feep

Well, I thought of trying to get 2 doors and cutting then both about 45" and joining them in the middle. I have a large industrial size table that I can mount the 2 halves on and I'm sure I can deal with the joint so it will not become an issue.

I'm so astute You may have already mentioned that, about the epoxy, but I sometimes have the memory of a tomato seed

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

The next step will be a bit out of order from the manual. The manual has you glue the wing tip then the last rib (rib #10) afterwards. My thought is by gluing rib #10 first, it will help align the wing tip more accurately. Also the spars are easier to sand flush to rib 10 without the wing tip in the way. Don’t forget about little rib #9. That will be glued to the tip after it’s in. Also don’t worry about the space between #10 and the bottom of the drag spar. The wing tip fits in there (I was scratching my head for a few seconds on that one).

Finally! Huston we have a wig tip! I stick with epoxy for strength since I have visions of scrapping a wing tip on landing as I’m building. Having rib #10 in place helps everything line up perfectly.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Next comes the prep work for the aileron servo bays. The 1st pic shows all the parts laid out. For those of you wondering what makes an SR kit so great, here’s an example. The laser cutting is so accurate even the screw holes are cut. The holes are prepared by poking out the hanging material with a T pin. T pins through the holes help to line up the laminated parts for gluing.

Here’s a cool discovery I made while gluing the 1st servo mount. The magnets hold great through the wood. That will allow for more options when lining things up.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

With the wing tip firmly in place I glue on the small R9 and the bottoms of R9 and R10.

Then I move to the rectangular doublers that mount behind the drag spar verticals. The gives the aileron hinges a total of a half-inch to grab on to. I use my large magnetic fixtures to prop up the wing. This will prevent any excess epoxy from settling at the bottom of the drag spar. Be sure to sand enough of the rectangles so they won’t interfere with the top of the drag spar later.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Since I’m jacked up on coffee tonight I glue in the aileron servo support plate also. Make sure you orient this part the proper way. I came close to screwing it up. Good thing I did one more check over the plans 1st.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Today’s task was finishing up the aileron servo plate. Rails get glued in to the main support plate. Pins through servo mounting plate line everything up. Note the 1/16” gap all around to allow for the covering material. Good touch!

I’m also prepping the parts for the right wing as the left wing will be off my table in a few days.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Before I go to work I glue the top of the aileron drag spar. And now it’s done!. The only thing left to glue to the wing is supports and braces. I start by gluing the top triangles that brace the wing tie down blocks. Tomorrow the bottoms get glued. Also the parts for the right wing are almost prepped. Progress is a good thing!

camdyson

Looking good there Nickbee - those magnetic benches are a great idea. I finally got round to taking a couple of pics of my gun mounting, plus I'll toss in one of my ply horns and U/C - faired with hardwood as per Feep's.

Cheers,

Cam

camdyson

Couple more....

feep

Hey Cam looks good. You guys do nice work. Nick you look like you're having fun with your new toy
( magnetic table )
I had the idea to mount my wing servos sideways in my D7 and had 2 extra servo trays from the SR kit. They worked so well that I kept asking myself if I was doing something wrong I just pinned the wing panels down flat, placed the servo tray in position and built up the bracing from there. The idea was soo easy I thought about doing a pull/ pull system with each aileron but I didn't feel like working out the geometry. Point is the servo trays SR uses are a great design!

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Great Pics Cam! They give me a good idea of how to go about mounting the gun. What kind of material did you use to the make the “bullet feed” part. Also is the barrel of the gun centered on the hatch or a bit to the right?

This weekend I finish up the left wing then start on the right. This build has been fun so far. The magnetic system has definitely increased my accuracy. I just wish I could spend more then a few hours a night on it.

Thanks again for everyone’s help…

feep

Nickbee, My gun is mounted to the right on the hatch but my plane is modeled after an E111 210/16. It's possible that on E1 and E11 aicraft, the gun was mounted on the center line. All pics I have show the ammo feed chute with exposed rounds and the spent ammo chute is enclosed

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Good info Feep! Thanks!

I didn’t do much tonight (got home late from my work’s Xmas dinner) but I glue the last pieces to the left wing. The bottom support triangles for the wing tie down blocks and the 3/8” reinforcement, which goes on the inside of the last large rib. This is to prevent bowing while you shrink the covering on. Tomorrow I'll take some final pics then the left wing is off the board for now.

camdyson

Nickbee,

Gun is offset to the right, and as far fwd as support wire allows - still looks a bit far back to me. Feed chutes are litho' over ply/balsa cores, and fuel gauge fairing is ali' sheet I formed over a dowel. (Body of gun looks rough - half melted when I used Zap to build! - I'll stick to proper plastic cement in future)

Model looks like an EIII due to cowl cheek shape, so that's how I'm leaning with any details.

Gear and cabanes now sprayed grey as per my data. Next is to paint Herr Schmitt, then start covering.

Cheers,

Cam

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Thanks again cam for the pics. I’m sure I’ll have more questions once I get to that step (which seems very far away at this point).

With all the pieces glued to the wing the final step is to sand the carbon spars and leading edge flush with the root rib. 80 grit sandpaper rips thought the carbon very easily.

Here are some photos of the finished wing, minus final shaping. I’ll wait until the ailerons are done to do the shaping so that everything can be blended together. Oh, the manual has you working on the aileron next. But I’m going to skip that and build the right wing while the build is fresh in my mind. Then I’ll build both ailerons at once.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Merry Xmas! Thanks again to all who are helping out with my E1 build. With the long weekend I'm making good progress on the right wing. I should be putting together some ailerons shortly!

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Happy New Years to all! It feels like forever since I wrote an update. Both wings are done to the point that they need a sanding to shape. So it’s on the ailerons, which I’ll build at the same time. In prep the 1st thing I do is glue the laminate of two ply rectangles that make up the control horn mounting plates. I am not going to attach these to the aileron until the very end so that I can drill the holes for the control horn more precisely on my drill press. I employ the vertical presses of my magnetic jigs to hold everything in place. The thumbscrews that came with them are a little short to reach so I whip up a longer set from some 10-32 threaded rod and some wing nuts. Works like a charm!

I noticed that because of the thick aileron leading edge (that will get beveled for deflection) it would be impossible to line up the control horn’s holes over the hinge line (pivot point). Even using the larger version of Sullivan’s metal control horn I plan to use it look like I’ll be about an 1/8” off. For those that have set up this plane does that create a mechanical “differential” in the aileron deflection? If so is that wanted? I’m sure the differential could be programmed out if need be.

Speaking of that large leading edge it’s fabricated from 4 pieces of 1/8 balsa. I’m taking a different approach and not sanding the edges until the lamination is cured. I figured I’d be removing less material sanding the edges once. This should keep the accuracy closer to plan.

CafeenMan

Hey Nick,

I did something similar with my presses using threaded rod. But you made a mistake here buddy. The threads were 10-24. I made them that way so it would be less tedious screwing them in and out. Going to 10-32 will work as it needs a larger hole but if you go back to 10-24 it will be really sloppy. I think it will hold moderate pressure though. If you want to change them back you'll probably have to plug the holes with a dowel and redrill and tap.

Also, I added acorn nuts to mine so I can use my electric screwdrive with a socket to screw them in and out faster. Turning a thumbscrew from one extreme to the other on a lot of fixtures gets tedious.

CafeenMan

By the way, your wing construction looks really good. I like not seeing glue slopped all over. Shows pride of workmanship.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

oops,,, I'll try doing the C/A re-tap method. For now they are working well. I like the acorn nut / electric screwdriver trick.

BTW, I got an email back from Larry on the control horns. Here's what he wrote...

Because of the horns we use, there is almost no differential, but what is there is in the right direction. Just build it the way we show.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Thanks CafeenMan!

My only self-criticism on my build so far is maybe sanding parts a bit too much before fitting. There are a few gaps here and there. Nothing too major, maybe about a 1/32 or a 1/16 of an inch. I should be able to take care of everything with some wood filler. Moving forward I'm going to wait on sanding certain parts such as the edges of laminnations. Overall I'm learning lots with this build which was a main goal!

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Aileron construction started tonight. The 1st 2 ribs are ply and straddle the ply control horn mounting plate. I dry fit the plate while gluing to assure alignment. Also one of the balsa ribs goes on.

I overlapped the plans so I can build both ailerons at once.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Here’s an aileron update. As you might be able to tell I’m not putting as much time into the build as I’d like to this week.

The last ribs are glued in place then the trailing edge doubler goes on. Next the ply tip goes on. Note that the front is elevated 1/8” while gluing. According to the manual this will give the aileron a “sweeped up look” Of course the fit of everything is amazingly perfect.

nickbee

My Feedback: (7)

Ailerons are almost done. The top balsa doubler goes on the ply tip and the leading edge gets glued on. Tail fins are next!

camdyson

G'day Nickbee,

I just stumbled upon a little glitch in my build you may want to take note of so it doesn't happen when you get there. When installing the rudder bellcrank, I drilled centrally in the bearer (per instructions) and mounted it, but just discovered the servo hole is NOT central as in the manual's photo. Rather than moving the bellcrank, I put a kink in the pushrod, but suggest you note where the centre of rudder servo cutout is before drilling for the rudder bellcrank.

(I know, should take a photo, but can't be bothered going back out to the shed now)

I've completed cockpit coaming, screen mounting etc., added oil/fuel caps, plus painted/mounted wheels. Also went ahead and stained all the woodwork - helps to blend out the differences between laser-burns and sanded areas! Will post a couple of pics later.

Happy building,

Cam