Martyn Johnston

And now it flies; and looks beautiful. I'd highly recommend this kit to anyone who's thinking of it. Super Scorpion - 66" cabin model Parts Set (belairdigital.co.uk) Thank you SO, SO much to all those who've read, or contributed to this blog. It's fun building it with other people.

Just flown the maiden 🙂 A little too windy really but I got excited and just had to go for it. I'd forgotten how long it's been since I flew anything that needed me to use the rudder! Looked beautiful in the air. But a bit twitchy on pitch. Not sure if it's too much lead, not enough lead, or just too windy. Will try to set up the CoG properly next time. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Looks beautiful finished.

Should I just aim for the main spar and hope for the best ?

I've got two spare ESCs in the cupboard, and neither of them seem to work. Can't remember what they were off, or why I kept them. Stripped another one out of a model I smashed last year and will never get round to rebuilding. So I'm currently trying to squash all the electric bits as far forward as I can.

I've only just noticed that there's not even a hint on the plans of where the CofG should be. Any suggestions guys ?

Now I'm getting closer to finishing I can almost see the finishing line. But there are always a hundred little jobs at the end aren't there !

The whole empennage was built to be removable, but the distance from where the snake left the fuselage to the clevis was far too far and it bent too easily. So I've decided to glue the tailplane on permanently (wish I'd done that in the first place). Then I've added another support (you can see it o the last photo - don't know why the photo looks upside-down). Also I couldn't get a wire between the two elevators, so I've added another snake, one for each elevator, and soldered the two clevices together at the front :- might work !

Horrible red shiny modern film on the fin. Won't use that again; will try and buy some Oratex (wow it's expensive isn't it).

I quite like the covering part; I know some don't. Feels quite 'creative'.

Beautiful shape.

This is always my favourite part of the build. When it starts to look like an aeroplane 🙂

Front end's looking OK now. Must clean those cobwebs one day.

The Wing t/e now locates rearwards OK, and I've buried a small magnet in both parts to help location.

Still bemused by how to align/attach the wings. I've created a little ply backstop behind the rearward former, so the back of the wing sits on top of the balsa former, and cannot slide backwards. Not sure about how to stop any misalignment though. Does anybody use magnets to locate the wings. I've done that with the engine-cover, but never done it with wings.

I've not used Oratex. It's just as expensive as Solartex isn't it. Solarfilm seems a lot cheaper; is that any good ?

Getting closer to the point of covering it. I want a translucent film on the top (I like to see the internal structure) and then a bolder, maybe red underneath. Last plane I built has Solartex. Lovely stuff to put on but seems to be no longer available. What do people suggest nowadays.

I think you're right that it's too far forward, but that image from the plan is pretty useless in real life. The rear would comfortably sit 'in front of' the fuse former, but I think 'on top' (somehow) is better (I'll have to cut a vee to suit). And the front just doesn't want to work at all. I'll have to cut a curved vee in the former (D) but risk affecting the incidence. (NB there are no straight lines here anywhere; certainly not the bottom the wing like in the picture).

Ta John, I can easily add some shaped sides (using what's left of the rib cutout sheet). But can't see what to do with the center of the front edge of the wing. Whether I leave it on top of the fuse former (D) or cut a V-shape into that former to fit the wing will affect the incidence\of the wing. And I'm assuming that the wing should sit just in front of the rearward fuse former. Q. Should the front-center be 'located' properly' ? And should the front be 'pinned' or should it be free to move in case of a hard landing ?

Now trying to see how the wing fits to the fuselage. As with every stage of this build there's bugger all info on the plan. There's no way of 'locating' the wing at all, should there be ? As the photos show there's a gap all the way under the curve of the wing. If I assume the wing sits just in front of the rearward fuselage former there's no obvious fit at the front. The curved front of the wing could sit anywhere it wants on the front fuselage former (part 'D' on the plan). Should I find a way to 'pin' it, or should it be allowed to wobble about ?

Taking me a ridiculous amount of time, but's starting to look like a plane. The wing shape is really beautiful.

The rib caps don't really feather nicely into the trailing edge. I imagine the original had a fatter rear piece of wood. No matter; it'll sand smooth.

Using the rule as a load spreader. Had to soak the balsa overnight a few times to get it to bend nicely of the front.