Lindsay Todd

Once sanded time to look at fit of fin and tailplane to the fuselage so decided to get these covered using heat shrink nylon. I then also located the elevator outer snake down the fuselage exiting at the rear slot in former F11 and added the 6mm F11 which will be rounded off. Once happy that this was set square i glued the tail in place having removed some of the covering from the underside. I also extended the top balsa fairing with some more soft block A quick test fit of the elevator to make sure all working fine. Also note the ply plate for the rear commercial tailwheel i had lying around, a world models item i think Before fitting the fin and rudders i installed the elevator and rudder servos onto ply plates. The rudder is closed loop so sited centrally and the elevator offset to one side. also note the throttle snake sited. Std servos used both futaba, 30001 for rudder and 148 for elevator as no great loads expected. Fin and rudder also covered and glued in place and horns fitted cables run down the fuselage and exit through two abs tubes for guides, perhaps brass would have been better but i did not have any two hand and as the cables are nylon coated any wear should be minimal. I also covered the rear fuselage open lattice structure again with heat shrink nylon. Back to the front of the model and time to create the air exit for the cowl into the underside of the fuselage. I planned for this with a slot cut into F1 but for some reason added a radii to the corners so first job was to mark out and trim material away from the underside and remove the radii from the former Trimming done and 3mm balsa sheet added, this combined with a small cut away at the rear of the cowl should ensure adequate cooling for the engine Linds

The tank / battery hatch had a couple of ply rails added just to get a nice secure fit, will be retained by two straps with screws into ply plates. With the fuz put to one side time to make the fin and tail plane components. These are simply 6mm balsa strips cut to width and length and glued together Once dry the rudder was sanded to a taper profile leaving a thickness of about 2mm at the trailing edge and a chamfer on the leading edge, a 0.5mm ply plate will be glued each side for the horn fixing The tail plane is very similar construction, made from 3mm medium density balsa strips with a simple solid sheet section for the elevator, leading edges rounded and taper as per rudder to the elevator again with ply plates either side for the horn fixing The fin needs to have a location slot formed on the fuselage between F9 and F10, use some scrap 6mm and glue strips either side making sure the slot is centred and sguare The fin can then be slotted into face and further balsa added to make up thickness such that it can be carved and sanded to match the rear fuselage line. This can be done prior to gluing the fin in place. Linds

Should have mention cockpit floor sheeted to top of upper logeron from 2mm balsa sheet and then the underside of the rear fuselage sheeted with 3mm balsa save for a rear ply plate to take a tailwheel assembly. all sanded and rounded off at the edges so time to start the canopy frames. These are made from 6mm square balsa , i used cocktail sticls glued through diagonally drilled holes to add a bit of strength to the joints, one for the front and one for the rear. The rear frame is glued to the front face of the rear cockpit former F5 sitting on the fuselage sides a 6mm semi circle is glued to the frame this having a cut out slot for the angled rear brace which is 6mm square spruce A centre 6mm sheet is then added and then the front frame added to this to set the position, a further semi circle of 6mm to the front of this and a further 6mm square spruce brace at the front. The whole assembly then has a further 6mm sheet added to the top further 6mm bracing is then added to the rear frame glued to the front face of F5 which really beefs up the structure. some further triangular infills around the bracing at the front and rear struts complete the basic frame work. the assembly is then sanded to match the angles so that the glazing will wrap around. will become clearer later. Now for the brave bit, take a razor saw or hack saw and cut the cowl free from the fuselage flush to the front of F1, the lines made early are a huge help. When done i fitted the engine mount and my rather well used OF70 Surpass and set about making clearance holes and fixing ply plates to secure the cowl back in place. lots of measuring and slowly carving and grinding produced a reasonable fit. i also added the lower air scoop simply from 3mm sheet A couple of strips of 0.5 ply to the sides of the cowl stop screws from crushing the surface and as i had some laminating epoxy work to do i coated the cowl inside and out and the front face of former F1. just to help things along i made up the u/c from 3mm aluminium sheet and a 4mm dia length of piano wire. the assemble screwed to the u/c ply plate with the aid of a saddle clamp for the wire. an old set of wide 21/2" wheels that have hung around for years complete the job. Linds