Graupner Cirrus X 3

[ingrahal]

Update: The horizontal stabilizers are built very light and delicate and were getting hanger rash so I went ahead and covered them. I also got the aileron and spoiler servos installed in the right wing.

I think this set of stabs will go on one of the other ships and I will make a set without the dihedral for this one.


Here is the spoiler setup.


There wasn't enough room for mounting blocks for the servo so I glued it directly to the hatch cover.




The aileron setup is pretty standard stuff.




That's it for now. Next is the left wing aileron and spoiler servos and then off to paint and covering.

[lenb]

Looks like a tricky little devil to get set up.

[ingrahal]

Hey Len, not too bad, just a little head scratching. The aileron servo wire will have to be routed around the spoiler linkage and installed prior to covering. No pulling it through with a string after covering.

[ingrahal]

Update: The fuselage is primed and ready for top coat. The wings are covered and ready for final assembly.

[Stew2]

What will you be using for paint?

[ingrahal]

I will use Nelson Hobbies paint. It is a waterborne linear polyurethane made by SystemThree. John Desilets at Nelson can mix colors to match all of the Monokote and Ultracote colors as well as anything on the Randolph color chart. I love this paint because it is water based, dries fast and is tough as nails.

http://www.nelsonhobby.com/index.php

[Steve P]

+1 for Nelson. Great stuff!

[ingrahal]

Cirrus #1 is done!!!

The painting didn't go so well at first. The primer that John sent with the white is not compatible. I'll have to let him know.

After stripping it all down and just painting the white it turned out fine.
Here the spoilers are being glued in with RC56 canopy glue and my trusty ammo boxes for weight. I may regret gluing them, time will tell.

I vacuum formed the canopies out of PETG and tinted them with Jacquard iDye Poly Synthetic Fiber Fabric Dye Black. It is much harder to get a nice even tint than it was with Rit dye on acetate. Balsa canopy frame painted white and RC56 glue.

I thought I would share my method for packing tape hinges. I've used this hinge some lately and it seems to work pretty good. Lay out a piece of wax paper. Then lay a strip of packing tape down on the wax paper nice and smooth. Now cut the appropriate width strip using a straight edge and hobby knife. Now you have a peel and stick piece of tape. Being careful not to get dust, dirt or fingerprints on the sticky side apply the tape to both sides of the control surface.




Continued on next post.

[ingrahal]

It was a tight fit but I managed to fit all the radio gear in there. I made a U shaped battery pack to accommodate the tow release. The outdoor photos aren't great it was a very cloudy dark day.









Now on to building the other two. They will be much more simple. Just rudder/elevator and tow hook. The only modification on them will be the straight wing rods.

[Zagispirit]

Hi Art,
Thanks for the great thread! I've used it as a manual to rebuild an old, dilapidated Cirrus that I got from someone at our flying club. How did you secure your wings to the fuselage? I've tried rubber bands to use with the little plugs I got with the old fuz but they don't keep enough tension to quite keep the wings together. Any advice would be greatly appreciated- I can't wait to maiden it!
Thanks,
Hester

[ingrahal]

Hester, on anything that has enough of a shoulder I use 1" 3M 471 white tape. It conforms to the fuselage and seals the gap. It's the way most guys did it back in the 90's when I flew TD.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQ2A7S2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Zagispirit]

Thanks! :-)

[ARUP]

The crinkly crackly paint effect looks great on some furniture! Your finished Cirrus is very nice and elegant!

[ingrahal]

Thanks Michael. Yeah not the effect I was going for. Freaked me out as you can imagine. I'm happy with the outcome and can't wait to see how she flies. My only complaint is that Graupner didn't make the forward fuselage more scale. Would have helped make more room for the electronics too.

[ARUP]

Scale models and their manufacturers/builders have come a l-o-n-g ways in some regards.

[ARUP]

Art, there is a fellow in Louisville, KY who has one of these for sale. If you want it I can ask the price and deliver it to you if interested.

[ingrahal]

Thanks Michael, not too interested but for curiosity's sake is it a kit or already built?

[ARUP]

Art, I just found out the kit has been built and the price is $150. Too bad it is already built.

[ingrahal]

Thanks Michael, Yeah I don't need another Cirrus but the price is right assuming it's in pristine condition. Bet he won't have any trouble selling it.

[ingrahal]

Cirrus #2 is done. Thought I'd post some pics of the second one in this project.





One more to go in the Cirrus marathon!!! There is a good chance that #1 will be maidened this weekend.

[JimD]

Thanks for taking us on the journey Art, we always enjoy following your build threads!

[ARUP]

So, Art... do these Cirrus sailplanes have serial numbers?