Flite Fest 2017: Bugatti 100P

[willsonman]

Another day, another glassing session...

The tail cone was lightly sanded with 220 grit after the last spackle application. Glass was applied liberally. I estimate 5-6 layers of 0.56 oz. cloth. I estimate due to how you have to apply it. With all the corners and curves you have to apply small pieces rather than single sheets. As it will not be taking much load, I think it will be sufficient. I'll give this a few days to cure out before I even consider touching it. I've got plenty to do on the wheel wells to occupy my time.


H-stabs were glassed as well.


Carbon tow application on the nose area. You can see that I put the tow around the perimeter of the cockpit area. This is all applied simply to add torsional strength. With no back-torque from the motor this seems unnecessary, but with likelihood of nose-overs and how half of the foam forming is missing, this is a necessary addition to give a more robust front-end. 12K carbon tow used here, for those who are interested. I applied some epoxy to the surface and put down the tow. Then, using a stippling technique, I saturated the tow with more epoxy. I followed up with a glove and used my finger to smooth out the tow as much as possible and get any air out of the tow. Air pockets will weaken the tow.


And lastly, fitting of balsa into a wheel well. I'll leave the balsa uncut for now to allow the foam fairing to take shape around it and then sand it flush once completed. The recesses for the struts will also be lined with balsa. Need to decide on how to route the retract wires first. I want to make them able to be swapped out if need be but the spar may prove difficul to do that. I'll probably just lay out servo locations for the flaps and ailerons and route the wires to those bays and cut a notch in the spar.

 

[earthsciteach]

I do enjoy watching your builds!

 

[willsonman]

Thanks buddy! This one is a labor of love. With February closing out soon I need to keep my pace each day.

On your last podcast you talked about not finding motivation to do anything RC related. I totally get that. There have been a couple of times on this build where I have just needed a day or two away. I have found that I have to plan those days and then force myself to do just something little to get back to it. The longer I spend time away, the less motivation I have to come back. Then, when I post progress here, you will notice that I post what the plan is next. This, I call microplanning or mini goals. It helps you manage your time better to know how to more efficiently plan for your next steps and it makes you less frustrated when you are constantly failing to meet your small goals.

I wrote about some of this in my planning article.

Another point here to make: It's comments like yours that DOES give me motivation. Flying with friends is sooo much better than alone and building is the same. When others chime in just to say "looks good" it really does help, more than you think. There are stretches in my builds when I feel alone still, when nobody does those kinds of posts. In reality, I understand that most folks here do not feel they have anything to offer in terms of constructive comments or suggestions. That's all fine and dandy but folks, please never underestimate your ability to pat someone on the back just to support their morale.

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

Yes I totally hear you on this one. some days I fell like ditching the whole rc thing. your doing great! I love your build.

 

[wilmracer]

Another point here to make: It's comments like yours that DOES give me motivation. Flying with friends is sooo much better than alone and building is the same. When others chime in just to say "looks good" it really does help, more than you think. There are stretches in my builds when I feel alone still, when nobody does those kinds of posts. In reality, I understand that most folks here do not feel they have anything to offer in terms of constructive comments or suggestions. That's all fine and dandy but folks, please never underestimate your ability to pat someone on the back just to support their morale.

I hear ya. There are fantastic parts of builds that are relatively instant gratification, but they seem to come at the beginning and end of a big build. The weeks or months in between are where you have to work to keep up your motivation.

So keep it up! We're all eager to see this one wrapped up! :applause:

 

[ranger351]

Thanks buddy! This one is a labor of love. With February closing out soon I need to keep my pace each day.

On your last podcast you talked about not finding motivation to do anything RC related. I totally get that. There have been a couple of times on this build where I have just needed a day or two away. I have found that I have to plan those days and then force myself to do just something little to get back to it. The longer I spend time away, the less motivation I have to come back. Then, when I post progress here, you will notice that I post what the plan is next. This, I call microplanning or mini goals. It helps you manage your time better to know how to more efficiently plan for your next steps and it makes you less frustrated when you are constantly failing to meet your small goals.

I wrote about some of this in my planning article.

Another point here to make: It's comments like yours that DOES give me motivation. Flying with friends is sooo much better than alone and building is the same. When others chime in just to say "looks good" it really does help, more than you think. There are stretches in my builds when I feel alone still, when nobody does those kinds of posts. In reality, I understand that most folks here do not feel they have anything to offer in terms of constructive comments or suggestions. That's all fine and dandy but folks, please never underestimate your ability to pat someone on the back just to support their morale.

Great post willsonman! Good to know that others feel the same way I do sometimes. I've had them times were I lost motivation to work on my build. Specially after having a set back like I've had with final paint. I've found lately that just going back to building a simple DTFB air plane can give you that gratification of completing a project to get your spirits up and get ya back on track.

 

[quimney]

Willsonman,

I have eagerly watched your build from day one. I will admit that I look forward each day to seeing what you have accomplished and how you did it. Your plane is amazing from the custom motor to the tip of the fiberglassed tail. I really appreciate your clear, descriptive writing style and I have learned a lot.

Looking forward to the maiden

Quimney

 

[willsonman]

Guys, I'm so glad you get something from my builds. It reaffirms to me that my decision to participate in this community is a worthwhile one and I'm teaching something to someone.

I was a bit scatter-brained yesterday so I will outline work completed in the most comprehensible way.

Glass is curing out nicely. I trimmed the tail and tail cone of excess cloth. At least another day on that tail cone.

I needed to mark out where I wanted my servos to be located so I started with their dimensions and tried to locate them in a logical pathway to route the wires into the wing root.


I marked a location for the Etract wires to run and remembered that the spar does not go all the wya through the wing panel. I used my dremel to cut out a channel that would go deep enough to just pass the spar. I bent a piece of steel rod and heated it up and melted out the channel under the spar to that the wore lead could easily pass through.


This shows how I get the channels covered. Simple foam board with Titebond. I left it slightly raised so that it can be sanded flat with minimal spackle blending.


Here is the overall layout of the wing panel.


While I was working on the layout of the servos I got all the balsa done for the other wheel well.


Next step will be to cut out all the foam for the servos and wires. I need to cap the area for the wing root in order to move onto the filet for the wing. I'll get the channel cut for the other Etract so that I can start lining the recess for the oleos with balsa.

 

[ttprigg]

I second Quimney!
Wilsonman, it is remarkable to see what you (and others) create with foam and balsa. I'm still (mostly) at the DTFB, A,B,C folds and hot-glue. As they begin to last a little longer, your argument for "stepping it up" a little is beginning to creep into my thinking.
Thanks for your willingness to take the time to put your process out there for the rest of us!

 

[willsonman]

Baltimore is only an hour away! You should stop by the shop sometime and get even more motivation!

 

[PsyBorg]

I don't comment too much in build threads like this as most of my comments are not more then amazement in what you do. Sometimes when I see something I think I need to learn I will post a comment but get self conscious of sounding too noobish in the presence of guys like you.

I guess I never thought that simple praise on occasion would be more effective then it was and that by simply doing so I felt would interrupt the thread. If comments and questions are what you want I surely have many as I see this progress. Just remember you asked for it.

I guess I shall start now as this pertains to what you have recently done. With all the mods and changes you have made to fit the Etracts a lot of material has been removed and replaced. I was wondering how closely you monitor the balance changes as you go for weight distribution.

I recently built my first foamie and post death inspection found that some how in the build process even after careful cutting and assembly AND making sure everything was perfectly square that the main wing had a serious imbalance which in turn translated to the demise of the craft. I made sure COG was per plans all thru the build but never paid attention to lateral balance.

So my question is this. As you build are you tracking these changes or do you wait until final building and set up to make sure all is perfectly balanced?

 

[willsonman]

A good question. Lateral balance is something that I rarely evaluate. As most things are done symmetrically, the majority of the time things just are balanced. In this instance, The difference will be minimal since I added foam back to the areas where it was removed. On top of that, the difference in mass is closer to the wing root so any lateral unbalance will be minimized by proximity to the datum.

The real proof is when you put it on the CG when its all done. I've had builds that need no trim and some that needed ALL the trim I could give it. Years ago, when I build a Funder and Lightining, The maiden was terrifying as she ballooned on launch. Gave all the forward trim I could and was still holding the elevator down on landing. I then realized I had not set my H-stab incidence right. Once shimmed, she flew on rails.

As I build, and over many other builds, I strategically figure out what I want to do to save weight. It's a skill that has to be learned as you build. At least that is my opinion. I used to build quite heavy on my scale builds but I've gotten better and learned lots of things by asking questions and trying something different. On that note, I do still anticipate meeting my target 5-6 pound AUW.

 

[NicTheEngineer]

I was unaware that FF17 had a air racing theme! I will for sure watch this article as there are unique challenges presented by this craft

 

[willsonman]

Officially, there is no theme. Over the last few years, FF has evolved into many different things. Last year's hit with the Gotha gaggle made a few of us start thinking ahead for the following year and try to involve more people as there were folks after the event expressing interest in participation had they known about it. So, we started planning early and have tried getting the word out. Hopefully it will be some good fun and get people exposed to another facet of the hobby.

A brief update... Friday I was quite distracted by something I picked up for Mr. Jeff Christbaum.


I managed to get one wing's channels done yesterday but that is all. Far too many to-dos around the house. At least I was able to vacuum up the mess from the last week.

 

[wilmracer]

Love the BOT! Never owned one but a few guys at the field have them and when the weather is right they will thermal around WAY above the rest of us. So this is FOR Jeff? Lucky guy

 

[mactek]

I was at the AMA Expo East over the weekend and i saw that Himax has a counter rotating motor setup like you had custom made. I took a picture of it.

 

[Craftydan]

I was at the AMA Expo East over the weekend and i saw that Himax has a counter rotating motor setup like you had custom made. I took a picture of it.

Man! Those Chinese reverse engineers are FAST!

 

[BridgeInspector]

I was at the AMA Expo East over the weekend and i saw that Himax has a counter rotating motor setup like you had custom made. I took a picture of it.

They are pricey!
http://www.maxxprod.com/mpi/mpi-266.html

 

[wilmracer]

They are pricey!
http://www.maxxprod.com/mpi/mpi-266.html

And for Joshua's model and the size props he wants his motors are more appropriate.

I'd love to see motor manufacturer sell conversion kits, but for now it is definitely a niche market.

 

[Joker 53150]

Love the BOT! Never owned one but a few guys at the field have them and when the weather is right they will thermal around WAY above the rest of us. So this is FOR Jeff? Lucky guy

Well, there is a bit of backstory. Joshua told me about an auction near him as there were a couple planes he knew I'd be interested in. He was kind enough to pick up the winnings for me, which included a Bird of Time ARF and BoT kit. Now to get the ARF and Telemaster Senior back to Wisconsin!