Look what I found, laying on top of a closet!

Johan

Senior Member
Why does he need Popsicle sticks to chew when all the scrap balsa is just sitting there and could be used the same way by chewing it and then gluing the pulp into the required piece? :p

Thurmond

Yes! chewing as we speak :), kidding, it is way past bedtime over here ....
Did taste it though :)
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
Why does he need Popsicle sticks to chew when all the scrap balsa is just sitting there and could be used the same way by chewing it and then gluing the pulp into the required piece? :p

Thurmond

I stand corrected, that would be a much better idea. Also, balsa does not wear on your teeth to the same extent. Good catch!
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
I used Elmer's school glue on my balsa builds... don't do that. It takes forever to dry and isn't that strong of a bond. I did it out of cheapness and this is exactly why I gave up on my Bird Dog.

I kind of want to build another rubber band powered balsa build, but use actual glue and mount my camera in the nose then throw it off the cliff on my parents farm.
 

Johan

Senior Member
Did a little bit of measuring, cutting, gluing and clamping today.
You'll probably notice there are no control surfaces whatsoever, this is just going to be a 'dumb', non-controable.
I find the building process relaxing after a long day of work.

Here are some pictures:

tailsection.jpg

tailsection2.jpg

wingbuild1.jpg

wingbuild2.jpg

wing1.jpg

wing2.jpg

wing3.jpg

wing4.jpg

wing5.jpg

PS, took a while to get the dihedral figured out
 
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Johan

Senior Member
Thanks xuzme720!,

BTW, if it looks sloppy or bent in some places, I blame the camera :p

Or the lipo :)
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
Works for me, I don't judge...
If you wanted to make it R/C, you could get some balsa stock and add frame, as outlines of the control surfaces, to the structure. Then all you'd need to do is cut the control surfaces loose at the balsa frame and Bob's your uncle...(don't know if they use that expression anywhere but England...it just means you'll be all set.)
 

Johan

Senior Member
Hmmm, you made me reconsider. Of course it is a lot more fun to be able to have some control...
I'll go back to the drawing board and also find me some balsa (or balls as autocorrect just suggested :))
 

xxtristonxx

master flier
I turned my rubber band me-109 into electric for my first scratch build plane and it was hard but I did it, although I messed up on the ailerons so it doesn't fly. But I did it and it was rather cheap
 

Johan

Senior Member
Thanks guys for all the suggestions, I'll check it out !!

My kit is not from Guillows, but Winleader, but that should not make much of a difference.

although this kit has been hiding on top of a closet, it is still sold:

http://hobby.uk.com/flying-scale-models/balsa-kits/wingleader-ww2/hawker-tempest-mk-v.html

And guess what: bottom line on the product page reads "We’ve heard that one builder even managed to install electric power and micro R/C. Now that would be fun!!" :)
 

Johan

Senior Member
Some new pictures of the fuselage.

fuselage1.jpg

I have to figure out where to make room for battery / receiver etc. But thought it would be best to see it assembled to get a clear picture of the possibilities (might regret that later :))

fuselage2.jpg

And no, the weird 'bend' in one of the stringers is not part of the design :)

fuselage3.jpg

Out of curiosity I weighed both parts:

Wing: 3.5 grams
Half a fuselage: 7.5 grams

Probably half of it is in the glue :)
 
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Johan

Senior Member
Looking good!

Thanks!,

I figured out the reason for the 'bent' stringer:
I'd made copies of the original plan on smaller sheets, luckily at 100%, so scale was still right.

I built the fuselage in two runs (my cardboard underlayment was a bit small).
Apparently I did not properly line up for the rear half and placed the second support behind the canopy slanting forward.
This caused the holes for the stringers to not line up.

Well, this is my second balsa built ever and the last one was over 20 years ago (tiger moth), so it is not too bad :)

BTW what would be better (weight wise): use the paper that came with the kit and use the 'shrinking lacker' (don't know the english for it, we call it 'spanlak')
or go with monokote or something similar (kind of removes the warbird look I guess)?
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
BTW what would be better (weight wise): use the paper that came with the kit and use the 'shrinking lacker' (don't know the english for it, we call it 'spanlak')
...
Sounds like it might be what we call Dope, as in Dope and tissue covering. My first balsa build was a freeflight glider that I covered in tissue and dope...what an ordeal! It flew well though, right up until it crashed into a tree trunk on a long landing...