Back in the hobby build

[MikeJ]

Hi. My name is Mike Jordan, and after about a 30 year break, I have decided to get back in the hobby, so I started building an airplane. This summer I got a Blade 400 electric heli, which I am learning how to fly, but I really miss building balsa models, so about two months ago I started to build myself an airplane I could fly at a local park. I rounded up old boxes of balsa, hardware, and other parts I have been moving around for 30 years, and realized that I had most of what I would need. I have been just amazed at the improvements in the radios, motors and batteries. Electric power seemed the way to go. I used the Spektrum DX6i that came with the Blade 400, and the airplane I designed and built.
During my build I had several questions, and that is how I came across this web site, which has been a tremendous resource for all kinds of information. I thought it would be fun to write a little about this build, I did take some pictures of the process, and if I can figure out how to insert them I will include a few.
I think I have attached three pictures. The first two are of the plans I drew. I built the wing first, at least part of it, and then drew plans for the fuselage and tail. The third picture is the first construction picture I took, I didn't think to take pictures earler.
I just came back from my first taxi test in the front yard, and it seems to work great, I will add more later.
Mike

[MikeJ]

I think I can just add additional posts to this string, so I am going to try. I wanted to include some pictures of the finished airplane, during the taxi test, I hope this works.
Mike

[MikeJ]

Ok, here are a few more pictures. After this I will stop posting and see what happens, I am new to this process.
The first picture is all the major components before covering. As you can see, I made the wing removable. It is held on with 3 - ¼ 20 nylon screws. The airplane isn’t very big, only a 40” wing span, so the main reason I wanted to be able to take it apart was for maintenance and repair. Also, because this was my first build in a long time, I assumed I would forget stuff and being able to take it apart would be helpful.
The second picture is of the control surfaces. The elevators and rudder were built up of 3 laminations, the center one being some 1/16 mahogany left over from a model sail boat project years ago. This was probably overkill, but I was happy with the result.
Mike

[thomdoe]

Nice job Mike, out for 30 years, mmmmmmm you then must be? Oh close to my age ! HA ! great job on the plane

[thomdoe]

I see by the bench and tools you are a woodworker ?

[MikeJ]

Yes, your math is correct, just turned 61. I am a woodworker. My dad was a cabinet maker, and I grew up in his shop. When he shut his shop down, I built a 20 X 22' shop attached to the back of my garage and he gave me his tools. A very nice way to set up a shop.

[Sky Sharkster]

Hello Mike, Welcome to Wattflyer!
Nice job on the build, the design reminds me a bit of some U-Control models like George Aldrich's Nobler and Bob Palmer's Smoothie + Thunderbird.
Glad to see you're back into modeling, hope you enjoy it even more the second time!
Ron

[MikeJ]

Hi Ron and thanks
As a kid I built a Nobler and Smoothie, and I am sure they influenced my design. The "by eye" design process for me tends to fall back on what I have done in the past. I even covered this model with silkspan. I tried water based acrylic polyurethane instead of dope and I was very happy with the result. I will post a few more pictures later that show some of the covering.
Mike

[MikeJ]

Three more pictures. The first is a close up of the cowl, more work than I care to admit. The lower scoop was made from two laminations of 1/32 bass wood. I soaked the wood in hot water, then glued them together over a spray can. When dry, the shape was close enough to fit with just a little bending. The second picture is after the covering was attached. I used silkspan, put it on wet, and attached with water based acrylic polyurethane. I wanted to try something besides dope, because I remember really not liking the smell. The yellow you see is acrylic artists paint I added to the poly. The last picture is after two coats of poly with the acrylic yellow. I was hoping for the semi-transparent look, it was all a big experiment, but I really like the way it worked.
Mike

[birdDog]

WOW! That is a great lookin plane. Can't wait to hear how she flies! Nice Work!!

[FlyingMonkey]

I love it!

[CHELLIE]

Wow, Thats a Nice plane, Kind of looks like a Shoestring Stunter a little, and what took you so long to get back into Model Aviation, Ok I Know, KIDS Take care and have Fun, Chellie

[Kansascloud]

Let us know when you fly it!

Mike

[MikeJ]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I haven’t set a target first flight date yet, I am still practicing with my RealFlight simulator trying to revive 30 year old muscle memory.
While I didn’t take many pictures in the beginning of the build, I sure took a lot towards the end.
The first shot shows all the parts before final assembly. The red and orange paint was made using WBAP and the same type of acrylic artist paint I used for the yellow. I just mixed in more color. I really liked the way it went on, and the water cleanup. Time will tell if it is as durable as dope.
The next picture is the top of the wing with the speed control installed. I used a Castle thunderbird 36 speed control. The 3 holes for the wing attach screws are also visible, one just forward of the leading edge, and two near the trailing edge.
#3 shows the air intake just above the speed control. I hope this will provide enough cooling. The air should exhaust through the cockpit, which will be open.
#4 is the underside of the wing showing the servos, receiver and landing gear installed. The battery will be attached in the tray forward of the landing gear.
#5, the wing is ready to be installed.
Mike

[thomdoe]

Mike I have to say, even if it never flys that is a great build. Old style ! is getting to be a lost art. Keith

[CarpenterDave]

Beautiful framing!

Are we seeing douglas fir material chosen for those fuse longerons and upper/lower wing spars?

[MikeJ]

Good eye for wood CarpenterDave. As with all the wood on this build, the doug fir was left over from other projects. The pieces I had were about 36" long, which determined the wing span. I planed them down to size. I am sure it was a little heaver than it needed to be, but it sure added strength to the wing and fuselage.
Mike

[CarpenterDave]

Nice,
Strong bones for a monocoque wing/fuse design!

[MikeJ]

I have enjoyed the process of this build string. Thank you to everyone for the questions, comments and encouragement. I have a few more pictures to post, and then it is time to get up my courage to go out and fly this thing. The sun is shining this morning in the Pacific Northwest, and I think I am out of excuses.
The first picture shows the motor mounted to the firewall. I assume it is still called a firewall in the electric flight world. The motor is an E-flight park 480 outrunner. At this point I have no intentional down or right thrust. Flight test should show any need for adjustment.
Picture #2 is the underside of the airplane with the wing installed in the fuselage, showing the three nylon wing screws, two at the rear and one up front.
The third picture is the radio hatch cover going on, with the single nylon screw that attaches the front shown. The battery is also in place. I made the battery tray long so that I could adjust the center of gravity, but to get it to balance, the battery needs to be as far forward as possible.
#4 is the way to much work motor cowl going on. You can see one of the two tooth pick pins used to keep the cowl aligned.
Picture # 5 shows the dummy exhaust going on, and towards the front of them, the pin that locks the motor cowl in place. The exhausts are held on with one screw each.
The last picture shows the battery hatch and the 4 magnets that hold it on. I originally had a rubber band that held this in place, old school I guess, but it was very difficult to use. I had read somewhere in Wattflyer that magnets could be used, and when my neighbor gave me these 4 magnets from an old Sonicare tooth brush head, I had to try it. I did a range check on my radio with the magnets temporally installed, and with no problems, out came the glue. They do a very nice job of holding the hatch in place and making it very easy to remove, a very elegant solution.
So I guess these pictures sort of rap up the building process. I want to thank everyone who contributes to this web site, I found a lot of information that was very helpful during this build. Now that I see the value and fun in the build string process, I will start from the beginning when I decide to build another airplane.
Mike

[birdDog]

Best of luck Mike. I think you got one of the coolest looking planes going here!

[MikeJ]

Back from the first flight. I think it is a little tail heavy, elevator is hyper sensitive. I tried adjusting the elevator expo, but it didn't help much. However, it returned home in one piece, it seemed to fly straight, and didn't need any excessive trim inputs. I will need to read up more on my radio, to make sure I was adjusting the expo correctly, but I think it may need some weight up front.
The silkspan/acrylic polyureathane is not as durable as I remember silkspan/dope. It is very easy to punch a hole in the covering. I am not sure that it will work long term.
Mike

[FlyingMonkey]

I want to see some assembled pics!

[MikeJ]

FlyingMonkey has asked for some finished pictures. I posted two at the begining of this string, but I will add a few more here.
Thanks for asking
Mike

[FlyingMonkey]

asked nothing... I demanded!
















thanks

[MikeJ]

Hi
I am back from the next flight. I added some weight up front, got the CG around 30% MAC, and also reduced the elevator throw a little. The plane flew very nicely. The total weight, with about 2oz added in the nose, turned out to be 38oz, with a wing area of 3.3125 sq ft, giving it a wing loading of 11.47 oz/sq ft. Not the best, but for my first light weight build, I feel OK. With the E-Flight Park 480, it seems to accelerate in vertical flight, and will fly straight and level at about ½ throttle. The plane seems capable of far exceeding my flying ability, which should allow me to stay interested in flying it for quite some time. I was hoping for an airplane that would fly a little like the E3D in the RealFlight simulator, and this seems very close.
I have some video of the plane flying, but I am not sure how to make it available.
I have attached two pictures of part of the nose weight. My neighbor has a machine shop in his back yard, and he made me the prop nut shown in the first picture. It is made of bronze, and weighted almost 1 oz. It fits inside the spinner as shown.
Mike