Peter Garsden Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 I have also put in the magnet underneath. I used a wood screw to drive into the base of the fin, but it was slightly too wide so I had to file it back to make it fit the gap. Not sure how secure it will be but the fin is such a tight fit that I am sure it will not be a problem. After all, the fin does not take any wind load anyway. Meant to picture this but forgot! It is on Andy Conway's blog anyway. The top came off really neatly, and seems to fit the wing perfectly! I am really glad that I used my profiling tool to shape the contours of the wing at the point it crosses the fuselage air intake as I think it will not need any sanding. I am contemplating inserting some balsa as a seat for the shape, but it is such a good fit I am not sure I will need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 There is also another benefit of using fibreglass. I can use the offcuts for aileron or elevator horns in the future, or indeed an all moving tailplane pivot? You can see the scrap wing cut out in the photograph above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Looks great Pete, really coming on now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kettle 1 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Really moving on now Pete . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Well it was time to make the holes for the wing bolts. I used a method I had seen in a book of tips I got for Chrimbo 2 years ago - from Traplet. One gets a plastic wing bolt. This one is 5mm and it is 6mm hole but it doesn't matter. You sharpen the end with a pencil sharpener, then put it in upside down with the point upper most. You then force down the wing on the spike and you have your starter hole which you then drill out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 My slightly larger jet outlets arrived from Real Model pilots so had to put them on.I made up a circle of balsa to fit the holes at the back, but first of all epoxied the tail pivot horn to the metal rod and tightened up the grub screws on the collets an pivot for permanence. Andy Conways access hole in the bottom of the fin lines up with the tail pivot grub screw a treat, but it I need access again. I would have to cut off the intakes methinks. Edited By Peter Garsden on 28/03/2015 05:57:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Looking good Pete! The jet nozzles look great don't they! - are you going to add the afterburner print behind them?? We appear to be at a very similar phase in the build, with 2 weeks to go we are just getting the iron and heat gun out. At least our MRCA schemes are fairly simple in Red and White... I'm still debating whether to the fit the canopy permanently now before the covering - I think with the 'fillet' needed around the front of the cockpit on mine I need to do this as its likely I've got a little P38 sanding and profiling to tackle which I would need to cover over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kettle 1 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Phil -yes indeed other than the fact that I am going skiing tomorrow for a week next week so it will be a real panic the week after I come back. Yes I am planning to print off your excellent after burner, and the much superior cockpit detail. I am definitely going to fit the cockpit before covering as I usually do lines with solarlfilm. So much easier than doing them by masking off and paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Ok Pete - print them onto glossy photo paper at full photo quality and they come out lovely - with this paper the cyano used to apply them doesn't bleed through so all is good. Enjoy your skiing - see you in a week (Im hoping Ill be putting the decals on mine by then ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Good tip Phil.Have always used plain paper before and the finish is always too matt. Will use your profiles of the dashboard and jet flames also - much better than the ones I found which were from a game, not the real thing. Left for the plane at 10am so got a bit of building in first. Wife away on a cruise leaving the lads to ski - good plan. First I made a jig for the tailplane - bit crude but it works. I am gluing in situ. Did the outer supports 10mm lower - measurements for the inner pair is 38mm and the outer 28mm from the top of my 6mm sheet so that is 44 and 34mm from the workbench - if you are interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 I had a bit of a worry because my tailplane is removable with collets. I did not want glue to get into the end of the square brass tubing. So I coated it in Vaseline. Will find out when I return from the Dolomites whether it has worked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 I also had to make sure the epoxy didnt get onto the plywood base plates as the tailplane wouldn't move. Needed to use the magnifying glass headset and light. Again we will see when I come back if the tailplanes will come off - pray for me. I also used the left over 30 min epoxy resin for the first coat of resin for some left over wing bandage and then on top used finishing resin. It has wax in it which floats to the to give a glossy finish. One can dilute normal epoxy with Meths to achieve a more runny consistency but finishing resin is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 The blue plastic above came in a kit from RBC Kits - what detail. They are Dutch and most are designed by Tony Van Musteren. Scale electric model. I have bought a Coby Starlet which is a DIY Plane from Australia. It is all balsa and scale. Will take a while. I built a P51D - blog elsewhere on Tony's blog - and if flies a treat. Even put fake oil on the exhausts and guns with a spray gun. Must be picking up anorakism from PSS! Anyway I digress. The end result is nearly perfect. The fin is ever so slightly out, but the tailplanes look right. It won't matter- what is trim and radio control for it not to correct imperfection? Edited By Peter Garsden on 30/03/2015 01:02:39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 So finally, just before I left I thought I would just put together the plane for a look see. Definitely a Tornado now. Just one more job when I get back. The wing fairing will not sit on the fuselage and it proud by about 3mm. I think the profile I cut is just too thin. The problem is that the fibreglass is just too flimsy. There is no box structure, so I am going to end cap the front with 3/16 " and line the front of the wing fairing with 1/8 square longerons which I can bend to shape and this will give some purchase for the epoxy. Otherwise I am gluing to 1mm thin. When it is lined the fibreglass will be easier to sand back. This is the snag with innovation that the designer did not contemplate. More fun thought to head scatch and solve a problem Edited By Peter Garsden on 30/03/2015 01:17:58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kettle 1 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 It looks good Pete, and appears it's doing 30 mph already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Great job Pete!! Angle of droop on your tails looks spot on to me Enjoy your skiing - your epoxy should be set by the time you get back - then you will have a dilemma - do you crack on with your washing or crack on with your covering?? (the washing can wait) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Houghton Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 I'm envious of your progress, Peter, and the result is looking good. Don't break a leg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Well today is an anxious building day - lot's to do. Returned yesterday from the Dolomites with just a sprained finger and bruised cockyx. Have printed off Phil's brilliant cockpits and rear jet on glossy photo paper - so much better than matt A4. I have stuck them with Roket Card Glue which is also excellent. Photo lower down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 As usual I am using some 25gram thin fibreglass cloth to reinforce certain areas that I think are vulnerable and need more strength eg. the nose cone, the tailplanes and the wing tips. Again I am using my water based resin which only takes 20 minutes to dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Blackburn Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 That's starting to look really good, Pete. Having done a couple of lost foam fuselages, do you think the method is any quicker than a conventional sheet balsa construction? Or does it depend on the fuselage shape? I have been saving cereal packets to use as hot-wire patterns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 How many "kotes" of Eze-Kote does it take to fill the weave in Pete? I always used to use varnish, but had to put so many many coats on it annoyed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Andy - I definitely think Fibreglass is quicker, cheaper, and lighter. I agree that it comes into its own for odd shapes like these jets, where it is more difficult to make such contours in balsa. I seem to have caught everyone up and I have not been putting in that many hours really. Mind you I am a bit easy to please on quality and do not throw my botched in the bin the same way as others do. Good luck with the cereal packets. I have used left over files as the cardboard is a bit thicker. Sometimes, however, there are folds that get in the way of the wire. It is definitely a lot quicker if you use polyester resin. I don't do so because it sets so quickly. If I could find one that sets in about an hour that would be best. Polyester is what Paul Janssen recommends, and I think it is quicker - you can do the whole glassing in one night - 3 hours. Phil I think weighed his Tonka at 3lbs, so I weighed mine with everything apart from covering ie battery, receiver, servos etc, and it came out at 24.4oz. I could hardly believe it because that is 1lb 8oz! Can't be right surely? Mind you some of that wood must weigh quite a lot. More photos coming up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Andy - Eze-Kote - I have put 1 coat on before glass, sand down lightly, another coat for the glass, then a third to fill up the weave - however as Solarfilm is going over the top sometime the weave looks authentic. If I was painting I might do one more - takes about 4 to get a gloss. Varnish is nowhere near as good, as my mate tried it and gave up. Too thin and not like resin or hard enough methinks. Anyway, here are some views of the underneath of the wing fairing showing how much I needed to take off to make it fit. Bit of a mess but won't be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 I then moved onto the wing gloves which I stuck down using Evo-Stik contact adhesive which worked fine. I had to supplement in places with a bit of cryano. I then attempted to sand down to flush without putting on masking tape. I was tired having done a long day. It has marked the wings slightly, but it will just have to do. You can't see it from this photo. Should have made a special sanding tool like Phil did. I can see that I sanded the edges of the fuselage too much and have had to fill in the gaps - not only the wing fairing/glove join, but also the undercarriage joins underneath the fuselage, which I have been too embarrassed to even photograph. Also I have tried to use balsa filler which just doesn't work with flexible fibreglass. Should have used P38 - just too lazy to mix it up. I just wish I had more time but deadlines are deadlines? Would also be good if I wasn't a busy child abuse lawyer. Edited By Peter Garsden on 07/04/2015 17:48:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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