Mike Chantler

PS if I can find it, I can check the power pin voltage on my STK if you want.

From my memory, the STK tool has two sets of 3pin outputs and a switch, you use one set and one sw position for flashing receivers and the other for programming things like stabilised s6r. As long as the Neuron instructions say to use the same configuration for connecting the STK for flashing rx I'd be tempted to use the JR bay after triple checking the polarity and voltage of the power pins!

Maybe a dumb comment, but can you use the URART pins in the JR bay in the TX to do the upgrade in the same way as you use it for flashing receivers?

The double skin is a neat approach - I like that 🙂 For a slope model I suspect you still need longitudinal carbon or similar, I've been flying two incarnations of a 60" plank with a 3D printed fuselage pretty continuously over the last year and a half. The foam/carbon wing of the first version collapsed in a brutal straight-in crash (totally my fault) because I had used surface carbon spars without a webbing spar as an experiment. The fuselage was in perfect shape afterwards and could of been reused except I fancied a different colour and a couple of mods to the battery arrangement. It does have a double layer skin, but not the spacing and bracing between the two skin layers. V2 ended up going into the hill in 50-60mph wind when I was curious about just how big a loop I could do with full ballast 🙄 It went in at an angle breaking the nose off along a print layer line - some other crashes have all had the fuselage break in the same plane but different places as the print is weak for tension forces applied normal to print layers. I don't think the double skin will really help you for this failure mode, especially for a slope model flown in windy conditions. Adding holes for longitudinal carbon tube in the design is pretty easy and within my Fusion 360 skills 🙂 so will likely go for this simple solution. The double and spaced skin will likely challenge my brain power, not so much in terms of creating it, but rather the knock-on effect it will have with the rest of the 3D model, so will likely leave this for now 🙂 PS there is a nice video here on how to use kevlar thread to put 3D prints into tension, this I suspect would be lighter than carbon rod but a bit more awkward to organise in a model.

Sounds like a neat solution 👍

I Like the simple rubber securing bit on the link, is that heat shrink?

Little progress as weather been good for going up the hill and am back at work. Sadly broke fus of the model I have been flying continuously for the last year so this will need some attention. But got the new MEKP catalyst, mixed up, painted on to half size bit of 3D print, and still sticky after 2 days! Turns out there are two types of polyester duh! 🙄 . One cures with MEKP and one cures with BPO paste, ISOPON laminating polyester is the latter 🙄 Now waiting for the other stuff. In meantime printed off a full size section of nose: You can see the 3d print layers: But light sanding and two layers of polyester should do it 🙂 And yes my 3D design skills are primitive! But will do for up the hill. I plan to use 3D print for top half of front fus. Still needs modified for battery box, ballast tubes and some longitudinal carbon rod re-inforcement (otherwise I suspect it will be vulnerable to breaking along the print laminations). Will post models for anyone who is interested later after i'm happier with design.

The first time I glassed a fuselage I made a complete mess of it, it kind of bubbled up all over the place, had several goes and it just got worse, turned out that I was using too much epoxy, wasn't until second build that I realised what i had been doing wrong(!) Very frustrating as I had spent quite a bit of time shaping and sanding (not as good as yours mind you).

Wow, that's a good wingspan 👍

It's hanger rash which is the main problem for me - as our slopes are nice and grassy, although there are some isolated small rocks that we manage to find(!) Recently I've taken creating wing and fuselage bags for my planes which has helped enormously. More of a problem is that the foam contact glue, although it sands, it is tougher than the XPS and can leave high points if it gap fills at all. You then need quite a bit of patience that balsa and aliphatic would not. I may yet cut these tips off and replace with balsa 🙄

Yes, good point, and I will likely rethink this. I'm kind of used to using kevlar under the skins which ends up with a pretty neat and indestructible hinge: However, on the elliptical wings I can't do this as the top skin does not follow a straight line at the aileron hinge (it goes across two of the foam panels). So will likely just use balsa facings and std hinges. But first will cover wing in light-weight glass to reduce the chances of the ailerons warping which I have had happen before 😞

Great build - and curious as to shiny chrome bits on ends of hinges?

Looks fantastic 🤩

So cut TE with newly purchased right-angled Dremel attachment: This thing is brilliant! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Should of got it ages ago. Then added XPS tip blocks with 3mm lite ply reinforcement: Now have to resist trying to carve the tips before glue completely set 🤔

Was scratching my head a bit about how to do the aileron hinges - normally I put light kevlar below the top skin and this gives a bullet proof and very tight hinge. However, the ailerons span two of the wing foam sections so you can't do this for the spit, and I've only ever built straight-edged wings before. So remembered some guys on rcGroups cutting out sections from foam veneered wings and putting in wood sub TE and aileron facing before cutting ailerons out, they used some thin ply to create aligned spaces for the hinges. Had a test go on that wing I bodged with too little vacuum: Think this worked well in dry fit: but it's easy to mess up the skins - so thought I would glass the wings first - and this would also limit warping of ailerons. But to glass the wings I need the tips.

Experimented with finishing some test 3d prints. Light sanding of spinner with 180 grit followed by 4 coats high-build primmer: Not bad for a matte finish, but you can still see the 3d layers, especially at the top where it was awkward to sand. Next attempt used polyester resin plus micro-balloons - however, it never set!!! Being a cheap skate I thought I would use some catalyst it got with a tooling kit a while back with cheap can of resin from Halfords, after a little investigation discovered MEPK only has shelf life of 6 months and my hardener was at least 5 years old!! Dunce 🙄 lol So new MEKP on order!

Thanks Matt, will see how enthusiastic I am at that stage of the build - i've certainly crushed quite a bit of XPS before 🙂 It looked like you were using balsa cores in that thread, do you know if anyone bagged XPS in the same way on that mass build? I'd be worried about warping the XPS? PS I do have a vacuum regulator in the loop. back to work today so build will go a bit slow from here.

And will think about cannons 🙄

Added and shaped this morning So am now pretty happy with the LE and bagging - will slowly add TE shaping, ailerons, finishing etc (may try laminating film on test first to see what I would do with the LEs). While I'm doing bits of physical stuff to keep me sane - I'll tackle a bit more of the Fusion 360 stuff and think about how to do the rear fuselage (ideas vary from carving foam, doing foam vertical bread and butter, to using 3D prints as moulds - yup no clear ideas yet except probably not lost foam).

Last night I managed to ignore my own instructions (who reads instructions anyway?) missed out the tape the beds with protective tape step, noticed as assembling, and pushed in some A3 laminating pouches quickly but they did not protect all of the wing: Will sand off easily, but just as well I noticed 😮. I'm going to try and be much more patient in future ...

Great 🙂 thanks! threads look very valuable. Nice to see that other folk use 12v speed 600 sized vac pumps - I had wondered about their longevity. I've tried the thick PVC stuff, and 75 micron laminating film - both which left dimples with me. But laminating thicker laminating film sounds a great idea 👍 - I'm definitely going to give this a go - and so think I now might replace the sheet balsa tail feathers with aerofoil section XPS 🙂

Damn, and good point, got excited about the build and added/shaped cedar 🙄 I'm finding that the Titebond Original sets really quickly - so couldn't resist shaping lol

Normally I always forget at least one thing in the sequence, which usually sends me into a panic of sticky epoxy gloves and newspaper and things get covered in sticky epoxy that shouldn't 😮. So, wrote an aide memoire for myself: apologies , I'm sticking it here, as know I'll have no clue where I have stored it if I don't put it in the build log 🙂

skins look fine so added 6mm balsa sub LE, this will get an additional 3mm cedar LE once shaped a bit: This is slightly different as I think Paul recommended a single 5 mm balsa LE, but I wasn't confident of getting the elliptical(ish) shape and also like the ding protection of cedar.

Brilliant! Thanks Matty, I will definitely check this method out, looks great, I can even experiment by tripling up some A3 150 micron pouches I got by mistake (meant to buy more 75 micron for covering a 60" plank - only discovered it was 150 when I tried to get it to go round a sub TE that had a nice square edge 🤔 ) Nebuliser pumps look good (I have an oil vacuum pump but never used it as it sprays a fine sheen of oil everywhere if you don't have exhaust trunking) 😞