Willy Nillie's Barnstormer Biplane

[buzzbomb]

Lower wing spar trimmed and landing gear epoxy in place, and bottom nose sheeting getting glued in.

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Here's how to get a smooth matching profile on the wing seating area - mount the wing loosely in place and slide sandpaper in facing the fuselage. View attachment 149328

Yeah, not quite level yet... needs more sanding on the saddle on the right side...
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Here we go!

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This picture & shadows look a little funny, but the wings are level and parallel within 1mm at the tips, and the stabilizer is level too!

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On her gear and all together (except the control surfaces)

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Covering will start soon - just need to get a chair re-caned...

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Currently the hottest biplane build on the FT Forum! My own included! You've got it going on with that beautiful bird. Heck, she looks like she'd fly just fine without the 'kote!

 

[rockyboy]

Thanks everyone! It's a really fun little project!

I've got a chair seat to re-cane next, and then it'll be time for covering!

 

[The Hangar]

I can’t wait to do mine!

 

[MCNC]

What glues did you use?, Sorry if you already said.

 

[mach1 rc]

Wow after viewing this thread I'm starting to want to build a balsa plane. Ive never built a balsa plane and Willy nillies looks like a great place to start .

 

[rockyboy]

What glues did you use?, Sorry if you already said.

Mostly Mercury's Thin CA - the general idea with these kits is to assemble the parts dry, make sure it is all square, and then wick thin CA into the joints. For things where I want a little more working time I use Titebond 2 thinned with dihydrogen monoxide, or Superphatic.

Wow after viewing this thread I'm starting to want to build a balsa plane. Ive never built a balsa plane and Willy nillies looks like a great place to start .

Thanks! These are great first kits to build - just pick a plane that matches your flying skills and jump on into it! Lots of us here to help answer questions and we love to help more people make balsa dust!

 

[Joker 53150]

Careful with the dihydrogen monoxide, get too much of it in your lungs and it’ll kill you!

 

[rockyboy]

Wife is changing her mind on the chair finish, so I'm on to the covering now!

First cover the bottom. Then cut out the servo control horn slots, center the servos and install the control horns before moving on to the top. Also I'm not doing a final shrink to take all the wrinkles out until both sides are covered so it doesn't warp the wing.

Since the top of the wing tip has a more pronounced compound curve, I covered them next. It's better to have a little seam along the rib there than try to cover the whole top in one piece and end up with a wrinkled mess.

Then the rest of the white...

And finally the red. It looked like a solid opaque covering in the pack but is a little translucent - it's Aerolite from Steven's Aeromodel, not the covering Willy Nillie's ships. Honestly though, I like showing off a bit of the structure inside so I don't mind this effect at all.

Next I'm going to try finishing line hinges for the first time!

 

[Michael9865]

Covering will start soon - just need to get a chair re-caned...

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Man of many talents. Not only in aviation wizard, but also can cane chairs.

 

[rockyboy]

Man of many talents. Not only in aviation wizard, but also can cane chairs.

My total chair caning experience: 1 chair back complete. Once the wife picks a new plan on the finish, I've still got 4 seats and 3 chair backs to go (and I might need to tear apart the one I just finished too)!

You can learn almost anything on youtube these days!

 

[The Hangar]

My total chair caning experience: 1 chair back complete. Once the wife picks a new plan on the finish, I've still got 4 seats and 3 chair backs to go (and I might need to tear apart the one I just finished too)!

You can learn almost anything on youtube these days!

Lol - keep it up! You might just be able to start a business on it after you get it right🤣🤣

 

[The Hangar]

Oh, and that wing is looking really good!

 

[rockyboy]

Lol - keep it up! You might just be able to start a business on it after you get it right🤣🤣

Absolutely not! That's the fastest way to suck all the fun out of something - try doing it for money!

 

[The Hangar]

Absolutely not! That's the fastest way to suck all the fun out of something - try doing it for money!

True, but you have the skills! Do it for volunteer then😂. You know you have the time🤣🤣

 

[rockyboy]

My first try at fishing line hinges... I only had 6 pound test on hand so I did a bunch of pieces and put them loosley in little holes and let a drop of CA slide down the holes to lock them in. I'm not sure how well this will work - with the flexibility of the light line and number of hinges I put in, it might be a nightmare getting the aileron on. We will see....

While I let the CA cure for a while I started the top wing. Again the first piece goes on the bottom and since the wingtip is very shallow I'm able to stretch it over the end and tack it in place.

Then I use my favorite miss-named tool to slice the covering off cleanly... The double edged safety razor blade.

It's sharp and flexible but going slowly and smoothly and watching where the fingers go it does a great job!

 

[rockyboy]

Whew! The hinges went together just fine! I made a little block that was about 1mm shorter than the drill bit and used it as a measuring stick to cut all the lines to the same length. Then I marked where the holes needed to be cut on the aileron with a wipe off market and drilled all the holes. With the aid of a pair of tweezers I got all the lines into the aileron holes and dribbled in CA while holding the aileron at about a 30 degree angle. After most of the lines firmed up I added a clamp to keep things aligned and set it aside to cure for a bit.

Back on the top wing I got the tips done and then the other white sections.

 

[buzzbomb]

Whew! The hinges went together just fine! I made a little block that was about 1mm shorter than the drill bit and used it as a measuring stick to cut all the lines to the same length. Then I marked where the holes needed to be cut on the aileron with a wipe off market and drilled all the holes. With the aid of a pair of tweezers I got all the lines into the aileron holes and dribbled in CA while holding the aileron at about a 30 degree angle. After most of the lines firmed up I added a clamp to keep things aligned and set it aside to cure for a bit.

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Back on the top wing I got the tips done and then the other white sections.

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Why the fishing line hinges? Granted, I've been deep into the archives so to speak, but it seemed like the pegged hinges were a great idea!

 

[bracesport]

@rockyboy - you should try my micro cable tie hinges - they work a treat!

 

[TooJung2Die]

Why the fishing line hinges?

I've heard of using fishing line for hinge material. I haven't tried it yet so why not? Six pound test is thinner than I'd use but use what ya got handy is what I usually do. I read bracesport's post about using cable ties for hinges too. Ever try breaking cable ties by bending them when you don't have something to cut them? It's an exercise in futility. The ridges help anchor the cable ties in glue and I'll bet you can pin them too if you're careful. My go-to hinge material for small airplanes is Tyvek paper from Priority Mail envelopes. It works great for making an indestructible, floppy CA hinge. They're easy to pin if you wish.

 

[rockyboy]

Why the fishing line hinges? Granted, I've been deep into the archives so to speak, but it seemed like the pegged hinges were a great idea!

You're right - I love the pegged hinges! They work great and feel really solidly installed - no chance of coming out. But these little Willy Kits are small and the trailing edges / control surfaces are too thin for a "normal" hinge to be installed. There would just be a paper thin amount of balsa left on either side of the hinge.

I haven't tried it yet so why not? Six pound test is thinner than I'd use but use what ya got handy is what I usually do.

Exactly! It seems like a plausible plan - I have found I like installing hinges with a drill better than with a slot cutter, so I wanted to get some first-hand experience with them!

My go-to hinge material for small airplanes is Tyvek paper from Priority Mail envelopes. It works great for making an indestructible, floppy CA hinge. They're easy to pin if you wish.

I've heard of doing this, and have some tyvek & actual 5.25" floppy disk material stored away somewhere to try for CA hinges someday too.

@rockyboy - you should try my micro cable tie hinges - they work a treat!

Cool idea! I'll have to put that on my "list of hinges to try" too!