This must be an easy kit to build. Even Kenny Rogers is helping Ollie and Eric put their planes together!:cool:

With all the upper formers glued-in, I turn my attention to the saddle for the airfoiled horizontal stab. These are two pieces glued on either side, behind the last former. I simply put it flush with the outside edge of the 1/4 x 1/4" balsa stringer and run thin CA at the joint . . .

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139396

. . . the balsa needs to be contoured to fit flush with the edge of the former, so I carefully align and contour it; then apply thin CA from the bottom, let it set, recheck the alignment and apply CA further up, etc., until done.

Then, repeat the procedure on the other side.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139399


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139400
My stab saddle is complete.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139401
♫ ♪ ♫ . . . You gotta know when to hold ‘em . . . ♪ ♫

♫. . . Know when to glue ‘em . . . ♪ ♫ ♪

Nice...

:confused:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139402

Before putting in the upper stringers, Tim and I put in a cockpit floor, using a scrap piece of 1/16" wing sheeting between the two formers. The floor's base is made from 1/4 x 1/4" balsa glued to the inside surfaces of the formers (just above the cut-outs).

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139403



Eric chose not to as he plans on tinting the canopy and won't see inside, anyway; so he went straight to gluing the upper stringers in.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139404


With the floor glued in, I glue in the upper fuse stringers, and wipe away any excess CA:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139405 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139406

If your doing this by yourself a # 64 rubber band around the crutch stringers would help hold them together while you square the former and glue it in place..

Now that the stringers are in, the cockpit sides are installed. They are glued to the floor, the stringers, and the two formers. If I had it to do over again, I would probably put them on the inside of the stringers. Either way, once in, sand flush with the top of the stringers.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139781

I like to add a pencil line down the center of my formers too. I then shine a laser level over them to confirm I have proper alignment. If any of the pencil lines don't line up its time to double check and determine the problem before I go any father. Mr. Murphy is always trying to sneak into my builds!

I've been meaning to look into getting a laser level. It would make checking alignment while building an assembly, as well as mounting one assembly to another so much more accurate. I'm curious about differences in features, ease of use, flexibility etc. What kind do you have, and how satisfied are you with that model? Any disappointments you've experienced or heard about with some models compared to others?

With the stab saddle and stringers in, one starts to get a feel for the lines of the model. Like any of us building a new model for the first time, Eric couldn't resist setting his tail feathers on his framework to get an even better "sneak peak."

Do you wanna see, too?!

Yeah, you know you do. So, here it is:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139782

All three of our framed, top fuse assemblies:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139783
Ollie's (mine) left foreground, Tim's right foreground, and Eric's left background. Tim has already completed his firewall assembly, which will be detailed in the next steps.

Next is the assembly that I will call the Firewall Offset Box.

This assembly has a number of purposes. It extends the firewall further forward of the cowl mount, as necessary to position the engine appropriately within the large cowl. It forms a compartment for the fuel tank; and, the bottom of the sides are contoured to the airfoil to serve as a wing saddle doubler.

Set the front side of the firewall down and position one of the side pieces of the box so that the airfoil-contoured side aligns with the bottom of the firewall. Square the side 90 degress to the firewall and glue. Repeat with the other side.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139785 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139786 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139787

Position the top cross-brace (visible in the second picture), and glue it to the firewall and the two sides.

Cut some lengths of tri-stock, then glue them in the corners to appropriately reinforce the joints of this assembly. (Make sure they do not extend below the bottom contour of the wing saddle doubler.) I haven't done it yet, but I also like to reinforce these joints with fiberglass, as well. I prefer 3.5 - 4 ounce cloth, run at at 45 degree bias to better conform to the corners, for this purpose. The tri-stock also decreases the sharpness of the angles (instead on one 90-degree, there are now two 45-degree bends) and makes the application of cloth easier to conform to these corners. This would be the best time to apply the cloth, before the assembly is glued-in and access becomes more restricted. (Note: While the cloth can lay over the blind nuts, initially, for ease of application, do not apply resin too close to the blind nuts, or you risk getting resin in the threads.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139789 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139790 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2139791

Iron Dog, the laser level I have is a $20 made in China no-name special designed to sit on a table or camera tripod. It is self-leveling and does have both a vertical and horizontal beam. The laser are not the most powerful, I generally have to close the blinds on a sunny day, but for the price I can't beat it. Care must be taken to insure you are lined straight onto the project. I usually use the horizontal beam to check this before turning on the vertical beam. Since I bought it for using in modeling only I'm satisfied with it for now. I bought it a couple of years ago at one of those local stores specializing in budget imported tools. Unfortunately I have seen the one I have or an improved model for some time. It might have been a one shot deal. I also found a half dozen single AA cell flashlights for 25 cents each that I cannibalize for the bulb reflectors. These reflectors are perfect for landing lights on civilian aircraft like the Cessna 182. If you have such a store I recommend regularly prowling their shelves its amazing what handy stuff you can find that can be used or repurposed for our hobby.

Mike

Thanks for the info, Mike!

In discussions with others, it sounded like a tripod-mounted set-up was the way to go; but, the one time I looked into them, the price of one that came with a tripod was prohibitive. A new Harbor Freight store just opened up, much nearer to my house, so when I finally get around to checking out the new store, I'll have something specific in mind to look for.

Ollie

Got my Tsunami in today
Looking forward to this build

Ollie, for my laser level I use a photography tripod. My son bought me this full size tripod with telescoping legs the whole thing fits in an 8" long pouch! The base of my level has a the standard screw receptacle that matches this type of tripod. For our use you don't need commercial grade.

Of course I threw out my old video camera tripod a few years ago, Mike. So will have to see what I can find.

Exciting! And, we can't wait to read all about it on your upcoming build-thread, Marty!

(Just kidding, Marty -- no pressure. But, I can't help but hope others will share something of their Winter Projects, too, and give me something interesting to read.)

But, definitely hope you will keep us posted occasionally on your progress.

I'll get back to where I left off . . .

If you are not careful with the orientation of the firewall to the other parts, or you get glue in the threads of the blind nuts, you will find yourself having to "pop" the blind nuts back out with a hammer and matching socket-head bolt. This damages the outer layer of the plywood; causing a loss of some of the structual integrity, as well as extra work due to a need for filling and sanding the damaged wood surface.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141708
Eric accidentally reversed his firewall as he was gluing the sides of the box assembly to it. The resultant white filler necessary is clearly visible.

Furthermore, we re-glued the same blind nuts back in, then found the threads were damaged on one of them, from the impacts of the hammer on the bolt we used to knock it out. We ended-up having to pop it back out a second time, to glue in a brand-new one

Some shots of our progress to this point:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141714
A relative close-up of my fuse.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141715 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141716
Eric's is in the rear left, mine to the front left, and Tim's to the front right.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141717
Eric glues the rearmost former of the fuse to the stringers and the stab saddle, using thin CA.


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141718
I use a piece of ply to perfectly align the TE of the former with the TE of the stab saddle.


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141719http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2141720
I now glue the rearmost former of my fuse to the stringers and the stab saddle.

Doubt I'll be doing a build thread, you guys rock those
:)
But I may pop in every now and then and give a progress report. I was able to get the Horz stab and vert stab done. I opted for the Robart hinges and I installed 4 per half on the elev.
Im hoping to get a day next week to start on the wing. I may be asking questions on the "wash out" part of the wing, once I get there.
I am gonna look at a conversion from the plans 2 bolt and 2 front dowel pin set up for the wing, to a 4 bolt wing set up
since Im using the YS monster.

I have been able to get the horz stab and vert stab finished up. I used 1/8" robart hinge points. I forgot to install some extra balsa inside the .25x.25 stick stock at the clam shell center for these hinges. For now, all that is there for the hinges to be epoxied to is that .25 stock. I will fill with epoxy and insert hinges and then stand on end creating a puddle of epoxy.

My wing halves are framed up and top frt and rear sheeting installed.