My Beaver! :)
 

Well i thought i would start a thread while I "refurbish" my 96'' Ikon Dehavilland Beaver. Its been on just about every other Beaver thead on here lol and it been in a crash once and rebuilt....see this thread [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2041365/anchors_2041365/mpage_1/key_crashed%252Cikon%252Cbeaver/anchor/tm.htm#2041365]Beaver crash thread[/link] . What im doing to this 4 yr old aircraft is ripping off all the plastic covering and fiberglassing the bird. Im either going to do a flight metal finish or tradtition paint finish. Ilol post some old pics of it first and then get into the refurbish. Also if you have a Beaver..Post it.....as long as it wont cause the moderaters to close this thread lol. its hard to belive that at 20 yrs old now looking back I started building this plane when I was 15 lol.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

alright now on to the refurb. As of Dec 3 i have the entire fuse except for the fin glased, 1 aileron, 1 flap, doors, rudder, and landing gear glassed. sill have the fin and wings left. I had a bunch of uneeded cutouts in the cowl that I am trying to patch, gonna make a couple scale scoops, and other scale items. Like i said in the previous post i am considering using flight metal to finish it. here are a couple of pics

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

here are some trim schemes that i am conidering

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Since the previous incarnation was military I would go with the Civilian scheme. There are some beautiful color schemes for the Beaver. Was this plane a scratch built or did it come from a kit? I haven't been active on RC Universe long enough to know.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Its an Ikon Northwest kit

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

I like the one in the 3rd shot, the UASF bird with the orange stripes - very nice[8D]

just my 2 penn'orth

cheers
Rick

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Oops. I mean "USAF" - must learn to proof read before posting.......[:@]

Rick

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Many years back I was traveling through Canada and stopped by Muncho Lake Lodge in the Rockies. The owner has a flying service also and a beautiful beaver. I saw that plane while it was at the dock. One of those pleasant memories.
Edwin

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?i...ext_id=1035048

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Getting further on the cowling patching all of the unneeded holes in the cowling, im going to construct a scale exhaust here soon. Mocked up the front end to see how the tru turn spinner looked, removed the rest of the covering from the right wing and started on the tail cone and faring. I've decided on a color scheme and im not going to go with flite metal, will be painting the paint scheme with rustoleum paints, so i need to go buy me a decent spray gun. Ill be chainging the scheme a little but this is baically what it will look like......if i dont change my mind lol.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Very nice work!

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

started glassing one wing, I got a brand new roll of fiberglass and it has a lot of static electricity.....how can i get rid of that? started glassing the fin, and worked on the cowl some more.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Use the static electricity to your advantage. I take an acrylic brush and smooth down the cloth dry. The static helps hold it in place so you can get the cloth down nice and smooth before applying any resin.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

I will second that. That works good. Rich

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

the problem i had is that the cloth got moved after i started laying down epoxy and it was almost impossible to get all the wrinkles out, guess ill just have to be more careful, Thanks guys.[sm=thumbup.gif]

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Nice to see a guy from a younger generation doing some actual building,,
Looks good so far.

Technique for applying glass--
start in the middle and work you way outward to the edges smoothing out the wrinkles as you go
Like anything, skill is attained with practice. Can't wait to see it in paint

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

There is a definite aquired technique to it. I think I've heart of people using 3M 77 to make the wood a bit tacky to help hold the glass flat while you start to work in the resin. I could be wrong though....

Mark

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

yeah i have heard of the 3M method but that just seems like it could get ugly, right now i think my main problem is the epoxy being a little too cold when im working with it, Going to keep it in the house from now on until im ready to use it. Wont be workin on the beaver for another couple of days, Im an aircraft mechanic working with mesa air group, 3rd shift so theres not a lot of time during the day to build but ill get back on it soon. Thanks for your input guys I really appreciate it. Yeah i look back now and think.....holy crap I started building this plane at 15yrs old lol.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Did you thin your epoxy?

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

The environment you work in should ideally be above 70 degrees and less then 50% humidity when working with resins. Usually your products package will have more specifics.

Mark

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

no didnt thin it, its been pretty cold here lately and the shed that im workin out of isnt insulated so thats probably my biggest problem, its doing ok though I havent had any real bad problems its just being a pain sometimes. I usually have a little heater on it for a couple of hours after i finish applying the resin.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

I just read an article in Flying Scale Model where the author talked about his 50/50 method for glassing with resin. Basically it boils down to diluting the resin (50/50) with alcohol so that it flows easily into the cloth instead of having to 'work it in." He lays down a thin coat of the diluted resin on the surface to tack the glass down.

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Thin it with alcohal and it will be a lot easer. I use polycrylic , no mix no mess and dries fast and clean up with water. Rich

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

Definately thin it. I use denatured alcohol from the hardware store. It makes it easier to soak right through the glass and bond to the wood. I also use old credit cards as a squeegy. The transparent american express promotion cards work the best, more flexible. Others are different but I only put on one coat of reson. Then soak up any excess with a roll of toilet paper. The weave is then filled with light weight spackle mixed with water to a milkly consistancy rubbed in with my fingers. Then Im ready for primer and touchup. I only use 3m77 when Im making fiberglass cowls on the first layer.
Edwin

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

If you're going to thin it you may as well use Poly C because the reduced strength of the resin is going to end up in the range of Poly C and Poly C is easier to work with.

Mark

RE: My Beaver! :)
 

I thin with about 25% to 30% acetone which is developed to thin epoxy. I have had great luck with that mix.