Martian

Hello again my workbench is a heck of a mess and it will stay that way until this current phase is complete , so about to fit second retract /a pic showing the wingtip presented to the mid wing . the first wing half I built in two sections that was the way to make hard work of it so the second half was built as a whole with the wing joint tube in place and plastic gift cards separating the the inner connecting ribs to keep the glue away then panelled the front edge of the wing when all nice and dry I used a fine tooth hacksaw blade to separate the two sections that was much easier ? . I have decided to use blue foam for the rear of the nacelles to save weight and save planking so in those blue chunks I have to find the rear nacelle I will get the crude shape then start carving and finally sand away to my hearts content (what ever floats your boat )

Hi Chris thanks for the comment. I have gone to far to do as you have suggested never the less if I build the wings again as a lighter version I am proposing to build the nacelles first . can you give me a link to your Ta 154 .

It's been awhile but I have been making progress. The fuselage was fairly straight forward but the wing good grief , the plans are excellent with outline and shape but reducing the plans down for a 1/10 scale is more than problematic there is an abundance of ribs not necessarily a problem but it could cope with less and the nacelles are over built for this size . I tracked down a flightline Tigercat which is the same scale so I sourced oleos and wheels from there ( MotionRC) I really wanted scale gear but am unable to get near a miller and lathe I already had a pair of electric metal retracts So I turned the legs down to fit the retracts . It has been difficult to place the retracts in the right place in the nacelle but I have finally managed the first one the other should be straight forward. The nacelle position in the wheel requires two ribs to be butchered once the second nacelle is done I will align and glue both into wing and glue both wing halves together. My thoughts are at the moment to continue with the wing even though I,m not happy it all feels like bodging. I may use the experience to build a new wing building lighter and less brick house like nacelles ,it seems the best way is to build the nacelles then the wing halves and place the two ribs in a better place not easy to explain . Oh I also decided to get the plastic replacement parts for the flightline Tigercat happily the gear doors will fit plus other bits which will save a bit of faffing. pics below

Sorry Mark I missed your comment appreciate your knowledge thank you

Thank you very much flyingfinn . I am going to use my Anet 8 3d printer stripped down as the basis for the cutter .

So FlyinFlynn are you saying dump Marlin and use GRBL instead ?

Any of you clever people thought about or have converted their 3D printer to a laser cutter/engraver ?

I,m so pleased I started this thread and thrilled it has made a difference good health and happiness to all you guys and continue to spread the word

Basil that is pretty horrendous to hear I can only hope you get a positive outcome from future treatment.

Just a thought if anyone would like a copy of the pdf files let me know

yes Bob the 103" I realised was far to ambitious and would have taken it to the large model type and all that entails I believe they come out between 40 to 50 pounds in weight and the cost the mind boggles

did look at those Ron not 100% sure they wouldn't be to big and they are to pricey for me but they do look good

David this is an exquisite build a real treasure . re the decals there is a chap that does vinyl decals for Richard Wills and they are very good and cost effective if hyou like I will dig out his and e-mail addy

Thanks guys for taking the trouble to look in and post a comment it was much easier to view the views so to speak before. anyway some pic of the wing all four sections in various stages central sections to be matched up and trimmed before joining outer sections beyond the nacelles are joined with ali and phenolic tube if anyone needs or wants more details just ask away. I have to repeat Don Smith plans are tough going and experimenting is needed as progression takes place. If I build this cat again I would make a good set of wing jigs to make life easier. the fuselage is straight forward but it would be easier if you had a set of retracts that you wanted to use .Seirra build a set to order but that is for the 103 inch wing I was prepared to make my own with engineering help from my daughters partner but lockdown scuppered that so I looked around for an alternative and found Flightline do a 63inch span Tigercat and RC Motion carry the spares problem solved ,they are not true to scale but should look ok. More soon

Thanks for the reply David its not an easy build so just wanted to make sure I find the time for pics and updates if there is interest

This is Simply excellent

Can be microwaved for 20 to 30 seconds to increase fluidity if starting to thicken then when you have used what you need reseal quickly .heating is also ideal to get it to flow in awkward places .

had my jab on the 31st Jan just a sore arm pfizer vaccine my wife had hers Mon Astra Zeneca vaccine sore arm and generally unwell for 36 hrs but all good .things are looking positive

Thank you Eric

As promised some pics of progress four pics show tailplane in place to get an accurate fit at a point during the fuselage halves I lined the tailplane housing with vertical balsa against the tailplane seat then marked it with marker pen and cut through skin in several places when the time came to fit the tailplane I simply completed the stitch line and removed the balsa skin gradually fine sanding to a good fit at the same time the elevator joiner was made complete with horn and fitted in place then a cut out was made to enable the carbon push rod with a ball and socket then closed up again adjustment will take place at the servo. A similar process was carried out to remove the fuselage cut out above the wing seat. Next up will be wing progress

Recently had a MRI to check progress had a letter on Friday to say no noticable change in cancer area so that's all good Take care chaps

Been ages since I updated this log like a lot of others in all walks of life my mojo disappeared although I have made some progress I just need to upload pics to date currently working on 1 wing half and nacelle it's not been easy several iterations of plan copies have allowed errors to creep in I also understand the formers and ribs were not hugely accurate definitely would be easier with the next Don Smith build now I know what to expect, pic update tomorrow.

None charged at all for either order ! Don't know why ,is the Netherlands in the EU ?

A bit disappointing having been a member since 2013