Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 So as promised I will make a start on my build thread, blog whatever you want to call it. The first thing I like to do when starting a build is to get familiar with the plan and if appropriate the build article. Now I have previously built a Mini Jazz and an enlarged version I call the Maxi Jazz. Having built the Jazz before I was already familiar with the build so it should be easier this time. Started off by getting the plan photo copied. Cost me £2.00 as I wanted to get a few extra`s so that I could vandalise the plan. Local libraries are way underused, but they do have a lovely new photo copier. Could have had the plan in full colour for an extra 5p a sheet. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Next decision was power train and other items. That was an easy one for me as I mainly fly IC. So in my spares department there is an BNIB SC12. My previous Jazz has an SC15. I am a little concerned that the 12 will need all the help from me, so wherever I can I am going to see if I can loose a few Oz of weight. An order was duly placed for the servo`s and such like. RX. Orange Rx 620 Spektrum/JR DSM2 Compatible Full Range 6Ch 2.4Ghz Receiver. LINK £14.41 Servo`s. HobbyKing 929MG Metal Gear Servo. LINK £18.85 Battery. ZIPPY Flightmax 700mAh 6.6V 5C LiFePo4 Reciever Pack. LINK £2.10 Undercarriage. Carbon copy CCU00 Undercarriage legs. LINK £13.99 Wood. All from stock except the VERY SOFT 3/16 fuselage sides. LINK £3.04 Of course none of the above include postage. The wood in reality cost me the most as I chose to go to SLEC and choose my own. If you have never had the chance to go to the SLEC wood mill, you really should. Covering material. Again from stock. A mixture of ProFilm, Solarfilm and anything else I have. Canopy and cowl. Undecided at the moment although the cowl will probably be built up. Somewher I still have the original cowl, which never got fitted to my current Jazz. Canopy probably home made. Kev Edited By Kevin Fairgrieve on 04/11/2013 10:49:48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Let the build commence. I like to start by cutting a kit of parts and building the smaller parts first. Wing ribs and cap strips. Formers and strip. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 It is then on to the smaller easier to build bits, like the rudder. All from strip, cut by myself using a SLEC balsa stripper. I find it more economical than buying it. One sheet of 3/16 costs £1.52 and a strip of 3/16 costs 28p. The plan is vandalised onto its smaller components, rudder elevator, aileron`s etc. Now in an attempt to save a few OZ I have made some built up ailerons. Not sure if there is a weight saving. Only time will tell. All parts completed and ready for sanding and fetling. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Nice start Kev. I agree about the balsa stripper. If anyone is going to get into building then a balsa stripper is "must buy" item. It will lasy forever and pay for itself within a couple of models; as Kevin says, you can cut a lot of strip from one sheet and its much cheaper. I use this one by Master Airscrew: The thumbscrew is on an 1/32 pitch thread so you can set the width of the cut very accurately (with due allowance made for the backlash in the thread). But there are 2 or 3 other good ones on the market including one from SLEC. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 On to the wing next. My least favourite part of the build. I started by again vandalising the plans, and joined two halves together accurately. Note the continuation line for the sheeting on the right hand wing. Next lay on the 2" leading edge sheet, the spar, and the rear trailing edge sheet and spar. Use a straight edge to ensure that they are. Next fit the lower cap strips. And then the ribs. At this stage I also fashioned, but did not fit the centre bottom sheeting. I needed first to get the correct size cut out for the servo`s. Next came the sheer webs. All tested for fit prior to glueing the ribs in situ. The servo`s then arrived so I could cut out the slots and fix some bearers. Top front sheeting added. Rear spar sanded to shape and the rear sheeting applied. Then for the bit I do not like! Attaching the front top and bottom sheeting. A big pile of magazines and some counter balance weight in the form of some old PB batteries. All left overnight to dry. I should say I use aliphatic. Not a drop of cyno here. Flipped over and the reverse done. Kev Edited By Kevin Fairgrieve on 04/11/2013 16:24:49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Once left to dry again overnight, it was the turn of the top centre sheeting and the cap strips. The string!!! That is so I can pull the "Y" lead through for the ailerons. You did remember to do that didn`t you? False leading edge and leading edge applied and left to dry. Then attacked with a trusty Perma-grit tool to shape the leading edge. Final sanding to take place just prior to covering. Saves a lot of heartache with hanger rash. You can just see in the last picture the balsa blocks for the hinges. You did fit them didn`t you? Just the wing tips and wing dowel to fit. I will fit the wing dowl in place once the fuselage is at a stage where I can offer up the wing, measure, double check and the mark the dead centre of the wing. This also allows me to check for wing incidence before committing. Oh and you did remember to put a balsa block in the centre trailing edge for the wing bolt to go through didn`t you? Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Wing tips test fitted. Again another attempt at the weight loss. So I will glue on the wing tips tonight and make a start on the fuselage. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Coming on nicely Kev - what sort of timescale are we looking at here? Looks like a very quick build. I like the magazine weighting trick - I've usually struggled with masking tape what didn't stick! If the weather is as bad as predicted, I will start mine tomorrow - but today was a flying day! Edited By Masher on 04/11/2013 17:22:39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 No timescale Masher, other than for it to be ready for Greenacres 2014. kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hargreaves - Moderator Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Just adding a post so I can follow along Kev... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Yes, me too. I will be building but probably not until the new year, so watching with interest. It looks a nice easy build so far and a good tidy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Welcome aboard the build. After glueing on the wing tips last night I also made a small start on the fuselage. Made a minor modification to my ply doubler. Like Martin said on the other thread the ply former would impact on the top sheet curve. Sides cut out from VERY SOFT sheet. As you can see I have left the last bit of the plan on the wood on one side. Yep, still not sure about which way to go with the tail incidence. Added the doubler and the 3/8 X 3/16 doublers. All left to dry overnight. F2 now added and glued in place. Kev Edited By Kevin Fairgrieve on 05/11/2013 19:47:04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Glued F3 in place and left that to dry. Then I glued the two sides together ensuring all was square. Next for the bit that really requires that VERY SOFT sheet. Gently bend the side until they meet F3 and glue in place. If your sheet is not VERY SOFT then there are a couple of options open for you. You can make some saw cuts to aid the bending or you can steam it. Whichever you choose do it slowly and in small steps. Now I have a small confession to make. I used a couple of drops of cyno at the top of F3 to hold it all in place whilst the aliphatic cured. The fuselage seems to take on a bow in the middle at this stage. My chosen method to pull it in is to add a small cross member. This not only aids with the alignment but also gives the top sheet some extra glue surface area. It could I am sure be left and give some shape to the fuselage if so desired. It is just the way I do it.. The stern post is not fixed and is there just to ensure all is true and square. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 I was not entirely happy with the fuselage. Slight banana had crept in. I carefully split the rear end and have inserted the fuselage into my SLEC jig. Now gluing again, hopefully this time straight. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 04/11/2013 12:28:16: I use this one by Master Airscrew: The thumbscrew is on an 1/32 pitch thread so you can set the width of the cut very accurately (with due allowance made for the backlash in the thread). But there are 2 or 3 other good ones on the market including one from SLEC. BEB Thanks BEB I bought one, TBH, I struggled with my SLEC stripper as the blade seemed to wander a bit. This looks better for my needs Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Hi Kev It mat be an optical delusion, but it looks like the upper (on the pic) fuselage side has a crack in it, about 6 squares back from the middle bracket. Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Hi Martyn. It is, and it is not an illusion. The two sheets of wood were not an exact match and one bent more than the other. The "crack" is where I had originally glued a cross brace. I removed that when it went into the jig. I have just glued the top sheeting on and all looks good. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Kev......I noticed the sides do not reach the top of F3...checked the plan and mine would do the same...how are you going to deal with that? simply sand F3 down? Martyn....i have used both and neither were very good...bought a Proxxon table saw in the end...result, nice straight cuts. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Hi Andrew. No I am not going to sand F3 down. I have carved a little notch into the top sheeting leaving it slightly proud to sand flush with the fuselage sides. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 A-ha!!...good stuff kev......clearly i'm going to use your build as my instructions Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Posted by Andrew767 on 07/11/2013 21:32:47: A-ha!!...good stuff kev......clearly i'm going to use your build as my instructions Andrew Oh dear. It is just the way I do things. They may not be the proper way, but works for me. Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Very little to report. Just hinged the tail end and finally decided on the horizontal incidence. As per the free pull out plan. Nothing more is likely to happen for the next week as me and the wife are off to the Jurasic Coast for a week, to prepare us for the silly season. Never ever work in retail if you can help it. Kev Edited By Kevin Fairgrieve on 10/11/2013 20:18:56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruffmeister Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Subscribing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Nothing more is likely to happen for the next week as me and the wife are off to the Jurasic Coast for a week, to prepare us for the silly season. Never ever work in retail if you can help it. Kev Too late Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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