Bidule 170 - What we've learned - Build thread, Len

[jgallacher]

I will have to try that. I have never flown a plane with tricycle gear except a few full sized planes.

[lenb]

Testing the landing gear brake tube portal.
I needed to relieve the bottom slightly for a smooth transition. It seems really good with no pressure on the tube.

[JimD]

This whole project has raised the bar on tow plane construction...not only do we have hydraulic brakes, but now we have custom brake line enclosures...nice, very nice!!!

[lenb]

There is a nice fiberglass fairing that is attached to blend the top of the fuse top into the elevator. It looks good and adds a nice touch, however on the previous plane the edges of the fiberglass developed cracks over time.







The solution to the problem this time is to back fill the edges of the fairing with a resin and micro-fiber solution.

I used my trusty West Systems epoxy and mixed it into a thick past using #403 micro fibers.



Pack the edges full of this mixture and allow to cure. Since the fiber are pretty light you will not add much weight to the tail, or in my case, you want to add tail weight!!!

[JimD]

...right up until you have to add nose weight! LOL

You are being so attentive to reducing nose weight, what if you do too good of a job!

[lenb]

Next up is the top hatch.
Jim and I, along with Scot have had long conversations about this.

The Problem:
Due to vibration and the size of the hatch, the front dowels wear and the hatch will start to vibrate.

My previous solution:

Add two more mounting screws to the front sides, similar to the other 4 screws.
Over time this has worked well, the downside is two more screws to take out and put in every time we need to get into the plane.

My new solution:

Drill the receiving hole deeper and replace the dowels with carbon fiber tube.

I removed the existing dowels, simply pushing with a little pressure they popped out.
I added a thick block behind the former for the new dowels to secure into
Drilling the receiving holes deeper will allow more surface area for the dowels but still being sure the hatch will slide in on the angle it needed when installing.






Before gluing on the canopy to the frame, you need to remove the covering on the edges and the front deck so the glue will contact the wood surface. On the sides, I ended up having to add some covering back on the very bottom edge because the wood was showing about 1/16th You're canopy may fit differently.

Place the frame on the fuse and the canopy on the frame.
When happy with the placement, lightly trace the front edge onto the deck.
Remove the canopy and lightly score the covering about 1/8" BEHIND the tracing mark. This will let the canopy help hold the covering and prevent it from showing the cut.


The black satin vinyl is for style, you gotta keep the sun reflection out of the pilots eyes.

[Mosquito]

I solve that issue by providing sun glasses to my pilots. A lot less hassle.

[hello82]

looking good there Len....would the carbon tube dowel tips have any fraying issues if it is pushed in and out so much over time...possible splinters in the flying fingers!?

Matt

[Swiss1]

Applying thin CA to the cut portion eliminates fraying!

[lenb]

Lets hope not, I wouldn't want the pit crew to have any issues.

[kjkavaney]

quite a bit further behind than you guys, but we bolted up the 170 the other day to see what header building is going to be like...seems like we have enough drop...just trying to find optimal header length ...seems to be some debate depending on whether KS versus MTS canisters...these are MTS 110;'s....hopefully will work well...
most of the fuse mods are done now..ready to glue in the Servo saver system...Disc Brakes just arrived...so next step...
Fun to see Timmie giddy in the shop again...
kevin

[JimD]

Hi Kevin, I am using the MTW110 canisters on my Bidule 170 (DA-150 engine) and they work very well. Only issue is that they are a slightly smaller diameter than the KS Comfort Mounts. Fixed this by placing silicon tubing over the straps to take up the excess space. Jim

[lenb]

Hi Kevin
The headers will end up somewhere around 12"
I've seen reports of 11.5 up to 14, for the DLE 170, although most settle in about 12-12.5
This is measured from the centerline of the header starting at the flange ( touching the motor) The best way is to run a piece of solder along the outside center line of the leader, then straighten the solder and measure it.

Len

[lenb]

Getting close to completion!!
The motor has been permanently mounted and the landing gear is finally bolted on the plane.......

The ZDZ 180 has thick aluminum headers which really work well and don't flex around much even with the big motor trying to tear the plane apart. Our canisters are mounted only by a support system fabricated and installed at the rear of the canisters.



This was a copy of something Scot came up with on his Bidule. Why invent it when I can steal the idea?



Once all the motor components and landing gear installation was complete it was time to turn it over and button up the top side.





On my previous Bidule, the nose gear strut was constantly getting chipped up from sand and stones kicked up by the prop. I repainted it once during its life, but that was a pain to do so I came up with another alternative.

Using Gorilla tape, cover the front strut and cross member of the nose wheel system. This tape is pretty thick and will act as a scuff guard against the sandblasting effect of the prop.

[JimD]

When I was growing up, my mother always knew where to find her tape...in my model airplane workshop!

[stevekremer]

Looking good Len. What is next on the build list?

Steve K

[lenb]

Hi Steve, aka FOUNDING MEMBER>>>>>>>>>

The next on the bench will be the Midour. It's a scale tug, 150cc MVVS motor. Like the Bidule, its a tricycle gear configuration with a shock absorber system on all three landing gears.

Made by Top Model Also

[stevekremer]

That should be interesting. Looks very short coupled, hope it is not pitch sensitive. New motor supplier as well. Looking forward to seeing the build.

Steve K

[Swiss1]

What about the Wilga I had to collect 2 years ago??.............................THE TRANSPORTER

[lenb]

We were just talking about that today.
Standby

[lenb]

Finishing up the Bidule.

I was putting off doing the wing clips because I had not done them before and knew it would be a whole new process. After reading through Jim's description along with a few other guys who have them, I dove head first into the job. What a surprise, it turned out to be a very easy and quick procedure.

First was installing the clips onto a 1/4" Plywood block. The clips were installed with two cap head wood screws with the tips that stick through the backside ground flush. The idea with the cap head screw is the clip will hit the head if the screw and not come apart in the fuse.


The screw size for the Bidule wing attach is 6mm, so a trip to the local hardware store provided the needed parts. Next up was to drill out the wing retainer to accept the bolt and care must be taken when doing this. Use multiple drill bits and step up slowly.




Drill out the wing bolt holes in the fuse sides to accept the round clip fitting.





Fit the space i into the hole to act as an alignment tool



The bolts with the clip fitting installed






Trial fit the wings with the clips installed, then release the clips and apply some glue to the backside and reinstall. Once the glue has set, remove the wing, measure the spacer and cut it to size.
Install the spaces and loctite the bolt into the wing root with the spacer installed.



The whole procedure took about 45 mim start to finish and is probably one of the coolest improvements you can make.

[Mosquito]

Say Len, With the 100 oz tank sitting where it is, isn't is going to be tough to clip the front of the wings in? On mine, the one clip is very close to the servo saver. My big mitts don't fit in there very well!

[lenb]

Hey Tim.

That's exactly why I went with the wing clips. I'll use a screwdriver or something to push it down and clip it when installing the wind and a wire with a hook on it to pull it up when taking the plane apart. It works great.
You should make the tension just so it snaps when you lock it. Not so much it requires you to stand on it.

Len