Martyn Garrett Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Thanks Mark. I've only read the article about ten times so far so I'm not surprised I missed that fact (Doh! This weeks Homer moment!!) Found it now. Glad I asked before I started. Not sure how strong fuse wire is really. Once you twist it will it not just break? Will see if I can find a bit in the shed tomorrow and try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 I keep reading the article and having a 'eureka' moment as the mud slowly clears....so far i have all the ribs cut out n sorted, tail plane, rudder, elevators. Ailerons and flaps are made up and ready. My first plan build in about 30 years so should be a giggle. The flaps and ailerons are hinged by tape? never done that, how easy is it to hinge with tape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I used tinned copper wire available from Nexus Modelling Supplies on reels. If using fuse wire you want to use 15 or even 30 amp wire. About 8 strands to each binding. Tape hinging is incredibly easy. Use Book tape on the flat surfaces and Sellotape Diamond tape in the V". Both these are available from Amazon. The book tape is expensive but will last for years. Align the surfaces to be hinged and apply the book tape over the flat surface. Put a sheet of paper between the flap and wing as there is no gap there and you need to leave space for the tape in the V. The aileron has a V gap anyway. Fold the control surfaces back and apply the Diamond tape to the inside of the V. Job done. Saito 62 should really make it perform. Hope you can get it in the cowl and still get the cowl on and off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Hi Peter, many thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I was in a general store and they had coils of galvanised wire with a pair of cutters for a very small amount (can't remember how much but only a couple of quid.) I think it may have been gardening related. The wire was soft iron and thicker than I normally use. Try a garden centre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Does galvanised wire solder?Why not use copper wire stripped from old cable? ( every scrap washing machine is full of wire, also push on connectors for your flight box ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Thanks for the prompt response Peter. I found two rolls of .6mm galvanised wire in a hardware shop today for 3 quid. A long as this takes the solder OK it should be just the job. Just need the temperature in the workshop to get in the positive then I can get on! (Aliphatic bottle says can use down to 2 degrees C!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 OK just tested the galvanised wire. The answer is yes it does take solder OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Thats good news, will do more shopping next week. Thanks for experimenting Martyn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 OK build statred in earnest now the weathr is warm enough for the glue to work! Do I post build phot's "blog-style" here or do I set up another thread? Not sure on protocol as this is my first entry into the medium of Forums (forii?!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Sorry about the spelling mistakes. The weather isn't warm enough yet for my fingers to work properly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Stick them here if you like, it would be a good place as I lost all my construction pictures to a faulty memory card. Other builders will find them helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 OK here are a few pictures of progress so far. Basic fuselage structure complete. Engine box fitted and mount in place. Front end before sheeting top Underside rear with snakes installed F1 ready for installation of undercarriage. Left this step until the fuse' was virtually done so the wires didn't get in the way of other jobs! Small cut-outs at bottom corners of F1 to allow for flex of undercarriage wires without binding.Edited By Martyn Garrett on 06/01/2011 11:06:59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 A few more Tapered edges of F4 to F8 to make it easy to fit sheeting Rear of F4 with 1/4" triangle sections installed (both sides) Saito 62FA plus bigger tank than stated on plan (always like plenty of fuel available!). Bigger tank means bigger engine box. Made mine 72mm square which allows ample room for this tank. However, as the tank is longer, F3 needs a mod to allow tank access thus Also semi-circular notch in top of tank box as shown on second picture of previous post to allow ample room for top tank connections (ie exhaust pressure and fill lines) Undercarriage wires bent (with brass tubes in situ) ready for fitting. I plan on leaving the fitting as late as possible to make it easy to make the cowl and side cheeks OK that's progress so far. More pictures to follow as build continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 It seems to me that if you used this type of tinplate u/c clip instead of sewing, you could make the undercarrige removeable which would make construction and covering easier. ( don't tell Peter! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Everyone comes up with their own ideas and many of them are better than the original plan. I have to say that the construction is much neater than mine and the photos are better. These pictures will be a great help to other modellers building the RV-3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Here is an extract from an email from the owner of my RV-3 .I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and great Holiday Season. My hangar rat friends love the write up and they all think you've put in pictures of MY airplane, it knocks them out when I point out that all pictures are of the model. This was after I sent him a copy of the magazine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 But would this allow for the free twist of the wire in torsion? I'm sure you coud make it free enough with careful manufacture. I suppose its down to personal preference as much as anything. Thanks for the compliment on the phots/build Peter. One does try! Edited By Martyn Garrett on 07/01/2011 07:33:56Edited By Martyn Garrett on 07/01/2011 07:38:17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Providing you didn't solder the metal P clip to the wire it would allow for the torsion. If the solder got onto the wire you could ahve a problem. I would want more than the one bolt hole shown though, at least two and possibly three over the length. Also you would want somerthing thicker than tinplate to make it. mild steel or even 1/32" brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 More progress Top sheeting done. Rough opening for cockpit cut (not final shape yet!) R1A fitted and C1 dowelled. Servo tray and wing screw plate fitted. Tube between the blue snake outers is for the 35Mhz aerial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 On to the wings. Bottom sheet glued together (with Cyano), pinned down and marked with rib positions. Servo hatch holes cut and bottom spar glued down. I've used spruce for extra wing stiffness, rather than the balsa shown on the plan. R2's glued in place as far forward as spar. Leading and trailing edges, top spar, root rib and flap/aileron ribs glued down. I used trailing edge stock edge glued to sheet to get thickness right (not fully detailed on plan). Servo frames and horn screw plates also fitted. Bottom sheet brought up to leading edge and glued. Dihedral brace is fitted by extending spar slots in first F2 backwards by 1/8", and cutting R1 in two, taking 1/8" out. Virtually all the gluing to this stage was down with cyano. Building the wing to this stage took about an hour (having pre-made all the bits). Perhaps I should have thought about it a bit longer, as I should have fitted the servo lead tubes before I put the root rib in !! Now ready for gluing down the top skin. I glued this together (cyano) then sanded it all flat before I fitted it. Used aliphatic to glue on the top skin. Edited By Martyn Garrett on 16/01/2011 21:27:03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Very good indeed. Just three comments. I fill in over the blind nuts for the wing bolts with sheet so that there is a solid surface for the wing to rest on. I add the trailing edge stock to the rear of the wang after all the sheeting is done. Don't forget the infill in the wing where the wing bolts go through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks for the comments Peter. Good point regarding the wing seat. I will fill this in. I did remember the infill for the wing bolts in the wing; it's just not shown in the photo. I used light ply as I had a bit on the bench just the right size! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 More progress. Wing structure finished with skins on, tips fitted and ready to be shaped. Ailerons and flaps can then be seperated from wing. Cowl construction steps: Basic structure Hole cut so it goes on (and comes off!) over engine Crankcase cooling air hole. Also you can see the hardwood block at the back edge with the "Tee Nut" fitted so I can use allen screws instead of wood screws to hold the cowl on. Port side cheek rough shaped and positioned (not finally glued yet) Starboard side cheek inside view after rough shaping and opening out to clear engine. I had to add 3/8" to the width of the cheeks to enable the Saito to fit completely within the cowl. It seems to look OK now it is all together. Cowl rough shaping done using razor plane. Now ready for finish sanding. Sanding almost done. Air scoop needs fitting underneath, though this is last job to avoid damage. Spacers on nose ring are removed just before covering. Once I had finished all the outside shaping and finish sanding, I took as much "spare" wood as I could from the inside to save what weight I could. In some places it was so thin I could see through it when I held it up to the light. One I was happy I applied a generous coat or car firbreglass resin (polyester) to strengthen the wood. Once I've done all the covering and painted the inside of the cowl black at the front I'll apply Tuffcoat fuel proofer over the inside of the cowl and the face of F1/F1a sealing the edges of the covering down at the same time. Edited By Martyn Garrett on 14/02/2011 11:09:06Edited By Martyn Garrett on 14/02/2011 11:31:32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Garrett Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Undercarriage fitting. Brass tubes wired on ready for soldering. After soldering. As you can see the galvanised wire took the solder without a problem. Completed cockpit. Panel is modelled after a picture I found on the internet of a genuine RV3 panel. The red button between the receiver switch and charging socket, and the red LED above are for the on-board glow. Press the buton and it turns the glow on for twenty seconds whlie you start the engine. Very neat. Powered from the receiver battery - I'll be using a 6v NiMh just to be safe! Not much construction left to do now. Did a balance check at this stage which suggested I need 90 grams of lead at the tail to put the CG where it says on the plan. Decided to remake the fin from 1/4" ply to "use up" some of this weight and reduce the amount of lead need. Balsa fin weighted 15g ready to fit. Ply version (edged in spruce to avoid the ply edge showing through the covering) weighs 65g. That means once everything is covered, I probably won't need much lead at all! All done now and ready for covering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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