Bird of Time Balsa Kit Build Thread

[TexMechsRobot]

Lol I will be abandoning this thread. I don't intend to update it since it is just a build thread. When you build yours, if you have specific questions and use the Flite Test forum, I'll be happy to lend my experience.

I do have the spoiler/flap kit from them but did not use the flap side of the kit just yet.

 

[Konrad]

OK,
I for one look at flight testing and adjustments as part of the build, and would expect to see it in detail in a build thread. But...

 

[TexMechsRobot]

OK,
I for one look at flight testing and adjustments as part of the build, and would expect to see it in detail in a build thread. But...

Then, by all means, include them in your build thread. Happy building!

 

[RCMAN]

Sweet! Nice power up on the glider!

 

[nhk750]

Got to see the BOT fly today, so beautiful! Then while I was in a holding pattern, waiting for Tex to land the BOT, I MELTED DOWN THE ESC in my Bix 3 and crashed. Minor dammage, nothing that glue and tape wont fix, and a larger ESC this time.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

I took this out flying a couple of weeks ago and decided it was a good idea to land with a tail wind. My BoT tends to tip stall pretty good anyway and I was turning left about 50 feet up lining up for my final approach and it just stalled. The left wing tip was already banked low and so it just started to fall out of the sky. I was able to rudder over and straighten it out but it was in a deep dive by that point about 20 feet AGL. It went behind a hill and I had full up elevator but I couldn't see it and I figured it just did a nose dive. Suddenly, it came straight up, stalled again, winged over to the right, and slid through the air sideways to the ground with the right wing tip striking first. The wing was perpendicular to the ground when it hit. The impact was behind a hill so I couldn't really see it but I feared the worst.

All things considered, the damage wasn't that bad. I cracked the top 1/8" balsa spar in the outboard panel and crunched the 1/16" balsa sheeting in the same area as well. There's also a bit of cracked sheeting further out on the wing tip but the spar there is still good so I'm just going to leave that alone.

For repairs, I plan to glue the cracked spar in place and brace it with some 1/8" sheer web. I'll also use some CA glue to stabilize the cracked sheeting and then glass over it. There shouldn't be much wing loading that far out on the wing so I don't feel like I need to completely rebuild the broken portions.

 

[Joker 53150]

Ouch!

 

[nhk750]

Nice thing about balsa, you can rebuild/ repair and it will look perfect again. Sorry for your crash of such a nice plane, hopefully it will be ready for the open house.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

It will be. That's my goal. I also plan to have the Sig 4 Star 20 EP done for that. I'll be bringing the Bird of Time, the 4 Star, and the FT DR1. Three very different planes to showcase different areas of the hobby.

 

[cranialrectosis]

ready for the open house.

????

 

[TexMechsRobot]

We are both members of the same club near Seattle and our club is hosting an open house on August 5th.

 

[nhk750]

Your completing that plane in two weeks? Wow, Im still months away from finishing my Taylorcraft. I guess im flying too much lately and not building. Im at the lake right now flying my repaired Tundra.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

I work too fast lol.

I did some repairs on the BoT. I cut a 1" slot in the trailing and leading edge where the crack happened and epoxied a .020" carbon strip inside. I also wicked some thin CA into the crack to grab any fibers that were still close together and strengthen the wood itself. The I braced the inside of the sheeting with more 1/16" sheeting and wicked thin CA into the crack here too. I was able to flatten it out pretty good and with a light sanding, you couldn't feel the crack even though it remained visible. Then I glued in a 1/16" sheer web of hard balsa between the cracked spar and did the same CA trick. Then I overlayed the sheeting and leading edge with .75 oz glass with thinned 20 minute epoxy and let that dry over night.

Later this evening, I'll sand it smooth and then put the covering back on. I expect it'll hold up just fine as long as I don't try to land on it again.

 

[nhk750]

Nice carbon reinforcement, I will remember that one.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

Good as new.

 

[nhk750]

Got to love balsa for repairs. Looks great!