Ryan's Daughter - 52" Sport model Model Airplane (short) Kit

[Shaul]

I was looking for kit that will be not too hard to build, not too expensive and that will result in a model that can perform aerobatics while being stable.
I think I found one. This is Ryan's Daughter – a low-wing sport model by Peter Rake. I have ordered it from Manzano Laser.

In this Log I intend to record my building steps in a way that will help me along the process. I hope others will find it useful.
Note: since I am not a native speaker of English, I am bound to insert grammatical mistakes and use inaccurate terms. Please feel free to draw my attention to such cases.


About the kit:
The kit holds a short kit that includes 12 balsa and plywood pre-cut sheets plus a pair of 1:1 drawings.
A short kit is a kit that contains only pre-cut balsa and plywood parts. All metal and plastic parts, covering and of course electronics are left out. Also not included are parts that do not need to be pre-cut such as spars, duvets and stringers.

About Me:
I consider myself as a mediocre flier. I have some experience with building kits but this is my first short kit. I will try to build this model so it will be robust and enjoyable to fly. Being an accurate replica of the original plane is not high on my list.

First Steps:
The kit does not come with building instructions. There’s a build log that I might be helpful but I’m not sure I will closely follow.
Since the balsa and wooden parts are not marked, I need to go over the sheets and identify them. Most of them are named on the drawings.
Then, I’ll have to figure out which parts are missing and order them. I should start with balsa and plywood and wait with the rest.

Let's go.


Overview written after many flight can be found here.

 

[Shaul]

First thing I did was to compile a file that identifies all supplied balsa and plywood parts.
Most parts were already named in the schematics. Those that weren't were marked by me.
The file allows searching the parts.

 

[TooJung2Die]

This will be interesting. I read the whole build log on RCG. There are some very nice looking completed models in there. Let me guess... Those plywood washers are for making the engine cylinders?

 

[Shaul]

This will be interesting. I read the whole build log on RCG. There are some very nice looking completed models in there. Let me guess... Those plywood washers are for making the engine cylinders?

Probably. If it is, I wander if I'm going to spend time on it.
I'm just beginning the work. The build log I was referring to has many educative pictures. So what I'm doing right now is extracting the missing hardware. We are now in almost-full lockdown here due to the Coronavirus so it's going to be tricky.

 

[rockyboy]

Nice looking plane - and that "fake" radial up front is very cool!

If you have a hard time sourcing things, feel free to post up here with specifics - we're happy to help point you to our favorite places, or big something out of our own pile of parts. On that note, what size wheels will you need - I've got a big box of used wheels from a club estate donation and might have something that would work for you.

 

[Shaul]

Nice looking plane - and that "fake" radial up front is very cool!

If you have a hard time sourcing things, feel free to post up here with specifics - we're happy to help point you to our favorite places, or big something out of our own pile of parts. On that note, what size wheels will you need - I've got a big box of used wheels from a club estate donation and might have something that would work for you.

You are being very generous, rockyboy.
The problem is that we are about 5000 miles apart. So I'll try to find what I can locally (That is, in Israel).

 

[rockyboy]

You are being very generous, rockyboy.
The problem is that we are about 5000 miles apart. So I'll try to find what I can locally (That is, in Israel).

Shipping time can be a bit of a delay

We do have other active forum members in Israel too - their shipping distances should be shorter

 

[Shaul]

Yep. Shipping time is a real problem, especially inside the country. Our economy is collapsing thanks to the virus. I'm not sure the post-office even opens.
I spoke to one of my suppliers today, one of the largest ones in the country. He told me that the shop is closed but he can arrange it for me to come to his place (that is, home) to buy stuff.
If you have further info, I'd love to get it.

 

[Shaul]

Now, to prepare the hardware shopping list. At this point I just want to get the stuff needed for the building of the bare-bone model: Balsa, Plywood and music-wire.
It was a very educative task to extract the list from the schematics. For example, I am not sure yet whether the top view and the side view of the back part of the fuselage are projections or actual size. Perhaps neither. So it is impossible to extract precise dimensions out of them. Same with curved surfaces. So, at this point I provide only approximate measurements.
Another issue I encounter is due to the fact that the dimensions are given in imperial units (Inches) while the shops here stock mainly metric items. I will try to provide a solution once I tackle these issues.

I have some insight regarding to the construction of this model. I have built quite a few ARFs and one large kit. I am amazed by the simplicity of the design and the rare use of plywood. I will dwell on this point later on.

 

[Shaul]

Start working - order of assembly
I start with the fuselage. It consists of 3 distinct parts: The cowling, the rear part that is made of a construction of balsa beams and the center part (Cockpit) that is built a simple rectangular box.
Since both the rear part and the cowling lean on the cockpit wooden partitions (F1 + F2) I have decided to start with the cockpit.

Cockpit part description:
The front partition (F1) is symmetrical. The little hole (where the wing dowel will later be inserted) is located at the lower part of F1. The back partition (F2) is symmetrical. Place the (only) hole at the top.
The two sides (FS2) are made of balsa. Note the the little tip is at the front lower point. This tip is very fragile. If you just push it out it will brake.

You need to remove the surrounding balsa first.

In addition, all parts are connected to surrounding material by means of tiny uncut wood as shown below. make sure to sand them off.


Cockpit - building:
You must make sure that you place each part correctly aligned and that all angles are exactly 90 degrees. Here is how I did it. Any comment is welcome:

1. Right side Front:

I Place F1 (Front) on the workbench with F2 attached to it so it serves me to limit the upper part of FS2 (right side). I also make sure that it is glued perpendicular to F1. I used medium CA.

2. Did the same with the left FS2. Note that FS2 is at the outside "wrapping" F1:

[Edit: Now the parts are correctly aligned]
3 . Now, glue F2 with Carpenters Glue. The upper edges of all four parts are aligned (see photo). FS2 has a notch at the top:

Here's how I did it:


Final thoughts:
As you can imagine, this construction is very fragile. Even if I now replace the CA by Carpenter glue it will still collapse on impact. I will have to devise a way to reinforce the cockpit.

 

[Shaul]

The initial work on center part of the fuselage is done. It is accurate but very fragile.
It still needs:

• Rounded top with mock cockpit
• Wing bolt brackets (or equivalent)
• Tray for rudder and elevator servos + battery.
• Reinforcements
• D1 balsa parts

I leave it for now and go to the rear part of the fuselage.

 

[Shaul]

Fuselage frame - forming the side panels
It is preferable to use 3/16 square balsa. I used 4mm which added to my work as I had to maintain symmetry between the right and the left side.

1. Glue the upper and the lower beams of one side to part FS3:

• Do not remove the Horizontal Stabilizer place holder yet (see above picture).
• Glue beams to FS3. Place the beams firmly to FS3 and place them flush with FS3.
• The above picture depicts the right side. If you use beams other than 3/16" - glue the left side in a fashion that mirrors the right side.

[Edit: All four longitude beams are 450mm long]

2. Glue the upper and the lower beams of the other side to part FS3:


3. Glue the vertical lateral beams (right side):

Here I work on the right side of the fuselage. I place sheet of Saran Wrap over a copy of the drawing. The whole thing is placed over a children's cork board.

• Pin the right side to the drawing.
• Cut vertical lateral beams. Make sure the rightmost is flush with part FS3. and the leftmost is aligned with (location of) part F2.
• Glue and wait until dry.

4. Glue the vertical lateral beams (left side):

Symmetry if of utmost importance here. We will build the left side by attaching it to the already built right side.

• Place the right side so that its outer face faces up.
• put a sheet of Saran Warp over it.
• Pin the left side to the right side so that they overlap precisely.
• Glue the vertical lateral beams in place.

5. Glue D2 & D3 in place:

Be very accurate and don't forget to place them on the outer face of each side.

We are now ready to assemble the sides of the fuselage.

 

[Shaul]

Fuselage frame - forming the bottom and top panels

1. Prepare lateral beams for both top and bottom panels. Make them in pairs.

2. We start at the bottom:

• Pin part TS to the working surface
• Apply carpenters glue where the side panels are going to be glued to TS and at the rear.
• Pin both side panel to the working surface so that they are flush with part TS and follow the drawing. Pay attention to symmetry.
• Make sure parts D2 and D3 are on the external part of the fuselage and that part D3 is below part D2.
• Tighten both side panels using clamps. make sure slots are at the same level
• Wait till dry

3. Add lateral beams:

• Start with the bottom (picture above).
• once dry, go to top panel (picture below).

4. Round rear
Sand the rear of the fuselage until round and smooth

 

[Shaul]

And, now what?

At this point, we have the skeletons of the middle part and the rear part of the fuselage.
I do not add the skid, the stringers and parts F2A to F6.
I will need a flat fuselage top in order to correctly align all of its parts.

The next two steps will be to strengthen the middle part and to construct the cowling. I'm still am unsure with which to begin. Let me think....

 

[TooJung2Die]

I'm still am unsure with which to begin. Let me think ...

Think about a problem while you're falling asleep and you'll have the answer when you wake up.

 

[Shaul]

Front part of the fuselage - the Cowling

This part is built from the cockpit part of the fuselage to the front. The Cowling construction has one goal - to place the firewall (Part M) in place as accurately as possible. Since the motor connected to this part pulls the entire model, the construction must also be tough. I used 30 minutes epoxy for maximum strength.

The work is done with the cockpit part , the triangular rods, parts M and NA accurately pinned to the drawing. They are pinned top down so that the cowling top is attached to the working surface.


1. Preliminaries
On the firewall (Part M) drill holes for the motor mount and test the mount.
Place all parts in place as described in the picture above. Make sure parts M and NA are correctly oriented:
M: Hole closer to the top.
NA: Hole closer to the bottom.
It is quite possible that M will not fit. You can either bevel M (as shown below) or make a shallow slot in each rod.
Do not glue yet.


2. Glue the firewall

1. Place the cockpit in place. Make sure part F1 exactly in place.
2. Sand the one end of each rod so they have surfaces parallel to the cockpit (Part F1)
3. Prepare some epoxy and apply it to the above rod ends.
4. Apply some epoxy to part M on the edges that are going to interface with the rods. Remember that you assemble the fuselage upside down so you glue the upper side that is pinned to the drawing.
5. Place the rods in place. Pin them very accurately to the surface so they are pressed against part F1.
6. Place part M. It is very important that it is glued in parallel to part F1. See pictures above.
7. Wait for glue to dry.

3. Glue part NA

1. Apply some epoxy to part NA on the edges that are going to interface with the rods. Remember that you assemble the fuselage upside down so you glue the upper side that is pinned to the drawing.
2. Place part NA.
3. Wait for glue to dry.

4. Side panels

1. There are 4 FS1 parts. To create a side panel you will need a pair of FS1 parts. Use thin layer of carpenter glue.
2. Once side panels are dry, apply epoxy to the contact surfaces of parts M, NA, F1 and the triangular rods. The contacts with M and F1 are most important.
3. Wait for the epoxy to dry.

5. Bottom triangular rods.

1. Prepare triangular rods to be inserted between the side panels and M and NA. You might need to sand their ends or cut slots for M in them.
2. Place rods in place. make sure they have good contact with F1 and that they are on the same level as the side panels.
3. Remove rods and apply epoxy to the contact surfaces.
4. Wait for the epoxy to dry.

6. Bottom

1. On of a 1/2" (12.5mm) balsa sheet, cut the piece that will be used as cowling bottom.
2. Use epoxy to glue it to place. Fill the gap between it and F1.

7.

Now is the time to glue parts D to place. Accuracy is of utmost importance. Use a thin layer of carpenters glue.

 

[Shaul]

On the construction of the cowling...

Unlike most models I built and repaired, this kit prefers to rely on thick balsa and glue for durability and strength.

Lets see how it is designed to resist forces operated on it by the motor and by frontal impact.

Motor:
The motor is connected with 4 bolts to plate M, the firewall. Think of M as pulling the entire model that resists to the movement because of drag forces operating (mainly on the wings). To do that imagine to are holding the motor with one hand and puling the wings back.

• If M is not well glued to the cowling (the bars, the side panels and the bottom), it will be ripped off its place. Note that M has a very small interface area with cowling.
• If the cowling is not well glued to F1, the whole cowling will be detached on takeoff or on a sudden throttle increase.

It is essential to reinforce both locations.

Impact:
No model is designed to withstand a serious impact applied to the motor shaft. However, we do not want the model to suffer extensive damage when plunging its nose to the ground at the end of an imperfect landing.
When this happens, the following might follow:

• The firewall (M) will crack, serving as a kind of fuse. This is a favorable outcome as the fix is quite straightforward.
• The firewall (M) will disassemble. Not that bad either
• The entire cowling will go back, deforming the cockpit and perhaps the wings - bad.

It is a good idea to leave the the fie wall (M) as it is so it will be the one to take the blow.

 

[TooJung2Die]

This is proving to be quite an intricate build. I'm enjoying following your thought process as you build. I'll bet the instructions aren't as detailed.

 

[Shaul]

This is proving to be quite an intricate build. I'm enjoying following your thought process as you build. I'll bet the instructions aren't as detailed.

Actually, there are no instructions, only drawings.
So I spend 80% of the time trying to figure out what's going on and only 20% in actual building. I hope my log will save much time to others.
Anyway, thanks for your input. It's good to know someone is reading it.

 

[TooJung2Die]

I totally get it. I am currently building a 1938 "Twin Cyclone" from a drawing. Everything has to be cut and shaped by hand. The "kit" is a box of balsa sheet and sticks. The only convenience to the kit is some printed balsa. I can't even find a decent photo of a completed airplane. This will help keep me occupied. It will be a free-flight to RC conversion. I'll start a build thread soon.
Where do you live?