Windrider Habicht - Page 3

suirendoujin · Oct 20, 2009, 08:03 AM

Well, got a little building done the past couple of days. Fabricated a tray from 2.5 mm ply wood to accomodate the NiCD, Rx and switch. See attached photos for how I did it. I will scan the tray and send it to Ming. Hopefully, he will make it available in the future production. I add a similar tray to ALL the ARFs I build, expecting to reinforce the nose and make it TOUGH!!!! Also, a bit of advanced planning in hole puncturing with such a tray make servo lead a neat affair and NOT!!! a tangeled, mangled mess of colorful worms. F;ying spaghetti monster not!!!!!!!!! Strategically located holes sure make lead connection heck uv a lot easier later on. As long as your electric drill IS charged, all this takes little effort. Notice the flourescent pink dot. Got an idea what thats for???
A solid dowel at the LE and TE location sure adds strength to the fuse, although I am not so sure how effective this is with a gull wing of a Habicht. I dont know if I can add this reinfrocement to the TE of the craft, because I cannot get my hands in there. Maybe if I make a hole on each side of the fuse at the TE and make the dowel penetrate through the fuse.
So much for now. Will work on the tow release mechanism next. At the moment, I am quite happy with my accomplishment.

Ben D Wing · Oct 20, 2009, 06:02 PM

Suirendoujin,
Dowels (or ply/carbon braces) at the front and rear of the wing roots are always good insurance and it doesn't matter if it's a gull wing or not as any wing acts in the same way when the glider has a hard landing.
ie. the wings usually try (through inertia) to carry on moving forward even though the fuz has stopped, thus crushing the body between the wing leading edges. Likewise, if the plane slides sideways and/or rotates during the landing, the trailing edges can crush the fuz too.

BTW, I have decided to hinge my airbrakes from the inside and not use tape on the top surface as IMO it spoils the looks. Likewise I shall be manufacturing new servo covers as the (generic plastic types) ones supplied aren't really in keeping with a replica of a 1930's glider! (I did this with the elevator servo on my CMPro Discus too).
The idea of a battery tray is a nice idea, but I wiil be wrapping mine in lots of foam and securing in front of the elevator servo by other means. And for the ~500g of nose weight required I will be either using a whole lot of of #8 shotgun pellets, or some fishermans #10 split shot secured in place by slow setting epoxy.
I will hopefully start my build Thursday this week.

P.S.
The orange dot reminds you for the ''ON'' position for the power switch?

suirendoujin · Oct 21, 2009, 04:54 AM

Ben D Wing,
I also am not so keen on using tape hinge for the spoilers. Am waiting for some hinges to arrive from HobbyKing. And yes, It looks like spoiler linkage will be THE most tedious task of this build.

I was never an advocate of CA hinges. So, I will be using Robart hinges on all the moving surfaces other than spoilers. Their drilling guide makes all the difference in the world.

suirendoujin · Oct 21, 2009, 08:42 AM

Ben D wing,
Yes, that flourescnet pink dot is there, so I can tell the switch's on and off position without putting on my glasses. Gosh, how my eye sight deteliorated so fast!! The whole world within 50 cm radius now blurred.

And the doc tells me that there's no turning back

suirendoujin · Oct 21, 2009, 09:30 AM

Epoxied four pieces of ply to the fuse bottom. Screws to hold down the landing skid and cushioning rubber tubes will chew into these wood. Was able to do this without my glasses!!!

So much for today.

Slope P · Oct 21, 2009, 11:15 AM

suirendoujin , what does it mean?

Can not wait for your flying report. Crashed my minimoa over the summer and it's a slow repair.

Slope P

suirendoujin · Oct 22, 2009, 04:30 AM

Worked on the tow release today. At first, I wanted to make the hole at the bottom of the nose of the plane. But due to the strong curve of the nose, had abandon that idea. Used a technique described by Fred China to use a flash light to locate the bulkheads and such, and scribbled the location of the NiCD tray onto the masking tape attached to the outside. And then, drilled a 5 mm hole on the right side of the nose. Tow release servo tray was fabricated from pieces of 10 mm balsa, faced with 2.5 mm ply CA'd where the screws would go. Fuse inside contour was transfered to the balsa with help from a bit of solder. The whole tow release mechanism is a simple affair. A rod moves back and forth. And all this was epoxied onto the fuse. May not be true to scale, but simple and reliable.
Drilled holes through the fuse at TE of the wing root. CA'd a 5 mm dowel as reinforcement. Maybe I should have used a beefier rod.
I think I was able to finish the most labor intesive part of this plane's build now. Hopefully she will be ready for maiden my next Monday. Sans scale detail. Yeah, I know what I will be doing this weekend. Build!!!
BTW, does anyone know where I could get 1/5.23 scale tennsi balls?? I need about five of 'em.

Ben D Wing · Oct 22, 2009, 06:34 AM

Suirendoujin, I hope you don't mind but I would like to post parts of my build on here too as I don't see the point in starting another thread. This way prospective buyers can get most of the info they need in one place.

BTW, if your plane is going to be ready for next Monday you must be burning heck of a lot of midnight oil!

OK, I made a start today by cutting out the aileron servo bays, gluing the aileron hinges and generally getting familliar with all the parts for the build. Hopefully the photos and captions will give enough info for those intersted in this plane. For the airbrakes I wondered if these hinges would be a neat option?....http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store...idProduct=8230

suirendoujin · Oct 22, 2009, 07:13 AM

Ben D Wing!
You trying to hijack my thread!!!!

I dont ming it in the slightest.

Ten Habichts, ten ways or more to finish it. So, yes, lets get going.
The hinge you pointed out. I am waiting for them myself. Looks like their arrival will be the factor of my build. Without it, I cannot proceed.

Ben D Wing · Oct 22, 2009, 07:35 AM

Suirendoujin, thanks, but in your opening post the Habicht you showed was the red/white version. In your latest photos it's blue/white, are you making two of them?

suirendoujin · Oct 22, 2009, 08:51 AM

Ben D Wing,
Bout time somebody noticed!!

After my initial inspection of the prototype Ming has sent me, I contacted Ming proposing some additional reinforcemnt to the wing, such as beefier shear webs and root rib. Ming listened and sent me another sample, with the reinforced wing. And it is this reinforced version which became the production version. What you have. I am working on the second one which is white with blue sun burst pattern. The red one, still unbuilt but opened from the original packageing will be given away at a slope event next month, which I will be hosting. Windrider is one of the sponsors of the event.
I have added few more photos to my previous thread. Was able to acutate the tow release now that epoxy has cured.

Ben D Wing · Oct 22, 2009, 05:23 PM

Suirendoujin, your tow release looks very simple, but effective and neat.

Question; What's the thinking behind the 5mm dowel in the wing root? It looks to be behind the wing retention blade slot (as in my photo), is this correct?

Ben D Wing · Oct 23, 2009, 06:40 AM

The elevator pushrod has now been assembled and the photos should show how it all goes together. I have changed the clevis from that supplied and shown in the pic as it doesn't really inspire me with confidence(sorry Ming

), especially as it's going to be permanently built in thus removing any possibilty of accessing it if anything goes wrong at a later date.
The elevator joiner and horn assembly is sturdy and well thought out and is shown assembled for the photo, but it should only be assembled within the fuz after the tailplane halves have been glued to the fuz as it's impossible to insert it in a built up state at a later date (kit instructions show how).
Mocking up the tailplane showed that the (rearward) alloy spar tube is too long so this will need trimming before final assembly.

suirendoujin · Oct 23, 2009, 09:19 AM

The 5 mm dowel was and is placed at the root of the wing root. Not on the wing, but in the fuse. So, this dowel should add additional insurance for cart wheel landings.

Ben D Wing, your build seems to be getting along nicely. Would be interesitng to see how we merge in our building process.

Ben D Wing · Oct 23, 2009, 05:45 PM

A quick observation; The instructions say that the carbon elevator pushrod is supplied at 800mm (which mine was) and makes no further mention of trimming to size. From my experience if it is left at 800mm, it will be too long with no adjustment available either end on the sliding clevis rods. I trimmed mine to 750mm but 730mm would be ok too as there would be plenty of adjustment at either end to finesse the length.

EDIT;
Having examined the instructions again I did find a one-liner regarding the pushrod, quote: ''The total length may need to be adjusted depending on different situations.'' I took this to mean that the length could be adjusted purely by sliding the clevis rod in/out at either end thus keeping the carbon rod length @ 800mm. My mistake to assume!

If you are reading this Ming, maybe the instructions could give a finite length for the carbon rod of say, 740mm and then there would still be plenty of adjustment at either end to facilitate ''different situations.''.

Oct 20, 2009, 08:03 AM	#31
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	A bit of progress. Well, got a little building done the past couple of days. Fabricated a tray from 2.5 mm ply wood to accomodate the NiCD, Rx and switch. See attached photos for how I did it. I will scan the tray and send it to Ming. Hopefully, he will make it available in the future production. I add a similar tray to ALL the ARFs I build, expecting to reinforce the nose and make it TOUGH!!!! Also, a bit of advanced planning in hole puncturing with such a tray make servo lead a neat affair and NOT!!! a tangeled, mangled mess of colorful worms. F;ying spaghetti monster not!!!!!!!!! Strategically located holes sure make lead connection heck uv a lot easier later on. As long as your electric drill IS charged, all this takes little effort. Notice the flourescent pink dot. Got an idea what thats for??? A solid dowel at the LE and TE location sure adds strength to the fuse, although I am not so sure how effective this is with a gull wing of a Habicht. I dont know if I can add this reinfrocement to the TE of the craft, because I cannot get my hands in there. Maybe if I make a hole on each side of the fuse at the TE and make the dowel penetrate through the fuse. So much for now. Will work on the tow release mechanism next. At the moment, I am quite happy with my accomplishment. Attached Thumbnails Drawing the battery tray. 64.4 KB · Views: 100 Tray pattern and tracing tool. 62.3 KB · Views: 82 Easier said than done!! Not!!!! Easier done than said.This will be the template to cut out the veneer. 44.7 KB · Views: 78 Just keep on scratching the paper and ply with a pencil. Cannot ask for a simpler and more accurate way to trace a cut out paper pattern. 66.4 KB · Views: 83 Gotta find out a way or another to secure those heavey batteries one way or another. Odd piece of control rod and nylon tubing. 66.8 KB · Views: 71 A bit of planning in advance help a lot later on. Strategically located holes sure make lead connection heck uva lot easier later on. As long as your electric drill IS charged, all this takes liettle effort. Notice the flourescent pink dot. Got a idea 76.0 KB · Views: 106 Battery tray aside, another reinforcement I add to ALL my ARFs. A solid dowel at LE. This time, I have epoxied a 9 mm dowel. I dunno how effective this would be for a gull wing, but for straigh wing sailplanes, this IS longevity insurance!!!!!!!! 45.1 KB · Views: 82 Last edited by suirendoujin; Oct 20, 2009 at 08:09 AM.

Oct 21, 2009, 04:54 AM	#33
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	Ben D Wing, I also am not so keen on using tape hinge for the spoilers. Am waiting for some hinges to arrive from HobbyKing. And yes, It looks like spoiler linkage will be THE most tedious task of this build. I was never an advocate of CA hinges. So, I will be using Robart hinges on all the moving surfaces other than spoilers. Their drilling guide makes all the difference in the world. Attached Thumbnails Cant love this little gadget enough! 66.1 KB · Views: 97

Oct 21, 2009, 09:30 AM	#35
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	Epoxied four pieces of ply to the fuse bottom. Screws to hold down the landing skid and cushioning rubber tubes will chew into these wood. Was able to do this without my glasses!!! So much for today. Attached Thumbnails Bits of ply for screws to chew into. You can see three of them here. 60.7 KB · Views: 76

Oct 22, 2009, 04:30 AM	#37
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	Tow release. Worked on the tow release today. At first, I wanted to make the hole at the bottom of the nose of the plane. But due to the strong curve of the nose, had abandon that idea. Used a technique described by Fred China to use a flash light to locate the bulkheads and such, and scribbled the location of the NiCD tray onto the masking tape attached to the outside. And then, drilled a 5 mm hole on the right side of the nose. Tow release servo tray was fabricated from pieces of 10 mm balsa, faced with 2.5 mm ply CA'd where the screws would go. Fuse inside contour was transfered to the balsa with help from a bit of solder. The whole tow release mechanism is a simple affair. A rod moves back and forth. And all this was epoxied onto the fuse. May not be true to scale, but simple and reliable. Drilled holes through the fuse at TE of the wing root. CA'd a 5 mm dowel as reinforcement. Maybe I should have used a beefier rod. I think I was able to finish the most labor intesive part of this plane's build now. Hopefully she will be ready for maiden my next Monday. Sans scale detail. Yeah, I know what I will be doing this weekend. Build!!! BTW, does anyone know where I could get 1/5.23 scale tennsi balls?? I need about five of 'em. Attached Thumbnails Masking tape. Cant think of life without it. So handy, so versatile, so useful. 48.0 KB · Views: 67 No turinign back now!! 41.4 KB · Views: 62 Fuse inside contour. Duplicated by pressing a piece of solder onto the inside wall, then the contour was transfered to balsa. 90.3 KB · Views: 58 Nice snug fit. I like it! 44.3 KB · Views: 59 The parts. 88.2 KB · Views: 68 This better work, or bust! 52.3 KB · Views: 83 Tow release in closed position. 21.3 KB · Views: 54 Tow release in open position. 16.2 KB · Views: 48 Tow release engaged with tow line. 22.9 KB · Views: 47 5 mm dowel reinforcement at TE. 26.6 KB · Views: 57 Last edited by suirendoujin; Oct 22, 2009 at 08:45 AM.

Oct 22, 2009, 06:34 AM	#38
Ben D Wing Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Peak District Posts: 803	Suirendoujin, I hope you don't mind but I would like to post parts of my build on here too as I don't see the point in starting another thread. This way prospective buyers can get most of the info they need in one place. BTW, if your plane is going to be ready for next Monday you must be burning heck of a lot of midnight oil! OK, I made a start today by cutting out the aileron servo bays, gluing the aileron hinges and generally getting familliar with all the parts for the build. Hopefully the photos and captions will give enough info for those intersted in this plane. For the airbrakes I wondered if these hinges would be a neat option?....http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store...idProduct=8230 Attached Thumbnails Film has to be cut away to reveal servo bay. Supplied plastic mounts fit well, but do not look very nice so I will manufacture my own. 32.0 KB · Views: 51 59.7 KB · Views: 62 Internal wing structure appears to be very well constructed with plenty of glue used. 38.3 KB · Views: 82 38.5 KB · Views: 53 30.2 KB · Views: 69 93.9 KB · Views: 62 Moulded wing root matches the wing perfectly. Wing in background is for a CMPro Discus, not the Habicht! 48.5 KB · Views: 59 52.2 KB · Views: 91

Oct 20, 2009, 06:02 PM	#32
Ben D Wing Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Peak District Posts: 803	Suirendoujin, Dowels (or ply/carbon braces) at the front and rear of the wing roots are always good insurance and it doesn't matter if it's a gull wing or not as any wing acts in the same way when the glider has a hard landing. ie. the wings usually try (through inertia) to carry on moving forward even though the fuz has stopped, thus crushing the body between the wing leading edges. Likewise, if the plane slides sideways and/or rotates during the landing, the trailing edges can crush the fuz too. BTW, I have decided to hinge my airbrakes from the inside and not use tape on the top surface as IMO it spoils the looks. Likewise I shall be manufacturing new servo covers as the (generic plastic types) ones supplied aren't really in keeping with a replica of a 1930's glider! (I did this with the elevator servo on my CMPro Discus too). The idea of a battery tray is a nice idea, but I wiil be wrapping mine in lots of foam and securing in front of the elevator servo by other means. And for the ~500g of nose weight required I will be either using a whole lot of of #8 shotgun pellets, or some fishermans #10 split shot secured in place by slow setting epoxy. I will hopefully start my build Thursday this week. P.S. The orange dot reminds you for the ''ON'' position for the power switch?

Oct 21, 2009, 08:42 AM	#34
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	Ben D wing, Yes, that flourescnet pink dot is there, so I can tell the switch's on and off position without putting on my glasses. Gosh, how my eye sight deteliorated so fast!! The whole world within 50 cm radius now blurred. And the doc tells me that there's no turning back

Oct 21, 2009, 11:15 AM	#36
Slope P Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Santa Fe NM Posts: 50	suirendoujin , what does it mean? Can not wait for your flying report. Crashed my minimoa over the summer and it's a slow repair. Slope P

Oct 22, 2009, 07:13 AM	#39
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	Ben D Wing! You trying to hijack my thread!!!! I dont ming it in the slightest. Ten Habichts, ten ways or more to finish it. So, yes, lets get going. The hinge you pointed out. I am waiting for them myself. Looks like their arrival will be the factor of my build. Without it, I cannot proceed.

Oct 22, 2009, 07:35 AM	#40
Ben D Wing Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Peak District Posts: 803	Suirendoujin, thanks, but in your opening post the Habicht you showed was the red/white version. In your latest photos it's blue/white, are you making two of them?

Oct 22, 2009, 08:51 AM	#41
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	Ben D Wing, Bout time somebody noticed!! After my initial inspection of the prototype Ming has sent me, I contacted Ming proposing some additional reinforcemnt to the wing, such as beefier shear webs and root rib. Ming listened and sent me another sample, with the reinforced wing. And it is this reinforced version which became the production version. What you have. I am working on the second one which is white with blue sun burst pattern. The red one, still unbuilt but opened from the original packageing will be given away at a slope event next month, which I will be hosting. Windrider is one of the sponsors of the event. I have added few more photos to my previous thread. Was able to acutate the tow release now that epoxy has cured.

Oct 22, 2009, 05:23 PM	#42
Ben D Wing Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Peak District Posts: 803	Suirendoujin, your tow release looks very simple, but effective and neat. Question; What's the thinking behind the 5mm dowel in the wing root? It looks to be behind the wing retention blade slot (as in my photo), is this correct? Attached Thumbnails 36.7 KB · Views: 55

Oct 23, 2009, 06:40 AM	#43
Ben D Wing Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Peak District Posts: 803	The elevator pushrod has now been assembled and the photos should show how it all goes together. I have changed the clevis from that supplied and shown in the pic as it doesn't really inspire me with confidence(sorry Ming ), especially as it's going to be permanently built in thus removing any possibilty of accessing it if anything goes wrong at a later date. The elevator joiner and horn assembly is sturdy and well thought out and is shown assembled for the photo, but it should only be assembled within the fuz after the tailplane halves have been glued to the fuz as it's impossible to insert it in a built up state at a later date (kit instructions show how). Mocking up the tailplane showed that the (rearward) alloy spar tube is too long so this will need trimming before final assembly. Attached Thumbnails Nylon 'bullet' is epoxied into lightweight hollow pushrod. Grub screw holds metal rod in desired position and should also be glued to prevent loosening. 43.7 KB · Views: 51 Supplied clevis is of doubtful usefulness as it appears fragile. 47.9 KB · Views: 52 Be sure to epoxy/cyano all parts of the elevator horn assembly when finally building into fuz. 50.0 KB · Views: 48 Forward tailplane joiner is piano wire and the rearward one is a an aluminium tube. Elevator joiner is to be inserted through the square hole and then the horn parts assembled. 46.8 KB · Views: 77 With tailplanes halves mocked up a gap is apparent. In this case the alloy joiner is too long and requires trimming prior to final assembly. 34.9 KB · Views: 51

Oct 23, 2009, 09:19 AM	#44
suirendoujin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Far East Posts: 596	The 5 mm dowel was and is placed at the root of the wing root. Not on the wing, but in the fuse. So, this dowel should add additional insurance for cart wheel landings. Ben D Wing, your build seems to be getting along nicely. Would be interesitng to see how we merge in our building process.

Oct 23, 2009, 05:45 PM	#45
Ben D Wing Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Peak District Posts: 803	A quick observation; The instructions say that the carbon elevator pushrod is supplied at 800mm (which mine was) and makes no further mention of trimming to size. From my experience if it is left at 800mm, it will be too long with no adjustment available either end on the sliding clevis rods. I trimmed mine to 750mm but 730mm would be ok too as there would be plenty of adjustment at either end to finesse the length. EDIT; Having examined the instructions again I did find a one-liner regarding the pushrod, quote: ''The total length may need to be adjusted depending on different situations.'' I took this to mean that the length could be adjusted purely by sliding the clevis rod in/out at either end thus keeping the carbon rod length @ 800mm. My mistake to assume! If you are reading this Ming, maybe the instructions could give a finite length for the carbon rod of say, 740mm and then there would still be plenty of adjustment at either end to facilitate ''different situations.''. Last edited by Ben D Wing; Oct 24, 2009 at 08:52 AM.