Last year I got the plans for the Original Phaeton biplane, and I'm finally going to build it.I like the original Phaeton, not the Phaeton II. This will be my 3rd one I've built. The last one was in '90. I sold it around '92 and wanted another since.

I had to make templates of everything. then I used 3M77 to glue them to the balsa wood and cut them out, then sanded everything.

I then glued up the sides & plywood doublers and then the bulkheads. I'm going to use a OS 45FSR I have in this one. So I figured now would be a good time to mount it, and the servos

I also installed and hooked up the throttle linkage. I also had to see if the pilot likes the fit. I then installed the fuel tank. It's a lot easier to install things before enclosing it

Pat

Wow, you snuck in a good size fuel tank in there, nicely tucked in. LIke the way you're using the brass not just poking from the firewall, but curved and out more. Wasn't aware or hadn't thought of bending, which make it tricky to get the fuel hose on.

I put in a 8oz sullvian tank, I couldn't mount a Dubro, because it went right into the back of the motor. I could have put in a 10 oz, but I went with the 8oz.

I have now mounted the fin and stabilizer, and their control rod tubes. I then added the turtle deck and the cowl sheeting and cabian struts.. My camera batteries died so I didn't get pictures of that. I now have new batteries.
Next will be to build wings.

Pat

you are making it look "way too easy"

very nice looking build, been peeking in on ya from the start!

you are using plenty of glue? that pilot looks like he can fly the wings off!

What material did you use for the cabanes? I think the more recent Phaetons use wire but yours look like all wood, right? Some kind of hard wood? Can you give us the dimensions too? Thanks,

Jim

Whiskykid, I mostly use Elmer's wood glue, I use to use mostly CA but have switch to Elmer's.

buzzard bait,
I have to laugh, we have been watching 12-15 buzzards eat on a dead deer for the past week, across the road out front, only bones are left. We live in the mountains of east TN.
The cabanes struts are made of 1/4" x 1/2" spruce. This is the original Phaeton 40, with 48" wing span, not the Phaeton II which is a differently built plane with wire struts, and 52" wing span, like the 70" Phaeton 90. Here is a picture of them

Pat

I have built the wings, but I didn't take alot of pictures.

First I drilled a hole through them and bolted them together, and then sanded them. I used hard balsa for the spars, medium for everything else, except the wing tips, which I use soft (light) balsa.
I didn't use the torque rod setup they show, I mounted the servos out in the wing. I stacked and drilled a hole through the ribs, for a paper tube for the servo wires to go through first. I just wrap paper around a 1/2 dowel and tape it all the way. I also made a pocket for some struts that I'll make after the wings are mounted. They will just plug into the wing without bolts. I have use this method on my other Phaetons, and other biplanes since the '80's and have never lost one yet!
I also cut plywood dublers for the spars and trailing edge. I have also added sheer wood to the spars out to the wing struts.

Pat

I use to always use Kleet hinges, but can find them any more, so I change Dubro's into removable pins. I just clip the end off, pull the pin out. I then take a "T" pin and clip the most of the "T" off, and the point, file burrs off and install. I now have removable control surfaces any time I need to. Just a dab of elmers glue on the bent end and I have never lost one in 30 plus years.

Pat

I almost finish the wing panels before I join them together. I made my own shaped leading edga, so I will finish sanding them to match after I join them. The servo leads will come out a hole I will cut after the fist rib.

Pat

Thanks Pat, those cabanes avoid the soldering job. I wondered how much wood it would take to make it strong enough. I also like the interplane struts, and they look just like the ones I figured I'd substitute for the wire ones in the newer kits. Should give some useful side area in knife edge. I wish BUSA still made that kit.

Yeah, I used to do a lot of flights lying in the grass on my back with the tx sitting on my stomach and people started making jokes...

Jim

Actually I just remembered you're scratch building this. I checked the BUSA website plans list and saw my old Stingray, which was a fine airplane, so I thought "great...discontinued kits". But the old original Phaeton wasn't there. I don't want to bother anyone about copies because I have so many projects I haven't done, but it would be nice if it was available somewhere. Anyone know?

Jim

I test fitted the wings to see how they fit, and if level side to side ,and at what incidence was at. The bottom wing fit the saddle near perfect. The top wing sits on two dowels and then you shim it so sit right. with the datum line level, the stabilizer sits at zero, the bottom sits at 1 deg positive (LE up), and the top wing just sitting on the dowels is at 2 1/2 degs positive (LE up), but shimmed it to only 1/2 deg positive. I have e-mailed a couple people and asked what the had theirs at, since they had changed their top wing, and said it made a difference on how it flew. I decided to leave it where I set it to. 0 - 1 - 1/2

I next epoxied the dowels to the strut tops. I used glass cloth wrapped over the top , and epoxied it. I let it sit till it was set up, but still pliable, and then wrapped scotch tape around it to make it sit tight and smooth to the struts.

After the epxoy sits up hard, I will replace the top wing and shim it with shaped wood to hold it in place, and to make it look better.

Pat

Nice build! I just got a set of plans from a kind gentleman on another forum. Your photos help a lot because the plans are pretty sketchy. For example, only one bulkhead is shown. Your photos answered most of my questions. I'm guessing the shims on the cabanes go clear across and join the two sets of cabanes to make the whole thing more rigid, correct?

Very nice work. Jim

Nice to see one of these being built. I had one back in the 80's powered with an Irving .40 MkII. Good flier but sluggish on the roll with ailerons on the lower wing only. I probably spent more time on the upper wing saddles than anything else, but having that top wing sit perfectly in alignment with everything else was well worth the effort. I still have my plans and occasionally look at them thinking about building another one, but two changes I'd make is to make 4 barn door ailerons and bolt the wings on (top wing shouldn't be that hard to modify the cabane's to accommodate this method).

For decalage I set my stab at 0 deg, upper wing at +3 deg, and lower wing at 0 deg. Had a stall like a trainer with that thick semi-symmetrical airfoil.

Hogflyer