Phil Beard

As can be seen from the photos the wing to fuselage gaps have now been sorted. Onto to building the fuselage saddle so that the wing build can be finalised.

Wing interface to fuselage' large gaps can be seen on both sides which after checking has been put down to drawing error. This can be fixed by taking a piece of balsa the same thickness as the ribs and cutting the top curved part of Rib 2 into and temporarily sticking to the fuselage side and then back cutting from the fuselage inside so that you can get a matched curve from the fuselage and then glue onto the bottom. Process then done in the same manner on the other side.

This is the photo of it been sanded into shape.

Birch plywood Wing to fuselage interface sanded into shape and 1.5 inch wing bandage epoxy bonded onto lower wing skin. Don't worry about the rough looking bandage as this will soon be hidden by the fuselage saddle which go over the top of it. Bandage also put on the top surface also and this will not be seen externally.

Wing leading edge shaped at the area where it joins the fuselage as can be seen in the first 2 photos with the third photo showing the 3mm Birch plywood at the front of the wing which meets the fuselage. This will be sanded to shape once the epoxy has dried and filler will be used to blend the shape.

Phil I was just going to use the surface finishing glass cloth as you'd read. I'll take your experience and use some 1 inch glass cloth for the wing joint as this wont be seen externally as the underside of the central wing needs the balsa to form the shape in that area which will cover the 1 inch glass cloth and will finally be covered with the surface finishing glass cloth. Thanks for your input and advice. Build is back in progress now I'm back home after visiting family over the Christmas period.

Well I'm back with my build blog after being away on business working on full size aircraft. You'll see that I've joined the wing halves tonight, making sure that I've got 12.5mm blocks under each wingtip and also needed a bit of shimming in the middle for which I've used some 1/32nd thickness balsa to fill the gap. Wing is going to be glass clothed later and that will provide further strength at this critical area.

My BAE Hawk T1 from the Andy Conway plan is starting to come together and look like a BAe Hawk. Still loads to do, but I thought I'd post a photo. F86 - Sabre is also coming along nicely at the same time and hopefully both will be glass clothed and sprayed at the same time.

Engine inlet cowls have been attached using double sided tape so that these can be sanded into shape in conjunction with the fuselage. Note the gap will be filled once the engine inlet cowl is permanently attached after glass clothing the fuselage in the gap between the inlet and fuselage as this are wouldn't be accessible otherwise.

Elevator servo added and fuselage side continued to be sanded down getting to a smooth finish from the palnking.

Engine inlet cowls along fuselage starting to take shape. Taking more time than I expected.

Starting to install and shape the engine air intakes and the fairings. For the engine air intakes you'll have to make a notch in the bottom as show in the first photo. This will allow it then to mate up with the area with the round hole in. Not sure if this was my mistake or not in the order these parts were installed. Put the engine air intake against the fairing and mark round so that you can see the area required to be removed and shape required.

Aft Fuselage and exhaust area finished and the ventral fins underneath the fuselage have been fitted but will only be glued in place once the fuselage has been glass cloth covered. Final bit of shaping in this area to be undertaken just behind the fin.

Aft Port Fuselage and exhaust area sanded to shape tonight will do the starboard side tomorrow. Took a bit of visualising what the final shape should be.

I thought I'd have a change today and cutout the canopy to fit onto the fuselage. As can be seen from the photograph this canopy is quite well marked to show where the cut line is required except for the front it's a bit harder. Well the first thing to do is to cover the canopy in masking tape and marking the cut line at the edge as can be seen in the photo. The masking tape stops and marks or scuffs happening to the canopy and is well worth the time doing this step. The essential tools for cutting the canopy is scissors as can be seen in the photo. Don't try your scalpel as it doesn't anywhere near as good as using scissors as I've tried in the past and the scissors are quicker and give a superior cutline. Final photo shows the canopy placed onto the fuselage which still needs a bit of shaping in this area but the fit looks good for the initial fit.

NEED HELP Starting to think about painting the pilots whilst other things dry and so on. Has anyone got some good pilot photos they can share with me for these 2 pilots as shown in the below photo.

Aft fuselage bottom and side skins now fitted as can be seen in the photos. Don't forget to mark some holes for where you need to place the ventral fin later. Last 2 photos showing it starting to resemble a BAe Hawk.

Decided to add a collet at either side of the elevator mechanism within the fuselage to stop the lever being pushed either way which would increase friction to move the elevator. Note you'll have to add recesses either side on the top skin to allow the collets to sit in. Aft fuselage bottom inner skin fitted and the edges angles to 45 degrees. Apologies about previous videos but unfortunately my camera creates larger files that the site can handle. I think the build will look as though it's starting to progress quicker shortly with all the other skins being added.

Video attached this time showing elevator movement. MVI_2947.MOV

Got the elevator mechanism working ok to the extent I can start building up the aft fuselage and exhaust area. Took a video of the elevator working and it moves +/- 15mm as opposed to the +/-12.5mm specified on the plan. Will leave it at this but I've been warned not to use too much elevator as you need to keep the model moving or else it will stall. MVI_2944.MOV

Started installing the elevator control linkages and some parts to hold the servo in place and also keep the linkage in place as can be seen in the photos. Decided to change the bowden cable to an alternative type at the end as I didn't have any M3 clevis to use. Doesn't seem much but lots of mucking around to get to this stage. Final length onto servo will be done tomorrow and then I can start closing up the aft end of the fuselage and it'll look like more progress is being made.

Working on fuselage to start putting in the aft sides and bottom and it dawned upon me that F6 had been glued in the wrong place as the 45 degree part should have met the bottom area. All fixed and now in the correct position. Also decided to lengthen the 10swg rod that will work as the mechanism for the elevator so that it goes in full into each side. Now 126mm long as can be seen in the photo. Mechanism being built up at the moment and working out control run and way to hold elevator servo in place as the plan shows it in free air. Once everything is sorted I'll fully tighten up the grub screws once certain everything is ok and then epoxy all in place as I never want these to move again. Aft fuselage is double skinned between F8 and F9 and the photo shows me getting it to the correct shape.. THis will be glued in place once the mechanism is finally completed as no access can be had after that. Things feel to be progressing slower but I think I've hit the fiddly bit of the build.

Aft fuselage and exhaust area continues to be constructed with the addition of the exhaust area which is glued onto the back of the aft fuselage but currently not with the aft fuselage top in place as access will be required to complete the elevator mechanism. Frame F9 is now added at the rear of the exhaust area as can be seen in the photo. 3D printed pilots have arrived today which were developed specifically for the Andy Conway Hawk by Andy Meade who creates various different sizes of pilots, ejection seats and other associated parts using 3D printing. He can be found on this website looking for his profile if you'd like to get some from him.

Fuselage aft end sanded to shape tonight at the interface between the aft fuselage and exhaust area. Hope fully I've managed to get the right idea of the shape and thanks to Phil Cooke for sending me the photo to assist.

Aft Fuselage continues to take shape with the holes cut out to take the fin and rudder both in the main aft area and a rebate into the spine of the fuselage to take the ventral fin. Empennage now starting to take the shape of a BAe Hawk.