second side on.

whaturi

i didn't know i had this much stuff.

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Vince,

Gorilla glue is predominantly used for sheeting foam cores of various styles. You can use is it for generally wood work but pressing or clamping everything in place is mandatory as the urethane type glues expand and exhibit quite a bit of force. I see you used CA on one side and then if I understand, used Gorilla glue on the other side. Not a good idea as the two different type glues act differently and may cause warping or twisting of the fuse. You might get lucky this time and I hope so! Best to use wood glue or CA on your wood to wood joints and reserve the Gorilla glue for foam core work. Also, When using Gorilla glue, you need to put a nice flat board over the "sandwich" and then put the weights on top of that. The glue, when it expands, will still push up the sheeting in places you don't have weights. Let me know how this one turns out!

whaturi

oops.

it is all dry now. and has no more than 1/32" of warp, so im ok with it. i understand what you mean, i wasnt thinking about much more than making it easy to do in one night. but i guess i did get lucky. keep an eye on me. i havent built more than a few small kits so far in this hobby, so i could make more mistakes.

here is the nearly finished fuse, the start of the wing, and my NEW RADIO!! i am excited about this, coming from a 6102.

Just Plane Nuts

Looking good... You are going to love how easy and fast the wings build. It's a little strange at first to build the wings with the ailerons at the same time but the end result is great. Are you planning to transfer the gear out of the ARF or are you going to keep it flying also. Its nice to have a beater to practice with and a shiny new one to show off what you have learned.
Dale

whaturi

part way throug hthe first wing.

whaturi

Sweet!

whaturi

Sweeter!

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Wow Vince, judging by the dates on your thread, you had no problems building the wings super fast. Hope you took time off for stuffing yourself with holiday goodies! I know I'll be hitting the gym next week! LOL

whaturi

i have the other wing nearly completed and just did the elevator frame up. its so fun building these little frames for me because i often frame walls of houses at work. i wish houses were balsa.

the next photo is some of the gear i will be using on this model.

whaturi

i can't get enough throw.

whaturi

i am going to attempt some giant scale style control horns for this bad baby. i have two squares of woven glass and one of thicker mat to be in the center. i will post pics as i progress.

whaturi

i just layed it up and went with 4 layers of woven instead. i looked at that mat and realized how thick it would be. i cut it in half to see how thick it is and it looks like 1/16".. perfect.

whaturi

they seemed to turn out well so far.

Bolio

How do you made that layup?? Looks great for custom made horns, the ailerons need to be very long to achieve the right geometry.
The hinge line is really froward of the horn mounting.
Nice thread.
saludos.

whaturi

i used 30 minute epoxy. i put down wax paper, mixed a bunch of epoxy, then started working it into the fiberglass. once it was all even, i put wax paper over the top and put a flat object on it while it dried. then once it was dry but still soft, i cut out the shapes with a razor. now they just need sanded and holes drilled for the ball links.

you are right, it was hard to find horns that would work as long as they need to reach out on the ailerons. as you can see, i made aileron horns and smaller elevator and rudder horns.

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

The ailerons horns are easy! Just use 6-32 bolts with washers on both sides and a nylock nut on the bottom side. Install the same way you do on giant scale planes. Bolt will go all the way through the aileron and then use a 6-32 nylon coupler for the clevis. You'll need a 6-32 bolt about 1.5 inches long......maybe longer, can't remember. Another way is to use conventional control horns but go find 2-56 screws long enough to go all the way through the aileron.

whaturi

yeah, i did the arf the easy way with 4-40 bolts through and a horn that goes on there wit hthe 4-40 bolt bend a little to match the hingeline. i am only doing it this way on the kit for fun. i jsut like making stuff.

PaulSwany

My Feedback: (45)

Nice looking build.... The fusion is a sweet flying bird.

whaturi

thanks swany!