FWAL Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 This is how I'm securing the ballast shots in the tube. I've never seen a ballast tube in the flesh so I have no idea how this is usually done but I'm confident my system will work just fine. It's bascially a shoot bolt with an elastic band to keep the bolt latch in place. Edited By FWAL on 27/05/2012 11:17:32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Started sheeting Sol's fuse, and almost finished Fourn's wing. I decided to add some GRP reinforcement to the Vee tail joint as I had some cloth left over from the wing joint, perhaps I should have fitted the dowel which will support the wing bolt first. But as it's a difficult hole to drill without collateral damage to the surrounding balsa I thought the GRP would make the drilling easier. Above is the Fourn's wing servo looking from the underside. Again I have used some GRP to help strengthen the 1/16 balsa sheet, the servo will be glued direclty to the wing upper skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Both gliders are now nearing completion......OK, structural completion! Sol's fuse is now completely sheeted and semi shaped and both underwing fairings have been made, Sol's was preformed to a degree and the Fourn's was made up from scraps and incorporates what is described on the plans as a 'launching aid' ...I looked hard but couldn't find the landing aid anywhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Sol's fuse is taking shape Sol's nose and canopy, 1mm thick ply is glued onto all exposed end grain I've made Sol's subfin is alot narrower than the kits. The nylon M4 wing bolt is holding a shaped piece of balsa in place. Now it will be removed, trimmed and fitted in the Vee tail, again I have used 1mm ply to face the end grain balsa plenty of room in the cockpit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 I think I'll be starting the covering very soon tomorrow I'll mix some PVA and water and seal the balsa prior to covering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 This must happen to everyone when fitting the aileron servo, when the control horn is moved to the max it ends up under the wing skin. In this instance I have elongated the aperture in the wing and made a balsa box, I hope it will work out OK The past week I have been able to cover her and fit the tail. The air intake cowls haven't been fitted yet as I have tried to cover thenm in solar film but to be honest I'm less than happy with the result, They'll probably look OK at 100' up! I will post a photo of the mess soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 I have removed the orange Solafilm from the air cowls and have painted them blue which suits the plane a lot better. This Saturday I hope to have her completely finished and ready for her first test flights. Solange's covering is going well, I'm using Oracover which although similar to Solafilm is probably a better product and easier to use. Here's a snippit of the scheme. The sharped eyed around here will notice my next build which arrived yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Both Fourn and Sol have been covered and I have just finished fitting the controls, ESC so the Fournier so a part from checking the COG she is completely finished. Sometime soon I'll have the Solange finished as well so perhaps Sunday morning I might be chucking her off the local Headland. I must say that as kits go you do get great value for money with the Solange, just look at some of the hardware pack, there are also 8 sleeves provided to act as spacers between the control horn and backing plate to prevent crushing the control surface. Plenty of the parts are preformed and shaped in some instances as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Foto's of the finished Fournier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 I finished the Solange this afternoon and the conditions would have been perfect for a maiden but a gravy dinner is better! Well not quite but I want to keep in the wifes good books as I'll probably be purchasing a SAS Mamba this week to take on holidays. The small Fox is very slope, wind particular where as I hope the 36" Mamba can be flown in all types of situations. So back to the Solange, I have followed the designers tip and removed the servo blocks and in lieu used heat shrink instead to join the extension leads I don't think I have ever fitted wing servo's using the same method in any of my models. Here is the latest method Spot the difference.... OK I have fitted the supplied cover but also packed up the horn to help produce better differential Solanges shark eye SOLANGE FINI All balanced she weighs quite a heavy 1,445g (51oz) Edited By FWAL on 24/06/2012 16:41:28 Edited By FWAL on 24/06/2012 16:43:10 Edited By FWAL on 24/06/2012 16:43:45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard G Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Beautiful job on both. I'm especially grateful for your Solange build log as I've gone and bought one. It's fantastic value for money as you mention. This will be my 3rd/4th build and feel fairly confident of making a decent job - some of your photos and comments helped with a few 'grey' areas in the instructions. So when are we going to see some photos of the finished Sol? Did you manage to maiden her today? *** EDIT *** Ha - you updated just as I made this post - almost to the minute! Nice work! Edited By Richard G on 24/06/2012 16:45:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 Thanks Richard Yes, I have done some editing sorry about that, amongst other mistakes I had put the weight as 14459g D'oh. As long as you don't rush you shouldn't have any problems with the build. Although, I found the spruce longerons come in 2x long lengths and 2x short lengths. I didn't check all the bits that closely before hand so for an hour or two thought I was missing the shorter lengths. Another point I learned the hard way, the elevator/rudder control surface are exactly the right size to use as fuse (nose) sheeting. Find them, label them and put them in a safe place until required Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard G Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 For me there are at least a couple of new techniques/ideas involved here. First is glassing - seem to be good descriptions both in the instructions and here in your log so hoping I should be ok. The glassing of the wing joiner plate looks like a good tip - wouldn't have thoughts of that. The ballast tube idea is also new to me. Do you have any pointers or design refs for that? But really it's just a tube with shiftable lumps of weight to adjust CG. The shaping of the TE looks a pain but sure I can make a sanding jig for tha Thanks for the tips FWAL. *edit* Oh by the way - what did you use for covering? Edited By Richard G on 24/06/2012 19:17:57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi Richard Glassing is pretty straight forward espiecaly if you use a spray mount spray adhesive to hold the fibre glass in place whilst wetting out. You only need a light spray and you'd be suprised how well it works. Another tip is to refrain from flooding the resin on, use just enough to change the fibre glass from white to clear and give it two coats of resin with a light sand between coats to remove the waxy finish which seems to float to the surface whilst curing. Now I wish I had also reinforced the internal area where the fuse sides attach to former 1. I have a gut feeling the nose may split open on a heavy landing. Now the Solange is completed I don't think it really needs a ballast tube. It's quite a heavy model so if it struggles to penertrate then the wind would have to be so strong that I shouldn't really be attempting to fly a balsa glider! My guess is it should be good up to around 40-45mph. The size of the supplied trailing edges in my kit were a pain and I didn't appreciate the work that had to be done to fair them into to the wing. I used Oracover which is a little cheaper than Profilm, not quite so good due to the glue bieng in the pigment layer but easier and probably better than solarfilm. For some reason the Black was much better to use and sticks faster than the Torquoise Edited By FWAL on 24/06/2012 23:46:03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard G Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 FWAL that's great information for me there. Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 The conditions were perfect for a maiden this evening. 15-20mph wind direct onto the slope. I self launched and the Solange just climbed and penetrated gently up 15m until I put a bit of down stick on, then I had almost an hour of really enjoyable flying including lots and lots of rolls, loops & bunts. What a fab glider it just flew straight off the work bench no trims were added and the rates and mixes just seemed ideal for the conditions and getting me used to her flying characteristics. I'm really impressed and looking forward to many happy hours of Solange soaring . Not only did the Sun come out but also the moon for this maiden Can't wait till next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Excellent news, FWAL - very satisfying and a fabulous site, by the look of it! Go steady and good luck with the RF4 maiden - it's likely to be a bit twitchy until you get it trimmed out........... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWAL Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 The conditions were just right for the Fourniers first flight. A warm afternoon with a 8mph wind blowing directly onto the slope. All pre flight checks completed (inc reversing rudder servo, D'oh) and a gentle throw off the edge (no motor) a little glide out and then I gradually opened the throttle, a few clicks of ail and down elevator trim were required over the next minute or so and then we spent over half an hour just getting to know each other. I rarely had to use the motor as there was just enough lift to drift back and forth along the slope. Bliss. I did open her up on a couple of occasions and she climbed better than I had imagined. However, as I'm a complete novice when it comes to powered stuff I did find it very difficult to maintain anything that resembled a controlled climb. In fact on a couple of occasions I got pulled right over the top and into a loop (I think I need to adjust the motor angle very slightly). Ordinary loops without the motor were performed really well but I need to work on the rolls, axail they most definietly weren't. Other than that I returned home with a plane in tact so by my book that's a sucessful maiden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Houghton 1 Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 That Solange really floats my boat, so to speak. Just wish I had building facilities or I'd have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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