4 Metre Glider Scratch Build

What should I build next?


  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

Jackson T

Elite member
Plywood will make the screw hole stronger than balsa alone.
I used magnet to magnet latches to hold the canopy on my Apollo glider. The magnet to magnet bond is very strong. It has only come off once when I flew the airplane into bushes. I got the magnets from a dead brushless motor.
So I've pulled apart my BL motor, how do you get the magnets off?
IMG20190808221818.jpg
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Good idea, I think I'll try this. Do you glue a bit of ply or something on the other side of the balsa for the screw?


So many great ideas! Has the balsa ever snapped from over-bending?
Not a full snap, but I did hear cracking on one which prompted the thin plywood strip backing :D
 

Jackson T

Elite member
Done most of the hatch! Now I just need to get the magnets off my cooked motor and glue them onto the hatch and fuselage.
IMG20190809082632.jpg
IMG20190809082435.jpg
IMG20190809082527.jpg

That moldy looking stuff on the hatch is from when I put the sheet balsa in my brother's car. turns out he had spilled some oil recently, and it wasn't fully cleaned up :(. Oh well, at least it's on the inside!
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
That hatch looks good. The tricky part of gluing the magnets is positioning them so they touch with the hatch closed. Even a slight gap between the magnets reduces the bond. You don't want the magnets to touch too soon and prevent the hatch from completely closing. I had to be satisfied with a close fit. If you come up with a good technique to get it perfect let us know.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
That hatch looks good. The tricky part of gluing the magnets is positioning them so they touch with the hatch closed. Even a slight gap between the magnets reduces the bond. You don't want the magnets to touch too soon and prevent the hatch from completely closing. I had to be satisfied with a close fit. If you come up with a good technique to get it perfect let us know.
I use plastic baggie from random RC parts to keep the two magnets separated just a tiny bit and then set them with epoxy into both the hatch and fuselage at the same time. Let it sit for a day to cure really really well before opening it up or it'll be a sticky mess than never sits level (ask me how I know :p). When it comes time to open it up, the plastic might stick to the epoxy a little bit, but since it's both sides of the baggie the magnets separate easily and then the plastic can be peeled away more carefully without breaking the balsa.
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
I use plastic baggie from random RC parts to keep the two magnets separated just a tiny bit and then set them with epoxy into both the hatch and fuselage at the same time.
Sounds doable. You'll have to be sparing with the epoxy so it doesn't sneak around the plastic and form an epoxy bond between the hatch and fuselage. I'll try this next time.

Speaking of epoxies, 5 minute epoxy doesn't bond well to the magnets. They will easily come off. It has to be 30 minute cure or longer. I used CA glue. It bonds to metal very well but it can migrate so gluing the hatch down with it is a risk.
 
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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
<rant>
I know they try to sell 5, 15, and 20 minute boxes they claim contain epoxy, but I call BS on that. I firmly believe that a modeler should not buy anything less than 30 minute epoxy. Anything less doesn't penetrate, doesn't guarantee a waterproof seal, has much less strength, and generally just makes a big mess to clean up when it fails to work right, which happens more often than not.

Just my 2 cents and personal experience here, but I say don't waste the money.
</rant>
 

Jackson T

Elite member
Magnets installed! First I cut a recess in the hatch so the magnets sit flush with the side thingys, and glued them in with CA. I decided to put some reinforcement at the rear between the magnets with some 5mm x 3mm, as it felt a bit weak.
IMG20190810101126.jpg

Then I measured from the magnet to the inside of the hatch top, and made a mark on the inside of the fuselage that far down plus the width of the magnet. (sorry for the fuzzy photo, the camera didn't want to focus).
IMG20190810111754.jpg
Then I glued in a small piece of balsa to act as a shelf for the magnet, and glued the magnet on top.
IMG20190810101038.jpg
The left hand side is perfect! the magnets just touch, and the hatch surface sits perfectly flush with the fuse. The right hand side magnet is mounted a tad high, so the hatch is raised like half a mm or something from the fuse. You only notice when you get up close and look for it. Overall I'm very happy with how it all turned out!
 

Jackson T

Elite member
Looking good! Some extra reinforcement at the hole the paddle pop goes into could be helpful - or maybe moving the paddle pop back just a little to sit inside the trailing edge spar piece.
Yeah, my dad suggested maybe putting the paddle pop stick in the trailing edge, but I was sceptical of it splitting the trailing edge. Maybe if I used something thinner...
Did you reinforce the slot in the rib with the vertical grain? That’ll be a weak point due to how close the slot is to the edge of the rib.
It has the normal 2.5mm thick horizontal grain rib, as well as the 1.5mm vertical gran balsa you see in the photo, so it has 4mm total thickness with two grain directions.
 

Jackson T

Elite member
@Jackson T - I am so looking forward to the covering process on this one! o_O
Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of work. Using a clothes iron isn't exactly ideal either, but at least I didn't have to pay for it ;). On my first plane, I overshrunk the tailplane with a heat gun, and the shrinking film broke the trailing edge :eek:. At least this time all the trailing edges and stuff are pretty sturdy, and I have a bit more practice.