Spacewalker balsa build: HobbyKing Sponsored

nhk750

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willsonman

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Yup! that will work too! Glad the Windex trick worked for you. Cannot, for the life of me, remember where I picked that up but it totally works. I'll also add that you can see in my photos that there is no color difference. So, don;t let the blue shade make you suy away if you plan on exposing your balsa in the covering process.
 

willsonman

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I hope you guys are not chomping at the bit for updates. Since visual progress is rather slow for these builds my updates are not as frequent for this project. I took a night to frame up the first wing panel and last night I glued most of it together. There were a couple of issues that need to be documented and noted but know that they are coming. One issue was another assembly error in the visual instructions (two actually). there were also a couple of parts that were not cut properly, but it is a very minor issue. Also, a procedural issue in the instructions and a few notes about that need to be made. Lots of stuff all at once but it needs to be methodically explained.
 

willsonman

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So I'll start off with what took me about an hour to figure out. There are in fact TWO errors, so far, in the wing assembly. The Aileron root ply is mislabeled as A16, wich is the main ply spar. This should be A10. It was easy to spot given the shape from the diagram. The hard one was that the wing rib next to the tip rib was mis labeled as E1 when it should be E2. I figured this one out by looking at the parts sheet and found that there were SIX E2 ribs and only two E1 ribs. This was after desperately trying to figure out how A10 fit into the space with E1 in the middle. There are a couple of procedural lessons learned by this first panel so I'll go over those as well as other small issues. In advance, I'll tell you that these first two steps should be done TOGETHER. Do not glue the ribs to the spar and 6mm balsa in the first step until you have completed inserts from the second step.
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Here you can see the SLIGHT difference at the trailing edge of E1 on the bottom and E2 on the top. A headache but I figured it out for you. :) My further confusion came from the parts not being labeled correctly on the sheet as well as the parts sheet in the instructions. I only figured it out by comparing the physical shape.
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The formers at the tip of the wing go on quite well but the tabs on these two formers were not positioned correctly. I had to cut away a small portion for them to center correctly on the tip rib. Not a big deal but it is something to be aware of.
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So, referring back to the first image, F2/C29 lamination is the root of the wing. This should not be glued in place until you have laminated C25 and inserted it into C31, and inserted C5 and F3. You will also want to dry fit the shear web that is placed between the C25s and the spar. THEN fit the F2/C29 and apply glue. F3 and the C25s will be load bearing for the landing gear so the epoxy is a must. I'm using 10-minute but 30-minute is an option as well. 5-minute may be too brittle when fully cured.
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C17 is a pain to install if you glue the ribs to the spar first so I recommend dry fitting it between the two E2 ribs and slotting the ribs into the spar in one motion. Then apply glue.
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Ok, this one will be long... There were NO 3mm balsa stringers supplied and as we all know here in the states... the imperial measurement system is the only way and it is horrible. I made do with some 1/8" balsa sheet and cut my own stringers. Its a bit tight of a fit but it did the job just fine. The two E14 pieces tab into holes in the A10 piece but DO NOT glue them in. The aileron will be cut away from this area and we want build it this way to make sure it is straight with the wing. So you insert them and keep the trailing edge flat on the build surface. I used sandwich bags filled with sand. I then, very carefully, glued D2 to the E14 pieces and then to the trailing edge of the E2 ribs using thin CA. If you feel like you are going to apply too much glue you can place a piece of aluminum foil between E14 and the ribs.
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After all this I would THEN recommend you do your final glue joints on all the ribs where they meet the spar and 6mm balsa. Then apply A15 and lastly, D1. Do not forget your last shear web (C21). I also want to note that A8 does not fit into C17. It sits on top of it. I'm assuming this is a temporary hatch for the aileron servo and should be SCREWED into place given the cutout profile of C17 but I'll assemble the wing more to figure that out.

You can see where the drawbacks come of these assembly diagrams. While I've done some Google-Fu and found another build of this model. it seems that between a year ago to now, there have been a few improvements to the instructions and cuts for this model. Its promising that Hobbyking is continually improving. Some real TEXT instructions do convey what you cannot really do in images.

For a brief update I suggest the following video.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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It's coming along nicely!

The errors in the kit really bother me. It's as if the developers simply said "good enough" while only yards from the finish line. Seriously, it makes me wonder if these kits are actually built before being sold! I understand revisions are made, but documentation should follow. I'm a bit of a stickler on this as I hate to see people try Balsa only to get discouraged by it.

I assume you're doing the bomb drop on this plane?
 

willsonman

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I agree, it does seem as though the model was not built as a prototype to work out bugs and refine instructions. I will say that we are used to the "boutique" kits that are done this way and have been for years, with exception of larger brands like Top Flite where the instructions remain top notch for a big company.

I think I will incorporate a drop mechanism on the Spacewalker just for overall fun factor. As I can easily mount it on the inside of the airplane without anything detracting from the lines it will be a simple matter of adding a rectangular hole. The bomb and mechanism weigh so very little that placing this aft of the wing mount, rather than right on the CG, should not be much of an issue.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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The Fly Baby plane had a "suitcase bomb" center-mounted under the plane. It looked good for the style, as it wasn't a regular looking bomb, just a big roundish cargo pod. That may look good with the Spacewalker as well.
 

willsonman

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Ok, pretty sure the NSA is going to bust down my door for google searching "fly baby suitcase bomb." Apparently in this day and age that search is not going to yield what I want. anyone have a link to post for reference?
 

willsonman

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Getting back on this build after I've had some fun distractions with my 3D printables.

I completed the first wing panel so lets go through the run down and get our bearings.

First... I'm a dummy. I found my 3mm stringers... Yup completely did not see them as stringers but here they are.
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Here are the instructions again. I did confirm that the S3 part is for the wing mount area. It fit perfectly and there are no other labels on the instructions for it to be used elsewhere. I glued on one piece, drilled the hole through, and then the other piece and drilled that out as well. S3 COULD have the hole pre-cut for this hole but the fitting on the top and botom is different. Perhaps they should make them as two separate parts. The S1 balsa piece is the leading edge of the aileron so after you cut the aileron free from the wing, you will have additional trimming to do on the rib trailing edges as well as E14. Just cut them flush with the B7 pieces and then glue S1 on. Its easy. B8 and G3 blocks do NOT butt up against D1 so I would recommend you glue on the bottom piece of B8 and fit them so that the trailing edge will fit flush against the top B8 piece.
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A notable thing here is this notch on E14. This is not needed I'll fill it in with a piece of balsa scrap but it serves no purpose and will weaken the trailing tip of the wing.
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And the wing is complete. The torsional stiffness does not come in until you sheet with B6, B9, and B10. Be sure you secure the wing nice and flat when you apply the sheeting on each side. B6 was a little too wide to fit between the spar and A15 so I trimmed it just a bit. This could easily be done on the laser cut file but again, this late in the build it is more apparent that prototype builds have not been done.
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willsonman

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Second wing panel is coming along. I got it dry fitted last night per my previous notes and glued. Still need to complete work on the aileron area as well as the sheeting but I should have it done by the end of the week. Once all this building stuff is out of the way the fun bits with the details should come more quickly... I have more fun with those.
 

willsonman

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So, lets cover some additional work and discrepancies...

First, the wings are coming together. I have just a bit more sheeting to do on the other wing and then shape the leading edges. I glued the ply spar pieces together and made sure they dried flat on the glass with my heavy steel masonry level keeping it down. The issue is... its too thick. By about 1.5 mm. I was able to remove a lamination of the ply with my knife and it fits snug but will not break the ribs when I insert it. Just dry fitting here, folks.
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So in assembling the tip I remembered the fitting issue and looked at this a bit closer... turns out they are all cut correctly, but the order on the instructions is wrong... insert sigh here... so the correct order from leading edge to trailing edge is: E10, E8, E6, E5, E7, E9, E11. The fact that I did the first panel wrong is a bit inconsequential aerodynamically. I'll outline the issues following this image.
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Circled here ais where you can see the leading edge formers do not sit flush with the balsa sheeting on the leading edge. Easy enough to sand down and its less than 1 mm of material.
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ANd in this shot you can see where the formers fall short on top and bottom to meet the rib flush on the edge. The covering will leave a slight gap here and may vibrate a little but since this is not a high-performance airplane, it is not too much worry.
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Those issues aside, I did note that the swapped formers are in fact the same length, which is why the outer ply edge fit so perfectly.

There is more complication with the wings (specifically the servo bays) that I will address later. These small details are really piling up. While they may not be a big deal for an experienced builder to overcome, this is escalating to not be a kit for the beginner. My hope was that it would be. At this stage it saddens me to relay that news but its a hard fact and feedback that I can give to HK. I know that Ian is working hard in the balsa department to make things better so please do not take this as another opportunity to bash a company.

Please keep in context how HK has grown. Just a few short years ago people CONSTANTLY bashed on HK foamies. Now, the Durafly line keeps up well with, sometimes easily beating out, the competition. It is feedback, like this build, that WILL make things better and I know that more and more folks are putting the pressure on them to deliver better balsa kits as well as ARFs. I maintain that this is a decent kit for the $... if you are not a beginner. At $100 it is of good size and is a stout build. This could change once she gets in the air but that is yet to be determined.
 

RCMAN

New member
Just cut some small balsa strips and glue them to the wingtip ribs, then sand to shape. Easy fix. Looks good so far and nice stout wingtips.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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Hopefully you are able to get through to their design or development people to get them to make the updates needed on the plans and cutting. It bugs me that they spend all the time and resources making a new kit to just leave errors like that.
 

willsonman

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SO very true. In this day, news travels fast and bad news travels faster. I love this airplane as it is just one of those classic designs and should prove to be a real hoot to fly. As I am building, I am making a document with these specific notes so that (my hope) the cut files or the instructions can be updated.

No work last night like I had hoped. My heat pump went out so I was trying to fix it before I had to shell out $ for a technician to come out. Slept with the house around 80 degrees... which is miserable for me.
 

Graham1102

New member
Hello, I maidened my Spacewalker this morning at GMAC. All the build issues identified so far were ones that I experienced but with a lot of thinking (and swearing) time these were overcome. Yes it was disappointing some obvious vaults made it through to production and the instructions could have had more sequential steps but with the help of another member I got there. The first flight was successful, a smooth take off, a little trimming of the ailerons to correct a left turn led to a smooth scale like flight. The set up for landing was easy and a big sigh of relief when it touched down and rolled out to a controlled stop. A couple of things to change before the next flight, the aileron control rods need to be a threaded rod into a clevis for added security the nut came off the supplied e/z connector, luckily no harm was done. And ventilation to the battery needs to be improved, I will need to drill a couple of extra holes in the firewall.