I have always liked the shape and looks of the AT-6 Texan and when I found an Australian laser cutting company had a cutting profile for a Wirraway I was very pleased and I have now started to build the short kit that I bought from them before Xmas the company is SPARCAero - http://www.sparclaser.com.au/sparc_aero_index.html, .
Before then I had purchased a set of plans from the Airborne Magazine - http://www.airbornemagazine.com.au/planHome.htm, this was very helpfully in the sense of finding what size engine would fit inside that lovely big cowling. The engine of choice is a Saito 120 R-3 for a more realistic sound.
As I am new to building RC planes I am not quite sure of the weight aspect of that engine compared to the recommended Saito FG-14 and what sort of problems that might cause later on .

Model Spec's
Scale: 1/7.2
Span: 1813.25mm
Engine: Recommended .82cu.in 4s
Parts: 336

Day 1: The format for building this kit comes in the form of a CD so no paper plans or paper instructions all you need is a LAP or HOME computer near your work station, With laptop by my side I gentle cut through the uncut sections that are holding the first parts to be removed from there sheet's but because the laser work is so fine and precise that you almost do not have to do any of the cutting as many of the pieces just fall out with a twist of the sheet.

First parts to be glued together was the cockpit floor to the under side longitudinal frames that the wings will eventually be attached to.

Next step standing of the frames working your way from the middle of the fuselage toward the front and finishing up with laminating the engine firewall last.
After that has dried I started on the aft section finishing with the stab seats making sure that all is square and in line.

The quality of the cutting is such that a test dry fitting beforehand needs a firm push together and then is hard to get apart once together but with the application of a good slow setting glue like (Great-planes PRO wood glue) makes the joint more lubricated and easier to fit with no play at all.

Next step was to install the x-bracing that started at frame-2 and finished at frame-11 with the way the parts have been laser cut there is only one possible way they can go in but a dry run is recommended as the cut outs in the frames are a tight fit and if you have any glue that you did not clean out when it was still wet then a little cleaning out of the locating hole is needed.

With all the bracing glued I also checked that the central holes in the bracing that crosses over were in alignment as you have to glue in a 1.5 mm dowel to lock them together.

The next step in the instructions is to build the canopy by gluing the formers onto the canopy base it does mention that this is for vac-forming the canopy by filling in the voids but I am not going to start that step just yet as I would like to have a scale working canopy and not just a couple of glued together laser cut parts. (On the SPARC Aero web site it says that the standard canopy from the Top Flight AT-6 Texan can be used instead of making your own.) but were is the fun in that

The first side I installed I started from the aft end and finishing at the front this proved to be difficult the further forward I went with the bracing but was still able to lock it all in, When I did the other side I started at frame-2 and worked aft this was an easier direction to go and did not take as much bending of the frames to snap the fittings into place.

After the bracing had dried frame 5 was added this is what the dash will be mounted to, Also the ariel base was also added and the four frames forward were locked together with a longitudinal stringer (You will need to put the ariel base in first).

Subscribed

Thanks for the PM. I'll be sure to follow your progress. Looking good so far especially considering how little time you have had to put in to it.

Just curious though are you going to use the recommended Lado retracts.

NOI53Y,

I have already purchased the recommended Lado RS333 retracts for the Wirraway and when it becomes time to installing and testing them I will be excited.

What I do need to go with them is a pair of scale oleo legs, I have not sourced any manufactures but was thinking of Custom Retracts out of NSW.

Ganno

Next step was to start that lovely big cowling first you layer up the two halves of the nose making sure that you stager the joints of each layer, While that was drying I checked the positioning of the engine to see how much room I would have behind the layered up nose section when it was in place. The Answer = (non) the engine is to long so I am thinking of adding more layers of ply to the aft side of the firewall so then I would be able to recess the engine mount into frame 1 as it only needs to be set back 5mm.

The other option is to make a fiberglass one from the mold of the balsa one I have made but as I have never FG before I don't know how that would go ?.

When the glue was dry I shaped the external radius of the nose then I routed a grove out of the back of the layered up nose section so that it would be the same diameter as the engine's diameter to the internal of the cowling with this I can see if I have the engine centered and get an idea of the amount that I must recess the mount into F1.

Once I was happy with the location of everything I then glued all the cowling parts together making sure that it was square and true.

Ganno...Very nice project Have you ever heard of the lost foam method of making
molds for fiber glass?
It's a one shot deal meaning you can only get one fiberglass cowling from one plug but it's fairly simple once you see how to do it and the shape you are making should be easy. I show how to do this on my Mossie build it's a bigger cowling but the process is the same look here and if you have any questions you can ask on your thread or PM me look here.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...557631&page=28
Good luck w/ making the mold and the cowling.

Bruce

Cheers Bruce,
I have checked out your link and I think that it is great and that I might do the same and well done on your FB Mark VI DeHavilland Mosquito too I do like the canopy struts that you made and finished with the lipo plate.

Cheers,
Ganno

Happy 2013,

Sorry for the long break between build updates, my time had been spent building a Tomboy ready for the Xmas lunch and Tomboy fun fly at my local flying field then I was busy getting my yacht ready for the ocean racing over the Xmas and new year period. But I am now back into the build and have completed most of the main wing details and photos to come.

Cheers,
Ganno

Main Wing

First thing that had to be done was to join the main spars, this was done by over lapping the center section over the wing sections and by means of placing short 2 mm dia timber dowels through each hole so as to rivet the sections together this made the main spar very strong with the ply layers, glue and the smart way of joining it all together using the riveting idea.
Next was to start with the center rib and working your way out to the ribs that hold the Lado retracts that was made up from laminating 3 layers of ply, The center section that has the other cross section of layered up ply is for the locating of the front of the wing into the fuselage that also lock's it in place once assembled at the field.

Ganno... Glad to see your back on it again it's a new year and time for some building!
I too have just started back on the 38 M so I'll be checking in on your progress.

Bruce

Hi Ganno

love what you have done to date and the motor you have chosen should be fantastic, but what sort of flight time will you get from the recommended tank?

Cheers
KD

G'day KD,
Great to hear your back on. Yes the 10oz Dubro tank that is meant to fit nicely into the given cut out area was a bit on the small side and would only of given me under 4 min's flying time on full rpm's so I resized the area by cutting out a wider hole so as to fit two 8oz tanks side by side, that should give me a 10 min scale flight and with the Satio 120 R3 I shouldn't need to fly it at full throttle all the time.

Ganno

Well I have a great weekend of building in that time I have managed to finish the frame work of the main wing build the Fin, Rudder, Stab and start the elevators.

Main Wing.
The ribs were a snug fit and easy to install I followed the step by step instructions that are on the laptop screen as a picture say's a thousand words there is very little written words to accompany the CAD drawings I did find that there was two part's left off the diagram parts list they were parts A23 x 2 these parts are to be locked into the trailing edge of the outer wing so as to form the front edge of which the flaps would attach too. The leading edge of the wing has a long tapped section of ply that starts at the ????? (were the wing changes direction outboard of the center section) and goes all the way to the tip this must be put in the right way up (marked with an up arrow) as this makes the wing twist giving washout at the wing tip. The only thing with following the step's involved is that if you don"t have the main spar perfectly straight to start with you would have to pull or push the wing tip forward or backwards to set it at the right length and you could then get a bend in the wing. My sugestion would be to fit the wing tip early on and join the tapered ply to it so as to make the leading edge the right length and building it up against a straight work surface would also help. Also you do need to use a slow setting glue here as it all takes time to assemble and doing it in stages as well (I use zap epoxy 30min).

Fin & Rudder.
The fin and rudder was very straight forward to build with all the parts laser cut and fitting nicely, The hinge for the rudder is also laser cut from ply and uses a 2 mm CF or (steel pref) shaft that is glued up the leading edge of the rudder with the ply hinge's sticking out from the fin and are recessed into the rudder's leading edge so that CF shaft passes through them locking it all in place. I did put a drop of thin CA in the hole of the hinge and ran a 2 mm drill through it this is to try and slow down the wear of the ply against the CF.

It's getting late so more tomorrow.

Cheers,
Ganno

These are some more photo's of the washout on the wing tip and a couple of the fin and rudder both have been roughly sanded to show the shape, The fin will be covered in balsa while the rudder with be covered in a fabric of some sorts you can also see the CF hinge set up of which will have to be glued in place after the fairing has been done but before the covering has been applied which will make it interesting when it comes to covering the rudder.