born-again modeller

[kenking-King Design]

Hello to all, Ken King here.Haven't built anything since I was 40'ish and am 71 now, so have considerable catching up to do. My older brother left me an unmade D.B. Giant kit (SE5 type bipe) with an EVRA 190 engine, and I've promised to build and fly it. Steep learning curve or what ? In my distant boyhood I made many KK scale kits, 3/6d each, rubber or Jetex powered. Anyone else remember them ? Later did a little control-line, and touched on R/C but it was primitive compared to present day stuff. Lifelong aircraft nut, apprenticed at College of Aeronautics, Cranfield. Worked on and in (literally) wind tunnels from low-speed, low turbulence to hypersonic. Lancaster PA474 was based there as a research tool, now B of B mainstay of course. Far too many fascinating sights to recount here, but maybe one day. anyway, will be asking for loads of help and advice over the coming months or years, so look forward to making your acquaintance. Must join local club as a priority, obviously, Cheers, Ken.

Edited By Steve Hargreaves - Moderator on 16/06/2012 14:57:20

[ken anderson.]

wellcome from me ken......ask away with as many question's as you need to....... nice name give's you a head start.....

ken anderson ne..1 ...head start dept...

[David Davis]

Welcome to the forum Ken.

You're quite right to join a club, some have their own trainers which you could use otherwise I'd recommend you bought a high wing monoplane as an introduction to r/c and the same type of radio which most of the instructors use so that you could link the transmitters with a buddy box lead.

Best of luck!.

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Welcome to the forum Kenking....good luck with the build but might be an idea to get a more experienced flyer to make the first flight.....

Centuries of experience on this forum so please feel free to ask any questions you like.....

List of BMFA affilliated clubs here....

Oh & I've changed that engine name in your post too......just to be consistent....

[kenking-King Design]

Steve, don't worry, the first flight decision was already made. It (and many subsequent flights I expect) will be at the hands of the best pilot my local club can offer. I reckon I'll manage the build without too many problems but it's the selection of radio gear and all the other hardware that's the biggest problem and where I'll need early advice. Before I start, however, I have to clear the junk from the back bedroom and put in the double glazed window I bought last year, to make a decent hobby room, so you can see that this is a longer term project. thanks to all for the encouraging noises. I'll keep you posted.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Hi Ken

and welcome on board! As the guys have said loads of folks with lots of experience on here, we sort of help each other along! So don't be shy about asking - we all need a little advice sometimes!

One thing you might want to think about is equiping yourself with something very fast build, low cost and low maintainance. It would help you to "get your hand in" as it were. Something like a Foam-e WOT 4 would fit the bill. It would mean you could be doing some flying whilst building!

Another idea to consider would be to invest in a simulator. Runs on your PC and uses the same transmitter as you fly with. They're very realistic these days and can help a lot in learning the basic skills. Phoenix is a popular make on here.

Anyway, whatever path you decide on enjoy it. Its as addictive as hell and probably the best hobby in the world!

BEB

[Josip Vrandecic -Mes]

Hello Kenking, welcome on board....I wish You all the best and have fun....

Cheers

Jo

[Area 51]

Welcome dear boy, although I suspect you already know you have got yourself into the best hobby there is... you know a little about the full size too.. even more fun when you have mini one on the table top on the workshop... all the best and "Welcome" from chilly Cheshire...

[kenking-King Design]

An update. I've joined a local club, Balbedie, and found a jolly bunch who know how to enjoy their annual summer bash even when high winds ruled out almost all flying. I understand that the live band (Heidrum, very good entertainment and recommended) and the socialising went on well into the small hours of Sunday. I've erected a building table in my second shed, topped with plasterboard after a forum discussion, and have started building the D.B. Giant SE5 based model left me by my brother. His Evra 190 has been approved as a well suited engine too, but it's a longer-term aspect of my re-entry into aeromodelling. I've had one abortive flying lesson at the club field, cut short by a wierd transmitter range problem which caused even my instructor some breathless moments. The triner was landed safely though, and my first real lesson still awaits. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy building, and there's plenty more in the Giant to keep me happy !
I'm asking opinions on the radio to buy, and am kind of inclining toward Hitec, given the great review in the mag.
Moe later, happy landings !

[Garbo]

Praise the lord Ken, and the next time your talking to him can you have a word about the weather?

[flytilbroke]

Hi Ken, welcome to the ranks of RC Flying. You have certainly picked an excellent club to fraternise with. Learn on that slightly challenging runway and you should be able to take off and land just about anywhere. Bunch of Fearties did not fly on Saturday, I even flew my Ben Buckle "Novice" with a little PAW diesel up front. Sunday wasn't too bad, most that were there got plenty of flying in,,, except the fearties . The Saturday night WAS swinging with the band Heidrum with a practise drinking session on the Friday and a wind down on the Sunday A constant flow of folks learn to fly with this club, a great bunch of guys. Talk to them some more before committing to any particular make of Radio gear, better to match the guys helping you, mostly. Don't forget you need a great dress-up outfit to to win the Halloween competition.

[kenking-King Design]

Just an update. I'm still waiting for my first flying lesson via the Club's trainer and buddy box. Not, I hasten to add, the fault of my instructor. Three attempts so far, firstly a tranny fault quickly grounded the flight, second, I didnt find the message until too late -dashed out to the field but instructor had sorted the trainer setup and gone home, third-I had to call off at very short notice due to having to put down a much-loved pet. Maybe next week if we get a weather window. In the meantime I've rediscovered the joys of building with the DB Giant kit, an SE5 based model of 95inch span. So far both starboard wings are completed apart from servo installation, tailplane and elevators are built and finish sanded, and fin/rudder is next. What about the port wings? I hear you cry. Well the truth is that there are just so many ribs and spar webs one can assemble consecutively, and two wings appears to be my limit. I made up a couple of sanding blocks from 1/4 inch tufnol plate and a length of broomhandle screwed along the centreline. Spray adhesive and assorted grades of paper cut from industrial belt-sander belts completes the scene. I'm looking for advice on covering with nylon (strongly recommended by D.B. for this model) as it's something I've not done before.
Any hints?

[David Davis]

Hi Ken

I have one of these kits and plan to build it one day with the slightly longer wings of the very first SE5s. I hope to make mine a replica of the one that Albert Ball flew, and indeed was killed in.

As regards nylon covering I will be using Solartex. It's much easier to use, you simply iron it on and then shrink it taught with extra heat. It's also fuel proof but most of us give it a coat of fuel proofer because matt Solartex soon looks grubby with oils stains etc.

The scale experts tend to use silk or nylon or even silk over tissue but I do not have the patience for such a long-winded process. Basically you moisten the nylon, attach it to the airframe using either wallpaper paste or dope, pull everything tight, allow the nylon to dry out and then use lots of dope to fill the weave. Use shrinking dope if the covering is insufficiently taught and non-shrinking dope if it is. Then you add the colour and then you fuel proof the lot. See what I mean by "long-winded!"

Best of luck with the build and with learning how to fly.

FWIW I often recommend a three channel vintage model to beginners of your age as they are very stable and you simply have to nudge them around the sky. They don't fly well in a breeze however and as your club has a trainer and instructor you should be alright.

Happy Landings

David

[kenking-King Design]

Thanks for the comments on covering, David. I think Nylon was suggested by D.B. because of the extra strength it would impart to the structure compared to other coverings of that period. How does Solartex stack up strengthwise ?

[kenking-King Design]

Time for another update. I missed yet another flying lesson appointment yesterday as my wife and I were away on a short break to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Everybody go Aaaaah ! Anyway SWMBO decided it would be nice to extend it by another day as the weather had turned all warm and sunny (perfect for flying too) and now of course it's hissing down.
Got some shed time in today and have finished fin and rudder, tailplane and elevators, and have started the port upper wing. earning from painful experience gained when sanding the first wings I spent considerable time ensuring all ribs were exactly identical, with spar slots aligned, leading edge notch etc. I'll also presand the hard balsa strips which mount between ribs to carry rigging attachments. Trying to sand hard and soft balsa together yet retain true profiles and straight lines doesn't work, but then you already knew that. So...some ribs have capping strips added to restore profiles. Slowed things but corrected now, and lesson learned.

[Jimbo565]

Ken

Welcome from me, I hope I dont get mixed up here with the Kens and Kings,we here in the North East are privileged to have King Kendo Andersonic as absolute ruler and wise person.

Stick in with the build and it will be well worth it.

Steve,

you must be older than me if you can remember the old Evras and Quadras.

Jimbo ne23 hoping for a knighthood dept.

[kenking-King Design]

Done it ! had my first lesson at last, though it wasn't all plain sailing. There were some issues with the setup again so Colin cleverly stripped out 2.4 ghz and installed 35mhz, swapped trannies etc, then the model trim needed a lot of sorting with two experts on the buddy setup and me in the background, secretly pleased that not all the twitches and apparent loss of control were my fault. Finally al was well and Colin assures me I was piloting for a total of 45 mins or so. Now hoping that Tuesday will dawn fair to allow lesson no. two.
Oh, and port upper wing is now built and finish sanded so just one more wing to go, then the centre section, then at last, the fuselage ! This wing was much quicker to build due to increased prep of ribs etc, well worth it.
Was looking forward to the Warbird Fly-in this weekend, only to learn it was pulled forward a week to avoid an event clash, so it happened whilst I was on the short anniversary break already mentioned. Ah Well ! There's always next year.

[David Davis]

Hi Ken

Glad to hear you're making progress both in the flying and building departments.

Concerning the relative merits of Solartex and nylon I don't know whether anyone has carried out a comparison test but both impart great strength to the structure and as stated above, Solartex is much easier to use. It's even easier to use than film coverings and is available in WW1 colours.

David

[kenking-King Design]

Thanks David and others, from what you have said I gather that nylon has been well and truly superseded by Solartex so I'll follow that advice.
My D.B. Giant now has all four wings built and two of them finish sanded, all tail empennage, and the centre section is on the building board. After that comes the fuselage which will require the full 6ft of board. I'm really looking forward to finding a home for all the heavy ply formers which have always been on top of the part I needed. I'm not well organised you see. No radio gear yet as pennies must be scrimped and saved and no final decision on brand as each equipment review I read convinces me I've found the right one .. until the next review; so, no servos in wings yet and covering will have to wait a little longer.
Another couple of lessons. but wish I could see more progress (or any) but Colin keeps making encouraging noises, although his exasperation occasionally breaks through. I seem to be about 30 degrees misorientated with regard to the field. I told him there must be some angled ley lines influencing me but he didn't buy it. Ah well, press on, and I am enjoying it. Still haven't bought any fuel of my own so owe Colin several tanksful. MUST get to a model shop before my next lesson, it's getting just too embarassing.

[kenking-King Design]

Build update, 4 wings and top centre-section completed plus tail surfaces. I've silver-soldered the u/c and attached wood leg fairings. I've now built both fuselage side frames and am letting all glue joints cure for a couple of days before further assembly. In the meantime I must make some accurate measurements of the engine and draw and fabricate a mounting arrangement for inclusion in the forward fuselage structure.
No flying lessons for a couple of weeks as my instructor took a week off to go to Elvington and now the weather is unsuitable, but I have bought fuel ! Found Steve in Scoonie Models most helpful and getting there is easy so local model supplies all sorted.

[kenking-King Design]

The 'Giant' fuselage is 90% completed, having revised the front end to accomodate the Evra 190. Working from the prop driver face, I moved the firewall back 20 mm and fabricated an alloy mount. I've made the front lower former removable, retained by two terry clips grabbing 1/4 " brass tube stubs. The sprung tailskid assembly is ready for installation and I'm about to fix top decking. At 6 ft long, without rudder, and when propped up on its wheels, it's HUGE (to me at any rate. A holiday abroad is looming so building will take a back seat until October.