Classic woodie build: Windfree w/ mods

[scaflock]

Ok folks! I'm ready now to start building up the Windfree kit that I've had on the shelf for almost 25 years now. This will be a slow build due to some of the mods I'll be doing on the basic kit. The main mods will be the substitution of carbon for the spar material and the addition of full span flapperons for camber/roll control. I will also be making some minor changes to how the plane goes together. Just little things like splice location changes, additional shear webs and changing the balsa web material for ply. When finished, these wings will be bullet proof.

We're getting a break from the cold here starting tomorrow so I'll be getting the building area ready to go and materials laid out. I'm also going to make a detailed list of what changes were made and how I did them as I go. This way anyone that wishes to make the same changes to a Windfree or one of Ray Hayes' WF-XL will have a guide to follow. There will be plenty of pictures to go along with the text.

Due to the modifications I'll be doing I won't be working at my usual "Warp Speed", but hope to have the plane finished up within a month. This is provided that I don't get called back to work during this time.

So... Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen... More to come!!!

Jeff

[seanpcola]

I'll get the popcorn and beverage out. This'll be fun! :D

[scaflock]

If it's going to be so much fun Sean... How about coming up and giving me a hand getting the shop cleaned up for the build tomorrow? I'm sure your boss won't mind. We can do it in the "Balsa Brewery" style. AKA... Toss a match! I've still got to get room cleared out so I can set up the new table saw. I've got to have some way to cut those balsa logs into usable stock. ;)

Jeff

[atmosteve]

Jeff, I need bullet proof wings, you want some extra work this year?

Sounds good, it'll be worth watching the thread to learn some stuff.
I found this old pic on the net, she sure is pirdy!

[scaflock]

I'm also doing a build log on the Hodges Hobby forum for the Hodge Hounds that I'm trying to wean off the glow juice. I used that exact same picture there so they could see what the finished plane will look like. The girl was just to get their attention. ;) Works every time with those guys!

Jeff

[seanpcola]

I'd love nothing better than to come up and help do the Balsa Brewery style house cleaning. Can I bring the Oly with me? I'll clean while you sand. :p

[scaflock]

Ok... The building board is cleaned off and ready to go. The rest of the shop looks like a bomb went off in there, but cleaning the rest can wait till the weather is a bit warmer. So tomorrow I will start with the wings and will report on progress before I call it a night.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Weather has warmed up so now I can work without freezing anything near and dear to my heart off in the shop. ;) I got the leading and trailing edge stock spliced up tonight but not much else got done. Spent the majority of the day cleaning out the garage/shop so I can get the new table saw setup. you can almost walk across it now without taking you life in your hands. I've got some very thin kerf blades for the saw that will allow me to cut my own balsa sheeting from bulk stock much cheaper than I can buy it. Plus I've got items on the "honey-do" list that I'll be needing the saw to be able to finish up. So tomorrow I'll be doing more work on the cleaning and will try to get the bottom spar laid in and the ribs glued up.

Jeff

[GDbot]

This is a very civilized way to wake up in the morning, cup of coffee and a couple of good build threads on RCGroups! Inspires one to go up into the attic shop and make some progress. Later, on a break, brew and snacks to check up on progress while waiting for some glue to dry. This looks like it will be fun.

[scaflock]

In the immortal words of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.... Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, We're so glad you could attend. Step inside, step inside! (Karn Evil #9 second impression)

Jeff

[scaflock]

Ok I'm taking a chow break and thought I'd give a quick report on the days progress so far. The carbon spar material I ordered turns out to be a little too small. So to fix the problem I'm laminating it with some 1/16 balsa to bring it up to the right size. I've gotten the bottom spars (front and sub) laminated and in and the ribs in place out to #12 which is where the bottom spar ends. After I eat I'll go ahead and get the rest of the ribs placed and will take it from there.

(1st Gripe)
I have to admit that the building instructions that came with the kit are "clear as mud". They could use a re-write to say the least. The building order so far does not seem to be very well thought out and the instructions are very vague. It's a good thing that I've done a lot of building during my years in this hobby and can pretty much figure a building order out from the plans. It's easy to see that who ever wrote the instructions was NOT a technical writer in the least bit.

Jeff

Edit: I'll take a picture of the progress at the end of the building day. That may be around 2 in the morning so don't hold your breath waiting! One drawback to working nights for so long is that I'm closer to OZ time than that here in the States. J

[Ray Hayes]

Jeff, I need bullet proof wings, you want some extra work this year?

Sounds good, it'll be worth watching the thread to learn some stuff.
I found this old pic on the net, she sure is pirdy!


Thought she looked familiar .... there is more where she came from here:

http://www.skybench.com/index.html?http://www.skybench.com/home.html

Ray
Sky Bench
http://www.skybench.com

[Ray Hayes]

Thought she looked familiar .... there is more where she came from here:

http://www.skybench.com/index.html?http://www.skybench.com/home.html

Ray
Sky Bench
http://www.skybench.com


Here is the page link:

http://www.skybench.com/nostalgia/nindex.html

[atmosteve]

Sigh, those pics were taken in the days when I was very young and getting distracted from my flying by these new, strange and attractive creatures that sometimes appeared at the flying fields- other older flyers daughters!
It was hard to stay involved with flying in your teens, there's so many distractions at that age. ;)

[scaflock]

ahem... mean while back to the build... ;)

Well the old digital camera gave up the ghost so no pics until I can get the film camera out and do full roll and have it processed. The batteries on the digital are not holding a charge. Even fresh off the charger there's not enough juice to take even a single pic. :(

The right wing is coming along nicely. All the front shears are installed on front and rear spars and the trailing edge stiffeners are in on bays 3-6. The shears came out pretty sweet thanks to forming them with the bench sander. It sure makes things easy! Have to let it dry over night and then do a little preforming on the leading edge for the sheeting.

I've got to make a run to the LHS tomorrow for some things, but should have quite a bit more done by the end of the evening tomorrow. I sure hope work doesn't call me back before I get most of this build done. If they do then progress on the build will slow to a crawl. (and no Steve... That's NOT a pub Crawl! )

Jeff

[Ray Hayes]

Jeff,

Did you see the magazine constuction article by Rod and Mark Smith on my pages ?

The Windfree was modified by builders from fully sheeted wings to adding polyhedral. I always used just one, larger diameter, bent wing rod.

Woodys for ever ...........

Ray
Sky Bench
Http://www.skybench.com

[scaflock]

Ray,

I read the article a couple of weeks ago when I was getting ready for this build. I opted to keep the wings straight. A poly windfree just wouldn't look right to me. One of the things I have to pick up ath the LHS today is replacement wire to make a solid mount. I'm also thinking of increasing the diameter of the tube and wire a notch or two for a bit more strength. Large enough so it will just fit between the webs on the modified spar system. That should also reduce the amount of epoxy needed to fill the area and prevent any slop at the same time.

Woody kits are great in that they allow us to modify them to fit our needs and building style. My style is make them "bullet proof". ;) I hate having to rebuild.

Jeff

[GDbot]

I am learning how to TRY to balance "bullet proofness" with the need for being able to lift it up when I'm done, off the ground, let alone into the air and sky bound.

I enjoyed the reminder of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Saw them in concert once in Charlotte, North Carolina I think, back in the mid to late 70's and bought their live triple LP. GREAT song. Now, back up to the attic for a couple hours OLY building before I have to go to an hour or two of real work later today.

[scaflock]

Bullet proofing does not always mean a lot more weight. You're right Bot in that it is a trade off at times. Usually I can find something in a kit design that just isn't right (To my mind) and will change it for what I know works. Sometimes it's adding something and other times it's taking something away. It depends on the design. As an example I'm a big fan of using 1/32" ply for shear webs instead of 1/16" balsa when it's not in an "I-Beam" configuration and just glued against the sides of the spars. I've spent enough years in the construction trades that I know what's a strong structure and what's not.

In the case of this current build I swapped out the SPLICED spruce spars for solid carbon ones and it's not that much more weight for a gain in strength that will be light years ahead of the stock construction used. Another thing I'm doing is moving the splices on the sheeting so they don't line up as shown on the plans. All those splices lined up like that worried me. If one had let go then the others could have followed in a domino effect. Better safe than sorry in my book.

Jeff

[Ray Hayes]

Ok, enough talk ... Bring on the pics and you have to promise to tell the total flying weight. Best Buy has diggy cameras on sale.

I'll meet you at my flying field in the Smokey Mountains National Park for a day of flying Windfrees. My wife has a favorite spot to set her folding chair, she can operate the watches keeping track of who has the Longest Flight of the day. Big Rx battery.

Better yet, how about everyone with a Woody ( according to my woody rules ) meet me there for a Wood Crafters Reunion.

The location for the pic of my Windfree is another favorite flying field, Custer State Park, Black Hills, South Dakota.

Ray
Sky Bench
Http://www.skybench.com

[scaflock]

Right now money is too tight due to being laid off from work so a new digital camera is out of the question. I'll just have to use my Minota 8000i film camera for the shots and scan the pictures into the computer. I can get better closeup shots with the Minolta anyway because I've got lots of different lenses to choose from and can focus closer with it than just about any digi on the market. Soon as I get back to work and have things caught back up I'm thinking of getting the Minolta Digital SLR that will accept my lenses. Look out then people cause I'll be doing some sweet build and flying pictures.

Now that's a flying field Ray! Having been in the 7th Cav I should fit right in there! Just no Little Big Horns please! Do you happen to have GPS cords for those sites Ray? I'd love to "preview" them on Google Earth.

OK... Back to the "Honey-do" list for the day so I can get some building in later.

Jeff

[atmosteve]

Ok, enough talk ... Bring on the pics and you have to promise to tell the total flying weight. Best Buy has diggy cameras on sale.


Better yet, how about everyone with a Woody ( according to my woody rules ) meet me there for a Wood Crafters Reunion.

Ray
Sky Bench
Http://www.skybench.com

Ray, nothing would make me happier than to holiday over in the States and attend a WCR for a good look and learn and fly and fun, in the meantime I have to remember to play the lottery each week. :o

I found this interesting windfree pic yesterday, another holy sailplane effort. I'm sure Jeff won't mind me posting it here. ;)

[scaflock]

No problem Steve. Always room for a Windfree in this thread. ;)

Well the right wing is looking good. I am almost ready to move on to the left wing and get it caught up to where I'm at on the right. The carbon spars are really making this thing strong. There is close to zero flex in this spar system and once the rest of the sheeting is in place and it's all covered up it will be nice and stiff. Just wish the camera hadn't died on me so you guys could see the mods. :( I guess you'll have to wait for me to shoot a full roll and get it processed. I'm going to go out tomorrow and find something to finish up the roll of film that's in the camera now cause it slide film and my scanner won't do slides.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well most of today was shot by having to go out and do the bi-weekly running around town. I did manage to get to the two places here in town that have balsa though it turned out that neither of them had the 48" lengths I wanted. I did stock up on CA as I was starting to get a little low. Tonight I'll be doing the top LE and TE sheeting and getting things ready to start the left wing. I'm going to try getting a picture or two with the better half's digital. Keep your fingers crossed. More a bit later tonight.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Ok Guys,

The spars for the left wing have been laminated and are ready to go, I'm taking a quick break but I did manage to get some shots with the dying digital. Three shots killed the battery! :( When I go back out to the shop I'll be splicing the sheeting for the left wing LE & TE. I should have the left wing caught up to the right one by the end of the day tomorrow. Then I'll be able to install the mounting tubes between the spars and finish sheeting with the balsa.

Once I have the sheeting I'll cut out the flaperon sections and install the sub-spars. I'll have to go back to the LHS for some hard balsa for that step because dummy me wasn't thinking when I was there today and I didn't have the measurements I needed.

Jeff

[scaflock]

I got the top TE & LE sheeting laid down this evening and right now the LE looks like a porcupine with all the clothespins clamping it in place while the glue dries. Tomorrow I'll be starting on the left wing and will try to get it to the same stage as the right by Friday. That way I can do the wing tubes this weekend.

So I am making progress and a little faster than I thought I would on this one. Once I had a chance to really get to understand the instructions and plans it turned out to be easier to do than I thought it was going to be. I'm still working slower than I usually do but since this is a classic bird, I want it to come out as befits its status in the RC soaring community.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well I managed to get most of the upper and lower cap strips added to the right wing today and the leading edge rough shaped. I also did a lot of sanding so I could get a lot of it out of the way. It's looking really good and there's a lot of strength to the wing already. Once it's covered up and the monokote adds its strength to the assembly this wing is going to be rock solid. I'll try and see if I can coax a couple more pictures out of the digital camera tomorrow. :cool:

I also got the bottom LE & TE sheets laid down for the left wing. The bottom spars have been placed as have all the ribs. Tomorrow I'll be adding the top spars and all the shear webs. Between forming all the webs and then waiting for glue to dry that should pretty much be a full day. By Friday I should have the left wing caught up to the right and will be able to fit the wing mounting tubes this weekend. Once the tubes have been epoxied into place I'll be able to finish up all the sheeting on the wings and then set them to the side while I start on the fuselage. :D

I'm projecting that within another 2 weeks I should be able to start covering everything up. Planned colors.... Metallic blue leading edge and flaperons with the open structure in transparent blue. Fuselage will be done in metallic blue and everything accented with gold chrome. I'll also do some of the celtic knot graphics like I did for the Spectra. All in all it should look very sharp.

Stay tuned for another report from your not so roving reporter. :rolleyes:

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well the left wing is coming along nicely. The upper spars, leading edge stock and the shear webs are all in place. The glue for the webs is drying as I type and since it's supposed to be getting down to about 32 degree here tonight I don't plan on doing any more on it tonight. FIrst thing tomorrow morning I'll go out and give the webs a light brushing of glue in the corners and then start forming the LE and TE sheeting. Once that's in place I'll pretty have the left wing caught up to the right one. Then it will be time to move on to installing the wing connector tubes.

Jeff

[seanpcola]

Let's see, what's the score at this point:

Woodie builds over the last 6 months

Sean: 1

Jeff: 5

:o

[scaflock]

Yup... in other words... You loose!

On second thought I guess I loose. If I hadn't been laid off from work I'd NEVER have gotten that much building done. Now I just need to take some of this time and get my butt to the flying field.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well it's only gotten up to about 48 degrees here today and the wind has been whipping around pretty good so it feels a lot colder. It's been hard to go out to that unheated shop but I've been working on the Windfree and taking breaks to thaw my fingers when needed.

So far today I've gotten the shears all finished up and the top LE & TE sheeting spliced. I'm waiting for the glue to finish drying before I install them to the framing. When I finish thawing out here I'm going back out and sanding the leading edge to the needed shape to accept the sheeting. Before I call it a night I'll have the sheeting glued and clamped.

We've got company over tomorrow so I doubt I'll have much of a chance to get anything done. I should have time before the start of the SuperBowl on Sunday to get the mounting tubes installed and MAYBE the remaining sheeting on the bottoms of the wings.

I've been taking a lot of care to insure that there's zero warp or twist in the wings and so far I've managed to keep them straight as an arrow. I'm surprised at how strong they are even with the carbon spar system I came up with for them. I doubt that "flutter" will ever be a problem. ;)

Jeff

[atmosteve]

The wings look like they will be good for a decent pump Jeff, The spars are laminated balsa/carbon strips? How many, thickness?
Watcha gonna use as joiner tube material and diameter, and length?

48* holy snapping ducksh!t thats just too darn cold for civilised man..
Hey I believe there could be an aussie or two playing at the superbowl?

[scaflock]

Actually Steve I had to laminate the solid carbon rods with the balsa to act as shims since the spar notches in the ribs were larger than the carbon. It may have been my goof up when I ordered the rods or they might have shipped the wrong size. I THOUGHT I had ordered them to be the same size as the spruce called out in the plans and instruction book. Anyway, I wasn't about to spend another $50 for new rods and after measuring everything I found that laminating them with 1/16 balsa on the top and on one side would make them fit just right. Some scrap balsa and CA and I had them made up in minutes.

The joiner tubes I'm using are the stock ones and have an inside diameter of 5/32 inch (0.15625 inch). Not really all that big but there's not much room in that thin wing. There are two of them on each wing and since this system has worked well for so many people for a lot of years I didn't want to go mucking around with it. ;) I may have to change the mounting rods from time to time but that looks to be an easy fix should I need to do it.

BTW...48* was the HIGH temp here today. It's supposed to get down into the upper 20s tonight! :eek: I'm wishing I could be kicking back on the beach in Oz! Don't know if there's any Ozites on either of the teams this Sunday. My team got booted out during the playoffs. The Chargers need to hire Linda Lovelace as a coach so they can learn not to choke!

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well the company yesterday prevented me from getting the top sheeting in place like I had hoped to. :( I'm playing catch up a bit today in trying to get the sheeting in place before the SuperBowl starts. The LE sheeting is already in place and as soon as the glue has had a chance to dry I'll add the TE sheeting. Then a little sanding and I"ll be ready to install the wing tubes.

Stay tuned for more updates from your roving reporter! ;)

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well I'm getting back on track with the build here. The wing mounting tubes are all epoxied into place and they're clamped up and curing. It's been a cold morning out in the shop but work is progressing none the less. While I've been waiting for the epoxy to cure I've been getting the next stages of the build laid out and ready to go. I may have to put the rest of the wing construction on hold for a bit until I get the servos for the flaperons. I'm going to have to get them into position before I close it all up with the sheeting. I guess I could make up some "dummy" servos the same size so I can work out the position as well as the access hatches to be able to get to them for repairs should they ever require work. The more I look at the wings the more I think that the colors I've decided on are really going to look sharp!

Reading the instructions I can see that they are still "clear as :censored: mud" when it comes to the fuselage portion of the build. They have parts called out in the book that are not even marked out on the print. That makes it real hard to understand just what they're talking about at times. It's looking like for some of the construction I'm going to have to draw on my experience and just "wing it". :eek: Be afraid... Be VERY afraid!!! ;)

At least the instructions for the tail feathers seem to be pretty straight forward. Of course as simple as the structures are it would be awfully hard to mess up the instructions for that part of the build. ;)

If I can sweet talk the digital camera into working I'll try to get some more pictures of what's been done so far. Kind of hard to do a good build thread with a balky camera!

Jeff

[GDbot]

Just wanted to pop in here and say I am really enjoying your build thread here. Good luck with the camera. I am having a small issue with mine as well that has been discouraging me. Keep up the good work!

[scaflock]

Thanks Bot. As soon as I can afford a new one I'll be getting a Minolta DSLR that will be able to use the lenses I already have. I'm looking at about $500 for the body alone but it will really be worth it.

Jeff

[Phoebusflyer]

Pictures, must have more pictures!!! Two pics ain't NEAR enough. Get that camera out and give us MORE PICS!!! Please? Nothing warms the heart more than a good Windfree build!!

[scaflock]

Yo Phoebus! Haven't seen you around for a while.

The Camera is on its last legs man. The nicad pack isn't holding a charge so I'm lucky to get 2-3 pictures at a time. :( It's time to replace it but with being laid off from work I really can't afford a new one right at this time. Trust me, I WANT to do more pictures and would if I could but I can't so I won't.

If I can get the freaking camera to work I'll do a couple of shots tomorrow. If that warms your heart you will either catch fire or want to shoot me when you see what I'm going to be doing to the wings. This won't be your grand-daddys' Windfree when I'm finished!

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well I managed to get a whole three pictures out of the camera before the battery died again. It seems to take two days on the charger to get three pictures. :( What a pain!

Anyway, the pictures show the current stage of the wings. Ready for the root sheeting on the bottom, having the control surfaces cut out and the servo installed. I'm heading out to the LHS to get the aileron stock for the control surfaces and thought I'd grab some pics while I had my morning coffee.

In one shot you can see how the bottom spar ends at rib #12. In the instructions and plan they has the LE & TE sheeting splices all lining up at the 12th wing bay. I decided that would be a weak spot so I moved the splices so they didn't all line up. It just didn't make sense to me to have all those splices in the same area.

In another shot you can see the finished wing joiners and the carbon that they're sandwiched between. There is still a lot of flex in the ribs in that area but that should be beefed up when the sheeting is applied.

There's still a lot of work to be done on the wings but they're moving along well.

Jeff

[John Cole]

Nice work Jeff! I'm taking notes.


John

[dwells]

Looking good as usual Jeff...damn your fast :cool: . Should be very strong wings. How's dem fuse lookin :) .

[scaflock]

Thanks John, this is the one good thing about having been laid off from work. Almost unlimited building time! ;) Go ahead and take all the notes you want. I don't charge for them. ;) Keep in mind that this kit has been on my shelf for about 25 years and I'm making some drastic changes to the wings. I've been plesently surprised that the wood was still in good shape after all that time. The crabon spar system was something that I felt HAD to be done. It's a good design but I felt it needed some beef added to the wings.

I haven't even looked at the fuse much Don. I want to get the wings finished up before I take that part on. I've still got a lot of work to do on them. Make and install the flaperons, make up the access hatches for the wing servos, and finish up the rest of the sheeting. Should have it all done by tonight. NOT!!! I'm not THAT fast!

I did make it over to the LHS and got the wood for the flaperon system and some other little things I needed. Sharon didn't even complain about me spending the money. (Well not to badly at least ;) ). I also picked up a spinner for the Spectra so I can get it finished off and the servo arms I needed to finish hooking up the controls on the Thermal Thing. I even got a RX crystal on my channel for the RX unit that Mr Sean sent me. They didn't have any 48" aileron stock so I'm going to have to splice the flaperons. No problem. At least they had the material for the sub-spar in 48" lengths so those won't have to be spliced. If I ever find another one of these kits, I'm going to change out all the spliced stock and change it's name to the Splicefree. ;)

If the weather here clears, I should be able to maiden the Spectra and the Thing this weekend! I might even take the Riser and Paragon out so they can stretch their legs as well. I am in serious need of some Thermal Therapy!!! (or is that just therapy?)

Jeff

[atmosteve]

Hi Jeff. Is it possible to remove the camera batteries or get at the power terminals somehow? Might it be possible to power the camera from externally somehow if you have access to the terminals? Sounds like it would be worth it given your build, lookin' good btw.
steve.

[scaflock]

This is an OLD Sony Mavica. It records the pics on a freakin floppy disk! :eek! There's no external power jack on it and you can't get to the contacts. I've even considered rebuilding the battery but it's a sealed unit. :( I'm going to have to see if I can find a couple of replacement batteries on e-bay or something.

Jeff

[craigrrr]

Just finished building and test flew my first Windfree. It is a Hobby Hangar kit (very nice kit, good wood, nice drawing). My plane is transparent blue wings and tail with white fuselage - looks beautiful at altitude.

I built it as rudder and elevator but added spoilers and electric (outrunner) because of the micro field that I fly at. It weighs 33 oz and thermaled on the first day out. But I am adding more washout to wing tips due to tendency to tip stall. It flys a little faster than my Cirrus and does not self-recover from a tight turn like the Cirrus does. But it is a real pleasure to fly and is the best $60 I ever spent on a sailplane kit.

[seanpcola]

Jeff,

I've been pretty succesful rebuilding those sealed battery packs. If you can do without it for a week or so ship it to me. I may be able to disassemble it and pop in some new cells. Just did an Icon aviation handheld for the boss last week and it's working like a charm. I even ripped out that stupid diode and now it'll fast charge. ;)

Let me know, I'd be glad to do it.

Sean

[scaflock]

Just finished building and test flew my first Windfree. It is a Hobby Hangar kit (very nice kit, good wood, nice drawing). My plane is transparent blue wings and tail with white fuselage - looks beautiful at altitude.

I built it as rudder and elevator but added spoilers and electric (outrunner) because of the micro field that I fly at. It weighs 33 oz and thermaled on the first day out. But I am adding more washout to wing tips due to tendency to tip stall. It flys a little faster than my Cirrus and does not self-recover from a tight turn like the Cirrus does. But it is a real pleasure to fly and is the best $60 I ever spent on a sailplane kit.


Pictures man! We want pictures!!!!

[scaflock]

Jeff,

I've been pretty succesful rebuilding those sealed battery packs. If you can do without it for a week or so ship it to me. I may be able to disassemble it and pop in some new cells. Just did an Icon aviation handheld for the boss last week and it's working like a charm. I even ripped out that stupid diode and now it'll fast charge. ;)

Let me know, I'd be glad to do it.

Sean


Sean,

PM my your snail mail address and I'll get it in the mail to you asap. Both Sharon and I want to get this thing working right again. Hard to do a build thread w/o pictures.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well it's looking like progress on the build is going to be slowed down for a couple of days. We had a high of 42* here today and the shop is like a deep freeze. About all I'm going to get done today is the splicing of the stock for the flaperons and figuring out the cuts for fitting in the sub-spar.

The weather is supposed to warm back up a bit over the next day or two. If the weatherman is right I should be able to get back to serious work around Friday. In the meantime I'll keep working on layout and other things I can do inthe warmth of the house.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well as soon as the weather warmed up enough that I could handle working in the shop I got stuck doing other things. Saturday was a flying day that I needed pretty badly to unwind and then I was working on some web programming for another guy.

After working on code all day I got back out into the shop this evening and got the sub-spar for the flaperon on the right wings installed. The actual control surface only needs to be trimmed to shape and that side will be finished. I need to do the same on the left wing and then I'll be setting the wings to the side while I work on other parts of the plane.

Pics tomorrow after I get the left side done.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Here are the pictures of progress as promised.

As you can see in the first shot, the sub-spar has been installed in the right wing but not the left. The actual control surface still needs to be tapered to shape, but the hard part is done. I'm going to try to get the left wing done some time today.

The balsa sheeting on the bottom of the wing will be reinforced with ply in the second bay to increase the strength of the servo mounting area. A small hatch will be made into the top of the wings for servo access. The servos and linkages should be high enough off the ground that they won't be getting snagged on landings. That along with the lack of space in the rest of the wing is what dictated their location. I also didn't want to have to mess around with hooking linkages up in the fuselage every time I set the plane up for flight.

[atmosteve]

Thanks for Pics Jeff. Hmm yeah, the 125's just might be up to the job!! they are heavy little suckers though! Yep them's are ailerons.. :D

:)

[scaflock]

EEEEEEEEEEEE! Wrong answer! They're being set up as FLAPERONS! No bonus point for you my friend!

If I had the room in the wings I'd have split them and set them up so I could use the crow function as well. you have to admit that the programmable radios are great. Sooo much better than the stuff I had back when I was in the hobby before. Back then it was mixers and a lot of tricky setups to get control surfaces to do what you wanted them to do.

I've double checked the room and a 125 will fit in there just fine. My only other options would have been dual servos in the fuselage with linkages between them and the flaperons or having servos hanging out in the wind. Servos in the fuselage would be a pain to have to set up every time I wanted to fly the Windfree and I WON'T have servos hanging out on my planes!!! I mean it's like... How TACKY!!

With all the room I have in the fuselage I am considering setting up servo connection plugs in the fuselage and wing roots to make the plane "plug and fly". ( I know, I know... more weight ;) )

Well back to the shop to get the left wing mods done up here...

Jeff

[dwells]

Looks great Jeff. What kind of hinges are you using? Will there be an issue with actuation from an endpoint control attachment on a flaperon that long. Just asking because I've not seen one like this in my limited experience :) .

[scaflock]

I'm going to be using great planes hinges and I'll be installing four of them on each of the control surfaces. The main thing I'll have to be careful of is making sure that the hinges all line up and that there's no binding in the movement. Another thing you have to keep in mind is that the Windfree isn't made to be a speed demon. Even so I'll be pinning the hinges just to make sure that they stay in place.

I wanted the full length flaperons more for camber control than for roll. The roll control should be enough to allow it to be towed and remain stable and in the box. By dropping the flaps a little bit it will help quite a bit in light lift and if reflexed a bit they'll give me more speed for beating feet back upwind.

So far I'm thinking that the covering is going to be harder than the build/mods to pull off the way I want it to look. I have been rethinking the colors and am having a hard time deciding on Metallic blue with transparent blue or Yellow with transparent Red. Either would look good.

[dwells]

That makes perfect sence. My vote is red/yellow, it always looks good together ;) .

[scaflock]

That makes perfect sence. My vote is red/yellow, it always looks good together ;) .

Yeah... I'm kind of leaning that way myself. I'm figuring that since it's a classic plane it should have a classic color layout. Do up the wing with the open areas in the trans red and the sheeted in Yellow with some red pin striping. Do the fuselage in yellow with the red striping and the stab in trans red with yellow striping. I'll play around with it in PhotoShop to get a better idea on how it will look.

[seanpcola]

Red/yellow is my vote too. Love that together. Notice my Avatar. :D

[atmosteve]

They are multi-function ailerons.......

[atmosteve]

Too right about todays programable radios!!!!!
I remember setting up F3A ships without them..... the good old days hey, I reckon you can go stick them right up your kyber.. :D :D :D

Looking good Jeff, are your ailerons to be red or yellow... :p :p :p ;)

[scaflock]

If I go with the red/yellow colors I'm thinking it would look something like this:

The sheeted areas of the wing will be Pearl Yellow monokote with the open areas done in the transparent red. FLAPERONS done in the yellow.

For the fuselage and rudder pearl yellow with the nose done in metallic red with matching stripes down the sides and on the rudder area.

Stab will be split. Front 1/2 in the pearl yellow with the back part in transparent red.

Of course until I get the bare bones all finished up and have a chance to study them I can't say for sure that I'll be going with these colors. Something else may "call to me" once I have a chance to really see the lines of the plane.

You guys have seen the covering jobs on the pics I've posted. What ever I go with you know it's going to look good! ;) (Breaking my arm as I pat myself on the back) At least you know it's NOT going to be done in "cow" black and white!! :eek: :eek: I have been thinking of a red,white, blue flag type layout as well. All done up in pearls.

Jeff

[seanpcola]

Thanks Jeff, now I'll have that Jersey cow color scheme on my mind for the rest of the night. :rolleyes: Actually, on further reflection that may be interesting on the right model. :D

Have you used Pearl monocote before Jeff? I thoughtI had used every choice Top Flight has until I found a roll of pearl white Mono in my stash. I'm thinking of using it instead of stndard white on Wylie's Oly III but don't know if it works differently. I had a tough time with flourescents.

I haven't done a creative covering job in about 4 years. Everything has been monochromatic. Here's a photo of my last multi-colored finish.

[scaflock]

I haven't used the pearls yet but I've been itching to give them try. I would imagine that it handles pretty much like the metallic colors. I'd hesitate to use trim solvent with it without testing it first.

One of these days I'm going to do build and cover it in tissue and dope! I haven't used tissue since Monokote came out. (that give you any idea as to how long I've been building these things?) That way I can get out my airbrush and go nuts on the paint job. It would have to be a powered job though as I wouldn't want all the extra weight on a sailplane. How about an electric version of the W.A.S.P. design? Throw some landing gear on it and look out! I'm just going to have to remember to follow the 7 "P"s.

Proper
Prior
Planning
Prevents
Pi$$
Poor
Performance.

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well more progress made today, I got started on the fuselage sides and worked on cutting and laying in parts until I ran out of pins. I've got to pick some more pins up soon as "ve got quite a few bent and rusted ones. :( The Fuselage build is pretty straight forward so far and there haven't been any surprises so far.

I managed to get a shot of both of the wings with the sub-spars done and the control surface stock set next to them. I still have to taper them to fit the trailing edge and sand the hinge edges to allow movement.

With luck I should be getting a infusion of cash here soon and will be able to pick up everything I need to finish up most of the kits I have on hand. I'm going to need about a dozen servos of various types, several receivers and of course the usual small items. It will also be time to re-stock on covering materials as well.

Jeff

[GDbot]

Right on dude, you are helping to keep me going with the progress that you have been able to make through all the cold weather etc. Keep it up and I will too! Be Seeing You.

[scaflock]

Well the wings have been set ot the side for now and I've started working on the fuselage. With machined sides it has been a pretty easy build so far. The longerons and vertical braces have all been installed and I'm just waiting for the glue to dry before I continue.

The next step is cutting out the lightening holes in the sides. The instructions state to cut the hole outlines out of the plan to use as a templet. Well that's not going to happen. I've traced the outline of each hole onto another piece of paper and will use that to mark out the holes. I don't like cutting up plans because I may need them for repairs something down the road. I'm going to form the holes by marking them onto one side and then xlamping the sides together and using my Dremel moto-tool with the router base to cut them out. high speed and low feed is going to be the trick to getting a clean cut. Once the hole have been roughed out I'll swap the cutter out for a sanding drum to bring the openings to the final size.

On a side note, work has been slowed down a bit due to working on getting the shop equipment unpacked and set back up. Now that the equipment is set back up, building speed as well as the number of projects is going to be going up. ;)

Pictures of the fuselage sides tomorrow...

Jeff

[scaflock]

Well the lightening holes are in and came out pretty good. Using the Dermel really cut down the time. I got all eight holes made and sanded in a mere 30 minutes. You just have to love power tools! ;) Doing it by hand would have taken a lot longer and they wouldn't have come out anywhere near as even as they did.

It's supposed to start raining late tomorrow so I'll be doing other things before the rain hits. After dark or if the rain hits earlier than predicted I'll start joining the sides together.

[atmosteve]

Jeff, I don't know much about the Windfree at all so please forgive my questions, are the fuse holes as per plan or is it something you figure yourself? looks good.
Steve.

[scaflock]

They're "as per plan". There's no hole in the top or bottom sheeting but I'm thinking of adding a couple to lighten it up a bit more. With the mods I'm making I want to try to recover as much of the extra weight as I can. Between adding two extra servos and the weight of the flaperon stock those skinny wings are going to be working harder than they were designed for.

The stock specs for the windfree are as follows:
Span.......99.25 inches
Area....... 560 sq.in.
Weight.... 30 oz.

So... The wing loading going by the stock specs would be 7.73 oz per sq/ft. If you add the 2 servos that's going to add another 48 grams with the wires and such let's call it 50 grams. The solid trailing edges on the wings are going to add another 28 or so grams. So we're up to and extra 3 oz or so of added weight. That's going to bump the wing loading up to about 8.5 oz per sq.ft. I'm not even taking the extra weight of the carbon spar system I used. If I can keep the wing loading to no more than 9,5 oz per sq/ft I'll be happy. It will have better penetration than a stock model, be a bit faster and a heck of a lot stronger. All in all I think they're all good mods. (so far. ;) )

[enrico74ec]

Hi Jeff,
Beautiful build!! IMHO after covering two gentle ladies with pearl colors, the only fault i found was that in time, they look just plain dirty, like if they had a layer of dust permanently although in the air they look really neat. The white works great in open bay areas such as wing and stab, but on solid pieces gives the above mentioned effect. try it out first.

[scaflock]

Enrico,

Which of the pearl colors have you used? Have you tried the monokote clean/polish on them to see if that gets rid of the "dustys"?

If I don't go with the pearls I'm thinking either metallic blue/ transparent blue mix or a Cream with Transparent red. It think either would look good if done right.

[enrico74ec]

Hi Jeff,

sorry, should have put in more detail ... the colors i was using where the white and a cranberry/fucsia color. The darker color worked fine against solid wood. the white pearl, due to its semi transparent nature, shows the grain of the wood, and since it is semi, gives a not so clean look. I f I where toredo those gentle lady, i would use the darker pearl colors over solid wood and leave the lighter ones for open bay structure. The dusty look is just upclose, the comparison would be like painting a solid balsa fuse, without primer and a light coat of cream color paint :o

butlikei said, it just my past experience based opinion so if you have them around try them first in different samples that way you can decide better.
Best luck

Enrico

[scaflock]

I can see how the white pearl would show the gran of the wood. I think that the Yellow would be dark enough to hide the grain better. The more I think about it the more I like the yellow pearl and transparent red idea. That with some metallic red on the nose and matching pin striping should look real good together.

[scaflock]

Well the progress for today consisted of getting the fuselage halves joined up, the vertical stab assembly built up, the rudder built,canopy frame made up and the stab started. As you can tell I was busy today!!! No pictures until this little rain storm we're having passes. I'm not going to get all that bare wood wet at this point! :eek: Soon as it stops raining tomorrow I'll take a couple of pics. The nice thing is that the rain is a warm one so it's been nice in the shop all day.

There's still a lot of work left to do and a few parts to lay my hands on. Once I've got the rest of the building done I think I'm going to send it down to SeanPcola for the sanding. NOT!!!

I have to run out to Lowes tomorrow for some small hardware items since some of the nuts for the wing-rod mounting J-bolts turned up missing. :mad: Of course since the kit was sitting on a shelf for about 25 years I guess I can't whine too much about it. That's the only thing missing (so far) so I'd say I've been lucky in that respect. When I get back I'll be installing the tow hook system, getting the wing-rods mounted into the fuselage and getting the control rods installed so I can finish sheeting the fuselage.

I think that this builds wood working section will be finished up by the end of next week at the latest. It's been a lot of fun so far and I'm kind of kicking myself in the a$$ for not having built this kit a long time ago. I'm REALLY kicking myself for not having bought a couple more of the windfree kits while they were still available. Oh well... I guess that I'll just have to build up a WF-XL instead when it's time to replace this one. That won't be hard to take at all! Bigger is better!

Jeff

[seanpcola]

Once I've got the rest of the building done I think I'm going to send it down to SeanPcola for the sanding. NOT!!!

Jeff

Be happy to do my finishing magic on it Jeff. When I deem it ready for covering I'll ship it back. The whole airframe should fit in a quart size ziplock baggie so return shipping should be minimal. :p

[Wylie Shaw]

Be happy to do my finishing magic on it Jeff. When I deem it ready for covering I'll ship it back. The whole airframe should fit in a quart size ziplock baggie so return shipping should be minimal. :p



Be happy to do my finishing magic on it Jeff. When I deem it ready for covering I'll ship it back. The whole airframe should fit in a quart size ziplock baggie so return shipping should be minimal.

Hey Sean remember he's making a 100 incher here so me thinks you could put the airframe in a match box... or are would you be using 30 grit... :eek: :p :D

Wylie E. Coyote

[seanpcola]

Nope Wylie, totally automated. I have a new Delta Disc/belt sander. I'll take off the 220 G disc and put a 36 g on it. :eek: :p

[schrederman]

That 36 grit sure squares those leading edges up nicely... :D

[seanpcola]

You are a mean man, Mr. Womack, always looking for unfair advantages. :mad:

My kinda guy! :p

[scaflock]

Come on Wylie! I was sticking up for you in teasing Sean about his time consuming building/sanding method. Honest! ;) You know... trying to light a fire under him so you can get your Oly. Yeah... That's it! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :p :p

Actually Sean you have to remember that if I don't give you a hard time then someone that's not as nice about it will!

[scaflock]

Well I have gotten a lot more done the last couple of days as you can see from the included pictures. I've gotten the elevator assy finished up to the point it's ready for final sanding. The Vertical stap and rudder is at the same stage. The fuselage has more work that needs to be done including installation of the pushrod system, the remaining sheeting laid down and a ton and a half of sanding to get to the final shape. Then it will be back to the wings to get them finished up.

It's still looking good to have the actual construction finished up by the end of next week. If the weather holds I'm going to have to go to the LHS and get the covering material and the wing servos.

Jeff

[Ray Hayes]

Jeff,

Your Windfree is Looking good.

Frank Wren's WF-XL instructions are up on my web site, no photos yet, they will be put up soon. Scroll to the WF-XL http://www.skybench.com/slnost.html

Ray
Sky Bench
http://www.skybench.com

[atmosteve]

Man, here is someone that puts us all to shame with their building work ethic, we can't stand for this gentlemen! :p
Looking nice Jeff, love them blingerons it'd be a fine glider for either thermal or the slope. Guess someone has worked some magic on the camera? Gotta have pics, more pics, and more and more pics. :D

[scaflock]

Thanks Ray. Coming from you that is indeed a compliment. Soon as I can sell off the property in California I'll be contacting you to stock up on kits. ;) the WF-XL is sure to be one of them I order along with a SkyBird, a Oly-3 and a couple of others. We get a quanity discount?

Work ethic? What the heck is that Steve? I've been able to do so much work only due to not having to go to work because of the lay-off. I'm building because I'm BORED! Building keeps me out of the pubs and out of trouble. And I WISH I had a good slope that wasn't over 2 hours away. I'd have been flying a lot more than building!

As far as the camera goes, I put a battery fresh off the charger in it and was BARELY able to get those three shots before it died! Sharon found some new batteries with a charger on E-bay and won the bid for them. So we'll have a working camera again real soon. If it turns out that the problem is with the charger we'll have that fixed as well as having 4 battery packs. Pictures of the builds will no longer be a problem (or hassle).

Jeff

[scaflock]

I managed to get a little more done today. Other things have been getting in the way lately.

I made up an alignment jig to hold the wings and fuselage in position while I epoxied the wing joiner rod mounting plates into position in the fuselage, Simple trough the the fuselage sits down into while the sides support the wings. It seems to be working well and I'm sure I'll be able to use the jig on other models later down the road. I didn't bother taking any pictures of this part for the simple reason that the camera won't focus in tight enough to be able to show anything. Besides... do you really want to look at pictures of epoxy drying? (If so.. you need to get a life worse than I do! ;) ) The epoxy is curing as I type and I should be able to get back to some real progress tomorrow if the weather holds.

Jeff

[atmosteve]

Hey Jeff, agreed, epoxy drying is a yawn and i've even be known to watch grass grow!

If possible I'd love to see any general pictures of your alignment jig.

Steve

[scaflock]

It's only a simple wooden trough Steve. I just put the wings on the mounting rods and align them with a measuring tape to make sure that they're both the same distance from the top of the fuselage at leading and trailing edges, clamp them in place and apply the epoxy. I needed something to keep the bottom of the fuselage off the building table and hold the wings level because of the very old school tow hook system used on the model. The tow hook comes up from the bottom and then runs through the wingrod mounting plates at the top of the fuselage. Very different from the systems used today. You have to install the tow hook before you epoxy the mounting plates into position otherwise you'll never be able to get it into place.

Jeff

[seanpcola]

Hey Jeff,

Not trying to steal your thread but you have a better memory (everyone does :o ) for the woodies.

Can you (or anyone on here) ID this model? A buddy just ressurected it and installed an EP setup :mad: :rolleyes: :D

[scaflock]

I don't recall ever seeing a 2-m with a canopy like that one. That part had to be added on. If I had to guess I'd say it was an Airtronics kit that someone has done a Frankenstien on at some point. There's not really that many 2-m kits that use a full flying stab and Airtronics seemed to have the majority of those that did use that system.

[DT56]

Bridi had one with a canopy sort of like that, Windsurfer I think. Unsure about the horizontal stab though.

[atmosteve]

It's only a simple wooden trough Steve. I just put the wings on the mounting rods and align them with a measuring tape to make sure that they're both the same distance from the top of the fuselage at leading and trailing edges, clamp them in place and apply the epoxy. I needed something to keep the bottom of the fuselage off the building table and hold the wings level because of the very old school tow hook system used on the model. The tow hook comes up from the bottom and then runs through the wingrod mounting plates at the top of the fuselage. Very different from the systems used today. You have to install the tow hook before you epoxy the mounting plates into position otherwise you'll never be able to get it into place.

Jeff

Hi Jeff, I was thinking more of the new builders out there that could be mystified about all the building lingo and techniques we use, a picture might turn the light on. :)

[dwells]

Sean, If I'm not mistaken, that's a 2m Brokeprop. Get's it's name from it's landing characteristics :D .

[atmosteve]

Sure is ugly... almost butt ugly close up...

Folding prop could bring it some glider love... In fact if you look at the chap holding the thing he does have this embarrassingly reluctant look on his face.. :o :D :D


I've no idea (as usual) Sean but the wing is familiar.

[seanpcola]

Yeah, that guy holding the plane is my buddy Randy. Believe it or not the US Navy actually pays him to fly big expensive real airplanes. All by himself and everything. :eek: :D

Randy has a beautiful collection of RC sailplanes and EP sport planes. Too bad he can't be trusted to check the charge state of his rx batteries before flight! :p

(personal joke in reference to a really neat crash he had last summer. All above written to see if he reads this and is paying attention!)

Sure is ugly... almost butt ugly close up...

Folding prop could bring it some glider love... In fact if you look at the chap holding the thing he does have this embarrassingly reluctant look on his face.. :o :D :D


I've no idea (as usual) Sean but the wing is familiar.

[scaflock]

Well while ya'll been BSing around here I'VE been busy. (As usual sigh...) The push-rod tubes are all in and ready to go. The top of the fuse is sheeted and a hatch formed above the wing to allow access for routing the wing servo leads during setup. Just have to sheet the bottom later tonight and then the fuselage will be ready for sanding. The elevator s all sanded and ready to cover and the vertical stab and rudder just need a little touch up before covering.

The wings are going to have to set until the tax check comes in from Uncle Sugar. There's a couple things I can do like sanding and finishing up the flaperon system. Need the tax check to get the HS-125-MGs for the wings and the covering materials so I can finish it all up.

Considering the number of builds I've done in the last 3 months, I'm ready to take a little break and relax for a bit. If the weather clears out this week I may take the Paragon and a couple of other planes out and do some flying instead of building for a change. I feel the need for some "Thermal Therapy" again!!!

Pics after I get the bottom sheeting installed and some sanding done...

Jeff

[scaflock]

As promised here are a couple more pictures. I got the bottom sheeting added last night and trimmed it up this morning. I also did a rough sanding on the radius for the corners of the fuselage. My next step is going to be filling all those stinking little pin holes that are all over the place.

Left to do:

Purchase the servos for the wings and get them installed and the remaining sheeting done.

Add the Wing root caps and sand them so I get a nice fit against the fuselage.

Trim and hinge the flaperon control surfaces and get them installed.

Get the radio gear installed and the plane rough balanced

Sand the bejesus out of the entire plane and make sure all surfaces are like glass.

Cover it all up. Going with regular yellow instead of the pearl to keep the cost down. (That pearl is expensive stuff for what it is!) Transparent red for the open wing areas with red and black striping for accents.

Do the final assembly to bring it all together.

Check the CG once again and then take it to the field, glide test her and then put her on the high-start and maiden her.

Getting down to the last little bits to do and I'm already looking forward to the next build. Hummm Jester or Kilngberg 100? What do you guys think?

Jeff

[dwells]

Very nice Jeff. By the looks of things, I'll bet she needs very little nose weight added. The fuse is freakin rockin!!

[scaflock]

I'm going to place her on the balancing stand as I position the radio gear so I can get the CG as close as I can without having to add lead. I may have to swap the usual servo and Rx positions but that won't be a problem. I can also add a couple of lightening holes to the top and bottom of the fuselage if she's still a bit tail heavy. It's plenty strong enough to handle it. Dremel tools are great for things like that! Have sanding drum will travel!

[GDbot]

Love this thread! Dremel tools ARE great. Needle files are rather awesome too.

Klingberg is my vote.