Airtronics Olympic II electric sailplane build

[GliderFlyer]

I think I'm ready to glue the motor mount on. The additional fiberglass layer went on fine. You can't really tell in the photo, but the balloon left some ridges on the inside. The motor still has enough clearance though.

 

[GliderFlyer]

Here goes. This was the best way I could think of to clamp the firewall

Hopefully the rubberbands won't stick too much. I used epoxy because I wanted time to work and gap-filling abilities. I glued it with the motor in so that it would be aligned and I know that there will be room for the wires.

 

[rockyboy]

Excellent clamping method! I think the rubber bands will be easy enough to pull / shave off and well worth the effort. Nicely done!

 

[GliderFlyer]

Here are some pictures of the results. The mount went over the bottom by about 1.5mm. Should I sand it out and lose the circle shape, or glue some wood to the bottom and sand that to make the fuse circular?

 

[GliderFlyer]

I just had another thought about the nose. I can continue to build the nose past the motor mount to be able to fit a smaller spinner. If I do that, then I can sand the excess mount flush with the fuselage. The question then is should I go for a smaller spinner?
This is not the spinner I intend to use, but probably something this size.

 

[TooJung2Die]

I would sand the firewall smooth with the fuselage. The spinner in the photo looks good but it should have less gap behind it.

 

[Taildragger]

I would sand the firewall smooth with the fuselage. The spinner in the photo looks good but it should have less gap behind it.

I think if he move it back more the prop adapter would be rubbing on the firewall

 

[leaded50]

Here are some pictures of the results. The mount went over the bottom by about 1.5mm. Should I sand it out and lose the circle shape, or glue some wood to the bottom and sand that to make the fuse circular?
View attachment 192651 View attachment 192652 View attachment 192653 View attachment 192654

do as you please, as long you get the lines even

 

[leaded50]

I think if he move it back more the prop adapter would be rubbing on the firewall

You can make a thin "fuselage strip" following the contours of the front to fill more the gap too.

 

[quorneng]

It will not be load bearing so the gap can be filled with soft balsa block and sanded to match the spinner profile.

 

[GliderFlyer]

Wow, I modified my alerts to exclude likes, but for some reason, I have not seen alerts for replies to this thread. I gotta fix that.
I am choosing to build on the nose to use a smaller spinner. The prop adapter in the photo is put as far in as it can. I will sand the motor mount's circle shape down to fit the fuselage, and build across the gap with a harder wood (not balsa) because I know from experience that hard landings can dent balsa.
I don't want to do any work on the nose until I get the spinner* so I can work with it. In the mean time, I have servos and pushrods to install and a the rear fuselage needs sheeting. After that, the wings


*This might not be anytime soon because I am currently saving up all funds to purchase a new TX. I'm about 30% there so far.

 

[GliderFlyer]

http://68.196.234.184:888/Skybench/index.html?http://68.196.234.184:888/Skybench/home.html
Yes!! I have been waiting for them to get this website back up and they finally did!

 

[GliderFlyer]

The wings are next. I need to get the parts for spoiler construction though. I will be building both inboard panels at the same time, to save time and to be consistent. I dry fitted the ribs to the spars.

From front to back: A B C

that's A grain, B grain, C grain. I thought it would be stronger if I line it up that way, but I don't think it will make a difference if I crash it hard enough.

 

[Bricks]

The wings are next. I need to get the parts for spoiler construction though. I will be building both inboard panels at the same time, to save time and to be consistent. I dry fitted the ribs to the spars.
View attachment 193505
From front to back: A B C
View attachment 193506
but I don't think it will make a difference if I crash it hard enough.

Never does ,,,,,,,, I am surprised to see grain running in different directions for ribs

 

[GliderFlyer]

I went to the hobby shop today to pick up some wood for the wing and spoilers. I got every part I needed, except because of balsa shortages, they were out of most 3/32 balsa strip sizes. So I got two 3/32x 1'' balsa strips that I will strip into 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch pieces. It turns out that they were out of 1/4 x 1'' trailing edge stock too, but there was 5/16 x 1 1/4 trailing edge stock in 1/4 x 1'' holder. I didn't realize that until I got home
I guess I could cut it to size, or keep it the same. Is there a rule for spoiler size in RES or Nostalgia sailplanes?

 

[GliderFlyer]

I started the wing today. The balsa striping did not go well(I do not have a balsa stripper, so I attempted to make one, but that didn't work well, destroying one of my 3/32x1" strips) so I ended slicing the 3/32x1" balsa in half . There is a quarter inch excess at the top, which will be trimmed later. I put wax paper over the plans. before beginning. Because one of the 3/32x1" strips is not useable for the leading edge, I will probably use some of my own wood, that is thicker than 3/32. I have 1/8 balsa, which should be fine, right?

 

[Timmy]

Yet another project I've missed! And i love watching people build balsa stuff. Great work so far!

 

[GliderFlyer]

More progress today:
I glued in the leading edge, using 1/8" balsa for the rib reinforcements.
Glue is drying

Here's what the trailing edge rib reinforcements look like after they are trimmed. It blends in OK.

All the glue on the wing was applied using a paintbrush. It seems to work better than using the glue bottle. I hope that the leading edge rib reinforcements blend in OK because the leading edge is spruce, while the reinforcements are balsa.

 

[GliderFlyer]

I actually got a lot of work done on the wing yesterday, but didn't get around to posting it. I drilled the holes in the root ribs for the jointer, that went well. I also installed the sheeting on the bottom of the wing. This was the only part of the wing that I used thin CA for. Then I glued in the root ribs, which also went well. Then I glued in the top spar. After that, I glued in the front root rib shear, using epoxy. Finally, I glued in the front parts of the W1a ribs, which I forgot to take pictures of. All that is left for the inboard panels is the shear webs, spar spacers, and dihedral tube installation.
Pics:

 

[GliderFlyer]

I have fallen behind on posting. Here is a list of all the things that have happened:
shear webs glued in
Spar spacers glued in
Bottom sheeting cracked (dang thin CA)
Excess spars, leading & trailing edges trimmed at the root,
root rib sanded for a flush fit (lots of sanding)
jointer tubes roughened and cleaned
jointer tubes spot epoxied
jointer tubes glued in with microballoons
rear shear web glued in.
Lots of photos for you all to see: