Okay, I've been Mr. ARF for quite a while. I do have a few other planes in my hangar that my dad built for me. He's the builder of the family. I decided that building a plane with him would fulfill two different purposes. First, we would get to spend some time together that doesn't necessitate flying (cures the bad weather problem, should it arise) and secondly, I'd learn some of the basics of building from a guy who has been there and done that. One of the greatest compliments was when a friend of mine and I were talking about when he maidened one of dad's planes, I asked if it flew straight and he said, "All of your dad's planes fly straight!" The guy is a good flyer and that meant a lot to me.

I had a Senior for a few years and it had some damage from a windy deadstick. I couldn't fix it at the time so I gave it to dad. He fixed it in about 3 days. I've flown it since and really want another Senior. There were a few things that I would have changed but I still love flying that Senior so, the next best thing, I felt was to build another and rather than ask dad to do it, I'd do it with him. We'll be doing it at my house so I can go out there once the kiddies are in bed. I've been doing some research in some other posts http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7561478/tm.htm and http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7563916/tm.htm . I don't know how long it will take but I've got a hankerin to be flyin a Senior so I'm motivated.

We'll be doing some kit-bashing and I thought that I'd document the journey for anyone that might be interested. For those who aren't, sorry for taking up the bandwidth. We're starting on it tomorrow so I'll have some pics then. Till then, check out the other threads and you'll kinda get an idea where we're headed.

Enjoy your Time with Your Dad !
And take pics.


Bob

Here we go!

We started by building the horizontal stabilizer. Since we already had a box-stock Senior, we decided to mix this one up a little bit with split elevators and a tailwheel. Dad had a set of plans for the Dynaflight Decathlon that amazingly, were quite close in size to the Senior's originals. Building to the Dynaflight plans would decrease slightly the stab area but greatly increase the control surface. Just what I was looking for. The other side of the coin was that this unit was built much heavier than the one original to the Senior. So, we decided to lighten it a little bit and since I was going with a heavier engine (Magnum .91 4-stroke) a little additional wieght in the back should even out the aircraft quite nicely.

The first photo is the dynamic duo laying out the first peices of the stabilizer.

Photo 2: The first statement from Dad's mouth, "hmm, shoulda brought over my jigsaw!" We managed with a utility knife wearing a saw blade.

Photo 3: Everything was cut long and sanded to fit. Only one peice was over-sanded and discarded.

Photo 4: It wasn't long and I was measuring out and cutting peices.

Photo 5: There was one peice of basswood on the stabilizer and that required four sets of hands to get cut.

Photo 6: It wasn't long and the rough outline of the stab was finished. The Decathlon is much heavier than the Senior so we decided to reduce a little wieght where we could without jepardizing the strength of the stab.

Photo 7: The center brace was much heavier on the original plans but we reduced it to about 3-inches wide. It was about 6 inches.

I'll continue in another post.

Photo 1: After getting everything fitted properly, we continued with the build by glueing the stab peices together.

Photo 2: Dad kept telling me, "when they see these photos, the're gonna wonder how far back in the sticks we're livin! Shoulda brought the jigsaw!" It really wasn't that bad except for the Basswood peices.

Photo 3: The Decathlon tail feathers are interesting because they use laminated strips of 1/16th balsa to form the outside of the control surfaces whereas the Senior uses all stick built. Definitely a jump ahead for this beginner build. Dad said that he glued the peices together before he started laminating anything. This kept them in place better.

Photo 4: I couldn't find the right size balsa strips for laminating so dad brought over his balsa stripper and a couple of 1/16x3" sheets to cut up into strips. Dad saves the day!

Photo 5: Dad showed me how water and balsa makes spaghetti! Or at least bendable balsa!

Photo 6: Dad told me of some tricks that he's learned over the years, like making the edges of the next layer of laminate a little longer than the previous one. That gives a little more leverage when keeping it tight for glueing and, it gives you something to cut off and sand straight when finishing.

Photo 7: Once the laminations were on and glued with thin CA, we cut and fitted the little stringers that tied them all together. We started to get into a little friendly competition about who could make for a tighter, cleaner joint. When they were installed, we thin CA'd everything and left it cure. Once dry, I placed the assembly on the Senior plans so you could see the size of both. We took the Decathlong peices right from the plans, we didn't increase or decrease their size. Even though it will take a little bit of thinking to get everything to match to the vert stabilizer, I think we can do it and make it look good. Next, I'm thinking of tackling the vertical stabilizer/rudder. With mods of course!

Did a little building tonight and got the rudder and fin glued together. It's a little off the beaten path for a Senior but hopefully it'll look okay on the rear end. Can you tell I'm going for a little more control in my control surfaces?

Photo 1: I spent some time today trying to decide what I wanted the plane to look like on the tail. At first, i had a hard time marking up the plans but, it was only pencil at first. the ink came later.

PHoto 2: This is what I decided upon.

Photo 3: I started on the fin. Removed the extended portion that goes up over the fuse and also note that it's counter-balanced.

PHoto 4: It's being built a little stronger than the typical Senior and the tapered trailing edge was much narrower than the 5/16th square that I used to build up the rudder. I split the difference in their thickness and used these peices as shims. When it comes time to sand them even on both sides, these shims will have helped keep them even.

Photo 5: Here's the basic shape of the tail. I think it will look agressive but will complement the elevator/stab modifications nicely.

Tomorrow night will mostly be sanding and finishing up a few peices. I hope this thread proves interesting for at least someone. I'm doing it to keep track of the project but it is always nice when someone else can benefit from it as well.

Keep it coming, since you have a seasoned pro helping you there probably won't be any questions to the group so there may not be very many postings to your build thread ... that does not mean we are not watching.
Looks great and the progress is excellent.

Thanks Chas. I was wondering since there were no posts forthcoming. All I did tonight was sand, sand, sand, sand and did I mention that I did some sanding? Not much of a picture there. I'm looking at starting with the fuse next. The wings will be bolted on and the landing gear will move forward but that's about the only changes to the fuse so now I get to abide by the "suggestions" on the plans. The engine is on it's way, along with some other goodies. I'm already imagining what this will look like when finished. I'll have some pics ASAP of the fuse coming together. Just need to get some sleep tonight as I was out there until 1:30 last night working on it. Dragging at work today though! [sm=sleeping.gif]

TC
Keep posting people will not post unless they find some you have done wrong or you ask for HELP When I was building the P 38 I could not get any one to respond not even the man I was building for
You and your dad have a good one, Time is short

TCrafty,

I'm gonna have to come over and check this out. Looking at your pics has peaked my interest. I've been a ARF man myself and I could learn alot. Keep your pics and posts coming. Call me when you work on it if you don't mind company.

Thanks guys for the interest. I'll be plugging away on it as much as I can because I WANT to see it done! Trying to get my punches in between work and other stuff like the family and all. I took a night off to go over to my dad's to check out the other Senior (he has it now) to see how some things were done. And, I picked up a Sig Ultimate 10-300 profile that he's been working on building for me. Honest, he just likes to build and he's quite prolific at it! If this building thing really takes a hold on me, between the two of us, we won't have enough room. I guess there could be worse problems, right?

Anyways, tonight was over at dad's and tomorrow night might be getting the Ultimate ready to maiden on Thursday. The fuse might have to wait until next week but thankfully, I'll be home more then so progress should go much better. So how do you builder/fliers find enough time to do it all?

Catfish,

You're always welcome over here. I'll call ya when I get back on it.

Got a few more hours of work on the Senior! Got one side of the fuse put together and planning on doing the other side tomorrow. Everything went pretty well, except for one thing. Who was the rocket scientist that figured they would split the fuse on the plans and then put the front and rear of the fuse on the same sheet! You CAN'T put it together unless you cut the plans!!!! That's like saying, "you can get out of your car but you've got to cut the door off!"
Didn't see that one coming..

Anyways, put the fuse together tonight. Dad and I sorted out the stix needed to do it. He had to go so I continued on. Everything went pretty well. Basically, once you figure out where the spruce should go and where the balsa should be, it goes pretty quick. I decided that rather than cutting EVERYTHING and trying to keep them all in place, I went ahead and glued the bottom combination of spuce and balsa before forming it and pinning it. Here's the first side with just a few mods to the rear section. I made it flat instead of angled to clear the modified tail.

First shot is of the plans. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. If the tail section was printed on the second sheet, it would be simple to overlap the plans and viola! no cutting necesary. Oddly enough, the top view is also separated the same way ON THE OTHER SHEET!!!!!! Just swap the tail sections on the plans and no more cutting.

The second one is of the FN section on the nose. Instead of trying to get the 1/4-inch peices to bend and stay put, I tacked it on to the bottom front of FN and then bent it around and finished gluing it in place. Worked great and kept it in contact with both peices. Then I pinned it down.

The last shot is of the tail section sitting with the side of the fuse. It kind of gives the idea of what it will look like. I think I'll like it. I've already tried to think of a covering scheme for it.

Dad and I were looking at the plans and it shows a LOT of down thrust for the engine. The senior that I currently fly doesn't have nearly as much down thrust. I'm just wondering if I should consider putting that much down thrust in the plane. I don't have a problem with the my other plane climbing, even with the 91 on it. I'm open for suggestions on that one.

I finished the other side tonight. Pretty much looks like the first one that I posted. It did go a little quicker this time and I think I did a little better job of it also. But, the first side isn't terrible. Going to be gluing a few peices together throughout the rest of the week so check back.

Good job so far, Tcrafty. I really enjoyed building my Senior last year as my first RC plane and still love to take it out and fly it regularly. I spent 3 months of spare time building it. It makes a great, stable platform for my FlyCamOne video camera. I powered it with an OS 40LA and it will fly over a half-hour just sipping fuel from it's 12oz tank if I keep the throttle way back during touch and goes.

Here's a video that I made using my Senior: http://youtube.com/watch?v=X16DJWWdQYA

Looks great Tee Bee. I went out and played around with the fuse sides a little bit. I got them ready to glue together. Maybe tomorrow night. I'll be sure to take some more pics once I do finally glue some stix. Because I'm going to be modifying the wing, I'm going cautiously so I don't do something that will make it more difficult later or create an unnecessary step. I've got my other Senior to use as a guide so I shouldn't have too much trouble. I was thinking of getting a Flycam for my planes. It looks like a lot of fun and this one would be a great plane to just glide around with. Thanks for the input!

I got the sides glued together and it's starting to look like a plane! I know that anyone following this thread is probably thinking that it's not going fast enough but I'm surprised how quickly it IS coming together. Dad came over tonight and inspected the frame. He gave it his sign of approval. The first shot shows the front section of the fuse. I still have a few pieces to put between the two sides but for the most part, they're all there. I had to put the tail feathers on it to see what it would look like. It might be a little high on the rudder but I want to see it all together before I make a decision. Here's some pics of the most recent progress.

It is looking great.
What is it like building the truss fuselage ?

It's really not bad at all. I'm just taking my time and making every joint as tight as possible. I cut the piece close to fitting and then sand it to fit. So far it hasn't been an issue and I'm really surprised how quickly it is all coming together. I'm trying to picture the plane already assembled but I'll have to wait to see how it all looks when finished. I'll be getting back on the build this week as I've been out travelling for work lately. Now I get to spend some time at home!

Got a few more punches in on the Senior. I sheeted the fuse sides and bottom and worked on the tank area. I've got a 16oz fuel tank installed and worked a little bit more on the tail area.

The first shot shows the firewall. Keen eyes will note that there's not any holes drilled in it for the motor mounts. I'll be addressing that a little further down the road. All the spruce formers are installed and everything sanded for a good fit.

The next shot shows the fuse with one side covered. Since I'm making this a tail-dragger, we moved G3 forward so that the wheels will reside somewhere between it and the next upright in the fuse. more on that later.

The 16oz Du-Bro fuel tank fits well in the factory-cut peices that cover the front of the fuse.

Here is a quick shot of the tail section pinned in place. I think it will look great once it's covered. I'm already trying to imagine this bird covered.

QUESTION: I have a .91 Magnum going on the front of this plane. It will be a tail dragger and I don't want it to nose over either. This is where I've thought the wheels should go. What is the general opinion? I don't want to go any further back but I'm wondering if I should move them forward a little. I'm open for opinion on this point. Let's hear from you aerodynamicists (sp.) but please, use words that I don't have to look up before I can understand you.

I think she'll look great with some wheel pants and possibly some struts!!!!

I mounted my gear so that the axles were just in front of the leading edge. It's balanced per the plans and has never had any nose-over or groundlooping tendencies. Hope that helps.

I was framing a truss-type fuse with a friend a couple months ago. We have a small band saw and a 10" disk sander. With 2 guys cutting sticks on the band saw and sanding joints - - __ it don't take long to frame up a fuse. About 8 minutes. [&:]

We got the longerons pinned down and each guy grabs a 2oz bottle of thin CA. Start the band saw and the disk sander and grab a stick!! We were slinging CA and the saw dust was flyin' !! Literally framed up a fuse side in about 6-8 minutes.

When it's done - just hit it with a big block sander and knock the high spots off. Slap a piece of wax paper on top of that side and then build the next one right over the top of it. 6 minutes later, you got yourself 2 fuse sides.

I'm addicted to power tools. I like to build, but when the glue bottle comes out of the rack - get outta my way!!! I'm amazed at how much faster we can build with the power tools. I used to build everything with a hand saw and assorted hand sanders. Power planers, saw and sanders takes away 80% of the work. It's so addicting for a guy who loves to build.

We took a Sig SeaLane (kit) out of the box on June 28th, 2008 and we had it flying at the float fly on July 5th, 2008. From a kit to the lake in 7 days. I also built a set of Sig 1/4 scale (46" long for the 25% Cub - HUGE floats) at the same time. The bottom of the hull on the Sig SeaLane was glassed in 1.5oz cloth and the bottom of the Sig 1/4 scale floats were glassed with 8oz cloth on the front - (in front of the step) - and 1.5oz everywhere else. The "carving projects" on the SeaLane were reduced to a pile of sawdust in a matter of a few minutes on the disk sander. 80grit goes through a balsa block like a hot knife through butter. Doing all that carving by hand would have taken HOURS.

I see that you've modified the tail on the Senior. I LIKE IT!! The split elevators with a full rudder that goes all the way through the fuselage is VERY nice.

I didn't notice in your pics - did you put in diagonal cross braces on the top and bottom of the fuselage? The sides of the Senior will have diagonal cross bracing all the way back to the tail. But the top and bottom does not have the cross bracing. You can add these pieces for almost no weight gain - but add a tremendous amount of torsional strength to the fuse. With that tail group that you modified onto this plane - I'm guessing you want to fly the ever-livin'-snot out of it......... [8D] I'd do the mod. You'll have enough motor on the firewall to offset 8 grams of balsa.

We are going to put the cross bracing in the top and bottom RC. Dad was over tonight and we've got the fuel tank mount in, got the front sheeted and cut out the motor mount and "cowling" that this model uses. I have a few more pictures but I'll post them tomorrow. I'll be sanding stuff tomorrow afternoon and get the images up after that.

We also mounted the landing gear blocks in the bottom of the fuse. Used 1/4-inch ply. We moved the mounting point a little further forward than what I originally had (more like what Tee Bee has) and we'll be doing some more work on that, hopefully tomorrow. We're already chompin' to get working on the wings. We've got some changes in store for them as well.

Thanks for the compliments.

We got the fuel tank placement last night and the "hood" if you will was covered and left to dry overnight. For the most part, the balsa cooperated and bent where it should but, there were those pesky spots where the curves are pretty tight and it cracked. Nothing we can't work out down the road.

The fuel tank is fitted and the sheeting is on the top part of the fuse. I'll be working on the section in front of the firewall next and getting the engine 91 Magnum 4-stroke, fitted next.

Dad was there to help work the balsa around the curves and he brought his jigsaw over, which really helped in cutting out some of the pieces. This pretty much brings it up to date with the process, for now. Keen eyes will note that the 1/4-inch ply that we epoxied in the fuse for the landing gear is slightly forward from where we first had it. We decided that it would be best if basically centered under the front upright, where the windshield attaches. We cut two pieces of ply and put the smaller one in front of the cross brace on the fuse floor with the larger piece tieing the rear bolts of the gear to the angled braces that we moved forward in a previous post. This should make the gear solid but durable. The Senior isn't a hard lander and we're trying to keep it as light as possible so it shouldn't be a problem.

That brings back memories for me. I also used 1/4 ply for the landing gear support and used wood screws to attach the gear. So far, no problems after more than a year of service.

Soon you'll be carving the cowl cheek blocks into a new shape. Fun stuff.

Yeah, I thought of doing that today but... hunny-do list got the best of me. Didn't even go flying this AM. It's gettin' bad over here!

Instead of using the motor mounts supplied, we're going to be using a piece of plywood, epoxied into position. My old Senior has this setup and I have never had any problems with it. Even with that 91 on it. Another plus is that you can pretty much make the down thrust anything you want, along with the right thrust. I don't think that I'll be using too much down thrust but I'll have about 3-4 degrees of right thrust. I'll be working on that next.

Tee Bee,

did you have any problems getting the throttle wire to go past the fuel tank? What size tank are you running? I'll probably use flex line so it will bend around the tank. We'll see how it fits.