Thermal/slope Build

[jase]

Well wanting to get into Thermal Gliding i was looking everywhere for a set of plans to make up some wings... You know how hard it is to find a free set of plans on the web.

Anyway. i was at the hobby shop today picking up some stuff for my car and i asked if they had any wings that were unwanted. and they bought out these. 2m wing span off an Omei (powered glider).

i thought these would be perfect and they were only $50. So i picked up a few other bits and pieces... 2 servos, 500mm extension leads and connecting rods.

I also dropped into the local golf store to get a graphite shaft...

Other thing i plan to use... i'm considering if i should make a balsawood tail, or coreflute... balsa will look better and i'll probably weatherseal it.

battery pack, on/off switch, and 3rd servo are lieing around from past planes. so hopefully apart from a few minor things this plane shouldn't cost more than it already has.

so i plan to make this this a build thread on the progress of the build and then finally it's test flight.... if it will fly...

[portfox]

Jase, just ask, most of us have a heap of plans laying around for thermal gliders.

Just be careful of the airfoil from powered planes, they are completely different to gliders. The airfoil on powered aircraft are design to be dragged through the air with a motor of some description, but with gliders.....well no power source and to rely on the airfoil to produce lift.

To start in thermal, i'd get hold of something with a built up wing in the 2 - 2.5 m span and light, so you can see the thermal activity affecting the plane.

You have listed the fling in "My Planes", i'd use that, light and then progress up to something about 2.5 and then onto the RES stuff or mouldies.

happy flying.

[jase]

thanks for the into...

this plane may well end up a sloapie. but it gives me something to do when i'm not working. lol.

i've got the fuselage about 80% of teh way there. got some photos, i'll get that up soon.

[jase]

ok. here are some new pics of the build.
first 2 are of the foam mould next to the fibreglass outer casing.. quite fortunately i was able to pull the foam out of the fibreglass after it was dry



during the build, the nose was a little offset to the left. to fix this i used the top off a coke bottle and made a cap for the nose. chopped up some f'glass cloth into some resin and filled the top of the bottle which was on the nose with fibreglass... when it was dry i cut away the bottletop and was left with a big hunk of solid fibreglass.. i then worked my way giving it shape to about 80% progress.....
i had to add a little more f'glass to the right side just behind the nose to fill it out a bit and sanded to about 90% completion of the nose.
after i was happy with this i gave the fuselage another good sanding back, just to make it smooth and to see where parts needed filling. here i added up to another 4 layers of cloth in small areas and also inside the fuselage where there were thin spots from sanding back to level. i also used the excess resin (that i specifically made too much of) to give teh whole entire fuselage a good coat.

after this dried i once again proceeded to sand (and by sand i mean file) the fuselage to near smooth and finished it off with handrubbing with 150 grit sandpaper.
here are the following pictures of the final piece....



as you can see, the right hand side is still al little thin and requires 1 or 2 more layers of glass in a small area. the next stage was where i was going to cut the fuselage in 1/2 and make a balsa frame for the inside, but i'm not going to do this now as it will weaken the whole fuselage. instead i'm going to use the origional mould and "steak it" so to speak and make the framework from that... which in tern will slide straight into the fuselage from where teh wings sit and then i will secure it into place.

at this point in time i will also be doing non messy work such as fixing the wings together and installing the servos.

[chamm37]

its looken good jase ;D ;D ;D