The "Silver Lining" a start

YO! You get up and GO !  Bob you are a inspiration to us all.
I'm extremely lazy because your consistently fast paced repair and build talents put me to shame. I'm in awe !

Marleysky wrote:YO! You get up and GO !  Bob you are a inspiration to us all.
I'm extremely lazy because your consistently fast paced repair and build talents put me to shame. I'm in awe !

Thanks Rene, I have no talent, but I have persistance. Recreation for me, keeps me off the streets, out of the bars, and from chasing wild women.

Instead of a rod up through the bottom, I'm thinking a horizontal slot for the bell crank and an enclosed vertical slot for the BC pin. Epoxy in and cover with an embedded piece of 1/16" sanded to shape. Easier to align too.

Nice start Bob!! …. Sometimes this scenario is what drives to scratch build, It can’t be had any other way….. It’s too bad you missed the one on the auction but this way you’ll enjoy the ride to get there…. Also, was very kind of Levent to produce that nice plan…

Yes, the character of this one is kind of like the tri motors….Has a certain whim about it….
That’s one of the neat things about model airplanes…Huge variety…. Enjoy the build!!!

Robert

Great work. I was eyeing up the plans and was thinking of it, but..... I have a stable already full of small stuff that has yet to fly, so I did not yet start one. Plus I have an rc hydro on the go currently. However, as usual, I will be watching.

great build Bob! thats gonna be a really cool jigger when youve done it. Like others, Im very tempted to build on myself. Half-a version to match up with a TD 049. the plane has a real charachter all of its own. I think I will have to build a quick and dirrty rough one before long and see how it goes. ill keep watching your build first and learn the build tricks to it from you before I try.

Yabby

Thanks guys, your interest gives me courage.  

Levent's drawing tells me the distance between the top and bottom wings is 1 7/8".  So I cut a sacrificial board to that width and drew a witness line for the bottom wing cut ensuring the two wings are parallel without deviation.  To keep CB happy I kept the debth of blade low.  






Made up a bellcrank pivot by cutting the head off a 3/48" and partitioned it off with a couple of nuts.  Kept the original insert pivot, and washer.  Snugged up and secured with a drop of CA on each nut which ought to keep it steady and free from flopping around.  Epoxy it in.  It's the heart of the whole shabang.



I found this engine on ebay last week advertized as a Wen Mac as it has a Wen Mac prop.  Both engine and prop are unmolested, I needed the black Wen Mac prop.  The engine exactly matches the previous owners on the model so will propably use it, however I like the engine that Levent pictured.  Some color would brighten up the rather bland color scheme of the original.  


I was going to use an oval for the engine mount, but Levent drew a shield which represents what the original builder used, so a shield it is.  Luan.

I have all the ingredients, leadout wires, elevator control wire, landing gear wire, wheels.  But I will have to paint it (as the PO did) with the bellcrank assembly and leadout wires in place.  Once I get the BC assemby embedded in the fuselage it isn't coming out.  





I'm still trying to figure out how to motor it.  A .049 seems too much, a .020 too little????



Bottom wing will be cut to 3" and the cutoff will be the elevator with it's leading edge rounded to shape.  Going to try to use small hinged pinned hinges.  I don't care for cloth.  


The last thing I do will be to square up the front of the fuselage with the wings for a 0 - 0 - 0 degree angle with maybe a few degrees right angle for control line circle.  I see no reason to build in down with this short of fuselage moment?

Bob,

Your rendition of Silver Lining is looking nice!!

If it is to fly I think an .020 would be plenty… Consider the Cox Little Stinker …. There’s a video or two of one somewhere on the forum I think by Kim…. Goes like well, Stink
With an .049 to really fly would be a pistol but could probably be managed by a seasoned pilot…. I think a smaller prop to minimize torque on take off would be good…. It would be crazy fast ….So the answer I guess is to build one for each size engine   …..It’s so short coupled I bet pitch sensitivity would be a bear….Best to keep the elevator throw pretty small….

Part of its character is the decoration and lettering…You might consider to paint and decorate before assembly…. That way you could have the wing and fin flat on the table to do the lettering… More stable…. The paint pen that was suggested is a good idea unless you’re planning to replicate a decal in some way…

Very good work Bob, as always

"Part of its character is the decoration and lettering…You might consider to paint and decorate before assembly."

Thanks Robert. What I'm considering is sending it over to Turkey.

What's concerning me is locating the center of gravity. It looks like the PO placed it right at the trailing edge of the top wing? Or was it a kit?



I need it to position the bellcrank pin. My final CG check, just hang it from a string with the leadouts. My 60/40 P-26 worked out well.



Any thoughts?

hey Bob, you got me started now. That plane just looks too freaky. I gotta have one and try it out. Mine certainly wont be a real craftsmans/modellers jigger as you are building! And I take my hat off to you! Mine wont be like that because I just cannot build like you do. Watching your builds is like watching the dudes in Kims video flying their planes! Im not in that league. but im gonna have fun, on the other side of the pond tonight smashing out a quick and dirty version to put a TD on the nose of and probably crash and burn. Im not even sure if I should paint it

Thanks for the inspiration!

Yabby

Looking Good Buddy , and you said you couldn't build by kit/drawing .... You mite bee full of it too , And about them Wild women !

Thanks Yabby and Eric, but don't be fooled, I'm a hammer and nail guy and not very precise. Measure it with a stick and cut it with an axe that's me. Close enough is good enough. If it wasn't for Levents drawings I would be a lost puppy.

Speaking of puppy's, I put in for one of those 4000 rescue Virginia Beagles destined to be sent to medical testing facilities. A pair if they would give them to me. I have been missing Spike since I lost him a year + ago.

Got up early this morning and went out to the shed and cut out the tapered engine bolsters. Looks like the PO just put a clunk of balsa back there. Band saw and trimmed them up on the belt sander. I will taper them like in Levent's drawing.





Wheels will be trimmed to 1" on the drill press. Wish I had a wood turning lathe.

I looked at the article again on the Manx Cat…not much other than “keeping the weight forward to eliminate most problems” concerning CG…. I notice there’s a good bit of line rake on the original’s SL photo so that’s probably a good idea too…. I’m sure hanging like you did the Peashooter Will get it in the ball park…

Looking forward to Yabby’s version as well

Y’all may start a trend….

Me too Robert, Yabby always puts a little extra twist on his builds.  

And yes, we are supposed to be a bunch of engine/balsa builder, flyem people here.  I would love to see everyone build one.  Just so simple a cave man could do it.  I would think most here have enough spare balsa tucked away that they could build more than one.  

Remember when many of us built these?



I don't remember who kitted it but Eric does.

Glue drying on the firewall bolsters, so turned my attention to the engine.  The engine I bought for this (above) turned out to be new, never fueled.  (center below) But it's stiff in the cylinder (dried factory lube?) despite applications of Remoil which will loosen most anything up.  Heat/cold would not loosen the glow head but it did the cylinder.  Thin wall #2.  I have a stepped #1 to replace it.  



I do like Levents depiction of a clutched red starter, might build one of those.

BTW heat melts plastic, but it won't a drilled Cox wrench.

Well, I think I’ll join… I have memories of the larger Max Cat that a friend had when I was a kid….He gave it too me less engine later on and I remember it being a cool looking airplane…. I never flew it, Probably was around 14 at the time..,

I think my version will involve electro power if that’s OK…. I’ll be tempted to fly it so would like to use some electric stuff I have on hand…. Lest I break one of my engines

I did fiddle around with the logo this morning to see if I could even get close… I made a stencil of sorts with tracing paper…. I didn’t have any silver so used green instead just to test…. Has a bit of over spray but I think I can tighten it up taking a little more time and use tissue instead….




But first I need to finish a project I am doing for my esposita dulce (sweet little wife)….
It is an Alebrije (Ah-ley-BREE hay)….They are mythical animals in Mexican folk lore….My wife was born and raised in Chihuahua so she’s really liking it…,
The one I am doing is of a Chuprosa…. (Humming Bird)….





So yes, I have a bit of an artsy steak as well….Will start on the Silver Lining when I finish the pajorita (little bird)…,

That's great news Robert!! Double exclaimation point.  The more the merrier.  Electric, wonderful, variety is the spice of life.  It will be interesting to see your motor of choice and how you integrate it and the battery into the airframe.  

I like your stencil and Hummingbirds, a talent that I do not have.  Very close to the original. I will probably steal it.  Maybe you could PM me a scan.

I lied about the ebay replacement engine.  It has been ran.  Exterior looks nice but the interior especially the fuel pickup tube had enough castor/fuel gel to lubricate the Queen Mary.  Hard job getting a wire through the NVA.  Had to soak it twice in Berryman's to free it.




I could not remove the glow head and I was not going to risk damaging the cylinder to do so.  It checks good!  I also did not remove the early reed, same reason.  Berrymans cleaned the goo and a tooth pick rotates it.  Everything always gets a soapy water and clear water rinse as well as a spriz of Remoil especially down the needle hole all followed by a compressed air blow out.  You do not want to leave anything inside critical spaces, even Remoil that can over time stiffen up.  



I may not use this early engine, I only have a couple others and this is the best of the lot.  Knowledgable Cox people will recognize that it checks all the boxes defined here:

https://sites.google.com/site/coxenginecollection/1956-babe-bee







You just can't see the three/four piece piston.

Bob, what have you started Roberts building one also. attached photos of where mine is up to from last nights effort. hope to finnish it and try to fly it this weekend. Its mot getting wheels so as that I can stooge launch it off of my launch table. bit woried about weight for a launch off of the table but Ill find out. A flat out TD 049 should do the trick. I have a feeling that without wheels it might be a once of flight. Ive been told im allowed to post on youtube now so Im going to try and work out a way to video it from my phone whilst I fly it. Hmmmm....

Your build is coming along very nicely with lots of nicely crafted parts. I like the way you did the wheels!!!! they are really cool.

Below are some photos of my Brute Force and Ignorance build version.




Thanks again Bob for inspiring! I wouldnt have built this jigger were it not for you and your excellent logged builds.

Yabby

Your welcome Yabby, I'm so glad that your pitching in. I thought I was working fast. You will be in the air long before my paint dries. You ought o have a pocket rocket there. Let us know what your final weight is.

As for the wheels, the wooden axle serves as a drill chuck retainer as I have to turn them down from 1 1/4" to just 1". Then I will cut off the axle and drill a hole for music wire.

Bob

The Bee looks excellent Bob…. Nice job on the cleaning… Shines like a new dime…. I have one very similar…. Only difference it has a screen in the intake….. I’m sure it’s just a bit later….

I made the stencil simply laying a piece of tracing paper over the graphic Levent did, Making a pencil drawing and cutting it out with a knife…Thanks Levent for providing the scale by the way….I’ll practice making a better one and when I get it acceptable I’ll mail you one or two…Whatever you like on the fin as well…

Yabby, Yours is coming along nicely and at a rapid pace!!! Are you keeping it original size? 10” wing span? Will be a rocket!!!

Thanks Robert, I have become quite fond of that engine.  I'm sure if the seller had listed it as a Cox engine rather than a Wen Mac one of the scavengers here doing a search would have scooped it up especially at that price.  

All the credit goes to Berryman's.  I did not even apply a tooth brush to the exterior.  Berryman's even cured the pull through drag that Remoil wouldn't.  Acts like a proper Cox engine now.  I decided that I'm going to retire it and use another on the S/L.  I removed the red starter from the horse-shoe and put it on an equally nice but somewhat later slit cylinder Babe Bee as Levent pictured.  Although I still may use the standard thin wall on the right.  




Made the bolsters for the engine mount.  Still have blending to do.

The wood work is looking very nice Bob … Fun stuff right?…. At the rate you are going you may have to start the .020 version to let me catch up!!!…. I should be able to start on mine by Tu or We next week ….about done with the little bird….

Here’s my Bee that’s sorta similar to yours…. It has the screen on the back and recess for spring starter in the case so a later version…. Still awaiting clean up and rebuild…Tank has some minor pitting so will have to polish that out…

One more from West Texas… A tall dust devil under that little Cumulus cloud…. The horizon is about five miles away so that’s a pretty big one…. Had a lot of them this summer… Very hot and dry…

Weather from Texas is all over the news, and we still have August to go.  But cooler weather is coming.  We had water spouts in Florida, very similiar.  Interesting to look at but you always kept an eye on where they were headed.

Must people judge cylinders, for me it's the backplate.  Tells a lot about the engine, the previous owner, and history.  Wear marks tell how it was mounted, caved area's around the machine screws, machine screw heads and hogged out mounting holes betray the PO's.  This one (replacement) was so clean it had me fooled.



ebay engine equally as nice.




Push is coming to shove on mine, time to glue.  Right now just clamps and machine screws hold it together, once I lay glue, that's it.  

Good luck on your build, eager to see it.

I chuck my tanks up on the drill press capturing the inlet post, done correctly it fits snug like a glove. Just finger tight then use 400 to 800 grit wet/dry lightly applied, then some fine steel wool. I don't overdo, just enough to restore the factory finish.