Steve Dunning Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I acquired a partial kit of this model a few weeks ago, no cowl or hardware. As these are no longer available I thought I would try and emulate it with my own construction techniques. Pictures show initial fuselage construction with a slot together build and self jigging fuselage. Will add to as progress is made. Basic fuselage parts, CNC cut with a balsa ply doubler as an experiment. Doublers added to sides. Trial fit of formers to sides. Sides brought together and top alignment deck can also be seen. Top view with a clear view of top alignment jig/crutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Decks have been cut, skinned and added to the fuselage. Facings added to cockpit area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Wings cut, skinned in balsa and edged front and back. Planned to section. Servo boxes, cnc cut, assembled and cyano'ed. Weight is 10gns complete. Servo boxes installed and lead out tunnel capped. Plug halves for cowl waiting sanding after filling. Wing tip sanded to shape, a trial for producing vac formed wing tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Watching with interest Steve. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 EZ used to make a SupraFly. I have one,but EZ kits were very expensive. Think it was around £300 at the time, but I bought it from SWM, with the engine, servos except rx for £70 in the 90's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 You are quite right Paul, the 45 size retailed at $399 so would be around £300. Those that have had a Supra Fly all report excellent flying characteristics and I hope mine performs as well as they have been reported to. Will keep the updates coming as work progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 looks good Steve sure your finish will be of the usual high standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Will try my best John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minty morton Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Looks like another one to put on my list Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Looking really good.Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Posted by minty morton on 08/01/2014 07:53:24: Looks like another one to put on my list Steve. Minty, please can you contact me ([email protected]) or pm me. I need to get some details off you for the UKCAA Thanks Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Undercarriage blocks installed for fixed U/C. Glass tape added to centre prior to applying resin. Glass is applied in one piece, tacking at the T/E using thin cyano enables tape to be tightly pulled round the L/E and again tacked on the opposite side of the T/E. This allows the epoxy to be applied to both sides at once, saving waiting time for the second side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Glass is applied in one piece, tacking at the T/E using thin cyano enables tape to be tightly pulled round the L/E and again tacked on the opposite side of the T/E. This allows the epoxy to be applied to both sides at once, saving waiting time for the second side. Nice tip... thanks Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 After a rub on the glass cloth with 120 to get rid of the lumps and bumps, lightweight filler is smoothed onto the edges so as to disguise the edges under the covering. Tail-plane blank is 8mm foam sheet, cut on machine and faced with 1.5mm balsa applied on the vacuum bed. Tail-plane edged front and back with 6mm balsa and 20mm balsa tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Cowl plug installed in the parting board framework, several coats of wax applied ready to start laying up the first half of the mould. Moulds ready for the vacuum formed wing tips and underbelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hi Steve What have you made the cowl plug out of? Are you going to do a step by step guide to creating the mould then creating a split cowl? That would be very useful! Martyn Edited By Martyn K on 24/01/2014 10:11:51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hi Martyn An earlier photo shows the start of the plug construction, using a lite ply framework for the shape and balsa blocks for the shape. Carving and sanding produce the basic shape and epoxy plus micro balloons then lightweight fine filler for final filling. Note that the cowl is in one piece, i.e. whole, hence the need to use a parting plate. Usual finishing, sanding sealer, three coats, primer, paint then 2 pack clear to give a gloss and seal the surface. Leave to harden then 1200 grit wet and dry removes any bumps then 'T' Cut to polish. The frame is contiboard with a recess cut in that is the shape of the centre of the cowl. A couple of screws hold the rear of the cowl with balsa wedges elsewhere. The small gap between the cowl and board is filled with beeswax and levelled off. 5 coats of release wax are applied, allowing to dry between coats (20-30 minutes). It's then ready to have gel coat and fabric build up. I'll post photos of each stage from now. Hope that helps Steve Edited By Steve Dunning on 24/01/2014 10:30:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Thanks Steve Yes - just looked back and spotted the cowl photos above. It looked so different in black.. And thanks for the potential photo guide. Its all helpful stuff. Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Just so people understand the parting plate concept. Gel coat applied to the plug and surround. After gel coat has partially cured, the edges have had resin and micro-balloons applied to smooth out the corners as the cloth will not go right into a tight corner. Note that this has also been used around the spinner area for the same reason. First couple of layers of cloth applied. This has to be built up to at least 3-4 times the thickness of the final intended artefact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl grey Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Looking good there Steve, following closely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Hi Steve Any reason why you are using cloth and not mat for the mould? Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Cloth drapes better and as I am using epoxy for the mould (less shrinkage), I cannot use mat as it is not compatible with epoxy, i.e. you can only use cloth with epoxy. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Thanks Steve Yep - understand that. I never thought that shrinkage would be a problem though. At what point dies shrinkage occur? Is this a long term thing? Are you planning to offer this as a kit? I can see a lot of effort going in to make it reproducible. BW Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 I can see it being a popular model, particularly due to it's size, ideal as a club aerobatic model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 When did Hanno design the Supra Fly Steve? I see that he won the w/c in 1989 (I think) with the 2500 sized version. It's a very nice looking aeroplane Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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