A few miscellaneous pictures showing the shape, size and relative length of what I had thought was a short stumpy airplane

Pat

she is still one odd looking beast Pat, coming along at a cracking pace. great stuff!

Craig

Oops!! Totally ignore the front u/c leg wire on the plan, goodness knows how it shrunk by about 50% of it's length. I'll make it the right size and send you the file before you need it.

Pete

Uh - thanks Pete - I would be into the UC fairly soon and guess I could redo it from the side view. About to start on the cowl/fairings and then will do some wirework to sit it off the bench..

Pat

I didn't even twig until now that this is 1/6 scale!

I thought it was going to be one of those 40" jobbies...

HUGE!

Even more impressive now. More so because it's such an unusual subject to be building this big!

Hugh

It's not so Huge Hugh (!) at 1/6 it's about 55" I think - similar to the AI and most other single seat ww1 machines. I'm aiming to keep it light - about 4 lb max.

Pete - some time back, I mentioned my intention to do the mauve/green painted version which had balanced ailerons. You agreed I could make that small change but did you realise that the ailerons are also straight (parallel) and the balance 'horns' protrude past the existing tips like the Fokker DVII.
Since this is a fairly significent change, is it still OK? I'll draw up the change if you like - really just an outline variation.

Pat

The cowl cheeks, designed to deflect the rotary exhaust away from the pilot I suppose, are of firm 1/16" balsa. As suggested on the plan, they are an extension of the cowl sheeting. A simple frame was constructed using the outline on the plan to give the balsa sheet some strength as I'm sure I'd crush it during handling......
I found it necessary to slit part of the balsa sheet to follow the slight compounded curve. A card template was made to get the balsa shape right.

Now I'm working out whether to partially hollow the laminated cowl front section before gluing it in place.

I may give the whole front end a layer of glass cloth to help save the model from my field and my flying skills.....

Pat

nice job on the cheeks, that is a pretty tight little curve in that area isn't it!

It was tight Craig but at 1/6 scale - not too bad.

The laminated cowl part was tacked to the fuselage with med CA and the bulk of the excess material removed with a utility knife to lessen dust. Then a very coarse (40 grit) sanding bar took it close using a little balsa template traced from the plan side view. Finer sanding blocks got it to almost final shape but I'll leave the fine finish until later.

I'll probably not bother to hollow any more inside - the space isn't needed and the weight probably is

Next - UC parts to get it off the bench!

Pat

Actually, it was blood on the wire! - I wacked my finger with the hammer while bending the undercarriage wire

After noting Pete's comment about the UC drawing on the plan, I redrew the offending part and bent up the 10 swg (1/8") wire bits. Also four aluminium P-clips. Next, I'll mount the parts to the fuselage to check their fit, then thoroughly clean them and assemble in-situ.

Because a few folk have problems bending wire, I've shown the Maltone Mk1 wire bending jig - a vice and a heavy hammer! Just keep checking against the plan and adjust til it's right! Starting from the centre of the wire out I've found the best approach..and mark and bend to the INSIDE of the bends

Pat

all thats missing in the second pic is yer trusty/rusty bit of railway track
One little thing to remember, always wear some safety glasses, or atleast sunnies when bending music wire, especially when persuading it with a hammer, hardend steel and hardend steel can on ocassion shatter and the fragments will fly. i have a mate that is minus one eyeball due to the very reason... bloody things don't grow back and i personally have copped a sliver about 1/2" long drilled it's way through work pants and an inch under my left kneecap, that was from a job going on about 20m from where i was working!
sorry for being the safety Nazi

Craig

Originally Posted by trumps

all thats missing in the second pic is yer trusty/rusty bit of railway track
One little thing to remember, always wear some safety glasses, or atleast sunnies when bending music wire, especially when persuading it with a hammer, hardend steel and hardend steel can on ocassion shatter and the fragments will fly. i have a mate that is minus one eyeball due to the very reason... bloody things don't grow back and i personally have copped a sliver about 1/2" long drilled it's way through work pants and an inch under my left kneecap, that was from a job going on about 20m from where i was working!
sorry for being the safety Nazi

Craig

When I'm cutting piano wire, I push the soon-to-be-liberated end into a wine cork before making the cut. Protects from cuts and slows it down.

I suspect that ANY metalworking should be done with due respect to the materials being used. Having used drill press/metal lathe/various power saws/welding equip etc for about 60 years, most 'safety' comes second nature. Piano wire is cut with a tiny cut-off saw in my Dremel - much safer than big cutters When bending the wire with a vice and hammer - do it slowly and start hitting the wire away from the bend, slowly moving toward the vice as the desired angle is needed. And almost as important - use good quality wire - I guess most of us use K&S - its about all I can find locally!

Oh- and dont try staightening a mistake and trying again........

Pat (who wears plastic lensed specs anyway..)

My wire bending set up is as yours - vice and hammer. I often use a block of wood though between the wire and the hammer.

Just keep checking against the plan

And watch your thumbs!

Trained as I was as a tool maker, I get complacent about eye protection... Partly because the two times I have ended up with eye injuries, it was when I WAS wearing eye protection.

The reason I got out of the trade? I kept injuring my hands.... But that was when I was working a maintenace fitter on Cold Forging presses. Picture a 4 station 50 Tonne press lying on its back and you have a pretty good idea.

Now the worst that might happen at work is a paper cut, or eye strain from the glair of the CAD monitor.

Oh- and dont try staightening a mistake and trying again........

Unless you are prepared to aneal the wire and re-heat treat.

Cheers,

Hugh