Pieliker96
Elite member
Twin Power Pack C with a 3000 4s, 40A ESCs, and counterrotating 9x7x3 props
DHC-4 Caribou | 73" Span
- Thread starter Pieliker96
- Start date
FlyerInStyle
Elite member
wow! I expected something more to be honest.
The Fopster
Master member
I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but WOW. That's a fantastic build - and those flaps are amazing. Good luck for the maiden - that thing deserves to fly like an angel. Fingers crossed for you here...
Marzipan
Well-known member
SSgt Duramax
Junior Member
He could do twin 3536s. The increase of weight would be modest when put in context with the rest of the model.bigger one's than he's got, LoL!
Marzipan
Well-known member
@SSgt Duramax I was just being cheeky. he did comment that they're just enough for it to get out of it's own way.
SSgt Duramax
Junior Member
I have some no name ones on order which is why I mentioned it. If they work out I'll spread the word.@SSgt Duramax I was just being cheeky. he did comment that they're just enough for it to get out of it's own way.
Pieliker96
Elite member
The maiden flight went not great, not terrible. It made it back in one piece but there's definitely some gremlins to work out before I'll feel comfortable flying it again. The trouble appeared to be in the electrical system, likely relating to the arduino and its control scheme. It would occasionally roll fairly hard to the left at what seemed like regular intervals, and the left main retract came up on takeoff during the second flight and would not come back down. I'll be reverting the ailerons to run directly off the receiver and sacrifice flaperon functionality. I believe my muxing scheme is still valid, though it should be implemented on something more robust than a $3 knockoff arduino, like a flight controller.
In other news the plane took an extremely harsh tail-smacking landing and an asymmetric gear landing just fine with no structural damage whatsoever. CG seemed spot on, as did takeoff and climb performance. When the thing wasn't actively trying to crash itself, it actually flew pretty well
In other news the plane took an extremely harsh tail-smacking landing and an asymmetric gear landing just fine with no structural damage whatsoever. CG seemed spot on, as did takeoff and climb performance. When the thing wasn't actively trying to crash itself, it actually flew pretty well
Pieliker96
Elite member
Well I took it out for a couple more flights and it flies great but the problem still isn't solved. Moving the ailerons to directly off the RX seemed to improve the situation, but it still occasionally rolls hard to the left. The root cause seems to be the left motor cutting out intermittently. I've done a range test, recalibrated the ESCs and retarded the motor timing from 15 to 8 degrees with no change. I've done extensive full-throttle ground runs which so far have been unable to replicate the issue. I'm going to trace the entire wiring system with a multimeter, jiggle every connection, and leave no stone unturned. The most recent flight ended in an off-runway gear-down landing after a particularly bad bout of flight control loss, which did considerable damage to the retract system. I won't fly it again until I'm confident I've found the cause of the problem, and repaired the damage.
Besides the electrical gremlins, it's proven that it flies well enough to warrant releasing the plans - I didn't need a single click of trim! Preliminary flap testing suggests a moderate pitch-up tendency, and rudder can be mixed to counter adverse yaw. I was able to perform a level-attitude landing without flaps which bodes well for wheelbarrow prospects. I'll be working on finalizing the plans over the next few days, they should be out soon.
Besides the electrical gremlins, it's proven that it flies well enough to warrant releasing the plans - I didn't need a single click of trim! Preliminary flap testing suggests a moderate pitch-up tendency, and rudder can be mixed to counter adverse yaw. I was able to perform a level-attitude landing without flaps which bodes well for wheelbarrow prospects. I'll be working on finalizing the plans over the next few days, they should be out soon.
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L Edge
Master member
Could you explain your thrust reversing setup in detail.
Points of interest:
1) motor/esc/prop size (range? because it determines model size)
2) do you program it in the tx or do you need to buy additional programming device?
3) Website for yours so I can download manual.
4) Can it be used for pusher/puller model setup?
Points of interest:
1) motor/esc/prop size (range? because it determines model size)
2) do you program it in the tx or do you need to buy additional programming device?
3) Website for yours so I can download manual.
4) Can it be used for pusher/puller model setup?
Pieliker96
Elite member
1) Flitetest Power Pack C Twin with 9x7x3s
2) The ESCs (Hobbywing Flyfun V5 40A) come with a reversing lead and can be programmed with TX and RX
3) https://www.hobbywing.com/products/enpdf/FlyFunV5en.pdf
4) I don't see why not
BlockerAviation
Legendary member
Dude that's such a neat plane. I've been looking to build one for years but haven't brought myself to design one up. I'm sorry if I missed it but what power system are you using?
BlockerAviation
Legendary member
Nevermind, just saw it in the post above
Taildragger
Legendary member
twin flitetest 2218 radials with 9x7x3 props
Taildragger
Legendary member
lol I was about to tell you
Pieliker96
Elite member
I just had an epiphany: These motors are the same ones I used on the Edge 1080 Project, which exhibited eerily similar symptoms. I chocked it up to bad soldering on my part, but one of the motors still stalled after I redid the soldering in a way which I knew worked. In addition to making sure the wiring is solid, I'll try swapping the motors and see if the problem moves to the right side, in which case I've got a bad motor.
L Edge
Master member
Thanks for the info.
2 questions:
With 2 ESC's for multi, how did you trigger both to go into reverse at the same time?
Did you program differential thrust in throttle and rudder and any interaction when you put motors in reverse(move rudder by mistake) and offset the thrust?
All stores are out of the 40 amp. Slow boat from China.
2 questions:
With 2 ESC's for multi, how did you trigger both to go into reverse at the same time?
Did you program differential thrust in throttle and rudder and any interaction when you put motors in reverse(move rudder by mistake) and offset the thrust?
All stores are out of the 40 amp. Slow boat from China.
Pieliker96
Elite member
Both ESCs are connected to the same throttle signal and reversing signal - no differential thrust, no mixing, just straight out of the RX to the ESCs.
Pieliker96
Elite member
Tail Feathers
Start with the horizontal stabilizer. Get most of the perimeter and the counterbalance slots cut out, then transfer the green reference marks to the back of the sheet and cut the elevator hinges, making sure to only do so between the counterbalances. Cut a 45-bevel towards the elevator on both sides and reinforce the hinges with hot glue. Give the leading edges a nice wide bevel, then inlay two bamboo barbeque skewers. Finally, fold the halves of the elevator over, positioning the fold to minimize binding of the control surface.
Next, cut out the two rudder pieces. Like with the elevator, transfer the reference marks to the back and score-cut the rudder hinge lines on the opposite side, making sure to leave the counterbalance uncut. Bevel the control surfaces and reinforce them with hot glue. Then, glue the center of the rudder onto one half, aligning with the scored line and slot in the vStab skin. Glue the skin over the rudder, making sure the airfoil profile stays somewhat symmetric while keeping binding to a minimum.
Finally, slot the horizontal stabilizer into the vertical and install the tail servos. I recommend something beefier than your standard 9g to deal with the stiffer hinges and large surfaces, here I'm using a pair of EMAX ES09MD IIs: Digital, metal-gear servos with torque around 2.5kg*cm (35 oz*in). I kept the seam of the hStab on the bottom, though I'm not sure it makes much of a difference. You can also fill in the slot in the rudder that was used to make clearance during installation of the horizontal.
Rear Empennage
Laminate the formers shown below and build up the supporting structure for the servo which will actuate the upper gear door. In general, try to remove paper between laminated formers: This keeps weight down and reduces the potential for them to debond under loading perpendicular to the surface. Note that the slotted cutout on the bottom of the wide former is on the same side as this servo mount.
Next, install the formers onto the tailfeather assembly as shown. The hole in the smaller should be on the left as viewed from behind the tail looking forwards. Now is also a good time to install the pushrod, control horn, and pushrod guide for the elevator. The latter is not included in the plans, just a simple strip of foam which zip-ties are embedded into. This prevents the control rod from flexing under up-elevator load.
Prepare the two aft empennage / tailcone skins as shown below. Install the fore one first, taking care around the servo and vStab leading edge root, then test-fit the aft skin. Take note of where the rudder pushrod ends up, then install a pushrod guide in similar fashion to the elevator. Test-fit the control horn, then pass the pushrod through the skin and glue it on, installing the control horn later.
Fuselage
Start off with the three rear fuselage formers and the two locating nibs. Fold the tabs up on the one former - these help to constrain and align the lower cargo bay door / ramp - then laminate the other two. The oval cutout is at the top of each former. Push the locating nibs into the hole and put the former with the folded-up tabs onto the side where it is the lowest relative to the other formers: The former on the opposite side from the tabbed former should be offset up.
Next, laminate the partial fore former with the fore former itself, and cut out the main fuselage skin. Install the fore former at the front of the skin, at the lowered section, with the partial former facing aft: this is used to locate the hatch later, the nose will join to the front of the fore former - the former should be flush with the front skin. Likewise, the laminated former made in the previous step is to be installed at the back such that two out of the three foam thicknesses make contact with the fuselage skin: the plane defining the end of the fuselage skin is the same as the plane between the former with the tabs and the rest of the former itself. Tape can be helpful here to pull the sides of the skin parallel while the glue cures.
Next, fold these into the main bulkhead spacer and lower bay door servo cage. Verify the fold direction (A/B) of the former by test-fitting it with its relevant formers.
Next, build up the upper and lower carbo bay doors. The thin middle plate between the upper and lower surface of the lower bay door goes above the bottom plate and underneath the top plate, and the pie-slice sides go up beside them - then, embed a control horn into the foam. Folding on the upper door should be self-explanatory, look at the cutouts at the front for reference. Don't forget the bevel at the back for the hinge point!
Attach the bottom door to the bottom skin - I just CA'd paper to both sides, though something like packing tape may work well here as well. Install the bottom door servo and its cage, hook up the linkage, then run an extension forwards. Also install the two battery tray supports, step facing aft. Set the location of these side to side with the main bulkhead formers.
Build up the cargo bay box with an A fold. Then, install it and the main bulkhead formers into the fuselage: The tabs slot into the rear bulkhead former, the slanted back nests into the formers at the rear of the fuselage.
Finishing the Empennage
Attach the upper cargo bay door to the tail assembly - I'd recommend doing it temporarily at this point. Add a linkage to the door and make sure you've got a decent amount of travel going on: At least 6 inches of deflection at the edge, with 2 inches below parallel with the underside of the existing skin is a good start.
Get the next skin and its stiffeners. Attach the stiffeners from the corners to the center of the inner top skin, then glue it all to the tail assembly, keeping the flaps beside the cargo bay unglued. Verify travel limits of the cargo bay door and tape all the wiring along the inner upper skin.
Finally, install the entire tail/empennage assembly onto the fuselage. Pull the wires through the rear formers, then trim the skirts around the cargo bay door for clearance. Attach the upper bay door permanently if not already done, then roll the paper over the exposed edge of the skirt pieces and glue them into place, flanking the sides of the bay doors.
EDIT: I have experienced problems with the upper cargo bay door fatiguing at the servo horn attach point, catching the airstream, and buckling back into it. The door I built on the prototype has thinner stiffeners than those on the plans but the following couldn't hurt: To fix this, I'd recommend reinforcing the door with barbecue skewers along its length and adding a tab which constrains it against the lower door, as shown below.
Nose
Start with the main former, forehead former, and skins. Assemble as shown, making sure to bevel parts of the skins so they make nice seams. Next, fold up the main nose skin and join the ends into one continuous skin - though leave the gap at the top for the retract strut. Then, glue the two assemblies together, taking care to line everything up.
Next, laminate the next smallest formers. Install them into the nose such that the parting line between the laminates aligns with the foremost of the seam between the windshield and nose skin and 1+1/4" back from the front of the nose skin. Finally, install the next smallest former flush with the front of the nose skin.
Now, assemble the two retract plates. Note that a 5g steering servo is shown here whereas the plans have been updated for wider - I used a ES09MD II after stripping out the original plastic-geared 5g. Glue the top plate with the servo to the retract unit and the servo to the plate and set up the steering linkage. Then, install the entire assembly into the slots in the nose, with the plywood coming foremost to the front of the nose skin and former.
Install the three tapered nose pieces, adding bevels on the backside to give them nice seams.
Glue in the nose gear door servos (I used 5g EMAX ES9051s) and their linkages. I opted for a bit of control horn wire embedded into the foam which rides inside a slot in the servo horn. It took a good bit of fanagling to get the geometry just right. It may be possible to do a purely mechanical system (as will be done on the mains), however for scale accuracy these gear doors should be up only unless the gear is in transit: they can be closed when the gear is down.
Hatch and Battery Tray
Assemble the hatch as shown below. Peel the paper off the locating tabs facing outwards to bond them better to the hatch and pevent any delamination of paper from installation / removal cycles. Also, ensure the partial formers are at least 3/8" back from the edges of the skin on both sides for clearance during installation. Once you're done you can embed magnets into the alignment tabs and fuselage sides to retain the hatch - I used 1/2" (12mm) diameter wafer neodymium magnets.
Take the battery tray, add stiffeners of sorts to the bottom to prevent the battery straps from tearing out the foam (I used strip balsa, something like popsicle sticks would work well here), then smear a layer of hot glue on top for battery adhesion and install the battery straps.
Finally, glue the nose onto the fuselage and install the battery tray. Use the hatch as a spacer to ensure it will fit while the nose is glued on. Pass the wires from the nose down under the battery tray, and remember to install the triangular braces to help with nose gear loading - just make sure the hatch tabs have enough clearance.
Congratulations, you're a good bit of the way there to being done!
Start with the horizontal stabilizer. Get most of the perimeter and the counterbalance slots cut out, then transfer the green reference marks to the back of the sheet and cut the elevator hinges, making sure to only do so between the counterbalances. Cut a 45-bevel towards the elevator on both sides and reinforce the hinges with hot glue. Give the leading edges a nice wide bevel, then inlay two bamboo barbeque skewers. Finally, fold the halves of the elevator over, positioning the fold to minimize binding of the control surface.
Next, cut out the two rudder pieces. Like with the elevator, transfer the reference marks to the back and score-cut the rudder hinge lines on the opposite side, making sure to leave the counterbalance uncut. Bevel the control surfaces and reinforce them with hot glue. Then, glue the center of the rudder onto one half, aligning with the scored line and slot in the vStab skin. Glue the skin over the rudder, making sure the airfoil profile stays somewhat symmetric while keeping binding to a minimum.
Finally, slot the horizontal stabilizer into the vertical and install the tail servos. I recommend something beefier than your standard 9g to deal with the stiffer hinges and large surfaces, here I'm using a pair of EMAX ES09MD IIs: Digital, metal-gear servos with torque around 2.5kg*cm (35 oz*in). I kept the seam of the hStab on the bottom, though I'm not sure it makes much of a difference. You can also fill in the slot in the rudder that was used to make clearance during installation of the horizontal.
Rear Empennage
Laminate the formers shown below and build up the supporting structure for the servo which will actuate the upper gear door. In general, try to remove paper between laminated formers: This keeps weight down and reduces the potential for them to debond under loading perpendicular to the surface. Note that the slotted cutout on the bottom of the wide former is on the same side as this servo mount.
Next, install the formers onto the tailfeather assembly as shown. The hole in the smaller should be on the left as viewed from behind the tail looking forwards. Now is also a good time to install the pushrod, control horn, and pushrod guide for the elevator. The latter is not included in the plans, just a simple strip of foam which zip-ties are embedded into. This prevents the control rod from flexing under up-elevator load.
Prepare the two aft empennage / tailcone skins as shown below. Install the fore one first, taking care around the servo and vStab leading edge root, then test-fit the aft skin. Take note of where the rudder pushrod ends up, then install a pushrod guide in similar fashion to the elevator. Test-fit the control horn, then pass the pushrod through the skin and glue it on, installing the control horn later.
Fuselage
Start off with the three rear fuselage formers and the two locating nibs. Fold the tabs up on the one former - these help to constrain and align the lower cargo bay door / ramp - then laminate the other two. The oval cutout is at the top of each former. Push the locating nibs into the hole and put the former with the folded-up tabs onto the side where it is the lowest relative to the other formers: The former on the opposite side from the tabbed former should be offset up.
Next, laminate the partial fore former with the fore former itself, and cut out the main fuselage skin. Install the fore former at the front of the skin, at the lowered section, with the partial former facing aft: this is used to locate the hatch later, the nose will join to the front of the fore former - the former should be flush with the front skin. Likewise, the laminated former made in the previous step is to be installed at the back such that two out of the three foam thicknesses make contact with the fuselage skin: the plane defining the end of the fuselage skin is the same as the plane between the former with the tabs and the rest of the former itself. Tape can be helpful here to pull the sides of the skin parallel while the glue cures.
Next, fold these into the main bulkhead spacer and lower bay door servo cage. Verify the fold direction (A/B) of the former by test-fitting it with its relevant formers.
Next, build up the upper and lower carbo bay doors. The thin middle plate between the upper and lower surface of the lower bay door goes above the bottom plate and underneath the top plate, and the pie-slice sides go up beside them - then, embed a control horn into the foam. Folding on the upper door should be self-explanatory, look at the cutouts at the front for reference. Don't forget the bevel at the back for the hinge point!
Attach the bottom door to the bottom skin - I just CA'd paper to both sides, though something like packing tape may work well here as well. Install the bottom door servo and its cage, hook up the linkage, then run an extension forwards. Also install the two battery tray supports, step facing aft. Set the location of these side to side with the main bulkhead formers.
Build up the cargo bay box with an A fold. Then, install it and the main bulkhead formers into the fuselage: The tabs slot into the rear bulkhead former, the slanted back nests into the formers at the rear of the fuselage.
Finishing the Empennage
Attach the upper cargo bay door to the tail assembly - I'd recommend doing it temporarily at this point. Add a linkage to the door and make sure you've got a decent amount of travel going on: At least 6 inches of deflection at the edge, with 2 inches below parallel with the underside of the existing skin is a good start.
Get the next skin and its stiffeners. Attach the stiffeners from the corners to the center of the inner top skin, then glue it all to the tail assembly, keeping the flaps beside the cargo bay unglued. Verify travel limits of the cargo bay door and tape all the wiring along the inner upper skin.
Finally, install the entire tail/empennage assembly onto the fuselage. Pull the wires through the rear formers, then trim the skirts around the cargo bay door for clearance. Attach the upper bay door permanently if not already done, then roll the paper over the exposed edge of the skirt pieces and glue them into place, flanking the sides of the bay doors.
EDIT: I have experienced problems with the upper cargo bay door fatiguing at the servo horn attach point, catching the airstream, and buckling back into it. The door I built on the prototype has thinner stiffeners than those on the plans but the following couldn't hurt: To fix this, I'd recommend reinforcing the door with barbecue skewers along its length and adding a tab which constrains it against the lower door, as shown below.
Nose
Start with the main former, forehead former, and skins. Assemble as shown, making sure to bevel parts of the skins so they make nice seams. Next, fold up the main nose skin and join the ends into one continuous skin - though leave the gap at the top for the retract strut. Then, glue the two assemblies together, taking care to line everything up.
Next, laminate the next smallest formers. Install them into the nose such that the parting line between the laminates aligns with the foremost of the seam between the windshield and nose skin and 1+1/4" back from the front of the nose skin. Finally, install the next smallest former flush with the front of the nose skin.
Now, assemble the two retract plates. Note that a 5g steering servo is shown here whereas the plans have been updated for wider - I used a ES09MD II after stripping out the original plastic-geared 5g. Glue the top plate with the servo to the retract unit and the servo to the plate and set up the steering linkage. Then, install the entire assembly into the slots in the nose, with the plywood coming foremost to the front of the nose skin and former.
Install the three tapered nose pieces, adding bevels on the backside to give them nice seams.
Glue in the nose gear door servos (I used 5g EMAX ES9051s) and their linkages. I opted for a bit of control horn wire embedded into the foam which rides inside a slot in the servo horn. It took a good bit of fanagling to get the geometry just right. It may be possible to do a purely mechanical system (as will be done on the mains), however for scale accuracy these gear doors should be up only unless the gear is in transit: they can be closed when the gear is down.
Hatch and Battery Tray
Assemble the hatch as shown below. Peel the paper off the locating tabs facing outwards to bond them better to the hatch and pevent any delamination of paper from installation / removal cycles. Also, ensure the partial formers are at least 3/8" back from the edges of the skin on both sides for clearance during installation. Once you're done you can embed magnets into the alignment tabs and fuselage sides to retain the hatch - I used 1/2" (12mm) diameter wafer neodymium magnets.
Take the battery tray, add stiffeners of sorts to the bottom to prevent the battery straps from tearing out the foam (I used strip balsa, something like popsicle sticks would work well here), then smear a layer of hot glue on top for battery adhesion and install the battery straps.
Finally, glue the nose onto the fuselage and install the battery tray. Use the hatch as a spacer to ensure it will fit while the nose is glued on. Pass the wires from the nose down under the battery tray, and remember to install the triangular braces to help with nose gear loading - just make sure the hatch tabs have enough clearance.
Congratulations, you're a good bit of the way there to being done!
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Pieliker96
Elite member
Wing Attachment
Cut the four pieces of the wing box, five pieces of the anti-rotation assembly (only three shown in the first picture, the other two being identical to the short middle piece), and the connector retainers out of 1/8" plywood. For the wing box, the top and bottom pieces overlap the side walls. Make sure this is all glued well, it's what'll be taking all of the loads from the wing and transmitting them to the fuselage - I'd recommend wrapping the wing box in a layer of tape or two for some extra insurance. The connector retainers can be aligned simply by installing them into the fuselage and abutting them to the main fuselage bulkhead formers: they should underlap the fuselage skin.
After that, install all the wiring harnesses. I've used XT60s with the little gray grips and some MPX connectors with housings. These are optional, you could go the traditional route of using standard connectors for everything, but doing it this way allows me to just slide the wings on, lock them in, and go without ever having to plug in a connector.
Finally, glue the wing box into the fuselage. This is certainly a "The bigger the gob, the better the job" sorta deal: make absolutely sure it's glued in, then come back around and run a bead or two where it meets with the foam. Sticking a straightedge through the box and sighting it against the horizontal tail is a good way to ensure alignment. When it's on, pass all of the wiring through the main bulkheads and get it connected to your electronics. Also make sure to install the two sheets of foam padding on the front and backside of the interior of the wing box. Don't use an excess of glue here, any that seeps into the way of the wing spars will cause binding and resistance.
Take these pieces and assemble as shown to form the anti-rotation structure: note the shorter "dogbone" with the cutouts either end should be on the bottom. Insert the remaining two wood bits you cut out and drill holes for the wing mounting pins - I used .100" piano wire.
Countersink the underside holes considerably, then glue a sheath of some sort in place with some supporting foam bits. This will guide the wing mounting pins and constrain them within the fuselage.
Finally, slot in your mounting pins, slot the antirotation structure over top, and glue everything together. Once that's done, add a path for the pin to rotate into to secure it from moving up/down - this could also be done with a magnet topside.
Wings
Start with the foam spar core, inner and outer wing skins. Bevel the bottom of one of the skins, tape them together bottomside, then glue the spar into its cutouts. Make sure the leading and trailing edges are aligned. Next, take the wood spars and glue them to both sides of the foam spar core. Add the ribs in their marked locations, with two at the seam between wing skins and one at the very tip of the lower wing skin. One rib is blank and will be installed later. Also make sure to transfer markings to the frontside on the leading edge for the wing fences.
Now, start on the motor pods. Fold them up as shown and add the foam gear plate triplers and cross-member. Install the firewall, motor, and gear mounting plates flush with the rear - adding some tape here is good for extra insurance. Glue the pod onto the fuselage and screw in the retract unit, routing its wire topside. Note that the skinnier side of the pod faces towards the wingtip due to the anhedral of the inner wing sections.
Now get the servos and ESC in. Give the servos a good length of wire out of the fuselage. The pods have a hole included to pass the excess phase wiring through.
Glue a spar doubler to one side of the rear spar on one wing and to the other on the other wing. The result should appear as below:
Next, install the wing onto the plane. Sight the bottom of the wing against the cutout which exposes the plywood connector retainer plate: this sets the wing incidence. Cut a slot in the closest rib for the antirotation tab to fit into. Verify the wing incidence again, then secure the tab well with a continuous laminate of foam on the bottom. Attach the wing-side connectors and their wooden supports to the fuselage side, then cut the blanked rib to fit around, glue in place, and reinforce with more bits of foam. Make sure those connectors are really in there. Add more foam to the antirotation tab, and fair all the reinforcement foam to the tops of the ribs.
Fold over the tops of the wings, gluing them to the ribs and spars. Bevel the trailing edge of both the upper and lower surface, ensuring it forms a sharp edge and concave surface when joined. Glue the foam to the backside of the ribs to set the profile, and keep the trailing edges together tight with tape.
Now is a good time to install both wings and drill a hole for the main spar retaining pin. It can also be retained magnetically on the backside.
Ailerons and Flaps
Take the aileron skin, install the four ribs at their marked locations and do a shallow bevel on the trailing edge of the flat portion. Then, glue the curved portion over and have it meet nicely at the trailing edge: I find setting the curved portion on the ground and bringing the flat side to meet it is easier than the other way around.
Referring to "Hinge Dimensions.jpg" in the plans, where #1 is simply the single-hole hinge and #5 is the hole with a line spaced .500" away (left-to-right, increasing), we need four #1s and four #2s per aileron. These hinges are expected to be made of popsicle sticks. They can be secured with a variety of methods: I chose to use spare servo screws with one hole sufficiently large to allow pivoting, then cut and filed off the pointed tip and secured it with CA. Cut a slot adjacent to the existing cutout to allow the hinges to pivot through the aileron leading edge. Embed the end of the hinge into the upper surface of the aileron, and cut length off until the line meets the lower surface, after which it should be glued.
Allow 1/16-1/8" of clearance for the aileron at the wingtip, then cut strips out of bottom wing skin to embed the hinges. The aileron is located by holding a straightedge across the flat bottom of both the wing and aileron, as well as sighting the trailing edge of the wingtip against the aileron. Make sure to keep the pushrod on the upper surface of the aileron! At its innermost (closest to the motor pod), the trailing edge of the aileron should be 7+15/16" back from the leading edge of the wing. Next, bend the aileron pushrod such that its bend is flush with the wing's (not the aileron's) trailing edge when the servo is in the neutral position. Embed a popsicle stick or control horn into the foam at that position, making sure to cutout a strip to allow the pushrod to pivot through the aileron leading edge, much like the hinges.
The flaps are much the same, just with the entire process done twice and compounded. For attaching the two flaps to themselves, use two #1s and two #4s each - note that the pivot point is the upper hole and that the control linkage hole here faces backwards. The distance from the leading edge of the one flap to the trailing edge of the other should be 3". No extra clearance for the hinges should be required here as the flaps only deflect downwards.
Before installing the second set of hinges (two #3s and two #5s per flap), bend a pushrod wire to fit between the hole further up on the #5 and the bottom hole on the #4 of the most rearwards flap. Add that wire in during assembly (or, if you can unscrew your hinges, after): this sets the deploy angle of the aft flap relative to the fore. Install into the wing such that the edge of the flap meets the plane created by the join of the two wing skins: use a straightedge and the fact that the trailing edge of the flaps should be 9+1/8" from the leading edge of the wing. Vary the angle of the hinges that connect the entire flap assembly to the wing to adjust the rear flap relative to the fore.
The tapered flap is essentially the same. Orient it by sighting it against the aileron and the flap, leaving roughly equal clearance both sides.
Put the finishing touches on the wing: Bevel the long edge of the wingtip plate and glue it to close out the wingtip. Also add the wing fences based on the marks you transferred through the wing skin a while back.
Take this piece, bevel the line where the two split parts meet, then tape and glue to together. Install first the upper rear fuselage deck, then it. Poke a hole for the wing retaining pin, and give it a J-bend at the end such that it can be retained by poking it into the foam.
Start on the nacelles. Laminate and install the formers as shown - note the corner formers at the rear by the retracts, they should have their parting line centered 1/2" from the back of the nacelle structure and retract plates. Then, curl and install two of the three cowl skins, making sure to clock the slots in the larger of the two with the slots in the wing.
Assemble the following pieces and install them onto the cowl and wing. The cooling duct pieces use B-folds. Make sure to get the wings of the largest cooling duct piece down around the wing to join to the cowl, and the exhaust ducting in place.
Glue the smaller of the two remaining formers onto the rear flap as shown. Then, take the larger former, slightly bevel the bottom, glue it into the larger skin, and install it onto the flap. Finally, glue the smaller cardstock piece to the flap as shown.
Well done, there's only a little more now.
Cut the four pieces of the wing box, five pieces of the anti-rotation assembly (only three shown in the first picture, the other two being identical to the short middle piece), and the connector retainers out of 1/8" plywood. For the wing box, the top and bottom pieces overlap the side walls. Make sure this is all glued well, it's what'll be taking all of the loads from the wing and transmitting them to the fuselage - I'd recommend wrapping the wing box in a layer of tape or two for some extra insurance. The connector retainers can be aligned simply by installing them into the fuselage and abutting them to the main fuselage bulkhead formers: they should underlap the fuselage skin.
After that, install all the wiring harnesses. I've used XT60s with the little gray grips and some MPX connectors with housings. These are optional, you could go the traditional route of using standard connectors for everything, but doing it this way allows me to just slide the wings on, lock them in, and go without ever having to plug in a connector.
Finally, glue the wing box into the fuselage. This is certainly a "The bigger the gob, the better the job" sorta deal: make absolutely sure it's glued in, then come back around and run a bead or two where it meets with the foam. Sticking a straightedge through the box and sighting it against the horizontal tail is a good way to ensure alignment. When it's on, pass all of the wiring through the main bulkheads and get it connected to your electronics. Also make sure to install the two sheets of foam padding on the front and backside of the interior of the wing box. Don't use an excess of glue here, any that seeps into the way of the wing spars will cause binding and resistance.
Take these pieces and assemble as shown to form the anti-rotation structure: note the shorter "dogbone" with the cutouts either end should be on the bottom. Insert the remaining two wood bits you cut out and drill holes for the wing mounting pins - I used .100" piano wire.
Countersink the underside holes considerably, then glue a sheath of some sort in place with some supporting foam bits. This will guide the wing mounting pins and constrain them within the fuselage.
Finally, slot in your mounting pins, slot the antirotation structure over top, and glue everything together. Once that's done, add a path for the pin to rotate into to secure it from moving up/down - this could also be done with a magnet topside.
Wings
Start with the foam spar core, inner and outer wing skins. Bevel the bottom of one of the skins, tape them together bottomside, then glue the spar into its cutouts. Make sure the leading and trailing edges are aligned. Next, take the wood spars and glue them to both sides of the foam spar core. Add the ribs in their marked locations, with two at the seam between wing skins and one at the very tip of the lower wing skin. One rib is blank and will be installed later. Also make sure to transfer markings to the frontside on the leading edge for the wing fences.
Now, start on the motor pods. Fold them up as shown and add the foam gear plate triplers and cross-member. Install the firewall, motor, and gear mounting plates flush with the rear - adding some tape here is good for extra insurance. Glue the pod onto the fuselage and screw in the retract unit, routing its wire topside. Note that the skinnier side of the pod faces towards the wingtip due to the anhedral of the inner wing sections.
Now get the servos and ESC in. Give the servos a good length of wire out of the fuselage. The pods have a hole included to pass the excess phase wiring through.
Glue a spar doubler to one side of the rear spar on one wing and to the other on the other wing. The result should appear as below:
Next, install the wing onto the plane. Sight the bottom of the wing against the cutout which exposes the plywood connector retainer plate: this sets the wing incidence. Cut a slot in the closest rib for the antirotation tab to fit into. Verify the wing incidence again, then secure the tab well with a continuous laminate of foam on the bottom. Attach the wing-side connectors and their wooden supports to the fuselage side, then cut the blanked rib to fit around, glue in place, and reinforce with more bits of foam. Make sure those connectors are really in there. Add more foam to the antirotation tab, and fair all the reinforcement foam to the tops of the ribs.
Fold over the tops of the wings, gluing them to the ribs and spars. Bevel the trailing edge of both the upper and lower surface, ensuring it forms a sharp edge and concave surface when joined. Glue the foam to the backside of the ribs to set the profile, and keep the trailing edges together tight with tape.
Now is a good time to install both wings and drill a hole for the main spar retaining pin. It can also be retained magnetically on the backside.
Ailerons and Flaps
Take the aileron skin, install the four ribs at their marked locations and do a shallow bevel on the trailing edge of the flat portion. Then, glue the curved portion over and have it meet nicely at the trailing edge: I find setting the curved portion on the ground and bringing the flat side to meet it is easier than the other way around.
Referring to "Hinge Dimensions.jpg" in the plans, where #1 is simply the single-hole hinge and #5 is the hole with a line spaced .500" away (left-to-right, increasing), we need four #1s and four #2s per aileron. These hinges are expected to be made of popsicle sticks. They can be secured with a variety of methods: I chose to use spare servo screws with one hole sufficiently large to allow pivoting, then cut and filed off the pointed tip and secured it with CA. Cut a slot adjacent to the existing cutout to allow the hinges to pivot through the aileron leading edge. Embed the end of the hinge into the upper surface of the aileron, and cut length off until the line meets the lower surface, after which it should be glued.
Allow 1/16-1/8" of clearance for the aileron at the wingtip, then cut strips out of bottom wing skin to embed the hinges. The aileron is located by holding a straightedge across the flat bottom of both the wing and aileron, as well as sighting the trailing edge of the wingtip against the aileron. Make sure to keep the pushrod on the upper surface of the aileron! At its innermost (closest to the motor pod), the trailing edge of the aileron should be 7+15/16" back from the leading edge of the wing. Next, bend the aileron pushrod such that its bend is flush with the wing's (not the aileron's) trailing edge when the servo is in the neutral position. Embed a popsicle stick or control horn into the foam at that position, making sure to cutout a strip to allow the pushrod to pivot through the aileron leading edge, much like the hinges.
The flaps are much the same, just with the entire process done twice and compounded. For attaching the two flaps to themselves, use two #1s and two #4s each - note that the pivot point is the upper hole and that the control linkage hole here faces backwards. The distance from the leading edge of the one flap to the trailing edge of the other should be 3". No extra clearance for the hinges should be required here as the flaps only deflect downwards.
Before installing the second set of hinges (two #3s and two #5s per flap), bend a pushrod wire to fit between the hole further up on the #5 and the bottom hole on the #4 of the most rearwards flap. Add that wire in during assembly (or, if you can unscrew your hinges, after): this sets the deploy angle of the aft flap relative to the fore. Install into the wing such that the edge of the flap meets the plane created by the join of the two wing skins: use a straightedge and the fact that the trailing edge of the flaps should be 9+1/8" from the leading edge of the wing. Vary the angle of the hinges that connect the entire flap assembly to the wing to adjust the rear flap relative to the fore.
The tapered flap is essentially the same. Orient it by sighting it against the aileron and the flap, leaving roughly equal clearance both sides.
Put the finishing touches on the wing: Bevel the long edge of the wingtip plate and glue it to close out the wingtip. Also add the wing fences based on the marks you transferred through the wing skin a while back.
Take this piece, bevel the line where the two split parts meet, then tape and glue to together. Install first the upper rear fuselage deck, then it. Poke a hole for the wing retaining pin, and give it a J-bend at the end such that it can be retained by poking it into the foam.
Start on the nacelles. Laminate and install the formers as shown - note the corner formers at the rear by the retracts, they should have their parting line centered 1/2" from the back of the nacelle structure and retract plates. Then, curl and install two of the three cowl skins, making sure to clock the slots in the larger of the two with the slots in the wing.
Assemble the following pieces and install them onto the cowl and wing. The cooling duct pieces use B-folds. Make sure to get the wings of the largest cooling duct piece down around the wing to join to the cowl, and the exhaust ducting in place.
Glue the smaller of the two remaining formers onto the rear flap as shown. Then, take the larger former, slightly bevel the bottom, glue it into the larger skin, and install it onto the flap. Finally, glue the smaller cardstock piece to the flap as shown.
Well done, there's only a little more now.
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