She has a (dummy) engine!

Aside from paint, this is just about all the engine detailing I will be doing until this thing flies!

done covering!

Finally done covering the airframe.  I ran out of Koverall and couldn't get to the hobby shop until just before Christmas.  But now the wings are done, and everything has two coats of poly.  Next comes primer and paint, then I can start assembly and setup.

I need to get this plane off of the bench because my 8 year old girl just got her first RC airplane.  It's a small span glider from Mountain Models, and of course we need to build it!

http://www.mountainmodels.com/product_info.php?products_id=718&osCsid=bd8ba740cd4ce84f438956ede787bbc8

Kovering with Koverall

"It has been years since I have used Sig's Koverall covering.  I forgot how much fun this stuff is, and I really like the fabric-like look that it gives the plane.  It's probably a little heavier than if I used Litespan, but I had a bunch leftover from years ago so I decided to use it again.

For the adhesive, I used a mixture of water and Modge Podge.  My wife has a well stocked craft room, and has a new bottle of the stuff.  It's basically thinner white glue, and I read somewhere on RCG that it can be used instead of Stix-it or other model specific adhesive.  I made a test frame, and it seemed to work pretty well so I went ahead and started coating the frame with it.  Well, I got it too thinned out the first time, so I had to apply another coat for he Koverall to stick properly.

I've made a couple of re-learning mistakes on things like seams and overlaps, but so far I'm happy with it.  I have also applied one coat of water based poly with a brush to seal it, and will apply the second coat with the spray can poly.  So far I'm pretty happy with the turnout, but now I need to order more Koverall to keep the ball rolling!

A little more rigging progress

I managed to get some build time in today as it rained most of the day.  I focused my efforts on mocking up the airframe with rigging to make sure I had all of the rigging anchors correct.  Speaking of anchors, I made mine out of pieces of sewing hooks.  I cut them apart to get the loop end, then anchored them with CA glue.  Then I used black sewing thread to mock up the start of the rigging.

Radio day

Today I got my mind set on installing some electronics, and I managed to do just that.  As you can see, I fabricated a servo mount because I don't like gluing in servos, and we also got the fuselage servos and controls mounted.  Yes, that is a a piece of aluminum soda can used as the servo strap.  I decided to put it shiney side up instead of advertising for Diet Coke. 

Satisfied, I went for a 30 mile bike ride.  :)

Starting to look like an airplane!

I'm at that stage now where I'm putting it together and taking it apart just to see it in the bones.  We used to do that all of the time on purpose when I was building race cars.  It was fabricate, assemble, take it apart, repeat.  Now I just do it because I like to see the whole picture coming together.

Here is the extreme parasol version of the Be12a.  I'm glad there is a bottom wing too!

Started on some rigging

As the days grow shorter and the air gets colder, I've started to turn the corner on this little build.  I've been struggling with over-analyzing the rigging and trying to make sure I don't miss anything as I work through each step.  Being my first bi-plane, I want to make sure it looks good but not overdue it at the same time.  

I managed to get past the mental hump this past weekend and started on the rigging details on each wing.  Still slow progress as I still get time to fly my sailplanes on nice days, but I finally feel like I'm making some good progress.  I even managed to get the landing gear soldered up tonight.

She has a heart!

Got the motor mounted last night.  It's an old Electrifly Ammo with a gear box on it that came out of an old foamie Great Planes F6F Hellcat warbird.  I think they were also used in the Corsairs of the same make.  Not sure if it the perfect motor for this plane, but weight wise both planes are similar and this combination on a 3s battery pulled the Hellcat around the skies like it was on rails.  I should have plenty of power with this little thing, and there is still more than enough room for a 2500 3s battery.  Besides, I had it sitting around and free is always good.

As you can see, I mounted the firewall then cut carbon fiber standoffs so I could set the down and side thrust.  Worked out perfectly.

Slow progress on the fuselagee

Not much to report these days although I am still making slow but steady progress on the fuselage.  This build is a bit slower than usual mainly because it's my first bi-plane and first scale subject with this much 'potential' detail.  I've been methodical in my approach - sort of a glue one piece, research the next 10 pieces, then glue another piece.  I've already made some minor mistakes, and I'm still scratching my head on a few other decisions, but the more I look at it the more I figure it out.  Doing lots of research on other WWI builds out on the Net also helps.

I'm getting to the point of deciding what to cover it with.  I'm leaning towards Sig Koverall.  Although it may be overkill and a little on the heavy side for this airframe, I like the toughness of it over thinner tissue like coverings mainly due to my flying location.  Tall grasses and weeds have been known to put a whole in my Monokote covering on one of my gliders, so I want to make sure it's tough.  Plus, I just like the look of Koverall and I already have some in stock!

Sailplanes and fuselages all in one day!

Yes, it was a very busy day on Sunday. I started out by sneaking away with a 2nd place in our monthly 2 channel club contest. It's the best showing I have had in a long time, and not bad considering I fly my plane once a month. The conditions were challenging at times, but best of all I managed 4 out if 5 landings in the points. Not too shabby for a plane with no landing control. My plane is the yellow and white Sagitta 900. Ed Wilson's winning SD100 is in the foreground. 

After getting home and doing some yard work, I managed to also get some build time on the BE12a. The fuselage is starting to look like something finally. Next up, the turtle deck sheeting.....

How about something new.

My first bi-plane of any kind, and in this case, it's a Peter Rake designed R.A.F Be12a from WW1. The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 was a British single-seat airplane of The First World War designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was essentially a single seat version of the B.E.2.
Intended for use as a long-range reconnaissance and bombing aircraft, the B.E.12 was pressed into service as a fighter, in which role it proved disastrously inadequate, mainly due to its very poor maneuverability.

If interested, you can read the rest here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_B.E.12

One of the primary reasons that I wanted to build this particular plane was it's combination of size, weight, and scale appearance.  I wanted a scale subject that I could sink my teeth into, but at the same time have something that would be easy to fly and relatively docile for those relaxing evenings at the local park or flying field.

So far, I have the wings 90% complete and have just started the fuselage.  I'm learning all kinds of nuances to building these planes, mainly the need to think ahead more than normal. For example, making accommodations for rigging is one of those things I've never had to do and so far I'm enjoying the learning experience.  

I wish the build was going faster, but it is still nice weather which means family, biking and flying.  The build will accelerate as the weather turns sour.

Reset

I am resetting this Blog in attempt to , well, restart it.  Let's call it 'electronic therapy'.

I haven't stopped cycling, I haven't stopped playing with old Porsches, I still have an active Family, and I sure haven't stopped building model airplanes.  But updating this blog somehow took a forgotten backseat to everything else.  It probably occurred when my home PC crashed, and stayed crashed until recently.  With an iPhone, iPad, and work laptop, I really wasn't in need of another computing device, so this blog sort of stayed out of sight, out of mind.

Speaking of distractions, since my last set of postings I'll try to sum it up like this:  I built a new road bike from a bare carbon fiber frame to what you see in the pics, I traded my 914-6 for an original condition 912, and I have built many airplanes.  Unfortunately, the genesis of this blog still sits uncompleted on the shelf.  The Big Gull will get completed one of these days, but for some reason I lost motivation for the project.  It will come back, some day.....

In the meantime, I will start updating this blog again with my current builds in the near future.  Those consist of a 1/4 scale primary glider called the Hol's der Truefel, and a WWI RAF Be12a - my first bi-plane.

-dd