Pix - E Major

[Paul Dowden]

Hi Guys.

Some more got done to the wee beastie.

first off was the turtle deck rear stringers - had to soak the pieces again to enable me to twist the sticks along their lengths.

I also popped the rudder & fin on just to see - umm this is getting bigger - funny how 2d it doesn't seem very large but in the wood so to speak it's bloomin huge.

Another closer shot.

Rear cockpit bars/supports.

Then I wen tback to the nose and put a skin of 1/64th ply onto the balsa frame so that the hatch can be easier to split and hold it's shape - the hatch will have an identical sheet added to it to stiffen things up.

.

U.C & wheels, nothing too special here - OK apart from the size.

the rudder & a 12" rule.

Stabiliser being assembled, the LE & spar are laminated from 1/2" x 1/8" top and bottom with a stiff 1/4"sq in between - the ribs are plain 1/2" x 1/8", all balsa - any extra parts in the middle or tips are all soft 1/4"sheet.

So 1/2 way through the assembly.

The ESC got positioned on the underside of the front motor mount, rails to raise it off the sheet will be added along with putting a hole into the firewall to allow the wires to pass through into the main fuz.

The servos will be going in here side by side - push rods to the control surfaces will be very short n sweet.

the receiver as I said is looking very lost in the fuz - I mean that's all that will get seen of the controls etc. everything else is buried.

and so depending on where I need to put the battery I have a rather nice area for it in behind the motor mount between formers 2 & 3.

Hatch from below for access will be attached with the now norm - magnets.

more if I get a chance during the weekend.

Rgds & clear skies.

[Paul Dowden]

Hi Guys.

well the weekend again has passed and a bit more was accomplished.

first off the stab & elevators are now in one piece - hinges are set (not glued in) and the joints to go onto the tail are all ready for bonding once I have her covered.

RH elevator under construction

Rear of elevator is notched so that the ribs make a really strong joint.

LH elevator being assembled (unit is flipped as I'm being lazy & only drew up one side - rear 1/2" x 1/8" of LH unit to be notched & installed in this image.

Rear end of Fuz assembly sitting on the work bench, the black on the rear of the rudder is 1mm x 3mm carbon to help with hanger damage - the elevators & TE of the wing will get the same treatment.

General overview of the craft at end of play today, didn't get the nose sheeted ion but the UC mounting is coming along as is the wood work at the rear, servo mounts are next in the rear of the craft - along with a removable hatch in the rear for wiring access.

For a size comparison - that's a KeilKraft Ladybird - STD size & 40" wingspan.

2 stable mates - just one in the buff...

one last shot for the evening.

more during the week - work allowing that is...

Rgds. & clear skies.

[Stephen Jones]

Wow , i can not get the size of the Pixie . My Head is telling me that the Ladybird is very Very tiny .

Steve

[Paul Dowden]

Yup - I totally understand this feeling Steve.

Tail in hand I was chatting to my wife last night n she asked what wing I was holding - when I told her it's the tail she looked at me with a raised eyebrow n commented that it was bigger than some of my other models wings.

The Ladybird at this stock size is as small as I really like to do flying models - 40" n below is too twitchy for really relaxed flying unless they weigh next to nothing, in which case they cant be flown outside in anything other than a near or flat calm - we get that sometimes after it snows or in the middle of the summer but more often than not it's blowing.

The Fuz at the top of the front of the windscreen is over 30" tall, fuselage sides are 17" tall and 8" wide in the middle, the tail fin is over 16" tall on it's own, and as I mentioned in another mail the stab & elevator package is over 39" wide. Though the "scale" wood sizes for the flying surfaces are 1" x 1/2" all my wood is built up (as can be seen from the construction photos) which makes for a very light & stiff structure without the covering, Solartex will only make things better stiffness wise.

Almost every piece of wood on the model is either assembled from thinner strips to form the sections I want, or is laminated to hold it's shape/joint with more strength than what a single piece would give.

It still feels weird planning on putting the full size servos in the rear of the Fuz, though they may still be put in the middle, as I'm now deciding to do the wings next in the build so I can get the framework together, then they can be placed correctly and minimise the use of any ballast - closed loop for the rudder is no issues as both the fin/rudder & stab/elevator assemblies will be bonded onto the fuselage.

Battery wise it's what I'd call a monster as well - Thunder Power 6600MAh 4S 25c should keep this lady airborne for most of an afternoon without coming down for recharges - I got it on a deal pricewise, so though it's a massive capacity it will do nicely and doesnt weigh that much, I also have a couple of other models that it will prob get used in as well.

Ahh well - more playtime tonight - Rx mount and a little more work around the main undercarriage, then onto the wings.

Rgds & clear skies (it's bloomin raining here!)

[Paul Dowden]

Guys.

A little oopsie from last mail.

The battery pack is a T.P. - 6600MAh 4s 65c - not a 25c

It doesnt make much of a difference apart from with the electrickery but I like to be precise with the info just in case someone else ever decides to be crazy enough to build another one this size & uses the blog for info.

More updates over the weekend - work calls at the mo. & I'm up to the preverbial.

cheers & clear skies.

[Paul Dowden]

Hi all.

So in a mad moment i went n ordered another set of wheels from Top Model in France,

they are 5" in diameter, 1.8" wide at the tire bulge

foam cored with a urethane skin,

Machined aluminium hub (1 piece for smaller units 2 piece for these larger ones)

140g each (I'll weigh the ones I have on the model now & decide which pair to use)

This is top models image - if they have an issue I'll remove it no issues.

These units are by far the nicest wheels I have yet to come across and not exorbitantly expensive either.

More updates over the weekend.

Rgds & clear skies.

[Paul Dowden]

Hi all.

Well another hot weekend here in Canada,

So I hibernate till it cools down (and the wife agrees that the garden can wait a bit)

the build progresses at a nice pace considering I dont get much sorted during the week.

Friday night I cut up a sheet of 1/32" ply - 48" long strips 1 1/4" wide 5 off for the wing spars ( the spars are actually 53" long so a joint is needed unfortunatly)

This is the tip of the spar - not quite to original of the 2.5x as that one was sharply stepped to reduce it's height (structurally that's just plain nasty) this is my interpretation - a tapered reduction to the tip from 1 1/4" to 1/2" sq.

The root of the spar has the joint in it!

At 1/32" thick a scarf joint is almost impossible to accomplish cleanly and really doesnt make a whole load of sence, so a doubler has been added of 1/32" & 1/64" to bring the carbon tube into the middle of the spar - the same laminations are used for the other vertical web of the spar, effectivly the whole of this area is one lump once all the glue has set - the carbon tube is set into place Ø 9.0 x Ø 7.0 pultruded and can be additionaly strengthened if I feel it necessary with a further tube inside it bonded once in place.

Next is the anti crush posts - nothing special - just more spruce, and yes not tapered out like on a full size airframe, if I do manage to overload this spar the rest of the wing will have allready departed so i'm not too worried - the holes for the steelwork will be added later prior to covering when I do a final assembly.

Root rib being set up on the board, spar pinned out in position & ribs being added.

Ribs added & pinned, all glues get added at a later date.

Stiffening diagonals added to the frame - TE is from 1/2" sheet stripped to 1 3/4" wide - planned to the taper once it's all set in place - the final sanding will be done outside as it generates a real mess at this scale. the ribs are notched into the TE about 1/4" and again the glue is wicked in post fitting of the parts.

Aditional diagonals added around the wing root to help stiffen this area up, the TE joint has enough scarf to stop a split happening and also helps hold the TE shape as it goes around the corner.

 The LE is again notched onto the ribs, a scarf joint (4x thickness) and the angle joint unfortunatly occure at almost the same position, it is however under compression once the covering bag is added so not a real issue.

Onto part 2

 

Edited By Paul Dowden on 17/08/2015 14:17:13

[Paul Dowden]

Part 2 of this weekends posting.

1/32" ply facing for the wing rib to Fuz joint - the Fuz will get the same treatment. additional holes for the location pegs & wing bolt will be added once the wing is in postiion & aligned.

Soo..... after 2 evenings work - we have a wing - the 12" rule again for scale, another diagonal was placed on the root rib from the front to the spar to help anti crush of that area, small anti rotation pegs will be added to the wing once it's all mated onto the Fuz and located - I'll use carbon tube again and aly sockets epoxyed into the Fus.

The wing retention is in the form of a finger nut & threaded rod that will be installed in the root rib, it' from Secraft (I'll get a photo tonight) supplied through your local distributor, very nicely made & really not at all expensive considering it's aly & all CNC machined, if you havent heard of these people look them up as they make some really nice gear.

Checking the fit of the root rib on the Fuz, the hole in the middle is for the wing joiner, further holes will be added for the pegs once everything is bonded/bolted & aligned - then all the aly will be installed with epoxy.

Laminating on the root ribs - one can never have too many clamps!

Onto wing 2 & more work on the Fuz - so long as I can manage to drag myself away from work.

Cheers guys.

Rgds & clear skies.

Edited By Paul Dowden on 17/08/2015 14:17:42

[Paul Dowden]

Gents.

Just a giggle & a photo from today.

Todays temp on my porch - out of the sun in a wind shaded area = 39°c, and with the humidity being around 55% it makes the air temp feel like it's at 57°c

I'm off to hide in my basement and keep cool, we dont have airco as we really only need it one week a year and it's rather expensive to install & then run for the few days we'd need it.

On a model note - I took off a wheel & got a mass from it.....

Oh well now I have a choice - aly hubs or plastic?

The new units are slated to be 140g so mass wise we are pretty much identical, ho hum

More as it happens.

Rgds & clear skies.

[Paul Dowden]

Guys,

We keep going forwards - perpetual momentum it seems.

so I promised a photo of the wing nuts/bolts from Secraft - here they are - about 22mm diameter and light weight as the threaded rod is Aly too, - the black is a rubber disk to help keep preload on the unit.

In all well worth the cash spent.

I drilled out the hole for the battery & control wire routing from the ESC into the main fuz,

and wiggled the wires through into the main area to connect up to the battery

(thinking of putting in an arming switch to make life safer)

So electrically we are getting closer,

The battery tray is bonded into the bottom of the fuz on top of the main formers & up to the front UC mounting plate (it will also help stiffen that all up) the battery position i have yet to place so it will be a velcro tape along the centerline and once i have the craft together the fine ballance will be with it shuffling back & forwards from the COG position, i'd like to not have to offset the thing if possible so i can always put in a bigger or smaller one depending on what I feel like doing.

The Rx goes at the rear of the plate with the sat receiver off to one side on it's own mounting plate,

The antennas pointed in different orientations both these will get velcro tape on them to assist in retention n vibration proofing them (currently held in position with pins in strategic places)

So after all this fun I felt that I needed to see what this monster was going to look like,

So tail in position & wing slotted onto the cross tube.

Sorry it's slightly fuzzy, it was late last night & I couldnt get any further away in the direction I was going.

OK it's big! more updates as they happen.

Cheers & clear skies.

 

 

 

 

Edited By Paul Dowden on 19/08/2015 18:24:35

[Paul Dowden]

Hi All.

work keeps progressing slowly due to professional stuff getting in the bloomin way.

sooo.

I cut a hole in the main firewall to accept the battery lead & control cable to the RX from the ESC.

The ESC is now fastened in on it's own mounts and has good air flow around it to keep things nice n cool.

Then I started planking the nose area of the fuz, 3/32"medium grain balsa seemed right, the motor is 2"diameter to give a bit of scale to the picture, plank widths were 1"& 1/2"depending on the curve.

The sides and top all planked up, the nose of the beastie will be very soft balsa block at 1 1/2"thick (laminated again to reduce mass)

After all the glue has set (thick cyno) I gave the whole planked area a trim with a Davids plane to remove the gross high spots & joints - sanding later to smooth it fully & then a very light glass coat to harden it all up.

The start of the actual nose block, the top inner area hasn't been trimmed out yet & the main radius hasn't been sculpted on, just a generous chamfer to get close to the shape & keep things symmetrical.

I'm debating on adding either a mesh or louvers to the yawning cavity that is generated by the nose hole that's needed for airflow over the bat & ESC, thinking maybe litho plate or some form of laser cut aly, I'll think on it & see when the time comes for a final install.

Final photo for this mini instalment is the UC & mounts, nothing too special here, 5/32 music wire at the rear & 1/8"at the front, the mounts are 2 layers laminated 1/16" ply, that has extra on the back/inside to help spread the screw loads, the rear most plate will also carry the wing strut mounting plates bolted through it and a further 2 layers of 1/16"ply to take flight loads as well as the landing loads. The front plate is supported on top of the diagonal bracing, it needed a small gusset/sliver added as the geometry makes the diagonals go straight but the side plates curve so a gap forms.

Well I hope get more out this weekend.

Cheers & clear skies.

[Paul Dowden]

Hi all.

another hot n humid weekend in Canada so I just hibernate, roll on the colder weather, we always thought Canada was a cold land - how wrong can you be?

so with more hibernation comes more building,

lets start with the wing struts, composite balsa, Ply & a small insert of steel.

these are the parts needed, ply I cut & laminate again I need 1/16"but use 2 of 1/32"for greater strength (more plies)

so after all the adhesive has set - it's time to sand,

2nd wing went into build & the assembly is really rapid once all the parts are cut out.

this was the wing in build.

I'll have to go outside to do the sanding because it's going to create one huge pile of dust,

So comes the moment of truth, where to put the servos? in the body or tail?

With the servos in the tail & battery pack on the COG so it doesn't matter the beastie balances perfectly & no ballast in sight - woo hoo - I hate ballast.

Overall view.

Nose smoothed & motor in.

OK so a full size Ladybird going for a ride? scary size but it should be a joy to fly.

View down the Fuz.

Gotta love those lines, I'll admit this is a very "pretty" aircraft, almost big enough to fly in?

OK one more shot then I'll call it a day.

So there we have it, airframe complete and ready for me to install the servos in the tail (taped onto the stab just to get where they need to go). Standard size Dr Pepper can for scale though I don't think it's really necessary.

I'll work a bit more on it today & should get another update out at the end of the week.

Cheers & clear skies.

[Cliff 1959]

I've dusted my Pixie off for some relaxing flying this Summer

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