Jump to content

EPP Foam Kit of a Avro Vulcan B2


Mark Kettle 1
 Share

Recommended Posts

How to make a EPP Foam Avro Vulcan B2 PSSA glider from the kit of parts I supply.

Introduction: What the finished model looks like;.

vulcan pair lleyn peninsula august 2014 .jpg

The model is 44" wing span and 36" long - weighs around 40 oz with standard size servo's and standard sized radio gear in, the wing area is 4 sq ft.

avro vulcan camouflage finish 44 inch epp foam.jpg

Made from black epp foam with 5 wooden spars in the wing the above example is covered in brown paper and decorated with enamel paints and silver Fablon wrapped around on the jet exhaust pipes.

avro vulcan white anti flash finish 44 inch epp foam.jpg

To fly the EPP Vulcan you need a transmitter with elevon mixing or electronic mixer attached to the RX with a standard transmitter. The model will fly in very light conditions as little as 10 mph and with the use of ballast placed inside the fuselage it will carry on flying up to winds of 40 mph+ and has flown with 22 oz of ballast this winter 2015 up the Great Orme so that's at a total weight of 62 oz.

A link to the PSSA site can be found here, also on the top margin you can find events you can come along too.

**LINK**

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Start with the inner wings these have been temporary glued together for the section cut and do check each piece within the whole part for sturdiness. Key and rough any surfaces with the 40 grit sanding block supplied and glueing can be done with either contact or clear adhesive.

a. inner wings use either type of glue.jpg

Layout wing all wing parts inspect and check the joints within them for sturdiness and have a dry run how they fit together. Glue any parts in the wing and allow to dry for 15 minutes.

b. inspect parts to be glued together reglue any joints in parts .jpg

When glueing all the wing parts together place non-stick paper supplied on your bench, hold and weight the wing down as in the diagram, the reason for this is to control the trailing edge reflex cut into the Vulcan wing.

c. weight down trailing edge so wing glues straight in this area.jpg

Food cans - tins of paint - or training weighs can be used:

d. food or paint tins weighing down trailing edge.jpg

means the nose front of the wing is up off the bench or table:

e. nose of wing off the bench.jpg

When glueing the wing together make sure the trailing edge corner lines-up:

f. te line up this corner.jpg

make sure the upper surfaces are level and pin if necessary:

g. if needed pin upper surfaces for alinment.jpg

h. glue apply and weighted te of wing.jpg

glue applied and weighted down TE of wing checked with straight edge.

i. checking that edge for line up .jpg

That's the wing glued together, if you have one -play a fan on to speed up drying.

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 12:10:33

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

On to the fuselage, the 15 mm thick sides need the tail-end glueing on and make sure to pair them up with the shiny side to the foam on the outside of the fuselage.

j. 15 mm sides .jpg

k. line up and pair the ends .jpg

Identify the tops and bottoms to the fuselage

l. tops and bottoms .jpg

and the less wide 10 mm foam is attached inside the wider tops and bottoms

m. less wide 10 mm foam guled inside top and bottoms .jpg

On the bottom there is a gap for the wing

n. bottom has gap for wing .jpg

and the diagram shows a cross section on the foam construction

o. where 10 mm foam goes in fuse construction .jpg

Rough up edges on the shiny foam finish ready for glueing.

p. rough up sand shiny edge of parts to be glued .jpg

Remove ant swarf with the edge of a knife

q. remove swarf with edge of knife .jpg

When assembling the tail-end foam is placed equal the end edge and the wider piece have the shiny side to the outside of the fuselage

r. tailend foam equal to top and bottom outers .jpg

Above the top and bottom shown in the bottom part it bottom of the fuselage and the piece is shorter.

At the front attach the less wide part 12 mm back from the edge

s. front inner foam keep 12 mm back from edge .jpg

Before any fuselage assembly and glueing together do a dry run, making sure the shiny side to the foam is on the outside

t. sides top and bottom before marking up .jpg

Mark where to glue to for the sides

v. mark where to glue to for fuse sides .jpg

After marking the position 80 mm back now glue on the 1.5 mm ply support sides

bb. mark 80 mm back from front for ply support position .jpg

w. ply supports glued on .jpg

apply glue in edges to be glued and start assembly from the nose front end

x. start to attach fuse sides from front first .jpg

Below picture - Line up the rear wing opening step with the smaller 10 mm spacer inside

y. line up read step with inner foam on the inside of the base .jpg

Keep foam sides pushed into the top and bottom corners.

Leave to dry and again play a fan on it or leave it by a open window to dry.

aa. leave to dry to one side .jpg

Some pins and rubber bands have used as needed to hold it together.

 

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 12:47:56

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 12:49:10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes William, the kit has been designed by myself and I am kitting them. Last July I did a design thread on the site and got the originals one white and one camouflage finished in record time for a flying event, here's a video of them flying at that event and below a link to the design thread.

 
Design thread link :
 
 
William do you like the Vulcan - the real one that is?

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 13:03:48

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The wings been drying for 45 minutes so let's turn our attention back to it. Note where the spars need to go in the wing. A half wing plan is in the kit to show you where key items go.

cc. note where spars go in wing .jpg

Note the 55 mm spacing gap in the top and bottom spar.

dd. gap is 55 mm from note which side of spar to spar  .jpg

Start of by doing the top spar and it follows the top corner of the trailing edge indent made for the elevon placement so all you need to do is put some masking tape on the middle part for the aid of marking out.

ee. on top or wing masking just in middle .jpg

Note the spars in the kit are labelled top and lower and are bevelled in the middle to aid your build

ff. cut out slot for spar .jpg

Cut out the first bit of slot for the spar then hold spar against the corner elevon edge and use as a guide.

gg. use spar held against te corner .jpg

Method for cutting out slot -is a bit like 'digging' see picture below. By cutting cross-ways within the slot it tends to flick out the same size as the depth you need to go down. your aiming to have the spar surface flush when in the wing.

hh. cut out by these cuts 6 mm wide and flick out .jpg

After doing a short distance check you are doing it correct.

ii. test fit after a short distance so you know it is correct width.jpg

Make a tool for clearing out the slot with some 6 mm square wood slightly reduced on the sanding side and glue on some rough grit paper.

jj. make a tool with rough paper stuck on 6 mm square on to clear out the slot .jpg

You can play this in the slot to increase the width or bottom depth

Do the same for the spar support, make the hole a little tight so the foam pushes the support onto the spars to aid the glue joint.

ll.masking tape underneath .jpg

Underneath use masking tape to mark-out where the spar go with the 55 mm gap and these spars stop short of going to the wing tip.

mm. 55 mm spar spacing.jpg

With the help of the plan mark-out where the main spar goes, it's about 9" from the trailing edge.

nn. from plan mark out postion of main spar .jpg

Because this main middle spar is straight it needs to be set lower in the middle and just be surfaced level at it's ends, see pictures.

oo. main spar will be lower in middle.jpg

surface level at ends

pp. main spar will be flush with the wing at ends .jpg

again put in your spar support and make it a tight fit to aid glueing.

qq. under spar work .jpg

On the top in the fuselage bay the foam may get thin or disappear and you can see the wooden parts - don't worry - there is a piece of wood goes in the fuselage bay and the fuselage bottom foam.

rr. holes may appear in foam inside fuselage bay .jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the fuselage. The bubble wrap in the parcel is rolled up and used to support the fuselage whilst shaping and sanding it.

tt. save the bubble wrap used as a packer when sanding .jpg

Cut and roll it to the correct size, keep it together with rubber bands and placed inside the fuselage makes a great support.

uu. bubble rolled up and rubber bands keep it together .jpg

With a shape knife cut off the corners, your aiming for a round shape. Cut a little at first until you are sure.

vv. cut off corners .jpg

With the use of sanding blocks shape the body. I find 40 girt paper works best.

ww. 40 grade grit paper needed to sand epp .jpg

xx. various sanding objects used .jpg

You may want to have some pictures of the Vulcan or have the internet picture on your machine so you can copy the shape it needs to be. After sanding to shape vacuum up the cuttings and dust.

yy. vacuum up dust .jpg

To put the wing into the fuselage you need to cut the bottom rear 30 mm back from the rear wing cut-out see picture.

zz. 30 mm back from wing rear cut out .jpg

Cut open along the 10 mm inner spacer.

aaa. cut open bottom 10 mm foam on 30 mm line .jpg

On the top of the wing in the fuselage bay measure from the rear 280 mm and mark a line.

bbb. inside fuse bay 280 mm mark line .jpg

Now for the 1.5 mm ply fuselage supports cut some 2 mm wide slots forward of the line you have marked

ccc. cut 2 mm slot forward of line for fuse side support ply .jpg

Test fit the fuselage and have a dry run

ddd. test fit fuselage .jpg

At the back centralise the fuselage on the wing by measuring each side the fuselage from the first engine nacelle notch in the trailing edge and put a mark on the wing to aid positioning when glueing.

eee. centralise fuse equal distance from engine cut outs and mark .jpg

When the fuselage is glued on, underneath cross pin the opening to keep it closed, you can carry-on on with the build whilst the glue sets.

fff. cross pin rear cut out whilst glueing .jpg

Pre glue areas where the nacelles attach the the wing.

hhh. pre glue nacels and place over trailing edge locating in slot in edge .jpg

Position on the trailing edge on there notches. Top finish shown fairing into the wing.

iii. top finish of nacel fairing on top of wing .jpg

Now the cockpit cover needs the corners cutting off.

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 14:26:36

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 14:27:10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Use the knife to first removes the corners before sanding.

jjj cut corners off the cockpit top .jpg

Sand to top to shape and also the bottom to a con-caved shape to fit on the body better, it can be done by putting sanding grit on a food can.

44 inch span epp foam avro vulcan cockpit on fuselage.jpg

The position for the cockpit is 20 mm forward from where the front of the wing comes out of the fuselage mark up.

kkk. 20 mm gap from where wing front to rear of cockpit .jpg

Because the foam has been sanded on both parts and seems porous, double glue both surfaces when attaching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now onto the elevons. The diagram down this section shows that the hinging is done with cross-weave tape (or quality gaffer tape) and hidden inside the fabrication. It makes for a neat finish and I think the whole model fly's better for having a sealed control surface.

Pair up the elevon fittings and have the shiny side to the foam on the outside of the finished work.

lll. pair up aileron fittings .jpg

So foam rough side for glueing.

mmm. foam rough side for glueing .jpg

Cut the 15 mm wide part of the lite-ply off at the hinge line.

nnn. cut off 15 mm wide lite ply on hinge line .jpg

Sand and bevel either side of this cut line

ooo. sand a bevel either side of hinge line cut .jpg

This aids movement of the elevon. Have another clean up of dust and sandings. Now put some masking tape on the bench 'sticky side' up 18" long and hold it straight and on the bench with some more masking tape at the ends. This is the to hole the parts still you have cut apart.

ppp. use tape 50 mm wide .jpg

Work on the pair off elevons the same time to keep them as a pair. So to help fabrication put the 15 mm piece half on the masking tape and line up the elevon back against the 15 mm piece and kept still on the bench with the masking tape, do the same the other side.

Put glue and spread on the inside of the lite-ply all over.

qqq. put glue inside lite ply let dry before applying tape .jpg

Let if dry, if you stick your 50 mm wide tape on to soon the vapours will melt the tape and takes ages to dry and go off !

rrr. after sticking on the tape take the shine off the tape with the supplied soft sander .jpg

The 50 mm wide tape is the hinge so apply neatly, and take the shiny off it with the soft sander.

sss. put glue back on all over and spread out .jpg

Put glue back on all over the elevon surface, and allow to go tacky. Put glue on the foam elevon and attach up to the hinge line and it may go over at the back of the ply edge.

ttt. after putting glue on foam attach on hinge line and in elevon area .jpg

Take off bench and after trimming the edges neatly to the ply edge, bend the to free up.

uuu. after trimming sides removing tape and excess foam bend the crossweave bond a little .jpg

Test fit against the wing slot for elevon attachment, consider the gap either end for free elevon movement and any dried glue in the corners stopping it from being flush and a nice streamlined section.

vvv. elevons attached seen underneath.jpg

www. model with elevons on .jpg

xxx. elevon seen close up near inside .jpg

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 19/03/2015 15:45:21

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now shape the inner leading edges to a good wing section, start a little with the knife and then sand the wing leading edge.

yyy. shape the inner leading edges with a knife the sand to section .jpg

Now's the time to tackle the melted swarf on the wing prior to applying the filler. Again you can pick them off, use a knife -edge on to scrap away or sanding block, even a wire brush lightly. Blend any wing sections one to another. when your happy apply the light weigh filler.

zzz. light weight filler water spray and filler knife   .jpg

A little light water spray helps to spread the filler, and use this method in the summer as it dries before you can spread it.

ab. underneath covered in light filler playing a fan on to dry quicker .jpg
 
Cover the underneath first and play a fan on to dry.
 
Next will be on the top cutting holes for the servo's and running the wires into a cut slot that gets them into the fuselage.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mark,

Yes love the Vulcan. Your model looks great. I did a tour as a co pilot on Victor Mk1 tankers at RAF Marham in the early 70s and then a ground tour at scampton where the Vulcans were based. Then Kinloss flying the Nimrod and then CFS.

Retired from the RAF 89 and just retired from civilian flying and simultaneously moved house into a small bungalow near Old Warden. Need to build a shed and do lots of other house stuff before I can find the time to build. Currently have a large foam twin electric vulcan,in storge at Mother in laws ,but its not as near to scale as yours.

If you ever do a building service, or know anyone who does, let me know! Have you tried a small pusher motor?

Keep up the good work.

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found some typographical error's -typos- I'll correct them here...

When assembling the tail-end foam 10 mm inner spacers, they are placed level at the end edge of the wider piece and have this piece with it's shiny side to the outside of the fuselage

r. tailend foam equal to top and bottom outers .jpg

In the picture the shorter piece is on the bottom of the fuselage

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To centre your servo's either connect them to your Rx or a 'Servo Tester. Make sure your trim's on the transmitter or tester are neutralised. Lay your servo's out on the bench -paired up - so the control arms are on the outside and the servo wires will make there way over the wing in a slot into the fuselage.

For centring if you have to replace the servo arm on the spline - make sure you tighten the servo arm screw/s as you will placing these in the wing. Double check just in case.

The servo's are placed just behind the main spar in the top of the wing, measure underneath to get the main spar location. Use the line between the two wing sections as a starting point for the servo's position. 

bb. measure along the section line 9 inch from trailing edge.jpg

Put tape on wing to mark out for your servo.

cb. put tape on to mark out .jpg

Mark servo position

db. mark out your servo positions .jpg

above picture also shows the servo hatch and this is only a 2 mm cut down into the wing.

Put some tape on your knife - this measurement here includes the hatch at 2mm + the servo 20 mm = 22 mm - the first cut will be the the servo hole at 22 mm deep.

eb. put tape on your knife for depth cut.jpg

Cut servo hole using the same method as you used when cutting out the spars.

fb. cut out hole like before when doing spars.jpg

A cross section drawing to show what your aiming for.

gb. cross section showing servo and cover fitted and streamlined .jpg

The shaded area seen around the servo opening is only 2 mm deep for the hatch.

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 21/03/2015 11:42:11

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is what it needs to look like.

qb. position of servo covers.jpg

Put some glue on the inside of the servo covers then some tape on ( I used masking tape ) to support the thin side near the servo arm hole.

hb. put some glue on the inside of the hatch cover to support the thin balsa near the edge.jpg

Test fit the servo for flush servo hatch

jb. servo in down enough for hatch to be flush.jpg

Then cut a slot for the servo wire

kb. let slot in for servo wire .jpg

Poke plug into the fuselage

nb. poke plug into fuselage.jpg

Glue in servo

ob. glue in servo .jpg

Make sure the arm just shows above the hatch

qb. make sure it shows 5 mm above hatch cover.jpg

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 21/03/2015 13:57:29

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...