Messages

631

Slope Soaring / Glider Nationals, anyone interested?

« on: June 20, 2006, 11:39:17 AM »

Hiya Ralph.
anymore info? are the dates definite? any info on the site and wind directions required? if the wind is not in the required direction is it a no go? just over three weeks away! would like to go and support it but could do with a bit more info before deciding and booking a hotel/b&b.
let us know

632

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: June 15, 2006, 12:58:30 PM »

hey Fred.no haven't started the sheeting yet.need to cut the front off the leading edges for the balsa.cut the roots of the wings to fit the fuselage and fit the servo cable first.
hope to get started with the sheeting tonight.

633

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: June 15, 2006, 00:03:32 AM »

ok so i haven't done much work on the U2 lately due to nice sunny weather,lots of other work that needed doin and the feckin world cup thats been distracting me.

spars top and bottom,wing joiner tube and incidence pin tube done.nearly ready for covering.







cut some servo bays aswell!

634

Scale / 1/4 scale Ka-3

« on: June 12, 2006, 12:16:37 PM »

very nice Fred.lookin great.first flight next weekend? before retroplane

635

Scale / 1/4 scale Ka-3

« on: June 06, 2006, 17:53:07 PM »

looking good Fred!.i like the cockpit.the wing sheeting job is nice too.nice work.nearly there!

636

Scale / 1/4 scale Ka-3

« on: May 29, 2006, 10:59:56 AM »

Wow! you really do work fast Fred.really coming together now.looking good.the mount for the v-tail looks great.bet your glad to have that bit sorted out.any pics of the colour scheme your going for? the red one right?

637

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: May 26, 2006, 17:27:41 PM »

hummm, i'm tempted by the back scheme aswell  :?

638

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: May 26, 2006, 16:56:16 PM »

wings,elevator and vertical stab cut.spar,wing tube and obechi covering next  




a little bit rough at the root.the cutter was just big enough(1 metre).should be fine

639

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: May 24, 2006, 23:54:46 PM »

Ok.so foam blocks cut for the wings and tail.hopefully cut the wings tomorrow.

640

Slope Soaring / Sailplanes International AXLE

« on: May 23, 2006, 10:47:12 AM »

yeah! nearly there.i like the red too.will put some whites strips on the underneath of the wings i think.

and yes! thats the U2 hiding in the mess.really need to tidy my workshop.

641

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: May 23, 2006, 10:38:22 AM »

thanks Fred.
it's getting there.not bad for first attempt.need to go around the fuse and fill all the humps and bumps,and sand again.that should give me a nice smooth finish.the photos make it look a lot better it actually is.
i've learned a lot about this method and will totally use it again.would recommend starting with a much smaller fuselage though.the U2 took a good bit of time.lots of glass cloth and lots of epoxy!

no?,no filler on brown tape.here what i've done again:
shaped foam plug is covered in brown tape.give the whole thing a good coat of wax (i used floor wax).cover with two layers of 160 grams / sq.metre glass cloth then a layer of 80 gram s/ sq.metre cloth.leave that to cure for a bit.then cover the whole thing in epoxy/microballoon.when thats dry sand most of it off to get a smooth finish.you may have to add some more epoxy/microballoons in certain spots and sand again to get a good finish.
Paul Janssens explanes the method on his site http://www.pjmodelclassics.be/

642

Slope Soaring / Sailplanes International AXLE

« on: May 23, 2006, 01:55:16 AM »

Axle update

wings have been filled, sanded and covered.Ferrari red even!




original stab was removed.filled, sanded and glassed with light fiberglass and Poly-C.it's a water based industrial varnish.not as hard as epoxy but,way lighter,way easier to use,dries fast,is water based,not much smell and not much mess.put a bunch of coats on.15 minutes to dry each coat(in hotpress).seams to work pretty well.



wet sanded fuselage and stab.couple of coats of red and two coats of clear varnish



nearly there!




next:
fit stab and elevator servo(aileron servo installed).fill edges of canopy to get a nice snug fit,sand and paint.set-up radio and balance

643

PSS / Lockheed U2r PSS

« on: May 23, 2006, 01:23:27 AM »

U2r PSS from a Paul Janssens plan http://www.pjmodelclassics.be/
Span 210 cm
Lenght 121 cm
Weight 1.3 KG

i have fancied the idea of building some PSS planes for a while now and have been collecting a few plans with a view to building them over the coming year.the U2 was one of the first i got my hands on.i've always liked the look of the U2,especially in NASA colours and it seams well suited to PSS.with those long, high aspect wings it's almost glider like.which means it should fly well even in light lift conditions.so here goes

FUSELAGE:

the fuselage is made using the lost foam method:

a foam plug is made by using side and top view templates to cut a two dimensional fuselage.
the third dimension is added by sanding and using cross section templates to get the shape right.next the fuselage is covered in packing tape and treated to a coat of wax.
then three layers of glassfibre are applied using finishing epoxy.when that starts to cure the whole fusealge is covered in a thick coat of epoxy microbollons mix.when cured the epoxy microballoon coat is sanded to leave you with a smooth hard finish.

thats about as far as i gotten.
the next step is to cut an access hatch in the fuselage and use acetone to melt the foam (hence the name "lost foam method") out and remove the tape,leaving me with a nice glassfibre fuse for my U2.i want to to fill a few little bits and get a better shape in places before i melt out my foam plug.

this is what we're aiming for



2D fuse:




3D fuse after lots of sanding




fuse covered in tape ready for glassing




sanded glass fuse given a light coat of primer to see what the surface finish is like.this will need a little more work.






thats all for now.
next: finishing the fuse and cutting the foam wings and tail group

644

Scale / 1/4 scale Ka-3

« on: May 22, 2006, 12:42:54 PM »

guess they'd be called ruddervators :?:
it's a beautiful thing Fred,a beautiful thing

645

Scale / 1/4 scale Ka-3

« on: May 19, 2006, 16:31:06 PM »

looks excellent Fred.the Ka3 is a very nice looking sailplane.the v tail looks unusual on a vintage scale gliders.very cool though.
can't wait to see it with a suit of clothes on