Rutan Voyager *** Finished ***

[JohnRatzenberger]

Fuselage & canard fixed up, main wing stubs added ....



Next up, the booms ....

[Martin R]

John,

Good use of the "Lego jig" method. Looks like you've done a very tidy job thus far.

regards,

Martin

[JohnRatzenberger]

A lot more fitting and trimming to get the booms on here than on the GF ....



I'll hide the damages with filler and sanding tomorrow, maybe even get the main wings on ...

[JohnRatzenberger]

With the clamps and tape off, it wasn't quite square so I did some gentle twisting then put on some filler at the joins ...



Tomorrow I'll sand down the filler, then try again for the wings ....

[MerlinJones]

I'm guessing the real deal with have a lot of in-built flexibility to it, John?

Regards,
Bruce

[JohnRatzenberger]

I'm guessing the real deal with have a lot of in-built flexibility to it, John?

Regards,
Bruce

For sure the wings, always shown curved upward. I would think this "center section" would not.
Full disclosure, when I flexed it a little to get the warp out, there were a few cracking sounds ....

[JohnRatzenberger]

Wing sections on ...



Tomorrow, filler and cleanup of the wing joins .... ready to paint ...

Oh, yes, note the cheap blue masking tape ... somehow I got into using the Tamiya tape and wasted a bunch

[JamesPerrin]

Oh, yes, note the cheap blue masking tape ... somehow I got into using the Tamiya tape and wasted a bunch

We all do it as it's too hand but it is crazy! I've seem 1/72 scale monster a/c dry fitted together with what looks like a whole roll of the stuff.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Here we are ready for the paint shop. It's a single color scheme -- Hu22 White. I'm going to brush paint it, just for practice. I've already found it's taking a couple days to dry so this will probably be the last post for a few days .... Surely you have something better to do than watch my paint dry ...

[JohnRatzenberger]

Quick update, see last picture -- it looks the same except the last coat went on today and now it has to dry which has been one of my big problems -- the Hu22 isn't a quick dryer by any means. I'm now worried about getting the decals on by the end of the GB. Aaaaarrrggh !!!

[JohnRatzenberger]

Decals .... As Barry warned me, they take some TLC to get on. The other problem, which also impacts painting, is these long wings. They flex, they get in the way, they are a pain ... If I do another, I'll fit the outer wings, but not attach them until the very end -- it'll make decaling a lot easier I'm sure.



A coat of gloss, put the glass & props on, and hang it from my ceiling (where wiggly decals can't be seen) ...

[Viking]

thats a strange and lovely plane

[JamesPerrin]

The decals look good to me, long ones are pain at the nest of times.

[m1ks]

Very nice, Rutan designs are great, I love the Long Ez. That was always my preferred choice when I was studying my PPL had I been able to afford my own aircraft and hangerage costs.
Would quite like a kit of one but have yet to see one.

[PaulBradley]

Looks great, John.

m1ks - while there isn't a plastic kit of the Long EZ, there is an RC kit:

http://ak-models.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?S ... l_GasPower;