You know I need to learn how to glass an finish. What ever you can do to help us less forunate.

Ok then, will do. I'm going to wait until I'm done to post it all, so it doesn't get broken up.

-Mike

Hi all,

Bad News - Good News....

I was waiting for Mike to announce the v2.2 mods. A bit of bad news first - you all might of heard that I had a mid-air while flying the V1 prototype at the Tangerine meet a couple weeks ago. It was the most spectacular mid-air I have ever witness and certainly very disappointing... HELL - I was in love with that plane... I did really well with it at Districts and just got dialed into her. She was flying great - It was a tough loss. RIP V1.

anyhow after the dust settled Ryan McLaughlin offered me Mike's #1 V2, the Concours d'Elegance winning, the most awesome pattern plane of year, YES - the winning "Concours Black Magic" . Most of you all know Ryan purchased the plane from Mike right after the Nats last summer. Of course I jumped on it !!! I was actually speechless when ryan first talked to me about selling me the plane.

V2.2 Pics - Here are some pics of the modified #1 plane and my build - it's a two night project, for both the tail block and sheeting a new rudder. I had to do some other small repairs to the #1 plane but she is ready for paint and monokote. I am going to install my sweet running 140L, carbon ES pipe. It's got a couple of hundred flights says Ryan, but she looks great with no major damage. It will be a really sweet plane for me next year.

I am also into part one of fiber-glassing of my build. Mike will "fill in" all the detail here. I am following Mike's recommendation of doing the belly and fin post first. You can see the micro-balloons on the belly. I will be able to trim this and do each side over the next couple of days. Yea my finishing plans got delayed again. Having two mid-airs in less than 6 months kind of sucks I guess. So I hope to have my build plane and the #1 plane ready for paint in a couple of weeks. I do plan and have the time to finish all fiber-glassing by this weekend.

I'll post more pictures after Mikes report - he's the expert here. The fiberglass goes on really easy. I am using west systems 207 slow - diluted almost in half with acetone and rubbing micro-balloons onto the lay-up almost right after spreading the epoxy mix. I've been fortunate to have the right guys to ask about the techniques involved in some of these steps - this is my first fiber-glassing job. It's been way to easy so far. I did get a great Christmas present this year - a Sata Mini-jet4 - I am looking forward to finishing this beauty.


Good News is I'll have two fairly matched v2.2 Black Magics for the first meet of 2007....

Well here is another V2. Been working on it off and on but almost ready for glassing and covering. I am determined not to let any other projects get in front untill it is complete.


Dan

How about getting some before and after weights. I'd like to see how much weight glassing and painting actually adds.

Hi All,

just completed fiber-glassing my Black magic. I have to tell you guys that have never done this type of finish, so far it's been super easy. okay a bit time consuming but really very easy. Mike suggests letting the everything cure for a week before I can start more sanding and priming - but the fiberglass is on and everything looks great.

Over the next couple weeks as time allows I hope to cover my wings and stabs in monokote while I am sanding, priming and painting the fuselage. It's been on and off again with this project for almost a year now. But I am getting real close now.

I have spent a lot of time designing my trim scheme for tis bird. I am really starting to get anxious now.... can't wait to start shooting paint : )

Hi all,

I finished fiber-glassing my build and trimmed it this morning. Now I am going to let it cure for a week before i start sanding. The complete fuselage after fiber glassing weighs 3 lbs .1 ounces - compare that to my weight back on page 18 of this thread of 2 lbs 12.5 oz - for a net gain of 3 .6 oz.

now I did not weigh the fuse right before I did the fiber-glassing and I did a lot of sanding since where I was at on page 18 - but I think a net gain of 3.6 oz is outstanding... I should be able to sand off at least one full ounce, maybe more before priming.

I did double check my scales. I am just real happy my completed fuse is at 3 lbs....


wow - that was worth getting up at 6:30 am too !!!!

I am just amazed at how easy this project has been. I asked Mike the other day "where is the hard stuff".

this project has been a dream so far : )

I just happen to have some exact numbers.

These are weights of the raw fuselages, before any filler. No canopy or belly pan, No engine mount, just the raw fuse with everything done and ready to fill and glass.

M1- 25.4 ounces
M2- 26.6 ounces
E1- 25.8 ounces
E2- 25.8 ounces

After filling, sealing, glassing and sanding, ready for primer:

M1- 30.2 ounces
M2- 30.3 ounces
E1- 28.3 ounces
E2- 28.7 ounces

Painiting added about 3 ounces with clear. 2 ounces on the electric. Those numbers, I don't have written down, that's just from memory. I know that if you don't rub with micro balloons, it's a few ounces more.

BTW your planes look fantastic guys!!!
-Mike

Oh one thing...the M1 E1 thing, that was the specific airframe. I built 4. And after re-checking, the weights of the electric included the 2 ounce motor mount.

-Mike

Hi Mike: I am anxiously awaiting your fibreglass how-to do. I've done a fair bit of it years ago,but this micro balloon use is unknown to me.

Thanks,,,,,,,,,,Dave

I'm half way through with the finishing pics etc, but I have to switch planes because this one is leaving this weekend in primer.....

Stay tuned, I'm going to post it all at once so it doesn't get broken up. From initial sanding through clear coat, buffing and polishing.

-Mike

pics of my Black Magic

They didn't upload.....

Hit edit, then upload more....

I wanna see!!!!!!

-Mike

Whoa, that's looking sweet so far!!!!

More! Keep us updated as it gets closer!

-Mike

Hi

Awat is that a white finish a gelcoat or a primer over the fiberglass

Thanks

Troy

troyhm

It is automotive white paint. A single stage paint. The plane was glassed, filled with spackling, primered then sealed and painted. The pictures do not do the planes finish justice. I do not take very good pictures. There were some runs in the paint. You can see one on the side. It was sanded out and a grey stripe will be painted over it. The plane is very shinny. It still will be buffed and waxed for an even deeper look on the paint.

Here are pics of how I made my jig

Nose ring former

I thought I'd add a little detail to using a nose ring former. I installed one in my current plane after the fact, and it was a piece of cake. The key here is 80 grit sandpaper and pateince.

If you're installing one from the start, here's how.

First line up your nose ring with the tabs on the former. This first picture isn't absolutely accurate, you need to move the holes closer to the solid side of the former. Not TOO much, but a little.

Mark and drill your holes, and mount the nose ring to the former.

TIP: If you're using a YS engine and a central hobbies nose ring, the nose ring is too tight!!!!! Use a dremel sanding drum and carefully remove some of the O ring until it is a slip fit on the front of the engine. It should be snug, but you should be able to slide it on and off without using power tools!!! When I first installed mine, I noticed a LOT of vibration. I killed 2 sets of servos, a wing adjuster, my wing and stab hard points and a few other things before I had a long talk with Merle Hyde and came to the conclusion that my nose ring was too tight, and just transferring vibration through the nose ring former directly into the air frame. After loosening it up a bit, it's SMOOOOOOTH and no detectable wear on anything. This is important guys.

Mount the engine to the firewall, and install the nose ring and former on the engine itself. The distance from the thrust washer to the former should be 6 3/8" or very close to it. Use spacers behind the engine mount if you have to. Trim 3/8" from the back of the cowl (the mounting flange). Clean the cowl with soap and water, acetone, alcohol, wax remover, throw everything at it. This mold release is pretty aggressive, so you have to get it ALL off. Once it's clean, rough up the mounting areas with 80 grit paper and clean again.

Using the tips I showed earlier in this thread, sand a lip on the front flange of the fuselage to accept the cowl flush. Now install your cowl, and check the fit. Suprise! Sanding time.

All you do from here is use 80 grit paper on a solid or 3m curved type sanding block and remove material from the nose ring former until it aligns in the center.

Use your spinner backplate to get your cowl lined up. Be careful to mate the former as far forward as it will go without getting into the thrust washer. The further back it is, the more you get into the funky curve of the cowl cheeks. So, keep it forward. When you have a good idea of where the former will be glued, remove the cowl and rough up the are a with 80 grit paper, and clean with acetone.

When you're satisfied with the fit (you should be even around the spinner and have about 1/16" of clearance) it's time to glue it on. Mix up some 30 minute epoxy and light micro balloons (don't use a lot, jut enough to turn it white and thicken it slightly). Now apply a bead around the mounting flange of the cowl and a small but thick bead on the edge of the nose ring former. Put everything in place and use tape to secure it. Wipe away the excess with a paper towel. Walk away and let it cure before removing anything.

After at least a 3-4 hour cure, remove the engine. Cut some small strips of either 4 ounce carbon or glass and glass in the former. Let it overlap, just get a good nice seamless bond at the corner where the former meets the cowl. This will spread the stress and keep your cowl in one piece.

When everything is cured overnight, trim and you're done.

Now I want to show you guys something cool.

We unveiled these at the Tangerine contest, and the reactions were like "WOW".

Jim Woodward is doing some shirts etc on the side and I had him make me up some shirts for me and my horde. they are too cool to keep to ourselves, so we thought we'd make them available to anybody.

The actual shirt you can get is a very comfortable grey polo shirt, or a T shirt, or a sleeveless shirt (my wife has a black one with a white dragon, and it is the coolest thing I have ever seen!) These particular shirts with the checkers are reserved for the actual team pilots, but the back is the same. Also have a look at the front; he can put whatever you want on there. We chose to put our sponsors on the front to kill a few birds with one stone. Feel free to do the same!

I want to tell you that Jim does the best work I have ever seen. I'm not calling names, but in comparison, there is no comparison. These are top dollar shirts with second to none work. Feel free to show a little pride and help support the cause!

Jim's contact info is: [email protected]

This is Jim's thing, not mine. Just shoot him an email and you guys can work out the details and get the shirts custom made to order. The back of the shirt and dragon logo are off limits though, that's like sacred or something. LOL

Oh we're also working on some cool hats, stay tuned.

-Mike

Hi Mike

I was just curious when are we going to see your fiberglassing how to
A few people seem to be curious on exactly how you do it.
Is micro balloons just the same as qcells ?
Do you use a epoxy based resin and just mix the micro balloons in to give a thicker more filling resin ?

Thanks

Troy

Hi Troy!

I'm not sure what qcells are.... micro balloons is just tiny glass bubbles that weigh next to nothing. It's the lightest filler that is practical.

Nope you don't mix it with resin. You lay down the resin/glass first, (mixed 50/50 with acetone) and roll it out with a foam roller. You want to get all of the excess epoxy off the plane, and have a smooth even surface. you let that tack for a couple of hours, then literally pour micro baloons on the surface and massage them in. If you do it right, you can't even see that the plane has been glassed from a distance.

However, don't be tricked into thinking the weave is totally filled. There will be a ton of pinholes. but in the end, it's still much lighter than using primer exclusively.

-Mike

Hi Troy
this is Bryan Hebert good to see you on the list again
When are you going to send My Quest plans Back ?
it`s been over a year and I have not heard from you after you said you were going to return them to me
Bryan

Hi Bryan

I have sent you an email and will call soon

Thanks

Troy

Hi Mike


Before I go ahead and make templates for the foam deck could you please have a quick look at these to see if they match yours

http://myweb.westnet.com.au/troyhm/

Thanks

Troy

Hi Mike: I believe West is dead set against thinning their epoxy.

I assume you are thinning it to reduce weight????

Dave