Glenn Moore Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Its been a long time since the Vulcan was finished and I have been wanting to get going with this project for over a year. As usual I will build as light as possible but I still want to add a bit of detail. It will be a mixture of 6mm and 3mm depron for the formers and 2mm for the skins. Hopefully it wont take too long to complete. Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Glenn Nice to see you building again in my favourite material! What size is the Spit going to be? Is that rule 24" (if so it will be big) or 36" (in which case it will be huge) The Spit has an awful lot of double curves! Will follow the build with interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hi Simon Thats a 1m rule so its going to be an interesting size, This will be my third depron spitfire and they get a little bigger each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I messed around with the scale for a while and eventually decided on 88" wingspan which is more or less 1/5 scale. I felt this would best suit the power options I had in mind. Bottom half of the fuselage has gone together well and I am trying to keep the back end as light as possible to help with balance later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Glenn Very impressive! Will the depron skin be 'glassed' in some way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Hi Simon, at the moment I am looking at tissue/pva finish to make painting easier and be a bit more ding proof but glass skin would add too much weight although I will see what the weight is like as the structure takes shape before making too many decisions Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouncebounce crunch Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I have never used depron, but man you guys are producing crackers, i might have to check this stuff out and give it a go. thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Thanks bounce, lets hope this baby flies how I imagine it will. Here is a view of the lower half from the front Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu knowles Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 looking really good! I shall be very interested to follow this thread and see how you do it. retracts & flaps?? cheers, stu k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Glenn Yes, indeed, very interesting. What are the power options you have in mind - electric or i.c.? If electric, what size-ish of motor are you considering? I love the idea of a 7ft + span Spitfire. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclicscooby Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Oh Glenn, you're a god with Depron... All hail Glenn... I presume the depron is white, if so, why do you paint it all black..? Not moaning, quite the opposite, it looks ace.. Is it to look less transparent..?? AND... How ,and what do you use, to cut the holes in the rear so neatly.. ? I don't even try to pretend that my depron models are anything but depron, but you take foam to a new level.. Keep the pics coming.. Luv Chrisie.. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly P Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Chrisie, looks like grey depron to me - same stuff different pigment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Glenn Yes I only recently tried a tissue/PVA finish initially as local reinforcement for a damaged area. It certainly adds quite a bit of strength and when painted neatly covered the repair as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hi guys,I will try to answer all your questions but if I miss anything please give me a kick. I dont mean to be ignorant but I do miss things. Stu, as crazy as it may sound this is going to be a hand launched model so no flaps or retracts, I did consider the retracts but my flying field is rough grass and it would mean me taking off and landing from the lane at the side which would add more complcations. Ian, power is to be a Emax 2826 running on a 4s 2200 battery.Should be good for a model up to 6 or 7lbs although my target weight is 5 1/2lbs Chrisie, as Olly says it is indeed grey depron. I buy in box quantity to keep the cost down and grey is generally cheaper although the 2mm sheets I have are white as that was all I could find at the time.The lightening holes are cut with an assortment of copper tubes I scrounged from a local plumber.By sharpening the inside face they cut through the depron very easily. Simon, thanks for the info. I had been intending to do a trial with the tissue to see if it would work but you have confirmed to me that it will be fine.I also considered brown paper but that has an added weight penalty. Thanks again for the encouragment, it really helps when you are under pressure to put the model aside and do other jobs. I relly want to see this through as quickly as possible now. more pics later Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouncebounce crunch Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 g'day Glenn, I must say you are setting the real theme of adventure and the true spirit of flight -eg experimentation (now that is true scale) I hope other balsa boys will have a look, and a second look, your models and building style are something kit manufacturers should look at and i will be waiting for the next serving for sure. cooool maaan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Keene Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 I'd be interested in plans for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hi guys. I worked on the tailplane today so I could try out the 2mm sheet on a smaller part of the plane. At 25" it is still big enough to give me a good idea of its strength. I forgot to take a picture of the built up structure but it is pretty conventional. I did take a picture holding it up to the light as the white 2mm is fairly transparent so you can see the light shining through. With the skins glued on it is remarkably stiff and I now have no doubt that it will be plenty strong enough for the wings and fus. Rex the plans were a download from here **LINK** although it is meant as a 42" balsa model it was easy to convert for my purpose more later Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Keene Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Interesting link, but I don't think I'm up to learning new software at the moment, I'm just getting my head around R/C in general and specifically new materials such as Depron and polystyrene. id always considered these materials as the "toy" department, until I actually found out that they often fly better, are easier to work with and are much more robust. Hence the interest in your work. I read the Vulcan thread with interest, but the Spitfire is amazing, and I want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Glenn Snap! I did a similar thing with my Depron Bachem Natter. But in this case there was very little internal structure to show through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I am not trying to tell any one what to do, although i will suggest it is possible to cover Depron with Glass Cloth and WBV (water based varnish). This improves strength and dent restitence dramatically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Rex, my first sptfire which is the smaller one above was derived from the Tony Nijhuis 46" plan given away in RCM&E a few years ago. While the design was intended for ic motor and up to 7lb weight my depron version tipped the scales at 24oz and is still great fun to fly. Also it cost less than forty quid including motor and servos. Simon, just like having an xray. Its great to be able to see the structure undenesth. Erfolg, all suggestions are welcome. I will see how the airframe seems as it comes together before I decide which way to go with it. The Vulcan was painted direct onto the depron skin and beside a bit of hanger rash it hasnt suffered too much in a coupl of years flying so I am not too worried about it. Started skinning the lower fus half and it seems to be going together nicely so far. Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Jones Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Glenn all i can say is wow this build looks great, this is my md80 twin 40mm edf built from depron mine is skinned with 3mm depron witch is a little tough to curve on small diameters, as the fuse is only 80mm round, might have to get me some 2mm depron for eaiser sheeting. brett Edited By Brett Jones on 18/06/2012 21:37:51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Moore Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Great md80 Brett, have you flown her yet ? I am finding that while the 2mm depron goes around simple curves easier the 3mm makes better compound curves. Done with the lower half . I will clean up the joints later, now to get on with the top deck. Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm watching your build with interest Glenn. I've built a bit with depron - mainly small chuck in the boot pusher jets, but have wondered about building something much bigger. I'm especially interested to see your method of wing construction, so keep the photos coming! (And I think my system is a bit fed up with balsa dust!) I have a foam fuselage for a Wellington in the shed, and have not got around to the wings yet, and have thought about using depron rather than the XPS batts that I used for the fuselage. (It will be about 60 inch wing span.) Can I ask where you found the 2mm Depron? Was it an online supplier? I think I would be tempted to glass a larger project - have you tried the Poly-c stuff? It's very light and easy if a little slow to get a fantastic finish. [Lots of thin coats needed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 i must apologise, i saw the words depron, and immediatly thought, shock flying profile spitfire, i actually accidently hit the thread, and saw a 88" SPITFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am hooked, the construction looks superb, look forward to more instalments, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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