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

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Covering is going along much slower than I'd like, but with 6" of snow overnight that needed to be cleared off the driveway, sleeping in for the first time in months, and doing some Christmas shopping I just didn't have the drive to push it.

For the color scheme, it'll be blue & white, although I'm still not exactly sure how much white will make it or what design it'll get. I'll cut some vinyl for it after it's done and I figure out what I want it to say.

Tail feathers are now covered, and the elevators are hinged with Blenderm tape. The rudder will get hinged after all the covering is done.

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The brackets that hold the wings together are attached to the wings using these small tabs - light ply that is fit down into pockets in the wing. One thing I'm not sure of yet is the spacing of the brackets from the top wing to bottom wing. The spacing on the top wing is about 1/2" wider per side than the lower wing, so maybe these wing struts aren't installed vertically, but at a slight angle outward?? Instructions don't mention anything about it, but worst case scenario is I can easily add a couple spacers to help it all align properly.

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Turbojoe

Elite member
The brackets that hold the wings together are attached to the wings using these small tabs - light ply that is fit down into pockets in the wing. One thing I'm not sure of yet is the spacing of the brackets from the top wing to bottom wing. The spacing on the top wing is about 1/2" wider per side than the lower wing, so maybe these wing struts aren't installed vertically, but at a slight angle outward?? Instructions don't mention anything about it, but worst case scenario is I can easily add a couple spacers to help it all align properly.

I took a few shots of mine. I built mine so long ago that I don't remember if I made the spacers myself or if they were in the kit but they're 1/4". I do remember it being a head scratcher at the time though.

Man, look at all that dust on the wing. I obviously need to get out and fly her again....

Joe
 

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Thanks Joe, that's what I was hoping to see, and was dreading finding out I screwed up on the brackets! :) I'll just plan on doing the spacer like you did, a quick & easy fix.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Wow, my motivation to finish the build has really tanked over the past week or so! There is so much going on these days with work, home, the holidays, and some other major "health issues" that we're dealing with. Yay...

To try and kick myself into gear I did get minimal work done yesterday, prepping the canopy support for paint and eventually the canopy installation. I'm sealing the wood and will then spray paint it, which will look better than installing the canopy over unfinished balsa.

Plus the L-19 is still demanding I get more work done on it, but the EVA is so close to finished I may as well button that project up first so I can devote the whole bench to the L-19 again, and it needs every square inch of that bench! :)
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Well, things may finally be getting back to "normal" around here so work on the EVA can hopefully start up again. But first, I've gotta decompress a bit on some junk that's really been taking up most of my time and energy.

In November my wife had a blood clot removed from her leg, and the day after Thanksgiving we were told it was cancerous. Specifically Leiomyosarcoma, a fairly uncommon variety that is only diagnosed about 2,000 times per year. Crap.... So we got ourselves a great team of doctors and put her future in their hands. What we found out was promising - this variety of cancer is very slow-moving, not aggressive, is found mainly in certain types of muscle, is not hereditary, but it doesn't necessarily respond to chemo or radiation.

So after CT and PET scans, it turns out this was the only instance of the cancer in her body (thankfully this was not an aggressive variety!). Surgery was scheduled for this past Tuesday (two days after Christmas), and the surgeon removed a mass on the side of her calf about equal to the size of a tennis ball. About 6 hours later she was able to walk, which still amazes me. Wednesday, she was released from the hospital as she was mobile enough and progressing well enough to make the doctors and nurses happy. The last two days have been continued rehab at home, with daily visits from a nurse to make sure everything is progressing well. Her leg now has a large "divot" taken out of the side.

She's got weeks of rehab ahead of her, but at every turn we've been getting good news after good news. This is (hopefully) the end of the cancer for her, but we'll continue to get her scans regularly to make sure. They were able to stitch the wound closed instead of needing a skin graft, which would have kept her in the hospital another 5 days. Our kids shouldn't (hopefully) have to worry about this in their future. The kids are also old enough to be able to help out around the house so I can get back to work to save a few days off. Her insurance has been very good to work with (so far). It could have been so much worse, we're not complaining at all about what she's dealing with, and are just thankful that she should be able to live a long life. As my dad tells me, if she can put up with me for 25+ years, cancer doesn't stand a chance!

Again, her recovery continues and she's getting plenty of rest/sleep thanks to the drugs, so I'm going to use that to my advantage and try and get some work done on the EVA this weekend. Maybe.
 
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Turbojoe

Elite member
Damn Joker! Glad to hear she is doing well and it's not an aggressive type. I lost my father to pancreatic cancer a week before my 6th birthday (I'm 60). Almost lost my daughter in law to thyroid cancer a few years back. Luckily medicine has progressed from the days for my dad that cancer meant death in no uncertain terms to now that if they catch it early the chance for recovery looks really good. I hope your wife heals quickly and STAYS cancer free!

Joe
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Very glad to hear she is on the mend and things are looking up - best wishes for a healthy and happy new year!
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
It isn't much, but I did get some work done over the past few days. With the Bipe Wing setup, the upper wing has 4 supports that connect to the lower wing and fuselage sides. At the fuselage, there are included braces that mount to the inside of the fuselage with captured nuts. I painted them before remembering they were on the inside and didn't need paint. :)

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With the supports installed the top wing is very secure. Lower ailerons were installed, but top ones were not at this point.

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For the battery cover/canopy mount I'm doing something a little different and am not using covering. I used balsa sealer and sandpaper to get it all nice and smooth and then hit it with black paint. The cowl will eventually be done to match. The top wing still needs the white covering along the leading edge, as well.

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As TurboJoe showed with his Bipe, some additional blocking is required to get the braces to line up properly. I'm guessing somewhere along the line during development of the various wings something changed that kept the ribs from lining up top to bottom wing. My spacer is 3/8" thick, if I remember correctly. I'll eventually trim it down for weight savings and give it a coat of paint.

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Here's how the inner brackets line up, nice and strong.

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To connect the ailerons on the top & bottom wings together there are extra horns for each aileron. The top gets a Z bend in a pushrod that then fits into the keeper in the lower aileron. Changing wings will be a bit of an ordeal... The aileron connecting pushrods need to be loosened (2 screws total), the top wing needs to come off (8 screws & nuts), and then the lower wing removed (2 hex screws). While it's not brain surgery, I don't plan to get the other wings for this fuselage any time soon. I'm lazy...! :)

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Next up is covering the fuselage!
 

jsknockoff

Active member
Mentor
I'm glad to hear your wife is doing well. I can't imagine the stress that would put on a person to receive a diagnosis like that. My dad was diagnosed with prostrate cancer last year and is finally getting back to normal. Things like that make you appreciate life so much more.

Looks like you are making good progress on the EVAB. I'm lagging slightly behind you, but gaining fast! Too bad we all live so far apart or we could all get together to maiden these things on the same day.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Thanks, I appreciate the well wishes. She's doing better every day and is able to skip taking many of her "as needed" doses of the heavy pain killers now. Hopefully she doesn't get used to me and the kids waiting on her hand & foot! :)

I'm looking forward to the eventual maiden flight, but with Wisconsin weather that might not be until May. Or it could be in January, if our weather continues to be crazy. 45 degrees in late December was far from normal, but I sure like that more than -15 degrees!

On a related note, for those using SoLite covering, there is something you'll want to add to your tool box if you fly from grass fields - Scotch tape. Especially in very dry weather when the grass is brittle or if you've got taller weeds that may poke through the covering. I've got a few spots on my belly-landing Red Swan gliders that have been patched by a small piece of tape. If I find it after flying for the day I just use a piece of covering to patch the hole.
 

Snowblind

Propeller Balancer
I'm loving the visual choices on this! Fingers crossed for a full recovery on your wife's part.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
It's getting close! The canopy was glued to the hatch with canopy glue and should dry nice and clear (still looks white in spots). The fuselage has been covered in white, but will get a few accent stripes added soon. I'll also need to figure out some kind of pull-tab to open the battery hatch, as the magnet I used it kind of strong and I don't want to put too much force on the canopy. Right now I used some yellow tape as a temporary tab.

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Turbojoe

Elite member
Looking forward to the flight report. I think you're really gonna like the bipe. I hated mine at first until I figured out how to land it. I always tried killing throttle on final and it kept stalling about 1 foot off the ground. Once I quit getting stupid and gave it just a tick of throttle I could grease the landings every time. That extra wing adds a lot of drag.

Joe
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Well, it's been over 6 months since I've even touched the Bipe, and that is going to change this weekend. Going through my selection of planes that I want to take to Flite Fest next month is the kick in the butt I need! Unlike the previous years I'm not taking a ton of planes, maybe 3 or 4 total, and the EVA should be in that mix. So tomorrow I'll finish re-building the landing gear on one of my 1/4 scale Cubs, and then make room on the bench for the EVA. There really isn't much that needs to be done, mainly all of the electronics installation and buttoning up a few odds & ends. Stay tuned!
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
I STILL haven't flown my EVA Bipe since I updated with the modified SwitchBack tail feathers quite a while back. Finally have a clear weekend that I could take the EVA and several other planes out that need maiden or re-maiden. Problem is here in the greater Phoenix area we are looking at 115-121 degree temps this weekend and into next week. Screw that! I'm staying inside in the A/C! :eek:

Joe
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
I'm soo on the edge of ordering an EVA Bipe kit. If you guys post videos having too much fun with this plane, I just might lose control.... :p
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Don't forget that your opportunity to even buy the Bipe kit may be gone soon, depending on the future of MM.