Richard Steane 1 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Well, I ordered the full pack yesterday and now eagerly await delivery of the same. Whether I get to start the build this year is in the hands of the man who is going to build a bedroom extension on top of the garage (my workshop). At the very least the roof has to come off so the place will have to be cleared and that will put a hold on model building. I'll keep you posted. Regarding my question to Danny about the weight of the Chippy, I had not dreamt the 5kg figure. What I had done was watch the short video on the Traplet web page about it and over the presenters shoulder I could see specifications that include the ubiquitous 5kg. Anyway, after Danny's reply I am confident in proceeding with the lower power figures and will select a suitable drive system. Thanks Danny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Hi Richard and glad to have you onboard Not sure where they have that number from, I am not sure the wing would take that loading to be honest, the model is light build. In fact spar webbing is not included on the plan, though most of us added them for the peace of mind. Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 My pack arrive a few days ago and I have been studying the plans to get my head around the build requirements. I have also been looking at the posts that you guys have made (I still have a lot to read) to see what useful information I can glean. I like the top hinged cowl and the side entry for the battery that I have seen posted and I will go down this route. Although I'm not going for rivets etc as I want a model to fly rather that exhibit my building skills, the hinged cowl reflects the real chippie and is a practical solution for the model. I'm hoping to squeeze a 5s/5000mAh battery in as I already have several for other models. Has anyone achieved a good balance with a battery in this position without adding extra weight anywhere? Anyway, I'm going to start with the rudder and am going for the MK2 version, so a little extra work to do there. Cheers for now. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Great news Richard I look forward to regular updates The plan is for a Mk1 Chipmunk and the cowl, canopy, rudder and tailplane are for a Mk1. If you aren't worried about originality and the canopy and cowl being slightly wrong then make it a T10 etc. I wouldn't have done if I had noticed the difference early on There is one Mk1 still about should you change your mind though Now.... And then..... Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Well I have read through what seems like hundreds of posts and made notes of those things that I think will be relevant to my build so that I can learn from those who have gone before, So I am now ready to start sticking some balsa and will be following Danny's lead and starting with the fin and then the rudder. As I always wanted the colour scheme to be the traditional RAF colours, I have decided that my Chippie will be WB624. The real version being resident in the Newark Air Museum that is not too far from where I live. The kind man at the museum let me go inside the ropes so I have quite a few photos for reference, although aircraft are quite close together so I couldn't get a good overall shot. But here are a couple of pictures to show what it looks like. Sorry that I can't promise that my model will have rivets but I will be looking to include larger items such as lights. Cheers Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Great choice Richard, I belive one of the other builders grabbed some shots of WB624 though I think yours are behind the rope which may be clearer. No rivets Only kidding... I look forward to following along. Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 The fin and rudder construction is finished so here are a few pictures showing how it was done. I opted to make a simple jig to construct the fin. An offcut of aluminium angle spot glued to a piece of chipboard to hold the fin post and support strips carefully cut to the correct thickness from the waste from around the ribs. Ribs and first of 3 laminations for the leading edge. First skin. Oops a bit of rough cutting there! Fin with hinges. And there we have them both. Rebates are cut for the shrouds but I'll fit those before final sanding and covering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Lovely work Richard, its modellers like you that put me to shame, I should make jigs like that! No wonder I end up binning parts well done on doing it properly CheersDanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thanks Danny, but it's the engineer in me that won't let me do it any other way !! Cheers Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Well there has been a short interlude in Chippie building while a finished putting together an ARTF that I couldn't resist buying from a Club member who is selling up. Then there was the trip to Didneyland Paris with the grandchildren! Anyway, I have done a bit of work on the tailplane and elevator, but more of that later. So I thought before going too much further I should resolve the problem of hinges potentially wearing out. This is my solution although I can't 100% assure myself that its good enough but I reckon it's a whole lot better than before. The photo could be better but I think you get the idea. I have turned up a shoulder screw with a 2.5mm diameter plain length with an M2 thread below. One half of the hinge is locked against the shoulder with an M2 nut whilst a plastic washer (cut from a milk bottle) sits between the two halves. Only one half rotates on the 2.5 diameter that has a much larger bearing area and the whole assembly feels much tighter and smoother. Cheers for now. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 Ok, so here comes the tailplane and elevator. Took a while to sort out the discrepancies before I could start gluing together. Some of the elevator slots in the spar were in the wrong place and the plan was not symmetrical about the centre line in some places, but eventually figured out what I thought was right and wrong. Filled some slots in and cut new ones. So look out Danney, here comes another building jig, it's bigger this time! I have done some rough shaping and profiled the leading edge of the elevators and checked the clearance with the shrouds pinned in place. It's a bit close but I'm going to leave it there until I get nearer to the covering stage and then do the finish sanding and fitting then. Spent some time this week looking at the wing and getting my head around how to put it together along with the comments on the different forum threads. Decided to use 2 servos for the ailerons, I reckon it's a better way giving a short link and getting rid of bell cranks and long thin rods. I'm dreaming up something a bit different for the flaps but more on that another time. I have been reading Colin's thread about how he built in 2 degrees of washout and been wondering if I should do the same. Was hoping he had completed some flying time and given some feedback but his thread stops way short of that. I'll sleep on it a bit longer. Cheers Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Looking good Richard, I made a jig similar to that, still ended up mishapen, salvaged it but as you say the spar and all the notches ribs are all over the show...... well done for makinf a straight one Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Sounds as if I've been a bit lucky to get both lots straight first time Danny. Do you have any thoughts about washout? I'm assuming that you did not do it on yours and to be honest I have not done it before with my limited building experience. I understand the reasons for it but I don't know what effect it is likely to have on flying performance. Cheers Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I wouldn't call it luck i would call it skill and learning from others mistakes Washout.... now this is only my opinion, and in aeromodelling everyone has one, and often they differ. Now I understand why we have washout. However washout reduces the wings overall lift, this means that the model has to fly faster to recover that loss. If we always fly the model above the stall speed then it will not stall. The more washout the higher the stall speed, and the more likely we are to get close to the stall speed unknowingly. Granted it may not drop a wing with washout but it will still stall. Does that make any sense?So I tend to build as per the full size, if it had 2 degrees of washout so will mine. In my mind stay above the stall speed, keep the nose down on long and short finals you will be fine. But as I say, that is just my opinion, knowing my own flying abilities.CheersDanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Well it has been a while since I posted but I have been making progress, honest!! So here are the pictures to prove it. I decided to construct the centre section first and then build each wing half from it setting up to give the appropriate dihedral. Do you think there are enough weights to keep it straight ?? Now the set up for the first half. I just happened to have this piece of 1.6mm plate salvaged from somewhere and used a variation of the "sine bar" principle to set it at the required angle. One end sits on the building board and a 19 dia roller at the appropriate distance raises the other end. It might look a bit Heath Robinson but it works. So that's the spars and ribs in place. The packing under the trailing edges is set to give 2 degrees washout. The wing removed from the board in the background with top sheeting fitted. Checked the dihedral when I first removed it from the board and much to my surprise (well I had expected some error) it was spot on the the millimetre so I'm chuffed with that. In the foreground are the flap and aileron in the process of construction as one piece, to be split later. Now I'm just setting up the flap hinges and operating system. As I have opted to put in separate aileron servos I have more room in the centre section so I have decided to ditch the bell crank idea with it's awkward position close to the rib. In it's place is a torque tube made from carbon fibre tube operated by a centrally mounted servo with pushrods at either end of the tube to operate the flaps. You can just see it in the top LH corner of the picture. The plan as before has it's problems but now I have sorted my way through one half, hopefully the second will be much quicker. But there is a "but" and that is the builder starting work to day and pretty soon he will be digging a hole in the workshop floor. Ooh ek!!! Cheers for now Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Lovely work Richard, I reckon you have worked out a better build sequence building the centre section first. I did consider it, but I was looking at building the wing on an inclined board, with the centre section flat. Your way is far more sensible! Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Well at last the wing construction is finished. As others have said before it has not been easy and there has been a little re-working along the way. But now I have a wing with undercarriage mounts, shrouds, working flaps and ailerons already for final sanding and covering. So now it is on to the fuselage when I get back from a couple of weeks holiday, so in the meantime here are a few pictures of the final stages of wing build. Centre section set up on sine table, ribs and spars for second section in place. U/c torsion bar bending. U/c mountings complete and view of flap linkage. View of completed upper surface. Underside Cheers for now. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 That is really lovely work Richard, well done. I wish mine was as tidy...... Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Thanks for that Danny. I have not set a time scale so I have done whatever is necessary to get it as best as I can. If yours lacks anything on the inside (and I doubt that it does really) it will far exceed mine on external finishing when I get to that stage. Cheers Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Building work has finally started on our house extension so my model build area is filled with roof supports, bags of cement, lintels and goodness knows what else. I have managed to cut out everything for the battery box and the new formers to fit around it so here are a few photos of it dry fitted together.. I have designed it so that there is a split line down the fuselage join line so that each half (minus the motor mount plate) can be built in with each shell half. There are a lot of interlocking joints so I hope that this will be a strong but light construction. The motor mount plate will be fitted and glued into place as part of the work to join the shell halves. Underside view, I have made provision for two M5 wing fixing screws. Well that's going to be it for a while. So watch this space. Cheers, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Lovely neat work as always Richard, hope the housing stuff isn't too fraught. Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Steane 1 Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 It is unreal that it is two years since my last post but months of chemotherapy in 2017, a major operation, three weeks in hospital with recovery time afterwards in 2018 have rather got in the way of model building. All is well now and so just in case any one was wondering (probably unlikely I know), yes I have finished the chippy. Well almost anyway, battery cables to connect to ESC and safety plug, decals etc as you can see and a few other bits and bobs. No photos of the final build in progress I'm afraid, too busy getting it done, but three photos attached of the nearly finished chippy. Cheers, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetenor Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Lubbly Jubbly Very nice job sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Really lovely job Richard! An inspiration for the remaining chippy builders.Well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Very nice indeed Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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