Terry Walters Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hi Patt - welcome! I use a mixture of 'glues'. I really don't like the fumes from C.A. types so only use them where I need too. My preferred glue is aliphatic as it sands well and smells fine! I was introduced to Gorilla Glue by forumite Pete B and although it is not cheap is gives a bond which apart from gap filling is strong but still sandable. I'm afraid you are unlikely to get hold of CAD files as these will be copyright. The CNC pack is not perfect but compared with my cutting is good enough but you need to check against the plan and makes allowances where appropriate. I also bought the additional wood pack but wouldn't do it again as it didn't bear much resemblance to the wood I needed and had to supplement/replace from my own stock. If you don't want to cut out by hand I would get the CNC pack because it will save you a lot of hassle. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Roberts 9 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hello Patt Very best wishes with your build. I have enjoyed mine very much but be aware that it isn't just an assembly job using the supplied parts. I think we have all found that there are quite a few grey areas that have required a bit of extra thought and builders intuition. That said, there is nothing insurmountable to overcome and personally I found the little challenges to be a positive bonus that added to the enjoyment of the project. I mainly used aliphatic glue for my build. A few small areas required CA but, overall, aliphatic gives more working time and allows for components having to be repositioned and moved as you assemble them. I don't have any CAD drawings but, to be honest, the CNC kit as supplied was pretty good. Yes, there were a couple of minor things but definately nothing that would warrant the trouble of having to have them recut. The two items that occur to me are the wing ribs which aren't notched to take account of the balsa skins. I think we all worked around this by fitting capping strips to the ribs and this has proven to be an elegant solution that adds only a tiny bit of weight in return for a much strengthened wing........so for me it turns out to be a better solution than having notched ribs. The second issue is that the upper wing fairings were supplied in 1/32nd ply which I found to be far too rigid and, therefore, very unwilling to take the required compound curves. Simple solution, use 1/32nd balsa or 1/64th ply instead. We are only talking about a few square inches of material so nothing to worry about really. There is lots of good building advice in Tim's original thread and much of this is also available in the article he wrote in the magazine. Plus, there are also lots of hints & tips in this build blog which address most of the icky bits you will encounter. Finally, I would suggest that you set aside a goodly amount of time to build your Courier because it definately can't be gone in a week. I am happy to share knowledge & experience with you too . Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hi John - like the pics - very smart scheme! I do see what you mean with the similarity to a Japanese WWII outline from underneath. As you know mine will be a scale scheme - RAF cammo representing K4047 in 1943. I realise the shape will not be easy to cover that's one of the reasons why I chose natural Solartex as my covering. Its lighter than normal Solartex and goes round corners more easily. I'll then paint it before adding the scale decals I've already rec'd from Pyramid Models. Just needs to do wing fairings, retract housings, glazing, tail wheel linkage and fit sheeting to the bottom of the fuz. That will leave the dreaded cowl, dummy engine, air vent holes and actually working out how to make sure the cowl stay put in flight! Got a bit of time today so we'll see where we get too! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patt Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks for your advice guys. It looks loke I will be ordering the CNC pack then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 No great steps forward today because Terry has been 'fiddling'! Some of you have asked to see a close-up of the wizened old aviator/inspector of works - here he is! Now P/O Fearless has been inspecting my work on the wing and paid particular attention to the wing ribs cap strips. He was not happy with the standard of work done. He told me" In my day that work would have earned you two weeks of extra duties now put it right! It just will not do! Disgraceful!" To be honest I wasn't happy with either so I took the cap strips off and did them again - this time they passed inspection! Then he pointed out that two of the verticals on the cockpit glazing bars didn't look right. So that needed sorting as well. Then as I wasn't happy with the t/e, It seemed a little soft and thin and it was now lower than the cap strips. So to kill two birds with one stone I decided to sheet the t/e too! More work but I am pleased I've done it because I am happier with the result than it was before. I will now also cap strip the bottom of the ribs and the t/e then I can move on. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Welcome to the club, Patt! As the others have said, the Courier was never meant to be a simple model to build, but if you take it slowly, and think all the processes through beofre you cut any balsa, then you're probably going to achieve the desired result! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Friday being the start of the w/e meant not too much done. After redoing the cap stripping of the top surface of the wing ribs I decided to do the bottom too. A little bit of fettling was required to ensure the fitting of these pieces didn't disrupt the flow of the bottom surface so a small amount of cutting and sanding was necessary. The only sanding was feathering in the rear portion of the cap strip situated just inboard of the aileron on each side. This was needed to blend into the t/e Then I opened out the aperture for the electric retracts. Mine are the HK version which seem identical in size to the E-Flite etc but do not include the adjustable axles so they are now in the post! The fit is good but I can see why there is a need to reverse the coil part of the leg and to bend angles to avoid the main spar. I had a quick look at this yesterday but found the legs very difficult to bend near the top housing especially as you are working with the coils spring which defeats your effort and it does not seems that the leg is removable! Any ideas?? The legs are 3mm but very hard. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Terry, I'm not familiar with the retracts you're using, but on the EFllite versions, there's a grub screw hidden in the centre of the brass trunnions which holds the legs in place. tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Hi all, Still here! Due to a sudden arrival of excellent garden weather SWMBO decided that she would re-order my priorities for me! But today it's raining....................so. Tim, finally got the legs shaped in situ - no hidden grub screw on these HK ones! I put a Phillips screwdriver into the coil to take out the spring that was working against me. Then put the leg into a heavy vice and hammered them to shape. The amazing thing is that the electric retracts still work! I've never fitted retracts before so here we go. The ply formers were exposed on the underside of the centre section of the wing. I then made an A4 1:1 copy of that part of the wing relating the position of the wheel aperture to the position of the electric retracts. The actual outline of the aperture was cut out and then the whole page was used as a template. Simple! Well yes and no.... The template was then reversed for the other side; The hatched area was then cut out very carefully. So I ended up with an accurately located pair of holes to receive the wheels on retraction. But.....although my HK electric retracts appear to be exactly the same as the E-Flite ones - they are not so a bit of fiddling and cutting was needed to the servo mounts to align the wheels with the holes - time consuming but we got there!! Here's the video of them working for all those who just can't resist a video of retracts opening and closing- pure poetry! Some making good will be necessary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 There's more! For light relief I decided to sand the nose ring I had fitted to cover the prop adapter. Also P/O Fearless can be seen briefing the newly appointed test pilot. P/O Fearless is a little envious of the new appointee but he knows his flying days are over ever since that incident with the Hawker Hunter and Tower Bridge! (That'll sort out the old boys from the young whipper snappers!) Then the grub screw access was cut underneath. A little bit of profile sanding on the tail feathers and ailerons to fill in the time. Love the shapes of this plane but haven't tried to cover them yet - may be a different story then! Next a start on the aileron servo plates 3/32nd ply. Finally a thank you to the rain who made all this possible! Hopefully more rain next week but I do have a very long large path to gravel! Any more maidens?? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Looking good, Terry, but how you can restore pergolas, lay gravel paths, build models and still find time to look for maidens is most impressive and quite beyond me! Does J know?? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Lol! Just got the price of the gravel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Raining again so a little more done! The elevator halves were joined with 16SWG piano wire (1.5mm) as per plan. The shallow 'u' shaped wire was epoxied into holes drilled in the separate elevator halves. The cross piece of the joiner was set into a groove filed into the leading edge of the elevator to ensure a snug fit. Tape was placed on the rear edge of the tailplane so that the joined elevator could be held true against it without contamination by the epoxy. You can see the slightly undersized elevator caused by the CNC cutting to the wrong side of the printed line on the plan. Then I finished the inside of the aileron servo tray by glueing in pieces of balsa to hold the servos in position. The pilot holes for the fixing screws to hold the servo tray were drilled and the tray screwed in place until the servos are fitted. The designate test pilot moulding was tidied up a bit and then etch primed followed by a primer coat. Then.......... I started the wing fairings! The ply base plate were glued into position and are now drying overnight! The reinforcing gusset were shaped and glued into the appropriate bay in the ailerons to take the control horn. That's a bit more done! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 A split day today - some work on the Courier and then finally a start on rebuilding my DB Tiger Moth after its mishap on its second day out in January! Firstly I painted the interior surfaces of the Courier hatch cockpit frames in black Solarlac - just to do something different! The base plates of the wing fairings were done last time so it was time to go for the top skins! A piece of cling film was placed over the sheeted centre section of the wing to protect it. A bit of careful marking out and rehearsal followed. Aliphatic glue was applied to the touching surfaces and then the fairings were eased into position and pinned into place. Then they were left well alone! After 3 or 4 hours the pins were removed and the fairings checked for fit onto the wing. One side had lifted a little and needed a little spraying and slight pressure to move it back into position. My first ever wing fairings done! Then it was onto the Tiger! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Terry, The wing fairing look great! Not as hard as you were expecting then? tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Posted by Tim Hooper on 21/03/2012 21:23:58: Terry, The wing fairing look great! Not as hard as you were expecting then? tim Tim, No not as scary as they might have been but I did use balsa and not the ply which I found to be too inflexible even after prolonged soaking. Very pleased with myself tho'. One of the reasons I wanted to do this build was because it would force me to do some of the techniques I avoided so far - wash out, retracts, wing fairings, cowl and later some serious glazing! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Posted by John Roberts 9 on 07/03/2012 13:07:19: 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. Cheers, John Well John had any 'nice calm days' yet? - the world (well Tim and me anyway!) is waiting. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Roberts 9 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Hi Terry I had to laugh when I read your post, it made me feel like a naughty schoolboy who hadn't handed in his homework on time!!!!! The Courier is now officially finished: That said, I have to confess that I rather dragged my heels over the completion of the last few details. Mainly this was because Iain, as documented elsewhere in this thread, has had a bit of a fraught time with his and I suppose that subconsciously I have been delaying the day when I have to bite the bullet and fly mine. In any case my flying abilities are still below the standard required to get the Courier off the ground and to land it again afterwards so there isn't a huge rush.......................or is that just more delaying tactics on my part? Good to see that your excellent progress is being maintained despite the diversions due to weather & gardens etc. Cheers, John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 John, That looks smart! I know the feeling about whether to fly or not it's a real dilemma. I also recognise being that person who finds lots of 'finishing' off jobs to do to extend the time before flying. You could ask another more experienced pilot to maiden it for you. I did maiden my Tiger Moth myself but did have a friend on the buddy box who was ready to take over if something out of my abilities occurred. It didn't - phew! How's the weather today?? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Honman Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 I may be late to this party but have been enjoying the Courier build. This one is supposed to be a model of G-ACLF, which has a large greenhouse and a step in the nose profile. There's a minimal cowl and exposed collector ring. So as usual I'm making things difficult for myself. But taking inspiration from the original plant pot, I raided the kitchen and a Sainsbury's salt container is about right for the nose profile - clad with 1/16 sheet sanded so that the rounded profile in front of the engine is captured or at least faked. The photos of G-ACLF shows a spinner that has lower diameter than the aircraft's nose, so with a bit of luck the air intake is sorted. I'm hoping to repurpose a yoghurt pot to give some structure for the collector ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Honman Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Follow-up: the pics. Kitchen ingredients, bottle-nose, and under the hood. BTW the coloured balsa comes from the local toy shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Hi Mark! I was a real surprise to see this thread resurrected after 8 years! I've done a quick Google on G-ACLF, and can see what you mean about that lovely, big cockpit canopy. Are you planning to mould it? Is that actual mount in the final pic, or a balsa mock-up. I'd get as much balsa block in between the mount and F1 as you can to absorb the considerable torque of the motor. As an aside, my own Courier is still airworthy - it last flew a couple of months ago (between lock downs), and still turns heads with its turn of speed. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Honman Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Hi Tim - your reply was a surprise too! I'm planning to make up the canopy from sheet styrene - using alu tape for the framing. That may well end in tears (of frustration); I'm tempted to try and vac-form the canopy but that's another learning curve so I'm trying to defer that... I've not built a plane from plans since my teens. Thanks _very_ much for the suggestion of balsa block behind the motor mount - I didn't really have a feel for the strength required. I did file square holes in F1 for the fingers that hold the motor mount, but better safe than sorry. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin davey Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 Just found the plan for this on Sarik, sadly no cut parts, so I guess I'll have to do it the long way ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 6 hours ago, martin davey said: Just found the plan for this on Sarik, sadly no cut parts, so I guess I'll have to do it the long way ? I think the kit was originally kitted by SLEC. Maybe they have some old stock? Might be worth a call. Tim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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