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Craig's first build Ballerina


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Posted by Craig Thomas on 29/01/2016 08:24:10:

I give in with the paper tubes. Tried for about half an hour to get those tubes to open up. I'm lust going to feed string through them. Might have got on a little better if I fitted them before I glued the 2 half together.

 

Hi Craig. Yes, it's much better to place them before joining the halves. I did it for one half but I forgot for the second one and I joined the wing. And then it was a nightmare to have the second one in place.

You can simply run a thread or string through the ribs' holes, and stick it with cello tape or similar to the rib side. Then, once covered, you can extract the thread end with pliers, and tie it to the servo connector. The problem is that sometimes the connector gets stuck in one rib, and you have to "play" backwards and forwards with the thread.

One question Craig (sorry if you clarified already) why the wing dowel is that long? Or is that is not still glued?

In any case, your Ballerina is looking very good, much better than my first build thumbs up

Edited By AVC on 29/01/2016 08:36:02

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Looking good Craig - you've not got to much more to do on the wings by the looks of it - I've just aboout got the first panel done hopefully start on the second this weekend. With what you've found with the paper tubes think I'll try and get my piano wires to the bellcranks in place before joining the wings keep up the good work !

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Posted by Whatgoesup.... on 29/01/2016 10:41:14:

Looking good Craig - you've not got to much more to do on the wings by the looks of it - I've just aboout got the first panel done hopefully start on the second this weekend. With what you've found with the paper tubes think I'll try and get my piano wires to the bellcranks in place before joining the wings keep up the good work !

Getting thepiano wire to the bellcranks is not hard.

They are made in two parts and joined in the middle. I fit the ply bellbrank mounts to the wing. Then I insert the Z bend in the wire into the bellcrank and just slide it in through the wing and bolt the bellcrank in place.

The pushrod to the aileron can be fitted after covering because the slot should allow you to see the bellcrank through the wing.

The only thing to watch is the the bellcranks are neurtral when you actually join the two wires and the third bit that connects to the servo.

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As Peter says. It's not hard to get them in. Don't think you'll struggle with that. If I had gave it much thought before I started the build, I could have used 2 normal ribs where the 2 wing half's meet instead of the cutout rib with the ply plate. Don't suppose it will make much difference other than a small amount of weight.with out sounding big headed,I'm a little proud of my progress so far. Everything I look at my progress I think "I built that" 😆😆😆 my wife is sick of me talking about it. plenty of time for it to all go wrong though. 😦
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Posted by Craig Thomas on 29/01/2016 08:24:10:

I give in with the paper tubes. Tried for about half an hour to get those tubes to open up.

Don't worry. If if you loose the piece of string it is not a big deal to (from the servo bay) stick a bit or wire with a tight U-bend towards the center. with this you pickup your piece of string again (or a servo extension lead).

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I've also added the trailing edge. When I cut the ribs I didn't sand the trailing edge of the rib to a fine enough point so there is a little stem when I've added the trailing edge strip. Fortunately it's on the underside of the wing so not so noticeable. I've done the lower sheeting too. So only the leading edge and the cap strips to go on. When I came to the cap strips, will I need to put them around the servo? Because I've fitted the servo trays flush with the edge of the ribs, once the cap strips are on and covered, the film will be uneven around the servo?

servo_120229.jpg

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What thickness is the ply plate for the servos Craig?

If it's thicker than the cap strips you have a few choices...

1. Fit thicker cap strips to the servo ribs and blend them into the leading a trailing edge by sanding. You'd have to trim and fit them up to the plywood.

2. Round off or chamfer the edges of the plywood to blend it into the 1/16 cap strips, forming a "bulge" where the servos are.

3.Carefully remove the ply plate, trim back the supports and re-fit the plate flush with the top of the ribs then add extra capping around the servo leaving about a 1mm gap all around.

Number 3 is certainly the most difficult option and a lot easier if you have a Dremel or similar tool, sharp blades and a steady hand.

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That sorted then. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it tomorrow. Once the wing is finished I'm gonna need some tips on cutting out the fuse sides. For all the parts so far I've had photo copy's that I made at work and just used prit stick to stick them to the wood. But for the fuse I'm gonna have to cut the plan up. Is it better to cut both sides at the same time or separately? Any advice on this would be good as I don't want to make a mess of it.
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There are only two really important bits to the fuselage sides & they're the wing seat and the tail plane seat. Get them as accurate to each other as you can. The rest just joins those two bits together so don't worry about it being a couple of mm off.

I tape sheets of thick tracing paper together, lay it over the plan & tape it down to stop it from accidently moving then draw the sides on that with a fine point marker. At the same time mark the extents of the ply doublers and the positions of the formers. Then make the tracing paper thicker with masking tape, remove from the plan and carefully cut it out with a sharp scalpel. This will make a template and is such a time consuming task I usually mark it with the model name and keep it safe in case I want to build another model.

There are other ways to transfer the plan to a pattern or template and everybody has their own favourite way.

Remember the tailplane seat is drawn with a step before F10 which is wrong. The tail plane should go all the way to F10 with no step. I doubt it will effect how she flies but it looks much nicer with the lines of the fin and tail plane intersecting inside the fuselage and the hinge lines being offset from each other.

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Copy the rear of the fuselage. You shouls be able to do that with a PSC.Join it to the main fuselage.

Lay down hand writing carbon paper. Lay you plan over it and push pins in along the top edge.

Slide you wood for the side under the carbon paper and up against the pins. Pin it down so it won't move.

Draw round the sides witha ball point. Cut the second side and doublers using the first as a template.

Oh, and make sure you put the carbon paper down carbon down. Getting a carbon outline on the back of the plan is nt helpful and is very irritating. We have all done it!

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