Jocasta

[Glyn44]

Hi Jim.

Brilliant, that's a relief then. I'm pleased with that. I'm pressing on again. Just seemed it was out of my control anyway.

Cheers, a Glyn

[Glyn44]

Would someone be kind enough to post a photo of the tail end fuselage, without the rudder/tail mounted please. I am unsure how it all fits together. I think thatb there must be two vertical 4mm? supports between the top and bottom longerons, but I cannot really see them on the plan.

Thankyou, Glyn.

[Jim Newberry - Nuviation Ltd.]

Hi Glyn,

If you look at the first page of this thread you will find a picture that I took of my model when the fuselage was part built and sitting on the building board which I think will help explain the arrangement. If you think of the rear fuselage structure as a series of open bays with diagonal braces across them, the final bay on each side is filled in with sheeting. The main reason for having the sheeting is that the pushrods or snakes for the rudder and elevator have to pass through the fuselage side at this point and so there needs to be a hole for them. The purpose of the sheeting infill is to provide structure around the hole so that the covering material has something to stick to.

Hope that helps,

Jim.

[Mowerman]

Glyn

I filled the gaps in the fuselage sides ( where the former tabs don't come flush ) with 1/16 x 1/4 balsa to give a smooth surface but as Jim says, not essential

Edited By Mowerman on 06/05/2015 19:02:52

[Glyn44]

Hi guys,

I've not explained my problem very well, sorry. Give me some time and I will take a couple of photos of the plan, then I can notate the query, and post them. I'm ok with the ply infiltrate and the slots, please bear with me.

I think that it plan interpretation on my part

[Glyn44]

Here re are the images:

The cross hatched upright above is not shown top elevation view, as far as I can see. So I have assembled this area as in the photo below, is this ok? Not finished!

Also I am not sure about attaching the tail wheel, as I am sure it should be steerable, via the rudder and the wire spigot, how does it hinge? If Jim reads this can he tell me where he obtained the screw on holding brackets for the main under carriage, as in an earlier image?

Thanks again.

[Colin Anderson]

Glyn, may I ask a daft question? Did you build the two fusalarge halves over the plan? The reason I'm asking is, looking at your image, things don't look right. It appears that you have the uprights inboard of the longerons, whereas they should be between them, as are the diagonals. It also appears that you have a break/joint at the leading edge of the tailplane platform. If you build the two fusalarge halves over the plan, then each half must have an upright at the rear and therefore there will be two making up the sternpost. This is certainly the way I built mine.

The screw on holding brackets for the main undercarriage are called saddle clamps. You should be able to obtain them from any decent model shop (although mine seems unable to get them).

Page 11 of this post shows my method for steering the tailwheel (it's not the only solution). Note: the long piece of wire extending rearward has not been cut to length in this image. 

 

Edited By Colin Anderson on 07/05/2015 10:07:59

[Glyn44]

Not a daft question Colin, it's me that's daft. Now you have told me I can see that you are dead right. I did indeed build over the plan, that's the easy bit. This is only the second time that I have done so. This leaves my reading/interpretation skills somewhat lacking, I'm afraid, Hence all my beginners questions. You are also correct in that I have a joint, but I have made it an overlap type, and will strengthen it further.

The upright on only F10 is incorrect, I will replace it, all others ok. I guess it was all part of my confusion of this stern area.

You have put me on the right track now, many thanks.

Glyn.

[Colin Anderson]

Glad to return the favour. I've had much help myself along the way from forum members.

[Andjo]

Hello Jim, my Jocasta has made it's first flight this afternoon, flies very well and I am really chuffed, first build. I made a few small changes along the way as you can see on the foto's. Needed a fair bit of weight up front and I put in a hatch on the side for better acces to the rx. Still got to decide on a color scheme!!

Also want to say thank you to all the people who have contributed to this forum because they have helped me a lot with all the tips.

[Jim Newberry - Nuviation Ltd.]

That's great Andjo, glad you are pleased with the model! Well done - she looks great! If you can't decide on a colour scheme you could always leave it as it is -natural Solartex has a certain appeal.

Jim.

[Andjo]

Hi Jim,

It's actually covered with tissue and dope!! The old fashioned way.

[Jim Newberry - Nuviation Ltd.]

Ah so it is, just looked more closely - even better!

[Colin Anderson]

That looks really nice Andjo. I think your finishing method suits Jom's design perfectly.

Sadly, I crashed mine today, totally destroying the wing. It was flying beautifully, but during finals it began to drift towards the trees (there was a crosswind); as I tried to bring it back towards the strip it wouldn't respond - I have no idea why. Exactly the same thing happened to me last year; different model, different TX/RX. 😕😳

[Andjo]

Hello Colin,

Sorry to read about your misshap, after 14u45 the wind became fairly strong here so it was time to stop flying. My Jocasta weighs 1700 grams so not really suited to over 3 bofor winds.

Will you build another wing or can you repair your present one?

Regards Andre

[Colin Anderson]

Hi Andjo,

Yes, in theory I could rebuild the wing, but to be honest it would be easier and more practical to build a new one. I'm toying with the idea of building a new wing without dihedral. I've read recently that aircraft with dihedral, although more stable can be adversely effected by crosswinds. I'm also wondering if using a semi symmetrical aerofoil might make it less "floaty".

[Glyn44]

Love the pics of your plane Andjo, very nice.

I have a couple of queries. I am not overly happy with the fit of the landing gear ply struts. In fact I'm not really happy with the fuse formers at all. They are not wide enough to span the width of the fuselage.. Pics posted earlier, on here, show the former lugs are flush with the outer face of the fuse, I have previously mentioned this, but the landing gear ply really worries me that it will not be strong enough, see following image. Should I make replacements, or strengthen them with support strips?

Secondly the battery hatch, in the wood pack I have only one thick piece of balsa. It is 235x75x19mm the hatch is 95mm at its widest. Am I correct in assuming that I just cut and glue joint it to get a piece large enough?

Anyway I'm enjoying the build, so will press on with another bit for now, cheers to all.

Glyn.

[Andjo]

Hallo Glen, thanks for the compliment. For my landing gear I cut a new piece of ply to the width of the fuselage and I made it wider and the tongues longer! I then made my landing gear out of a piece of light aluminium and fitted it with 4 small bolts.

For the battery hatch I found the supplied block just wide enough.

I had probably one of the first CNC cut wood packs and as you will have seen from previous posts there were quite a few problems with these, nothing however that couldn't be overcome. As it was a first build for me I also took my time (6 months) with a few hours here and there, I thoroughly enjoyed the build am on the lookout for a new project now.

Good luck

André

[Mowerman]

Glyn

For the U?C mounting plates I added a piece of 1/4" square at the inside of the plate to fuselage side joint.

Andre

The connector you are using for the battery looks like a multiplex type used for multi-servo connection, is this suitable for the current?

Love the tissue and dope covering..

[Andjo]

Hi Mowerman,

I use the Multiplex connector but solder the battery wires each to 3 posts to give me 2 connectors. Not had any problems yet, I have done this with several planes and my Multiplex Mentor came like this if I remember correctly.

Andre

[Glyn44]

Ok Andre, thanks for telling me, that's what I will do as well. As you can see from my block dimensions I'm 20mm short. So joining seems to be the only way forward.

I'll press on and and just make it up as modellers are supposed to do eh!

[monty2]

I've been out of it for a while age has caught up, had some health issues etc. Not a lot done when I checked I had a wing problem, I set one inner rib at 0 degree's dihedral. Stupid sod., never mind, like others with earlier wood packs I had some issues, but easy to overcome. looking forward to next few weeks cos I had a sore leg but my doc says his fault as a drug he prescribed caused damage to a tendon.

They do their best but sometimes get it wrong, so many drugs they can't possibly remember all the side issues.

Made up my mind as a beginner for the 2nd time will buy a 2nd trainer while I finish my Jocasta. its taking longer than I expected. I must get back flying for the summer. Winter up here in the North ain't fun

[Colin Anderson]

Posted by monty2 on 16/05/2015 16:32:01

Made up my mind as a beginner for the 2nd time will buy a 2nd trainer while I finish my Jocasta. its taking longer than I expected. I must get back flying for the summer. Winter up here in the North ain't fun

I know where you're coming from Monty. I too am a beginner. I built a Piper Cub last year to learn on, but had to move clubs, because I wasn't getting enough instruction. I took my Cub to my new club and had some flights, but something went wrong and it got crashed. It was decided by my club that I'd be better off learning on electric rather than IC and I gained my solo using a borrowed Wot4. As I was only cleared for electric I decided that the Jocasta would be ideal. I finished the build awhile back and was very pleased with it. However, I made 9 successful flights and then mysteriously it became unflyable, crashed and broke a wing. As it broke at the root I was able to repair it and was back in the air after a week. After adding the equivalent of a church roof to the nose it again flew and much better too! Again I made many successful flights, but found landing on our strip difficult; it's not that wide and I was using the entire length to land successfully! Our club site is on a farm so we have plenty of room to fly, but only a short strip to land. Landings therefore have to be fairly precise; not easy for a beginner. The Jocasta is a lovely plane to fly and I find it easy; although in windy conditions I find it quite a handful, especially when it comes to landing. Last week something went wrong and I again crashed, completely destroying the wing! I've now got to make a new one.

Obviously, as a beginner, I need to become more proficient with my landings. I'm fine with take offs and confident in my flying, even managing a few stunts. My landings though are sometimes good and sometimes not, often needing several go arounds. So like you I need something else to learn on. Against my nature, but acting on advice from my club today I purchased a foam Wot4.

[Glyn44]

Lovely day for doing the garden, so why am I at the building desk?

A quick pointer please. Looking at drawing and all the bits in the motor box, am I right in saying that the motor shaft has to be reversed? I'm not too to sure how all these bits go together and in what order yet.

Thanks, Glyn

[Glyn44]

Just realised that my motor (Turnigy) only has 3 mounting holes where the prop adapter should go, and my adapter requires 4 holes. Anyone tell me where I can obtain such a thing? If I try to mount the motor, with the shaft pointing forward, then using a collet adapter, the prop is too far away, leaving a large gap between itself and the cowl.

Is there any other solutions you could suggest please.