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Boeing B52 PSS Glider


Tim Mackey
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Posted by Matt Jones on 12/01/2012 12:44:38:
Looking good Tim, sorry I'd missed this thread Ready for the April meet?????
 
It looks like there may be a third '52 on the way,, not for a while yet though.
 
Wow, another one - this will actually make 3 new ones then ( I have cut two as a mate is doing one also ) plus, the two new ones that have been done by Scott and Chris - who have pledged to try and make one of the meets this year.
If they all make it, with Si's original as well that means we have a squadron of six!
Just imagine the sight ( and sound ) as they all appear from around the corner of the Orme in low level formation past the slope.....
 
Incidentally, anyone know where we can get the wing whistles from? - the ones Simon uses are very effective.
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I'll ask Phil. I was told by another recent B52 builder that when he tried it dry, the panels kept splitting 'cos of the acute angle at the bottom of the fus section .....this method seems to work fine, so I'll "stick" at it.
UPDATE: just this second recived notice from Barry at foamwings that my wings are shipping tomorrow 

Edited By Tim Mackey on 12/01/2012 14:53:09

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Posted by Tim Mackey on 12/01/2012 13:14:57:
Posted by Wingman on 12/01/2012 11:26:09:
How decadent is that?? Model making (nearly said "modelling" which flashed a horrible picture of Timbo through my head) in your dressing gown

Smoking jacket old boy....

I don't get it? why is it ok for you to have a smoking Jacket ( even if we all know it;s really a dressing gown lol) and then ban me from smoking? Can I smoke if I bring my dressing gown round next time? lol
But I digress .... On the subject of bending wood, in the marine envionment we use steam to bend timber and I did a small (ish) job not long ago on a mates yacht using my wallpaper stripper as a steam generator which worked a treat and the other plus is that using steam is much faster than soaking.
Tim, just a thought, you could form your own Squadron and all wear the same "Tail Badges" (for a nominal fee) .........
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Hi Tim,
The whistles for the B-52 and indeed those we used on the T-33s were bought from the US - Im not sure why, but these are no longer available anywhere!? - I do recall they were over priced a bit, but they were nicely engineered in ali and, as youve seen and heard, work effectively. Ive been hunting round for ages for something similar to put on the new A-10, but to no avail, it seems these are no longer made for modellers.
 
A few months back one night after indoor cricket nets, one of the lads got one of these out of his kit bag and we enjoyed throwing it long distances around the sports hall for a while and catching it when we could (not easy - it shifts!)
 


Its called a NERF Vortex, Its a hand held foam rugby ball with an aerodynamic tail, its fitted with THREE airwhistles that work brilliantly when this thing is thrown. An average cricketer will throw one of these at around 40mph, so I thought this might be suited for the aeroplanes and went to Toys 'R' Us straight away to buy one. It cost £10, but you do get THREE whistles. This is far cheaper than what we bought previously!
 
I've done some trials by hanging it out of the car window at various speeds - it works really well and at the flying speeds of our PSS models should do just the same as the ones fitted to the B-52 and T-33!
 

You can cut the whistles out of the foam ball with a bit of care, they are injected in a tough plastic or resin, they're not metal like the originals, but they should be fine for our purpose so long as you don't surface mount them somewhere where they might meet the ground on landing. Anyway, this is what Im fitting to the A-10 and at present its the only thing I can find on the market that will do the job.
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Thanks Phil...I think I have a couple like that somewhere, but didnt find them any good, maybe a different version.
Nice find Matt - they look more like the ones Ive seen before. I just tried to order six, and at checkout, they wanted to charge me £17+ shipping ( Uk company !! )
Ive emailed them to see whats going on .
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Ive ordered the whistles. Not a lot done in the last few days, but heres the story so far.
Tailplanes veneered, elevators cut out, all faced off as required. For hinges, I recessed some 1/4" sq hardwood into the foam - only where the hinges will be - before capping with the false trailing edge. Same on the elevators themselves on the leading edge.


I have decided to fit the elevator servos in the fuselage sides, so made up some liteply frames, and mounting blocks, which were recessed and glued into the foam, before the veneer was applied.

 
Then it was onto veneering, sanding, and fitting the spine spacer strips.....Only at the rough stage to date, but a quick mock up to check the alignment of the spars etc seems to show that its beginning to take shape. I will finish off the whole tail section, linkages, and final filling and smoothing, before glassing etc, before I move onto the next planned stage which is the front fuselage section veneering and glassing.




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Posted by Tim Mackey on 14/01/2012 20:59:48:
Thanks Phil...I think I have a couple like that somewhere, but didnt find them any good, maybe a different version.
Nice find Matt - they look more like the ones Ive seen before. I just tried to order six, and at checkout, they wanted to charge me £17+ shipping ( Uk company !! )
Ive emailed them to see whats going on .

Just what I've been looking for, I'd be interested to hear how you get on re shipping. Looks like the system currently charges a fix amount for each item ordered.

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They look lovely.
 
I need to do some work on a plan and then scan and send it to them for quote.
 
Tim, what kind of spar and servo arrangements have you gone for? I need to figure these out so i can send him the scan.
 
a foam wing is definatly not in the spirit of the original though, but think it will make a good combat soarer wing.
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