AlexJ

Hi Danny, I haven't dissapeared totally. It sounds, like some of the others, as though I have had to briefly change my priorities, but I am still moving slowly on? I like the latest progress on the chippie. The foil idea looks good, I got some of the foil from Mick Reeves as part of an order some time ago. I know my wife has a plotter/cutter thing for her crafting, the challenge will be getting her to assist with the operation, whilst using it to cut foil rather than paper! Did you draw the stencils manually prior to scanning them, or are they created in CAD? Keep up the good work. Alex

Thank you all for your kind thoughts, I appreciate the sentiments. Colin, I have not set up the wing seat yet, I have only added a small amount of washout and I have not made a decision yet. Alex

Hi all, Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have had a bit on my plate recently,culminating in the loss of my father, unfortunately. I will be back in the workshop very soon, I have built the flaps and ailerons recently, they seem rather flexible at the moment. I am being spurred on by the progress being made by the others though, it looks like a lot of the bugs are being sorted. Alex

Hi Nigel, Thats very classy looking planking. You have raced on. Regards Alex

Hi Danny, Thanks very much for the video, I saved it for this morning while I wait for my car to be serviced, very worthwhile use of the time! I have the tapes, I am looking forward to having a bash at this. Alex

I will sit with you John, in the oddball corner ( IC and a box ) . I have doubled up F3, as there isn't much left after I cut out for the box. Martin, You really are making rapid progress, the rear wing fairings look good to me, they do seem different on every example. I know how much time it soaks up with very little progress. Alex

Hi Guys, Last year I was involved in a get together with a bunch of people. We spent the Saturday at Duxford and the Sunday at Old Warden, I loved it. A reverse version would be good, the 22nd could be at Old Warden, 23rd at Duxford and finish the evening off with a display at Old Warden! It is about 30 to 40 mins away from memory. This could just be the ravings of someone with a sugar rush, there was a lot of icing on that slab of Christmas cake! Alex

Oohhh! 100 posts, small celebration Alex

Hi Nigel, I think it is worth using soft 1/8 sheet for the planking. Having recently sanded the fuselage, it really allows you to get stuck in and remove the "starved donkey" appearance, without the worry of leaving too little meat. Alex

Sorry for the lack of recent updates, I have not had too much to tell! I have completed the fuselage halves, I really enjoyed the planking, I love the pattern revealed when you sand it. I started to plank the bottom all the way from the front, then decided to do the front in sheet, with a scarf joint to remove the stress concentration at the rear of the cockpit. This is not a rare single seat variant , I just wanted to plank in one go, to the rear of the front seat, so that the independent bit in the middle was correctly aligned. I will cut out the wing seat and cockpit openings soon. Going back and forth between the fuselage and the wing, I have fixed the undercarriage legs and sheeted the underside of the wing. I made a couple of hard points for the fixings that set the leg angle, just to stop the bolts crushing the soft balsa rib core. I knocked a rivet off its shaft, drilled it out to 3mm and cut it to the exact length to match the rib thickness. This was glued in place with epoxy and micro balloons. Thinking about it now, I should have just cut away some of the balsa core and filled it withe the epoxy/microballoon mix, never mind . Before I sheeted the u/s of the wing, I re-pinned it to the board on its T/E packer, then fixed temporary additions to the L/E and T/E to preserve the washout settings when I flipped it over. I was convinced that I would twist it if it was otherwise left to its own devices. I have a feeling that the next stage with the flaps and ailerons, is going to be a test, if the other Chippites experiences are any indicator! Happy New Year to you all. Alex