FliteFest 2022 Dawn Patrol - Sopwith Pup

[Matthewdupreez]

A little time this morning on the Pup. Wing mountings glued into the wings (top skins not glued yet - some internals still to finalise) but I was able to test sliding the wings onto the joining carbon tube. Good news is it seems to work just fine and the second block engages easily. Of course I had to prop up the bits to see how it looks! It's bigger than I imagined it would look!
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Looks really good..
My only concern would be that the nose is very very short. Getting the CG may be an issue..

 

[cyclone3350]

A little time this morning on the Pup. Wing mountings glued into the wings (top skins not glued yet - some internals still to finalise) but I was able to test sliding the wings onto the joining carbon tube. Good news is it seems to work just fine and the second block engages easily. Of course I had to prop up the bits to see how it looks! It's bigger than I imagined it would look!
View attachment 220187 View attachment 220188

OH yeah, U get for that. I do like what U did with the wing tube set up.

 

[The Fopster]

Looks really good..
My only concern would be that the nose is very very short. Getting the CG may be an issue..

CG will be tricky but I’ve planned fairly carefully to move as much weight forward as possible, so I’m optimistic!

 

[The Fopster]

Next detail (and it seems there are a LOT of details to figure out on a WW1 biplane) is how to fix rigging wires. Obviously you need a fixing point that will take a point load without just ripping out of the foam. I've ended up printing plastic blocks that sit inside the wing and do two jobs. They are the top and bottom mount for the interwing struts (with an angled hole to match the forward angle of the struts) and also the fixing point for the rigging wires. I set up a little production line to make 16 identical brass strips with holes drilled on them. On home fastens on the side of the plastic block, and the other is for the rigging. When I close up the wing and glue the top skin down the thin sharp brass strips cut neatly (ish...) through the upper skin and protrude ready for the wires. Looks to me like it's going to work. Phew.

 

[The Fopster]

And another bit of "design" made out of stuff I found in the shed. Need to mount the landing gear and cabane (?) structure for the upper wing to the fuselage. Obviously I need to spread the load into the structure, so...
The front of the fuse has an inner box structure made of heavier foam board. I glued small blocks of hardwood (about 10mmx12mm cross section) to short lengths of thin wooden strip (cut from surgical tongue depressors!). I then cut little matching box shapes out of the corners of the inner box so the wooden blocks can be hot glued in, with the added surface area of the thin strip to spread the load. Next drill small holes so I can use electrical cable clips to secure the wire structure that will take the upper wing, screwed into the hardwood blocks with servo screws. Seems to work!
A picture is worth a couple of hundred words, as the saying goes...

 

[The Fopster]

Oh what the heck. Lower wings balanced on the frame just to see how it looks. We'd al

 

[Yankee2003]

Your build looks amazing. Your ideas and solutions are clean and simple, the essence of engineering. 👍
I am about 2/3rds through my build and now I look back on all the things I wish I had done differently. But to be fair I can imagine that even some of the top scratch builders in this challenge would look back at their first build as less than they had imagined.
Like you have mentioned, the process has at times seemed lacking in time and ideas. I believe that both of us might find those obstacles more enjoyable in the future. We might even pick out interesting designs based on the challenges they represent.
In the beginning I was hoping that the final paint would cover the “dead bodies” in my build. Now I realize it will only end up being lipstick on a pig. When you get stuck over a lack of time or ideas again…come over and check out some of my pictures, it will make you feel better. 😉.
Keep up the good work my friend. Look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[FlyingTyger]

Your build looks amazing. Your ideas and solutions are clean and simple, the essence of engineering. 👍
I am about 2/3rds through my build and now I look back on all the things I wish I had done differently. But to be fair I can imagine that even some of the top scratch builders in this challenge would look back at their first build as less than they had imagined.
Like you have mentioned, the process has at times seemed lacking in time and ideas. I believe that both of us might find those obstacles more enjoyable in the future. We might even pick out interesting designs based on the challenges they represent.
In the beginning I was hoping that the final paint would cover the “dead bodies” in my build. Now I realize it will only end up being lipstick on a pig. When you get stuck over a lack of time or ideas again…come over and check out some of my pictures, it will make you feel better. 😉.
Keep up the good work my friend. Look forward to seeing your progress.

There are things on every build I've done that I wish I had done differently. That's just the nature of building airplanes and part of the fun. And why I am always looking forward to the next build.

 

[Baron VonHelton]

Your build looks amazing. Your ideas and solutions are clean and simple, the essence of engineering. 👍
I am about 2/3rds through my build and now I look back on all the things I wish I had done differently. But to be fair I can imagine that even some of the top scratch builders in this challenge would look back at their first build as less than they had imagined.
Like you have mentioned, the process has at times seemed lacking in time and ideas. I believe that both of us might find those obstacles more enjoyable in the future. We might even pick out interesting designs based on the challenges they represent.
In the beginning I was hoping that the final paint would cover the “dead bodies” in my build. Now I realize it will only end up being lipstick on a pig. When you get stuck over a lack of time or ideas again…come over and check out some of my pictures, it will make you feel better. 😉.
Keep up the good work my friend. Look forward to seeing your progress.

It's ok to learn from the past, but don't live there.

 

[The Fopster]

Your build looks amazing. Your ideas and solutions are clean and simple, the essence of engineering. 👍
I am about 2/3rds through my build and now I look back on all the things I wish I had done differently. But to be fair I can imagine that even some of the top scratch builders in this challenge would look back at their first build as less than they had imagined.
Like you have mentioned, the process has at times seemed lacking in time and ideas. I believe that both of us might find those obstacles more enjoyable in the future. We might even pick out interesting designs based on the challenges they represent.
In the beginning I was hoping that the final paint would cover the “dead bodies” in my build. Now I realize it will only end up being lipstick on a pig. When you get stuck over a lack of time or ideas again…come over and check out some of my pictures, it will make you feel better. 😉.
Keep up the good work my friend. Look forward to seeing your progress.

This is about my fifth scratch build, and you’re right. Every one of them has things I wish I’d done differently. But also.... Every one of them flies pretty well, and they all look great in the air once they’re a little distance away from the viewer!

 

[Yankee2003]

Five scratch builds speaks to why your airplane builds look so clean. Looks to me like you are making good progress with you build experience.
The pictures, the cowling, even the cuts look really nice. The craftsmanship and care certainly shows.

 

[The Fopster]

Grabbed half an hour to cut out the upper wing skins. And of course I had to prop them up to get an idea of how this is going to look. Lots to do still, but for the first time the end is in sight!

 

[Monte.C]

Grabbed half an hour to cut out the upper wing skins. And of course I had to prop them up to get an idea of how this is going to look. Lots to do still, but for the first time the end is in sight!

View attachment 220972

Looking like a plane!

 

[willsonman]

I've always counseled with others that a solid way to learn how to build is to take a project and focus on ONE build technique. By the time you've finished that build you will have worked out your technique and more or less mastered that skill for a subsequent build. After6 or so models you have quite the arsenal of skills to really start pushing things along.

If you sort of work on several skills all at once then you are likely to not master those skills as quickly and as completely as you would by focusing on one at a time.

Looking at my past models you can clearly see this pattern played out and I've come to just take a challenge that someone says can't be done or is too challenging as another one of those learning experiences. It's quite remarkable to observe this as well with builds from others. You can look at the model carefully and see how their technique improved over the course of the build and that gets you excited for their next build too.

This is how I get SO MUCH out of watching others build. It's not about one-upping each other, it's ENTIRELY about watching each other grow and lending a hand where we can. The reason I've got so many friends in this hobby is because of how much they have helped me, not the other way around.

Your build looks great. I can see the light at the end of your tunnel and I think this model will turn out better than you think. We are always our own worst critics. Try to see past the flaw here and there and see all the amazing work that surrounds them.

 

[Monte.C]

I've always counseled with others that a solid way to learn how to build is to take a project and focus on ONE build technique. By the time you've finished that build you will have worked out your technique and more or less mastered that skill for a subsequent build. After6 or so models you have quite the arsenal of skills to really start pushing things along.

If you sort of work on several skills all at once then you are likely to not master those skills as quickly and as completely as you would by focusing on one at a time.

Looking at my past models you can clearly see this pattern played out and I've come to just take a challenge that someone says can't be done or is too challenging as another one of those learning experiences. It's quite remarkable to observe this as well with builds from others. You can look at the model carefully and see how their technique improved over the course of the build and that gets you excited for their next build too.

This is how I get SO MUCH out of watching others build. It's not about one-upping each other, it's ENTIRELY about watching each other grow and lending a hand where we can. The reason I've got so many friends in this hobby is because of how much they have helped me, not the other way around.

Your build looks great. I can see the light at the end of your tunnel and I think this model will turn out better than you think. We are always our own worst critics. Try to see past the flaw here and there and see all the amazing work that surrounds them.

Good stuff @willsonman. I've found myself getting nervous over "too many variables" or "too many unknowns" , and I agree totally with you about one new variable at a time.

 

[Yankee2003]

I agree with Willsonman and the others…build looks awesome my friend.
For all the mistakes I made, I am still excited about my next build.
And let’s face it….done is way better than not ever finishing. I was planning on stringing up police tape 20 ft away/around my Fokker at Flite Fest so she can be shown off in her best light..😉.
Keep up the excellent work.

 

[Baron VonHelton]

I've always counseled with others that a solid way to learn how to build is to take a project and focus on ONE build technique. By the time you've finished that build you will have worked out your technique and more or less mastered that skill for a subsequent build. After6 or so models you have quite the arsenal of skills to really start pushing things along.

If you sort of work on several skills all at once then you are likely to not master those skills as quickly and as completely as you would by focusing on one at a time.

Looking at my past models you can clearly see this pattern played out and I've come to just take a challenge that someone says can't be done or is too challenging as another one of those learning experiences. It's quite remarkable to observe this as well with builds from others. You can look at the model carefully and see how their technique improved over the course of the build and that gets you excited for their next build too.

This is how I get SO MUCH out of watching others build. It's not about one-upping each other, it's ENTIRELY about watching each other grow and lending a hand where we can. The reason I've got so many friends in this hobby is because of how much they have helped me, not the other way around.

Your build looks great. I can see the light at the end of your tunnel and I think this model will turn out better than you think. We are always our own worst critics. Try to see past the flaw here and there and see all the amazing work that surrounds them.

Even my wacked out builds?

 

[The Fopster]

Righty ho. After a few weeks of “busy with life” things (and a one night build of a JB Stick because I needed something to take the place of my recently deceased FT Edge 540!) I’m back at the Sopwith Pup build. The first challenge is remembering where all the bits I’ve made already are meant to go! Doh!
Anyway, I’ve just spent an evening sorting it all out and making the mounting points for the upper wing middle section - back in the game! Onwards and (eventually) upwards! I’m going to shoot for an Easter weekend maiden if I can get the tiling job I need to do in the kitchen sorted quickly this weekend…

 

[Bo123]

Righty ho. After a few weeks of “busy with life” things (and a one night build of a JB Stick because I needed something to take the place of my recently deceased FT Edge 540!) I’m back at the Sopwith Pup build. The first challenge is remembering where all the bits I’ve made already are meant to go! Doh!
Anyway, I’ve just spent an evening sorting it all out and making the mounting points for the upper wing middle section - back in the game! Onwards and (eventually) upwards! I’m going to shoot for an Easter weekend maiden if I can get the tiling job I need to do in the kitchen sorted quickly this weekend…
View attachment 223536

Can't wait to see you back at it again!

 

[Yankee2003]

Righty ho. After a few weeks of “busy with life” things (and a one night build of a JB Stick because I needed something to take the place of my recently deceased FT Edge 540!) I’m back at the Sopwith Pup build. The first challenge is remembering where all the bits I’ve made already are meant to go! Doh!
Anyway, I’ve just spent an evening sorting it all out and making the mounting points for the upper wing middle section - back in the game! Onwards and (eventually) upwards! I’m going to shoot for an Easter weekend maiden if I can get the tiling job I need to do in the kitchen sorted quickly this weekend…
View attachment 223536

Who doesn’t like a box full of PUPpies……..glad to see it back in production.