1/32 scale HK4 Spruce Goose

[seawings]

So, Dave, is this Spruce Goose a flyer or a static bird?

[HO229]

Bryan,
Currently I am building a plug, from which female molds will be cast to make composite parts/aircraft.
My goal is (Fingers crossed… ) to have a flyable model by the end of June 2011



tool used to reestablish the HRL: I know that a specific part of the fuselage is true to the Horiz.

looking at the bench ref

Fuselage

long axis tail pad

short axis tail pad

My bench top is a 10 Ft section of Rock Maple bowling alley (if one looks you can see the alignment marks) and is perfectly flat, as long as the builder matches the inclinometer angles of the bench to the fuselage all lines struck with jig will be in plane


One of my most sophisticated measuring instruments I own, I paid a hansom sum of money for this precision instrument (The larger the protractor the higher the fidelity) . Don't try this at home kids


One of my more sophisticated instruments to obtain the correct height & offset


I did pretty darn GOOD! The dihedral is only few degrees off and I have not taken the plane to it yet…


These steps are the MOST IMPORTANT steps in the building process and I will have spent a tremendous amount of time and effort truing everything up.
In this pic you see I have put one of the two plumb bobs on the long axis; a line will be struck on the bench that parallels the edge of the bench and the fuselage will be set in plane with the ref line.
Winding sticks & bobs will be applied to the stubs. These measuring devices will tell me the correction factor/level of error and what needs tweeking.
1 Corinthians 3:10


Kind regards,

Dave

[Adventureguy]

Dave,

The photos of your Hughes model project are fantastic! Although I've molded a few fiberglass parts before, I have always started with a metal part I wanted to replace. From your photos, though, I think I better understand now how to build something completely new.

What materials do you plan to use for the molds and the aircraft?

Although it's not strictly flying boat related, because of your user-name I have to ask:
So, do you have one of the world's best models of the Ho229?

Alan

[HO229]

Thanks Adventure Guy,
The molds will be gel-coated glass.

I own a magnificent set of Author Bentley Horten 229 drawings and several RC flying wings all of which are great fliers.
Do to the cost of flying jets I have not tinkered with fabricating the Horten wings (some day) but the two Horten brothers story is a fascinating story! David Myhra did several books on the two brothers all very well done!
Even a few NASA (formally NACA) reports on these guys!
During flight test of the HO-229 the Horten locked horns with the ME-262 Schwalbe as part of a capabilities demonstration; the Schwalbe did not stand a chance…
I am just glad the two brother’s projects did not receive the proper backing until it was too late to make a difference.
My construction methods are ancient methods but robust, no high tech gadgetry here!
My Dad and the Colonial Williamsburg Virginia cabinet makers, Coopers, Wheelwrights, and Carpenters are to blame for my madness.

Cheers!
Dave

[BillG]

Well that explains it. I knew you had to have history in the cabinet making profession. You're one of the few remaining craftsmen that work at such a high level of precision with wood. It's great to see a few people keeping the nearly lost arts alive.

"These steps are the MOST IMPORTANT steps in the building process and I will have spent a tremendous amount of time and effort truing everything up.
In this pic you see I have put one of the two plumb bobs on the long axis; a line will be struck on the bench that parallels the edge of the bench and the fuselage will be set in plane with the ref line."
....or you can just slam it all together like I do, and have vertical stabilizers off by a few degrees.
Seriously, I am impressed with the level of precision, and it certainly does matter. I can remember being quite discouraged when I realized that wings could not be warped, and how well wing incidences and washout angles had to match. I then realized that you can only get away with slamming certain areas of the aircraft together.

I own a magnificent set of Author Bentley Horten 229 drawings

Now that's what I call using phonetics to include the actual sound of the British accent. The first thing I thought about was the movie "Arthur". They are magnificent drawings. I'm sure the real thing is much better than the "D" size enlargements that I've made from 5" images of Bentley drawings found on the web.
The HO229 and other Luft '46 projects have me fascinated. I've probably logged 50 hours at the Luft '46 site, and at one point was on a mission to attempt to build them all. Flying wings have always terrified me, as there is no h-stab to rely on. You have to get the airfoil right, but someday I'll do some research and attempt one.

[HO229]

Installing the two ref nails



Install the nails aprox 1/3 from the end of the rule, after the two nails are installed press the rule against the nails and strike the line, then slide the rule down (keeping it against the nails and extend the line (the two nails are your fence) COOL TRICK YES?
Perfect line every time



GREAT SCOTT! WHAT A MESS... look at that wind!



OH My!!!


Oh my... look at this mess!!!




A few min with the hand plane



A little surface work is still in order but the stubs are true to the ref plane and at the proper dihedrial angle



warming up the shop and the filler.

Bill,
Flying wings are very easy to fly and the wing foil is not critcal at all, unless you are optimizing?

Williamsburg:
When you cross the bridge from the visitor’s center in Williamsburg you are stepping back in time and are subject to his majesty’s rule. A great place to learn great things..

This is the first year that I have not attended the wood working conference in 3 years.
It ended today (sad) the beer… the food… the amazing demonstrations and we even have those Red Coat British fellows give a few demonstrations

[BillG]

I love the photo of Jim from Taxi (although the clip is not from Taxi).

"GREAT SCOTT! WHAT A MESS... look at that wind!"
That reminds me of when Jim was staying at Danny DeVito's apartment, and accidentally burned the place. Do you remember when he tried to clean it up, then showed it to a friend to ask him if he cleaned it up well, while the place was completely black?
Quote = Jim from Taxi: "You mean it's noticeable?"

[HO229]

Ah… Auto body filler, the smell brings back memories of my youth; working on the 1975 Chevrolet Vega (Rust Bucket) filling in all the holes. My Dad lovingly referred to it as a “jalopy”
Sh…mustn’t tell Bill that auto filler works well with planes and spokes

Dave

[HO229]

Applying a thin coat of filler to the model

I am not VERY happy; at the bottom of the can of filler is some kind of crunchy, rocky mess that is pebble like that totally messes up the blending of the filler.

Will have to write to the MFR... I have never seen this in a can of filler before?

Will insert the wooden plug and fairing of the nose lines soon and start working on the dog house (cockpit area).






Nothing like having grit in your filler when you wish to apply a smooth surface layer!

[BillG]

Applying a thin coat of filler to the model

I am not VERY happy; at the bottom of the can of filler is some kind of crunchy, rocky mess that is pebble like that totally messes up the blending of the filler.

Will have to write to the MFR... I have never seen this in a can of filler before?
Nothing like having grit in your filler when you wish to apply a smooth surface layer![/color]

Ah, that high grade filler with the Mustang on the can, that shows a guy getting show quality results with Bondo and a spray bomb. I'm used to getting the stuff with all the resin on the top, where you have to mix the hell out of it, where the bottom of the can is harder. Never had it rocky as of yet though.
Usually the stuff is pretty good for a so called lower grade, and they have all become so expensive. That brand actually sands pretty well, compared with some, especially considering cost. I preferred it to many more expensive brands. I commend you for using body filler and getting good looking results, as it can be difficult to get it to feather out on wood, without flaking at the feather edges. I would consider Urethane (often yellow in color) thick primer. Toward the end of my autobody career, (one of my many tangents ) I started using it, as you can build it up to 1mm thick, while having minimal shrinkage over time. It sands very well also. On large panel repairs, you could fair in filler repairs to a perfect flatness, using 100-120 grit on an airboard.

When I first got into rc flight, I glassed and bondo coated a Dumas Cabin Cruiser with Bondo brand. I became so interested in flight, that I never got around to sanding it. I wonder how easily the bondo will sand, after 7 years?