FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I love the picture from the rear, the way it shows the stringers is fantastic.

mgnostic

Both wings are now covered. The aileron servos are in and linked to the ailerons. At this point all of the flying surfaces are covered and hinged if not installed. I also got the engine mounted and holes marked for the throttle linkage and fuel lines. I think I am going to use a JTec muffler unless something else turns up. I would have to take a pretty big divot out of the forward fuselage to use the stock muffler. The stock cowling seems like it will have plenty of room. I am keeping the down thrust as designed but the phenolic engine mounting plate had sidethrust more appropriate for a u-control plane. I had to widen the slot for the TT .40 so I took the opportunity to remove some of the side thrust. It does still have a couple of degrees of right thrust. The third photo is the "other" airplane on the bench right now. It is an Apple Model Products Fokker kit from the '80's. I started it several years ago and am getting back to it.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Looks good Kirk, now tell me about the Triplane?

mgnostic

It either came from an estate sale or an auction site. I've had it for several years. It was produced by Apple Model Products, a company in California. Results for that electronics company of the same name swamp any effort at online research. The scale is about 1/8th with a wing span of 34.5 inches. Not much in the way of scale detail. Sheet balsa sides and tail surfaces. Little die cutting, the ribs were stack sawn and a lot of the smaller pieces are printwood. It was intended for an .09 to a .15 engine. The wings are standard D tube construction. It is about as simple a triplane as I have seen.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Apple was probably one of those mom & pop efforts that came and went back in those days. There were so many good kits offered that way, its kind of said we don't have them around now.

mgnostic

Yeah, it's hard to compete with the Chinese ARFs for a market share. If some small company does come up with something spiffy they have a knockoff out pretty quickly. That said, internet sales and the ability to laser cut kits in small quantities does open opportunities for small companies. Even the bigger ARF companies don't seem to keep a given design on the shelf all that long. With cut on demand from smaller companies a design can basically have an infinite shelf life. It seems to me that they cater primarily to the scale folks right now but 3-D printing of small parts seems to be a coming thing.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

The big companies want to turn over stock in so many days and they can negotiate a lower price on a new unproven design so they are always chasing the newest stuff the ARF crowd hasn't seen. Its like the kids when a new iPhone comes out.

mgnostic

Creepin along towards the finish. A couple of shots showing the servo installations. The throttle servo is lower and farther forward. the plate next to the throttle servo will support the aft end of the fuel tank and will probably provide a shelf for the receiver to sit on. The battery will go in the traditional spot up against the firewall. I also have a photo of the fairly old fashioned engine mount. There is a phenolic plate that fits between the engine and the hardwood rails.

Now to covering the fuselage. I prepped several areas including the entire surface of the fillets with Sig Stix-it thinned about 50% with dope thinner. The fillets were covered separately, covering the aft section first. I started at the top and worked down across the curve with the curved edge of the covering iron. One nice thing about Ultracote is that one it is brought to the adhesion temperature, you have a few moments where you can follow up by burnishing the covering down with a piece of paper towel or a soft cloth to make sure that the covering adheres to the inside curve on the fillet. The bottom of the fuselage is pretty straightforward. I did the sides, anchoring around the edges of the frame before using a heat gun to shrink the Ultracote. Although I was able to use one piece for each side it was necessary to cut the covering and make overlaps so that there wasn't too much material to try to shrink. I installed the horizontal stabilizer before covering the top of the fuselage. This was followed by the fin and rudder and the precovered rudder fairings. This allowed me to have a smooth covering line when I covered the top of the fuselage. The top was probably the most challenging part of the plane to cover due to the compound curves. I anchored it down the centerline keel and then ironed down the ends, followed by tacking the edges. Instead of ironing down the ends it might have been easier to work from the middle outwards to either end when tacking down the edges. Once the perimeter was securely tacked down the open bays were shrunk with the heat gun followed by the iron to make sure that the covering was attached to the stringers.

mgnostic

Still a lot of details to wrap up but it is sitting on its wheels for the first time. The tailwheel is totally non-scale but it was about the right size and it allowed for a practical way of setting up a steerable tailwheel. I have some catylized enamel that should do for the cowl but I am going to have to make sure that it is fuel proof. With the fuel tank and battery on board it looks like it is going to weigh about 5.6 pounds and probably about 5.75 fueled up and ready to fly. As it sits the CG is right on the money so I don't anticipate adding much if any weight for balance. I think that by benefit of better wood selection and less heavy handed engineering of the changes the laser cut kit will be a lot lighter. I haven't figured the wing loading but it should be pretty manageable all the same.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Covering is coming out fantastic! I can't see much of the tail wheel but I'll take your word on it. Who really pays much attention to how the tail wheel looks outside of a competition. I think tail wheel performance and functionality iare more important.

mgnostic

Thanks for the compliment. The tailwheel is a found item that came off of what i think was a small Great Planes ARF. I think it was a park sized Sportster. Probably a bit big for the plane it was on but it sits about right on the Staggerwing and it provides functionality that wouldn't be there with the rigid tail wheel shown on the plans. I think the laser cut kit will be adjusted to allow for a tail wheel directly linked to the rudder. The kit waterslide decals are pretty dried out so I am going to have to look into alternatives. There may be a local company that can make some peel and stick items.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Any sign company that cuts custom vinyl signs should be able to do it but you could incur setup costs. Now a specialty company who's business is R/C models like Callie Graphics, Cal-Grafx, and a number of others may already have the clip art and do a better job of scaling. If they have the work done or are more familiar with what you need you could get a better price tha going local.

Mike

All Day Dan

My Feedback: (5)

Try here. Dan.
http://www.callie-graphics.com/

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Don't assume Callie doesn't have if its not listed. I don't thing any of the custom cutters can list everything they cut.

Mike

mgnostic

Thanks for the lead on the graphics.


Been working on the nose. I got a Dumas muffler extension. It was just big enough to let the muffler clear the fuselage. The lines on the cowl are rubber bands for positioning reference. I used 100 year old drafting tools that i got at an auction to determine the inner diameter of the cowl and used that measurement to cut a light ply plate that I tack glued into the cowl.

I trimmed the plate to form a baffle to direct air over the cylinder of the engine. Then I added blocks to reinforce the mounting. It is glued in with epoxy and fuelproofed with quick-poly. The fourth photo shows where the cowl was trimmed to clear the carb. The last photo shows how far into the cowl the plate is placed. The plate screws to the front of the engine mounts and I will also add some mounting blocks to the firewall as per the plans.

mgnostic

The build has stalled out for a bit while I work on getting some fuel proof paint. I found some catylized enamel that showed promise at the local tractor supply store. The color match was good but it takes forever to dry and doesn't harden to the degree needed. It did seem to be at least fuel resistant though. I've been in contact with one of the hobby paint suppliers who sells in small enough quantities to be economical. He asked me to send covering samples for color matching and then I haven't heard anything else despite sending a couple of emails. I'll give them a phone call next week. No money has been spent aside from the postage stamp for mailing the sample and it may just be a simple miscommunication.

buzzard bait

Have you tried Nelson System 3 paints?

http://www.nelsonhobby.com/

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Build stalled out, boy can I relate! I think it happens to us all.

mgnostic

I had been in touch with the guy at Nelson and sent samples of covering for color matching. I've sent a couple of emails and tried to call once to confirm that he had received the samples but haven't heard back from him. He had initially responded very quickly to my order so the silence seems odd. No money has been exchanged so no harm done, I've heard good things about his product and would like to try it.

buzzard bait

Thanks, I was wondering if that was who it was. I hope he comes through for you.

Great project!

Jim

mgnostic

Me too. We get spoiled with the near instant responsiveness of the internet but a lot of the businesses that supply our hobby are one or two man operations. One guy out of pocket can really throw a wrench in things for a small business.

buzzard bait

Very true, and a good attitude toward our small, but important vendors.

fokv25

Here's what Callie custom cut for my 1/3 scale DVII.
Bob C.

buzzard bait

Wow, what did you send her? Was it a photo of the Rhinebeck machine or did you have a file of art work for that plane?

mgnostic

That's pretty impressive. As it is the guy at Lazer Works already had a scan of the decals and is making me a set in yellow.