Hi

This is my entry for the second Build Off contest. I had a lot of fun during the first one, with my Dewoitine. I hope to repeat this. I know I am a little behind the pack but I'll try to catch up.

I already did a design thread on this plane, you can find it here. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ht=dh+88+comet

The Comet was a British racing plane that won the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from RAF Mildenhall to Melbourne. I will make the classic G-ACSS Grosvenor House. (The red one ) The plane will be 1/6 scale.
This gives a wingspan of 2.23m (88 inch) and a length of 1.47m (58 inch) It will be entirly built up form balsa and ply. It will feature a wooden retractable landing gear and flaps and then of course the 4 basic steering functions.

Today, I received the wooden parts from Manzano Laser Works. I am always happy when the nice lady of Taxi Post rings the bell. Not only is she a nice lady, but when she stops at our house, she always has packages for me
In total there are 10 Balsa sheets and 10 Ply sheets. I took great care when drawing the parts so I hope they fit well.
The parts are cut out in very good wood. Thanks to Vicki and Charlie for organizing the contest and providing builders with excellent material.

I also bought all the hardware already. The plane will be powered with 2 Turnigy 1100 kv outrunners. Power will be provided by 2 Polyquest 3s1p 5000mAH packs. There are 2 80A speed controllers (a little overkill maybe) All servo's are from united hobbies. There are 4 small servo's for ailerons and flaps and 4 big servo's for the landing gear, elevator and rudder.

Thursday or Friday I can start building. The next two weeks I have school holliday so I can build all day long. Here are some pictures of the parts and hardware. The table is 2.2m long. Approximatly the span

Tom

EXCELLENT! Another Rhino entry, born and bred in 3D and entered in the same category even! Love it!

Best wishes Tom for lots of building time and smooth sailing with your parts fits. I'm sure it's going to fit together wonderfully after watching your design!

Mike

A great choice; one of my favourite planes.
My uncle was an apprentice at Brooklands at the time and saw at least one of the Comets being prepared for the race. He did a wonderful painting of Grosvenor House making a night landing in Australia at the end of the race. Full of action, the plane is still a couple of feet off the runway with landing lights blazing and the runway markers reflecting off the bottom of the plane, and in the distance the lights of the airport buildings. It hung in my Grandmother's dining room all through my childhood, but that was 60 years ago. I have no idea what has happened to it since.

Roly

Say......! Subscribed.

I have a semi-off topic question: Even if the design doesn't "win" the build-off, will kits still be available? There are more than one kit that is entered right now that I'd like to have - including this one - and it hasn't even been built yet! - not saying that this one won't win but there is ONE "winner" and MANY kits!

Cheers and good luck with your build!

Steve

Originally Posted by steve1814

I have a semi-off topic question: Even if the design doesn't "win" the build-off, will kits still be available?
Steve

No, kits will not be made of the losers. All model aircraft that do not win the contest will be systematically dismantled and all records destroyed. In this way, the clean bloodline of the scale electric forum will be maintained....

Well, since there can't be any losers (everyone who enters is a winner in my book!), this probably holds true. But, all kidding aside, kits will be made available if the designer chooses to do so through Charlie or other sources. No kits can be produced or sold until the contest is over however.

Mike

Roly, that sounds like a great painting. Maybe somehow it will turn up in storage someday and you'll get to enjoy it again

Originally Posted by scratchnhover

No, kits will not be made of the losers. All model aircraft that do not win the contest will be systematically dismantled and all records destroyed. In this way, the clean bloodline of the scale electric forum will be maintained....

Mike

Thank the stars I didn't enter my alkaline powered, reverse auto rotation, thermal friseglider...I would have certainly lost - and who would want to dismantle that kind of contraption!

Thanks for the info Mike, your entry is swa-eet! While your drinking coffee that Ted brought you over in the other thread, could you kit me a Hercules and send it please? -Thanks!

Cheers,
Steve

W@cco,

Sweet, my favorite twin. Looking forward to watching this build. I didn't see it discussed in your previous DH. 88 thread but are you planning to build your wing with any washout?

Thank you for all the encouragement!

I am a little ahead of my school schedual so I'll start today, in a moment, when I finished this post and when I've put on other clothes. I'll start by making a glass tube over my aluminium wing joiner tube.

No, kits will not be made of the losers. All model aircraft that do not win the contest will be systematically dismantled and all records destroyed. In this way, the clean bloodline of the scale electric forum will be maintained....

ROFL, I though we were going to fly-torture them to death-by-crash and then burn the remains. The clean bloodline is way to important. If you dismantle them, infected parts may affect new models.

Steve,
Probably there will come a kit after the contest, regardless of what my Build Off result is. But before I make a kit, the plane must fly. So lets first make a plane and do the kit talking after the contest

Roly, now you made me curious about the painting. I sure want to see it if you can find it back.

pdawg,
I will put some wash out in it. The tips are very small and tiny. I think without wash out it will be difficult to control.

Tom

Sounds like the Avro Arrow all over again. LOL

Steve,

Kitting is up to the designers. Anyone who wants to have their kit produced can contact us.

That also applies to any other designs that people want to work on, whether in the costest or not. We have a number of kits being worked on that will be offered soon. It may takes us a while to get a kit ready to go, but, most will get there. The only thing we insist on is that the prototype flies.

If someone has a model that they have cut and they want to discuss selling it they can drop us a note. There are a few we will refuse for any number of reasons, but, most of them do make it to the marketplace.

thanks
charlie

I made the glass fiber tube around the aluminium wing joiner. It is the long one in the picture. The shorter one is for a 5meter Discus sailplane that I bought third hand.
They should be dry tomorrow evening. I hope they come of good.

Then I had some more time and instead on wasting it on the internet or something else, I glude some pieces togheter. Looks like a Comet stabilizer to me

It's a small start for a big plane.

Tom

OK, I give up, what is the hand made FG tube for? Do you make your own spars?

charlie

Originally Posted by portablevcb

OK, I give up, what is the hand made FG tube for? Do you make your own spars?

charlie

That is probably the part I forgot to mention

The wing of the Comet will split in half, underneat the fuselage. To join the two wings togheter, I got this aluminium tube. The tube will go from one nacelle to the other. Because the alu tube needs to fit accuratly in the wing, I made a fiberglass tube around the alu tube. When the epoxy resin has dried, I hope to pull of the FG tube. Then I'll cut it to length and in half, the half FG tubes will be glued in the wing halves. I'll be able then to slide the alu tube in the FG wing tubes and I have a neat and strong wing joiner.

The Comet wing spars were made by you Charlie
3mm Balsa laser cut parts.

The fiberglass tube for the Discus will come in the fuselage. The previous owner crashed it and was 3/4 through the repair when I bought it. The original wing joiner was bend a little and locked in the fuselage. The previous owner cut everything out. I got a new wing joiner that fits in the wings, now I only need a tube in the fuselage to get it all aligned again.
Attached 2 pics of the Discus. See the pottery to support the wings

Tom

Thanks, that's kinda what I thought.

What is your preferred method of holding the wings in place?

I am curious because I am working on a design myself. Right now it looks like CF tube spars and Al tube joiners. Tabs that screw to each section are the rough solution. I am looking for something more elegant

charlie

What is your preferred method of holding the wings in place?

The wing of the Comet will be bolted to the fuselage. I don't know if I am going to connetect the two wing halves other than with the alu tube and a little dowel. The bolts to the fuselage will keep them in place.

If your looking for a way to mount two wingparts to eachother or to a fuselage, take a look at the multilock system by multiplex. It is sort of a plug and a connector. Plug in one part, connector in the other. When you mount them togheter the multilock clicks and it is secured. It is very easy to use. I use it on my sailplanes to mount the wings to the fuselage.

The FG tubes came of the metal wingjoiners pretty good.
I finished the fixed part of the stabilo. Then I commenced building the wings. I had still a lot of thinking to do of how it all needed to come togheter. Especially on the flaps. I wanted to build them with an integrated higne between the wing sheeting and the ribs and a small spar in front of the flap. After a lot of dry fitting etc, the first wing half starts to look like something.

Tom

Here are some pictures