My N-1R build log

Hanging in here

I messed around with one of the Golden Bee's that I got in that consignment-lot several years ago. The copper reed was badly creased. It looked like someone took it out.. "butchered it".. then reinstalled it. One of the "legs" was bent completely over itself flat.. I had some 2nd hand spares that were in decent shape.. so I installed one and it passed the "blow/suck" test with flying colors.

I made a few venturi gaskets from .031" silicone sheet by using my new leather-punches. I used a 7/32" punch to cut the OD.. followed by a 1/8" punch to cut the ID.



A slight squeezing-together of the tank-bowl to the backplate, compresses the soft rubber for a quality seal that won't stress the backplate when the screws are tightened.



The fuel line was of the clear-vinyl type and was brittle-hardened from age. I'm assuming it was the original.. because of the little internal coil-spring. I used a pencil-type soldering-iron with a chisel-tip to melt-through the line, which prevented breaking-off the fragile nipple. This worked very well.. and I'd highly recommend doing it that way.



My engine notes..



I got a pair of 38mm spinners, which should blend-in nice with my 1.5" dia. nacelle-tubes.

Golden Bee #2.. the 2nd from that same consignment-lot I scored in Fiskdale, MA at Hog Heaven Hobbies circa 2017..



I may have mentioned in another thread; that both of these engines have slight damage to the lower vent-tubes in their tank-bowls..  



........ maybe road-rash from bellie-landings on models sans landing-gear?

whatever... this 2nd engine is in somewhat better shape.





As with the 1st engine; I installed a homemade .031" silicone rubber venturi gasket.





My engine notes..

This will be the 1st time running either of those Golden Bees.. and I'm kinda' psyched that I have a project slated for the pair. I'm going to attempt... to "re-clock" the fuel pick-up location in their tank-bowls to favor control-line flight with the NVA in the horizontal position. It's definitely NOT an optimal position for the fuel pick-up though. I'm replacing the OEM fuel-line/pick-up with silicone tubing. This alone can present a challenge when it comes to holding it in position. There aren't petitions in place on the backplate-casting, for locating a fuel pick-up in this position.. so I may need to improvise...

Those homemade venturi gaskets look good Roddie…. Maybe just a little plump to get that nice “squish” when tighten the tank screws up…. I like mine the same way…. Any special way you make them?

rdw777 wrote:Those homemade venturi gaskets look good Roddie…. Maybe just a little plump to get that nice “squish” when tighten the tank screws up…. I like mine the same way…. Any special way you make them?

Hi Robert, The material is .031" silicone sheet. I sourced a set of leather punches a while back. I first use a 7/32" punch.. and poke-out the little disc.. then I "center" a 1/8" punch as close as I can get it by eye...... to make the 2nd punch. I find it easier to line-up that way, rather than punching the small hole first.

Thanks Roddie, Your method produces a definite thickness which is great…. I cut mine from silicone fuel line on a piece of brass tubing spinning in a drill press…. It may take a few tries to get the right thickness…. Yours is repeatable every time, Nice!

rdw777 wrote:Thanks Roddie, Your method produces a definite thickness which is great…. I cut mine from silicone fuel line on a piece of brass tubing spinning in a drill press…. It may take a few tries to get the right thickness…. Yours is repeatable every time, Nice!

I bought the punch set expressly for the fabrication of my homemade silencer/muffler's silicone/outer-component. I had been using brass tubing.. which "worked"... but the punch-set is something that I'd wanted to add to my hobby-tool arsenal for some time.







The silicone sheet that I use for the muffler is .045" thickness which is ideal. That's the same exact thickness of the butyl rubber from the bicycle tire inner-tube material that I used when I first started making the mufflers. I had also sourced some thinner .031" sheet and some thicker .078" sheet. The thinner sheet was prone to tearing and the thicker sheet was too thick to staple using standard paper-staples; not to mention heavier weight than necessary.

Temporarily mounting the backplate to a sm. wood block made it MUCH easier to remove the brittle-hardened vinyl fuel pick-up, using my 60w.pencil-iron w/chisel-tip.

Shown above; the starboard (control line-outboard) engine nacelle layout. A 38mm cylindrical structure of yet-to-be determined final length. A 6.3mm hardwood dowel runs through the center of all bulkhead-discs; providing alignment. The 1st and 2nd bulkheads (behind firewall) support the starboard-side of the central-structure by providing "blocks" which the central-structure will mount atop rigidly... with small screws and gussets epoxied-in. This will locate both nacelles slightly "lower" than the central structure.. for a more scale-look.

Bulkhead #2 rearward.. is purely cosmetic.. but not necessarily non-functional. This outboard nacelle is counter-weighted using X2 steel fender-washers that also fit onto the centering-dowel.



Here's a look at how the two nacelles will tie-in to the plywood central structure. The central structure will consist of two parts (layers). Only "one" is shown here. A standard bellcrank will mount with its pivot/bushing/screw running through both of the 3mm lite-ply layers, on the model's center-line.. with the bellcrank on the "bottom-side".

I love the Golden Bee engines roddie. Carries the yellow paint scheme of the Naboo better than any other.  Nicely thought out structures and the built-in outside counterweights.

rsv1cox wrote:I love the Golden Bee engines roddie. Carries the yellow paint scheme of the Naboo better than any other.  Nicely thought out structures and the built-in outside counterweights.

Hey THANKS Robert! There's actually not a whole lot more going into this model outside of the 2nd part to the 3mm lite-ply central structure. The floating-tail "FLEX-EL" (TM) is a single piece of thin (.020"/.5mm) plastic sheet; a flexible-panel which attaches rigidly to the central-structure's trailing-edge. Conventional hinging will not be applied in this design. A conventional control-horn however will be used.. and will mount "centrally" and slightly "rearward" of that trailing-edge.. so as to "bend" the flexible-panel via a conventional .062" (1.6mm) music-wire push-rod. Incidentally; conventional lead-out lines will be used.. and will be routed through guides in the inboard engine-nacelle.

Shifting-gears now... back to the landing-gear, mounts and wheels. Anything "nacelle-related" needs to be worked-out before I go any further.

Looks like a good sturdy mount for the twin Golden Bees….. Kind of foundational for everything else to be built around I suppose

rdw777 wrote:Looks like a good sturdy mount for the twin Golden Bees….. Kind of foundational for everything else to be built around I suppose

Yes Robert, I'll have the opportunity to utilize some of that triangular-ply gusset-stock in key areas. The 3mm lite-ply panels need some reinforcement. Ultimately; I tie the nacelles together with full-width spars made from that triangular ply stock. I'm trying to be mindful of added weight. I started this project envisioning the framework to be constructed like a "kite"... with 'skins" to control it. I'd like to apply a fully-symmetrical airfoil to the rigid central-section.. but I don't think there's enough "area" to make it worth the extra weight-penalty. We'll see.. I've thought about it.. and it depends partially on whether I can find a "wider" flex-panel for the tail. I save a LOT of plastic packaging for re-purposing.

Looking good Roddie

akjgardner wrote:Looking good Roddie

Thanks Joe, I hope to get more done tomorrow..

a different view/angle of the starboard nacelle/engine..



That's a L/H 5 X 4 prop... L/H spinners are probably as rare as hen's teeth..

I'm "pinning" the .062" music-wire gear-struts into the nacelles tonight with epoxy.















The hardwood dowels provide the alignment for the discs to form the cylindrical framework for the nacelle. The finished nacelles will be two of the more distinct scale-like features of the craft.. and I want them to be sturdy enough to provide symmetrical strength across the thin cross-section of the central-structure.

Nice straight clean groove on the LG assembly roddie.  How did you do it?  I do mine on the table saw using the fence as a guide, turns out ok but maybe not as clean as yours and your cutting from round.

Looking Slick Man ! Your putting some good mojo on a wild design

Power system looks good Roddie….The sound of the twin throbbing together  seems to go with the spacey design IMO  

rsv1cox wrote:Nice straight clean groove on the LG assembly roddie.  How did you do it?  I do mine on the table saw using the fence as a guide, turns out ok but maybe not as clean as yours and your cutting from round.

I used a hacksaw to cut/establish the initial slot.. and then used a small triangular file to cut an angle a bit deeper until the strut-wire was flush with the surface of the wood. The hacksaw-slot alone isn't wide-enough for the .062" music-wire that I'm using. Hacksaw blades are an average .035" wide and cut an average .040" kurf. It was necessary to widen the two slots.. and the triangular file was the best tool to use on the small pieces.