Terry Walters Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hi John, Thanks for the offer - I'm sure that will be good for both of us and for the 'Airspeed Courier lurkers' out there waiting to start their Courier project too!. Looks like we can't be absolutely certain but that's what 'building' is all about isn't it? Maybe Tim will be along soon and put us right................................................................ Timbo are you there!? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Posted by John Roberts 9 on 15/12/2011 18:21:33: It seems to me that I should build up the wing but intially omit R5. I then cut the wing and rejoin it at the correct dihedral (using the wooden jig) and install R5 & the ply brace B3. Next I sort out the boxing-in etc for the retracts and fix the lower wing skins. Finally I set the washout (again using the wooden jig) by fixing the top wing skins & gussets etc. Bang on, John! I've just browsed the magazine article, and it is a little unclear due to its layout The bit you want is on top centre of page 72, almost hidden in a photograph! Sorry about that. So the panels are joined together, butt joining the spars. Then add the dihedral braces, followed by R5 and R5A. Hope this helps! Umm...you guys will be posting pictures of your builds, now won't you? tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Roberts 9 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hi Tim Thanks very much for the clarification , much appreciated. I think your wording was fine Tim, its just been a few years since I built anything so I was just being a bit cautious rather than rushing in and botching the job. I will try and post a few shots of the build & the completed article..........................although if it turns out looking like a dogs breakfast (due to my inept building skills) I will deny I ever said that !! Thanks again. Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hi Tim, Will do a blog when I get going too! Glad to know you will watching! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyT Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Tim, Probably a dumb question, but is the outrunner front mounted. I can't see any mounting detail on the plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi BillyT! Yes, it's front mounted. I left F1 blank on the plan (except for the centre-point), so builders can drill it to suit their own choice of motor. Hope this clarifies matters! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Roberts 9 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hi Tim, Do you have any photos showing your servo installation in the wings please? The appearance you have achieved looks very elegant with just the servo control arm peeking out of the lower wing surface. I assume the servo must be on its side inside the wing but how did you manage to do this and still make the two mounting screws and the control arm screw accessible? I could mount the servo in the conventional fashion (i.e. vertical rather than horizontal) but the this would leave more of the servo exposed beneath the wing. It would work perfectly well but is less aesthetically pleasing. Thanks for any help you can offer Cheers & Happy New Year, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hi John, The method I've is very common these days. The plate you can see is fitted with wooden blocks on its reverse side, and the servo is screwed to these blocks (with its output arm protruding through the slot). The plate is then itself screwed to the wing structure. Stupidly I didn't take any pics ....... tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Roberts 9 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Thanks Tim Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Like this John...although Tim Hooper's will be much neater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Roberts 9 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Thanks Tim & Peter I think my brain must be addled after Christmas! I couldn't think beyond the idea that the servos had to be attached directly to the wing structure. Mounting them on removable plates is simplicity & genius............now why didn't I think of that!! Thanks all. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hi all, Is anyone building from the free plan? Stupidly for once I did not check it with dividers first but the tailplane leading edge has turned out 2cm wider than the fuselage at f4 and all the ribs needed cutting shorter to fit the outline of the wing. I have seen the fantastic way Tim finished his but there is no way I can get a correct leading edge profile for a Clark ym 15 from f5 inboard. useing the specified strip. I do wish plans would carry a datumn so one could check for print errors. Billy T, I did not quite trust bolting my moter to the ply so I bolted the standard crucifix mount , useing socket headed allen bolts and locknuts and lashings of epoxy to the back of f1 as it was fitted to the nose, the ply was drilled through 4.5 mm at the 4 motor locations so the standard countersunk motor screws would just bear on the alloy mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Ah! This is a standard problem with plans. The designer sends in the plan that he built from and that he knows is accurate but by the time it has been scanned, gone to the draftsman who rearrranges it, been sent back to the magazine and is printed it is all over the place. I proofed my Legrand Simon plans TWICE and there were STILL errors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Posted by Peter Miller on 06/01/2012 08:30:10:Ah! This is a standard problem with plans. The designer sends in the plan that he built from and that he knows is accurate......... Well, I submit a hand-crayoned piece of crumpled up loo roll....... I've built from quite a few plans in the past, and I've always assumed that the plans were just guide really - not a definitive source of dimensional accuracy. A you say, Peter, given that the pencilled plans are pssed to a CAD guru (who may or may not be an aeromodeller), I'm generally very happy with the way they turn out - within their obvious limitations. Another publisher (not RCM+E) once published a design of mine. A beautiful job, except that the whole airframe was enlarged by 17% over size. Sure the model would be buildable, but all the stated dimensions would be wrong, the stated power train would be at the lower limits, and the AUW would be comensurately askew. All completely out of the authors control! What has surprised me since I started this designing nonsense, is just how many folk assume that the stated method of construction is the only way that will work, whereas just about anything can be changed to suit the builders needs. tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I do think that this reoccurring plan issue needs putting into perspective. The plans are very good given the limited space for printing them. Paper is not stable, so absolute accuracy will not be achieved on paper, maybe drawing film. Cad drawing files will be as accurate as the inputer. Draughtsman drawn images will almost certainly be 100% accurate, be the line width, miscalculated/measured dimension. In this vain you can go on for ever. Most of us cannot even build remotely a so called accurate model, again for similar reasons. There is always more than one way of skinning a cat, and designers will often be giving guidance, rather than absolute right way. The drawings and accuracy are generally very good, occasional errors will occur, but what is an error is a matter of opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I've just trimmed a few off-topic posts here. Peter, perhaps you can leave the LS-60 comments in the thread for the model please, ta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Sweetman - King of Dead Sticks Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi Tim, Absolutly love the model It has been a while since i have flown but try to keep active building. Cant wait to get started on this model. Can i pick your brains first though. The glazing of the canopy, and the windows. Are they hard to do? Would you have any pointers or suggestions for me, cause i fall behind when it comes to making the windows. Also as this is my first electric model build, could you advise where i might get the landing gear. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Rob, The glazing is quite straight-forward. Lots of little pieces of acetate, that's all. The trick is not to try and do it all in one go, but stage it over a couple of days, to allow the canopy glue to dry overnight before moving on to the next pane. I'm pretty sure I detailed the glazing earlier in this thread. There's a couple of guys also building Couriers in the Kit reviews section here. They haven't reached the glazing yet, but it won't be long! Courier thread The retracts are E-Flites own, as distributed by Horizon Hobbies in the UK. Most model shops will easily be able to get a pair of mainlegs to order. tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Last night on BBC 4 there was a program "High Flyers. How Britain took to the air" A couple of short clips of the Airspeed Courier in flight. Did you see that, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Peter, I've just read about it elsewhere, Peter. I'll try to find it on the iPlayer thingie ...... tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Robey Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hi All, This will be my third balsa scratch build (Funterceptor, Zulu ET and now the Courier). I love the planes you select to model Tim, they are always a bit quirky and unusual. I chose the Courier because I think its not too complicated for me (I hope!) and looks cool (very 30's art deco) plus the retracts add an extra bit of fun. I have just started cutting the wing ribs for the courier and I have a two questions and a request: 1. Is there any reason why the wing can't be built in three parts rather than built as one part and cut into three? Space is an issue and it would be easier for me to build it in three parts. 2. Ribs 4 and 5 have a lite ply section that re-enforces the balsa rib. Is the balsa rib cut as one complete rib or in two parts (front and rear)? The plans show them in two parts but on the photos it looks like they could be one balsa rib with the lite ply glued to the front of the rib. 3. Finally the request: Does anyone have any video of a courier in flight? Nothing like a bit of video to up the motivation. Edited By Mike Robey on 17/12/2012 03:05:41 Edited By Mike Robey on 17/12/2012 03:06:07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 HI Mike! Thanks for choosing the Courier as your next project! Thinking back, there's no real reason why you shouldn't build the wing in three sections. I think I did it as one-piece as it ensures that the spars line up with each other. 2. I'll have to dig out the plan and have a look, so bear with me, OK? Either way it's not a biggie. 3. Sadly, I don't have a video. I have enough trouble getting photos, never mind videos... tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Robey Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Thanks Tim, I appreciate the info about the ribs when you have time to check the plans. Building the wings in three parts will make it way easier for me from the perspective of space and not annoying the rest of my family. I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything by going that way. I take your point about the spars lining up, I'll be careful and hopefully they will line up nicely anyway. I also take your point about video. I sometimes think its harder to video a model in flight than fly the damn thing! My hope was that, going by the forum participants, there must be at least 3 or 4 couriers out there by now so maybe someone got some video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Mike, I've had a peek at the plans..... R4 is in one piece as drawn. However R5 needs to be in two pieces as the 1/16 ply dihedral brace (B3) is glued to the front of the spars, and passes through the rib station. I hope this helps! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Robey Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Hi Tim, Thanks that clears it up for me. Time to finish cutting the nribs and start putting the wing together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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