John Roberts 9

Thanks Tim.   In retrospect I can certainly see why you chose balsa block.   My choice of hardish balsa didn't help but the real problem wasn't the degree of bend required but the amount of longtitudinal (is that a real word??) twist the planks needed so that they would sit flush(ish) against the side of F1. This was most apparent with the planks closest to the fuselage sides.   Had I thought about it a bit more I would have realised this would happen because F1 doesn't sit anywhere near concentric (eeeeep, another big word this early in the morning!) with F2 (and my new F1A).   The solution in the end was to cut the outer couple of planks at F1A and attach as two separate pieces. This required a liltle more finishing with a plane & sandpaper but the end result is strong, looks OK and has less stress & twisting loads.   Thanks for the wise words about the top hatch, it is back on the model now. I had taken if off just whilst the the glue on the first two side strips set (honest guv ).   Its good of you to keep an eye on us Tim and your comments are always very welcome .   Cheers, John

Iain & Terry   I think I could do with having a couple of pints of whatever it is you guys are drinking!! Your rate of progress is incredible - great work both   My progress is modest in comparison but here goes anyway. First shot shows the start of the planking underneath the motor.   And this is the completed result many, many hours later.   In the end I think planking might have been more difficult than fixing the balsa block although I made life difficult for myself with a poor choice of balsa. I should have gone for some softer stuff which would have been nore willing to bend & twist to the required profile.   I have just started making the removable upper hatch / cabin. My choice of balsa for the associated upper planking will be more thoughtful and may require the use of all 9 of my remaining, fully functional, brain cells   Cheers, John.    Edited By John Roberts 9 on 28/01/2012 16:53:18

Hello   Doesn't feel like its been a very productive building week for me. RL (real life) has been demanding more attention than seems reasonable and I feel as though my building time has been spent phaffing around!!   On reflection, what I have done is quite a few of those little but highly time consuming jobs that ought to make the final assembly phase much quicker.............well thats my theory anyway.   First off I have sorted out the wing mountings. I went for 2 nylon bolts at the rear and I decided to also make a 1/16th ply load spreading plate, which I have already covered with white Oracover. I will glue this in place once I have applied the full wing covering.   I spent far too much time pondering on how best to lower nose area of the fuselage but in the end Iain's approach (planking) is the way I have decided to go. To make this a little easier I made an additional former (lets call it F1A) that sits below H1. This will not only support the planking but also supports the forward end of the battery tray.   Yet more time was devoted to going around in circles on the linkages for the rudder & elevator servos. Finally I decided to use carbon rods. Very careful measuring and mocking up was needed to determine the position of the elevator rod exit hole.   This slot is about 3.5cm long with the rearmost exit point being just aft of F4. The top edge of the slot, meaured from the upper surface of the fuselage side at F4 is 2.5cm down.   The rudder rod will emerge through the upper fuselage side which I haven't yet fitted and that will doubtless require similar care to get it right.   Next job is to start the planking.   Cheers, John