1:4 1928 RRG Professor

[ARUP]

Thanks Al! This nose of mine has certainly put the brakes on the build. I couldn't wear glasses for a week my nose was so swollen. Oh well... More stuff. The ribs that have the cable fairleads were built 'out' at their surface so that covering will have purchase. Hard points were installed to attach gap covers (not shown). I'm waiting for shackles from www.harbormodels.com before the wings get closed. The shackles connect the cables to the aileron horns. Different sizes (lengths) were purchased so that 'fine tuning' the ailerons' cable tension can be done. The aileron roots ends were cut but the ailerons won't be cut free from the wings until after the cables are installed. So... while waiting for the shackles to arrive the wing was put onto the fuselage so that the struts lengths can be determined. I don't have enough Bass wood so need to order some. I may go ahead and use Spruce and order that from Aircraft Spruce and Specialty. The last pic shows how the pushrod from the center section connects to the bell crank in the outer panel. Don't ask me why these pics are of different sizes. They all get edited the same way.







That's it for now. Hope supplies arrive in time to get this thing done for Horizon.

[Al_M]

Glad to see you are on the mend after surgery, Michael. Hope we’ll be seeing you and your vintage sailplanes soon!

[Mark9]

Looks like you're making good progress. A very impressive project! Would love to see it in person some day

BTW, I'm home from my surgery, but the cervical collar makes flying and building almost impossible. Beats being in a hospital or inpatient rehab though, at least I'm not hurting like I was before the procedures.

Before my surgery I was able to maiden and get about ten flights over two days on my 1/4 semi-scale Ka-8. All my mods and fabricated components performed well. That little sailplane sure thermals well too.

[Al Clark]

Very nice!

[ARUP]

Sorry for no activity. The post surgical swelling on my nose has gone down enough that I can wear glasses to see to do stuff! Actually, I have a string tied to the glasses to fit over the top of my head and to keep the glasses up off the bridge of my nose. It's still pretty swollen and tender. Oh well... could be worse!

The wing parts were assembled, the receiver powered up and servos were 'centered' then push rods were fabricated for the center wing section and set up to 'square' the bell cranks located in the outer wing sections. After this lock nuts were used to set the clevis locations. The routes for the push rods were cleaned up so that no rubbing occurs. The servo arms were adjusted so that more 'up' than 'down' movement is possible, i.e., differential. This works really well on the Eaglet so is the reason for the repeat performance, here! Paper patterns were used to fabricate phenolic items. I just can't tell from the photos what the full scale horns were made.The hole spacing for the cables is 60mm on the inner horns and 50mm on the outer ones. This spacing matches that of the bell cranks. A bit of Ackerman-like geometry is built into the design. More to come just no pictures taken. The ribs are currently getting cap stripped and the cables will be connected very soon.

[ARUP]

Thanks, Gene C!

[Gene C]

Looking great.

[ARUP]

Some 'outdoorsy' pics!





Good night!

[ARUP]

More...







This joiner system works pretty well on my other sailplanes so I'm using it again! A 4-40 bolt just drops into the holes to keep the wings together. A gap cover 'a-la-full-scale' will keep the loose connector bolts from falling out. With all the struts and bolts and fittings (oh my!) I try to keep field assembly easy!

[ARUP]

I keep talking about 'D' tube sheeting and cap strips but I ain't there yet! The strut attach points were fabricated from sheet steel. They were mounted to marine ply then epoxied in place on the center wing panel. The wing 'connectors' were also made from sheet steel. These will keep the wings from sliding off the wing tube. An anti-rotation pin and its receiver tube were fitted, too.







more...

[ARUP]

False ribs were put onto the center section, too! I saved it for last since it was the easiest. A bunch of false ribs were cut along with supports to attach them to the rear spar. After the glue dried these were all sanded fair as shown in the last picture.







Later taters!

[ARUP]

That's right! lol

[lenb]

Now for the tedious work....

[ARUP]

Both wings are at the same level of construction. Aileron horns, cables, 'D' tube sheeting and cap strips the rest of the week.



C ya!

[ARUP]

Ooops! No cap strips until the diagonals in the aileron are installed. The diagonals were let into the structure 'a-la-egg crate' fashion. These were made proud of the surface then sanded back to the level of the main structure. The other wing will get all of this work THEN the 'D' tube and cap strips will get put in place after the aileron horns are fabricated and installed.





See ya later!