toto Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Just a little sneak peak at what is coming next on my assembly line of trainers ..... The Phoenix tiger 3 60. and a little teaser of what's in the box ..... Just thought I'd throw this up whilst my Domino assembly is currently at a halt. Hopefully the Domino should be complete by the end of this week and the Tiger 60 on the go at some point the following week. This is the first of two low wingers. A Phoenix Spacewalker 2 being the second and the next on the list. The Tiger 60 will be an electric installation power plant still to be decided and the Spacewalker 2 will be GP and powered with a Force 0.46 glow engine. Thats all for now ..... look forward to having you here when the assembly starts. toto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Next purchase will need to be a transit van to transport them all to the field 😅 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 No ...... an artic and trailer....😄 you don't think big enough .... 😄 toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outrunner Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Another scale model, 1/5 scale this time 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 Yes aren't I lucky .... very wild with their statements .... Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 This one will be a slightly longer assembly time than the Domino as we are back to using epoxy again very like the Arising Star. The assembly techniques are very similar only a low wing as opposed to a high wing. It's another one piece wing on completion like the Arising Star as well. This model looks like it takes similarities from both the Arising Star and the domino. The aileron servos are visible as per the Arising Star. I cant see how the wings are joined to the underside of the fuselage but I'm guessing it's a sort of upside down configuration of the Arising Star install. I'm sure all will become clear as it progresses. This is electric so no messing around setting up engines and fuel tanks so this will hopefully save a little time and faffing around. Separate Aileron servos ..... no sharing on this assembly. Never a dull moment. Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 The time has come .... well .... tomorrow, unless the weather gives me a chance at a flight or two at the club. My Arising Star and my Domino are in the pits until Monday night when a couple of issues need to be cleared up prior to them getting their maiden flights ..... as soon as the weather permits. So ... meanwhile, I am going to make a start on this Tiger 60. It's a epoxy joined one piece low wing affair. Electric powered with the actual power plant still to be decided. So ... it will ge rudder, elevator etc to get me started and gluing of hinges. Much the same as the Arising Star construction but electric rather than glow. See you in the shed then. Cheers Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 Whilst you're in the shed mull over making/buying some wingbags. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 Hi John, Given the damage to the Arising Star wings ...... I think they will be on the to do list sooner rather than later John. I think I can make my own. B and Q here I come. Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 It's not looking good on the flying front today so .... looks like the Tiger 60 assembly will be commencing. A few domestics to do first and then ..... scalpel and epoxy and CA time. I'll start with the CA on the hinges of the Rudder and elevator surfaces as that dries relatively quickly allowing me to progress to the overall assembly of the tail plane not long after that. If I were to do it the other way around .... epoxy the main tail plane first, I would not want to go near it whilst the epoxy dries to undertake the hinges. There is too much potential of knocking the tail plane geometry out. I can tackle the wing ailerons as well . That's the plan for now .... it may still change yet Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 and now .... thunderbirds are go ...... first of all .... I give you .... the destructions... we move on to the elevator tail section .... and then the rudder section ..... the wings ..... and ..... and then the fuselage ..... and on its assembly stance ready to go .... lets remove the battery access hatch or fuel tank hatch depending on how you are fitting it out ... in this case .... electric powered. ant the hatch is removed with a spring loaded toggle arrangement .... and ..... and a peek inside the underside access compartment ..... towards the rear where you can see the two wing fastening points .... and towards the front where the wing will fit into the upper most notch you can see in the " fresh wood " .... The hardware packs ..... and last of all...the wing brace and various push rods etc ..... Now one thing for the potential buyers .... what we are used to now .... the slightly askew statements on the box and in this case one in particular ... " Pre glued and pinned hinges on all control surfaces " ....... Categorically untrue. The hinges are the usual hairy type hinges which have been pre-slotted into the control surfaces but have not been glued. So .... you will have to glue these yourself. However, take it from me ..... this is not a difficult task. If I can do it ...... you can do it. I am the chief Wassack around here so anything that is done successfully on this thread ...... even the most newest of newbies will manage. I am the lowest common denominator. Now .... a quick breather and I will return with amongst other things .... the gluing of the very same " pre glued and pinned hinges " 😄 cheers for now. toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 OK ... so ... the elevator and rudder sections. I started with the rudder. I separated the two parts and drew a line roughly down the centre of the hinges and inserted two pins per hinge roughly in the centre. they don't need to be exact but the more accurate they are the better. insert the hinges into one part of the assembly and ....... oh .. oh ....Hmmm ... should there be a third hinge, somewhere in the centre. yes there should and this one was missing in action. I checked the slots on both halves but unless the missing hinge has slipped right into either half .... it hasn't been supplied so I took one from my spares. Inserted the other half of the assembly. removed the pins ensuring the the hinges did not move and remained centralised, flexed the assembly to sort of identify the exact position of the hinges and applied CA along each of the hinges. turned the assembly over and repeated on the other side. Once the CA has been applied to both sides, take the assembly in both hands and gently flex the assembly along the hinge line to keep the assembly flexible. lay to settle somewhere safe and preferably with the hinged surface not actually lying on anything to prevent any rogue CA sticking to any other surface. Its the exact same with the elevator assembly as shown below but only this comes with two hinged surfaces. take the two surfaces off ..... pin the hinges centrally .... insert the hinged surfaces back onto the main section ( do these one at a time ) remove the pins and snug up the two surfaces together ..... apply the CA to both sides of each hinge. I would do each elevator separately as if you insert them both at once, there is a chance that one will move as you work on the other. So ... hinge and glue one. Flex and give it a few seconds to set, then tackle the other. Also ************* Note ********** ensure that you glue the correct elevator section to the correct side of the main horizontal main wing tail. These are sided and that's obvious by the shape of the individual sections and in this case .... but not on all models ..... the graphics on the surface. toto. OK ..... onwards .... I'll be back shortly with another " right rivetting read " 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 OK ..... first mistake of the project already .... you'll see as we go along. decided to strip out the extra film on the rear end to reveal the slots for the tail assembly ..... the back end ... and another .... the finish ain't so good here though ...... The underside ....... and the top of the tail end of the fuselage ..... here is what you get for locations to trim away the film ... which is actually easy to locate. I used the plastic tubes that you feed the push rods down to locate their exits you can just see the rod trying to come through ..... and there you go ..... easy ..... same with the other side ..... Now ... here comes the boo boo. I totally got the rudder push rod exit point wrong ... badly wrong. Where you see the rod coming through is the second attempt. The hole that is left did not need to be quite as big but once I punctured the incorrect location and opened up the film, on realising I had messed up, decided to trim the film to its extreme boundary as if I had left it, and later pressures started to rip it, I might not be able to contain the extent of the rip. I intend to find an appropriate set of stickers and install one both sides to make it look intended. No big issue but rather annoying either way. The destructions are quite accurate but there are two softspots in the film immediately in more or same the same location and if you dont take your time to ensure you have located it properly ....... this is the result. another thing ... there are three push rod tubes to take the rudder and two elevators rods. The ends were squashed to such an extent that I had to cut a little away in order to get the push rods to enter. This is also true of the inaccessible ends in the concealed tail and you really have to ram them home in order to let the rods clear the end and actually exit the tube and therefore the exit point on the side of the fuselage. This is what gave me the issue in locating the rudder exit point. I was working blind and partly guessing relying on the vibration of the rod whilst I tried to break through. ... not ideal and avoidable if the manufacturer had just taken a little time to ensure the tube ends were passable. OK ..... drama over ..... move on. I'll be back. toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 Apologies .... I've just re-read the above and I wasn't to clear on the actual area's of film that had to be removed to enable the actual tail assembly .... so here they are again. The topside where the rudder extends from .... side shot where the elevator will protrude from .... The other elevator side ..... and a rear shot where both elevator and rudder will emerge from. cheers toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Before you cut away the film on the tailplane to glue it on, I'll just reiterate the extreme care which must be taken not to score the balsa in this step - ARTF instructions often do not stress this enough. I use a soldering iron run along the marked line on the covering after aligning the tailplane and establishing that position. You can use a scalpel if you get it under the covering and cut upwards or sideways, not making contact with the balsa at all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 Alright ..... screw up number two ..... this time 100 million billion trillion times the manufacturers issue ... I went to dry fit the tail pieces ..... Mmmmmm ..... look scrummy ... apart from the transfer misalignment of course ... no big deal ... and again ..... see anything wrong yet .... maybe now ..... no .... ok then ... let me show you .... there .... you follow the void you can easily feel with your finger and take the scalpel to it ..... looks fine at the back ( just rough for illustrative purposes ) . push it all the way home ...... and its plain to see that the slot is too long. in the incorrect position, even the alignment of the decals are a bit out ..... the correct position shows a better alignment. so ... a bit filling and covering to do. Its no big deal really but just annoying. They ask you to have faith in a handful of pictured illustrations .... tell you to follow the cut outs on the model as a guide to how much film to cut away .... and this is what you get. I'll be back toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 I wanted to check to see if the above issue was only cosmetic .... or structural as I had a bad feeling on this one ..... and I was correct ..... I don't know if the above picture demonstrates it that well but if you look closely there is like a tang of wood protrudes forward inside the cut away area ..... in order to mate with this gap in the horizontal section. it now does not reach it and the front end of this assembly can easily move from side to side. Now ... I know that once epoxied into place that it unlikely to happen but none the less .... it is a structural part and I'd rather not leave it to chance. So here is my proposed solution. I'm going to measure up a bit block softwood / hardwood, whatever I have at had and first try a dry fit and if it fits ok, Epoxy it into place on the main structure then epoxy the horizontal section in at the back of it. thoughts, comments , laughs , jokes, anything else not covered there.😄 cheers toto. This is the last post from the shed tonight. I need to clear my head before proceeding. toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Forget the alignment, or not, of the decals, there are just cosmetics. The correct position for the tailplane is pushed fully forwards so that the gap does engage with the tongue inside the tailplane slot. If you want to then infill the bit at the end of the fuse with some scrap balsa which you can then cover with film. Ideally the bottom of the rudder should be very close to the rear of the fuse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Check the box n the goodie bag, there may be a small balsa part to close the rear gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 tsk tsk Ron ..... such roughness .... and from a seasoned builder of parts to 😄 absolutely no need for that ......😄 I have a much better solution ..... add these two together to get an exact and snug fit ..... a little like the above .... this is just a trial at the moment ..... nothing being fitted as yet. in it goes and believe me this is as snug as you would like a cuddle from Kate Winslet to be ( or insert any actress / actor of your choice ) I have done some rough measurements based upon the existing parts etc and where you see the pencil line on the fresh wood is where the supplementary timber has to be built out to. that way .... the tail sections as as far back towards the end of the fuselage ... as intended .... and the front of the assembly still has its securing slot. any exterior holes at the front of the section can be filled in..... bye the way .... I think you get my necessity for the cosmetic side of things a little misjudged. My priority is indeed on the structural integrity of the assembly and if I can save the cosmetics ..... all well and good .... a bonus maybe ..... surely I am allowed a little moan about them though. Especially when its a manufacturers error and not a calamity caused by myself ...... I screwed up the rudder pushrod exit point and I'll take that on the chin and move on. there will be a simple enough solution .... a sticker or whatever but apologies if I vent my frustration at myself and possibly let others learn from my rookie mistakes. I'm sure there will be others. toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 It is the rear gap that 'needs' closing, not the front. 5 minutes ago, toto said: the tail sections as as far back towards the end of the fuselage ... as intended Not necessarily so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 Ron, I think we are on the same page .... and give this ...... and this ......, and this ..... and this ...... leaving this to be filled in ..... as you can see though .... the recessed tongue inside the fuselage does not fit into the space cut out on the front of the horizontal main structure. to do this ..... the tongue needs to be packed out a bit to prevent the structure from being able to move from side to side ...... not that it should when epoxied in place ..... but it has lost a bit of in built structural integrity .... which hopefully you would not come to rely on it the tail took a bad hit. I hope I have explained the above well enough. if not ...... I'm happy to provide sketches .... but that will be a job for tomorrow. thanks for your input .... I'd rather have it and get this correct. toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Toto - on the second drawing in the last post the elevator hinge line is not at the end of the fuselage - the drawing is showing that the front of the tailplane is at the front of the slot and there is a gap at the back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, toto said: I think we are on the same page I don't think we are! Move the tailplane fully forwards so that it engages with the tongue inside the fuse. Then infill the end of the tailplane slot with some scrap balsa. The rear edge (TE) of the tailplane does not need to line up with the rear of the fuselage, the most important bit is for the tailplane to 'lock' in place with that tongue. Just seen your post Leccy - thanks! Edited July 23, 2023 by Ron Gray 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 Ok ... I've had another look at the drawing .... the second one ...... looks like I'm back on the humble pie again. My goodness the humiliation of it all. .... all joking aside ..... I am due you an apology Ron. ... it just did not look right and although you guys spotted it pretty quickly ..... I couldn't see it. I honestly thought that all the engaging parts should have aligned on that rear edge. My genuine apologies. Toto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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