Bubble Dancer - The Finished Product!

[neonbutterfly]

My completed Bubble Dancer......my flying buddy gene and myself each built one over the winter....i also built an allegro e.......whew!!!!....i'm done....here are some pics of the finished plane.....check out my last post for details on the balsa/ply fuse..

[neonbutterfly]

here are some more pics......

[neonbutterfly]

i figured that i might as well create a T shirt.......that way the other pilots know who owns the new bubble dancer.....LOL....

[rdwoebke]

Neon,

Very nice. The color scheme fits your name! :-) It is very unique and you are quite good with covering. I'm sure you will enjoy your BD and wish you many great flights.

Ryan

[screamin' eagle]

Very nice scheme.

[schrederman]

Nice job...

Jack Womack

[John Gallagher]

Great job! How much does it weigh?

[neonbutterfly]

AUW is 39 oz......

bob :)

[chlee]

Very nice. :cool:

[may fly]

Looks very good. Is that a wood pod?

[Gliderguy]

Yeah, tell us how you did the pod. :) Looks real nice.

[Left Seat]

Here are the first pictures of the sister ship of Bob's Bubble Dancer. These two were built simultaneously over the winter. Mine weighs in at 38 oz, but I haven't flown it yet, so it may require some additional weight before I'm through.

You'll see Bob's hand in the ultrakote. Since he saw my last attempt, he's taken my monokote iron away.

[neonbutterfly]

you're right that's a wood pod.....but i can't lie....gene my flying buddy who posted pics of his bubble dancer...which we built collectively over the winter, built the pod......gene follows mark's plans for the allegro, which he scaled up......we covered the pods in .75 oz fiberglass cloth applied with "min wax" polycrylic.

when that dried we masked the boom and sprayed rusteoleum gray sandable auto primer....that will fill in the weave of the cloth....then a lot of wet sanding to get most of the primer off the fuse......since the primer is gray i wanted the fluorescent colors on mine and gene's plane to really "pop"..

after you figure out your color scheme....always paint the light color first....i use scotch plastic tape, to mask out my design....which u can purchase in an automotive/body shop supply store.....btw i use 1/8" plastic tape.....if you care going to use fluorescent colors, spray a base of white first.....then wet sand lightly.....

i use krylon paints.......1st i sprayed the yellow fluorsecent on the areas that i wanted.....don't be concerned with over spray.....it will be covered with the darker color.....now mask ur design.....when i'm finished masking u will see some of the yellow below...that's a good thing......

now use blue painters tape...available in home depot and from the edge of the plastic tape covering the yellow area..........this tape really takes curves very welll and there is no bleed under the tape......once you design is taped on...run your finger over the tape to make sure all edges are seated......

now paint the dark color.....light coats work best....so the paint won't run....if it does....don't worry...that can be wet sanded out.....than re-apply......once the paint has dried to the touch....remove the tape.....

stand back and give urself a pat on the back......ur almost finished.....when the paint is completely dry...light wet sand again...if there is some paint build up where the edge of the tape was.....

when satisfied that the surface is "as good as it gets" apply ur homemade water soluable decals and coat with clear.....that's all there is to it!!!!...fluoresent paint is not glossy...but somewat dull...hence the need for a clear coat....

good luck and post some pics of ur finished plane.....if u need further info send me a pm.....

bob :)

[Chachi639]

Dayum! Them's some awful pretty planes!

Now you owe me for a new keyboard, the drool just put my old one on the fritz.

Congratulations, those sure look nice!

[neonbutterfly]

i know there are more bubble dancers out there...let's see some pics.....
and thanks for all the fine comments......building two of marks designs kept me occupied during the winter months....

this past sunday i maidened the bubble dancer.....WOW!!!!.....winds were 6-8 mph......no ballast....after a few hand tosses.....up on the hi start......i have to get used to flying an all moving tail again.....the "speedy gas bag" fits the plane......

signals lift very well.....no bad habits...and i even had the elevator trim on a slider on my futaba 9c......triming the plane in flight is so much easier.....thanks to mark for that tip....

third flight got 5:46 seconds without really trying....the thermal acitivity was real spotty..until i flew my allegro e......i'll tell you about that flight.....this flying season will be so rewarding with my new planes.....

oh yea!!! the allegro flight......so this is electric power....took it up to altitiude and i had my ram2 altimeter.......hooked up with this killer thermal.....you know the kind....no matter where u fly in the sky ....ur in rising air......well the allegro was just about speced out.....

now i'm getting nervous....this is only my 5th flight on the plane......anyway i cruise to another section of the sky that isn't rising....finally i can just float around and not go up!!...

i finally land and download my altimeter on my laptop......yes i brought it to the field......30 min 36 sec :) flight with and all time personal best altitude of 950 feet :D ......WOW!!!!!...

more to come next week....gene gets to maiden his BD......

Bob ;)

[rdwoebke]

i know there are more bubble dancers out there...let's see some pics.....

OK, this was my Bubble Dancer.

Ryan

[rcbrust]

Hey Bob, let's see a plot of your flight! :)

Randy

[neonbutterfly]

as i said before gene built the balsa/ply pods over the winter.....he scaled up an allegro wood pod and we added some of our own mods.....we added triangular stock to the sides so that we could shape a round fuse........also gene laid the "keel" on the bottom of the fuse....that's the piece between the two wing hold down formers.......as seen in the allegro drawings.......

we added a piece of 1/8" ply to the bottom of the fuse where the tow hook would thread thru.......we also raked the hatch back and extended it slighty up, so that we could have it blend in with the wing.....other than that it is a pretty straight forward fuse build.....gene has a dxf file of the fuse that he did a drawing of.......

booms, v mounts and ava fin brackets from kennedy composites.....
we modified the rudder to accept the AVA fin brackets ($10.00 from kennedy composites) by inserting a small piece of brass tubing thru the rudder plate, where the brackets would penetrate.....the bracket slides thru the tubing and the fin is secured with screws....we added the brass tubing to strengthen the rudder plate area......and keep it secure during landing.....

we also had a solid balsa block for the rudder plate, with triangular gussets and then applied 1/16" ply on both sides and then .75 oz glass cloth over the hold on area......if you decide to use the ava fin brackets, build everything and then glass over it....cut out the holes for the tubes before finishing......the brass inserts and fin brackets didn't add a lot of weight and the rudder can be removed for transportation....

if you would like a copy of the BD dxf file format for the wood fuse plan send me a pm......i'll see if gene can save the drawing as a pdf file....the ava fin brackets are found under accessories for the ava sailplane....


bob :)
ps. i'm still trying to save my ram2 plot and display it here...but so far no luck!!!

[Gliderguy]

Thanks neonbutterfly for the update. This was a nice project and it turned out well.

I might try a similar approach. :D

[rcbrust]

i'm still trying to save my ram2 plot and display it here...but so far no luck!!!

Bob,

What problem are you having?

Randy