Jump to content

WolstonFlyer's Tucano


WolstonFlyer
 Share

Recommended Posts

And the last picture for today, my former F1a with the motor X mount bolted on. It is a bit rough at the moment but should sand nice and smooth once the glue is dry.

This is based on the design from Phil Winks, I have used two thicknesses of 3mm ply epoxied together, this it to give enought thickness for the T nuts to grip into the wood. The X mount is off centre by 3mm to allow for the right thrust of the motor.

f1a.jpg

I hope there are people following this? Should I carry on with this level of detail?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm watching wolston!

Im home from work as I broke my leg a couple of weeks ago!

your build looks great I might build the tucano after I finish my nijhuis spitfire,

the pain has just settled enough for me to get on with it!!

Cheers woody

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm watching too james so keep on with the detail mate.

going back up the page a little and there's a discussion regarding the creation of a weak point at the fuse edge using a 3 part wing.

just as a little experiment but join a couple of pieces of 10mm flat sheet end grain on and make sure its kept clamped as you would when joining the wing.

when fully dry try breaking the join and if the jobs done right your in for a surprise. The glue line will remain intact and the wood will break at least a few millimetres from the join and probably much more. Proving the glue line is not a weak point at all in fact it adds strength and this experiment takes not into account the strengthening effect of the ply dihedral braces.

and finally if the test piece does fail at the glue line then change your choice of glue and or review your glueing procedure

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm watching as well, I've followed the thread all the way through. My build is now well advanced although I'm guilty of not having gone to the trouble of posting any photos, sorry! Keep going Wolston, you're setting a fine example!

Wolston, I think it is worth reinforcing the leading edges, the soft wood will be vulnerable to "ding" damage and a harder material insert will help. I've used carbon fibre tube, which does the job very well. I've got the servos in and connected and everything is working. Not much detail to finish off before I cover it. Apart from the leading edge modification, I've stuck to Nigel's thinking and put the receiver and servos in the rear fuselage. I decided to front mount the 1250Kv motor. I'm arranging for air to pass all the way through the fuselage and vent towards the rear.

I notice you went for belt and braces with the three piece wing and extended the dihedral braces, no harm in that. I think though that with a solid wing like this, lengthening them won't make much difference. A built up unsheeted wing is a different kettle of fish because all of the bending moments are concentrated at the leading and trailing edges and main spar. In that case the dihedral braces carry a significant load. However with a solid wing the load is distributed evenly through the whole area and the most important thing is the quality of the glue bond at the dihedral breaks. I don't think that you need to worry about twisting, it's not going to be an issue with this design.

My thoughts on covering and finishing have varied, but I think I'm sticking to my original plan and will use sanding sealer, dope and tissue, followed by paint. I'm not going for the black finish, attractive though it is, because the thought of being in the air with others looking exactly the same frightens me to death!

Hopefully I'm only two or three weeks away from first flight. Probably my main concern will be avoiding writing it off before Greenacres in June!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Woody, thanks for following my build, I am sorry to hear that you have broken your leg I hope it starts to feel better soon.

Thanks for the tip about testing a glue joint Phil, would you use Epoxy for the wing joints and then glue the ply braces in with Aliphatic resin? I am still not sure which wing design to actually use yet - I need to make my mind up soon.

Colin - I did think about putting something in the leading edges, I even bought some leading edge stock to use but the first panel of balsa in my wings is already quite firm and I didn't bother using it. What size carbon tube have you used on your wings? I am also allowing air to pass all the way through the plane, I have cut a large area of F2 out and I also have a big opening in F3, I will put some round vent holes in the lower rear deck.

Anyway this is my last picture for the day (or morning actually). I have epoxied the lower areas of F2 and F3 into place so no going back now!

fuse-sides-joined.jpg

I will install the tail post next and pull the rear end together then install F1 and F1a and pull the sides in around F2 and F3, I think that will be the tricky part. I don't have a fancy building jig so need to make sure I don't end up with a bannana shaped plane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That looks really neat Wolston, success is guaranteed! The leading edge issue isn't desperate and if your panels are reasonably firm, perhaps the l/e stock won't make much difference! The carbon fibre tube I used is 5mm. diameter and 4 or 4.5 mm. i/d. Another way (cheaper) is to use some spruce strip 4 or 5mm. which easily sands to shape when inset. That works well.

The carbon fibre tube is pricey but very light as well as tough and gives a good entry profile, also I just happened to have it left over from a previous project!

I must get mine finished asap because it's been a diversion from half a dozen other un-finished projects, so I'm determined this year to change my ways and finish them one at a time, then get some flying practice in! This mass build is a good idea though and I'm really looking forward to meeting other similarly afflicted pilgrims (anoraks)?! at Greenacres in June.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

James I would use a good epoxy med setting time ie: 30 mins on both the dihedral joints and for gluing in the braces much as nigel suggests in his build article I believe just make sure you scrape of any excess (and there should be a little) before it dries as it may be a pain to sand away after

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An alternative James is to brush a little thin cyano along the le it hardens the balsa nicely though to become familiar with the technique try it on a scrap piece 1st especially as some of the ,er dubious brands bloom and crystilise like mad, though this often sands back easily, also be prepared to throw the brush after lol

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the idea Phil

Well I didn't get the plywood parts cut out tonight, it was deemed too noisy to do in the kitchen once the kids had gone to bed.

I did get the tail post installed, one tip for other builders would be to taper the fuselage sides where they meet the tail post before joining both sides onto F2 and F3, it will make life easier rather than trying to plane the chamfer with the other fuselage side in the way.

Anyway, using my cut up photocopy of the plan I have used my highly technical "Tin of soup" building jig to get everything lined up and glued together. Checking everything with my little plastic square to make sure the post is plumb and with no twist etc.

I think it is starting to look quite good but there is loads to do yet!

tail-post-install.jpg

Edited By WolstonFlyer on 05/03/2013 22:49:09

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mike

A few of us are using the HobbyKing Turnigy propdrive motors (see the first page of this build blog).

They have a rear X mounting and an alloy prop driver that bolts onto the rotating motor body, rather than a traditional prop adapter mounting directly onto the motor shaft.

In theory you can bend the soft alloy prop driver in an "arrival" and not bend the hard steel motor shaft so the motor might last longer/survive damage.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mike

Yes that motor can be rear mounted, in the second photo on your link it shows the X mount a small shaft collet, a traditional motor shaft prop adapter and a bolt on prop driver ( the silver part above the black X bracket.

There is no harm in front mounting the motor they work the same either way around. I just personally think it will be easier to replace a bent alloy prop driver rather than a bent motor shaft (if the plane survives the crash LOL)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not installed mine yet, it's tonights job!

Phil's F1a has the motor set 3mm off centre to the left (looking from the back of the plane forwards) so you could fix F1a at the angle or install it straight and shim the motor x mount with washers.

I will probably fix F1 straight to the end of the fuselage sides and have the outer 10mm balsa spacer ring shaped to allow for the thrust angle.

Just one word of caution.... this is my first ever build from plans so I am no expert!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...