edberry22

Trimming the plan sheet and getting ready to begin.

edberry22

As promised.....here will be my build thread.....
This is what I found when I opened the plain brown box.

edberry22

Time to start cutting sticks and glueing.

edberry22

Progress so far.
I figure I have about 2-3 hours in it so far.
That hardwood spar has me spooked so I added some extra wood for peace of mind....not alot but enough.

Yes I still have sanding to do, especialy where the wing goes, I left it rough to keep the build going and will trim and sand it later.

lagCisco

so what kind of hardware,electronics,powerplant,mods do you plan on using on the airplane?

edberry22

The only mods I plan on doing, is to add some extra bracing here and there. I did add an extra block of balsa to the nose to ease my mine with the bend in the hardwood lower fuselage spar. I remember reading in other post's about the fuselage being kinda squishy where one would grab the plane, I am guessing it is at or right behind the cockpit so I added some extra bracing there which you will see in the next photos, but thats about all I plan on modifying.
I will be running a J.R. 631 radio in it with thier 1100 battery.
A Thunder Tiger 46 Pro with either an 11x4 or a cut down 12x4 to a 11.5x4.
I will be installing carbon fiber landing gear and a sullivan tailwheel.
That about it I think.
I did compromise and maybe even improvise when building the vert. fin because what was in the manual didnt make alot of sense to me, and while I did follow the instructions, I made what I felt were some good moves to maintain the cosmetic factor of the plane going smooth. Im sure it was just me and the instructions were correct but at 4 am my mind isnt working all the way yet and the coffee hasnt kicked in either.

edberry22

Where I am this morning.

edberry22

I am to, what I think is the scariest part.
Sheeting the fuselage. CA set rather fast and wood glue has alot of water content. I do not want to build in a twist or bow at this point and am going to wait till I get home from flying this morning to tacjle the job.
When you other builders got to this point and you taped the sheeting together, did you glue it or just tape it to hold it together as one piece while glueing it to the frame work?
Should I begin in the center and work outward, pressing and weighing it down as I go?

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

I like to make one "skin" so you don't get a seam that you can see under the covering.

And the way I sheeted the Sledge was to lay the frame work over one skin and trace around all the sticks, then flip it over and do the same on the other skin.

Run a bead of medium CA between the pencil marks on one skin and lay the fuse frame down on it. When it's dry, lay the other skin down with the pencil marks up, run the CA between the lines and lay the fuse down on top of it.

On the Sledge there was a little more to it because of the pull-pull tubes, but that's pretty much how I did it.

I'm sure there are other ways and better ways, but that's how I did mine.

pinball-RCU

I cheated! Rather than edge gluing the sheets together, I just pieced it on the fuse, making sure the seam fell on one of the horizontal pieces. If the seam shows through the Monokote, I sure can't see it.

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Nice job so far Ed. I use thick CA with plenty of ventilation. No problems with it setting up too quick until the sheeting is pressed together. Another great glue to use is Gorilla glue or any good polyurethane glue. Here's another great tip for trimming that wing opening: Use your Dremel tool with the router attachment. Lay the plans over the finished fuselage and cut out the opening with your knife. Remove the plans and finish it off with the dremel tool. Real quick and accurate. I always err on the tight side and give it a final trim with a half-round rasp to fit my wing perfectly.

Mike

jldecarlo

I used Sheet Zap. You could use wood glue, polyurethane glue, or epoxy (heavy).

I would edge glue the sheets first. Just seems like a better way to go.

Then put something flat on the fuse and weight it down with a bunch of weight - 20 to 50 lbs at least.

Let it set, then do the other side the same way.

Leonard

lomcevek1

Yeah don't worry about building a warped fuse. If the table you are using is straight then your fuse wil be straight. I used the Elmers brand Pro-Bond (polyurethane) with Great results you just have to be patient. and use plenty of evenly distributed weight like books, LOTS of books.

da king

My Feedback: (5)

Nice job!
I just use thin ca to butt glue the sheets together. Sand the sheets reall quick ad then med ca the frame and lay the sheeting down. Works pretty good.

You are on the right track. Every thing the plane needs you did. Again, nice job!

edberry22

I will knock out the horizontal stab and elevator this morning and then move on to finishing the fuselage, and have some photos to post later this afternoon.

edberry22

This morning found me building the tail feathers, and I was cruzing along and was almost finished when I realized the music wire was not the same as the plans had lead me to think....
my bad....I know better and should have double checked everything first.
Not a major set back.......it is wood and repairable easy enough.
Rechecked my work for the day for fit and finsh and proceded to slot everything for hinges.........
This was my first time slotting things that already had throw angles built in (I am used to hingeing square stock then hand sanding the angles) This proved a bit tricky since the slotting guild wouldnt hold its setting......couple slots are off but I think it will fly great and knowbody will know without a very close inspection......hahahahahaha
Desided to tackle the fuselage sheeting and you guys were right.....I was making it bigger then it was.......just worked slow and deliberate and so far things are going smooth. One side is done and the otherside sheeting is waiting for me to attach, but that will have to wait till tomorrow cause I am running out of free time today.
Here are photos to bring you up to speed.

edberry22

somemore

edberry22

couple more

edberry22

last one for today

edberry22

Tomorrow I return to the work place to earn a paycheck so this week will be rather slow as I am only aforded a couple hours a night to build, but its coming together rather fast as I look back over the past couple days, and future projects will prove fairly easy I think since I know what to expect from now on.
You all be safe this week and watch out for those storms in tornado alley.

pinball-RCU

Got you too, huh? I reported this to OMP back in February, but they probably have a bunch of CD's burned.

edberry22

I know I am jumping ahead here a bit but I try and build with a few steps ahead working the brain matter.
I have checked and recheck myself up to this point, and see trouble looming, with no mention of it in the plans or manual, so maybe some who have already been there can steer me in the right direction for an answer.

When it comes time to put this thing together, with reguard to the tail feather, the slot opening in the fuselage is a perfect fit for the stab, but somehow the elevator must pass thru it first so the two can be joined later (not happening), but with the music wire and triangle stock on the elevator, there is not room in said slot to accept both stab and elevator??? Did I miss something? Is this one of those modeler problems to work thru?? I am guessing the slot needs to be 1/4" longer somehow and unless I did miss something, this should have been considered in the frameup.
So a little help guys please?

klone

My Feedback: (2)

I had to enlarge the slot a little with a round file to get the joiner wire in. You only need room for the stab w/ tri-stock and the wire. The elevator doesn't go through the slot, but you connect the two halves on each side with the wire.

edberry22

Ok so I didnt miss anything, and the slot does need to be enlarged.........
I saw in the manual that assembling the elevator seperately was how they intended it to be done, but to me that leaves room for error in getting the 2 halfs lined up right so I opt'd to join them on the board so I know they are lined up, and since the slot needs to be opened up a bit anyway, Im sure I can make this work. Thanks for your input and confirmation of what I thought I knew already.....hahahahahaha

skunk39

My Feedback: (1)

Ed,

Not knowing what kind of landing gear you may be planning on installing on this bird, But, if it's any kind of profile gear other than the wire supplied in the kit, you may want to add some additional solid blocking in between the fuselage sticks in the area that you plan to install the gear. This of course, would have to be done before you finish installing the fuselage sheeting. Just food for thought.................Skunk