Killing time

Well, it's been wet and rainy here for the last two weeks.  When it's not raining it's completely fogged in.  Since I can't paint inside, I have to wait for a day with low humidity to paint up my Profile Speed entry.  So, I figured while I wait, I'd go ahead and build the Golberg L'il Toot that my wife's friend's husband gave me a couple of months ago.  After setting out all the parts, I noticed three things. 1) The husband had started building the plane, and didn't glue some parts too straight, and over sanded other parts.  2) The kit is really overbuilt and heavy.  And 3) I just don't like how they did certain things on the kit.

So, being me, I decided to just build it my way.  I used the existing parts as templates for a new fuse, empennage, and wings.  I slightly redesigned the struts.  And I eliminated a lot of the parts count.  I then packaged up the original parts in the box and set it aside for the future.  I don't know if it was the way the guy built it, or if the kit was planned that way, but in the kit the upper wing was too far forward.  So I moved that back also.  I spent about three evenings building, and now it's up to being ready to paint also.  Once we get a dry day I'll be doing LOTS of painting.  I mounted a Babe Bee on it for pics, but I'll be using a clearance 8cc stunt tank I got from Bernie on it.

I didn't like the weight distribution, so I moved the lower wing back a half inch.  It looks about right from the side.  That, plus moving the upper wing back to where the wing tips for upper and lower wings line up puts the c.g. just behind the leading edge of the lower wing.  When I put the 8cc tank on and paint the plane, I'm hoping the c.g. will be right on the leading edge of the lower wing.




I also cut out a second fuse from 1/8" balsa and empennage from 1/16", and set them aside for another rainy day when I could build a Toot for a PeeWee engine.  How they expected a .020 engine to fly the original is a wonder to me.

The All Wet Mark