The things we do for entertainment... "Fiu"

[Epitaph]

Just tried out a weight test for the CG, and as is, I got it level with 2 AA alcaline batteries (same size and weight as the LiFePO4 2S 14500 size battery I want to make) in the cabin right back next to the former. Now, the servos will be installed in the wings aft of the CG, bit they will only be light. If I installed the receiver in the underwing section next to the former, literally on the CG point, this would allow me to put the battery right up front next to the nose to compensate the servos, and that way have the weight right up front where it goes best on a sloper. And all this with no need for extra ballast probably! Another good thing is this is more a test for me, so I end up with a nice piece of room between the battery and the former, right where the servos originally went, to add a servo for the clamshell tailbrake on a larger version... Now I know exactly where I need to put it, and I can adjust the cables accordingly! Either there, or in the aft section next to the former, and place the receiver in the cabin next to the former, and thst will give the cables unobstructed access to the tail.

How about on a larger version using 2 servos per wing instead of one? That would open up different posibilities like smaller elevator, diferential trim ailerons... Even butterfly, to see how it turns out! If butterfly works, and you add clamshell speedbrakes, you can literally land on a dime! The problem with butterfly on plank wings is you more or less loose aileron control with it. So if you use the clamshell when on approach, and flip the butterfly on about a meter off the ground, that would bleed off all the airspeed in the last moment, whilst still giving aileron control on the lineup...

 

[Epitaph]

Well, I think my build will be quite sloppy in the end so all that may not make a difference. But I'll make an effort

I'm sure it'll come out perfect... Pacience, my young padawan (sorry, couldn't resist a Liam Nelson quote)!!

 

[colorex]

I'm sure it'll come out perfect... Pacience, my young padawan (sorry, couldn't resist a Liam Nelson quote)!!

My patience is usually manifested in the waiting times for shipping! Just got in a receiver w/ failsafe and a SimpleOSD and a few other things... Took 48 days!

 

[Epitaph]

How about an oxymoron...: "patience is a virtue that I just can't wait to achieve!"

 

[colorex]

How about an oxymoron...: "patience is a virtue that I just can't wait to achieve!"

I can't wait to see more progress!

 

[Epitaph]

I'm afraid I'm a little stuck right now... I can't finish the wings until I have the servos for exact size, and I can't finish the fuselage without the resistor and the magnets I'm waiting on...

Gomenasai!

 

[Epitaph]

Well, in the spirit of keeping things in motion, I have the cabin lid in process for the moment. As it's made from the hard balsa, I've got it nice and wet and now drying in traction to the form that I need, so it's ready for the magnet to be added. I also have a friend that is sending me the servos that I need that he has spare, so lets see when they arrive and then I can get to finishing off the wing at least. He's also sending me the resistor that I need for the power indicator LED so that will get that underway... then all I will need is the battery and it's ready to fly!!

 

[Epitaph]

Quick photo... still needs a little sanding though.

 

[colorex]

I assume you got the LED.

That is really awesome - way too much for me Not above my skill, but above my motivation!

 

[Epitaph]

I have the LED, just no resistor. The rear oart with the switch isn't jlued, just pinned into place to get size for the cabin.

It's not a level of motivation, just a level of boredom to satisfy!

 

[Epitaph]

The neighbour opposite has just seen my Coyote and this Fiu, and says about making her a plane just to hang on the wall (saya she likes my crafts(wo)manship).. maybe I should make her a 50% Fiu, no problem with space and such as it won't have any electronics hehehe

 

[Epitaph]

Oh well, whilst I wait for the resistor and the servos I might as well make something useful, and I needed to make a stand for my tablet, and I refuse to pay €8 for a stupid 5cm piece of metacrilate with a cut in it when I can make a much wider one that holds it firmly from a few offcuts of balsa!

 

[xuzme720]

Nice! I've been working on the stuff I have parts for, which at this point is just the Ptero and the micro McFoamy. making a bit of progress on both as the McFoamy is painted and the Ptero has servos and linkages done...

 

[Epitaph]

I'm considering a crazy mod... I have 20 white LEDs with no home to go. I'm thinking about putting one between each pair of ribs, in the centre of the spar facing aft, making a total of 12 on the wings, then covering the open spars aft section in transparent red, and the rest in white so it's like red windows on the wings. Then another white LED on the tip of the nose, and a red LED on the top of the tail fin. Weight would be minimal, which on a slopie isn't a problem anyway, and i'll be saving weight anyway on the type of battery used.

The idea is for all those twilight hours with wind I remember on the coast in autumn... when the sun is almost gone and there is a haze of light still around, flip a switch on the radio and turn the lights on. Not good to fly slope in pitch black night because you need to see the cliff, for safety reasons and to not crash, but those "in between" twilight hours are still ideal if the wind is good, just before dawn and just after dusk...

 

[Epitaph]

Ok, I've scoured out a couple of shallow trenches in the fin all the way to the tip. I wish I had thought of this before, then I could have done it neatly in the sandwich along with the antenna conduit. But such is hindsight I guess. I originally made one, then saw how shallow it was, so I decided to make a second as best I could. Reason for this is I am coing to strip the cables and lay the bare copper wire in the trench, then glue small bits of balsa on top in the trench with white glue, and having 2 trenches I can have each polarity in one seperate. Then a bit of epoxy on the tip where the 2 meet and to hold the LED in place, and right at the bottom where the 2 trenches meet have the cable as should be with the shielding on, this being where the wings fall in place. Reason for this is to be able to remake the fin as solid as possible, as well as not having ant dark colours showing should I decide to use a light colour covering... and I only have dark small gauge wire left. The LED itself is just a small 3mm red LED, not very omnidirectional, more a small radius one. It's more for aesthetics than function really though...

 

[Epitaph]

Just received my friends carepackage with 2 servos in it... absolutely perfect little servos! Only 8mm wide, they fit in with room to spare! I have them right now sticking to some 1.5mm balsa to act as the foot to get them flush with the underside. I tried them out, and they are great little runners! Completely jitter-free, surprisingly strong fortheir size, work well with a half charged 1S battery even, and they centre perfectly! If anyone needs really small servos, think about these ones, only $3 a piece! Great value indeed!

 

[Freaky_1]

Sweet. The build continues!

 

[Epitaph]

Sweet. The build continues!

For the time being yes... until I het the next brick wall: the resistor. But he's making me a control switch for the LEDs so I can turn them on and off from the gear switch on the transmitter

I got a little carried away today, and now there's a lot of white glue and epoxy to cure overnight!

First of all, place one servo in place... the servo was epoxyed to a thin piece of balsa which I could then sand to the angle of the top of the wing. Got it nice and flush with the wing, with half or the servo inside the fuselage



So now one servo is in place and on the correct angle to get the elevon perpendicularly, time to place the other servo...



Next comes the bordering off of the servos...



And finally, comes the closing off of the wing root, one already placed, and the other being cut to size right now...



Once all the glue is fully dry tomorrow, it will be time to sand it all down neatly. I also decided to break through the covering on the leading edge to get to the centre rib sandwich and make a hole through it with a screwdriver so I could use a zip-tie to lead out the cables. Between the zip-tie and the servos the cables are epoxyed into place so to ceep within the channels in the fuselage. I will have to remove that zip-tie and put in a new one later as the cables for the wing lighting will be passing through there too... I made a small channel between the servo and the spar to accomodate the wiring, and once in I just need to glue a piece of 1.5mm balsa in the channel to close it off.

The wing is getting there, slowly but surely

 

[Epitaph]

Right now I am sanding down the bottom panels that I added this afternoon so that should come up nice and smooth soon. Whilst I was waiting for it to dry I spent the afternoon with the soldering iron and epoxy fitting LEDs in one of the wings. After finishing that side, I just lay a piece of the transparent red covering on top and connected the battery... one thing's for certain, it's bright!... don't know if it might be a good idea to add a resistor inline after all, as they were starting to warm up a bit, eventhough originally these LEDs were direct...

 

[Epitaph]

Ok, tried with a resistor I found lying in the bottom of the box, and they dim maybe 20%, which I would like to recover that if possible, but the don't heat at all... so just turns out that lamp they came off was some chinese POS that they couldn't even be bothered to put a 2 cent resistor on. So, looks like it's time to calculate the appropriate one.