109" Hostetler Aeronca Champ build

[cyclone3350]

I like it! Now you got me thinking, seeing the amount of work in the wing construction, if I should go Citabria or Decathlon. If I go Citabria, then I will have to scratch the entire wing. That means cutting out my own ribs and everything. I have a wing set from a1/4 Decathlon ARF, and after matching the wings to the drawings I am using, I can match them to my fuse. Thanks for the pics.

 

[rockyboy]

She's looking great! Steel or aluminum, those are going to need to be pretty tough to handle the mass of this big bird in a bumpy landing.

 

[BlockerAviation]

Back to work on this beautiful bird! I'll start doing my weekly updates on it again until I finish it. The plan is to finish it before April or at least get it ready to paint by then. Going to more than likely use koverall on it so I'll need the spring weather to get outside for I don't pass out from the sig dope. At least I won't have to use the nasty paints since it'll be a gasser. Hopefully a saito 1.80 conversion.

Did a bunch of work to it tonight so hopefully I'll have an update for it tomorrow

 

[speedbirdted]

If you are using a gas motor you could just paint it with something like latex. Gas exhaust will not hurt it and it will cost you significantly less braincells to apply than dope. Plus the color range available is virtually infinite...

 

[cyclone3350]

Hey, welcome back. I knew this thread would come back to life.

 

[BlockerAviation]

If you are using a gas motor you could just paint it with something like latex. Gas exhaust will not hurt it and it will cost you significantly less braincells to apply than dope. Plus the color range available is virtually infinite...

Yeah that's why I'm going with gas, still have to fill in the weave with dope though unless there's an alternative

 

[BlockerAviation]

Hey, welcome back. I knew this thread would come back to life.

Yeah this airplane was started by a club member who passed away recently so I took it upon myself to finish it and fly it at the memorial flyin we're having in memory of him this year, sadly I couldn't get it done in time for last year's flyin. So it will get finished, that's for sure.

 

[speedbirdted]

Yeah that's why I'm going with gas, still have to fill in the weave with dope though unless there's an alternative

There is! Thin Elmer's glue enough to spray and it should fill the weave just fine in a few coats. If you're a masochist and have a consistent hand you could also just brush it on but sanding in between coats to keep the finish smooth would become a lot more crucial. You can get gallon jugs of it for like 10-15 bucks. I do it on Polyspan which is a lot more porous than a woven fabric and it works just fine. I'd still do a few test patches though to make sure it works out on whatever material you use. I do not have much personal experience with Koverall so I can't speak for it.

 

[BlockerAviation]

There is! Thin Elmer's glue enough to spray and it should fill the weave just fine in a few coats. If you're a masochist and have a consistent hand you could also just brush it on but sanding in between coats to keep the finish smooth would become a lot more crucial. You can get gallon jugs of it for like 10-15 bucks. I do it on Polyspan which is a lot more porous than a woven fabric and it works just fine. I'd still do a few test patches though to make sure it works out on whatever material you use. I do not have much personal experience with Koverall so I can't speak for it.

Ok thanks! I'll still probably opt for dope for this one but I'll be finishing a control line soon so I'll give it a try in that, more than likely it'll be electric so I don't have to wory about it

 

[BlockerAviation]

So last night I cut out the slots in the fuse for the wing spars and made spar boxes to hold the wings in place. I also continued the stringers to the rear most spar box and put triangle stock on the lg plate. This week I'll be making a hatch for the top, making threaded blocks for the wing bolts to thread into. Also will probably start back up on figuring out the wingtip

 

[FlyingTyger]

Yeah that's why I'm going with gas, still have to fill in the weave with dope though unless there's an alternative

Polycrylic! Koverall and Polycrylic is by far my favorite way to finish a plane and no bad smells. I brush it on straight out of the can with a foam brush. Usually about 2 coats are required if you want a fabric look.

If you want a solid look over a sheeted area, I have added a few more coats and sanded, or painted a couple coats of primer over those areas and sanded. I did this on my Fokker D.XXI. The nose and turtle deck were solid, as was the entire wing.

 

[cyclone3350]

Polycrylic! Koverall and Polycrylic is by far my favorite way to finish a plane and no bad smells. I brush it on straight out of the can with a foam brush. Usually about 2 coats are required if you want a fabric look.

View attachment 216675 View attachment 216676 View attachment 216677 View attachment 216678

If you want a solid look over a sheeted area, I have added a few more coats and sanded, or painted a couple coats of primer over those areas and sanded. I did this on my Fokker D.XXI. The nose and turtle deck were solid, as was the entire wing.
View attachment 216679
View attachment 216680

I am liking this subject. I have been elect guy so, WB finishes have been my drug of choice for years. I too, have used polycrylic over Koveral followed by latex with excellent results.( I think I will try the foam brush next time ) What I am now learning, as I was ignorant to, is that gas & latex R compatible. Please tell that this is unequivocal without a doubt the truth. My ( hopefully soon to be started L-4 ) will be a gasser. I will also be using & purchased in large quantities, Koveral. I have also stocked up on Klass Kote primer. I have seen this used as a sealer for Koveral, but it is a gas warfare weapon like dope. I will use the Klass Kote, but if I can go into the future with polycrylic, then that would be my preferred path.

 

[cyclone3350]

BTW @FlyingTyger, way cool on the L-4

 

[Taildragger]

I am liking this subject. I have been elect guy so, WB finishes have been my drug of choice for years. I too, have used polycrylic over Koveral followed by latex with excellent results.( I think I will try the foam brush next time ) What I am now learning, as I was ignorant to, is that gas & latex R compatible. Please tell that this is unequivocal without a doubt the truth. My ( hopefully soon to be started L-4 ) will be a gasser. I will also be using & purchased in large quantities, Koveral. I have also stocked up on Klass Kote primer. I have seen this used as a sealer for Koveral, but it is a gas warfare weapon like dope. I will use the Klass Kote, but if I can go into the future with polycrylic, then that would be my preferred path.

the L-4 is your 1/3.5 scale build, right?

 

[speedbirdted]

A side note is that you may not even need to use a separate agent to fill the weave of fabric at all if you use latex. Roy Vaillancourt has used latex on bare Coverite and based on what his airplanes look like the process must work pretty darn well. Latex is basically rubber anyhow so I can see why this works as well as it does. Coverite and Koverall are very similar as well so I'm guessing it would work about as well on either.

 

[FlyingTyger]

A side note is that you may not even need to use a separate agent to fill the weave of fabric at all if you use latex. Roy Vaillancourt has used latex on bare Coverite and based on what his airplanes look like the process must work pretty darn well. Latex is basically rubber anyhow so I can see why this works as well as it does. Coverite and Koverall are very similar as well so I'm guessing it would work about as well on either.

I cannot remember, did the Coverite fabric have the adhesive already on it? If so, that would have pre-filled the weave to some degree. But yes, you could use the paint to fill the weave. However, I have found that any sealer will soak into the balsa where it touches the fabric. So the weave in the open bays will fill before the supported areas. If you were to try and fill everything with thinned paint, I feel that you would end up needing a lot of coats since alot more of it would soak into the balsa.

What I am now learning, as I was ignorant to, is that gas & latex R compatible. Please tell that this is unequivocal without a doubt the truth. My ( hopefully soon to be started L-4 ) will be a gasser. I will also be using & purchased in large quantities, Koveral. I have also stocked up on Klass Kote primer. I have seen this used as a sealer for Koveral, but it is a gas warfare weapon like dope. I will use the Klass Kote, but if I can go into the future with polycrylic, then that would be my preferred path.

Roy's Vaillancourt's article in Model Airplane News many many years ago is where I learned to spray with latex. I tried it on my first giant scale warbird build and have never looked back. I had used Pactra Formula-U on a glow model just prior to that and fought so much with maintaining even coats/color. Plus all the clean-up, especially cleaning an airbrush, was a pain. 20 years later, every gasser I have built and finished with paint, except one, has been painted with latex. I have never had a problem or have had the gas attack it or cause damage to the finish. And it is so easy to use. Plus it keeps my wife happy, who is very sensitive to smells.
My Fokker D.XXI (silver plane previously pictured) was sprayed with Rustoleum for no other reason than the convenience of spray cans. That finish did not hold up nearly as well as any of my latex paint jobs. I found it tended to crack where the fabric flexed in the open bays.

 

[FlyingTyger]

I am liking this subject. I have been elect guy so, WB finishes have been my drug of choice for years. I too, have used polycrylic over Koveral followed by latex with excellent results.( I think I will try the foam brush next time ) What I am now learning, as I was ignorant to, is that gas & latex R compatible. Please tell that this is unequivocal without a doubt the truth. My ( hopefully soon to be started L-4 ) will be a gasser. I will also be using & purchased in large quantities, Koveral. I have also stocked up on Klass Kote primer. I have seen this used as a sealer for Koveral, but it is a gas warfare weapon like dope. I will use the Klass Kote, but if I can go into the future with polycrylic, then that would be my preferred path.

I have looked into Klass Kote since I have a glow model that may need to get recovered/repainted. I sure don't like the price of it but it seems like a great product. And I do not know of anything else available that is glow-proof. I will be interested to hear what your experience will be with it.

 

[cyclone3350]

the L-4 is your 1/3.5 scale build, right?

Yes, a 1/3.5, when I get to it. As soon as the Gee Bee is done.

 

[cyclone3350]

I have looked into Klass Kote since I have a glow model that may need to get recovered/repainted. I sure don't like the price of it but it seems like a great product. And I do not know of anything else available that is glow-proof. I will be interested to hear what your experience will be with it.

There is a club member who swears by it for priming Koveral. I've used it once on Solartex do the white on NE-1 Cub. It only took 2 coats to get what I needed. @ the time I was a doper, & we all know how it takes a zillion shots with the sprayer to get light color dope on. I've used the primer to do the metal parts on the Clipped Wing I've just finished. It was a very high build for filling imperfections & easy to sand. I sprayed latex in both white & red & it took it very well.

@BlockerAviation , looking good my friend. What an awesome story. Hope U get it done for this year.

 

[Off-topic jes]

I would just like to say you are a fantastic builder and I hope to be like you one day my next build is a fourth scale cessna 140 and I’m using your methods to help me put it together thank you!😁👍