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Thks2


Stupot46

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Hi guys,new on here and new to this method of building,which is a lost foam glassed fuse,foam wings balsa sheeted and glassed.

I'll put some pics up later,basically I cut/sanded the fuse from pink foam and sliced it to insert formers and canopy base etc.Stuck it back together and gave it a thin coat of lt filler.After sanding again I ran some carbon tow(5 strips) along to stiffen and the glassed.Thin coat of body filler,99% of which I sanded off and then some primer.Which is where it sits till the wings arrive.These are Pw51,200 mm root and 150 tip,span is 1500 with a straight leading edge.I didn't feel my hot-wire skills were up to the task,so they are as we speak in the post from foam wings in Scotland.

I never seem to be able to do a straight forward build;on this one I'm doing a split rudder to brake the wing for landing.I've extended the fin so about 1/3 is below the wing and angled the hinge line forward.This in an attempt to stop pitch up when the rudder halves are opened.

The fin itself is two pieces of 1/64 ply laminated either side with two layers of 1/8 with the grain at 90* to each other.Before I glued I cut through the ply at the hinge line and put a piece of wax paper between.Sanded to an airfoilish shape and cut away the rudder halves.These were given a layer of light cloth either side,clamped up between two pieces of lam.flooring cut the same shape.

The fin itself felt a bit on the heavy side,so I cut some sections out to lighten it.I was considering filling these with light foam and glassing,but I think I'll just reinforce the periphery with tow and cover it with heat shrink.

I've made up a Y snake to operate it,installed the servo and battery and a tray for the rec and switch to sit in the canopy area.

At the moment I'm waiting for a battery to charge up to try it out.

And that is the story so far.Lot of firsts for me;own design;foam wing;glassing-thanks( I think?) to

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Sorry about the abrupt end to the first post,glitch with my iPad. As I was saying,thanks to sensei dread in his shed for getting me started with building in glass. The pics show some of the stages in the build,the last is where I am at the moment. Regards Stuart

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Hi there,it's still on the go.I just decided I needed to build something I could get in the air!I seem to have spent the last 18 months working on projects that are long term.Also I needed to get this glassing thing sorted before I do any more work on the VII. Do you have anything ongoing? Regards Stuart

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Roy.The cores are from foamwings,nicely cut.Marked out the stations for the tow spar,hinge line and tow stiffeners either side. I'm also trimming back the beds at the trailing edge to allow the bottom sheeting to protrude a touch.Sand this back to the upper surface and finish the top sheeting on top of it. The l/e will be spruce or balsa,so I've set up to hot wire it off in the beds.The alu. guides are just fixed with double sided tape,I need to buy some small wood screws to be sure they stay put. Stuart

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Evening update.L/e sliced off,the beds are taped and tack glued,put these aside till the sanding templates are needed.T/e cut off. Took the top bed off and used the same guides to mark out a channel for the top tow spar. The method I'm following is cribbed from Vern Hunt on rcg.From the root,a length extending 1/3 of the 1/2 span.Another on top to 2/3,then one full length,this one tensioned with masking tape to the bench.When the spans are joined another length full span.Vern used 12k tow on a 2.4m swept wing,whereas I have some 6k.Still mulling over whether to double all the lengths or just the full span one. With this in mind I'm going to try to taper the groove depth,using short lengths of the spruce as I go along with the permagrit,and the full piece to check the result. Similar procedure either side of the hinge line,just single full length tows.Turn over and repeat. What fun :(

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It's that time again. :)

Tows laid in top and bottom.Went quite well for a first attempt.

I sat the wing on the fus.to get an idea of the servo placement,this looks ok.No extension needed.

While it was set up I also checked the canopy/ wing/ fin line; worked out surprisingly well!The fin will blend in just forward of the hinge line,and the slope on the canopy plug looks ok to get a nice line to the top surface.Amazing!:)

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Looking good, very interesting.

keep up the build updates.

I will be interested to see how it flies and also how it lands with the fin braking system.

Where are you planning on flying?

Roy

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Thanks Roy.

I've been out of flying for a long time,only been building for about 18 months.I've got a couple of long term projects on the go,and also an almost complete HoVII motorised,which needs a bit of glassing work.So this is fulfilling a couple of needs; honing my glassing skills( new experience)and getting me something I can hopefully fly.

I've always built from kits( theVII is one)so this will also be a first true design/ build.That's the beauty of these forums,all the ideas are out there.So I did a LOTof reading,and added a few of my own ideas as well.Really rewarding when something comes right!

As to flying,no shortage of hills around here,but I really need to join the local club.('uddersfield :) )I could really use some help on the maiden,my piloting skills are rusty to say the least.

The guy at the lhs(Airtek in Honley) is a member,so when the spring arrives I'll ask him to introduce me.

In the meantime plenty of places to do some test glides for setting up.

Stuart(who can't half waffle on;) )

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I have flown at Hullock Bank (nr Huddersfield)a couple of times as a guest, not one of my favourite sites to be honest, seems to get good lift but I don't like the fence that is on the lip of the slope.

We fly at Levisham, Horcum and Baildon quite regularly and are looking at a few other hills to fly this year.

If you need some help/moral support with your maiden you are more than welcome to meet up at the slope, I am sure there would also be a few (maybe more local) Huddersfield lads on here who would be willing to help you out

Roy

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Whew,normal service resumed.Now where was I.Oh yes-the servos were a bit thick,so I forked out for some Hitec 125.If it's a keeper I may upgrade to 5125.

No pic of it installed,I removed it ready to fix before sheeting.The first pic shows the linkage,nice and short.

I can never seem to stick to a plan,even my own.After looking at loads of slope and DS planks,and the variety of wing tips on them,I thought I'd have a go at making some plugins.So some 2mm ply foil ends made and a simple jig used to fit a pair of carbon tubes.The inner ends plugged with a piece of cocktail stick and GG in.The end foil glued on.I'll sand this flush so it gets covered by the sheeting.

The first flights will be as is,then different shapes to see if there is any noticeable difference in performance.One I want to try is the undercut Hoerner type,should be an interesting exercise.

Next job is to get the other wing to this stage,join them and install the full span tow spars top and bottom.

Stuart

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Bit of an update.Both wings ready for joining,which I'll do with the upper surface flat.When joined 12k of carbon tow both surfaces along the spar and 6k similarly forward of the hinge line.I think I'll also groove out for a carbon rod in front of the main spar line,extending to the servo bays. Made a wing seat,using the bed as a template.The canopy plug needs building up to blend the line to the top surface. Also extended the upper fin down to the fus,and fitted the wing cores up to it.

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I tried a dry run on the wing joining.Because of having to raise the centre to get the wing flat on top I was concerned that I might get a bit of sag in the boards,so off to K steels for angle iron.Mounted these far enough in so the clamps will be pressing about a third from either side.Finished up with a 6mm packing at the centre and a 1/16 shim of balsa either end,spot on. When this is set I'm going to insert a spruce spar capped with carbon tow.This will sit at the wing cg and extend out to the servos.Also full length tow over the existing spar tow.

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I got the wing halves jointed.So Thks2 is now 1mp :) I had to prop up the centre to get a flat surface on the beds,so to ensure no sag I screwed some 40x40 angle to the boards.6mm at the centre and 1/16 shim either end brought it dead level. Glued and clamped overnight.I clamped some blocks against the wing tips to keep the joint tight. This morning cut a ply hard point and routed out the wing to fit.I found a new toy the other day,a Dremel attachment for cutting tiles.On sale at half price.Makes an excellent router. Instead of a carbon tube I made a ply joiner to reinforce the joint.Routed out a full depth slot and fitted the ply just below both surfaces.Carbon tow will make an "I" beam.This is at the wings cg. The ply will also double as a back up for a block to take a locating dowel into the canopy former,to fit once this is all fixed. The last pic is the set up before glueing.The l/e is a bit "floppy" so I've set up the clamps to press it hard against the ply. As you can probably see the tow lines went a bit awry here,which is a bummer.The top side is fine.Anyway I've blended the slots together,hope it will be ok.

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