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Chris McG F-86 Sabre Dog build blog


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Hello again,

Wing Sheeting > Day Two

Local Temp > 32°C at La Grotte

Job Report > Warm, Hot… but the port wing went as smooth as the first one with the glue just out of the refrigerator at the last moment.

Many ways of course to skin a Dog, but totally happy the way it went… yes

1321_port_wing_sheeting_900.jpg

Project > Just in need of an ice-cold apéro now… cocktail

Kind note to John S, Member of the QC Staff > if you have a look at the top left of my pic, the ‘Max V’s fan club’ orange lid of the little glue bottle has been replaced by a more appropriate Cretan blue one… angel

Hakuna matata & stay ‘cool’ again, gents

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Skinning a Dog Control

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Hi out there,

As it was ‘beach weather’ again, too warm really but with the forthcoming forecast of heavy ‘cooling’ thunderstorms in the afternoon, I foolishly decided to go on at La Grotte.

With the ambient temp there, I decided to have the ‘lightest’ progress whatsoever… frown

The wing sheeting overhangs were removed all around leaving just one mm to sand later.

As I don’t have 9,5mm LE at hand to follow Martin's plan, I decided to taper and laminate a couple of 5mm stock together.

I’m also a bit wondering who has some 4,76mm ply around here in the EU… indecision

Again, I laminated a rectangle of 3,5mm thick birch ply with 1,5mm Finnish aero birch ply to obtain very probably the most expensive dowel ply plate around… or in the Northern Hemisphere…

Sorry Dwain, no pics… angel

No cooling thunderstorms at the horizon, the weather gods aren’t definitely not with those poor Belgian modellers…

Hakuna matata & stay cool if you can, gents

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Thunderstorm Control

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Hi Chris,

Gordon likes to draw the plans using the metric system, even though I buy imperial thickness balsa!

Instead of 4.76mm try 3/16".

I think Gordon added a metric/imperial conversion table to the plan somewhere.

Martin.

Edited By Martin Gay on 26/06/2020 21:57:07

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Many thanks to all of you for commenting, gents.

Regarding those “questions”, the ‘hard’ part has still to come, Steve. Wait till I start asking them concerning the aileron rods... Poor Phil…

No worries, Martin. Regularly, I don’t have the required dimensions at hand in the shed, but I love to laminate wooden bits together. Besides by laminating, the end piece gets a lot stronger for nearly no weight penalty.

Replacing 4,76mm by 3/16” for the dowel plate wouldn’t be very helpful in this case for the simple reason that Imperial sizes are unavailable here in BE…

Yep, there is a conversion table on Gordon’s drawing but I also have a simple standalone - no install needed - piece of software with a myriad of units for conversion. I transfer it from ol’ PCs to new ones since about twenty years now… Fantastic little tool. Here’s a screenshot of it:

Aviabox Converter

Nearly the same here in Zaventem, Dirk. We had 30°C in La Grotte yesterday.

It’s a tiny bit less today, but Iris convinced me to have a break as, being a toy-hobby, it must at least remain ‘enjoyable’.

Cheers and stay cool, gents

Chris

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... oops... being a bit uneducated - but officially I'll blame the heat wave - I forgot to mention that if somebody is interested in the 'Converter'-software, just send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll forward the app...

Cheers

Chris

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Hi there,

A lazy WE followed by... a lazy Monday... blush

At least at La Grotte, I took a lot of measures from the wing and fuse last week which enabled me to have a decent start today at the technical stencils for the Dog.

As there are really too many of them, I decided to reproduce only the most 'visually' important ones.

... and still a few (many?) hours left in Publisher to get those I want to keep, created at 1:10 scale...

On a side note, looking at the total absence of PMs, nobody seems interested in having that piece of 'Convert' software. So it be... wink

Hakuna matata

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR App Control

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Hi everyone,

Not an very fast progress I must admit, but at least the wing sheeting glue was very well cured. angel

After cutting the ‘overhang’ bits of the top sheeting away, I had some secure sanding of the LE, TE and R13 tip ribs.

Especially to try to cure Dwain’s “withdrawal symptoms”, here are some pics of the result... wink

1324_overhang_sanding01_900.jpg

1329_overhang_sanding02_900.jpg

1330_overhang_sanding03_900.jpg

Thanks again to Gordon & Martin for that splendid wing jig provision. I still don’t know how I could have managed it without…

Hakuna matata & keep safe, gents

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Dibley Manor Control

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Hello there,

Mixed jobs at La Grotte, but very compliant with the current Time Management Plan. wink

Both the LEs went on as they were laminated/tapered previously.

1335_leadingedge01_900.jpg

With the Aliphatic curing, I went on with the fuse to have a sanding session outdoors.

Perfect weather for it, but after more than an hour of sanding, I realized I was still ‘nowhere’…

Sjeesh… I do realize of course that my Dog is ‘fatter’ and ‘longer’ than a standard F-86, but this will be quite a longish job to handle… frown

Hakuna matata & keep safe, all

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Fuse Sanding Control

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Hi Chris,

Yes Im at the same stage with my fuselage - its complete now and just in need of final sanding all over. I've taken down all the big steps in between my planking, and now need to make the curved card/grit aid to finish the job. It seems to take ages!?

I've got a couple of 'starved horse' depressions too I think over the wing bay which might need some filler to maintain the lines... crying 2

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Thank you for commenting, Phil & Dirk.

I still have the fin fairings to install, but I need the shape of the turbine exhaust first hence the fuse sanding in priority.

... and it just seem to take sóó much time to get an acceptable finish.

The curved cardboard+grit combo really is a nice tool, Phil... but it still needs some 'sanding energy'. wink

Some more sanding coming closer, I guess...

Cheers & keep safe both

Chris

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Hello again,

Due to the weather, some plan changes here in La Grotte, converting the fuse sanding to some wing... sanding... frown

I can handle small areas sanding inside and started with both LEs.

1338_leading_edgesanding01_900.jpg

Once again, using the magical masking tape trick to protect the sheeting.

The top of the red line is the central point of the airfoil chord and easy to sand down to just reach it keeping the correct curve.

1344_leading_edgesanding02_900.jpg

Later on, the wing will be turned upside down and the LE profile sanded till the red line is only 0,5mm thick. Hopefully… wink

Hakuna matata & keep alert, gents

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Sanding Again Control

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Hi there,

A different WE this one as it was finally the start of the F1 season. cool

I had some 'short' work sessions though with the LE further sanding yesterday and a 'hard' one with the dowel ply plate today before the broadcast. angel

Pics for Dibley Manor to follow shortly... yes

Hakuna matata & keep prudent, gents

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Sanding Again #2 Control

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Hi there,

Quite a glue/sanding progress this WE despite watching the F1 qualis & race.

In fact, Iris’s Time Mgt Plan worked great (again). yes

First job was to finish the LE sanding of both wing halves and gluing the dowel front plate with epoxy afterwards.

1347_wing_dowelplate01_900.jpg

1352_wing_dowelplate02_900.jpg

1354_wing_dowelplate03_900.jpg

1360_wing_dowelplate04_900.jpg

After sanding down the ply plate, Gaston and I were both quite satisfied with the job.

Albeit, I must add that I discovered that sanding laminated - 8 layers in total - top graded aero ply is a LOT harder than the hardest balsa I ever used… surprise

Is this OK after your first day at work, Dwain? …

Hakuna matata & stay safe, gents

Chris

BRU - BE / CTR Aero Ply Sanding Control

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