McG 6969

Hi AVC, Thanks for your answer to my question & certainly for your 'lamination' tutorial. Happy laminating to all. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello AVC, Just subscribed to your build treat. ... sheesh... you've almost finished the tailplanes and I'm still contemplating (studying?) Peter's drawings. . Allow me a question, please: concerning the top part of the rudder (the one that goes into the LE's slot), should the balsa grain not be 'horizontal' for that part? Happy glueing Chris Brussels, Belgium

@ Andrew ... the only reason for me to escape to other languages was when I finally encountered the obvious fact that my French would never reach perfection... . Happy escaping Chris Brussels, Belgium

@ Geoff You're right, our Dutch neighbors are well known for their language skills. But please, don't ask them to pronounce some French though. Flemish people seem to possess the same ability, but Walloons (French speaking Belgians) like me originally, seem to 'suffer' a lot more with other - non Latin - languages. So, I decided to learn Dutch first... hum, strange approach here, I must admit... My first build is really going to be challenging but I think it might steep up the learning curve... at least, I do hope so. The same with 'electrics' - conversion or not - , totally new for me. To give you an idea, I've never been binding an RX so far... . Happy electrifying Chris Brussels, Belgium

@ Danny If I can find some lithoplate in due time, my intention is to make a small metal frame for the windshield. If not, it will be a dummy acetate one. But in both cases, I hereby officially promise that I will try some riveting on it. Cheers Chris Brussels, Belgium

Thank you, John. Have some great New Year's time. Chris Brussels, Belgium

... and, please, no - very simple - brake calipers with insulated piano wired fluid connections neither... Happy calipering Chris

Thank you, Danny. A long way to go, a mega-lot to learn but hopefully not too much 'rivets' for me on this one... A great New Year's Eve & a successful 2016 for you and your family. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello to all, As a total newbie to RC & obviously 'building', I decided to participate to the MB 2016 for a couple of reasons: trying to acquire some experience with different techniques, hoping for some assistance from the Master Builders and the Depron Gurus and, last but not least, taking part in the celebration of Peter Miller's designing career. HD has nothing to do with High Definition but simply means Hybrid Depron. Of course, I could have inverted the acronym but that was certainly offensive to the most reputable British aircraft manufacturer. Probably my 'hybrid' approach isn't supposed to be the easiest for a beginner but by being eager to use different techniques or solutions, I was tempted to give it a try. As the fuselage seems to be the heaviest part of a model, mine is to be built in 3 & 6 mm Depron around a liteply forward box structure; aft fuselage & tailplanes in CF reinforced Depron and the main wing as a conventional balsa construction, possibly with dual servos (copycatting the Master Builders after the builds get started). Power being electric with most probably a - 3S & 4S compatible - SK3 and 60A ESC. By the way, 'Bella' doesn't mean that my version will pretentiously be 'pretty' but the simple recognition of the model being very attractive. I think I even may have found a way to implement Peter's top fuselage stringers & covering into the Depron foam... Thanks for reading & have some splendid New Year's time. Chris Brussels, Belgium   ps: ... please forgive my English writing as it only is my third language.   Edited By McG 6969 on 30/12/2015 19:22:07

Hi Dave, I hope you had some fine Christmas time. Did you find some time to start drawing your plybox/motormount & the converted aft formers for your build? Or maybe you even started cutting some of them? Concerning my "side note" in my latest post above, what do you think about it? After this peaceful and silent period, I hope your fingers are still itching to have some Depron bashed... Happy New Year & a successful 2016 for you and your family. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Posted by Geoff Sleath on 28/12/2015 13:43:28: I'll probably adjust the dimensions of F10 slightly to fit the tailplane. Geoff Could you please clarify this, Geoff. Thanks Chris Brussels, Belgium

As the doubler stops between F6 & F7, I guess you made a good point here, AVC. Thanks Chris

I think David is right here. Not about being "too fussy", of course... but measuring the individual formers, F7 seems to be 2mm wider than F1 > F6. As Peter already stated that the published drawing is showing F8 & aft formers drawn 4,5mm too wide, I guess it's just a matter of getting a 'smooth' curve between F6 and F10... where is my ruler? ... Happy measuring Chris Brussels, Belgium   Edited By McG 6969 on 28/12/2015 12:43:46

This is really sad... I was donated a crashed vintage - from the 90's - Graupner glider about a year ago. Never been in RC before, so decided to get some info how possibly to repair it to ever fly again. So, I've been spending a mega-lot of hours here on this forum to get as much as possible information. I had been reading about Peter Miller's designs & recently as Dave Hopkin intended to build a Depron version of the MB, I decided to stop the daily 'reading' & to start to do something about it and to join him in my first ever (scratch)build. Following all of the Ballerina Prep builds, I've been noticing some 'tongue in the cheeks' comments, some 'not so fun' offending remarks, some 'show-cocking' blogs from other experienced people... ... and then now a 'binned' model ! I thought this hobby was supposed to be 'fun'... I thought this forum was supposed to be 'friendly' to a whole community... I thought that one of the Mass Build's main goals was to attract 'newcomers to bash some balsa'... I also thought it was a celebration to Peter Miller's designing career... Wondering now what the man is thinking about it... Could we please try to get some pleasure back in this MB? Chris Brussels, Belgium     Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 27/12/2015 20:06:04

... a Ballerina MB 2016 woodpack & additional pack (don't forget the discount code)! And if you're married, just pretend the balsa has been there for a while (not even a lie as it was a tree before!). And of course - in both cases - a bottle of Saint Estèphe - Château Lavillote 2005 while studying the build drawings... Happy tasting Chris Brussels, Belgium

A Peaceful and Merry Christmas, a Prosperous New Year & a successful Ballerina MB 2016 to the RCME staff, the Moderators, all the Members and their families. Seasons greetings from Brussels, Belgium Chris

Hello to all, If you intend to laminate large surfaces of Depron, the best tip is to take your foam sheet(s) to your local sign-man. When they are printing large surfaces of vinyl like for doing vans or cars 'full covering' for advertising, they always laminate the vinyl with around 40 micron laminating film for ink/surface contact & UV protection. The laminating itself happens between two large steel rolls (drums) with a slight adjustable pressure enabling a perfect smooth & bubbleless finish. You just cut out the 'protected' pieces you need & you just need to remove a bit of film if some glueing is needed on the protected side. Simples & very neat. And, if you're concerned about the weight, please note that all modern top racing cars (F1, GP2, Prototypes, GT3, ...) are decorated that way as it is a lot lighter than primer & paints. There too, weight is the enemy. Merry X-mas to all Happy laminating Chris Brussels, Belgium

Posted by kc on 21/12/2015 19:08:14: F4 is a simple rectangle of liteply but I went to some trouble to ensure it's really square. Easy enough to cut with a Stanley knife after accurate marking. The large hole was fretsawed and then needed some filing and sanding to get really round. ... now I do understand a bit better. You just seem to have some trouble with your CAM/CNC settings. ... 'simple rectangles' sometimes do show a very strange behavior. Happy fretsawing Chris Brussels, Belgium

hummm... some pictures, please...

Posted by Levanter3 on 21/12/2015 17:47:28: Only if you do the colouring in as well - apparently ... good one, Levanter3. ... and the painted roundels & D-Day stripes need some time to dry before the official inauguration/presentation on January, 1st... And i thought the moderators asked us to patiently have some Santa Claus & New Year's festivities before starting what others seem to call an 'obsessive race'. Cheers & Happy Christmas Rushing Chris Brussels, Belgium ps @ kc > anyway your building abilities seem great from a newbie's point of view... but due to the rush, are you not forgetting some pictures of your progress to help us on the way? ...

Hi kc, Just a question, please. Is your 'Yoke-Hatch-Retaining-System' internationally patented & if yes, what could be the legal terms to make it possible to obtain a 'long term production license agreement'... ? Happy yoking & Merry Christmas Chris Brussels, Belgium

@ kc, I really have to show a great respect to your preparation work & your help to clarify things for the novice builders. But when you write "It won't matter much either way", I'm afraid I can't agree totally. The basic choice of the MB 2016 was to celebrate Peter Miller's global designing career & bringing the vote to one of his proposed models, right? Now, my humble opinion is that we shouldn't 'just deal with it'. If the tribute to the designer isn't what he was entitled to expect, some corrections should be evident. At least out of respect to him & for his followers. "Errare humanum est" (sorry for this, BEB), but humans could also consider to correct their mistakes... If I was putting my soul in a nice design (remember, Peter wrote it looked 'prettier' than his Arlequin), I wouldn't really appreciate someone making the aft-fuselage some kind of 'pregnant'... Happy prepping to all Chris Brussels, Belgium

@ Peter, I feel very sorry for you discovering what the 'redesigning computer-man' did to your drawings. After the wing dowel & F2 mishap, this adds another dimension to the situation. Please don't worry, nobody is going to blame you for this. As a nationwide (and more) leading publisher, I hope they will be fast to correct this publicly by providing their subscribers and readers with an appropriate 'correctum'. As Wolstonflyer suggested, a correcting .pdf would be respectful to all. I'm afraid this could hardly convince lots of 'new' people to start building & if IRRC this is one of the main goals of the Mass Build. And I'm really not talking about myself here. I'm a total newbie to RC & building but I will go on and correcting the aft-fuse to the dimensions as Peter's original intention and drawings. Take care & happy pre-Xmas prepping. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Peter, I feel very sorry for you discovering what the 'redesigning computer-man' did to your drawings. After the wing dowel & F2 mishap, this adds another dimension to the situation. Please don't worry, nobody is going to blame you for this. As a nationwide (and more) leading publisher, I hope they will be fast to correct this publicly by providing their subscribers and readers with an appropriate 'correctum'. I'm afraid this could hardly convince lots of people to start building. And I'm really not talking about me here. Take care Chris Brussels, Belgium

Lucas, Are you intended to move your battery box up to F5? In that case you have to move the servo tray as well, right? If you stop your battery tray at F4 & move F1 around 40 > 50 mm forward, - depending on your motor length -, you have plenty of space to shuttle your battery around & no need to shift your servo position. Just a thought. Happy calculating Chris Brussels, Belgium ps: ... and i'm wondering why I consider Peter being a very humble great designer. Speaking of 'luck' after so many years of design...  Edited By McG 6969 on 18/12/2015 19:33:16