BoT ARF Fuse

[schrederman]

All,

Does anyone have a new Bird of Time ARF coming? I
really would like to know the raw weight of the
fuselage and canopy. I have a BoT wing in progress,
but don't want to build a fuselage if I don't have to.
The ones I have seen are very nice looking, but if
they are too heavy I'll start whackin' one out. My
first outboard panel came out at 2.6 oz. ready to join
to the inboard and cover. No sence in wasting all that
effort to build light and strong to carry a heavy
fuse.

Thanks in advance.

Jack Womack
beware the Chicken! :eek:

[R. Carver]

Check this one out:

http://www.soaringspecialties.com/birdoftimeglassfuselage.shtml

I got one of these a while back- It's a good fuse.

[sierra-gold]

Hi Jack,

I have a question... no answer on the BOT fuse weight.

You are abviously a prolific and very experienced builder.

What glues do you use in building a wing? Mostly CA? Epoxy at high stress points?

For instance, I had an old free flight builder suggest to frame in with minimum CA and then go back over it with carpenter's glue making fillets where possible. He thought that CA was "heavy" and wood-workers glue mostly evaporated while drying to make a light and very strong joint.

Thanks,

Sierra Gold
AMA 12351

[Don Mackay]

Hi Jack,
I just got a Dynaflight BOT ARF, the fuse is nicely done, it appears to be quite heavy, (having the weight molded into the nose). A friend of mine has the Dynaflight kit built, the plane is really heavy overall, but that might be his building technique.
I'll try to get access to a scale and check the weight of the fuse with canopy. Although I love to build older RES kits, this ARF is hard to beat for the money. I sold my Sailaire kit to get the BOT ARF, I don't think I'll regret it.
Don

[schrederman]

I was taught to build by an old free flighter, myself. His name was Dub McCormick of Ft. Worth Planesmen fame. He found me a local hobby shop mooning over a Jetco Nordic 72 kit and learned from the dealer that I had no father. I owe him much. He said that any glue that wasn't IN the joint was wasted weight. I can't agree more. I always wipe off any excess that I can. My models have always been strong and light for the most part. I am very careful with the fit of my joints. They usually look like a VERY thin line where the grain changes direction. I only use fillets on very rare occasions.

I like aliphatic resin (yellow carpenters glue, Titebond, etc.), white glue, and CA. I use epoxy where it's needed. I like Elmer's Pro Bond polyurethane glue, though it doesn't work as well in dry climates. Any spar joint between woods is yellow glue or epoxy. Use CA sparingly. I like the middle viscosity stuff because I can regulate how much I use. When I sheet the top surface of a d-tube leading edge, I use CA on the sheet / spar joint. Then I put a thin line of polyurethane on the rib tops, and then CA the sheet to the leading edge stock. Stack on some phone books, make sure it's straight, and let it sit for a day. The foaming action of that glue is such that you need some waxed paper between the sheeting and the phone books. It will push it's way through the wood grain and glue the top sheet to the cover of the book...not good. That Pro Bond stuff sands nicely, too.

The main thing to remember about wood building is that the joints need to be as strong as, or stronger than, the surrounding wood. If, by sad circumstance, you have to pick up the pieces, the breaks should be wood breaks, not joint breaks. No one achieves this on a perfect basis, but you can build strong, light models, with a bit of effort. After a while, it becomes second nature and you get faster at it so it doesn't seem like drudgery. I find it very theraputic(sp).

Try it, you'll like the result.

Jack Womack

real men scratch build...beware the Chicken

[Miami Mike]

Originally posted by schrederman
Does anyone have a new Bird of Time ARF coming? I really would like to know the raw weight of the fuselage and canopy.Mine weighs about 20 ounces. That's without the rudder and stab, and includes the fiberglass assembly, the weight glued into the nose, and the wooden trays and plastic tubes glued inside. The canopy weighs almost nothing.

[mitchael]

the bot arf fiberglass fuselage with radio installed came to 28 oz.