Hi Rob, great information...thank you so much for posting it. Cant wait to get to the point where I can start covering. Will spend the next week or so finishing off all of the hardware for this beast then maybe cover the tail for my first run with this stuff. The aileron control boxes and cables tied into the cockpit control box are going to be the next time consuming project to tackle.

Terry - I also use shot bags to hold the other end of what I am covering and generally do so over a large pc of 1" foam so I am not dinging everything up.

Originally Posted by DH60GM

Hi Rob, thank you for the tips on the Solartex. I need to order the tools for applying it as I have never done this part before either...will be a learning curve for me.

I was going to paint the fuse complete "cockpit for sure for detail on the inside" and stain all other parts of the plane to match what a full size looks like uncovered .....do you think this would be a problem or create any grief for myself when it comes time to apply the covering?

Terry - I realized later that I never answered your question. The short answer is "probably not" but I would run some covering over a test structure first. If you use stix-it, you definitely won't have a problem since I have done what you are talking about before, most recently on my little FBA. See post #140 - I really don't like the look of seeing balsa wood through the covering....

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...ng-Boat/page10

Hi Rob,

thank you for the tips and advise and direction, the help and advise has been huge for me.

Your build is just fantastic, amazing craftsmanship...beautiful work Rob. thank you for the link

Thanks Terry - I wished I had built it bigger!

had a little bit of time tonight so I did the rivets on the rudder control levers, extremely happy with how they turned out.

I did a test run on some scrape aluminum and sheet metal, wasn't happy with the look using the 1/16 rivet punch and round flat back on the rivet after a couple of light hits with a tiny ball peen

.1) I took the rudder brackets and lightly marked two aluminum bars with a 1/16th drill bit with the bracket pattern, then did the marks in the bars with a 1/8" drill bit to a depth equal to the height of the 1/16" round head rivet.

.2) Installed the 4 rivets in each rudder horn and shaved the rivet shafts down to a clinch height of 0.125"

.3) with the rivets in each rudder lever I just seated the horns in the bracket pattern between the two blocks seated nicely on the round head side and compressed them in the vise.

turned out good, very happy with them and a nice tight round head on both sides. 0.125" head diameter on one side and 0.115" head diameter on the other side.

some pictures below, will finish off rivets in the rest of the control levers on the weekend.

It would seem to me Terry that the hard part of that assy is making the four right angled brackets that get riveted to the horns. Again, if I were doing them, no two would come out the same and the hole patterns would be in different zip codes....

Terry,

These horns are looking just as fantastic as all your other progress. Well done!

Full disclosure, Rob is leaning on me to do a Gipsy @ 1:5 to fly with his Tiger Moth, but I must say, my motivation sags every time I check your posts.

If I were in your shoes, I would be so tempted to make up a float kit for this beauty and drive the 10 hours to the Shuswap Lake float fly once it was done. A model of this caliber would look absolutely splendid in that majestic setting.

Thayer

Hi Rob,
Yup, easy part was making the aluminum levers...the brackets are time consuming .

Thayer, thank you for the comments on the horns and build.

You should most definitely give the Gipsy build a go...LET ER BUCK ... its a pretty cool plane with everything I have learned about them the past year and a bit.
I was thinking about floats for the build, that would be awesome to see it on the lake like the full size back in the day. Shuswap Lake would be a great trip

hellooooooo

after looking at so many different pictures of DH60s and the blue prints and picking off the horns in 1 picture of my Grandfathers Moth I decided to go with solid construction elevator upper and lower control levers/horns like most full size Moths....will do the same on the aileron horns.

Just couldn't bring myself to use rivets and side brackets like I did on the rudder levers/horns.

Some DH60s have the angular elevator horns with rivets and side brackets like the rudder horns and some have the curved elevator horns as shown in the schematics attached below.

I ended up using the aluminum elevator levers as templates which worked out great. Lots of pictures below and the steps I did today if these are any help to anyone else wanting to tackle this.

.1) sheet of 24"x8" 24 gauge steel sheet
.2) folded over and compressed in the vise evenly
.3) cut of a 1.5" wide 8" long strip then cut into 2" sections "4 of them"
.4) drilled and attached the aluminum template arms I was going to rivet with the backside/curve side towards the fold in the 24 gauge steel
.5) used 2 1/4" wide strips drilled for the mounting pattern I wanted
.6) scribed the steel with lever angles 0.250" out and then again at 0.380" on the bottoms of the levers
.7) scribed the steel directly under the base of the levers both sides
.8) scribed the remaining outline of the levers
.9) I use small scrap aluminum blocks almost like a straight edge/stopper and lay the template pattern on top with another 1/4" wide template vertical in between the base of the lever and the template for the addition clearance when the base is bent over at 90 degrees for the mount base
.10) lots of trimming and filing for final shape
.11) on the pre drilled mounting base I mounted the templates on either side again and then drop the lever down in between the 2 aluminum blocks with another 1/4" strip on either side directly under the templates that are bolted on. Tap it down lightly so the lever comes down on the 2 flat strips evenly both sides and lock er up tight in the vise and bend over the mounting pads using 1/8" flat bar and then 1/4" bar.
.12) just some touch up shaping

very happy with how they turned out

On to the elevator cable control guides tomorrow

Hope this helps anyone else wanting to giver er a go.

And how much did you say a 1/5th scale set would run? Just kidding Terry, beautiful work, as usual!

Terry, Have you ever thought about building a full size airplane? You definitely have the skills / craftsmsnship!

thanks Guys Robin...left you a voice mail on the control arms

Hi Fred, I would love to purchase the wreckage of gramps old DH60 and redo it from the ground up in the future. I think that would be the ultimate project.

Terry, Make sure you're retired if and when you decide to take it on!

Originally Posted by DH60GM

thanks Guys Robin...left you a voice mail on the control arms

Terry sorry I didn't call back, I didn't see this 'till late. I was just kidding about making another set of horns!