Michael9865
Elite member
You could try putting wax paper between the glue and the clamp.
POLIKARPOV I-16 RATA
- Thread starter rockyboy
- Start date
You could try putting wax paper between the glue and the clamp.
Yeah, that's absolutely what I should have done - but I thought to myself "it's plastic - wood glue won't stick to it"... oops!
I was able to cut the clamps free with a scalpel blade and no significant damage to the plane - just a little film of balsa stuck to the clamp that I shaved off.
Lots of progress last night! First was taking off the clamps on the rest of the fuselage former halves - no inappropriate clamp gluing this time
Then it was time to start stringer installation on the new side, and I found it was easier to get things lined up right to start with by standing the fuselage on the firewall. With a level firewall, it was easier to check for a vertical keel and make sure what was supposed to be perpendicular, stayed perpendicular.
Less camera parallax / fisheye effect on this shot - that pin stuck through the stringer into the former was key to prevent things from sagging while the glue dried - but it probably took a half dozen tries before I was happy with exactly where it positioned to keep the firewall perpendicular to the keel.
Then installing next two stringers on the new side - once the nose was figured out, it was pretty easy to keep everything square.
Important to pause after getting these six stringers in place to work on the rudder and elevator servos which are mounted on a scrap piece of balsa glued between formers 2 and 3 (in front of the CG).
There were several holes poked in the bulkheads trying to get a "bind free" alignment for the control rod. The laser cut holes are all almost in the right spots on this, but in the end I did some sanding and expanding of the existing holes to get a smooth path of travel rather than using my all new holes poked in several spots.
I'm also following the instructions and doing something different than I usually do with servo mounting on balsa builds - i.e. using servo mounting (double sided) tape. Unlike a lot of my other balsa builds, servicing these servos will require surgery - not just the covering, but cutting stringers too. I double checked to make sure I had the screw holding the servo horn installed before final mounting.
Once that was in place for one side, I got excited about adding more stringers. The gaps for the wing saddle and elevator leave some odd looking holes in the stringer pattern.
But she's looking pretty neat (on the port side anyway)
Next up is repeating all these steps for the other side, and then the 1/2 thickness stringers on the rear turtledeck!
Then it was time to start stringer installation on the new side, and I found it was easier to get things lined up right to start with by standing the fuselage on the firewall. With a level firewall, it was easier to check for a vertical keel and make sure what was supposed to be perpendicular, stayed perpendicular.
Less camera parallax / fisheye effect on this shot - that pin stuck through the stringer into the former was key to prevent things from sagging while the glue dried - but it probably took a half dozen tries before I was happy with exactly where it positioned to keep the firewall perpendicular to the keel.
Then installing next two stringers on the new side - once the nose was figured out, it was pretty easy to keep everything square.
Important to pause after getting these six stringers in place to work on the rudder and elevator servos which are mounted on a scrap piece of balsa glued between formers 2 and 3 (in front of the CG).
There were several holes poked in the bulkheads trying to get a "bind free" alignment for the control rod. The laser cut holes are all almost in the right spots on this, but in the end I did some sanding and expanding of the existing holes to get a smooth path of travel rather than using my all new holes poked in several spots.
I'm also following the instructions and doing something different than I usually do with servo mounting on balsa builds - i.e. using servo mounting (double sided) tape. Unlike a lot of my other balsa builds, servicing these servos will require surgery - not just the covering, but cutting stringers too. I double checked to make sure I had the screw holding the servo horn installed before final mounting.
Once that was in place for one side, I got excited about adding more stringers. The gaps for the wing saddle and elevator leave some odd looking holes in the stringer pattern.
But she's looking pretty neat (on the port side anyway)
Next up is repeating all these steps for the other side, and then the 1/2 thickness stringers on the rear turtledeck!
A quick zoom in on servo mounting this way - I'm using good double sided carpet tape, peeled the sticker off the side, and carefully used a razor blade to scratch the heck out of the side for better adhesion.
Also, carpet tape develops full strength after a little while - not right away - so I clamped it in place for a good hour or more and started filling in the stringers on the starboard side.
And here's adding in the 1/16" turtledeck stringers - it's easier to leave them long at this step and saw them off later when the glue dries.
I might need to trim off that hanging stringer before covering - we'll see how it goes at the sanding phase.
Also, carpet tape develops full strength after a little while - not right away - so I clamped it in place for a good hour or more and started filling in the stringers on the starboard side.
And here's adding in the 1/16" turtledeck stringers - it's easier to leave them long at this step and saw them off later when the glue dries.
I might need to trim off that hanging stringer before covering - we'll see how it goes at the sanding phase.
Looking good! Watching all these balsa builds is inspiring me to build my balsa lady kit I have! I’m going to tackle it this summer!
Awesome! Clear a little spot on the workbench and start sharing some pictures of nekkid balsa with us!
I’ll definitly start a thread where you can answer all my noob questions!Awesome! Clear a little spot on the workbench and start sharing some pictures of nekkid balsa with us!
bracesport
Legendary member
OliverW
Legendary member
Manzano Laser Works!
Exactly right! https://manzanolaser.com/
Not sure how friendly shipping would be to your corner of the world, but so far I'm a big fan of the quality of the wood and laser cutting of this kit!
Time to cut the belly pan free from the fuselage! Any razor saw or even an xacto would work, but this super thin kerf saw by Tamiya works really nicely
Spent a while trying to get the wing to settle just where I want it. I used pins to temporarily hold the wing saddle parts in place and move them around several times - to get a good fit.
Took a while to get the saddle and wing profile to match up this closely while holding just a tiny bit of positive wing incidence. Will still need a little sanding after things are glued into place.
yep - that's starting to look like a plane!
Adding in the reinforcement plate for the wing hold down...
Spent a while trying to get the wing to settle just where I want it. I used pins to temporarily hold the wing saddle parts in place and move them around several times - to get a good fit.
Took a while to get the saddle and wing profile to match up this closely while holding just a tiny bit of positive wing incidence. Will still need a little sanding after things are glued into place.
yep - that's starting to look like a plane!
Adding in the reinforcement plate for the wing hold down...
TooJung2Die
Master member
This kind of construction looks terrific. It's almost a shame to have to cover it but all those stringers will show up very well.
bracesport
Legendary member
You could clear cover! 😆
Thanks guys! I'll be using doculam covering which does go on clear. It'll be a little sad covering it up with paint...
The full scale Rata's were fabric covered except for aluminum cowls and wing leading edges, so the stringers showing through on the covering will give a nice scale-ish touch too
The full scale Rata's were fabric covered except for aluminum cowls and wing leading edges, so the stringers showing through on the covering will give a nice scale-ish touch too
Good progress today!
Started by putting my receiver together - generic Frsky compatible 4 channel will work perfectly since I'm only using a single aileron servo. These ones are only $7 each, but it's "some assembly required"
Then mounted up the receiver with double sided adhesive foam with the rudder and elevator servos connected. This way I can route the wires through the existing slot in the former that the wing saddle slides into. Yes, if the servos on this model go bad there is a lot of surgery to perform.
Part of the instructions that really messed with my head for a while was the direction to "install the horizontal guide rails" - with no picture or other indication where these rails went. Then I saw a picture two pages ahead in the instructions that showed a close up of the horizontal stabilizer and it all clicked - the "horizontal guide rails" he was talking about go in the fuselage above and below the cutout lines so the stabilizer can slide into place!
Another part that I almost missed in the instructions is putting in the plywood wing attachment plate in place - thank goodness I hadn't glued in the wing saddles yet! I had to slide them up out of the way to get the plate to seat properly.
Then it's time for more leveling to get the wing saddles in just the right spot. The laser level comes in real handy making sure the perpendicular parts stay aligned right too
And fast forward 30 minutes of fiddling and leveling and measuring and pining and then a tiny bit of sanding and starting over and trying again....
I'm finally happy with the wing saddle fit and ready to glue them in.
Then it was time to put in the wing attachment bracket, make it it fit into the fuselage nicely, and glue that in too.
Time to fit the aileron servo - once the belly pan goes on it's really difficult to work on. And because I'm using linkage stopper connectors on the servo arms I had to raise the servo up on some extra blocks to keep things aligned.
Then the belly pan gets glued on
Now the blocking so I can get to the wing mounting screws
Working on the rudder control horn setup... hinges not installed yet - need a little more fitting on the control rod exit alignment.
But it's time for some airplane noises before lights out tonight!
Next is getting the wing mounting screws in place, hand grips and blocking around the belly pan, rudder hinging and control horn installation, cowling blocks, motor mount, sanding the wings nicely and cutting the ailerons free, cutting the elevator free and sanding to shape, making the battery tray and hatch, and final sanding all around. Then the covering starts!
Started by putting my receiver together - generic Frsky compatible 4 channel will work perfectly since I'm only using a single aileron servo. These ones are only $7 each, but it's "some assembly required"
Then mounted up the receiver with double sided adhesive foam with the rudder and elevator servos connected. This way I can route the wires through the existing slot in the former that the wing saddle slides into. Yes, if the servos on this model go bad there is a lot of surgery to perform.
Part of the instructions that really messed with my head for a while was the direction to "install the horizontal guide rails" - with no picture or other indication where these rails went. Then I saw a picture two pages ahead in the instructions that showed a close up of the horizontal stabilizer and it all clicked - the "horizontal guide rails" he was talking about go in the fuselage above and below the cutout lines so the stabilizer can slide into place!
Another part that I almost missed in the instructions is putting in the plywood wing attachment plate in place - thank goodness I hadn't glued in the wing saddles yet! I had to slide them up out of the way to get the plate to seat properly.
Then it's time for more leveling to get the wing saddles in just the right spot. The laser level comes in real handy making sure the perpendicular parts stay aligned right too
And fast forward 30 minutes of fiddling and leveling and measuring and pining and then a tiny bit of sanding and starting over and trying again....
I'm finally happy with the wing saddle fit and ready to glue them in.
Then it was time to put in the wing attachment bracket, make it it fit into the fuselage nicely, and glue that in too.
Time to fit the aileron servo - once the belly pan goes on it's really difficult to work on. And because I'm using linkage stopper connectors on the servo arms I had to raise the servo up on some extra blocks to keep things aligned.
Then the belly pan gets glued on
Now the blocking so I can get to the wing mounting screws
Working on the rudder control horn setup... hinges not installed yet - need a little more fitting on the control rod exit alignment.
But it's time for some airplane noises before lights out tonight!
Next is getting the wing mounting screws in place, hand grips and blocking around the belly pan, rudder hinging and control horn installation, cowling blocks, motor mount, sanding the wings nicely and cutting the ailerons free, cutting the elevator free and sanding to shape, making the battery tray and hatch, and final sanding all around. Then the covering starts!
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speedbirdted
Legendary member
It's an addiction you'll never have any reason to kickThere is so much good information here. I am going to start my first balsa build soon and now I see a lot of bits and ideas and fancy tools that may really help me. Thanks
what are you building?
There is so much good information here. I am going to start my first balsa build soon and now I see a lot of bits and ideas and fancy tools that may really help me. Thanks
Awesome!! Welcome to balsa building!
The fancy tools aren't necessary, but some of the ideas can help make thing easier! Don't forget to start your build thread in here so we can all follow along and help answer questions!
Adding the hand grips and some little stringer bits on the belly pan to help the covering
And a line of stringers on the fuselage along the wing line - again, to help the covering process. These will almost all be covered up by the fillets later, but this way the covering will go on easier.
And a line of stringers on the fuselage along the wing line - again, to help the covering process. These will almost all be covered up by the fillets later, but this way the covering will go on easier.
Zetoyoc
Elite member
I have a 55" Yak-3 but I decided to order a Willy Nillies Barnstormer to get some practice with first. mostly for the covering experience but i imagine the entire process will be good to do at least once before attempting the Yak-3 ill be sure to make a thread when i finally start it.It's an addiction you'll never have any reason to kick
