Phil Cooke Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 In preparation for a bit more detail 'sculpting' at the rear of the fuselage around the jet pipe, I added a small piece of 1/16th ply to give a nice sharp corner - as per Dirks build. I then 'capped' the two tailplane cheeks with 1/16th balsa, maintaining the height and bringing them flush with the two ply F15 formers, which were just proud before on my build. These caps also enabled me to improve the scale looks and blend into the fuselage ahead of the fin, especially with a fillet of lightweight filler to complete the blend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 A little more carving at the tail end - just the exhaust to mill out back to F10 now. It's nice when adding a scale feature actually reduces weight and volume - although the geometry isn't going to be easy to glass well... hmmm - a problem for another day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Hi Phil, I think adding a bit of height to your fillets is truly improving their scale look. Strangely, I added 3mm as well to mine on the Dog and it looks quite better. I just came back from La Grotte 'fighting' with a start to the cockpit details and it made me think about your canopy 'height'. I took some measures as it might be of help. At the end of that ovoïd front screen - where the canopy should open on the full size - I took a piece of paper on top of the canopy and measured 158mm from the left edge to the right one. You could possibly measure yours to compare, but it looks like yours is a bit to high on your pictures. Hope it helps you. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 Thanks Chris, I'll perform a similar measurement - Martin has confirmed that the marked line in the vac-form is conservative to avoid over-trimming with there being no framework, as a guide - so I'll nibble into it incrementally until the height looks about right. Not easy without the framework as it looks like theres too much glass even when the overall shape is right! I might add some tape framing to aid the trimming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 You're mostly welcome, Phil. You're right, it looks like there is 'too much glass' without a framework. I'm convinced, reading Dirk's post, that your pilot's head should be quite close to the canopy, just following the side/lateral pic you've posted a while ago. My pilot's head - albeit not the same as yours but a correct 1:10 scale - stands about 10mm under the canopy. Please give us a return on your measurements as it could help a few of the builders. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 Yeah - I measure 175mm around where the canopy hoop would be. I need quite a bit off each side still! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Some significant progress this morning even before getting out of bed! Postie brought home the taylor-made self adhesive vinyl decals produced by Callie Graphics in the US. A quick check and everything is exact on scale and font just as per my order - many thanks Callie - another brilliant job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 Milling out the exhaust pipe to the rear face of F10. What would we do without the Dremel?? Rough shaping with a small milling cutter... Cleaning it all up and close to size with a bigger grinding wheel... Final shaping was done with a home made hand too - a small length of plastic pipe with some grit paper glued to it! End result if fairly pleasing, I've left the wall thickess at 3mm for now - it needs a bit more thinning out but will do that once the outer surface has been glassed for robustness I think... Edited By Phil Cooke on 01/04/2020 19:40:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Superb craftsmanship as usual, Phil. Did you have some progress with your canopy height already? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hi Chris, Having taken the measurement and compared it to yours - I've not cut it back yet, but by eye and with that measurement in mind it needs another 5mm or so off the bottom edge I think... I'll keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McLaren Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Nicely done Phil. I keep finding other things to do instead of tackling the shaping of that rear end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hiya Steve - hope you are well! Yes the back end is a bit shapely, but all done now. There's not much left to do other than sanding now really, I've been putting it all off, but the wing, tails, fin, and the main fus section all now need a good rub down to their final shape. Are we due a blog update from your workshop?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I agree - superb craftsmanship as usual and as we expect of you Phil. But.... that is the advantage of a fibreglass fuselage - I had a 1.5mm exhaust wall ready made. Like the A4 Skyhawk, I have put a luminous orange disc in the exhaust with silver round the outside to make it look like an exhaust glow. Will post a picture on my blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I agree - superb craftsmanship as usual and as we expect of you Phil. But.... that is the advantage of a fibreglass fuselage - I had a 1.5mm exhaust wall ready made. Like the A4 Skyhawk, I have put a luminous orange disc in the exhaust with silver round the outside to make it look like an exhaust glow. Will post a picture on my blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 With the extra build time enforced upon our MB project due to the current Covid-19 situation, I was keen to match Dirk's scale machine gun ports - they're such a characteristic feature of the Sabre and I was really impressed with the finish Dirk had achieved on his model. To produce the required lengths and shapes, I thought it might be easier to drop the carbon fibre tube into a suitable sheet of wood then measure and sand an angled face relative to that, as opposed to carefully drilling oblique angled holes. A bit of trigonometry with Harry at the breakfast table gave me the 3 required angles for a 5mm internal bore tube giving the required lengths measured from my 3-view. 30mm length = 9.6degrees 38mm length = 7.6degrees 42mm length = 7.2degrees I set up my drill and machined a 7mm hole grain wise into some 3/4" sheet balsa. I then cut a length of the carbon fibre tubing and fixed it into the block with medium CA. Once secured, I drew a datum along the tubes centreline, measured the 9.6 degrees (as best you can by eye with a school protractor) and offset that angle, again by eye so that it centrally bisected the tube. This was the line to cut and sand to. 30mm length, as required, only minimal sanding was required to get there... The process was repeated to make a pair, then again with the more oblique angles to achieve the longer ports. I found the longest ones the trickiest and I didnt get them all right first time, it would have been easier in hindsight to have a thicker walled tube, as at 7degrees the rear lip gets very thin and I had a couple break through and fail. The 3 different length ports complete - I will sand down the blocks further on width and add the chamfers as Dirk did to aid insertion into the fuselage - once the fus itself is all sanded and ready to receive them! For now, all we can do is bench test them in position! What a messy job this was though, so much carbon dust and the bench is now a right state! Edited By Phil Cooke on 04/04/2020 23:10:47 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Smart solution Phil ! I guess that shows the difference between a car mecanic and a RR engineer ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Very smart solution indeed, Phil. Quite lucky here the Dog was demilitarized before it got to BE. It would show the difference between an apprentice, a car mechanic and a RR engineer... By the way > is 'Harry' your personal trig teacher ? ... Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 I was merely developing the method you had devised and proven from scratch Dirk - the maths helped but even with this I still failed to get them all right first time - any error in the created angle leads to a massive delta in length as I know you found too! Chris, its my 10 yr old son Harry who's the keen mathematician - although he's still learning the principles of geometry, algebra and trig I love to take any chance I can to show him how occasionally I have to apply the basics in my hobby or at work... a real life worked example to share! It was a great day for working outdoors today (albeit whilst whilst socially distancing) and in between other jobs around the house I got the fin all sanded up, taking the T/E down to 1/8" without removing the mounting 'block' which slips over F10 at the base. I wasn't sure whether the tip of the fin needs to be rounded or not so I left it square in section for now whilst I study some more photos over a beer to two this evening. All the time whilst sanding it - I couldn't get over how similar in shape the Sabre's fin was to the much more modern Typhoon! Anyone else see think that?? I tidied up the mount holes in the top planking and in the now capped tailplane cheeks, the fin dropped in nice and snug between the 2 F-15 tailplane formers and the L/E and T/E angles were checked for position. All good. Still the strake and the little triangular gussets to add and this isn't ready to glue yet - I still need to cut out and shape the 'dummy' rudder. With a bit more time before tea I trimmed and sanded the canopy down a little more on height, took approx 5mm off each side, I think it's about right now, maybe still a little high (or maybe my pilot and seat is sat a little low?) - ugh - so many variables! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 A little more detail work on the fin today, cutting out and temporarily fitting the false rudder (it will be glued back on once it's glassed) I wasn't going to add the little angled section at the base but in actual fact it stiffened up the base of the fin where the removal of the rudder had left it a little fragile. I capped the end of the rudder with 1/16th balsa to give it a nice crisp edge. All back in place with the rudder taped in position for the photo. A nice scale feature - even though it doesn't wiggle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 No wiggly rudder?! We must convert your TX to single stick sometime soon Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 It looks like it's 35meg too, so right up your street! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Hi Phil, I guess Andy is getting sóó envious now, just because he's not building one as well... Wiggling or not, very nice rudder you made. ... I'm afraid you are going to miss one of Dirk's canopy frames in the end... Cheers & keep safe Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 There's still time enough though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 ... , Dirk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 Tailplane panels were sanded back this afternoon - down to 1/8" at the T/E and a nice bull nose L/E - just need to round the tips and add the angle at the root for the dihedral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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