Mountain Models EVA Bi-Plane, Balsa Build Along Build Thread

[Joker 53150]

The fuselage work starts off very quicly, with the formers attaching to the bottom plate. Then the sides and a few trim pieces are added. Unfortunately, I forgot to slow down and take a few pictures along the way... So here is about half the work already done.




Next up is the turtle deck. After the glue dries you sand the deck sheets flush with the center piece, and then cap it all with another piece of balsa which is then sanded to shape.




The battery and servo cover is next. The sheeting is applied flat, then wet so it'll bend without breaking, glued, and sanded.




The front wheel cover is almost finished, and just needs a little final sanding to shape, and to smooth out a few little ridges.




After the battery tray cover is sanded and test-fit, the excess plastic around the canopy is removed. It still needs a little fine-trimming, but it's getting close. The pic makes it look like it's a little shaded near the top for some reason, but it's nice and clear all over. In the background the elevator halves are curing after being epoxied together.

 

[ranger351]

WOW making good progress! Looking great!

 

[ranger351]

Might have to build one yet! Do the wheel pants come with the kit? I don't remember any mention of them in the description.

 

[Joker 53150]

Yes, the wheel pants are included with the kit. I put the gear on with the lower wing but haven't grabbed a pic yet. It makes me wonder if it could fly with just the lower wing!

 

[Turbojoe]

Quick progress! You're doing such a good build thread that I'm only going to post up EVA mods that I've wanted to make. Didn't touch a thing last weekend or the weekend before. I'm hoping to work on the fuse tonight. I need it so I can work out how I'm going to fish all the twin motor wiring through that thin wing and into the fuse without compromising strength. Wish I could find some 3/8" soda straws. I may have to make tubes from paper.......

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

If I wasn't spending so much time on the L-19 build I may have been done already!

 

[Turbojoe]

I'm jealous. So many times I've considered selling off everything and just going with one or two 1/4 or 1/3 scale planes. They'd take up much less room than all the smaller planes I have taking up 3 bedrooms. (good thing I have 4 bedrooms) Of course I'd have to buy a trailer to haul the big stuff with as I don't think they'd fit in the PT Cruiser.

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

The more I play around with the big planes the more I love 'em. But the costs certainly do jump up and transportation is obviously a consideration. I currently drive an Expedition but plan to replace it in a few months. No normal size car can carry the 1/4 scale Cub, much less the larger L-19. I'd like go get a Cherokee again but that would necessitate getting a trailer. We'll see how it all shakes out, since we are also now dealing with some major unplanned medical expenses.

 

[Joker 53150]

It's starting to look like an airplane!

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

Ooooh, LOVELY!

 

[Turbojoe]

Some covering and electronics and you're ready for maiden. That was quick.

I love the size comparison shot! That L-19 is HUGE!!!


Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

Yeah, it's a bit of a beast! When I stand it on the firewall it's about as tall as me, and I'm 6'-3". Once I add the engine and wings it'll be gigantic!

 

[TexMechsRobot]

That vertical stabilizer looks really small! Nice job on getting that much done in one weekend

 

[Joker 53150]

That vertical stabilizer looks really small! Nice job on getting that much done in one weekend

The stab is fairly small, but the stock rudder is quite large. I'll need to get the tailwheel wire bent so it can be installed soon.

The amount of work done was thanks to a 3-day weekend for me, plus snow that kept me from being useful outside the house.

 

[Joker 53150]

Regardless of what my wife and kids say, I'm man enough to admit when I make a mistake (don't tell them I said that!). Reading the build log Rockyboy is doing I noticed that I missed a pretty critical detail in my build. The CF wing spar goes through 3 ribs on each wing and each is supposed to have a light ply doubler for strength. I only added that doubler on the inner-most rib... Checking back on the instructions I can see how I screwed up - I was going too fast and didn't read for comprehension. A quick glance at the pic and I only saw the light ply on the inner-most rib and somehow managed to ignore the other two ribs. Reading "Place the four ply reinforcement plates as shown" I thought "plates", plural, two wings, two plates. My bad. The instructions were clear, I was dumb.




So some surgery and a 15 minute detour fixed the problem. I cut a small access hatch in the bottom sheet on each wing and glued the doublers in place. When the glue dries on the hatches I'll give 'em a quick coat of balsa filler followed by a light sanding, and I'm back on track. When done the fix should blend in seamlessly.




So no matter how many planes you build, stuff like this will come back to bite you. Lucky for me it was caught relatively early!

 

[Turbojoe]

It's a good thing you caught it or you would have had some wobblin' wings in no time when the ribs started opening up at the CF spar. Nice job on the patch. You'll never see it.

More and more I believe what an old timer told me that "if you say you've never made a mistake building a kit then you've never built a kit". My problem is that I seem to make at least one mistake on EVERY kit.

I finally got a little work done on my fuse tonight. Hopefully can get some time tomorrow night too. I really need to make some progress.

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

Yup, make a mistake, fix the mistake, repeat as few times as possible.

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

And hopefully there is still just one problem to fix! (think 50 other broken pieces as a result....)

 

[Joker 53150]

Time to start covering! First, I've got to take inventory on my SoLite. The transparent red and transparent blue are new rolls. White and yellow each have about 1/3 of the roll left, and the transparent green is almost gone. There is no specific plan right now for the covering, other than to focus mainly on the transparent blue & white.




The rudder was first to get covered. I like how the transparent film lets you see all the detail on the construction, although I was hoping the blue would be a slightly darker shade.




One of the lower wings was next, and a strip of white was laid over the top to give it a little more character. You can see that the white doesn't do a great job covering darker colors, which is typical with this kind of film. Although I'd like it to be a brighter white I can live with this. You can see two little slots in one of the ribs - that is where the tabs will be mounted for the struts that connect the upper and lower wings together.




Test-fitting. Note that the motor was also installed.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

Getting close!