BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Well, I took the Brio out of the box Friday night, at the urging of my 6 year old son. Did more in a weekend with this kit than I thought I could do. Great kit with not a lot to do to get it together. The FOCUS I was pretty easy, and the FOCUS II was easier, but this is not an ARF. Still, I've been pleasantly surprised at the progress.

The first thing I did was check the wing fit. I sanded the left wing adjuster a little as it was a bit tight going on. This took care of it so now the wings slip on and off easily. I did take the right wing adjusters out, put a dab of epoxy on it and put it back in, not tightening it until the epoxy was just about cured. That took care of the slight gap that was on the top of the adjuster while making the wing so it now slides on and off with no friction.

Next, I put a few plywood pieces to re-inforce the landing gear plate. This is really simple. Just get a knife blade and slip it along the ply pieces that are mounted and the knife edge punches up through the deck in exactly the right spots.

I'll post some pictures.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

I mounted the landing gear on the bottom of the plate rather than the way it came on the top, This was very easy- with a dremel just cut a similar slot 1/4 inch higher than the one below. After putting in the small light ply tabs which tie in to the fuselage sides on the upper area, I put some 1/4 inch square pieces of scrap light hardwood to fill the gap where the old hole was- just needs a little filler and sanding and it will disappear.

Next I did the engine mount. I picked up the ply/carbon fiber piece and realized it felt pretty heavy, so I cut out a piece of light ply and glued that in instead. Make sure you mount the engine mount before gluing in this piece since it gets in the way when you are positioning the mount. I cut two 1/8 light ply rings and glued them to the back of the hyde mount. Then I sanded the plates so that when trial-fitting the engine with the mount, the spinner ring has just a little less right thrust. Attached is a picture of those installations as well.

While I had the engine mounted, I put the throttle pushrod in. I used the cutout for the throttle servo, put the servo in and then put a piece of light balsa to position the throttle cable guide.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

As someone suggested in an earlier forum, I drilled four holes in the bottom of the fuselage so one can get in and tighten up the landing gear (or check them while at the field with the plane assembled) simply by inserting the ball driver up fromt the bottom of the fuselage (if you look at the previous pictures, you can see the four small holes.

As you notice there are only four holes. I took the inside hole off of the metal landing gear leg, so I'm only using two screws per leg. Basically its a diagonal cut which between the metal removed and one less screw and blind nut, took about .4 oz off of each leg. Blind nuts will go in on the top part of the 1/4 inch ply landing gear plate.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Here are the pictures of the engine mount setup. Note that the Hyde mount is off set so that the top of the cylinder is rotated 1/2 inch away from the exhaust port. If you are running YS, this provides the extra clearance so you don't have to put an opening on the side of the chin cowl for header clearance.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Don,

From the pictures, I can assume that this is the standard kit.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

The front light ply piece is held in place with some zap goo. It works really well and sets up quickly. Note the four holes in the front ply piece. These allow you to take the spinner off at the field and check the tightness of the engine mount. Also note the engine mount ply backplate. You can see how much sanding was done for alignment of the mount. This took the most time so far. I put a couple of small drops of CA when everything was aligned, then carefully took the engine out and then drilled engine mount holes through the firewall. There is a plywood ring that comes with the hardware package. You mount four blind nuts on that and its not glued in but acts a a ring to clamp to the back of the firewall. This allows for fine tuning engine thrust changes later. Now take a break and do something fund. I went at it with a dremel and took open the pipe outlet and engine air openings.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

It was suggested if you have the kevlar version of the kit, get a soldering iron with an exacto blade mounted which helps cut through the material. I have the fiberglass version, which is a lot easier to work with than kevlar. Not worrying about the final edges- you can build tools using large dowels with some sandpaper glued to it for final shaping of all the holes before painting.

Next I moved back to the stab. This was much easier than I thought. Everything lined up nearly perfect. I just screwed in the adjusters, put two small pieces of outer-nyrod pushrod tubing at the exit of each adjuster screw through the sheeting. This provides a clean hole and easy access to the adjusters.

I used a piece of 3/8 tubing to cut a coupe of dounuts which I glued to support the front piece of rod.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

After looking at how clean and beautiful the rudder was, I had second thoughts about the build-up rudder. I though about if for a few more seconds and then the 2 or so ounces in weight savings came to mind. The exacto knife took the rudder off with one cut. I carved the fuselage sides back to the balsa vertical piece and then sanded it straight with a block and some 80 grit sandpaper. Pictures so the remains and the new tailpost.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Don,
Curious about your observations of the standard glass kit vs the kevlar version - I know it's a bit heavier, but I believe that the fuse glass work is more aesthetically pleasing... The only Brio I've see is the kevlar version and although very, very nice , the exterior surface of the fuse seemed a bit "wavy ".
My disdain for wavy fiberglass goes back some 33 years ago when I bought a new Corvette. Got so tired of looking at it that I blocked sanded the entire car and reshot it -it was less than two years old .Curious if anyone out there has noticed the same thing with their kevlar Brio.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Hi
Very very nice Plane. I know Partner ex plane designed by Quiqué
Somenzini. This is a awesome plane and I think it's same with Brio.
Do you know if there are dealers for Europe ?
Regards
NB : to sand Kevlar, put water on your abrasive it 'll become very easily

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Papaone,

Good hint about the sanding of kevlar. Piedmont will ship them internationally for very reasonable cost- http://www.piedmontmodels.com/International.htm

My carbon/kevlar Brio surface that I flew last year looks very similarl to the fiberglass version.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

It took about 3 hours to build the rudder. I started with two pieces of 1/4 inch triangle, with some 1/32 inch ply as spacer between the hinges. I used Klett hinges because I intend to make the rudder removable for easier shipping. The triangle stock makes a nice bevel and the 1/32 inch ply give a nice straight surface for the wire through the hinges.

Also pictured is a 1/8 inch light ply piece, along with a half piece as a spacer for the front wing screw. This keeps the fuselage from distorting while tightening the wing retaining screw.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

The rudder is built-up. Three 1/4 inch ribs are in the center, where the rudder horn dowl will go.

Below are some additional pictures on the elevator adjusters. It only took a few minutes to do this. The outer nyrod material is glued from the inside to the sheeting and aligned with the adjuster screws on the top and bottom.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Don,

This is great since I have been looking at the Brio also, But I'm flying electric and what is the difference in weight between the glass kit and the deluxe composite version ? I know Dan Landis Has the composite version and is under 5K. Right now I'm running the same system as him but in a Focus II

Thanks

Scott Anderson
D3 AVP
Team Tanicpacks.com
Team PMA

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Papaone,

Steve of Piedmont is a super guy to deal with. Not only was shipping very reasonable but only took 4-5 days to arrive from the shipping date. I had issues when the package arrived but an email to Steve resolved everything. Topnotch service from Piedmont Models.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Scott, if you are considering electric, I would recommend the Carbon/Kevlar version. Danny took a lot of weight out of the plane and his in electric form.

Hinging control surfaces. There has been some written on this already, but here are the steps.

First, sand about a 1/8 inch top bevel on the aileron and elevator leading edges. See photo. This gives a little extra bite on the hinge and also provides a nice looking hinge line.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Next use a marker and mark where the hinges will be. I put them basically 4 inches apart on both the ailerons and the elevators. Next use the marker and blacken the sharp corner of the bevel, then carefully position the elevator or aileron up against the stab or wing, and press the surface against the stab or wing. This leave little lines which tell you exactly where to put the hinge slot.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

The marks that transfer over are just a little more than an eighth of an inch down from the top. Use an exacto knife to cut the hinge slit, and then slip in the CA hinges. Done!

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Final step is to sand the control surfaces so they blend in with the wing surface, trailing edge of the wing and wing tip to get a perfect match. Mark down where the slots are so after its covered, it will be easy finding the slots to glue on the control surfaces. I make mine 1 inch in from each end of the surface and then spaced 4 inches between hinges. This puts 6 in each aileron and 4 in each elevator.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Don, I hope I'm not getting ahead of you here, But I don't see anything in the back of the fuselage to attach a tail wheel to. I'm not a contortionist, so I don't see any easy way to get anything glued in there. Have you had to deal w/ this yet or have any Ideas?

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Yes, the tailwheel assembly. Sand the bottom of the fuselage flat, down to the fiberglass (or kevlar) and glue a piece of approx 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch piece of carbon fiber sheet (the kind that is about 1/32 inch thick). Glue this to the bottom of the fuselage then sand around it to blend it in. Already finished and painted? No problem, you can still do this and its not noticeable, since the tailwheel bracket hides the carbon fiber sheet. When you use wood screws to hold in the tailwheel assembly on, the carbon fiber will provide extra strength for the threads to hold.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Canopy mounting.

First, cut a disk with a hole saw out of some 1/8 inch ply. Next cut some 1/8 slots on the canopy side where they slide in. Next mark on the fuselage where the slots are, and cut similar slots. I cut the slots a little over 1/8 inch from the outside. cut the disk in two and glue in one half for the right and left.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Next cut a slot in the front part of the fusleage where the canopy fits on, and notch a place for the canopy front. Glue in 1/8 ply piece on the canopy. Make sure you go just a little past the center fiberglass tape on either side. This will prevent the canopy (paint) from cracking at the corner of the cutout.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Drill a hole through the center, and then mark where the hole/screw meets the tab. Make sure the tab is long enough/positioned right so you have enough material for the blind nut on the tab. Drill though, then drill a little larger hole so the blind nut fits in. Put the blind nut in just a little, put the canopy on and tighten half way to make sure the threads catch. Take the canopy off, put three little drops of CA on the blind nut tabs, put the canopy back on and tighten the canopy screw all the way.

The Ply tab on the fuselage side should be mounted parallell to the outside surface of the canopy, so that the blind nut generally is perpendicular to the canopy mounting screw.

Finally, drill through the top (countersink) the canopy hole so it fits the head of the nut flush with the canopy surface. Push in a small #4 lock washer, and a drop of thin CA to secure it. This will prevent the screw head from pulling its way all the way through the canopy over time.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

If you find that when you tighten the canopy, it distorts slightly, then just add a thin (1/32 or less is normally all that is needed) shim on the canopy side so that the two mating surfaces are flush when the screw is tightened.