Hi Randy....yes please post pics.  Your builds are always inspireing and as a lone builder way out in the boonies, its always appreciated to be taken into anothers shop.  So please....post away! I am looking forward to it all ready!

Here it is the 23rd and no pictures yet!   I know there is the time zone difference. Will be looking for the pics.

Hi guys,

I'm well into the new plane.

Post those pics. There is no such thing as a stunt flyer that doesn't want to see construction pics!!

OK, I'll take some pics tomorrow.

Another day waiting for pictures of naked airplane models.

Forgot to say: notice the little gap on the rudder? I left a 1/16" all the way around so I could get them perfectly aligned. The first set I build was cut to fit exactly, but that didn't really work out.

 Thanks for the pics, looks like you've got another super cool design in the works here Randy. The I-beam stuff is way over my head but it does make for cool looking airplanes. What do you mean by "peeling" the elevators more? I'm also curious, if the fuse blocks are just going to end up being mold bucks, is there a reason you don't just do the pink foam thing?

Very cool Randy, looking forward to some more bone pic.   

Allan,

Hmmm. Well, on the truss ribs, the change in ellipse from rib to rib is pretty small. Once it's all built, a long sanding bar levels them. But the amount of material taken off is really small. It's more about making sure all the rib tops are flat and level to each other. When you set them up as a truss, the top of the rib is out of level to the glue surface of the sheeting. But it's not much. Maybe a degree or two. So just a couple of passes from a long sanding bar will level them. As far as taper accuracy, If you keep the mark on the rib in line (mark is at high point of the airfoil and marks the location of the spar), the taper happens all on it's own. Following the high point actually gives the spar a slight sweep. Not much. A degree or two. Interestingly, I built my last elliptical plane the same way and the spar, following the high point of the airfoil, ended up being elliptically curved. That was fun to frame up.

A note on balsa weights. The stuff I'm using for the ribs is medium hard 3/32". About 8lb. stock. It's been my experience that you can go with really light wood and make ribs (or other parts for that matter) that include a lot more wood to maintain structural integrity or use heavier, harder balsa and use much less wood. You will notice that a lot of my structures are pretty spidery. It's because if you use pretty hard wood, you can use a lot less of it. Wish I would have taken a picture of the stab frame before I sheeted it. Wasn't much there. Just enough to hold the sheeting up. The sheeting on the stab was really light (less than 3lb stock). I put some CF tow on the inside of the sheeting (truss pattern) to aid in torsional stability. Didn't take much and the stab is very, very torsionally stable. I figured with those rudders out there, it needed to be. Strangely, the elevators are just 3lb stock sheet half inch balsa with hardwood inserts for the control horn. The first set of elevators was framed up with an open rib structure, but there were pretty flexy and the things ended up heavier than the sheet version shown. I had to brace up the first version so much that whatever I gain in rigidity, I lost in overall weight.

Hey, sometimes simpler is better. And as I said, the overall weight of the tailplane with rudders, hinges and control horn was a fat 3oz. I'll take that.

I have a really weird idea for the structure of the flaps that I'm going to try. We'll see how that works out.

edit

Forgot to add, the hinges are Robart pin hinges. I like these. They are very easy to align and with the little drill guide that came with the pack, easy to center.

BTW, the rudders are made from 2 sheets of 3/16" sheet, tacked together and shaped then split and hogged out. There was just enough material left to insure that when the clear is painted on, it won't warp (happens when you get too zealous in thinning balsa). Both rudders together weighed less than a 1/4oz.

Allan,

No, not naming it "Toad". But they are all toads until they prove otherwise. The RMD was called the toad until I flew it, then it was called Baby.   

Allan,

Well, it's hard to see in the picture. Both the leading edge and trailing edge have a pencil mark that runs the length of the piece that is a 1/16" below the top. I align the rib with the line. This gives a gap for the sheeting to slip into. As it turned out, I probably didn't need the line since the bottom of the rib aligns pretty well with the line created by the center piece. But I'm a belt AND suspenders sort of guy (as Justin Wilson used to say). I'll see if I can get a picture from the end of the wing. It's pretty obvious from that view.

No work last night. Came home to no power. Power came back on around 10:30pm. We've had some interesting weather the last few days.

Mark,

Yea, I came home last night to having to park my car at the end of the road, hike home, grab my chain saw and start cutting so I could drive my car to the driveway. 5 down trees across the road. Wind, rain, wind and power lines down or damaged. The power company was there about 10 minutes after me and were working on the line. Only took them about 5 hours to re-string the line and get the power back on. I'm hoping, with the wind howling outside the office right now that there will be power when I get home tonight. Joy!

As a side note, this is one of those planes that I had the paint scheme picked out almost before I had it drawn. Should be fun.

 Sounds really familiar Randy. A lot of my models are a direct result of having a paint scheme idea in mind and then deciding what plane I'd like to see it on. Or, wanting to use that really cool spinner on the shelf, or a certain set of wheels, or a certain engine, or...

 Can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeve this time.

 I'm never gonna run out of stuff to build.

tsk tsk tsk,, sounds like its time for a call from Pat and I to get you motivated,, either that or my pictures of the Electrajet just put you in a funk,, lol,, 

ok, well I understand actually, I was all pumped to get the profile done so I could test fly before winter,, now this crap weather, well its hard to be motivated, though I am supposed to do a iron on covering demo for my RC club next tuesday, my plan was to cover the wing for the Electrajet,, hmm guess I better get motivated, unless somebody needs a wing covered that I can use for a demo?

Good Job Randy, did you watch the Huskie game while you were working? how did they fair.
I got a touch done on the profile,,

Can you take a close up picture of the tip rib ?   What is size of the spars ?

OK, the wing is ready for sheeting finally. So far, as it's sits in the jib, it weighs ~4oz. Should be about to come in under 10oz (it's waiting for sheeting and tips, slider and tip weight box). Started shaping the fuse blocks (they will be pried off and made into molds for molded top and bottom blocks).

Oh yea, just for Mark Scarborough, it's going to have an actual canopy.

Oops, almost forgot, Allan wanted a close up of the wing tip. This is the inboard end. The spar web here is a piece of basswood cut for the leadout sweep. Pardon my messiness. The CA bottle sort of blew up.

 Neato!

Mark,

Well, I have hopes that the doggies will run the rest of the table and finally make a bowl. But hey, the Broncos look good, anyway.

Peter,

That is an ancient Tatone Razorplane. I've had that thing since I was in high school. Uses old double edged razor blades. I've thought of replacing it several times, but then don't since it works really well. As double edged razor blades are starting to get harder to find (I get them from a local drug store) I may have to replace it eventually.

I should note that you may notice that the sheer web is probably 10 different colors. I used scrap 1/16" balsa and choose the pieces more for hardness than color. So I ended up with all kinds of color variation. Looks sort of weird to me, but the stuff is all about the same hardness. Also, you may note that there is one patch that is sort of green colored. That's some 1/64" plywood that is on both sides of the sheer web. It's where the gear leg mount is located. I used a surface mount gear block (white oak, weirdly) and it has a sort of sloping leg on the inside that has the anchor for the gear leg near the top of the wing. This allows a very long gear leg (about 2") and a lot of leverage to protect the area in the case of a hard landing.

Just need to go over the wing once more with a long "T" block sanding bar to insure all is level (though it's pretty close now) and I can start sheeting the wing. This will probably wait until I have the fuse blocks done, popped off and set up as mold bucks. One thing I will say is those are the absolute smoothest controls I've ever built. If I can get the stinking hinges aligned right, it should have very fluid feel.

Hi Ty,

It's built in place You have to be careful not to press on the thing when attaching it to the ribs since it can pull the rib down and accurately cut rib strips are important. I used a pretty hard piece of 1/8" x 1/4" balsa for the spar cap, some upright pieces of the same material between the ribstrips for support and then the sheer web. Pretty light overall. I expect the wing (about 620 square inches) to come in well under 10oz.

Doc,

Yea, I have a number of jigs to cut parts. Makes it go faster and is more accurate. But it is still a method that takes some time. The upside is, it always comes out straight and is generally light.

Doc,

Yea, I look at all the planes I want to build and fly and sometimes wonder if I'll live long enough to get to half of them.

Jim,

If you are talking about the wing, then all the ribs are from the same template. If you scan back in the thread, you'll see that they are all marked at the high point and cut from the front and the back to maintain taper.

 Lookin' good!

One minor note. You may notice in the second picture the trailing edge sheer web. I found that it's a lot easier to cut the vertical sheer web then cap it with balsa on both sides prior to installing. There's a 1/16" square cap on the top and bottom of the vertical grain sheer web. Makes it a LOT easier to install prior to the trailing edge sheet being installed. A LOT.