ACE Guppy Scratch Build

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Gluing in the main bulkhead...

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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
No kidding. It's all wonky angles. Did you line it up to the fuselage top view or eyeball it?

I did line it up on the top view of the fuselage plan and clamped it all together then I had to pick it up to get glue in the right spot and of course the clamps moved so I did that again and then discovered that the angle of the fuselage wasn't being clamped flat against part of the former so I had to pick it up and move it and clamp it some more and generally it was just tricky. I haven't gone in the workshop this morning yet to look at it and see the results....
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
Wow. Pulse one channel in 1975. That's hard to imagine. 1966 would have been my guess. I bought a decent 6 channel radio in 1979 or '80 and remember it being fairly economical.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
The front was so stiff I couldn't easily pull it together for the nose, so I added a little ammonia and clamped it together to get some curve.

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And I also discovered something new for me - ammonia dissolves Superphatic! So I'm going to need to reglue the middle former too...
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
After a break due to family drama (caring for an elder parent across the country is challenging and knocked the motivation out of me for a bit) I'm getting a little time back in the shop now.

So over the last couple days I glued a rough nose block on the front...

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And glued some bracing for the wing hold down dowels...
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And the cross grain sheeting on the bottom

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And starting on the servo rails..

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And some final shaping and blocking on the motor pylon...

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And last of all I cut a couple 1/16" strips, soaked them in ammonia, and gently bent them around a form made of pins stuck into a thick slab of balsa...

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Once the bent balsa dries up tomorrow I'll spread some glue on the pieces and clamp it back into place again, then do some bracing on the inside of the shape.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
We're all on the same page with the faux motors! :ROFLMAO:

And as a bonus, especially on this build, a faux motor will help push weight further forward and counteract a little of the tail weight.

Work is slow but progressing... finished up the servo rails - just need to CA soak the servo screw holes.

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And the inner parts of the vertical stabilizer and rudder begins.

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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Interior framing for the vertical stabilizer & rudder. Glue only at the ends of the two parallel pieces where the rudder will be cut off.

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Nice and sturdy - ready to be cut apart!
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Separated! Just needs a little more sanding and extra blocking for the hinges and this will be ready for covering.
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Time to start the horizontal stabilizer. I didn't like the sharp corners of the origonal design, so I used a flexible curve to lay out a line of pins.
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Same process at the vertical - ammonia to soften up two 1/16" strips, then bend it in place to dry.
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Once the strips dried, time to add glue and pin it back into the curve again. Doing some test fitting of a potential elevator piece and framing too...
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