Folland Gnat

[David Thomas 1]

I am thinking of building a Folland Gnat from the plan in RCME. The 70mm edf 33inch version. I'm not very good at calculating how much balsa etc. I will need. Has anyone got a shopping list for this. It would be much appreciated.

Dave.

[kc]

It's normally not too difficult to estimate the wood needed if you have the full size plan.  If you take a 3 inch or 4 inch by 36  sheet and place it over the plan then count how many sheets would be needed allowing for both sides and top and bottom.   For smaller parts then just moving finger and thumb along the sheet to cover each part will estimate the sheet required.  Same with stripwood or triangular stock- use a balsa stick.

However for this particular model it needs some less usual sizes such as 5mm sheet and 19mm triangle stock.  SLEC, for example, don't offer 5mm sheet but only 4.5mm or 6.5mm.   The article says there will be wood packs available from Tony Nijhuis Designs so it might be better to buy a wood pack together with vacformed parts.   There is no price quoted for the balsa on their website yet but a phone call might provide the info.

 

[Piers Bowlan]

https://tonynijhuisdesigns.co.uk/midi-jet-Gnat-33.html

If I were to build this model I would definitely give Tony a ring to get the full kit price as I doubt you will save much by sourcing your own supply of balsa. You will probably need to buy  the canopy and another plan in any event. You will also have the benefit of an accurate set of parts, which will make the build so much more enjoyable.

ps. I don’t have shares in TND, by the way. ??

[Alan Gorham_]

22 hours ago, kc said:

It's normally not too difficult to estimate the wood needed if you have the full size plan.  If you take a 3 inch or 4 inch by 36  sheet and place it over the plan then count how many sheets would be needed allowing for both sides and top and bottom.   For smaller parts then just moving finger and thumb along the sheet to cover each part will estimate the sheet required.  Same with stripwood or triangular stock- use a balsa stick.

However for this particular model it needs some less usual sizes such as 5mm sheet and 19mm triangle stock.  SLEC, for example, don't offer 5mm sheet but only 4.5mm or 6.5mm.   The article says there will be wood packs available from Tony Nijhuis Designs so it might be better to buy a wood pack together with vacformed parts.   There is no price quoted for the balsa on their website yet but a phone call might provide the info.

 

SLEC supply the wood packs for Tony Nihjuis kits, so perhaps 5mm balsa as quoted on the plan is just a nominal size and you get supplied 4.5mm?

[kc]

I didn't know that it came from SLEC,  possibly they cut 5mm specially?   It might not make much difference if 3/16 was used, but it just might........     Balsa Cabin offer 5mm but they also call it 3/16 which is about 4.7 mm and there is not much difference.   Probably the weight & strength  is more critical when used on tailplane etc for this type of model ( EDF) , so the 'proper' stuff from TND might be best.

 

When balsa is bought it's always worth ordering a couple of extra sheets so you can select the best weight/ strength for the job in hand.   The use of digital kitchen scales can reveal which sheet is most suitable for critical items.