Monster sized Fock-Wulf FW-42

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Thanks @FoamyDM - that's very much the understanding I'm having about all this and hope to prove out a solution that doesn't fry my ESCs :D

I did the sanding on all the remaining pieces, and got started on the next fiberglass sections last night.

Bottom of the right wing section and the nose hatch.
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I also finished up my bottles of the Famowood epoxy resin and have open up some from East Coast Resin. I'm using their Crystal Clear formula as purchased from eBay at $20 for 32 ounces, but they also sell direct from their own website (couple bucks cheaper, but shipping is extra so it balances out). I'm very happy with it so far (just two panels done with it but all is good)

https://eastcoastresin.com/t/epoxy-resin-kits

rs=w:240,h:240


The resin is a little thicker in the bottle compared to the hardener so it helps to let it sit under a hot water faucet for a couple minutes before pouring into the measuring cups. It's still a one to one by volume mixing ratio so that's easy to deal with. I use two "single use" measuring cups - one for each part - to make sure it's the right amount. It mixes nicely - I use jumbo craft or popsicle sticks in disposable plastic cups for this step.

Spreads very well too - I pour out a little puddle and starting from the center of the surface - with soft pressure on a gift card - spread it out making sure it's fully saturating the fiberglass. Then after waiting 30 seconds or so I use the same card with more pressure to start squeezing out the excess epoxy and spreading it further out across the fiberglass.

Finally I come back for a third pass using just a little more scraping pressure to make sure all the extra epoxy is spread out evenly. When it's done right, there are no puddles of epoxy left on the surface and when it dries it will have a slightly bumpy texture of the fiberglass - not like a smooth puddle. This is important as puddles of epoxy don't sand well at all, and it usually becomes easier to just add spackle filler on top to deal with any ripples of excess epoxy. Ask me how I know. :unsure: So spread the epoxy thin in a couple passes to avoid this problem.

And of course for anyone who hasn't done this type of work before, don't forget your latex or neoprene disposable gloves. You will get drips of stuff on your hands, and it makes moving things and the whole workspace messy. Be a happy modeler - use a plastic drop cloth to protect your work area and buy a box of disposable gloves. And don't be shy about switching gloves in the middle of working if you start making sticky fingerprints on stuff or pulling the fiberglass mat with sticky fingers.
 
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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
And tonight's fiberglassing is the last wing panel section and the last of the turtledeck hatches.
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Fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and control surfaces still to go...
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Looking great! Maiden this month? ;-)

While I'm making pretty good progress recently, I've got a week of business travel coming up in October which will slow things down a good bit.

"So probably November" he says, making his fifth wrong prediction about the maiden date :p
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Somehow I don't think I can get this in the overhead bin...

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Fuselage part one of 3 is glassed. Starting on all the other parts too. Goal is to have all glassing done this weekend. :D
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
I've been watching here. Cool project. I am especially interested in your use of capacitors as "head tanks" for the esc's. More stuff to worry about :alien:
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Thanks! I'm optomistic about the caps - sounds like a good theory at least :D

More fiberglassing - half the side of the fuselage and done with the vertical stab, rudder, and half the ailerons now.
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PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I am wondering if maybe the old 486 heat sinks and fans we all have laying around would be enough to keep escs cool yet be compact enough to fit nicely where esc's normally go in our planes.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
I am wondering if maybe the old 486 heat sinks and fans we all have laying around would be enough to keep escs cool yet be compact enough to fit nicely where esc's normally go in our planes.

I think it would help a lot - somewhere here I saw a thread where the builder used thermal epoxy to attach a computer heatsink to the metal heatsink in the esc (after cutting a square of the shrink tubing away) and then mounting everything so the computer heatsink went through a hole in the DTBF and was exposed to airflow. Looked like a really neat setup, but I don't remember if there were follow up posts on how well it worked. I'm sure it was some improvement!
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Thanks! It was a little intimidating to get started with the fiberglass but once I was sure the first piece was working it's been smooth going.

More glassing tonight - all done with the ailerons and one side of the fuselage now - just one more fuselage side and some interior work left to go!

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foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
On my RC car the ESC has a small fan and metal heat sink on it that looks like a unit you can buy separately and appears to run off of 5v or something similar. unless you already have a thought in mind for the issue you might want to check out that option.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Good thoughts on the fans, especially if I end up burrying the ESC back in the fuselage and run extra wires out to the motors.

Haven't had much shop time due to caring for a family health issue, but I almost finished the last bit of fiberglass on the fuselage last night. Just need to do the rear turtledeck and inside channel now and she will be fiberglass complete :D

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willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
I probably will not help but I did use a fan in my Corsair build. The idea was that I was not sure how much air would circulate behind the dummy radial so I installed it as a safeguard to prevent overheating. These things generally have OK heat sinks... just not efficient ways to use them. I've seen ones that are great but completely covered by shrink tube... worthless.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Yeah, covering those heat sinks with shrink tube just never seemed like a good idea. Not sure why they don't just leave the heat sink exposed and hit the board and chips with a conformal coating. Maybe it just adds too much complexity to the manufacturing process. Oh well.

Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of Krylon white primer? I shot one coat of it on the rudder and vertical stabilizer and it hardly covers anything visually. Almost done with this can, and won't be buying another one.

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Still have a little sanding and one fiberglassing spot left, and then it's on to primer coat and start electronic installation and assembly :D
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I have used this stuff on the FT brown foam on the few things I have painted so far.

That's what the Caudron was painted with. I get the rusty brown stuff and it works well with the whole color range. As long as you are not trying to specialty jobs like blended metallic flake or color blending like faded rainbows.
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