The Dauntless build

[Doug Ireland]

Graham, its this attention to detail that makes me glad I took up this hobby thirty-odd years ago! "Potting" your "D" connector was an excellent precaution, I've seen this done on other high vibration applications. Did you terminate the servo plugs yourself as I've never managed to get the pins to lock into the housings once crimped to the wires?

[Grahamd]

Hi Doug, no I can't get on with the crimpers, I brought my servo leads with the plugs already done from SM Services (they are more meaty than normal equivs).

 Thanks

[Doug Ireland]

A pretty good company isn't it? I was thinking of getting one of their Opto-Isolators so that i could run my servos at a higher voltage and was wondering if you had any experience with them?

[Grahamd]

I've been working on these damn ailerons for what seems like forever, still better to get them right now, ay?

 Whilst waiting for some epoxy to dry I cut and lined (shown as only painted on the plans) the cockpit steps, well may as well make it look something like the original.

Should be starting on the flaps and dive breaks by the end of the week, then the fun begins, getting them ALL to work together.

[arthur bishop]

GrahamD, come on Bro,you've done so well,gone the extra mile as it were to make the build interesting, which it is, but please,that poor bod looks limp?  char and a wad will take care of that, the NAAFI van is on it's way.

[Grahamd]

Well still waiting for the retracts, so on with something else?

 I want a semi good looking cockpit, and the dash is important, but I'm not going to pay over £100 for some styro moulded parts, so I'm knocking my own out.

first step was to copy the plan diagram onto a couple of 1/32" ply sheets

Then I searched around the internet for dials and instruments of the era, and used corell draw to match them to the size of the blank cockpit dash formers I made.

These will then be covered in a plastic sheet (transperancy material for overhead projectors) and placed behind the dash formers.

With a lick of paint and the rest of the switches and signs etc and it should be ok.

[Doug Ireland]

Hi Graham, I was going to try and be smart and say that the Artificial Horizon was in the wrong position but I've just seen a picture of the cockpit on the internet... so I think I'll just shut up now!

[Myron Beaumont]

Nice to see someone else doing a proper job .Join the club !

  Grumpy Myron .

[Grahamd]

I got my Glass Fiber sheet back from Belair, cut to bits , just as well its what I wanted...

To explaine:

The kit comes with 1/16" ply flaps and breaks, but they are very flexible and with my landings, subject to a lot of bangs, and knocks. So I asked Leon at Belair if I supplied some 1/16" GF sheet, could he cut and laser them from my sheet?, the above picture tells you. Great company, Great guy.

Taking the largest part, the center flap, I added some 1/4" sq cyparis and some strips of CF, and the effect is amazing, just need to do the rest now.

[Grahamd]

The original plans call for 5/8" brass strip (piano) hinges for all the dive breaks and flaps, but after several weeks of surfing and phoning I gave up and had to settle for Large Kavan hinges. With the center main flap being 18" long and 4"'s deep, meant I had to secure the hinges to avoid the flaps ripping off with some cunning. I opted to cut the wing trailing edge (1/4" balsa) and inset some 1/4" sq Cyparis cut just under the depth of the kavan hinges, so when the 3/32" wing sheeting is added over the top it will sit flush. I epoxied the hinges onto the Cyparis, but was unhappy to put all my trust in just a man made goo, so I thought as the hinges have pre-drilled holes, what I needed was some self tapping screws, thats why I put the Cyparis in. I spent ages hunting for screws the size of a pin, and found these at Mick Reeves.

Thats a 2mm bolt for reference to show the size of these miracle screws.

So now I have the hinges epoxied and screwed into the Cyparis, they aint going to fall out now.

Now I've just got to do all the other flaps and dive breaks

[Grahamd]

Well knock me for six, I got this from Jerry Bates (the designer of the Dauntless I'm building)

Good show, mate. I have heard good things about Belair. My pal, John Mackie, uses them for cutting all of the Jerry Bates Plans. Those G-10 flaps and dive brakes are the way to go. I have been using G-10 for a lot of things on my new plans. It is great for the center sheets of the rudder, elevators, and ailerons. The stuff is quite heavy but extremely rigid so a lot of lightening holes can be used. Keep up the great work. I have really enjoyed your thread and have learned some new (to me) tricks and methods I will apply in the future. Thanks for sharing.<!-- Signature -->

__________________
Jerry Bates
Jerry Bates Plans 

[Lee Morgan]

Well there you go, TRUE testomony to the really great build you are doing, I think that is one heck of a pat on the back, Well done

Best Regards

Lee

[Grahamd]

Must tidy my desk .

 Well the flaps and dive breaks are now built and hinged, so I couldnt resist having a play.

Heres the wing with every thing tucked in

Now here comes the flaps (both center and wing inners)

Now the freightening bit, flaps and dive breaks fully open

Deploy them in a dive and she will stop dead in her tracks

[Flanker .]

Wow! That is just so why we do aeromedling.  Like a sip of good wine, looking at that wonderful work Mr G.

[Myron Beaumont]

Grahamd    sometimes words fail me 'this is one . Long live real modelling .Keep up the updates please Don't wish to sound patronising or anything but I think you're a perfectionist like I've strived to be from day one  You're a "little " ahead of me

No grumpy Myron today .I'll save all that for the Welsh man

[Doug Ireland]

After building something like this winged beauty, I'd be too scared to fly it!

[arthur bishop]

GrahamD, 'Lo Bro, I think this build has been, and is, super teaching, how about a video of it from start to first touch down?  I for one, look forward to the next episode, thank you Graham.

[Mick Simms]

well Grahamd i was ,i am a very good model boat builder and now i have turned to aircraft .I have plans for a dauntless and carnt wait to get started thanks for the boost

[Grahamd]

Mick which plans for the Dauntless have you got ?

[Mick Simms]

Hi Grahamd the plans are from model world by H.W.Taylor 69" wingspan 60 engine.The fuselage is built round a central box section.

[Grahamd]

Had a few family problems this week (well thats an understatement) however hope I can now move on again.

 Having manually played with the flaps etc, it was time to repaint the centre flap and drive it with the servo, disaster struck !!!, I could only get about 20%, 30% if I almost rip the servo out of the wing. Closer examination revealled my G-10 horns I made were too small (short), enabling the push rod to foul the trailing edge. I ripped the flap back off, and re-made the horns much bigger, so they JUST cleared the top sheeting when closed.

Now that flap is just over 26" long, and when closed it actually goes "Snap" as it bangs closed (LOVE IT), and when the flaps are deployed

Thats over 6o deg of flap, not far off vertical.

Now I can use the template I made for the new horns and re-horn the other flaps and breaks, and get them installed and working via the servos. Must say its way cool watching the flap come down, and up. 

[john mackie]

Hi, Grahamd,congrats on your thread,nice to see some real building still taking place,i supply jerrys plans etc over here and i have  new web site  its www.jmdesignsuk.co.uk

 jerrys plans are some of the finest ive seen and his attention to detail is exellent,i have seen a number of jerrys sbd's flying each one better than the next,phil clarkes built as a banshee flys as if on rails,so you should have no worrys on that score. could you please let me have some photos of the finished model to put on my web site. once again good thread ,well done .john

[Grahamd]

No problem with the pictures John, and thanks for sending the plans so fast in the first place, thats what got me started.

[Grahamd]

when installing retracts, you always find you need to remove/modify some or all of the existing ribs and retract hard points supplied either in the kit or from plans, BUT nothing like what was waiting for me.

 The Dauntless retracts when fully retracted do not use a gear door (another reason why I like them), instead the wheel center has a flat hub, and the tyres of the wheels are slightly proud of the underside of the wings. This produces another problem in that when they are deployed fully they need to be horizontal to the wing (center), CenturyJet (my retracts) have taken care of this by ofsetting the axle by about 8deg. So if you get the wheels sitting in the wing, then in the down position the legs look something like a FW190, but the axles are horizontal, problem is getting the two angles correct.

Heres "as supplied"

With the two pre-cut slots for the retracts (top), the angle is way out, I would end up with ALL of the wheel sitting on the wing. So out with the Dremmel.

As you can see I needed the retracts as low as I could get them, but still slightly inclined in towards the wheel wells. This doesnt leave a lot to hold the retracts in !!! So I added some new 1/4" ply ribs (see red marks in picture), and rather than use barers to hold the retracts I'm using again 1/4" ply cross grained, each layer of ply has its grain running in opposite directions so the strain put on it by the retracts should be fine. I've also used captive "T" nuts with epoxy. Then "belt and braces", I've added GF sheeting around the retract/wheel well areas and over some of the ribs. My 1/4" retract plates are also epoxied to the front of the main spar webs and the rear of the front leading edge cyparis.

[Andy Gates]

Amazing build detail there Graham. Looks like she is going to be one cracking model.

With all your additional wood & glass fibre, are you not concerned about the additional weight? I assume you do have a weight target in mind.