speedbrake

Have been working (sanding!!) on the stab. Glued the LE on and sanded it. Glued the tip blocks togerther (3/8 balsa, three layers) and glued them on. Everything is sanded to shape. Was marking the elevator cut out when I noticed the stab didn't match the plans. The two photos with the ruler shows the difference between the plans and the stab. The ruler along the fuselage stab line shows the amount of stab root to be removed. This angle isn't critical just as long as both sides are done the same. I'm going to use one servo on each elevator half.

Noted previously: the stab mounting surface is concave on both sides of the fuselage. I decided to glue some balsa on both sides and then sand them until the surfaces are flush. That will be easier than trying to sand the stab root to match the fuselage. The stab is glued to the fuselage using two 3/32 ply spars running through the fuselage. I will use built up elevators and MW hinging.

Keith

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

MW hinges??
Edwin

speedbrake

edwin....music wire hinges. Will use 1/8 brass tube with 3/32 MW running through it....tight hinge line!

Keith

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Ah yes, I'm just a little dense today.
Edwin

speedbrake

The slots for the stab spars have been cut; the spars have been cut and sanded. The dehedral in the fuselage stab stubs is visible in one photo. The pencil line on the stab represents the cut line. Once the stab root is cut, I can determine where the spar slots need to be cut in the stab. That in turn will determine where the elevator hinge line will be. Also, a balsa wedge needs to be glued to the stab root to correct the dihedral angle. I think it will easier to use levels on the upper surface of the stab pieces and then glue them on. Will take my time with attaching the stab. The stab really shows the size of the model.

Broke my band saw blade today....it has been in use many years. Had to order another one from the states. Found out today it is illegal to fly RC in Bahrain....I guess I'll fly the Blade helicopter inside our compound!!!

Keith

speedbrake

The photo that got removed from the above entry.

speedbrake

Not much to report. I'm gluing up balsa skins for the wing sections...need eight sets. Most of the glass cloth order arrived...have everything needed to skin wings. Still need 3/4 oz cloth. I bought more gorilla glue from the base. Don't want to cut the stab until the band saw is working again.....jig saw doesn't make as nice a cut and isn't long enough. Finished with all the fuselage cut outs, just need to smooth the seam and fill the pin holes. Good news...the stab mounting surface on the fuselage is at a right angle to the fin. The stab stub still has dihedral but I will probably just ignore it. Noticed the inside of the fuselage near the tail gun position has very little area to glue windows, might have to attach on the outside. The build up of resin and filler in the corners and on the seam is very thick, no flat surfaces.

Keith

speedbrake

The wing skins are done. I'll start covering the inner cores first so I can mount the flaps and flap servos. Then the inner cores can be joined. I want to join the wing to the fuselage as soon as possible....primarily so the stab can be installed. I completed work on the flaps. The flap is a lamination of 1/8 balsa and 1.5 mm ply. The hinges are epoxied on using music wire to keep them aligned. 1/8 square is used is simulate the flap rib detail. I have the option of using music wire or cotter pins for hinges. I'm leaning towards the music wire because it is so easy to install and remove. I cut the proper angle on the stab roots so they are now ready to be installed. Before that though, balsa pieces will be epoxied to the stab mounts to fill the concave surface.

Keith

speedbrake

Things are going slower because of the holiday season and wifely chores. The first inner core is sheeted and has the LE glued on. I'm still learning how to use the gorgilla glue. I appled glue to both the sheeting and the foam....that was a mistake. There was glue...lots of it...along the edges of the sheeting. It took a lot of patience and sanding to get the edges sanded flush with the foam core. That occurred with the upper surface. On the bottom I just applied glue to the foam core and everything was fine. I was worried I wouldn't have enough gorgilla glue to cover all the cores but by just gluing a single surface I will have plenty of glue.

I extended the length of the flap by several inches. By doing so the LE of the flap is now up against the rear wing spar. I couldn't move it rearward because there isn't enough thickness at the TE. So I trimmed 1/2 inch from the width...the flaps are now 3 inches in width. That gives plenty of room for the flap and mounting rail. I will use a router to remove the necessary foam and sheeting so the flap will sit flush with the bottom surface of the wing. The second inner core is being sheeted now.

Keith

speedbrake

Need some help: Has any one used Gorgilla Wood glue to sheet foam wings? I have three 8oz. bottles of the stuff but not sure it can be used. The directions don't give much help other than it says it will not foam like the other glue. I don't want to open a bottle until I know it will work. I can return the bottles and exchange for the other glue if necessary....but obviously that is a long process for me.

Thanks,
Keith

speedbrake

Happy New Year! We just returned from a trip to Jordan. We spent four days walking through Petra, a castle built by the crusaders, Roman ruins, etc. Nice country.

The flaps are compete, the mounting rails are ready for installation. The servo mounts (aileron and flap) are done. I purchased the laser cut mounts from Laser Design Services; really nice and reasonably priced. Both inner cores are sheeted. The LE on both have been shaped. Next is mounting the flaps and flap servo mounts. I will join the inner cores after the flaps are done.

Waiting for some items to arrive in the mail before working on the outer cores. Will install and shape the wing tip before cutting out the aileron.

Keith

speedbrake

The outline of the flap servo mount and the flap are drawn on the balsa. I cut the outline with a Xacto blade and then plucked the balsa out with a chisel. I used the end of a metal ruler to scrape away the foam. I was surprised by how deep the Gorilla glue penetrated the foam.

Keith

speedbrake

Holes for the flap servo leads were made, as were the holes on the upper surface for leads going into the fuselage. The nacelle cut outs were done, only cut 3 inches deep though. I'll wait until the nacelles are ready to be installed before cutting deeper. I'll install a box structure in the flap servo mount area next. The ply end cap (outer end) will be installed before joining the inner cores.

The inner cores will be joined tomorrow if all goes right. Need to make dihedral braces for the front and rear spars. I'll mount the wing to the fuselage after that. The flap mounts will be installed after the inner cores are joined.

Keith

speedbrake

I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. The flap servo mounts are done. The end caps are done as well. I clamped the end cap with the outer wing panel to ensure it stayed flat until the epoxy dried.

I decided to install the flaps before proceeding further. It will be easier to move/handle the wing cores before joining them. The plans indicate the dihedral braces are optional. I think I will install the forward brace but make it a little larger. The center wing joint will be glassed for addtional strength.

Keith

speedbrake

I sanded the foam in the flap area to the desired depth. The foam surface wasn't smooth so I added 3/16 dowels to serve as anchors to strengthen the glue joint. After the glue dried, I removed the flap and added glue to the gaps in the joint. I left the flap on during assembly so the hinge line wouldn't distort while gluing. I'll brush epoxy over the exposed foam before painting. The flap and flap servo areas get all the engine exhaust guck.

Keith

speedbrake

Some of the bits and pieces needed for construction are drawn on the plans. After cutting the dihedral brace (1/8 plywood) out it became apparent the brace was intended to be installed between the spars. Since this wasn't noticed and the slot wasn't cut before the spars were installed, I enlarged the brace and glued it to the side of the spars. Not sure if makes that much difference or not. The width of the brace is 1/16 inch shorter on top and bottom so a piece of 1/8 balsa could be glued in the slot and sanded flush with the wing surface. There was some minor differences between the inner cores....but I'm satisfied with the center joint fit.

Next job is to mate the wing to the fuselage. I can work on the stab after that. Items needed to resume working on the outer wing panels are in the mail.

Keith

speedbrake

I started sanding the wing LE and TE to get the wing to fit the fuselage wing saddle. I sanded both the LE and TE until the flat surfaces were the same as the fuselage width. The TE never came close to fully settling into the saddle. It looks as if a notch in the TE is required to get the wing to fully seat. I don't want to cut a notch until the outer wing cores are sheeted and the TE is sanded straight from wing root to wing tip. The last photo shows the TE is not resting in the saddle. I'll work on finishing the fuselage seam, getting it sanded flush and filling dings and pin holes.

I mentioned last time the dihedral braces were optional; that is not correct. What is optional is the material used to make the brace. I chose plywood instead of using 1/2 balsa. I chose not to use a rear brace. The center section will be glassed with 6oz cloth and then have 4oz cloth overlap that. Should be very strong.

Keith

jetfixr

My Feedback: (13)

This looks like a really fun project! Yours is looking great. I can't wait to get mine off of the garage ceiling and start on it. Keep the pics coming.

Jeff

speedbrake

Jeff, thanks for the kind words. By all means, get your kit down and start working on it.....and use this thread to keep us informed of the progress.

I just ordered the latest radio from Futaba, 14 channels and programmable. It will be used on the B-17. No more Y cords!

I decided to start work on my Christmas present....a turbine kit (Jet Mach Super Sport) from Laser Design Services. Looks to be a simple build...a lot easier than the B-17. It won't interfere with the B-17 build. The B-17 build will begin to speed up again once the items I'm waiting for arrive. Just bought some wet/dry sandpaper for the fiberglass parts. There is a lot of work remaining just preparing the fiberglass parts for primer. The balsa I added to the vertical fin needs to be glassed as well.

Keith

speedbrake

I finally received all the items I was waiting for. The outer panels have been sheeted. For the next several days I'll be busy gluing on and shaping the LE. Then the wings tips will be done. The aileron servo mounts will be installed. The ply plate on the wing joiner end will be installed. After the TE is sanded straight from root to tip, I'll resume working on mounting the wing to the fuselage. Also, I'll cut out the aileron area and begin framing up the ailerons.

The pictures show the 6oz. cloth used to strengthen the joiner areas, cloth was used on all four wing panels, top and bottom. The length of the wing as shown in the photo is 111 inches.

Keith

speedbrake

I didn't have enough balsa sheet to laminate the wing tip...so used balsa blocks I had. The stack of blocks barely fit in the band saw. Getting the tips sanded to shape took a long time...using two different sanders. When I get close to the final shape I'll glue the tip on and hand sand the rest. This remnds me of the old Top Flite kits...lots of balsa block to sand and shape.

Hopefully I'll be done with the tips tomorrow.

Keith

speedbrake

One outer wing panel is almost done. The tips were a lot more work than I thought. The TE was sanded straight. The aileron cut out was made, a straight 3 inch cut down the TE. The kit directions call for a tapered aileron...I changed it to a constand cord. The aileron ends are not right angles.. but same angle as the center joint. I'll install the aileron servo mount next, then work on framing the aileron cut out. After the second outer panel is done, I'll make the ailerons and hinge them. The ply cap on the joint end will be last.

Keith

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Nice work.

speedbrake

Thanks Gary,

Both outer wing panels are almost complete. I'll install the servo mounts next...they will be positioned about mid aileron. The wing is 122 inches long right now...so another 1/4 inch and that is it. The two 1/8 inch ply caps on the inboard end of the outer wing panels is all that remains as far as length of the wing. It is nice to see the wing taking shape...finally something to show for all the work! I was looking at the aileron cut out and realized just how thick the ailerons are going to be. The aileron will have a 1/8 inch sheet balsa core with 1/8 inch sheet ribs and balsa blocks on the LE. Need to order some 3/32 music wire for the hinge. I won't finish sanding the wing tips until ready to glass the outer panels...will use 3/4 oz cloth.

Keith

speedbrake

I attended an international air show today. There were some guys from Kuwait flying RC models at the show. Talk about being a small world. These guys spoke great English and were obviously avid modelers. RC flying is not permitted on Bahrain, but these guys were invited to perform.....driving from Kuwait through Saudi to get here. One of them will attend Florida Jets next year! Their flying was very good. Also, there were full scale aerobatic teams from all over the middle East and Europe. I got a neat picture of the Jordanian team's finishing manueuver.

Keith