Stefan Hafner Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 After writing off my beloved Seduction Freestyle last year I thought why not build a bigger version to replace it, so after a bit of time spent on the scaling up on the CAD program I'm ready to make a start. This is the old one, the bigger version will be 2m span and a smidgen over 2 m long with power from an OS 1.20 AX. Aiming for about 5 - 5.5 kg flying weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 So here are the first few build pics, after a lot of time on the saw all the ply parts for the fuselage are finally cut out. And a quick dry assembly to check for fit The fuselage sides are 3mm balsa with some 5mmx9mm stringers for strength. All the sheets are glued together, its at this point i start to see just how big this is going to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Hi Stefan Like it, will be following. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 Few more photo of progress from today. Got the reinforcement for the fuselage sides glued on. You can see the rudder servo mount here too. Only the rudder servo will be in the fuselage, the elevator servos will be built in to the tailplane as i'm making the tailplane removable, its certainly easier than getting a new car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Bit of progress to report today. The original had a swept back undercarriage, which I like the look of , but in typical fashion I can't get the right shape so I'm making the new one myself. Its all from carbon, so it should be nice and light, I decided to make it 4mm thick as carbon is nice and strong so will be sufficient. To start with I made a mould for each each side that I can lay the cloth into, soaking resin into it as I go. With the cloth i have to hand each leg will be made from 16 layers of cloth. Here are a few pics of progress so far. This is one of the moulds, there's a mirror of this for the other side. I made them from balsa and covered it in aluminium tape to get an easy to work with surface. If I intended to make more than on set of leg i'd have made the mould from something stronger but for a one off it will be sufficient. The tape was waxed and polished multiple times to stop the carbon sticking. This is the first leg in the mould, I'd planned on making both at the same time but i ran out of clamps. Originally i'd planned on making the legs later in the build but decided to do them first so i can line them up with the fuselage and check for fit before i glue anything major, and its much easier to fit the captive nuts just now Will leave it to set overnight and will see how it turned out tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Here are the 2 undercarriage legs after cleaning them up a bit with a file. Overall I'm very pleased with them, they ended up at 85g each, so definitely nice and light, and super strong. Progress on the fuselage has been good too, as the legs were done i could line up the holes fro the UC captive nuts. Then it was on with the assembly. Couldn't resist a shot down the middle Next on the fuselage will be to finish fitting the formers in the tail section. Also made up the rudder, once its properly dry it can be sanded to taper the back half down slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 Bit more progress, got the fuselage sides glued up properly and the top edge added and sanded down. The blocks on the lower edge have also been added ready for sanding. The undecarriage is just trial fitted. I've also made the fin and sanded and shaped the rudder so thats finished now, need to take a photo though. I'm going to wait with glueing the fin on and make the wing first, that way if there are slight errors in the angles I can correct them before anything is permanently fixed, so its back to cutting out bits on the saw next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Stratton Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 That's coming along fast, it's looking good Stefan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 Thanks Glenn, I'm trying to get it build fairly quickly as out here in Spain flying is more pleasant over winter, it just too warm in summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 After spending a while on the saw the ribs are all cut. All that was needed was a little bit of sanding on the holes for the wing joiner tube, but a small bit of sand paper wrapped round the wing joiner soon had them sorted. So with the ribs all sorted it was on with the build so a bit of plaster board was dug out to use as a building board and on we go. I'm building the ailerons attached to the wing, then once all the sheeting and strip wood has been added I'll cut them free. I prefer to do it this way, so there are no differences in the shape of the ailerons from building them separately. Next job will be to add the top sheeting, then free it from the board and sheet the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Another progress update, the D box on the wings has now been sheeted, and the wing joiner tubes glued in. In the pic I've made a start on the webbing, just the awkward bit around the joiner tube so far. Couldn't resist putting them together for an impression of size. I've since added the rest of the webbing and the leading edge, so once those are dry i can sand them down, then i can separate the Ailerons from the wings and add the false trailing edge and the leading edge for the ailerons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Very impressive Stefan, nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Tweddle Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Nice work Stefan, I will tag along with you on this very interesting build. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Cheers guys, Welcome aboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Been a while since an update, but its only been lots of small jobs so I didn't take many pics. The wings are now as good as done, just a bit of sanding to do here and there. The tip blocks ended up a bit heavier than planned, as i didn't have and soft balsa left, so I attacked them with the dremmel, and hollowed them out, makes a surprising saving in weight. The aileron hinging was the standard technique, cut a slot and pin the hinges, I don't usually glue the hinges in as they usually gum up on me, and I've never had one pull out on me yet with just pins holding them. Just need to sand them flush once the glue is dry. I always use hinges with removable pins, that way i can do all the covering without needing to ruin the finish afterwards by drilling holes through it. Servo mounts are in too. I've test fitted the wing to the fuselage, and fit was pretty good, but annoyingly the fuselage wasn't sitting square, so out came the dremmel for some minor reshaping of the wing seats. To make sure I know ho much to take off I wedge a piece of balsa in the opposite side till its square, then I can see how much needs removed from the offending side. The I mark the side to be reduced by using a strip of balsa that I can trace along for a line that give a prefect fit to the profile. With the fuselage all squared up I could start on the tail end, so the blocks that fit either side of the fin have been glued in, making sure its all nice and square. On to the tailplane soon, and the most of the major building work is done, and it'll be on with the moulding. As long as I can find a supplier of epoxy in Spain with reasonable prices ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Nice build and a great sized model... Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 Cheers Rich, I'd have to agree with you, around about the 2m size is great, they start to get more stable and nicer to fly at that size, but still usually fit in the car easily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 The build has slowed down a bit recently, but been back at it and making progress. The tailplane is by and large finished and fitted, had a bit of trouble making the mounting tube to match the carbon tube for the tailplane so that cost me a bit of time. This is where i've got to now In terms of actual building its almost there, only really minor jobs to do then it'll be on to covering. The tailplanes are built as one piece, then i'll add the leading and trailing edges once i've cut the elevator free. I find this way every thing matches up nicely. The tailplanes are removeable to make transport easier if need be, so i'm going to fit an MPX connector on each side, that way the servos will automatically be connected when I assemble the plane. I've been working on the moulded parts too, and the positive for the cowl is nearly done. To make getting the shape right easier I modelled it on the computer first, then printed outlines for 10mm thick sections and cut them out from foam and stacked them up. Sanding was them pretty quick and easy as I just had to blend the edges and there wasn't much material to be removed. Then it was covered in 200 g/sqM cloth and sanded. A combination of spray gun problems and not paying attention when i thinned the primer meant it ran a bit, but as these are the first coats i'm not too bothered as i'll be sanding a lot of it off anyway before I put another layer over it. Once I'm happy with the finish i'll wax it and make a mould from Yeso (a common building product in Spain similar to plaster of paris), i'm planning on making a 3 part mould to make getting the part out easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted December 25, 2013 Author Share Posted December 25, 2013 Despite no new updates recently I've still been building, just many of the jobs recently haven't made noticeable differences. So firstly, the mould for the cowl is progressing, one half is now made. The positive will be left in the mould, then i'll wax the surfaces of the mould and make the other side of it. Then once both side are done I can wax everything and make the cowl. The fuselage is also progressing, and having realised a bit late that the distance from the fire wall to the engine is a bit bigger than planned, I decided to add a built up box to support the mount. The bolts for the engine mount will go through this and into the captive nuts in the fire wall. The other handy thing about this arrangement is that I can put the flight pack at the front if need be for balance. The stringers for the last bit of sheeting on the fuselage are also on. Once this is sheeted then i can get on with covering, and fitting the gear. Just have to make the canopy and the spats then and its all done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Just a wee update, i've been working on on this, just forgot to take photos as i went. The sheeting has been done and the covering is on, just need to add a few bits of trim here and there, and the servos are in too. The cowl is as good as done, as is the engine mount. Annoyingly, while making the mould for the canopy, it stuck to the positive and i ended up with some of the primer stuck to the mould. I suspect this was because the primer may not have been 100% dry and the solvent interacted with the wax and made it stick, despite having put on 6 layers of wax. After a few choice words i worked out a way to salvage the mould, so i've been giving it some time for the primer thats stuck on to dry , then i'm going to sand as much of it off as i can and prime the whole mould, then sand that back to a perfect finish that i can then wax up and make the part from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernie Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Very nice indeed Stefan, It amazes me how some of you guys can make it look so easy.I am building a vintage style model and I have to say at times it gets very challenging indeed, good luck with you'rs it looks the business . Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Wow great, keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Hafner Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Thanks for the compliments guys. Couple of photos of progress today. Except for the canopy theres not much left to do now, install the receiver and a few small bit and its done Edited By Stefan Hafner on 27/01/2014 12:34:58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Oh that is pretty........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree - that is very nice indeed Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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