Back to work!!!

heckle heckle heckle

I've been working on it, but I've forgot to take the camera the last few trips.

Today I made a block to it over the landing gear. I wanted it to look clean when assembled. I also made a block to fill in the rear float mount when not in use.

Put on a second, final, coat of yellow paint on the motorbox and inside the fuse. Tomorrow I will sand any runs off the outside of the fuse and cover it.

Got the fuse covered today.

Most important tool for covering.... #11 exacto knife and a box of blades. I usually get about 10 cuts out of a blade and then it starts getting dull enough to rip through the monokote instead of slicing cleanly.

Covering the blocks that will hide the bolts in the landing gear.

Gotta do the trim pieces first.

Covering the bottom of the fuse.

Covering the fuse sides.

Covering the fuse sides and turtledeck.

2nd pic shows what happens when you get greedy with the heat gun. This looks like a GREAT spot for a sticker. [sm=lol.gif]

Pics of the turtledeck covering BEFORE I shrunk out the wrinkles.


And finally some bench flying. She's lookin' pretty good.

EDIT:
Of course I shrunk out all the wrinkles. I'm trying to post a video but photobucket is on the fritz right now and I can't upload a video of me shrining out some wrinkles.

It really looks great!
This thread is really well done. I am enjoying following it.
Ron

Wow... Plane looks great!! I wish i could have just an 8th of your talent.

Mike

Thanks guys. It's not talent. Just experience and time.

It's not perfect. I make all kinds of mistakes. The only thing that makes this plane look good, is I know how to hide, fix or cover up my mistakes. You should have seen my first kit, a Kadet Senior, that I built back in 1998. It was twisted. I only had a 4" sanding block and a razor knife. I built it on my kitchen floor over wax paper. Looking back, I would say it looked like a boxcar full of smashed buttholes. [sm=lol.gif] But it flew, and I built another kit that same year. It was a little straighter, but the covering was applied with a clothing iron from WalMart that cost me $10. Another boxcar full of smashed buttholes.

Being a decent builder isn't some mysterious talent that I have. It just takes experience and time. I probably have close to 300hrs in this Citabria. And it's not done yet. I've lost count, but this is is something around kit #36 or #38 for me. You learn a few things as you build each kit. The most important thing is learning how to fix mistakes, because I make a LOT of them. I built a 4*120 in 2005. Somewhere along the way, I put the aileron servo hatches on the top of the wing. [:@] Stupid mistake from getting in a hurry. Had to cut them out and re-do it.

When I was building that 4*120, some guy told me, "You should be able to cover that in 3 or 4 hrs." He was serious too. I probably could have covered it in 4hrs. But it would have been another boxcar full or you-know-what............ The point is, I didn't want it to LOOK like I covered it in 4hrs. Anybody can cover an 80" plane in 4hrs if you don't care what it looks like. I do care what it looks like. The 4*120 probably took about 30hrs to cover.

Covering this Citabria fuse took me close to 8hrs yesterday. And it's not perfect. I blew a hole in an open bay because I was trying to get a wrinkle out. Dumb mistake.

Building a decent kit isn't magic and it isn't hard. It just takes time and experience.

Did I mention it takes time and experience?

It is a very good looking airplane up close. RC is a bit Retentive [sm=49_49.gif] when it comes to his building but it will fly straight with a bunch of complements from club members.[8D] It also will not get a nickname behind his back, obviously we give you nicknames to your face.. I am still amazed that it tuned out that well after sanding all of those CA fingerprints off.

If you call it "Shortbus" I'll kick you right in the jewels, buddy. [>:]

Nope there is already a "Short Bus" and it is not yours. No nicknames yet however we will see when it comes to the end of April, the last Sunday I believe.

No building tonight, but the big brown truck did drop off a hunk of G10 epoxy board. Tomorrow I will start on the twister intake for the carb.

This 2" x 24" x 1/2" chunk cost about $30 delivered. Not cheap, but enough to make a handful of carb blocks.

Making the carb twister intake and running some fuel lines.

Working on the throttle pushrod and throttle servo. Can't get it quite perfect. Endpoints are H - 61 and L - 69. Not the best resolution, but at least it's linear.

Painted the baffle tonight. Tomorrow I will put some foam gasket around the baffle to take up the gap between the cowl and the baffle. I'm hoping this will be just thick enough to compress a bit when the cowl is attached and provide a good seal to keep air directed where it needs to go and at the same time provide some isolation between the cowl and the baffle. I do not want the cowl touching the baffle. I want the cowl to compress the foam gasket just a bit but not touch the baffle. Thats the theory anyway. We'll see how it works after I glue it on the baffle on tomorrow.

Yes, I know the elevator and rudder servos only have 2 screws in them. I plan to put the rest of the screws in the servos before I fly it. Don't have a cow and send me a bunch of PM's calling me an idiot. Remember, I'm still BUILDING it. Not done yet.

I put some foam weatherstripping around the baffle today. It works perfect. It stays in place and compresses just a bit when the cowl is on. I think it will seal up just fine and keep 99% of the incoming air directed down over the cylinder.

I worked on my aileron leads today. The RX is buried under the "suitcase" behind the back seat. I am not planning to take the suitcase off and attach my aileron leads every time I fly the plane. I cut a hole in a piece of plastic drinking straw and routed the wires through. The wires pass through the horizontal straw and into the vertical straw. Then down under the rear deck and back up through the hole where the rest of the servo wires are. Pain in the butt to route the wires, but I did it.

This coming week I plan to put in the fuselage brackets that will attach the wing struts. I have to admit, the wing struts are something I've put off and avoided up to this point. I wish the plane didn't have them, but I'm going for stand-off scale, so they need to be installed.

Tower Hobbies has airfoil shaped tubing and I will order some of that. I'll have to custom fab it and paint to match the plane. I don't want to use the supplied wood dowels from the kit. Looks cheesy. I need to get the struts fabbed and then mount the brackets inside the fuse for the attachment point. I can't install the attachment brackets until I know what angle they need to be when the struts hook up.

After I do the wing struts, I can put my tank in and finalize the plumbing. No point in putting the tank in yet. I need to work inside when I install the strut brackets.

After the struts and tank are complete, I can probably begin installation of the cabin windows. I have no idea where this is going to balance, so I'm hesitant to put the windows in until I find a spot for my RX battery. Once the windows are in, you're stuck working through the top of the plane. Been there, done that. No fun. I want to keep the windows out until I'm sure everything inside the fuse is done.

After the windows are in, I will put the plastic drinking straws in to simulate the structural tubing of the airframe.

Then I will put my tail surfaces on and cut the pushrods to length. Dial in the servos and get the radio programmed. I have the mix for the elevator servos already programmed, but I'll need to adjust endpoints and expo.

Then the pilots. Then the landing gear and tail wheel.

Then sand and paint the cowl.

The club meeting is Jan 04, 2009. Thats when the planes must be brought to the meeting and entered into the building contest. I'm still not sure if I can pull this off. Lots of work to do and I've only got 3 weeks.

Looking good, Just keep thinking....I think I can, I think I can I think I can always enter it in the 2010 Contest.

I didn't get much accomplished tonight.

Your pilot looks great. Who makes him and where did you get him? Everything else looks good too.
You're going to be cutting it close.

Man, you've been busy! I love the antenna base you made!

When you get it finished it is going to be a great entry in the build show. It is a beautiful example of what you can do when you put your mind to making a stand-off scale plane while keep the weight and complication down to something reasonable. Most of the best (read contest winning) warbirds and scale planes are so grossly overweight that their flying and trim characteristics are totally blown. Which is why they are kept out of the air, and in the garage 99.8% of the time! You are going to have a great flying, fantastic looking airplane when it's all said and done!

Ever thought about making it a Glider Tug? That could be fun......

Never mind those grumpy FOG's! (FLYING Old Guys)

The pilot is from airborne models. It's the 30% size.

http://www.airborne-models.com/html/...asp?AGroupID=1

Thanks Cody. I'm going for stand-off scale. I figure if it looks good at 20' and comes in under 10lbs, I've accomplished my goal.

Pete and I were discussing a glider tug hook. We also talked about towing banners at the annual Harvest Festival show. I could tow banners in between the other flying acts. I could just stay up high and loaf along until the big show fellas (read YOU) are done with their 3D flying routine. Then I could come in low and slow over the runway with different banners.

Aeroworks is usually a big sponsor of our Harvest Festival event. I could tow an Aeroworks banner. I could also tow banners for Hobbytown since they seam to be more interested and active with the club in the last couple years.

"Hot Dogs - East Pavilion $2.50"
"AAM Harvest Festival 2009"

All kinds of things I could do with this plane. Just gotta get-er-dun!!

I bought K&S streamlined aluminum tubing tonight at Hobbytown. I'm going to use it for wing struts. I'm going to use these triangle brackets to install the struts to the bottom of my wing. The triangle pieces would screw flat to the hard points in my wings. I'll have a 4-40 ball link out on the end of the strut. Run a 4-40 bolt through and use a nylon nut to secure it.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...7&I=LXGKG9&P=K

The struts will stay connected to the wing all the time.

I want to use a pin for the bracket on the fuse. The pin can be one of these aluminum pins that come with the DuBro #866 heavy duty control horns.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDCU2&P=7

I am hoping to use a body clip for RC cars to secure the pin. For removal, I would simply pull the clip and then pull the pin out. The struts would stay attached to the wing all the time.

Looks Great! Cant wait to see it all complete! and in the Air!

Thanks.

I put the pushrods for the tail in tonight. Cut them off about 3" long.

Pins for the struts. Still need to get an RC car body clip.

Painted the antenna base.

Working on the wing struts.

Video of putting balsa blocks into airfoiled strut tubes. Highly sophisticated procedure. Narrated by codiddley. I'm the one doing the actual work. [sm=lol.gif] Whick a little thin CA in when your finished.
http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=MVI_1387.flv

Mocking the struts.

Codiddley helping out with the templates before the actual cutting of struts.

I put the balsa blocks in the struts and use a little thin CA. It wicks all the way through. Then drill a 1/16" hole. Cut about 2" or 2.5" of 4-40 all thread and chuck it up in the drill. Run it in the balsa to make threads. Back it out and then fill the hole with PLENTY of medium CA. Run the all thread back in and then release it from the drill chuck.

Plenty of time was spent drinking black-n-tans, made with Guinness and Boddingtons pale ale or Guinness and Buffalo Gold pale ale.

I got both sides mocked up tonight. Waiting on the Tamiya suspension brackets to come in at the LHS.

I plan to use JB weld to secure the smaller struts inside the leading edge struts. I'll sand it down and make a nice fillet. Etch the aluminum with some vinegar and then use an etching primer on it. I don't know how well Krylon will stick to etching primer, but I'm gonna find out.

Wow, is that what all the noise yesterday accomplished.

Good thing Codiddly is so tall we did not have to see his face in the pic.[sm=shades_smile.gif]

As my Dad always said "Lookin' good kid, now all you have to do is finish."