AndrewR's Wooden Blunder ***Taken Flight***

[Dirkpitt289]

Wow, zee that is cool

[AndrewR]

Ahhhh, Guillows, that brings back memories. I've built and flown so many of their small scale balsa models over the years. They weren't always easy to get over here in the UK, but I've still got a couple unbuilt in my 'Balsa Kit Stash' (Can you have a Balsa Kit Stash? Not really appropriate on a plastic modelling forum!).

Rather ambitiously I have got one of these in the stash which I am going to convert to electric power with four tiny motors and a small Li-Po battery. Wish me luck!

http://www.megahobby.com/productimages/gui/GUI2003.jpg

Zee

That'll be impressive!

Is a Balsa Kit Stash really a "Lumber Yard"

Earlier this evening, the vertical tail surface got glued back in...



The horizontal surfaces just push fit into the slots.



The canopy will need some reinforcement at the sides. I may do this with thin cardboard strips as "canopy frame". I didn't have time to see how the balsa takes paint this evening.

[Zee28]

Balsa soaks up paint like a sponge if not sealed first! On small flying balsa models it is genuinely possible to double the flying weight with just paint! With the subsequent decline in flight performance....

If your boy only wants a quick job, 'paint' it with thick marker pens, an acceptable camo can be achieved with green and black!

Coming along nicely Andrew. I find best glues for balsa are good old PVA wood glue (long drying time though) or the thicker varieties of CA.

If you want real speed of assembly, make the balsa slightly damp first then hit it with the CA. Instant! For slotted in parts that are a snug fit I use very thin CA and let the capillary action of the grain of the wood do the rest.

Good luck on it's maiden!

Zee

[ShaunW]

It's great to see this coming along. I recall as a kid, we launched some of these gliders using little rubber band catapults. Of course, the G-forces encountered during the catty launch sometimes removed the wings on some models before flight was even achieved if insufficient glue had been applied - oh how we laughed at the poor unfortunate model owner when that occurred (kids can be so cruel)

I can't believe that B-24 - wow, is that a flying model?

[AndrewR]

As I feared, the old canopy was much too weak to stay on properly. So, I found some self-adhesive foam, left over from Katie's Halloween costume making for the boys. And so we have an upgraded canopy...



It's a little heavier than the original balsa one, but it's fairly close to the centre of mass of the aircraft, so it doesn't affect the flight characteristics that much.

And so we have take-off



I didn't dare fly it any more tonight, Monty the dog was looking at the glider very suspiciously and I suspect would have pounced if I'd tried to fly it again. I bet the Wright brothers never had that problem with dogs...

Mind, they were at Kittyhawk, so it was probably cats instead.

So there we are, flying once more.

I decided not to paint it, unless Graham asks.

cheers

Andrew

[Dazzled]

Wow, it flies.

I'm not trying this with my model, OK

[Zee28]

I can't believe that B-24 - wow, is that a flying model?

Yep, it will be! Four tiny electric motors, 3 inch props, Lithium-Polymer battery, and I am hoping she'll fly! I'll keep you informed when the time comes Shaun. My smallest flying model many years ago was about 6 inches span, powered by the tiny motor previously used to run the vibrator mechanism in a pager (yes really!), power supplied by a small stack of watch batteries in series. No radio control, in fact no control at all (trimmed with the rudder to fly large circles). It took off, flew circuits for about 20 seconds until the batteries were exhausted, and then glid to a landing (all indoors, in a gymnasium), I was well chuffed! It was made of polystyrene foam (cut with a hot wire) and balsa wood. Very rewarding (yeah, I know, I should get out more...)

And so we have take-off…. we are, flying once more.

I decided not to paint it, unless Graham asks. Andrew

A superb in-flight photo Andrew! Lovely shot! (Good call on the painting BTW)

Now… have you got any old pagers laying about…..?

Zee

[BlohmWolf]

Nice Wooden wonder.


I have a great amount of Balsa Gliders hanging around. 2$ for a kit relative to a 1/36 scale model. I'll get some pictures up if you want!

[Stuart]

Thats way cool Andrew!

[Ian]

Yay! A flying model!!!!

[ShaunW]

That's excellent Andrew - a proper flying model instead of an Airfix one heading for the wall after a frustrating building session

Zee - that is fascinating, I hadn't realised that you indulged in aeromodelling and it'll be great to see your B-24 when it's done.

[Zee28]

That's excellent Andrew - a proper flying model instead of an Airfix one heading for the wall after a frustrating building session

You see, ALL models fly, it's just that Airfix ones tend to do shorter flights and are somewhat less stable in the air.....

Zee - that is fascinating, I hadn't realised that you indulged in aeromodelling and it'll be great to see your B-24 when it's done.

Yeah, have done so for decades, since I was a lad. I've done far more of that than the plastic bashing to be honest, which probably explains the poor standard of my Airfix efforts.....

I like both types of modelling although the skills and techniques are very different, there is minimal cross-over. Airfix and the like is about trying to create an accurate miniature replica (which I struggle with!) where-as aeromodelling is more about making it fly and you can bend the rules to ensure better flight performance. It's something we call 'Semi-scale' or 'Stand-off Scale', That is to say, at a glance you'd say 'Yep, that's a Spitfire alright' but upon close inspection a lot has been altered and is not scale simply to make it fly better and be easier to control. For example the tail-plane (stabilizer) would probably have 50% more surface area than scale for better control authority and it might have more dihedral than scale for better stability. After all, what is a small gust of wind to a real plane is a absolute gale to something only 3 feet big! So you need the mods for stability and control.

Finishing a plastic kit and admiring it on display is incredibly rewarding, but I also find seeing something you've created take to the air equally enjoyable but in a different way. The trouble with aeromodelling is that in the early days one has far more failures than successes and it gets frustrating. One has to demonstrate extreme perseverance for a long time to gain success. I know far more people who've tried it, failed and given up the hobby for good than I do people who've continued with it!

Now come on Andrew, take the motor out of a old CD-ROM drive, they're light and gutsy and about the right size for Graham's plane, stick a small rubber-powered type prop on it and add a bit of down-thrust, a few watch batteries in series taped to the fuselage at the C of G, offset the rudder the opposite way to the engine torque and have that thing circling the front room at ceiling height driving the dog batty!

Zee

[AndrewR]

Now come on Andrew, take the motor out of a old CD-ROM drive, they're light and gutsy and about the right size for Graham's plane, stick a small rubber-powered type prop on it and add a bit of down-thrust, a few watch batteries in series taped to the fuselage at the C of G, offset the rudder the opposite way to the engine torque and have that thing circling the front room at ceiling height driving the dog batty!

Zee

Or I could finish the Sabre instead

[Zee28]

Now come on Andrew, take the motor out of a old CD-ROM drive, they're light and gutsy and about the right size for Graham's plane, stick a small rubber-powered type prop on it and add a bit of down-thrust, a few watch batteries in series taped to the fuselage at the C of G, offset the rudder the opposite way to the engine torque and have that thing circling the front room at ceiling height driving the dog batty!

Zee

Or I could finish the Sabre instead

Coward!

[AndrewR]

Now come on Andrew, take the motor out of a old CD-ROM drive, they're light and gutsy and about the right size for Graham's plane, stick a small rubber-powered type prop on it and add a bit of down-thrust, a few watch batteries in series taped to the fuselage at the C of G, offset the rudder the opposite way to the engine torque and have that thing circling the front room at ceiling height driving the dog batty!

Zee

Or I could finish the Sabre instead

Coward!

I prefer to think of it as self-disciplined prioritisation...