Airspeed Courier - Tim Hooper's 1930's Classic Mini Airliner

[Terry Walters]

Sorry guys spent ages trying to write up this post tonight with photos but although I've loaded them into my albums every time I try to insert them here the page just greys out and freezes and the only way out is to shut down and start again.

Hopefully this will be resolved by the techies soon and we can continue but if this is a product of making the site more 'hand held device' friendly that will be at the cost to most of the users! Here's hoping that it is just a glitch to be sorted out.

Terry

[Terry Walters]

Ok - just to catch up.

I've started the wing (it is built as one wing at this stage!). First the trailing edge was spliced and glued/pinned to the plan then two pieces of 1/32 sheeting butt joined to provide the bottom centre panel. This is then cut to shape to fit into the angles made by the trailing edge. The ply sheet obscures the plan underneath so out came the free plan and the important references drawn onto the ply.

The bottom spar was then positioned with 1/32 spacers underneath to provide for the sheeting of the bottom wing surface later. There is a slight angle here where both port and starboard spars meet and they need to be chamfered slightly. Then R3, R10 and R15 are fitted.

The the ailerons spars and parallel wing sub spars were added

Most of the remaining outer ribs were fitted - those not yet done are the rest of the centre panel ribs. Some of the CNC ribs needed a slight trim and they were not all cut square at t/e end but mainly they were good fit.

Looking like a wing now!

The top spar is fitted before the remaining ribs. The top spar needs chamfering at the tips to meet the bottom spar at the right angle. I didn't glue the two top spars together at the centre because at this time they 'float' above the centre and are too high for their final position.

The two 1/16th ply central braces were damped and strapped onto round tins to bend them slightly. Whilst I have said a bit about the quality of the CNC and woodpack here I have to admit that the braces were perfect - dead flat and true. Pity because the build relies and having some naturally warped ply to meet the angle of the spars as they join in the centre! I did smile wryly at this.

B1 is now in place and the top spars are in the correct position and glued together as well as to the brace.

Terry

[Robin Kearney]

Hi guys,

Sorry to chime in on your thread, but I was wondering what motor/esc combination you have used. I was looking at getting the same Turnigy that Tim used on the prototype but I can't seem to find a stockist in the UK. Seems a little overkill to ship one direct from HK or the USA!

r.

[John Roberts 9]

Hello

Terry - Great progress on the wing. It took me two weeks to do what has taken you about 48 hours. Good stuff!

Robin - I chose an EMax BL2815/09 920Kv (400 W) motor and a BRC 40A Pro Esc. Iain has a different combo (not sure what but he will probably post some info later). I think Terry has gone for something different again but I can't recall what exactly. He might have posted details earlier in this thread but I couldn't find it when I had a (very quick) scan back.

I am working on covering mine atm which is taking ages. It isn't an easy model to cover due to all the compound curves so I am just taking my time, no rushing, and trying to get a decent finish. Its many years since I covered a model and, whilst the Oracover I am used produces a very nice end result my recollection is that Solarfilm was easier to apply...................but maybe my last model just had lots of nice simple flat surfaces! Photos to follow soon.

Cheers,

John

[Tim Hooper]

Terry, the wing looks great - you'll be in the air in no time at all!

Robin, I get my Turnigy motors from Rapid Models in Kent, who deal online via eBay;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TURNIGY-SK35-42-KV1250-605W-BRUSHLESS-OUTRUNNER-MOTOR-/270902490418?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item3f130bf532

.....Model Markings can supply all the graphics as a set. Looks good!

http://www.modelmarkings.com/index.php/examples/94-airspeed-courier

[Robin Kearney]

Aha, thats grand. Thanks Tim.

r.

[Iain Hale]

Hi Guys the next pics from me will hopefully be flying the courier. But in response toan earlier mention of poer trains. I am using a KMS 2820/05. I bought two of them for a twin engine project, but needed a little more grunt so one went in the courier and the other one I'am selling on e-bay.

Using a 45 A ESC and an 11x7 xoar prop

[Terry Walters]

Posted by Robin Kearney on 20/02/2012 16:04:08:

Hi guys,

Sorry to chime in on your thread, but I was wondering what motor/esc combination you have used. I was looking at getting the same Turnigy that Tim used on the prototype but I can't seem to find a stockist in the UK. Seems a little overkill to ship one direct from HK or the USA!

Hi Rob and welcome.

I'm using an EMP C3542/05 with a 9x6E prop with (I hope) a 40A ESC. Which of the Couriers are you doing?

Terry

[Terry Walters]

Posted by Tim Hooper on 20/02/2012 16:26:30:

Terry, the wing looks great - you'll be in the air in no time at all!

Hi Tim still plodding on! Still enjoying it. Got the decals from Pyramid Models - appropriate roundels and service idents - no tail flash according to the photos. Great service as usual and good old Pete B will collect some paints and other bits when he's over in March to see his new grandson! Onwards and upwards!

Terry

[Terry Walters]

Posted by Iain Hale on 20/02/2012 18:12:19:

Hi Guys the next pics from me will hopefully be flying the courier.

Hi Iain - Wow! Mine won't be airborne until about the end of March or later! Best of luck - any video likely?

Terry

[Terry Walters]

Posted by John Roberts 9 on 20/02/2012 16:18:34:

Terry - Great progress on the wing. It took me two weeks to do what has taken you about 48 hours. Good stuff!

I am working on covering mine atm which is taking ages. It isn't an easy model to cover due to all the compound curves so I am just taking my time, no rushing, and trying to get a decent finish. Its many years since I covered a model and, whilst the Oracover I am used produces a very nice end result my recollection is that Solarfilm was easier to apply...................but maybe my last model just had lots of nice simple flat surfaces! Photos to follow soon.

Cheers,

John

Hi John,

The wing does build up fairly quickly but its the fiddly bits that take all the time isn't it? I've been looking at how I am going to cover the aeroplane and its not likely to be easy is it! I am going to use natural solartex (lighter than the painted version and more flexible to put on. Hopefully as there won't be a need to fuel proof (a la normal solartex) it should end up lighter. If it does that will be a first for me! Re Oracover - I find that Oracover is easier to use than Solarfilm but expensive. Solartex is the easiest of them all but it is heavier.

After a morning in a frosty garden (only -5C last night) with a beautiful blue sky I got stuck in again this afternoon.

Firstly the front (previously bent) central brace was glued to the front of the top and bottom spars. This was followed by the fitting of the forward parts of ribs - R1,R2 and R4. R1 and R4 front pieces are each of two parts sandwiched together prior to being fitted.

Then the balsa block which makes the forward wing tip..........

Then Terry got really naughty and treated himself "like I knew I would"

Looking good eh!? P/O Fearless even shrugged off his hangover to come and have a look!

The final act today - cutting the L/E to just oversize to allow for the sheeting and splicing in the centre section. I found that cutting the splicing angle on the outer two L/E parts freehand was not easy. However I did manage a good fit first time - Hooray!!!

Next time Ladies and Gentlemen - Terry will attempt to cut the wing into three pieces and then , as if by magic, put them together again only different!

Terry

[Terry Walters]

Hi all,

Apologies for lack of work but the weather has been very flyable so traded my building time for a bit of flying this week - lovely!!

Well here is the wing complete after the leading edge has been planed and sanded into shape. The tip of my left index finger was also planed into shape whilst holding the l/e for planing! A H+S Dangerous Occurrence Form has been submitted but SWMBO tore it up and called me a 'wimp'!

Then as Tommy Cooper would have said the wing was cut carefully into 3 parts - "just like that!" Actually it was quite difficult to project the cut line across the t/e spars and l/e but we got there ok.

The dihedral/wash out templates were attached to the bottom of the end rib R15 but only to the rear of the bottom spar.

At this time the template is only providing the right dihedral angle so it does not lay flat onto the building board. That will come later when the wash out is 'twisted ' into the wing and locked by the web strips and top cladding.

The top spars of the outer portions were shortened to allow the wing to adopt the dihedral angle required and then all the points of contact were sanded lightly at an angle to provide a good fit when the dihedral angle is applied. I used Gorilla Glue here to ensure a very strong bond and also to fill any imperfections. Yes I know it's difficult to believe but there actually were some imperfections!

The wing now looks like this! Phew - what a relief!

Instead of leaving it that Mr Impatient then put the rear part of R5 onto the sheeting out of sequence because he had worked out that he could! This was glued in place with Gorilla Glue for a strong bond. Don't forget the reinforcing gussets - the starboard inboard one is shown here. Both inboard gussets are in place and the outers (the other side of R15 will be done when the holding pins are removed.

Next we will be sheeting part of the bottom of the wing before we turn it over to do the wing spar webs and top sheeting to lock in the wash out. If it works out that will be my first wash out build!

Terry

[Tim Hooper]

Terry,

First washout build or not, that looks brilliant!

tim

[John Roberts 9]

That wing is looking great and your rate of progress remains impressive despite you nicking a bit of flying time!

My progress on the other hand has been halting & interupted this week due to a series of real life things requiring attention......not conducive to a kitchen build at all.

Nevertheless I have managed to get the rudder & tailwheel arrangements sorted out and I have finished the covering on the fuselage.

I need to redo the 2 top corner pieces of the cabin glazing. I had used plastic cut from a plastic tesco bottle because they had just the right curved profile but unfortunately they reacted rather badly to the heat from the covering iron /doh.

Wing covering is next and a couple of final finishing & assembly jobs ought to see the construction complete by the end of this week.

Cheers,

John

[Terry Walters]

Hi John,

Well done! I've still got the tail wheel linkage to fit my fuze but at least I do know what I am going to do when I get back to it. Very smart scheme John!

Thanks for your encouragement on the wing. Like you I've been balancing flying with the garden chores! Nothing a bit of manual labour to make you feel alive!

Yesterday and today I found time to epoxy in the retract housing and, like Tim H, I added extra support by way of square balsa strip around the frame for reinforcement.

Then the remaining part of the centre section bottom ply was cut, shaped and fitted.

Terry thought it was a good idea to take the wing outside so that the sun could help set the epoxy in the retract wells while he had a cup of tea. What he didn't take into account was the wind gusting and blowing the wing off the picnic table!! A few popped rear rib glued points, a snapped t/e and a wing jig snapped off was the limit of the damage. It would have been worse had it not been for Terry's magnificent response to catch the wing before anymore damage was done! A call is expected from the England Cricket Team manager soon!

Today I completed the remaining sheeting of the bottom surface. After cutting the 1/32" sheet to length I taped it so the rear edge was positioned at the rear of the bottom spar and then turned the wing over and drew a pencil line at the point where the sheeting met the l/e.

The pencil outline can be seen on the below photo.

The resulting shape was reversed and used to mark out the opposite wing sheet before both were glued and pinned in shape.

The wing is now drying over night and hopefully the shear webs and top sheets will be started tomorrow!

Teatime now!

Terry

[Iain Hale]

Well flew a maiden at the club site on Friday afternoon. Weather conditions perfect. Flight OK after trimming up. That was as good as it got. Second flight she turned over on take off, split side of fuse and broke the wing. Knocked tail out of alighnment

Repairing might not be an option due to the nature of the wing washout

[Terry Walters]

Oh Iain!

What a shame! Any idea why she turned over? Was it just after take off? A tip stall due to low speed?

Wind conditions?

Really sorry Iain - surely it's a rebuild? (It always looks better a few days later!)

Terry

[Tim Hooper]

Iain,

That's awful news!

I never make a decision on a crash-damaged model until I've left it well alone for a couple of days, to give me time to calm down and make a more objective analysis of the cause and any proposed curative action.

Can you post pics?

tim

[Iain Hale]

Hi Terry

Thanks for your comiserations. Could have been a tip stall. I thought with a 900 kv 750 W motor on 3S with a 13x6 prop there would be adequate power measured at 380 W on a watt meter on a static test.

It did seem on first flight that a 12x8 prop on 4 S might have been worth a check out but never got that far

[Terry Walters]

Apologies for being absent from the workshop but I've been flying and widening a path in the garden!! SWMBO is pleased!

I was back in harness yesterday as it was misty and today its raining.

Real shame about Iain's Courier - feel gutted for him.

Right - back to the build. Yesterday the top sheets were put on the wing. No dramas except for the need for cap strips to make up for the lack of step on the CNC ribs. P/O Fearless checking the quality of work - this bit passed!

P/O Fearless, below, is inspecting the shear webs which he found were put on the rear of the spars instead of the front due to over zealousness on the part of the builder in fitting the top skins! The builder received appropriate words of guidance from P/O Fearless and has been placed in the admonishment register.

The 'Y' lead for the retracts was tried for size. The CNC apertures in the ribs for the leads are not large enough for the male JR type connector and had to be widened. If I had put string in to draw them through after sheeting then I would have had a surprise!

Time for a quick look at how its progressing - good eh?

The front top centre sheet was cut to size (eventually! - It was a bit like levelling the table legs at one stage but we got there!). The rear sheet was butt joined so as to be fitted in one go.

Then the rear sheet was glued into position. Tim - are you sure it needs all this power?

Anyone out there got any video of their Courier flying - be nice to see it.

France v Ireland now - I'm rooting for the boys in green this time!

Terry

[Iain Hale]

Had a fews days off to cogitate , bought new kit and flew a few favourite planes.

Courier wing back together again, althought heavens knows iff the wash out is the same. put the front end back into alighnment which meant removing the cowl. Not a pretty sight. so just the cosmetics to do . Then it's in the bin or into service with the other toys in the hangar.

What odds eh1!!

Edited By Chris Bott - Moderator on 08/03/2012 08:46:33

[Terry Walters]

Well done Iain for getting on with it and not brooding too much! Let us all know how you get on! Best of luck. i'm hoping to get a bit more done this pm. Just cleared the garage out so SWMBO will be pleased. Its a two car garage but guess who's car lives in their with all the other stuff that keeps my little C15 van out of it?

Terry

[Terry Walters]

OK - a bit more done this pm but I had to clear out and tidy the garage to SWMBO's satisfaction and wait for her to go out before I sneaked back up stairs! P/O Fearless saw it all but is saying nothing!

So here is the completed wing (ex for retracts and servos housings!) after first sanding done outside in a very cold wind but no breathing in of balsa dust - you don't gt owt fer nowt! I was glad to get inside tho'!

Then the ailerons had the 'snip' - ooh!

Then we had a look at the wing fairings. The CNC pack provides the base of the fairing in what seems to be 1/64th ply - well cut and the right shape. This will be tacked to the fuz before the actual fairing is fitted to the fuz. However, the actual fairing is cut from 1/32nd ply which again is well shaped but far too rigid for my liking so I used them as templates to cut 1/32nd balsa sheet which will be much better behaved. In order to introduce a longitudinal curve they are currently damp and strapped to the side of my aliphatic glue bottle. One of the pre-cut ply fairings is at the bottom of the pic,

Whilst that was going on I needed to fill a bit of time before I did the blog then had dinner so I started to nose ring which will be necessary to hide the prop retaining nut/grub screw. A small aperture will be cut underneath to allow hex access to the grub screw for fitting and removal. Guess what I needed to use at this moment? Yep the aliphatic glue..................... Doh!

This will be shaped nice and round later!

Terry

Edited By Terry Walters on 06/03/2012 17:51:59

[John Roberts 9]

Hello All,

I haven't posted anything for a while but I have been following progress most days.

Iain, I know you are gutted about what happened but your resiliance & determination to get the darn thing sorted out & flying again is commendable /respect .

And Terry, as usual, your build is looking great. I used 1/64th ply for the top fairings because the supplied 1/32nd stuff was way too inflexible. Balsa will work a treat but I found that when the wing is firmly bolted in place it does tend to press up against those fairings so make sure it is all good & strong.

I have been patiently doing the covering on mine and it has taken far longer than I expected due to all the compound curves on just about every surface. I found that one piece of film would take me 2 or 3 hours to get right (I know, I'm a slow coach!!) and then I needed to take a good long break before I was ready to tackle the next piece.

I still have the engine cowl to cover and fit which will probably be a pretty awkward job. Once that is done it is really just a matter of assembling everything and waiting for a nice calm day.

I guess that the colour scheme won't be to everyones taste. Although not by design it is somehow reminiscent of a Japanese WW2 warbird..........all I was after was something that I could easily see in the air and that would enable me to quickly distinguish the top from the bottom. Hopefully my scheme achieves those objectives even if the aesthetics don't appeal to everyone.

Cheers,

John

[Patt]

You guys have realy inspired me. I realy love planes from this era. This will be my first balsa build, having made many planes from depron and EPP. Just a few questions though:

What is the best glue to be using for the bulk of the build, C.A. or PVA?

Dose anyone have the CAD drawings on a computer file they can share? I can then get them cut out at work on a laser CNC cutter we have. That way I will not have the incorrectly cut parts in the kit and it will make the plane feel more like mine.