toto Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Very creative after use. Hopefully mine will see me well into my retirement . I worry enough about lipo disposal when that issue surfaces but appreciate the slightly safer idea of holding on to lead / acid batteries. I'm sure there will be many other ideas out there as well. Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 So ..... tonight..... It's time to identify the various wing parts, lay them out and attempt a dry fit. I'll start on the left wing as that's the plan drawing I have set up and see where the dry fit goes. If all is well ..... I'll consider glueing the initial parts together to get some progress made. Should be out in the shed for more later tonight Cheers for now Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan mcatamney Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Good stuff Toto, I'm enjoying immensely your build thread on this aircraft and look forward to the next instalment. Meanwhile I'm here in the Dolphin Portrush awaiting an Hawawian Burger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murat Kece 1 Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Thank you.. Found them on Ebay. Ordered two. I use the old lead batteries too but these are multipurpose and useful for precision alignments too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 OK ..... 24 hours late ..... but made it ..... I'm in the shed. the tail plane sections have dried nicely ..... and this is the end of Part 24 ... Note the image within the destructions shows the elevator control surface ( not glued but in the picture ) The elevator and rudder control surfaces are not covered in Part 24 ..... In fact, I can't see the addition of these anywhere in the destructions although I will check again. I will need to return to these elements to form leading edges and cut in hinges to fit the control surfaces as well as covering. The destructions are a bit amiss with regards to these elements. and it was time to move on to a first test fit ...... which is Part 25 ... fits perfect .... nice and snug .... from the rear and another shot ...... and the last for the time being. This marks the completion of Part 25 .... Part 26 ..... The wing Construction... I looked out the required parts for the wing construction and I am about to cut out the parts for the right wing ..... I'll be back soon ..... Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan mcatamney Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 It's starting to take shape Toto. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) Hi Aidan ..... it sure is .... you can almost see the resemblance of a model plane .... 😄 Ok ... I started the right hand wing ..... by separating all the parts from the sprues and giving them a gentle sand down. you need to look at the interlocking " cuts " as there is quite a bit swarf from the etching process that must be removed to give a decent fit. I marked all the parts out whilst still on the sprue as you can refer to the destruction diagrams for guidance. and more ..... and more ...... I'm sure you get the picture by now .... they tell you to take the central spar WS1 and glue and interlock the individual wing ribs over the drawing ensuring the reference number parts match .... like the above ..... and the below ..... until they are all glued and locked in ..... Part 26 complete Part 27 ..... line the trailing edge strip TE1 along the rear of the wing ensuring that all the slots match their respective tabs ( as they are handed ) . If you lay it along, there really is only one way it can go to obtain a match ..... just take care. this is the mating slot ...... don't do this ...... as you can see, I exerted just a bit too much pressure on it as I was pressing it into position ..... it is salvagible as there is a top cap that runs along the top of each wing rib that I can use to tidy it up. I may add a strengthener as well as the build progresses. absolutely annoyed at myself to let it happen though. My Icelandic mate ( who doesn't know he has a mate yet ) done the exact same thing I'm sure ..... and I still done it. We then move on to the mating of the leading edge LE1 in the exact same way ...... clean out the slots to give a clean fit ..... lay along the front ( leading edge ) joint and offer the part LE1 up for fitting ( using gentle pressure to fit into position ). and fitted ..... Part 27 complete ...... It really isn't to difficult so far. just make sure that you clean the slot and tab joints of any swarf and you won't need to apply as much pressure to fit. I am going to call it a day for now and give the above a chance to dry. I'm a bit concerned that if I go onto the next step that I could be putting to much pressure on the previous ( and drying ) work. cheers for now toto Edited October 23, 2023 by toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 One other thing that I forgot to point out as I went ...... feet ..... you can see these feet under each of the wing formers. .... they help to keep the wing flat as you build it ...... they are sanded off once the wing structure is built and you start to cover the underside ..... not until ...... cheers toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 Just as a last heads up before retiring with my best mate John Smith ....... The next step Part 28 ..... will be installing two lengths of 6mm square stock ..... from this bundle ...... into the top and bottom structure of the wing ..... as can be seen here ....... this maybe tomorrow night ..... I have to get myself ready for a trip to London on Wednesday to meet my new Client so I may have a bit homework and preparation to do. If so ...... it will be Thursday night as I don't get back until into the wee hoiurs on Thursday morning ...... hopefully to orrow ..... cheers toto 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 Checked out the wing structure earlier on today. ..... all seems well and it appears to have dried ok. No ti,e to progress right now though , just wanting to check. Cheers for now Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 Good evening one and all .... back in the shed to continue from where I left off. Part 28 ..... Now .... the destructions mention that we cut , fit and glue in place the 6mm top spar along the wing ..... this stuff ... as above ..... into the upper slots ...... like so ..... I have left the extra material overhanging the other end for now. There is no mention of the bottom spar being fitted for now but if you look at the illustrations in the destructions ..... it shows it as fitted at this stage ..... so ..... I've fitted and glued it. I found that this is a very tight fit .... some may even say that as it comes ..... it won't fit ... without the risk of breaking the spar at some point ..... so ... I gave the slots a light sanding to allow the spar to fit easier. .... Note ..... I still maintained a " friction fit " ..... the spar does not just drop in. again .... the other end which will require cutting to size and sanding flush. Part 28 .... Complete I'll be back with the start of Part 29 soon. cheers for now .... toto PS ..... now I am back in the land of the employed again ..... meet the intended colour scheme ..... cheers for now.... toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 OK .... Part 29 .... So ..... Part 29 calls for us to fit the " forward sheet of 1.5mm balsa from the provided stock. The forward sheet is from the big jointy central support .... forward .... to the leading edge. First though, we need to cut of the extra 6mm stock overhang that we fitted earlier ..... preferably with one of these ..... razor saws ... if you have one. they have loads of very fine teeth ideal for cutting fine balsa without ragging the cut edges. to give ..... the above which will be given a light sanding to square off..... So with a sheet of this .... we pin it along the edge of the central support ..... flip it upside down and mark where the balsa meets the leading edge. I ran along that with a scalpel carefully cutting the balsa to size. the same at both ends. I took a bit extra care here to ensure that I did not cut the balsa to neat and leave a fraction left to be sanded back to the leading edge. .... you can sand back but can't " sand on more . here we are with the trimmed balsa ready to fit in place after cutting ..... We then add glue ( Alphatic ) along all the edges ready to take the balsa ..... offer the balsa back up to the wing frame starting by mating the balsa along the edge of the central support spar with pins. then take some masking tape and wrap around the structure to mate the balsa down over the glued ribs to the leading edge ...... and ... and .... and the both ends .... to get this .... then in a final act of desperation ....... add some weight to hold everything down nice and tight .... and that ...... kind folks .... is ... Part 29 .... Complete .... Now ..... If I had been using CA glue , I could have been straight onto Part 30 .... but as I am using Alphatic wood glue .... I need to leave this to dry out a bit. So for now .... thats me. I also could have been starting on the other wing but space is a bit tight so .... patience for now. I also don't intend putting you through this wing construction twice ..... no need .... an exact repeat. I should be back in the shed tomorrow night to progress the above and get it nearer completion. cheers for now toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 Still in the shed an on inspecting Part 29 ... decided it was dry enough to disturb and move on to Part 30 ... so here we are .... the next piece of 1.5mm balsa which came separate as seen above in the kit .... is laid down on to the first four wing spars once glued as shown and pinned in place. you can see the overlap to the edge of the wing which will be trimmed once dry .... and from the other side showing the balsa mating with the edge of the fourth spar .... The next piece of balsa to finish off this stage ( again comes as a separate piece ... no need to cut from the full size sheets provided ) goes into place on top of the glued wing spars and pinned in place. and a shot of the underside of the wing edge that will require trimming once dried. Part 30 .... complete .... For Part 31 ... the spar capping strip will be fitted and trimmed to length along the wing spars ....... thats for later .... Cheers for now ..... toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 27, 2023 Author Share Posted October 27, 2023 Good evening .... back in the shed. Todays sermon is on ........ multitasking .... 😄.... I'm trying to charge Lipo's ... receiver batteries ..... and pack all sorts of other bits and pieces for a potential new club venture tomorrow ( weather permitting ) more on that in my " first taste of the skies " thread. Meanwhile .... I try to progress this build at the same time. I left off last night with the sheeting of the upper wing. I have just checked it over and all seems well. So I had to trim the edge of the wing sheeting and remove the pins and masking tape holding everything down whilst the glue dried. So we ended last night with this ..... I cut the overhang off ........ to give this ..... you should be able to see that I left just a slight overhang which will be sanded to its final position. and another of the same. This was cut with the scalpel you can see in the above image freehand ..... easy enough. time to take off the masking tape ..... of which there is quite a bit ...... to get this ...... looks ok. and one last shot for now. Now as mentioned on the end of the last post ..... its on to the capping strips which go along the top of the numerous wing spars .... as per Part 31 ... The wing spar caps are cut to the length of the various spars , glued along the top of each wing spar and resting in the cut outs as per the below ..... and as per this ..... these are cut from the supplied stock lengths .... as below .... and glued into position ...... like this ..... Now ...... I know by watching my Icelandic mate ( who doesn't know he has a mate yet ) that the recesses at the trailing edge where these spars slot into .... are too tight and need to be sanded clear a bit. So ..... that will be my next task for the start of Part 31 ..... sanding the slots and cutting the capping to size ...... one by one. I won't bore you with a blow by blow account of each spar .... but what I will do is start sanding and cutting each spar to fit, number them to correspond with each spar number and when ready come back. cheers for now toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outrunner Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Toto, is there any shear webs to go between the spars? It would usually be fitted before the capstrips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 42 minutes ago, Outrunner said: Toto, is there any shear webs to go between the spars? It would usually be fitted before the capstrips. I usually fit them in front of the spars so that it's easy to put clamps on the L/E sheeting. Perhaps Toto has? If they aren't shown on the drawing then they're worth fitting IMO extra stiffness at minimal weight gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 If you go back up through the multitude of photos you will come across this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 27, 2023 Author Share Posted October 27, 2023 Hi Outrunner, Thanks for questioning the above. I have checked the destructions and there is no sign or mention of such a beast. I will show the stage I have just completed and then come back with some images that show via pictures and text that there is no mention of shear webs. ... Please bare with me. cheers. So first, I sized up and cut the spar caps ....... then I sanded / cleared the slots on the trailing edge to accept the width of the caps .... the slots were a fraction too narrow. Then I glued and fitted the caps ... Now ..... I have a confession to make ..... ohhhhhhh yes ....... I strayed from the path of the righteous and holy ..... the shame of it all .... I will never be rewarded with a place in heaven now .... surely not. ..... I used CA for the capping as I was not confident that the Alphatic was going to bond good enough as the bend in the capping strip / wing ribs was proving difficult to hold down. Even with clamps. ..... I'll leave that up to the individual to decide for themselves ..... but in this part of the build .... as far as I am concerned ..... CA is king. Now .... Back to the question as raised by Outrunner. ..... Shear webs ..... I will pop in a few images of the destructions and try and illustrate where we are. There are no mention of anything with regards to shear webs or .... any other element that has not been mentioned or installed in the construction process so far. The above refers to Part 31 ... exactly where we are at the moment with the completion of the capping strips. Part 32 ..... coming up next ..... refers to trimming of any overhang from the capping and gluing the " bottom " which going by the image is the trailing edge into place. Part 33 .... refers to the removal of the " jig " tabs which so far have held the wing steady on the work surface whilst the build has progressed. This is necessary to complete the under side of the wing ...... sheeting etc. Part 34 .... refers to the commencement of the sheeting of the underside of the wing ...... I have scouted ahead in the destructions and again ..... no mention of shear webs. I was already pretty sure that this was the case but wanted to check again anyway as you can never read the destructions enough as far as I am concerned. Many thanks Outrunner for raising the question though as it could quite easily have been a potential disaster. I'll be back later with the next part ..... Part 32. cheers for now ..... Its John Smiths time. toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 27, 2023 Author Share Posted October 27, 2023 So ...... Part 32 ... calls for all the rough edges to be sanded down ready to take the trailing edge ..... we are talking ....... these .... where i have left extra length in order to final sand to shape ..... and the above where the balsa sheet has been cut slightly over length as well. but fear not ..... not a difficult job .... for this ..... with both a rough and fine grit side to it ..... we'll be using the fine for this job ...... and get this ..... and this .... maybe a very fine swipe across that yet now I get to look at it ...... All this in order to fit this ...... the trailing edge or as the destructions call it ....... the " bottom " ...... which will fit like this ...... once I am ready to continue .... However .... for now ..... I need to go and put my transmitters on charge for tomorrow before I forget ..... I may be back with more ..... cheers toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outrunner Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Toto, Ron found the shear webs, you had fitted them before sheeting the wing. Sorry to cause panic but I couldn't see them in your pictures. Keep going you're doing really well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 27, 2023 Author Share Posted October 27, 2023 No worries Kind Sir. I'd rather that you shouted out if you think there maybe an issue .... gives you a chance to resolve at the earliest opportunity. I'm about to call it a night. I was going to fit the trailing edge but to be honest ...... I've had enough for one night. I have my club visit tomorrow ... late afternoon at 2.00pm and when I get back ..... something to eat and then out for a couple of beers with my mate. we only go out once in a blue moon .... so ..... Sunday before I get behind the scalpel ..... 😄 thanks for tuning in toto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 (edited) On 23/10/2023 at 21:38, toto said: they tell you to take the central spar WS1 and glue and interlock the individual wing ribs over the drawing ensuring the reference number parts match .... This design does not have ‘shear webs’ as such as it has a full depth slotted spar (WS1) over which the ribs fit, ‘egg-crate’ style. The upper and lower square section members of the spar were added later. The end result is pretty much the same though; a strong structure. Edited October 28, 2023 by Piers Bowlan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 It's the first time I have heard of the term shear webs. Learn something new every day. Maybe I'll come across the real thing in some of my other kits. I'll keep my eye open. Cheers Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 (edited) Look at any Peter Miller design and you will find shear webs added between the ribs (with the grain vertical). Even 1/16th balsa shear webs add a lot of strength for a minuscule amount of weight gain. ‘Egg-crate’ construction with the ribs slotted onto the spar used to be popular, particularly with smaller designs. Some of David Boddington’s designs featured this, amongst others. The Sky 40 not only has a full depth spar (WS1) but also the upper and lower members. Belt and braces! Edited October 28, 2023 by Piers Bowlan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 Hi Piers, I must admit when I saw the way this was put together, it gave me a bit more confidence in terms of the provision of strength. I had also been a bit concerned about the strength of the wing at the leading and trailing edge joints but once the actual " stock " leading and trailing edges are added ( just where I am at the moment ) and once the wing is sheeted, that too looks to give decent strength. My next build / assembly will definitely be the Lindsay Todd Kestrel as I feel that this current build has set me up a bit more for coping with it. I'll look forward to co paring the differences in the designs. I think this Sky 40 with it's more simplistic design has been the perfect step up from an ARTF towards a proper kit build. I guess the only route to go after that would be cutting parts completely from a plan. Something I'm in no rush to do. Anyway .... I am wandering here. ...... differences in designers construction techniques ..... interesting. Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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