Stephen Jones Posted April 10, 2024 Share Posted April 10, 2024 Hello, Its been some time since I posted anything new of my own design so here I go again. Recently I flew one of my old models the Guppy. A 45 inch .15 IC powered sports model. Although the covering needed sticking down again and oil stains here and their I decided to fly it again at my new flying site and I really enjoyed flying again 😍 So I decided that this model deserves a revive. Steve, 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 10, 2024 Author Share Posted April 10, 2024 And So I have decided to do a little more styling and alter a few things along the way. So I am thinking of building two of them the first one will be called the G Guppy as it will be powered by a .25 IC engine. And the second one will be called the E Guppy as that one will be all Electric. But basically the same model with a few minor changes. I like the looks of this one even more. Steve. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 10, 2024 Author Share Posted April 10, 2024 And so i have started the build lets face it we can not do any flying here in the UK with all this bad weather we have been getting for the past few months. I have altered my Ribs, made them a bit thicker and lowered the building tabs. All my ribs fit onto one sheet 0f Balsa 4x36 and 2.5mm thick. These are semi-symmetrical and have wash out built in. Steve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 10, 2024 Author Share Posted April 10, 2024 I do not have a Lazar or CnC cutter but I do have a printer and a sharp knife 😉 So after cutting out all the Ribs i pin the to the building board over the top of my Wing Plan making sure all are positioned correctly and upright to the board I pushed my Pins through the ribs where the building tabs are to give better support and hold them straight. Now my spars can be fitted. At the same time i have slotted in my False leading and trailing edge. Steve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 10, 2024 Author Share Posted April 10, 2024 Once they have dried i un pin the wing from the board and fit the lower spars and once they have dried i turn the wing back over onto the building tabs and re pin the wing down and fit the webbing. And once all that has dried i can fit the leading Edge. And next is the false Trailing Edge. Steve. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 10, 2024 Author Share Posted April 10, 2024 And this is where I am at as I am waiting for some wood to arrive. Steve. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Todd Posted April 13, 2024 Share Posted April 13, 2024 Very neat build Stephen, glad to see you back at it, jeep up those quirky designs:) Linds 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 13, 2024 Author Share Posted April 13, 2024 23 minutes ago, Lindsay Todd said: Very neat build Stephen, glad to see you back at it, jeep up those quirky designs:) Linds Thanks, I have received my order from Slec very good service from them nicely packaged and very quick too. Only one problem and that was my fault 😩 Leading edge and triangle stock too small, should have ordered double the size than I did. 😩 So will have to put a fresh order in soon, not stopped the build for now as I already had Leading edges in stock top sheeting now on one of the wings. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 14, 2024 Author Share Posted April 14, 2024 Hello again done some more work on this today. So here you can see I have placed some wing supports on the wing plan to lay the top side of the wing down. Here you can see that I have started to remove the building tabs from the bottom of the wing. All the building tabs have been removed and sanded the bottom of the wing to ensure all is true before adding the bottom wing skin which is made up from 1/16th Balsa sheet. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 14, 2024 Author Share Posted April 14, 2024 The wing skin is made up of 1/16th Balsa sheet 4 inch wide and if you cut one full sheet 4 x 36 diagonal you can use 1 and a half sheets of Balsa per wing side. For those that have not done this before, Here is how to join two sheets of 1/16th balsa to form one large wing skin. Butt the two sheets together and weight them down so that they do not move. Now stick them together with tape as above. Turn over so that the gap between the two sheets are open that way you can run some super glue into the gap. Now turn the sheets over so that you can close the gap up and quickly wide away any excess glue. Peel of the tape and your done. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 14, 2024 Author Share Posted April 14, 2024 So now I can glue the wing skin to the bottom of the wing. Pins are used to make sure that the leading edge is level by feeling where the ribs are and pushing down and pinning in place. weight it down to make sure good contact with the glue that was run along all the ribs and spars ect a slow glue I find best as this allows me a bit of time to ensure all is in place and clamped down. I have trimmed off the over hang of sheeting. All that is needed now is the wing tips and Trailing edges. Steve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 17, 2024 Author Share Posted April 17, 2024 Some more work, Made some Tuque rods. Two wing panels needs Wing tips and Ailerons. I am thinking of Glassing these wings.🤔 Steve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 24, 2024 Author Share Posted April 24, 2024 Hello again. Both wings have now been finished, Both look like this, I have to glue them both together then glass. The Tail feathers are also finished. Fin. Tail plane and skid. 1/4 Balsa. Steve. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted April 27, 2024 Share Posted April 27, 2024 Neat work Stephen, are you aiming for a 3s 2200mah lipo? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 28, 2024 Author Share Posted April 28, 2024 On 27/04/2024 at 20:16, Richard Harris said: Neat work Stephen, are you aiming for a 3s 2200mah lipo? I Think you know my style more than most. So for the E Guppy it will be a 4s Motor will be DYS 3530 1400Kv a power to weight ratio of 2-1 😉. And for the G Guppy I will be using a .25. With option for wheel's although I see them as extra weight and drag 😜. Cheers Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted April 28, 2024 Author Share Posted April 28, 2024 I am waiting for wood to arrive from Slec to continue my build's. Steve 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 22, 2024 Author Share Posted May 22, 2024 So, Here I am again. Wings complete along with the Tail plane and Fin so I started work on the Body. I made a cardboard template to draw around as I will be repeating this process. As the height of the body is more than 4 inches I needed to cut some wood off the end to glue onto the top like above picture. 1/8th medium Balsa 4 inch wide was used for each side. A 1/16th ply Doubles is glued to the inside of the body before assembly of the former's. I used a Box Knife ( Stanley ) to cut the parts out of the Ply. The I added the Former's to the inside of one half of the body. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 22, 2024 Author Share Posted May 22, 2024 As the 45 Inch wings are tapered the need to be inserted into the body before assembly of the Body. The wings where glued together before hand. I marked the center on the Former's to insure the wing was central to the body. The sides of the body can now be glued and clamped together. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 22, 2024 Author Share Posted May 22, 2024 Once the Body has dried the wing join can be reinforced with glass cloth. Top and bottom of the wing. The engine mount was fitted along with the nose former which is made from Ply and Balsa wood so that the nose can be pulled in and clamped while the glue dries. Same goes for the tail end only the Rear former will be cut away after final assembly is complete. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 22, 2024 Author Share Posted May 22, 2024 Top and bottom planking can now be added to the Body. The Tail plane and Skid are glued together before gluing to the bottom rear of the body. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 22, 2024 Author Share Posted May 22, 2024 In order to get good alignment of the Fin and Skid a slot is cut into the body. A strip of Balsa was used for this by measuring the center front and rear position, once taped into position and checked. Here I used a pencil to draw where needed to be cut. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 22, 2024 Author Share Posted May 22, 2024 (edited) When it comes to the fin I used Triangle Balsa as support and this would need shaping and sanding. So I put tape over the slot so as not to glue the Fin before I had bent the Triangle Balsa supports into shape. This allowed me to only glue Balsa to the sides of the Fin so that I could remove it for shaping before final gluing into position. Steve. Edited May 22, 2024 by Stephen Jones interrupted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted June 3, 2024 Author Share Posted June 3, 2024 A bit more work has now been done. I am Glassing this one. Sanding and Painting next on the List. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted June 19, 2024 Author Share Posted June 19, 2024 (edited) Hello again, So I have now finished the Glassing. A little more finishing off to do before painting but happy with it so far. The model is a little too be to get into shot so some pictures so far. Radio and push rods to do. Steve Edited June 19, 2024 by Stephen Jones No pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted June 26, 2024 Author Share Posted June 26, 2024 Hello again, I now have some primer on the G-Guppy. This is its second coat and needs some filler in places. Tried to fill it with primer, but failed. Also needs some around the hatches and fin. Then I will have to think about a color scheme and thats the part I suck at. Was thinking of using light blue , yellow a touch of white and red too. But no idea on a scheme. Steve. 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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