samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

pic 1:
Planked the second last part of the vertical fin from the spar to the LE.

pic 2/3:
Blocks built up for around the jet exhaust area and glued up with carpenter's glue.

pic 4/5:
The last planking (used a sheet since mostly a straight side) of the vertical fin.
To get the servo hole's exact location, I transferred 'tick' marks of the servo dimension to the existing planking.
I then dry fitted the new planking on and connected the 'tick' marks.

pic 6:
Last of the planking for the 'top' half of the plane (still got some on the belly).

pic 7/8:
The vertical fin looks straight and vertical with no warping!

pic 9/10:
The glue has dried on the filler block at the jet exhaust area so it's out to shop to sand away the bulk of the material.
I also sanded away some of the interior of the block to save on weight.

pic 11:
Filler block glued (carpenter's glue) in and the final sanding to conform the block to the fuse will be done after she 'cooks'.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

Planking (cont)
Planking is done on the top half so I'm finishing up the bottom half of the fuse.

pic 1/2:
The left inner wing rear and front section is covered.
I used two 3" wide 3/32" thick balsa sheeting that I, previously, jointed/glued together.

pic 3:
Right inner wing front sheeted.

pic 4:
Not too much more to do on the planking.

pic 5:
It seems like a lot of good wasted space there below the tank tray, especially, since it's close to the CG.
Before planking that center section, I'll see if I can remove the glued in tank tray so I can make it removable, just in case that space is needed.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

pic 1:
ply block epoxied in that will have the bolt to hold the outer wings to the fuse.

Planking (cont)

pic 2/3:
Sanded the edges of the planking previously glued on the inner wing.

pic 4/5:
Filler block around exhaust at it's final shape: a little bondo still needed to fill in some rough spots.

pic 6/7:
No way in getting the tank tray off for extra storage so I just planked that area.
Last of the planking done.

pic 8:
Now, I've got to figure out what to do around the retracts.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

What is your final paint job going to look like?

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Same as Dave Chew's: Lots of yellow and easy to see in the air.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

last shots for the night.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Great choice. She looks good on her own legs.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Merlin,
thanks, dude.

==================
Fuse (cont)

Wheel wells.
The wheel wells are close to scale but not quite: the inner door should have a 'jog' on one side but it was too close to the wheel and the fuse formers are real close so I just made square holes.
I may add the outer doors and leave the inner doors off (as they require air cylinders : extra weight).

pic 1/2:
dry fit of two pieces of 1/8" thick balsa forming the wheel well.
Lines on main planking drawn in where I'll be cutting for the wheel well (I'll keep the planking in case I want to add inner doors).

pic 3/4:
I beveled the outside edge so the 1/8" thick balsa will be flush to the 3/32" thick balsa on the inner wing.
Everything's glued in.

That's about it for today: off to the daughter's house for the usual 'Fridays 90 year old house' work.

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Really like that colour scheme as well, but I would like to use the panther for scale comps so need to find a picture of a fullsize in that scheme, even a museum one would do. Has anyone seen and fullsize pics of this scheme.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Xairflyer:
Can't help you since I'm only using what I've seen on a model.

=========================

Fuse (cont)

pic 1/2:
Drilled/tapped a hole into the inner wing ply and outer wings aluminum tube for a #6X32 bolt after making a small access hole in the bottom sheeting of the inner wing.

=============
Final sanding before glassing.
In the nice warm basement, I applied evercoat's easy sand two part bondo to the remaining imperfections.
I then took her out to the shop, got the heater going in this 40 degree climate and turned on my 22 shops lights so I'll have lots of light to see all those imperfections (at least, most of them!).

pic 3-7:
Bottom half sanded.
At this stage of sanding, with just a few exceptions of around the inner wing to fuse (sand paper on a paint stick), I pretty much used 180 grit paper put on an abrasive pad to distribute the pressure of all the hand sanding.

pic 8-12:
Top half sanded.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

Glassing.
Back down to the basement where it's nice and warm again for glassing.
The bottom of the fuse was done first.
I'm partial to ZAP's finishing resin and Nick's 1 oz cloth (pretty good price for small quantities).
The finishing resin goes a long ways so not much is needed.
On winter days, I 'pop' the resin in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up (before mixing) to get the viscosity of the resin lower so it will flow better on the FG cloth (the cloth can snag easily and thick resin on cloth can be cumbersome).
It also starts getting tacky in about 15 minutes or less so you don't have a lot of time to get fancy (case in point listed below).
I laid the glass width wise so I got from the tail to just past the LE of the inner wing.
Normally, you let this dry before going on but I cut a second piece and also did the nose.
I used three different mixing cups to do what you see (a different cup for each mix as what's left in a previous cup would be drying and contaminate the next batch).
I pour in the middle of the FG cloth and work out in all directions.
The FG cloth conforms very well to compound curves and working from the center/out eliminates any wrinkles.
A bondo applicator works best for me.
After the finishing resin is added, insure all cloth is covered but also use the bondo applicator to start removing as much as possible as we only need the finishing resin to hold the cloth to the surface.
Any globs or puddles of finishing resin just adds weight and it dries like iron so sanding it is a real bear.
The smell on the finishing resin is low so doing this in the house shouldn't disturb anyone.

pic 1:
Things I use:
FG cloth 1 oz for fuse.
finishing resin
dedicated scissors just for FG cloth as this stuff snags very easily (also wear gloves: less likely to snag the cloth with rough hands and to keep the finishing resin off you).
bondo applicator.
lots of 2" square paper towels: as you wipe off the excess resin, you need them to wipe off the edge of the bondo applicator.
And old cloths.
A big piece of cardboard also works nice to catch all the crap that falls, it's easy to move around on and you pitch it when it gets nasty.

pic 2:
All hardware removed: in this case, the gear.

pic 3-11:
The center was started first and then worked my way to the edges (from the center out).
I tried to get fancy by cutting the cloth around the gear holes but it's difficult to get the cloth to wrap around sharp edges that are thin and you really don't have time as the resin will be setting up quickly and you need to remove as much as possible before it gets tacky (the nose, I left the cloth intact).
FG cloth doesn't cover holes so no use trying to put any resin on it.
The LE and TE of the wing has a softer edge so I pulled the resin around those edges using the bondo applicator.
No need to cover all cloth with resin as, later, the cloth with no resin will come off quickly with a few strokes of some sandpaper.
I cut along the LE and TE of the wing so the cloth would not bind when I continued the resin on the cloth along the sides of the fuse.
Since the cloth 'stretches', I wait until I have resin up to the edge of the wing and fuse before cutting it to insure I don't cut in the wrong place by cutting it when no resin has yet been applied.
As you can see on the nose, the cloth takes compound curves very well as there are no wrinkles along that entire section.
After you're done, check along the bottom to insure you haven't left any drips on the 'unclothed' surface as this stuff is difficult to remove without damaging the surface.
I did not put any resin on the outer rib of the wing as I don't want to alter the dimensions of the fuse to outer wing.
Since the nose is only plastic, to strengthen it, I also glassed the nose.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

Glassing (cont)
Back out to the shop to remove the FG cloth waste.
Some 180 sandpaper makes quick work of that.
Back to the basement for more glassing.

pic 1/2:
Before sanding off FG cloth waste.

pic 3-5:
Top of the fuse is now ready for glassing.

pic 6-8:
I'm using four separate sections of cloth to cover the top.
One large piece that covers both sides of the vertical fin forward to the top hatch.
Two on each side and one more up front.

pic 9/10:
My illusions of grandeur faded quickly as, initially, I was going to do all four sections at once but stopped after the back piece of cloth was applied. Too many pieces to put down while other pieces are drying versus the bottom with just two pieces that was, mostly, all one large flat surface.
(as taught in the Corps: we don't plan, we improvise!).
As mentioned before, the cloth takes compound curves very well as the one piece went over the top of the vertical fin and down both sides and to the sides of the fuse.

pic 11:
As you can see, not much resin has been used: probably about an inch and a half of resin from each as the bottle was previously opened and some already used. Unlike epoxy, this stuff is thin so it spreads like paint.
Some enamel reducer or lacquer thinner to clean up tools before the resin dries as any resin left on the scissors or bondo applicator will, virtually, make them useless.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

Glassing (cont)

pic 1/2:
After about 30 minutes after glassing the tail section, I realized I could also do the nose without any overlap.

pic 3/4:
A few hours later (actually after the college football game: that cinci/pitts game was great) I did both sides of the center.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

Glassing (cont)

Took the fuse out to the shop to sand the last 'glassing' of the top of the fuse: cold out there but got the temperature from 32 to 50 degrees (good working weather when sanding!).
The first picture shows what happens when you try to get done to soon to see the college game and results in some shark ripples in the glass. Those are a bear to remove.
Got most of the imperfections out but still needs some more sanding.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Rudder/elevator hinge and linkage install.

pic 1:
I'm using 5/32" solid brass rod bent into a 'U' shape to connect the two elevators and rudder halves.

MAJOR SCREW UP!
pic 2:
I've never had a center section of a rudder be glued to the fuse so I wasn't 'thinking ahead'.
With that one little piece of rudder glued to the fuse, the 'U' shaped linkage has to be removable from both the elevator and rudder.

SOLUTION:
pic 3:
Fortunately, the solution didn't take long to figure out (the execution took a lot longer: up until 1 AM).
I cut some 3/16" brass tubing that will be epoxied into the elevators and rudders and used as sleeves so the solid brass rod can slide into the sleeves (all this done so the elevators and rudder is removable).

pic 4/5:
I filed the inside end so I could press the sleeve onto some thin 1/16" soft balsa to make a barrier so the epoxy doesn't go into the sleeve on the install. Some CA kept it in place.

pic 6/7:
Elevator dry fit test.
The elevator 'U' is on the inside of the vertical TE and the rudder's 'U' is on the outside but will be in a groove in the center, non moving part of the rudder.

pic 8-10:
I also added the robart large pin hinges and pocket hinges to the elevator.
Picture of the pocket hinges on the elevator is viewed from the bottom.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Rudder/ elevator linkage install (cont)

pic 1:
Another view of the dry fit of the elevator.

pic 2:
Rudder dry fit.

ONE MORE SCREW UP!
pic 3:
I bent the 'U' for the rudder too short for the distance between them and I'm out of 5/32" solid brass rod (another half hour and the LHS will be open).

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Wing (cont)

pic 1:
finished up cutting/gluing the individual pieces of 1/8" thick balsa for the TE of the left wing.

Tail feathers.

pic 2:
Rudder and elevator dry fitted with new, removable 'U' connectors.

pic 3:
Non-movable part of rudder epoxied in (fuse actually on it's nose so gravity holds the rudder on while drying).

pic 4:
When rudder is removed, the 'U' connector will remain in the slot in the non-movable part of the rudder.
Once the stab is epoxied in, the 'U' connector for the elevator will also remain on the fuse.
The stab will be epoxied to the fuse after the stab is glassed and primed.

GOOD IDEA OR USELESS!
While sanding the stab and elevator I had an idea which I haven't seen before.
Just about all the moving surfaces of a plane can malfunction and you can still, usually, land the plane except for the elevator.
Although I will not likely be flying the panther very fast, my biggest concern is elevator flutter at high speeds.
Some ultracoat covering in the gap between the stab and elevator reduces this possibility (as well as good hinges and a strong stab and servo) but I've decided to use some 1/64" thick ply along the bottom of the stab.
I cut two strips 5/8" wide and CA'ed only the front edge of the ply to the stab.
The rest of the ply pushes against the elevator but since the ply is so thin, the ply moves as the LE of the elevator moves.
I had to cut three holes in each to allow access to the pocket hinge set screws.
There will be some wear of the paint since it rubs on the elevator but it is located on the bottom of the stab so the 'wear' won't show.
I'm hoping this alteration of the hinge gap covers works!

pic 5/6:
1/64" thick ply CA'ed about a 1/4" in front of the TE of the stab so this 'hinge gap cover' can flex.
Before glassing, I put green tape over the ply to keep the resin from getting on the ply and making it stiff.

pic 7:
FG cloth cut for the elevators, rudder, stab and hatch cover.

pic 8-11:
Zap's finishing resin applied in three separate mixes to prevent the resin from drying before completing the task.
Normally, it's best to just cover one side at a time as I did on the stab.
However, I did both sides at once on the smaller parts with the cloth wrapping around the TE.
I'll probably have to do some extra glassing as it's difficult to do two sides since you have to hold it and the cloth then sticks to your gloves: it'll most likely end up that it would have been easier to do one side at a time.
As you can see in the pictures, I applied/sanded some evercoat 'easy sand' to the major defects on the parts before glassing.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Glassing (cont)

pic 1:
Before sanding.

pic 2:
Excess resin and FG cloth removed with sand paper.

pic 3:
The green tape did a good job of keeping the resin off the flexible hinge gap covers.

pic 4:
More cloth cut for other side of stab.

pic 5:
Large flat surfaces are usually easy to 'glass'.
Next is hinging the ailerons, "prep'ing" the wings and glassing them along with the wing tanks; and then primer (which always shows you all the defects that you missed!).

jetster

Sam, I just iron some clear monocote in the gap between the stab& elev. on the bottom side,works the same but less weight.Rich

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Wings (cont)

pic 1/2:
ABS plastic wing tanks glassed (ends will be done later).

pic 3:
Dubro heavy duty hinges (#257) installed in aileron.

pic 4/5:
Enough up and plenty of down for ailerons.

pic 6/7:
Flaps neutral and down position.

pic 8:
Flap/aileron gap.

pic 9-11:
Instead of using the removable brass cotter pins for each dubro hinge, I used some piano wire with a bend on the one end and inserted from the flap side (easy to install with the flap in the down position).
For safety, later, I'll pin the hinges.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Wings (cont)

pic 1:
dry fit to the fuse.

pic 2:
front alignment is good.

pic 3:
fuse will require some bondo to match the flap.

pic 4:
Fuse will also require some bondo to match the higher wing surface.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Wings (cont)

pic 1-3:
Aileron and flap hinged on the left wing.

pic 4:
All hinges and servos removed from wing.
Some string pulled through with the extension to save me some time on assembly.

pic 5-8:
After prep'ing the parts with easy sand the bottoms of the wings, flaps and ailerons were glassed including the servo covers.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Wings (cont)

pic 1/2:
All the waste FG cloth sanded off the parts.
Tomorrow, I'll glass the tops of the wings, ailerons, flaps and ends of the tanks and that should 'about do it' for glassing.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Looking good! Keep it up.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Thanks, dude.

============

Glassing (cont)

Last of the major glassing.
As you can see in some of the pictures, there's only a satin look on the FG cloth indicating that most of the resin has been removed.
As I previously mentioned, it's best to not have to sand 'puddles' or thick layers of this resin as it is rock hard.
The resin box recommends two coats but I only put one coat on: I find that the two part primer that I use does an excellent job of covering the cloth.