Keeping the fuse square

[Huckebein]

I am building a Sopwith Pup with a box frame fuse. The plan calls for the frame sides to be glued together like a hinge and then the cross-pieces to be glued in. It took me a long time to get the first one in right and the frame still square. (and it's still not perfect) Can someone give me some tips? How perfect does it really have to be? This is my first balsa plane.

Huck

[Huckebein]

another shot

[Huckebein]

up the center

[lxdye]

Don Ross book notes a way to keep fuselages square, by using a former while building, then discarding it when the fuse is complete.

Check his book for instructions.

Len

[Huckebein]

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Well I tried the Don Ross... squaring former thing and the elastic broke one of the longerons. AHHHHHHHHHHHH

So I debonded the fuse parts and threw the thing back in the box.

... and pulled out my half-finished scratch built Fokker D8 peanut... where I botched carving the nose block. I wish that i could somehow make it look a little better. I guess it looks ok for a first effort but I am a perfectionist. Any suggestions?

[Huckebein]

another angle

[Huckebein]

the white stuff is balsa filler btw

[flailing]

Chuck the cowl blank in a drill using a small machine screw and nut, then run the drill and shape the cowl. Make the engine cylinders from the flexible portion of a bendy straw, that is what I used on my Eindekker. For your little Neiuport use juce box straws.

[jernst]

Huck,

I typically build my fuselage from starting at the nose, where more than likely, the fuse "box" is generally all 90 deg angles, and work to the tailpost, bringing the two sides together as I build.

I'm currently scratch building a Sopwith Triplane (16" span). I built the fuselage upside down over top of a "plan view", and the integral cabane struts slide through "slots" located in the top view. The whole assembly is built on a piece of 3/16" foamboard and raised off of the building board so the cabane struts (no projecting DOWN through the foamboard don't touch the building board below. The framework is kept "true" by using 2"sq pieces of "Corian" and bracing.

Here are some photos...

[jernst]

Here's a finished fuselage framework photo

[jernst]

Huck -

In case you're interested, here's a photo of my version of the Sopwith Pup kit you're building.

It's a great kit! I've built several of the DPC line.

john ernst