WolstonFlyer's Tucano

[Caveman]

WolstonFlyer, looking good, and quite familiar!

Are you going to use an undercarriage or hand launch and belly-land?

I was pleasantly surprised how quickly and easily the balsa can be shaped with a razor plane and a bit of sandpaper. I now feel confident to move onto more demanding models.

From your photos it looks like you've got it cracked too - looking forward to seeing how you get on with the remaining build.

GDB

[WolstonFlyer]

Thanks Phil

I was mad enough to build the roof over my single story house extension 6 years ago, including fitting the velux windows and doing the tiling and lead work, talk about hard work - a great experience but I don't think I would try and do it again any time soon! This finer carpentry (if you can call building with balsa carpentry) is much more relaxing

How is your shed / workshop getting on - have you had chance to start your Tucano at all - it would be nice to meet up at Greenacres (if you are going) after all of the conversations we have had on here and email.

Edited By WolstonFlyer on 11/03/2013 22:22:24

[WolstonFlyer]

Thanks Caveman - I am very pleased with the results so far. I am also suprised at how nice the balsa is to work with, I can see how people get "hooked" on building planes.

Yes I am fitting the undercarriage, I am going to make the legs a little bit longer than on the plan to allow for more prop clearance.

[Mike Hardy]

Hi Wolston, what size hole have you put in F1 - just ordered my power train so I would like to progress F1 before I get the motor mount. Not sure all motor mounts have a standard size? Have an OS motor mount which is 50mm across the arms

Mike.

[WolstonFlyer]

Hi Mike

I have made the hole diameter 37mm, the motor is 35mm.

The X mount for my motor will just fit through the hole, I don't have it to hand at the moment but I think the X is about 50mm across the arms.

Obviously you need to check the size of the motor you have ordered. Mine is the Turnigy Propdrive 3542 and pretty much fills the whole of the space available in the nose, some motors are smaller.

Edited By WolstonFlyer on 12/03/2013 12:31:13

[Phil Winks]

Posted by WolstonFlyer on 11/03/2013 22:21:34:

Thanks Phil

I was mad enough to build the roof over my single story house extension 6 years ago, including fitting the velux windows and doing the tiling and lead work, talk about hard work - a great experience but I don't think I would try and do it again any time soon! This finer carpentry (if you can call building with balsa carpentry) is much more relaxing

How is your shed / workshop getting on - have you had chance to start your Tucano at all - it would be nice to meet up at Greenacres (if you are going) after all of the conversations we have had on here and email.

Edited By WolstonFlyer on 11/03/2013 22:22:24

LOL this is technically joinery James roofing etc is carpentry and I just love working on roofs had a chance last summer to put the timbers up for a thatched roof on 3 cottages that was fun no straight lines on the wall plate what so ever.

any way I digress getting the shed done is proving an issue time wise especially since some er (lets say young lady) wrote my car off last weekend and I need to replace it before any thing else and before the courtesy car goes back prob in about 2 or 3 weeks however permission for green acres is granted and completed tucano or not I intend to be there

Phil

[WolstonFlyer]

Hi Phil

Haha, I thought I had that the wrong way around - schoolboy error!

Sorry to hear about your car, I hope you get a good replacement via the insurance. I have got Greenacres on the kitchen calendar so it is officially "booked in with clearance" LOL, but if the weather stays wet and windy I am not sure if I am going to get enough time to do my A test so I may just be a spectator.

[Phil Winks]

Why not I'll be a spectator too no way will I get qualified in time but maybe next year just going up for As they say in auf viedersen pet, the crack (maybe thats a little before your time James lol

Phil

[WolstonFlyer]

I will be there, flying or not. I hope to get some good photographs

Yes that was a little bit before my time, I would have been 7 when the TV series started.

[Martin McIntosh]

Wot, no `A` ? Join the Aylesbury club and we shall get you through in time for Greenacres.

[WolstonFlyer]

Oh this build is going slowly.. if only I was retired but there is a long way to go for that (another 30+ years)

I have just installed the snake outers and servo tray just behind F3, unfortunately I have not ordrered any 2mm threaded rod to connect the snake inners to the ball links I am using so will need to get an internet order put in.

I have decided to add some strips of 6mm square light balsa to the inside edge where the rear lower decking is fixed in place, this will allow me to round off the lower corners of the fuselage quite a bit more but I will have to make the servo hatch smaller. The RX is going to go on a battery tray above where the wing will be fixed in place so the hatch only needs to be big enough to get to the servos.

Edited By WolstonFlyer on 26/03/2013 21:04:46

[Martin McIntosh]

Wolston, I have hundreds of 25mm brass threaded rods so PM me if you want some.

[Caveman]

Wolston, I made the access hatch shown in this photo

The design is shown in the following sheet

When covered this hatch is not seen from the side of the plane, only when looking from underneath and also maintains some strength to the fuselage base. It is quite large enough to give access to the servos and receiver.

The hole is to provide flow from the motor, over the ESC and battery.

Hope it's of interest. GDB

[WolstonFlyer]

Hi Caveman, that looks perfect I will do exactly the same, my servo tray is right up against F3 so might need to make the surrounding frame smaller but I think it will work well.

My next step is to move to the front end, get the motor and ESC installed properly, fix the hardwood block for the nose gear and enclose the front with the sheeting and do lots of sanding!

[WolstonFlyer]

Thanks Martin, PM sent

[Martin McIntosh]

See messages, Martin

[Nigel Hawes]

Woolston, Phil -

Joinery or carpentry, building models certainly gives you some skills that transfer to other areas!

I've just put a 7-metre extension on my 6-metre house, had to learn to do the blockwork then had to learn how to do the roofing structure, made more complicated by it having a Dormer window!

Picture attached shows the final structure before the blockwork was finished and the membrane / tiles added - a lot of work but I have to say, not dissimilar to building a very big model.

t'll never fly though...

Nige.

[WolstonFlyer]

A big thank you to Martin McIntosh who has very kindly sent me lots of 25mm long 2mm threaded brass rods so I can connect my servos to the snakes

Back to building later tonight, the snakes will be installed and the lower rear decking and servo hatch will be added using ideas from Caveman.

Thanks to everybody on here for the build tips, help and even materials sent!

Oh and my good wife has got me a digital covering iron, she thought is was quite funny to be buying me an 'iron', she muttered something about learning to use the biger version as well!

Does anybody know what temperature to use on the GaintShark covering film?

Cheers everybody

[WolstonFlyer]

That looks like a good building project Nigel. Much more complicated than the roof that I built.

I hope you had handrails on the scaffolding at some point. It is far too easy to step back to admire your work and end up in A&E.

[Caveman]

Woolston, I also use the Giant Shark covering. I have the digital Prolux iron, which came as the free gift with my first RCME subscription.

I set the temperature to 100 deg.C for general tacking, a bit higher, 100 to 115, if trying to fix the covering in awkward places where it's difficult to get the iron flat on the surface..

To really fix the covering down tight onto sheet I set it at 130 and use the fabric cloth cover.

I have no idea if this is the correct method, but I did obtain the instruction DVD from Solarfilm which advises on how to ascertain the correct temperature for the film in use. Generally, cut a small piece of covering, about the size of a postage stamp. Peel off the backing. Place the film, adhesive side up (!) on the iron. If the temperature is correct the film should wrinkle slightly. If it shrivels up, then it's too hot.

GDB

[WolstonFlyer]

Thanks Caveman that sounds like a good advice to me.

I will have a go with my iron on a bit of offcut wood and covering and see how it goes

[WolstonFlyer]

Well today I made the decision to install spruce leading edges to my wings so while the house is quiet I set about cutting 6mm off the LE and glued on some 6mm square spuce.

It is amazing what you can find a B&Q, I had no idea they sold 2.4m lengths of 6mm square wood, but now I do and they are only 98p each, you just have to look for the glued finger joints along the length and avoid them.

I think this will really help to protect the leading edges and has turned out to be much cheeper than using 6mm cf tube (which was my original plan).

[Nigel Hawes]

Using the correct leading edge stock, the hardwood strip shouldn't be necessary! But from what I;ve seen of the CNC pack leading edges, it's probably a very good idea.

I used 4mm dowel on the Whizzza wing and it did allow the use of softer, lighter balsa for the leading edges; what's more it is perfectly rounded which saved a lot of shaping!

Nige.

[Nigel Hawes]

PS - I broke my back last year in an accident at work when the signalbox staircase collapsed as I was on my way down it, I ended up falling about 10 feet, back first onto a concrete slab.

But I'm sure there are many who thought I'd done it by falling off the scaffolding! ;o)

Edited By Nigel Hawes on 02/04/2013 22:23:14

[WolstonFlyer]

How time flies when you have a busy family and are working 45 hours a week... no building for a month

I have a couple of days off work so I have finally done some building and joined the wings together

I have decided to use a hybrid of both Phil's removable wing design and the example by Caveman,

(**LINK**) by using a spigot made from 6mm ply (if that is the right word) on the leading edge.

I will add a strip of ply under the wing to add strength for the wing bolts and then use part of Phil's design to form a fixed battery tray inside the fuselage and above the wing. This tray will have slots for a velcro strap for holding the flight batteries.

Here is a quick picture of my joined wing with a bit of a cut-out for the servo. Got to leave it for a few hours for the epoxy and Aliphatic to cure/dry and then I can gut out the ailerons and get the wing servo installed.

I have also got the motor installed and can start boxing in the nose. I hope to get that all done tonight ( I have my 3 year old to keep entertained this afternoon!)

Edited By WolstonFlyer on 09/05/2013 11:51:30