Conwy Soarer Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Posted by Ton van Munsteren on 18/05/2016 21:51:15: Conwy Is there any news on the build project with the Kids, would love to see if there is any progress. Cheers Ton Hi Ton, Build has been put on hold waiting on a balsa order, our initial wood order was diverted by my HOD for some architectural models! Not done much building anyway as the weather has been good and we have been flying. Back tobuilding in September will keep you posted! So far we have 3 tailplanes/fins built, 3 sets of fuselage plywood sides cut and one port wing panel built! PS just reading through the forums now, hence late reply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bees Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Hi, I see nobody has posted for a while so iam hoping this post will kick start the discussion.I have had this plan since it was released and looked at it many times but got put to the back of my drawer. i bought a DLG a while back and being expensive i wished i had built the Sonny. Anyway due to recent ill health i have plenty of time on my hands and so i have started the Sonny build. I have built the fin,rudder and tail plane , elev and now on with the wings. Should have it built before we get some decent weather i hope but would love to hear how other people have got on with the Sonny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Posted by bees on 02/05/2018 12:04:22: Hi, I see nobody has posted for a while so iam hoping this post will kick start the discussion.I have had this plan since it was released and looked at it many times but got put to the back of my drawer. i bought a DLG a while back and being expensive i wished i had built the Sonny. Anyway due to recent ill health i have plenty of time on my hands and so i have started the Sonny build. I have built the fin,rudder and tail plane , elev and now on with the wings. Should have it built before we get some decent weather i hope but would love to hear how other people have got on with the Sonny. Hi Bees, Like you, I'd had the plan for ages before eventually making a start. It's coming on well, albeit slowly, and I can offer a little advice. Take care when building the tail-boom 'sandwich'. Glue it together, then make absolutely sure it's well weighted down - and leave it like that for a couple of days at least. Don't even look at it to see if it's OK. I'm struggling with mine as it has a slight warp along the length of the boom - about 5/16" (8mm) from where it exits the 'pod' all the way to the tail end. To add insult to injury, this has also introduced a very minor twist. I've tried all manner of cures - and improved it a little, but not with complete success - yet. I've soaked it, steamed it, heat-gunned it, plus various combinations of all three, but it's still not straight. Do I make another or persevere with this? Not sure. Trouble is, I've run out of liteply and it's nearly 40 miles to the nearest Model Shop. Anyone got any better ideas which might help? I'm also going to add a power pod for a Cox .049 - don't fancy a towline or a bungy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bees Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Okay, will bear that in mind. Not be long as i have only one more wing section to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 Would love to see some pics of your build. For the wing best is to make the dihedral twice as much as on the plan. Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Posted by Ton van Munsteren on 04/05/2018 21:22:45: Would love to see some pics of your build. Ton Hi Ton, Pics will follow soon - having trouble uploading at present so will try again later. I only took the pics today, in full sunshine (at last)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Hi again Ton, Success with the upnload at last. Pics are self-explanatory - the last one showing the dreaded warp! You might also notice a coupe of additions at the tail. I also added an extra hatch at the front of the 'cockpit'. The power pod will fit between the wing halves - it won't be a one-piece wing (when I build it). It's coming together slowly at the moment, plus being built mainly from the scrap box. Hope you approve> Success with the download at last. Pics are self-explanetary - the last one showing the dreaded warp! Edited By Geoff Peacock on 05/05/2018 18:35:10 Edited By Geoff Peacock on 05/05/2018 18:35:45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 Thanks for the pics Geoff the Sonny is looking great. Sorry to see the tail is not strait will you try to correct that, or will you leave it like this. You could submerge it in water and straiten it on the board and let it dry for a few days. Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bees Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I have made my first mistake but easily rectified. When assembling the wing i forgot to let the trailing edge of the rib insert into the 10x5mm trailing edge. Will put small triangular balsa either side of the ribs where it meets the trailing edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 bees, Iam sure that will work as good as with the insert , don't forget to enlarge the dihedral by 2x as mentioned on the drawing. Please post some pics of your build. Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bees Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 i have not joined the wings yet but set the inmost rib so the dihedral was 52mm either side, so you are saying when joining the wings you will have 104mm either side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 Advised RBCkits to enlarge the dihedral to 80mm on both sites and that should be enough. Its measured kind off from my proto Sonny, but that's kind off difficult to measure because the mainspar sets round because of the covering. So my wing was set to 52mm both sites, but went on going to 80-90mm because of the covering bend. Maybe the 104mm would be a little much, but the turn's will than be even smaller for very narrow thermals. Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Posted by Ton van Munsteren on 07/05/2018 22:00:49: Sorry to see the tail is not strait will you try to correct that, or will you leave it like this. You could submerge it in water and straiten it on the board and let it dry for a few days. As you can see from these two photos, the bend is mostly where I've circled the tailboom, so is it going to be possible to attempt to straighten it at this point only (not easy)? Your suggestion to soak the full length could possibly soften the glue along its full length - I used aliphatic wood glue. How would this affect the build? I'm not sure about how to proceed - any suggestions would be gratefully accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Z Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Hi Geoff, Have you fixed the empennage permanently in position already? If not you could try to slit the 4x7 top and bottom members of the tail from rear to front with a sharp knife, up to where the fuselage fairing begins, bend them outwards a little to add some pva glue, and carefully reglue and clamp the straightened tail until set. If you have fixed the tail feathers permanently, you could endeavour to cut the tail at a shallow angle just in front of those (i.e. at the lowest loaded spot), slit and reglue the remaining bit of tail as above, and graft the end bit back on. Max. Edited By Max Z on 16/05/2018 09:49:12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Posted by Max Z on 16/05/2018 09:47:01: Hi Geoff, Have you fixed the empennage permanently in position already? If not you could try to slit the 4x7 top and bottom members of the tail from rear to front with a sharp knife, up to where the fuselage fairing begins, bend them outwards a little to add some pva glue, and carefully reglue and clamp the straightened tail until set. If you have fixed the tail feathers permanently, you could endeavour to cut the tail at a shallow angle just in front of those (i.e. at the lowest loaded spot), slit and reglue the remaining bit of tail as above, and graft the end bit back on. Max. Edited By Max Z on 16/05/2018 09:49:12 Thanks for that, Max. The tail-feathers are NOT fixed yet so it might be worth a try as you suggest, although I might attempt Ton's idea of 'soaking' first. Then, if the glue does soften, I can follow up with your idea of splitting it open. Watch this space (but not for a few days) - busy, busy, as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Hi Max, Whilst at something of an unexpected loose end this morning, I put the kettle on and, while waiting for it to boil, decided to investigate slitting the boom 'sandwich' apart as you suggested. By the time the kettle was boiling, I'd actually done one side - successfully - and without soaking it first as I thought I might have to do. After making the coffee, I did the other side - all very quick and remarkably easy using a new scalpel blade, so thanks for the advice. I'm sure I wouldn't have done it (or even thought of doing it) without your words of wisdom. I was so chuffed I almost forgot the cuppa! The Sonny's fus. is now set up on blocks to get everything straight and level (no glue yet) and weighted down. A few clamps will probably be added once the glue's in. Levelling it up took far longer to do than slitting it apart - you never seem to have just the right amount of packing for a job like this. As it stands, it's straight and level within 1mm from nose to tail. Hope I can repeat this after I get the glue into the joint. So, once again, watch this space. Trouble is that I've just run out of glue, so I covered the fin, rudder and tailplane with some odd pieces of white Solarfilm which I found in a box under the bench - just enough for the job, plus a full roll of dark blue Solartrim. Now I need to get more film - I hope I can lay my hands on some more before it all disappears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bees Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Iam now ready to start on the fuslarge will keep your mistake in mind. When i cut the ribs i used the sandwich method which left me with a 4mm hole in each rib so i was thinking of sliding some carbon tube down the wings to give some extra strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Tail boom now straight! Thanks again Max - your idea worked perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Z Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Always glad to hear that Geoff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 Geoff , great that the boom is straight and Max thanks for the advice. Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I've not posted anything since the end of May - other things have been getting in the way as is often the case these days, although progress has been made. I spent all day today in the shade out in the garden, so at last the fuselage is finished except for installing receiver, battery and switch. The fin, rudder and tailplane saw me use up my last piece of Solarfilm and I sprayed the fuselage using a rattle-can of white (from Aldi). I gave the whole fuselage a couple of coats of sanding sealer first, sanding down after both coats, and the paint then went on a treat, even though it was so hot outside that it was almost dry before it hot the wood! Fitting the 9gm servos was definitely 'fiddly' to say the least, as were the snakes. The rudder uses a snake inner with wire running through to connect to the horns. I'll take a few pics tomorrow and get them posted. I didn't finish tonight 'til 9-30 - still working on it out in the garden - by which time it was too dark to do any more. All seems OK so tomorrow will, with luck, see me make a start on the wings. I'm making it split wing, so that I can fit an optional power pod for a Cox .049 fitted between the wing halves. This will mean joining them with rod and tube which will also locate the power pod. The ribs are already cut out (in the garden a couple of weeks ago), the balsa was bought last week (60-mile round trip!), so watch this space. Edited By Geoff Peacock on 25/07/2018 21:54:20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Pics as promised. Graupner logo still to come. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 Geoff, thanks for the update the Sonny is looking great. For building the wing don't forget to make the Dihedral bigger than as per plan. Cheers Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Posted by Ton van Munsteren on 27/07/2018 14:17:07: Geoff, thanks for the update the Sonny is looking great. For building the wing don't forget to make the Dihedral bigger than as per plan. Cheers Ton Thanks for the compliment Ton, First half-wing built today, complete with angled root rib to give the greater dihedral you suggested - thanks for the reminder, even though I had remembered. It got built with a couple of small errors and one addition, i.e. not as plan, but nothing to cause concern. I'll repeat these differences on the other half so that they are identical. I'll post pics up when the other wing is done, to show them complete with power pod (already made) and to let you see just what alterations I've made to your design. Working out in the garden in this beautiful weather really is a good way to work - near the kitchen door and the 'fridge (beer store!). I can thoroughly recommend it - much better than a cold shed in winter!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Posted by Geoff Peacock on 27/07/2018 20:30:35: Working out in the garden in this beautiful weather really is a good way to work - near the kitchen door and the 'fridge (beer store!). I can thoroughly recommend it - much better than a cold shed in winter!!! I shouldn't have said that - fate was duly tempted! Rain, more rain, then wind and hot coffee instead of cold beer. However… I managed to get the second wing-half started today, but still got a few bits to do before I can take a few pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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