My Fancherized Twister build; 3 days til Huntersville

My Jet White Monokote arrived. So did a Sullivan slant 6 oz. clunk tank for my Cardinal, no more running out of gas in the middle of the Clover Leaf. But that's for another thread. I do have am awesome flight report from Watt Field that I'll get around to later, maybe tonight.

Meanwhile, maybe this will grab your interest. I'm really happy with it so far, no boo-boos and completely ding and dent-free:
Click to make it big


And look at the fit. The best one I've ever had:


Just a dry-fit. Still more details than it looks like, but she's getting there.
Rusty

Rusty, I'm a bit perplexed in regards to the cutout for the tank. If your suggesting a tank of 3.5 oz's, that's not even enough for a Fox .35 to do a pattern. Remember that the length of a tank is generally the size of the tank when dealing with a 2" width tank by 1" high. I would cut that out now and make it longer if that's the case. Keeping a fuel capacity around 4.5-5 oz. would be the norm for this type of plane. The LA .46 can be made to do a pattern on just under 4 oz's. I don't recommend it, but many do it. I find it to lack power and it can overheat the engine. A Brodak .40 is a very nice engine and it would compliment this plane very nicely. The problem with the Brodak .40 is that too many people had too much input typically at the wrong time. The end result is that the cylinder liners have had changes to them through the production runs and it becomes a crap shoot as to what you have. I have had very good success with the early versions but I've also seen that go the opposite way. Once the Brodak .40 is broken in, it's capable of a 4 oz. pattern on a plane of this size. This becomes a stretch for the Brodak in the cooler part of the year when summer begins to cool down and the run becomes richer. It's a very heat sensitive engine and this can be noticed from early morning to evening on a single day.

Ken, I was overestimating the needs of the airframe when I was talking of an LA.46. My fp.35 fits the bolt holes, and the cutout will fit a 1"x 2"x 4" tank like the one you refer to. The LA.46 on my Cardinal needs 5 oz. to fly the pattern safely, and it's a 51 oz. plane. The Twister will be in the 40 oz. max range, so I think I'll be alright without cutting it out. I know the .35 uses under 4 oz. for the pattern.
Rusty

Got my paint and Monokote, so it's time to get this project in the final stages. Here she is on my new redneck painting jig, in the buff and then with a good coat of NAPA DC-540 primer.

All these have a big view you can click up.



The colors will also be NAPA DC(Duplicolor) automotive laquer.



And my ACME Profile jig is on the table.


Gotta get some checkerboard Monokote trim for the final touches on the wing.
Rusty

SWEET !!! Man she is really looking good there Rusty nice clean lines and as you said the fit is great looking that's always a + . I was taking inventory and see you have a 1/2a stuntmaster by Musciano is that another good flyer ? and I will have to ask cause I don't know , What the heck is a Acme Profile Jig ?? Is the Auto paint and Laquar working out better than the Rust and dubro paints I would think you can get a much shiner finish . Eric

Great job on the build Rusty.Can't wait to see it finished

getback wrote:SWEET !!! Man she is really looking good there Rusty nice clean lines and as you said the fit is great looking that's always a + . I was taking inventory and see you have a 1/2a stuntmaster by Musciano is that another good flyer ? and I will have to ask cause I don't know , What the heck is a Acme Profile Jig ?? Is the Auto paint and Laquar working out better than the Rust and dubro paints I would think you can get a much shiner finish . Eric

Thanks Eric and Gardner. The Stuntmaster is about the same as the Little Devil, except with more wing. I've never flown it though. Wayne and Jim found it at a swap meet or something shortly after I joined the Jackson flyers. It has a pretty clean looking Babe Bee on it, maybe a Super Bee. If I were to fly it, it would need some attention to strengthening the control rod, it's very flexible, as well as the LG and probably the horn. Dang, I might have to take it out for a spin. Maybe bolt a Black Widow on it. That would throw it all out of balance though. My Semi-Super Bee with a fuel supply inside the log though... hmmm, maybe an intermissive project... Damn You, Eric!

We'll know about the DC paint soon, but this is the first time I've used it. I thoroughly researched it at Stunthangar and the DC-540 primer is highly regarded as an effective filler for a well prepped surface. I'm going to sand it all the way down to just fill the low spots in the fabric underneath. The colors are fuel resistant and friendly with clear Lustrekote. I've learned the hard way to keep the LK thin or it will spiderweb over time. The Shoestring looks like a black widow spider designed it. But the Yak is not having the same problem. I used flat white Rusto paint on it, which seems better. Wet sand first and then hot LK spreads out and makes it just as shiny with less coats. I'll try to find flat DC colors for the Twister for the same reason, and treat it like I did on the Yak. Speaking of the Yak, Mike Londke has a Sterling Mustang he's holding for me to buy from him at Huntersville, so the Yak will finally be reunited with its twin sister.

The jig just holds a profile fuselage square for installing the wing. It'll sit directly on my level glass. I'll put the wing in as soon as I'm finished sanding the fuse. I'm afraid I'll scuff up the center sheeting if I cover it before installation, because it's such a close fit in it's bare form. That could happen today, but knowing me, it'll be a few days. Sanding will no doubt require spackling spots, re-priming, and re-sanding.
Rusty

Pull that poor little neglected thing down and fix it to fly Your welcome . I will keep up with the thread and hope all works out as planned > Eric O hea was that Napa Paint more expensive than the Rusto stuff?

DC is $3 and change for a can. Make sure you get the acrylic lacquer, not the acrylic enamel. Rustoleum makes lacquer but I haven't seen any colors but black.

More on the Duplicolor, I went to NAPA Tuesday and got my colors, white, red and blue. I couldn't find the word Lacquer anywhere on the can, the counter guy didn't know, but bought it anyway. Later I stopped at O'Reilly and looked, and they had a much better selection, but the guy there didn't know nuthin' either. I looked it up at home, and sure enough it is acrylic lacquer, same as the primer. The tall can of white gloss was $6.29, the two shorter colors were $7.69 each and the DC-540 primer was $3.69.


So I finished knocking down the high spots of primer and dry-fit the wing. I was hoping to glue it in, but today is one of those days where everything I touch turns into a mess, so I left it alone. My mind is fried from finishing the newsletter at 2:00 am. I'm glad I quit when I did, because later I remembered I need to relieve a notch for the flap coupler and fix it in place, so I have to pull the wing back out. I practiced aligning it. It's so close and perfectly shaped all the way around that shimming is going to be a thinking project. I'm used to jamming it in place and shimming a  couple of spots, but this one is such a perfect cut, there's no one or two places that need attention. It will not move at all up and down at the LE or TE, so the incidence is fixed exactly. Nor does it move forward or backward, but maybe a millimeter. Maybe I'll mix sawdust with the epoxy.

So I practiced aligning it 90 deg. with the fuselage. When I built the Osprey, I mounted the engine straight ahead and measured from the tip of a one bladed prop to the spar to align it. But, unlike the Osprey(which was a kit-bashed Skyray35), I cannot detect any curve in the Twister's laminated fuselage, so I'm using a square to align with the spars. I guess I'll cut some sticks to hold the wing level. More practice runs before I glue it.

This weekend I can chill out and work more smartly on it. Once the wing is glued, I'll spot-prime a few places. I still have to silkspan the flaps and stab pieces too.

The end is near! Looks great Rusty. I have never had a perfect wing fit, must be nice.

Cribbs74 wrote:The end is near! Looks great Rusty. I have never had a perfect wing fit, must be nice.

Yes. It's nice to be moving along. I wish I could spend more time in the shop, but I burn out pretty quick on the concrete floor. There's two sides to that though, it probably saves me from making more mistakes, which I'm prone to do if I stay on it too long. I'll give credit to the kit maker for the fit. He supplied the quality pieces, I just managed to cut and glue without botching anything in the center section. But it is suspenseful pushing the wing through though, hearing every rib touch as it slides ever so slowly into place. I don't think it would have fit if I'd Monokoted it first. And Wayne built the beautiful stiff 8 piece laminated fuselage, 9 if you count the CF between the two main halves. What a nice kit. That's from Walter Umland.

I think this plane will fly every bit as well as a full fuse model, even if it's above my skill level to tell the difference. It'll look like a full fuse at first glance too. And the .35fp is smooth as well, so I'm thinking it'll slide through the air like skates on ice. I'm expecting she's going to be in the 40-42 ounce range. I've been pretty careful about weight so far. I wanted flat white paint for that reason, like the Yak. I think it covers better. Wet sand and clear coat and you have the same glassy sheen with less paint. DC didn't offer a flat white though.
Rusty

Rusty.
The Dupli-color, being acrylic lacquer, will most likely go on dull without gloss. If you can get a good thick coat on a horizontal surface without any runs it may shine, but rarely. The nature of this auto lacquer is that once cured it needs to be cut back & polished to bring out the shine. I bought a can of yellow that was going out cheap to use on my RH Ringmaster Bipe. I think I will paint all the parts laying flat so I can get a more shiny finish, then assemble it after I've polished the paint back. Being a bipe it will be too difficult to polish once together.

Well, Rod, it's going on thin if I can, so if I have to sacrifice good looks for weight I will. I'm going to use Lustrekote clear on top of it, which I know has been done successfully by some of my club mates.

Now then, I forgot I have all these alignment tools that were in the kit. I bet that's how I align the wing. I'll have to take another look at them. This reminded me and I'm glad I saw it at stunthangar. Here's a few of the pics I stumbled upon:

I like the profile jig and the alignment tools. It really makes the build look professional!

I always enjoy watching your builds - they give me more and more ideas. This is a very neat build but I have lost the plot on the engine.

Which engine are you going to use? Have you already drilled for the mounts?

It is drilled. I have a .35fp that's always been cooperative and powerful. This airframe will be right in its wheelhouse at 40-42 oz.

I'm more than a little worried about the wing gluing process, I'll need to practice it some more with the alignment tools. I wish I could still find 60 minute epoxy. Unlike the plane in those pics of the jigs I posted last night, I'm worried about getting enough glue spread out under the 2-1/2" wide front end of mine. I've never glued a wing with wood glue, but I may be able to do a neater job with it, rather than epoxy. I hope my cool profile jig doesn't interfere with the use of the measuring tools. One way or another, I'm going to get it glued this weekend.

Thanks Ian, I'm glad you enjoy my builds.
Rusty

Rusty, I use enough epoxy to hold the wing in. You can even just put a few dots of CA to hold it. If your uncertain or unsure, break it loose and tack it again. You can mix enough epoxy laying the fuse across your lap and pour it carefully next to the fuse and sheeting. Hit it with a heat gun and it will run like water into the joint. No need to mix enough to do the entire wing, just do a few spots. The problem area is at the trailing edge where the flap horn is bushed. Epoxy can run into these areas and glue your controls. To avoid this, I use a toothpick and put a little vaseline around the flap horn bushing. When complete, if residual epoxy is a problem, use a Q-tip and alcohol to wipe it off. Denatured works well, it personally dries my hands out though. Rubbing alcohol will thin epoxy just not as quickly as denatured. Remove residual epoxy and when dry, a light sanding to clean up any rough spots and you can place epoxy fillets using microballoons. Ken

Heat gun, great idea. Thanks Ken, sometimes the answer is so simple it should be obvious. I was about ready to call you tonight.

Turns out that is Walter that posted the alignment jig pictures on SH, and I didn't realize it, so he's on the case too. I just posted one of those pictures I tool last night of the twister on the table for him to see.

Don't misinterpret what I said about not doing it all. The entire perimeter needs to b e done, just a little at a time. Don't overheat the epoxy. The heat will kick it off faster so keep that in mind. You don't want it setting up too fast. Just heat it enough to make it run into the joints. This works great for fracture repairs as well. Ken

Ken Cook wrote:Don't misinterpret what I said about not doing it all. The entire perimeter needs to b e done, just a little at a time. Don't overheat the epoxy. The heat will kick it off faster so keep that in mind. You don't want it setting up too fast. Just heat it enough to make it run into the joints. This works great for fracture repairs as well. Ken

Got it. Thanks.

Walter sent me the instructions for the alignment jigs. Very simple and much easier to locate than the sticks or string and sharpie I've used in the past, but exactly the same concept.  The stab leveling jigs are especially helpful. I'm surprised Roddie hasn't invented this Lol.

The PDF can be downloaded here if anyone wants to use them for making a similar jig.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/og4peylkw952dnk/wingstabalignmentjig2.pdf?dl=0

Here they are again. Click the link below the picture for a large view.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f84/16/76/00/59/10311510.jpg

That's the real deal but I would think a laser would bee the way to go that's a heck of a lot of holes lol , when they say pins are they referring to reg. push pins or something else that came with it ? A few post up I can feel the love you have for this airplane and is really taking shape nicely ! Can't wait to see the maiden if possible. Eric

getback wrote:That's the real deal but I would think a laser would bee the way to go that's a heck of a lot of holes lol , when they say pins are they referring to reg. push pins or something else that came with it ? A few post up I can feel the love you have for this airplane and is really taking shape nicely ! Can't wait to see the maiden if possible. Eric  

All those holes allow you to use this on various airplanes with whatever fuse jigging configuration you prefer. Just use the same pin hole on each side when you locate it in the same spot on each side of the wing, and then pin it to the center of the fuselage. T-pins or sewing pins. I prefer sewing pins with a ball on the top.
Rusty

Those jigs are nice! I would guess they're laser cut too. Do you know what type of wood that is? Maybe basswood perhaps? Most common pins are approximately 1/32" diameter. A twist drill that small wouldn't handle it. Roger Harris could probably make these if he wanted. When I worked in the machine shop, we would have some steel parts rough-cut by water-jet. That process doesn't/won't produce a square-edge though. You could see it in the 1/2" plate-steel especially. There was a slight refraction-angle to the cut. The pieces came close enough to finish-size; that profiling them removed that edge, but didn't require as much time and wear on tooling as cutting through a solid piece would. Laser-cutting apparently doesn't have this refraction factor.. at least not when cutting wood.

The model is looking GREAT Rusty!