That is beautiful! Well done, sir!
What are you entering into the scale build-off?
What are you entering into the scale build-off?
Willsonman all balsa Gee Bee Z build
- Thread starter willsonman
- Start date
The J-22. Since this was more of a diversion than anything I did not want to be meticulous about all the details etc. Just wanted a fun plane to fly. J-22 is back on the bench! I've put together a slide show of the build. I'll post it here when it is ready. Just for those who do not want to read through the whole thread at this point.
Stradawhovious
"That guy"
That's an incredible and impressive project.
Nice job!
Nice job!
Thank you!
I thought I would document here that I have had to make some additions to this plane recently. The balsa plate at the rear landing gear strut should be made from PLY! I soldered on tabs to the rear struts to screw them into the wood and they instantly ripped loose. Further still, the front section should be reinforced with some play as well. Its strong enough to withstand the loads but again, the screws are pulling from the soft balsa. The H-stab NEEDS bracing. The balsa is just too soft and the H-stab flexes a bit more than I am comfortable with. I am planning to use some spider wire fishing line and a sewing needle to run some reinforcement and the areas that go through wood will get CA to hold the lines in place. Lightweight and will provide the additional strength needed. Also, where the elevators join, I would reinforce the areas where the U-joiner is inserted with some 1/64 ply and CA on the outside. Again, this is a soft balsa issue. I had the u-joiner break loose during flight. I got her down in one piece but it was hairy.
Well, its under film covering. So I've had to cut it back, change things up and re-apply. Its really about the grip of the screw into the wood. so, ply.
That plane is gorgeous.
The paint job... wow.
The paint job... wow.
Well thanks! The yellow fought a good fight but in the end I won. The trim is all vinyl from Callie Graphics. Makes it super easy to make things look sharp.
After a small tumble earlier in the year, I took time to make some repairs last night. The wood plate that holds the wing on broke loose from the fuselage box. I used CA to tack it in place and reinforced it with bass blocks. I swapped out the 1800Kv motor for a 1250Kv motor in hopes that I can have a more efficient flight. The 1800 pulls a lot of current without much gain in speed due to the low pitch of the prop. I should only lose 5 mph. I had previously installed hard bass strips for the main gear struts but the retention was poor for side loads. I used a dremel to cut a groove in the bass for the landing gear wire to reside and moved the brass securing brackets directly next to the wheel pants. I'm hopeful this will help. She is flyable again and we will see how she fares in the future.
Had the Bee out at the field last night. Club meeting so I had onlookers. She was badly out of trim on take-off and spend nearly the entire flight getting trims back in place. A little up elevator and had to trim the rudder all the way left and the aileron all the way right. Need to make some mechanical adjustments here. It was a HOT and sticky evening filled with gnats and the sun was blaring in my face. I got sweat in my right eye and was fighting to blink it out as I flew. I had to land so I just sucked it up and landed with my right eye closed. a little bouncy but no nose-over and a little roll out. Gear looks great so I think I'll do some paint touch-up and see if I can make some room in the car for her to make the trip to FTFF.
With the air races being a part of FFEast 2017 I decided to take some time to spruce up the Gee Bee. She is a sweet little airplane that I would love to see fly more. With such a light construction of very light balsa she has taken a beating over the years and some re-wrok and surgery is required. So let's get into it.
THe soft balsa was just not able to hold up to landings on our rough field. The H-stab has cracked far too many times so it was time to really dig deep and put in a carbon spar. A drill bit was used to bore a hole through the fuselage and make some room for the spar. It is much more stiff now and ready to hold things true in flight.
The rudder took some damage and subsequently the V-stab. I was not entirely happy with how doculam covered this area anyway so I removed it all and used CA to make repairs as well as add more balsa to reinforce the vertical.
The covering went on with no problems and my Behr paint was still good.
The rudder was repaired with minimal covering removed. The vinyl came off just fine so a little more spray glue and they go back on.
And the tail planes are re-assembled. Much more sturdy with minimal weight increase.
More to come yet. The landing gear will be getting some major reinforcements so stay tuned. And this is just a minor distraction while I wait for weather to improve for the Bugatti maiden.
THe soft balsa was just not able to hold up to landings on our rough field. The H-stab has cracked far too many times so it was time to really dig deep and put in a carbon spar. A drill bit was used to bore a hole through the fuselage and make some room for the spar. It is much more stiff now and ready to hold things true in flight.
The rudder took some damage and subsequently the V-stab. I was not entirely happy with how doculam covered this area anyway so I removed it all and used CA to make repairs as well as add more balsa to reinforce the vertical.
The covering went on with no problems and my Behr paint was still good.
The rudder was repaired with minimal covering removed. The vinyl came off just fine so a little more spray glue and they go back on.
And the tail planes are re-assembled. Much more sturdy with minimal weight increase.
More to come yet. The landing gear will be getting some major reinforcements so stay tuned. And this is just a minor distraction while I wait for weather to improve for the Bugatti maiden.
It is! Robert McKellar did a fantastic job with the design to capture every curve and detail. The original kit was sized to be cut on 4" balsa planks. As an experiment, Manzano scaled it up to fit on 6" planks and it builds exactly the same. The only problems are the weak spots inherent from a larger model. As there were only a handful of these kits cut, there are challenges to be overcome but they are minor. I would imagine that this would scale up, even to 1/4 scale, very well. There are no plans for it as everything is keyed together but I do have the parts file that I could scale up. The Z model is my favorite and this particular model is just a sweetie to fly.
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Had a very long day at work but managed to muster a little bit more progress on the Bee.
Some ply goes into the belly pan for the inner wires for the landing gear. Used wood glue to keep this build a bit more true to its roots in balsa building.
The soft balsa will never hold a screw over time. I cut some 2cmx2cm ply plates and used the dremel to cut in recesses for them and liberally applied wood glue. After this I used a little spackle to clean up the edges. Just a bit of sanding and paint and these will be done.
I'll get the inner pant struts completed before I move onto the outer ones. I'll need to cut into the wing panels to install some additional ply hard points. The plan is to use my usual wire and electrical ring terminals and affix them using mechanical solder, exactly how I did on the Sikorsky. I do not plan to use very thick material here. Yard markers will do just fine since the loads will be shared in the push and pull directions. They just need to be the right length. I could go crazy and hammer the wires a bit more flat to streamline them. It could be fun but not sure I really want to put that much effort into it.
Some ply goes into the belly pan for the inner wires for the landing gear. Used wood glue to keep this build a bit more true to its roots in balsa building.
The soft balsa will never hold a screw over time. I cut some 2cmx2cm ply plates and used the dremel to cut in recesses for them and liberally applied wood glue. After this I used a little spackle to clean up the edges. Just a bit of sanding and paint and these will be done.
I'll get the inner pant struts completed before I move onto the outer ones. I'll need to cut into the wing panels to install some additional ply hard points. The plan is to use my usual wire and electrical ring terminals and affix them using mechanical solder, exactly how I did on the Sikorsky. I do not plan to use very thick material here. Yard markers will do just fine since the loads will be shared in the push and pull directions. They just need to be the right length. I could go crazy and hammer the wires a bit more flat to streamline them. It could be fun but not sure I really want to put that much effort into it.
Tench745
Master member
DO it, you know you'll smile every time you see them.
The problem with hammering them flat is that the metal will inherently stretch and then I would have to re-solder the ring terminals. Not a big deal but at this stage I just want her in the air again... and that may be pretty soon!
I got some wires on last night. I had planned to go all-out with the trailing wires as well but after putting on these 4 the landing gear was SOOOO much better! Side loads are now a non-issue.
Here is a closer look at the outer wires. I used CA to put the plates into the wing. Reason being that if I do take a good hit the plate will pop out rather than rip the wing apart if I were to use a stronger glue.
This landing gear leg had taken a big hit at one point. It was bent to the point where the wheel was not straight with the other wheel. In order to properly bend it back I had to remove the balsa covering. It was just easier to use a bit of foam board and Titebond to replace the wood. It will shape easily and I can cover it with tissue paper and WBPU to paint it.
My two racers together.
I got some wires on last night. I had planned to go all-out with the trailing wires as well but after putting on these 4 the landing gear was SOOOO much better! Side loads are now a non-issue.
Here is a closer look at the outer wires. I used CA to put the plates into the wing. Reason being that if I do take a good hit the plate will pop out rather than rip the wing apart if I were to use a stronger glue.
This landing gear leg had taken a big hit at one point. It was bent to the point where the wheel was not straight with the other wheel. In order to properly bend it back I had to remove the balsa covering. It was just easier to use a bit of foam board and Titebond to replace the wood. It will shape easily and I can cover it with tissue paper and WBPU to paint it.
My two racers together.
Nah, that's still a park flyer size. 
