Willy Nilles "Jr. Skylark 250" Beta Kit Build and Flight

[Notnewton]

It has been over two weeks since I talked to Doug and he

said he was sending the missing balsa sheet. I went on vacation and expected it to be waiting for me when I returned. Maybe Doug is on vacation too. I used the full size template from the landing gear wire drawings to cut the missing landing gear parts by hand. Leave the outside dimensions a little large so you can sand them down to match the main ribs after the glue sets. 30 minute epoxy gets used here for filling the gaps and good adhesion. Wire and supports glued and clamped:

Jon

If it makes you feel any better, I'm waiting on the P51 kit my wife ordered as a 2019 Christmas gift .

 

[OliverW]

I tried to contact twice in late August for a suggestion on which plane to purchase for my first balsa build. No response. Gave up.

If you can reach them, buy one of their kits. They respond best to calls to my knowledge

 

[Turbojoe]

I tried to contact twice in late August for a suggestion on which plane to purchase for my first balsa build. No response. Gave up.

If you give up then you are the one missing out! Willy Nillies have some of the best balsa/laser cut kits out there. Make sure you check your SPAM /JUNK folder. I've never failed to get a response from Doug and I'm nobody special. Fix your spam/junk mail settings and then try again. I'm convinced you'll then see a reply from Doug.

Joe

 

[speedbirdted]

I've contacted Doug via email a couple times for inquiries about various things and usually he gets back within the same day. I would also suspect the spam filter. I use Gmail and it didn't filter them to spam, so maybe whatever you use is more problematic.

 

[TooJung2Die]

Boy we really messed this one up for you! Falcon and Skylark are close, but not exactly the same as you've found out!

The error's in your firsts post were corrected long ago. PLEASE send us an email..... we'll make good on this error!

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

Doug, I called you and we talked about the missing balsa sheet. You told me it was shipping next day, 9/4/20. I emailed you on 9/16/20 to let you know I didn't receive a package from you yet. I haven't heard back. I know you check this thread from time to time so please reply here, by email or phone.
Thanks,
Jon

 

[Willy Nillies]

Hi Jon,

We apologize for the delay. Your parts and a surprise are well on their way. You should receive no later than Friday.

MacClarkNC we've searched our email and find nothing from you. Please give us a call!

Notnewton we've answered every email you've sent. We've offered you a full refund or exchange for any other kit you would like. The Mustang is taking longer because we made the mistake of sub-contracting the canopies. If you no longer wish to wait, we completely understand and offer you a full refund or trade for any other kit you would like.

Have fun and God bless,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

 

[Willy Nillies]

We never received this to the best of our knowledge, we just did another search and nothing comes up.

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

 

[TooJung2Die]

Hi Jon,

We apologize for the delay. Your parts and a surprise are well on their way. You should receive no later than Friday.

Thank you, Doug. I also got an email notification today from goshippo.com that a package has been shipped from Willy Nillies. You didn't have to sweeten the pot with something extra but it is appreciated. All's well that ends well.

Shear webbing added to both sides of the landing gear ribs.

Enough of the wing construction is completed to apply covering after sanding. Those pointy trailing edge tips on the wing tips (circled) are fragile. I already bumped one and broke it. They're not going to be easy to cover either so during the sanding I'll reshape the wing tips and ailerons in that area.

Jon

 

[speedbirdted]

Did you add angled wingtips like I did?

 

[TooJung2Die]

Did you add angled wingtips like I did?

I used the wing tips from the kit. I like your tips but I don't have enough balsa block and don't feel like making them laminated.

 

[Notnewton]

Notnewton we've answered every email you've sent. We've offered you a full refund or exchange for any other kit you would like. The Mustang is taking longer because we made the mistake of sub-contracting the canopies. If you no longer wish to wait, we completely understand and offer you a full refund or trade for any other kit you would like.

Doug,
You have 100 % answered our emails and calls and offered refunds or alternate products. I did not mean to insinuate that you were not taking care of me. I have been waiting voluntarily. I reread my post and see have it could have came off that way.

 

[Willy Nillies]

Notnewton we've answered every email you've sent. We've offered you a full refund or exchange for any other kit you would like. The Mustang is taking longer because we made the mistake of sub-contracting the canopies. If you no longer wish to wait, we completely understand and offer you a full refund or trade for any other kit you would like.

Doug,
You have 100 % answered our emails and calls and offered refunds or alternate products. I did not mean to insinuate that you were not taking care of me. I have been waiting voluntarily. I reread my post and see have it could have came off that way.

Hey no worries! This Mustang has been a real challenge, but we are closer than ever. Many lessons learned on this one.

Have fun and God bless,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

 

[Timmy]

Thank you, Doug. I also got an email notification today from goshippo.com that a package has been shipped from Willy Nillies. You didn't have to sweeten the pot with something extra but it is appreciated. All's well that ends well.

Shear webbing added to both sides of the landing gear ribs.

View attachment 179759

Enough of the wing construction is completed to apply covering after sanding. Those pointy trailing edge tips on the wing tips (circled) are fragile. I already bumped one and broke it. They're not going to be easy to cover either so during the sanding I'll reshape the wing tips and ailerons in that area.

View attachment 179761

Jon

What are you gonna cover it with?

 

[TooJung2Die]

What are you gonna cover it with?

I have a good size assortment of covering film, everything from Solarfilm to MonoKote. Clear sections will be Hobby King burnt orange but I haven't decided which opaque color goes best with it.

 

[TooJung2Die]

Wingtips have been shaped to eliminate the fragile tips.

Found some suitable wire to join the elevator halves with 30 minute epoxy. Excess epoxy gets sanded off.

If you use the existing push rod holes the wires bend in an 'S' shape and they drag. Two new holes were drilled. It's important to note that this bulkhead is for a different airplane that was accidentally put in the kit. Willy Nillies sent me the right parts later but the fuselage was already assembled.

Now the push rod wire is straight and parallel lining up with the exit slots in the tail. The wires line up perfectly with the servo arms.

You can see 3mm plywood servo rails in the previous photo. The rails position the servos so they clear the top of the wing with room to spare.

The fuselage is sanded and ready for covering. Rounding the edges makes covering easier and looks better too.

Next I think I'll try making the canopy from a plastic bottle.
Jon

 

[TooJung2Die]

The canopy plug is carved from a chunk of 2x4. An iced tea bottle was scavenged from the recycle bin because it has thicker plastic than water bottles. Another chunk of wood is jammed in there under the plug. Shrinking has begun with a heat gun.

The bottle only shrinks so much. After that grab the plastic with pliers and start pulling and stretching while applying heat. It takes a lot more stretching than shrinking to form the plastic to the plug.

After trimming off the excess the plastic is glued to a piece of 1/16" balsa shaped to fit inside the canopy. Clear Gorilla Glue is good for canopies. It came out 3" long and 1" wide.

I'm pretty happy with how the first try came out. If only I remembered to put a pilot in there first!

Jon

 

[speedbirdted]

Looks sweet! I could never get the technique quite down for just using a heat gun and force to mold plastic. It's why I ended up building a vacuum table. Thinking back I don't think I was doing quite enough of either the heating or pulling part.

 

[TooJung2Die]

It's why I ended up building a vacuum table.

A vacuum table makes canopies a lot easier and faster. If you think about what the vacuum table is doing it's mostly stretching the plastic. You have to try to duplicate the same process using a heat gun. You have to do small sections at a time. The bottle was hard to heat and stretch at the same time. It was work! Since I only needed one canopy it worked good enough.

 

[Willy Nillies]

The plug is carved from a chunk of 2x4. An iced tea bottle was scavenged because it has thicker plastic than water bottles. Another chunk of wood is jammed in there under the plug. The heat gun has begun shrinking the bottle.

View attachment 180407

The bottle only shrinks so much. After that grab the plastic with pliers and start pulling and stretching. It takes a lot more stretching than shrinking to form the plastic to the plug.

View attachment 180408

After trimming off the excess the plastic is glued to a piece of balsa sanded to shape. It came out 3" long and 1" wide.

View attachment 180409

I'm pretty happy with how the first try came out. If only I remembered to put a pilot in there first!

Jon

That looks great Jon!

 

[TooJung2Die]

I started covering the control surfaces and realized I hadn't taken the customary "bare bones" photos.

Jon