Craig Spence

It’s been a long time since I posted on here and that’s mainly because I’ve been massively let down by the retracts manufacturer! I won’t go too in depth but there not fit for purpose and I now stand another long wait to get new ones which has been a massive blow to progress. In the background I’ve partially sheeted the starboard wing and will soon do the port. This will enable me to joint the wings to the fuz and adjust as required. I can then do the Fuz fairings. ince that’s done I’ll be sending the wings away with plans to my new retract manufacturer who will make retracts that work for me. Onwards & upwards

Hi Nick, thanks very much. I won’t have them for a few weeks yet but I’ve been speaking with them on and off throughout the process. As I knew the retracts wouldn’t be here for some time I decided to build the fuz at risk, I couldn’t go by his holes and made a template for my own and sealed it up. So I asked them to supply the nose leg with no mounting holes. The thin rails maybe a problem but I’m sure I’ll be able to sort this. The mains are in question at the moment due to depth of unit, I’ve asked for the dimensions of the unit and I’ll check this soon but it’s the same detail with the mains. I will make best fit with these when they arrive, the supplied mounting plates with the kit will be no good for the retracts in the photos and I’ll make a different one from 1/4” birch ply. Id normally do 1” by 1/2” hard wood rails but weight really is going to be an issue with this plane.

Getting excited now, spoke to Century Jet and my retracts are now ready and just waiting to get packaged and sent off. Really can’t wait to get these and install them, it will really help with me getting the wing finished now and once that’s done the fuselage.

Thanks very much, I’ve just got to stick with it until the retracts turn up. then I’ve got a lot of work with fitting, alignment etc.. looking forward to it

Thanks Nigel, the flaps are ok apart from the hinging it’s the ailerons that are the most work. Once both wings are complete I will have a better idea for line on the trailing edge. Cheers

Port wing has now been constructed and top sheeted. Retracts will be on their way soon 😃

It’s been a bit slower over the past two days. Managed to hinge the flap and aileron. As it’s bottom hinged and sheeting covers the hinges it doesn’t give much meat for the hinge so I’ve had to recess spars, add blocks and key up all hinges. I’ve also been sanding the topside of the frise aileron to give clearance of the trailing edge when moving. It’s a tricky part of the wing build but now one half has been sussed the next part should go smoothly. Still have servos to add, wiring routes and to figure out fixing it to the fuz. Looking forward to it.

Short day building today figuring out the flaps. The plan calls for a continuous piano hinge but there’s not many places that do a hinge as fine as is required. I decided to use flat hinges and recessed the trailing edge for them. Then I drilled out the leading edge of the flap. As securing them is difficult because it’s so thin I drilled and secured them with 3mm carbon dowel. Later I will epoxy extra blocks to them for added security. After all that I’m sure I’ve also save quite a bit of weight, the piano hinges with screws carries a lot of weight.

Finished sheeting the top of the wing and I then flipped it over to give re enforcement. There is only shear webbing detailed for one spar on one side but I decided to do shear webbing on the the two central spars on both sides. After that I put the wing to one side as I need supplies. I then moved to the aileron which was trickier than I first thought. The detailed hinge line did not allow for downward movement so I trimmed the hinges and opened up the sheeted hinge openings. Then, the end of the aileron (outboard) requires the 1/4” strip to bend down to make the profile. This didn’t work so I cut the last bit of sheeting off and built it up with scrap balsa. Hopefully tomorrow I can pick up supplies and get moving on the interesting stuff (aileron, flap servos and linkages).

Bit of upper wing sheeting tonight. The blue lines help me with rib positioning, I’ve changed my method for sheeting which helps it going on straight and quicker. I use a combination of thick CA and UHU Hart (thick CA for ribs and UHU Hart for joining sheets together). This enables me to position and rub the sheeting down on the ribs, I still pin it for positioning but it’s not required. I’ve also glued on the G10 flap trailing edge. Tomorrow I will hopefully get the aileron G10 trailing edge on and another sheet & maybe start the aileron whilst waiting for wood for the leading edge.

After a long break holidaying I’ve restarted on the project. Fuselage has had a rough sand and put to the side. Framed up the wing and sat down for a while whilst I figured out wiring routes, tube mounting etc… Quite happy so far and can’t wait to get the top sheeting on. Still waiting on retracts though so can’t sheet the bottom until I have them, what I can do though is make both wings, mount to fuselage and finish the fuz 😃😃 Quite excited about the next phases. Cheers

Started the fin fillet build up with lightweight filler and it’s going ok. By no means perfect though, I intend to get it as close as possible and then pick up the rest in the finishing stages (the idea being to use as little P38 as possible). Over the time before glassing it will crack but I intend to add finishing resin which will help prevent this until glassed. I’ve also applied finishing resin to the foam on the fin. This will hopefully stop the shrinking dope eating the foam (yet to see if this works but I’m sure I can sort if something goes wrong). Plan to cover the fin soon as well as glassing the stab to help form the tail fillets. Retracts are now due end of august but I suspect I’ll be too busy with the wings by then. Hopefully get moving on this more in the winter months but just too busy with work, business and flying at the moment. Cheers

Not looking pretty yet but I now have the main sheeting complete on the fuz. I’ll have to wait until I build the wings before I can do the fairings and intakes. I can and will do the fin, stab fairings and fin trailing edge with G10. In the coming weeks I’ll have this filled, sanded and then stored so I can start the wings. Looking forward to getting the retracts and then I can start some other works. The pen on the model is basically areas I have to fill with thin slithers of balsa which takes a lot of time and I’ll come back to this later.

Been at something of a standstill lately whilst still waiting for retracts. A lot of weekends away and only building during the week has been slow. Anyway, I’ve decided I’ve gotta get on. I’ve told the retract manufacturer to not drill mounting holes and he’s given me the dimensions of the nose unit. I’ve made a template but it’s a very thin drilling area, I had two attempts and I’m happy where I’m at with bolts and t-nuts but always can be better. Localised reinforcement will be added at a later date. I’ve done some sheeting on the flank but I have to leave the fairing area until the wings are built. Added more stringers as well. I’ve installed the air tank as well which is a good fit. There’s a lot of thought that has to go into this model as it’s an enclosed fuselage and needs pull throughs for cables everywhere. A lot of work to get done this year but I’m enjoying the challenge. Hopefully next week when I’m back from Rome I can get a lot more done.

Thanks very much Nick, I’m trying to figure out how I can make the hinge recesses sharper. I may cut back the covering and use CA on the edges and sand back but not sure at moment. I’ll see what it looks like once i prime it.

IMG_3881.MOV

One G10 trailing edge glued on today as a trial fit which has went quite well I should get the rest on quite soon I think.

I don’t normally finish parts until the constructions done but I’m still waiting on retracts so why not. Rib stitching applied and rib tapes stick on, I only hope when it’s painted that this will show as at present it’s too subtle. Anyway, I’ve got another to finish and then off to bed. Hope your all having a good weekend ??

First attempt at nylon & dope tonight & it all seems well so far (I’ve done tissue and dope but the method is different to what I did). Got some tips off a good friend which has massively helped. Tomorrow I’ll do the other sides & then wait for pinking tapes.

Elevator tab and 1 coat sand & sealer done tonight. Cut out some lightening holes as well. Also trial fitted the linkage to the elevator and it all works well ? Looking forward to covering these in the coming days with nylon and dope. Waiting for pinking strips and other bits so should have near completed elevators by end of the week and maybe/ hopefully nearly done on the stab. IMG_3854.MOV

Elevator tab and 1 coat sand & sealer done tonight. Cut out some lightening holes as well. Also trial fitted the linkage to the elevator and it all works well ? Looking forward to covering these in the coming days with nylon and dope. Waiting for pinking strips and other bits so should have near completed elevators by end of the week and maybe/ hopefully nearly done on the stab.

Not much done over the weekend due to celebrating too much and having fun. Now I’m back at work I may get some work done ? Made up some control horns for the elevators and epoxied in place, should be able to finish off and cover the elevators this week. The rudder will have to wait until I flip the fuz again in future but that all depends on when the retracts arrive. Have a good week everyone ?

Thanks Nick and your right, it’s very satisfying as well. I think the planned hinge system is great, JB has done a great job designing this.

Thanks Martian ?

Last night I decided to glue the hinges into the stab. One of them unfortunately pulled slightly off center but apart from aesthetic it works superbly. The plan for that one is to sand to suit. Also functioned both dry and they worked well with the fuselage hinge in. All that’s left to do with these is a trailing edge, trim tab, glass and covering - said very quick but will of course take time. Have a great bank holiday weekend everyone ??