Hugh P

Sorry To many late nights and early starts, 3"x 0.125 are both imperial. i.e 0.125 " =  3mm my mistake. Hugh  

Keith When I got my Ali from Mackays they charged me £5.40 a meter inc vat. to find it on there website you can follow this link http://www.mackay.co.uk/Metals-Warehouse/Aluminium/Flat.html they do not say what the price per meter is and the given price is £20 for the 3" x 0.125 ( a mixture of imperial and metric sized!). All I know is I rung to confirm the price and got it at £5.40. I will be in Eastbourne over Easter, Old Warden for the May Fly weekend and at RIAT in July, staying in Cirencester.So if any one wants some Ali I can provide a sort of delivery service!   I am hoping to bend my Ali today. I have some 90 degree ali bar that I will put in the jars of an old work mate and try bending it like that. I can not find a vice with a big enough jaw to take the 3" width of the Ali. If that does not work I will have to try clamping it between 2 bits of angle Iron. This U/C seems to be the most difficult part of the build.   As a side I am part of the RIAT Media Team photographing VIPs, A/c arrivals etc and get into all sorts of places on the Air Side, so if you need a close up photo of a B52 U/C or paint scheme let me know.   Hugh

Thanks guys, I think I will buy the wood and cut it to make a 'kit' . I know there are some big ribs to cut, but the CNC wood pack @ £70 for 'Ribs & Formers' only seems very over priced to me.   HughP

Terry Thanks for your reply, my mind is made, I'll go with the SC52FS. What will I do with the Laser 70, well I think it would be just right for TN's 621/2" Spit. I started on the Lysander Fuz the other night and found two 2mm holes about 5mm apart in BO1, can't puzzle out what they are for. HughP

Hi all I'm new to this group. Iwas wondering if any one has a list of the 'WoodPack' after buying the Lysander WoodPack I find that you can buy the wood direct from SLEC at considerably less than buying it from MyHobbyStore.  I aim to get the CNC pack to save the hasttle of cutting out ribs ect. The plan looks great and from reading the thread my Laser 70 will fit a treat ( with slightly longer cowl). Thanks Hugh 2

Hi all, It's decision time and I would really appreciate some feedback. I have a Laser 70 which is very nearly the same physical size as the SC52FS it is 3 oz  / 105gm heavier though. I have 2 main worries: 1) Is the Laser just far too powerful? 2) The centre line of the fuel tank is 4cm above the spray bar i.e. the spraybar is just below the bottom level of the tank. Will this lead to running / flooding problems? The laser fits in well, with only a small mod to F1 and is slightly turned from the true inverted position. On the plus side the throttle run is directly under the fuel tank and a 3 bladed prop will be no problem. Look forward to your thoughts. Hugh

Peter I have enough ali (T6 I believe ) for Four U/C's. It only cost about £6 a meter from Macays in Cambridge. I am in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire. I could post but not sure about the cost. It should be easy enought to cut to size, after all none of it will be seen! My problem is in bending the stuff. I will be at Old Warden for the May Fly weekend, so I could get plenty more Ali if others would like some. Just let me know. I have started on my build by trying to fit the Laser 70 on the firewall I have got to hack F1 about a bit to recess the carb and silencer but I think it wiil go,as there is a gap between F1 &  F2 at the bottom and the cowl will probably cover it. I'm building a mock front end at the moment before I decide on the laser or the SC52. Hugh

OK , I have a full understanding of annealing Auminium now, thanks Guys.  Simon B I forgot to say in my last, MAKAYS even sell's Gorrila Glue in three sizes.

Terry Thanks for that, I have heard of the method before, after heating and bending do you need to do a final heat and  then quench in water to re-harden the Ali. I work on an RAF Station and I belive there might be a metal bending machine in workshops, I will have to investigate. I have enough metal for 4 attempts! But it is only a few miles to get some more. Hi Hi. Hugh  

Hi all. I have at last found a source of Ali for the U/C. If you are in reach of Cambridge, the shop is Mackay 01223 517000 . I got a peice of T6 grade ali 1 M in length x 3" x 1/8" for £5.40. In actual fact it was 1.3M but they did'nt charge the extra. Brilliant shop sells just about every tool going, nuts bolts ect even down to our sizes. They even sell balsa! If you are stuck for Ali, I will be at Old Warden for the May Fly weekend, and I'm often down in the Eastbourne area and also down to Wiltshire occasionaly, just let me know and I can get some for you. The shop is on the net and there is a PDF with metals sizes. http://www.mackay.co.uk//media/pdfs/Metals-Leaflet.pdf All I need to do now is bend it! Hugh

Hi all, re the lights I have used a MAPLINS NR73Q 5mm White LED, powed by a 90ma single cell lipo. Probably won't need a resistor in circuit but just for safety I have put a 12 ohm 1/8 watt in line. This just protects the LED which runs at 4 volts from the 4.2 volt supply of the fully charged lipo. I got a cheap torch from Co-Op / Rainbow and hacked the lens assyembly out. The reflector is 1" diameter and very light (ugh) weight. This set up will run for ages even using 2 LEDs. I plan to use a turnigy servo speed / direction regulator ( http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=8863 ) $7.59, that slows down the travel of flaps or gear. As it has 3 servo outputs I will put the lights on the spare channel (using a mini servo and microswitch), so that when the flaps go down the lights come on. Any one planning to use a Laser 70? I have one and it's not a bad fit, but I will make a mock up of F1 as the carb and muffler need to be recessed into F1. The build is due to start very soon, just finishing off the latest project.

I got my 11/32 brass tube & 8mm C/F rod from Inwoods 01480 411519, www.inwoodmodels.co.uk ,so it should be available at most models shops. I am still trying to get hold of the Ali for the U/C. Where are you guys getting it from? Hugh

Hi all, new to the blog. I have been reading the posts while I have been collecting a 'kit of parts' and the project is due to start early next year. I am lucky enough to live only 22 miles from both Duxford and Shuttleworth and have several photos of both examples. They can all be veiwed on my web site at www.hughp.co.uk ther's even one in 3D. My biggest problem with the build is the U/C. You can buy 6082T6 3" x 1/8" x 2000mm from AluminiumWarehose.co.uk for £4.85 with postage at £14.95 (all plus vat) for as much metal as you require. But how the heck do you bend it. I have a 3" vice but nothing bigger. Carbon fibre would be great but not homemade. I was also thinking about Flaps, I have a DX6i TX and I was thinking of putting the flaps on the gear switch and then have an aileron/flap mix, this would the give aileron, aileron/flap and by using the gear switch the normal inboard flaps, I have not tried it, what do you think. For the Landing light I have a cheap torch reflector from RAINBOW stores and have used a White LED from Maplins (NR73Q) + an 8.2ohm resistor (M8R2) to limit the current to 20ma. Run from a single cell 90ma LiPo this gives a VERY bright light that will run for ages on one charge and no heat build up in the spat. All up weight - not a lot. I think one of these LED's in a reflector will be plenty bright enough.