Last updated: 04/11/2021. For maiden video ->

Flamingo

5-Metre Wingspan, 1:3.5 Scale Radio-Controlled Sailplane

Build Diary

Jump to the end:

BUILD

COMPLETE

This build was started in June 2021 and is my first build from scratch by cutting out everything from planks of wood - using paper plans - designed by Chris Williams.

SPECIFICATIONS: -

Wingspan: 5m

Length: 2.1m

Expected weight: 8.6Kg

Wing aerofoil section: HQ/35/14 Root - 35/12 Tip

The shopping list: -

The full cost is over a thousand pounds - partly because material (especially balsa wood) is much more expensive than usual at the time of build.

Metal: -

15mm wing steel blade and brass box set: 2 metres.

1 x (small) 1mm thick brass plate (elevator horn).

3.5mm brass tube (the rear wing locating pin).

Square brass box tubing (if you decide to use them for the elevator actuator).

Piano wire: 1mm, 18 SWG.

5mm steel rod (wheel axle).

Lead nose ballast: 20 x 25mm 12g lead weights for screwing into front face of front nose former before heaping on the filler (edit: you will need at least double this weight in the nose in fact).

Wood: -

(Annoying minor discrepancies and headaches caused by slight difference between metric and imperial sizes).

Balsa Wood: -

3 x Medium Balsa Sheet: 1.5mm x 100mm x 915m..

10 x Medium Balsa Sheet: 2.4mm x 100mm x 1220..

8 x Hard Balsa Sheet: 2.4mm x 100mm x 1220..

4 x Hard Balsa Sheet: 3.2mm x 100mm x 915m..

6 x Hard Balsa Sheet: 3.2mm x 100mm x 1220..

8 x Balsa Triangle Sizes: 6.5mm x 6.5mm x 915m..

4 x Medium Balsa Sheet: 6.5mm x 100mm x 1220..

6 x Hard Balsa Sheet: 6.5mm x 100mm x 1220..

Birch Plywood: -

Some 3mm 'Liteply' for the temporary cockpit formers - (I just used normal plywood).

2 x: Ply Sheet: 0.8mm x 300mm x 600m..

2 x Ply Sheet: 0.8mm x 1525mm x 152..

2 x Ply Sheet: 1.5mm x 300mm x 900m..

1 x Ply Sheet: 1.5mm x 1220mm x 122..

1 x Ply Sheet: 6.0mm x 300mm x 900m..

Spruce Hard Wood: -

10 x Spruce Strip: 1.5mm x 3mm 300mm.

1 x Spruce strip: 3.2mm x 6.5mm x 1220.mm

6 x Spruce Strip: 3.2mm x 6.5mm x 915m..

16 x Spruce Strip 6.5mm x 12.5mm x 1220mm - for wing spars and elevator control rod plus spare in case of splitting.

3 x Spruce Sheet: 1.5mmx100mmx450mm - for rudder and elevator trailing edges.

9 x Spruce Sheet: 2.4mm x 75mm x 1220mm.

Glues: -

1 x (potentially 2x) wood glue : 1 litre Evostik, weatherproof.

2 x aliphatic resin: 112g DLXAD008 by Deluxe Materials.

1 x large 5 minute epoxy resin: (can get anywhere).

1 x large 30 minute epoxy resin: Zap Adhesive Z-Poxy 30 Minute Formula Epoxy Resin PT-39.

I'm also using metal epoxy as I'm not confident about soldering something as important as the elevator control horn!

1 x polyester Resin Kit: - 1kg - can get away with far less quantity (if you can find it).

Canopy glue: ZAP PT56 Formula 560 Cabin Hood Adhesive, 59 ml, Clear.

1 x Gorilla glue for hinges.

3x thin CA: Zap Ca Thin 1oz bottle PT08.

1 x Thick CA: Zap 'gap filler'.

1 x Pritt Stick - for sticking cut-outs from plans onto wood.

2 metres of glass fibre matt for cockpit lining (use heavier than 30g CSM as this fell apart when I applied).

3 x car body filler: SILVERHOOK BIG11 Body Filler, 250-Millilitre - for external touching up and nose forming.

My electrics: -

Transmitter: Futaba 6K transmitter.

Rx: Futaba R3006SB.

Rx battery: 'Eneloop Pro' 2500mAh, 6V .

2 x standard Hitech servos for rudder and elevator.

4 x 'Corona' flat servos for all wing-mounted servos.

Servo extenders / 'Y' lead.

Servo reverser unit (or solder the internal servo wiring - see YouTube).

15m (tbc) of twisted servo wire.

HTRC T240 DUO AC 150W DC 240W 10A Touch Screen Dual Channel Battery Balance Charger Discharger.

Other: -

Minimum: 2.5 metres x 0.7m of flat table/surface plus topping material for sticking pins into (cork or foamboard) of same dimensions)

Large modelling cutting mat (handy).

The plans themselves - I used Sarik Hobbies (they are huge - scissor out the bits you need for any one job to make it manageable).

Clear canopy - also from Sarik Hobbies.

Instrument panel from my friend Dougal!

Rubber gloves. Might need two boxes, depending how cautious you are.

Tracing paper.

Sandpaper: various grades: 40/80 etc.

Sanding blocks.

4x hinges for spoilers: nylon pinned hinges 27 x 36mm.

2 bags of hinges for all else: Robart hinges: 5mm .

Robart 'pocket' hinges (just a few). Fairly hard to come by: RC Round Pivot Robart Hinge Point Pocket for RB309 Hinge x 6 with Grubs - RB317, found on eBay.

Assorted small nuts and bolts pack - (for various).

Tailplane mounting bolt: M6 x 50mm nylon threaded bolt.

Tailplane mounting nut: M6 Zinc Plated Carbon Steel Four-Pronged Tee Nut Bolt Set

Masking tape: *at least* 3 rolls (a mix of thick and thin).

Double-sided sticky tape is useful.

Dremel drill (plus it's important accessories). I've broken most of the accessories now!

Mini-scroll saw (a must). Down to my last supplied saw blade.

Coping saw (not essential if you have the above).

A vice is very useful.

Vernier calipers - very useful.

Crimping tool with servo connectors.

Wire strippers.

Rotary disc sander very useful. (I improvised with a sideways mounted standard drill on a housing).

David Combi Razor/Plane.

Swann-Morton Size 10A Professional Blade (Pack of 5) - I SNAPPED THEM ALL!

Metal handle for above (very sharp) craft knife blades.

Stanley knife.

Loads of pins! (Two generous boxes). Need to have large plastic blob on end for getting decent purchase. I bent loads and also broke off the 'blob' on some others. Would be ideal to get the sturdy modelling ones that have a large handle on them.

Loads of mini plastic spring-loaded clamps. The cheap ones fall apart. Assorted sizes.

Small external 'spreader' clamps useful.

A small set square. Around 5 inches. Also a very large one, if you can.

As long (and as straight) an edge as you can find. Might need to go to a large hardware store and get something industrial - something with an 'L' cross section or similar and look down it to make sure it's perfectly straight.

1m steel ruler - useful for long lines and long cuts - plus various sizes of other rulers are handy.

File set: Draper 140 mm Needle File 6 Piece Set - (different shapes) - ***VERY USEFUL***

Razor saw: Zona SA35/050 35-050 52tpi Razor Saw - try get one with a decent blade depth.

100mm wheel.

Wing incidence meter (suggest digital).

Hooks for wing root rubber band retention.

Soldering torch/solder/flux - if you want to make the metal elevator parts as per the design.

Strongly recommend any kind of full face mask with a decent air filter and/or a strong air extraction unit.

15m of covering material should be more than enough - you can stagger the wings owing to their shape without the ailerons.

Thin blue 'builders tape' for masking curves before final detailed painting.

Paint '2-pack'. I used spray cans to waterproof the plane before it's maiden.

Spray paint applicator (for best results).

Something for carrying it up the hill in/on.

The first thing I did was buy a Dremel 'scroll saw' (top right of image) - in order to save time cutting the plywood fuselage formers from planks of plywood. The saw blade has a habit of slightly wandering when cutting hardwood (especially around curves) - remedied by giving the cutting line a fairly wide berth and sanding the piece down afterwards. Lots of whittling!

The first piece (a cockpit former).

I now have a full set of fuselage formers. After experiencing just how long it takes to get them 'perfect' - I'd definitely recommend paying for an accurate laser-cutting service. I chose to make everything from scratch here, just to see if I could! Side point: I really wish the whole world would just go metric already!

A 'dry' fit. There's a slight issue with the delicate plywood formers warping slightly and also the lateral balsa longeron strip doesn't fit well in the side of my formers (they zig-zag up and down a little!) - more whittling!

Gluing with Zap 'thin' CA glue - as runny as water! Dries (my fingers together) quickly. My first experience with using CA on wood. Let's see how it holds together.

Ensure proper ventilation - CA gives me a blocked nose for a couple of days.

Attempting "planking" - of the cockpit area. Needs lots of masking tape (obtain several rolls in advance) to hold everything in place while the wood glue dries and trying to ensure the main structure doesn't warp under the bending pressure from the planks!

These new skills might come in handy for building some kind of boat! Satisfying to gently sand the joins afterwards, making the shell almost smooth .

The fin before sheeting (with thin plywood) and chamfering of the leading edge. Holes for the Robart hinges made along with drilled-out pine dowel supports. Will use expanding Gorilla glue to secure the hinges in place when it's time. It's activated by water!? Edit: The lower dowel hinge support was later replaced with a more sturdy 'pocket hinge'.

The half-shell is off the bench!

Adding the second halves of all the formers in sequence with quick drying CA.

My brass box tubes are good for squaring things! Slightly worried my cockpit is going to be warped (by planking one side before the other). Shall see.

Planking the other side of the cockpit area has begun (have to do a little bit at a time to allow the wood glue to dry).

More empennage framework made up.

Lots more whittling - getting all the little components 'good enough'. - you could spend an eternity trying to get everything everything perfect. I guess the skill comes in knowing when good enough happens.

Just ordered some thin spruce so that I can make a start on the rudder and elevator

Spruce arrived - hence a newly crafted rudder to hang off the fin. Needs sanding next - plus a few bits and bobs added. BTW - superglue heats up rapidly when it touches your skin so you know when to react to avoid being bonded permanently to the plane.

Finished the rear of the tailplane with thin strips of plywood as I had run out of the appropriate balsa and my local shop had run out plus it was a slightly different 'imperial' thickness anyway. As a result, the tailplane is marginally heavier but on the flip side, a little stronger. Got more sanding to do on this too.

Cockpit formers forcibly removed, interior glass-fibred (using smelly polyester resin and not epoxy). I chose 30g CSM glass fibre matt (somewhat thin) - and that came apart a little while brushing the resin on - remedied by just adding more glass matt in the form of strips - to the damaged areas. 500ml of resin was way too much. 250ml would be generous. Ready to attach formers at the top of nose before planking and glassing the inside of that too!

I made up the little brass plate/piano wire elevator control 'horn' (centre). I don't trust my soldering skills - might use metal epoxy. Nothing exciting to make at the moment as I'm still waiting for my wing joining blades to arrive.

I can't really start on the wings and/or put the skin on the fuselage without them.

Instead, I'll be doing lots of whitting.

A mountain of wing (and some aileron) ribs. I now consider myself fully au-fait with the Dremel scroll saw.

Fuselage main servo box. I wanted the controls in line, with so I elevated one of the servos in relation to the other. The red-horned servo is for the rudder and the black is for the elevator (view from tail end).

Just laminations of various types of wood. you can see the wheel box behind the servo box (view from the nose end).

Wing joiner blades gratefully received from Laser Cut Sailplanes - so now the rest of the build can commence! Here, the rectangular-section brass boxes have been installed in the fuselage that will accommodate the steel blades when the glider is fully assembled, ready for flight.

Can now start on the wings! Fingers crossed it will all be straight and true. About to install more brass boxes (to the wing this time), between the spars, next to the root rib.

Starting the inboard wing panels

The brass wing joining boxes have been expoxied in place in between spars at the root end.

Hanging out to dry

Other bits whittled and added using various glues.

*Hoping for minimal warping

We recently had a heatwave and some of the components are slightly warped. Hoping the overall final assembly will be relatively warp-free. Will shortly be able to do a complete rough assembly. The plans are a waxy mess because in order to build the right wing, you have to make the plan of the left wing transparent and turn the sheet over! Would be far better if plans for both wings were provided! I scrubbed wax everywhere and then used a hairdryer to melt it in. The paper needs to be completely soaked in molten wax.

The Dry Fit

The rest of the wings is my next step.

Outboard wings well underway, using the (waxy) plans.

To be honest - the outboard wings were my least favourite part of the build so far! Glue + sawdust in my blood at a maximum. There will be structural warps, ideally negligible.

Hanging the wings out to dry.

Soon - the joining of the wing panels, followed by another (hopefully rather fetching) progress check assembly - photo!

Joining inner and outer wing panels! I'm using 30 minute epoxy, but I'll give it a lot longer to fully cure before slotting it all together for another assembly photo! This one will be pretty.

Sanding down gull-joins down to shape.

(Too rainy for an assembly photo today). I should really have tried getting the wing joining plates the exact size before epoxying - as sanding it is a very smelly job., even with my dust mask on to sand it all down with the necessary high-speed sander. Burning smells and epoxy vapour making it through my mask, Took several breaks to do some weeding in between sessions. #healthandsafety

Luscious, clear canopy has arrived.

Almost completely see-through (pristine) canopy just received from Sarik Hobbies. My only worry is to somehow keep it that way! I've made the majority of the components for the canopy internal wooden frame now. Tempted to keep the canopy one-piece (and not two pieces as per the full-size). My standard-sized RC glider canopy placed in shot for size comparison!

My good friend from University Dougal has kindly created this glorious (and lightweight) instrument panel using his (homemade!) 3D printer and supreme engineering skills.

It has small, lightweight nylon bolts for securing , out of sight on the underside.

It was a bit windy, but - here she is so far...

The wings were flexing gently in the wind - she's keen to fly! The wing ribs (appear at least) to be pointing in more or less the same direction - which is a relief! Today was spent sanding, which is officially my least favourite thing to do (on a large scale)!! Next step is putting some skin on. Exciting!

Wing Skinning has Begun!

Skinning the wing lower surfaces here. I figure if I do both wings at the same time in exactly the same manner, any warps will at least be symmetric! Running out of a specific type of wood (2.4mm balsa) and a specific type of glue (aliphatic resin) again.

The Cockpit from Dougal has Arrived in the Post!

It also has a fetching control column which I will install during final assembly (currently waiting for 'canopy glue' and other bits and bobs to arrive).

Pilot's-Eye-View of Panel.

Very realistic, if I do say so myself (I have been known to fly full-size aeroplanes). Still plenty of work to do with the whole canopy assembly including gap-filling, fine sanding and painting. I need to be careful to try and get it as seamless as possible (mostly for aesthetic reasons).

Nose Ballast.

Applying the first thick, sticly dollop of filler to the nose cavity.

The nose cavity has been looking messy and unfinished for some time now - time to change that...

I've now installed 5 lead discs in each quadrant secured by stiff steel wire, followed by a screw to add pressure - to stop them from rattling around.

Soon I will fill this area in with filler putty and sand it down to shape - and finally have a completed nose.

I've been mostly working on sheeting the wings recently and almost finished the majority.

Can you spot the spider?

The putty sets very quickly and sets rock hard. I was nearly finished my third and final application when my spreader wouldn't come out of the mix! Something to do with it being a sunny day in August and potentially too much hardener added to the mix (it's not an exact science). The nose really heated up a lot due to chemistry/physics - could almost have fried an egg on it! Next more pesky sanding! Nice to have a (n almost completely) finished nose now though. Will finish off with small amounts of normal wood filler during final total assembly.

How to add (planks of 2.4mm balsa) sheet that follows the curve of the ribs. The more pins the better! For some reason, my masking tape wasn't adhering to the extra balsa I recently had to buy.

SPOILER

ALERT!

Just need to buy some more servos now.

Think I'm going to plump for 4 'Corona' flat wing servos for both spoilers and ailerons.

3 laminations of 2 wood types make up the spoiler blades. I used bass wood (all I had in the correct thickness - should have been balsa) with a plywood core.

Spoilers now complete (on both wings).

It took a while to finish these, partly because they're fiddly - but moreover because work is back to being busy again! How rude. I found that a wooden attachment horn on the spoiler blade stayed glued on (as opposed to using a cut-off nylon servo horn). (Yes that is blood in the middle lol). Will finally get the ailerons finished off soon and will subsequently have a sailplane that is tantalisingly close to being ready for all of her finishing touches.

Covering Film and Servos Have Arrived.

HobbyKing delivery: 15m(!) of transparent covering film to apply before any painting plus 4 flat wing servos. These servos are actually very small but provide 4kg per cm, which should be ample, 'bottle top' provided for scale.

Getting to work on the aileron shrouds.

They are made up of a lamination of ply + ideally balsa.

The other aileron shroud now added.

Started on the cap strips also.

(More cap strips).

Cap strip detail.

(Cap strips are thin strips of wood that are glued on rib edges).

First aileron rib cyano'd in place!

(Parallel enough).

Those ailerons are not small... Still need to add diagonal aileron ribs.

Closer view of aileron build. The leading edge of the aileron is a lamination of 2x 6mm strips. (You can only see one strip because the other is sunken into the shroud).

My wingtip is jagged and messy, for now....

Aileron Diagonals.

This took a whole morning, cutting out all the little bits (all slightly different sizes) making sure they all fitted properly before using both thin and medium Cyano glue.

Making the aileron servo boxes is next - plus installing all the cables, servos and closing up the wing with more balsa sheet.

Aileron servo mounting plates,

Servos screwed in place.

Lid on: aileron boxes almost complete.

Still has a hole in it....

Push-fit extra lid installed.

The push fit will keep it in place until covering. It's an access hatch incase access to servos required post-build. May keep down with tiny spots of glue.

Preparing servo extension wiring.

I've been waiting for quality solder and flux to arrive in the post for what feels like an eternity now. However, for this job I just used my standard solder wire - which is good enough for this application. Must remember to check electrical continuity before permanent install.

Edit: I now have crimping equipment for servo wires. I would probably recommend crimping servo wires rather then the soldering you see here.

Checking All Electrics.

Reversing a Spoiler Servo.

The heavy-handed way (re-soldering internal servo wiring).

Pin City.

The last of the wood skinning and cap strips.

Ailerons Complete.

Aileron Horn Detail.

The hugely important elevator pushrod is finished and has been sufficiently over-engineered.

The servo end.

The elevator end (a brass square tube).

In it's permanent home.

Making Things Permanent.

Tailplane and elevator fixings expoxied in place - along with the tube that supports and guides the pushrod near the tailplane. The servo box (foreground ) has also been made permanent. Good old epoxy.

Cured Metal Expoxy!

Rock hard! It's been used here to attach the elevator metal horn assembly to the rear centre of the elevator itself, along with a couple of long screws that were smothered with the viscous grey gunk. May wrap masking tape or similar around it a few times as a fallback, but it seems very sturdy. In this poorly lit image we can see inside the rear of the tail, the elevator horn sitting in the pushrod end. This face looks awful but will be covered up (shortly) with the fin assembly!

Continuing work on the canopy (frame). You can never have too many spring clamps (when building a flying machine).

Underside of the tailplane. From left to right: elevator horn, nylon securing bolt and front locator pin (ignore the green line).

Minor Sidetrack.

Spent part of the morning repairing the speed controller of my Dremel (the black enclosure at the rear of the rotor). I've only had it 3 months! Gunk finds it's way into the contacts.

Fin Expoxied in Place.

Tail area looks raggedy at the moment - this will be remedied.

Checking Fin Alignment.

Close Up of Method Fin Squaring Method.

Fin is centre upper-background. Looks straight and true to me. Will use a method like this for final wing alignment (a big, important job). Apparently people have been getting it wrong.

Temporary Sellotape Used for Testing Rudder Controls.

Final securing will be by crimping.

View of Rudder Control Horn Assembly From Below.

Rubbish photo tho.

Having a Go of the Empennage Controls.

Checking that these controls don't interfere with themselves or the structure etc. Will have to install guides for the thin rudder wire. Experimenting with Gorilla glue for the first time.

Finally Gluing Wing Mount.

Eyeballing it mostly. Measuring things where I can. Having to guess how much the wings will flex up when actually flying. Hopefully the exact amount I catered for If not, it will undoubtedly still look good and fly well. Yes that is a car jack.

Rear View.

Does it all look straight and true? I hope I've not just built a banana.

Waiting for Epoxy to Fully Cure.

Also pondering what I'll do next. Did some heavy sanding as I was outside - still gets right in my eyes and lungs!

Adding Top Sheeting.

First bit of skin to go on the fuselage! This will add great rigidity and also aesthetic points. Can work on completing the canopy now!

Pegged.

Don't tell the Mrs I had to use her clothes pegs. She would legit go ape.

Today's Mission: Canopy.

Here you can see I've filleted the corners using little balsa cuts and filler.

Painting Clamp.

Ready to paint!

Painted.

Normal fencepost paint, normal fat brush.

Whilst That's Drying...

Applying the lower-rear sheeting. Always fiddly bending wood around shapes. Checking the clock: a whole day has gone by already!

Tomorrow's Job: -

Final main assembly of the canopy!!! (Including gluing the perspex on). I do have a zillion tiny screws. Might use them. Shall see.

As Promised...

Gluing canopy to frame. Not so confident about this specialised canopy glue anymore after easily peeling off little bits that had already dried on the perspex. We'll see how it holds together after at least 24 hours drying time. It was a tad fiddly as the perspex isn't a 100% perfect fit (minor warps). Nothing a humongous amount of careful taping can't seemingly remedy.

I've been working on...

Can you guess?

Finalising the Rudder Controls.

Crimping the wires was surprisingly easy, secure and somewhat satisfying. That's all of the controls finished now. Don't worry about the messy underside - it's about to be hidden by a flush tail skid.

Thin Rudder Wires in Fuselage.

(Hard to spot though as they're so thin). Not sure exactly how tight they're supposed to be - but at least I can pluck them like a guitar to make sure they are the same toughtness on each side!

Wing Incidence Meter has Arrived.

I was going to make one myself when I learned how much they cost. Ironically it cost me a hefty percent of my Waage. I figured best to buy a proper one as setting the wings up properly is an important step.

Canopy is Done!

I take back what I said about the glue. It's great. Canopy nice and shiny.

In Position.

I've decided on a method for securing the canopy. Had so many ideas, including pushrods accessible through the wing root holes when the wings were off. Decided on simplest method with easiest/quickest access- details to follow.

Attaching Final Skin Panel.

Last chance to look around and make any changes inside (without keyhole surgery).

Day of Final Sanding.

(Not a movie title). Wing root fairings were finished - they were actually particularly fiddly/time-consuming! Using the incidence meter can be fiddly too - it didn't help that it read somewhat differently on each side! Partly remedied by using the same side for all measurements. Would recommend a digital version perhaps instead - similar price I think.

I think I inhaled enough wood during final sanding to make an entire other plane. Consider my lawn fertilised. She's heavy when fully assembled! The wings appear to have the correct same incidence as far as my newbie skills can discern. Certainly looks okay using my steely eyeball.

Wings turned out satisfyingly parallel to each other and at right angles to fuselage (like a cross). This was the first time I've used trigonometry since school! Next steps are covering with film and then flying I guess! [Shocked emoji].

Covering!

This covering tool has a digital readout and I like it. This is my first time using covering film. I've been wondering what it's like to do since childhood. It's fairly easy and satisfying - easy because most mistakes can be ironed out to perfection - just like ironing a shirt! The segments between the wood sound like a tambourine. Always been a fan of percussion.

When peeling the backing off the clear film, it was hard to discern which was the covering film and which was the backing film!

Voila.

Today's covering work. Maybe wings tomorrow. Might take a while.

Checking Weight and Balance.

...to see just how much weight to strategically add - to encourage the thing to fly properly.

Balancing Wings.

Two steel off-cuts to be hidden in the left wing (epoxied in-between the openings next to the wingtip) to balance the wings.

Additional Nose Ballast.

The nose area needed one whole kilogram to counteract the weight of the tail! This is on top of the lead weights already added, surrounded by dense car filler! I wonder how many hours(/days?) I could fly if that weight were battery? Yes that is concrete!

Starting Wing Covering.

My goodness this takes a while..

Both Wings are now Covered...

Although you can't really tell because the covering is transparent! Ailerons permanently joined and tuned. Elevator and Tailplane assembly was also hinged and is complete.

Final Nose Filling/Shaping.

Takes a bit of eyeballing and adding/subtracting filler here and there for a handful of sweeps. The gunk on the canopy came off shortly afterwards. It's still not 'perfect'. Time for that after maiden.

Durable Spray Paint.

My main aim here is to make the beast at least waterproof for its maiden flight - in the UK the grass is often damp throughout the cooler months. The second aim, of course, is to make it look nice and shiny.

That's a clear protective outer coat on the left and a glossy white paint on the right. The white paint was kind of sparse and 'watery'. I should have guessed I'd need more than just this one can.

Outdoor Spray-Paint Shop.

Yep, I've ran out of that one can of white already. On the plus side - it dries quickly - so when I get to the shops again - I can finish the job in just part of a day. Will look into painting the wings and adding detail to the fuselage after the maiden.

*INTERLUDE* - there's been a heck of a lot of rain of late - so I've not been able to finish the painting (and therefore the whole model). Here is my other project that's been running concurrently - my smaller, other radio-controlled plane - upgraded with some live first-person view goggles , various autopilot functions and a detailed heads-up-display (pretty much like a full-size plane - speed, altitude heading etc.) - coincidentally ready for it's maiden flight roundabout the same time as the Flamingo! With this equipment you can let it autonomously fly around points on a map of your choosing. It can even come home and pretty much land if there are any issues!

Fat Shark FPV Goggles in Foreground.

A popular brand - especially amongst quad drone flyers. There is audio too - a virtual presence on board. Plus I can record everything at the push of a button.

Still Has a Fairly Low Aerodynamic Profile.

That's the fully adjustable camera on the right. The top centre covering is just part of a polythene bag that's been pleated taught towards the rear edge. I was going to use my leftover clear covering film (would have been a nice and taught/rigid fit) but the covering area is too fiddly - will think of prettier housing setup options if maiden flight goes well! Incidentally - that bag is actually made from some pretty tough plastic!

Gubbins.

(The camera signal transmitter aerial is under the right wing (not visible in this image)). The motor speed controller is pretty much camouflaged on top of the black canopy (not much room inside for it). The GPS antenna is at the very top of the pic on the upper rearward fuselage. There are a lot of little flashing lights and beeps that go on.

Closer View of Gubbins.

Camera transmitter circuit board on left - it can get very hot and can be damaged if not handled correctly. Has various power and band/frequency settings. The main flight computer is in the middle (everything runs through it). A (very intense) strobing light lost model buzzer is on the right of the board, camera is on rightmost of image. Main receiver hidden underneath in the fuselage. Holes burnt into plastic covering for cooling and access to ports and buttons. I ran out of hot glue so had to use fiddly method to get final dregs of glue out of the glue gun - hence messy gluing job. Will probably add more sellotape in strategic places for the maiden for extra security.

Take a gander at my YouTube video of it flying...

Was That Enough Ballast for the Flamingo's Nose?

...of course it wasn't! Today I did some more rain-dodging, slotted the beast together - in order to do a final longitudinal fine balance trim so that the plane will be fully ready for flight - what did I find?

It still needs even more weight in the nose! A fair old amount!

I've bitten the bullet (after thinking everything was finished (and after putting everything away)) and made a sturdy anchoring point to add as many lead plates as is required - quickly, easily and securely. Today I bought tin snips and a roll of the minimum amount of lead sheeting I could find - 9kg's worth! Incredibly heavy for something the size of a loo roll! Magic material. Yes, that is my 1kg concrete wall on the face of the nose from before! The avionics tray will sit on top of the lead. Less than ideal as lead of course blocks radio signals. So does concrete.

Will likely route one of the antennas outside of the plane (one is already sticking up into the vast canopy area).

BUILD

COMPLETE

Ready for Flight

(Save for Beautifying).

Will paint wooden panels of wings white and add all-over detailing of another colour at some point.

What I've learned from my quick fuselage spray-paint job is that every single imperfection if amplified! Nice and glossy though (when the sun shines).

Balancing on one of my other interests.

If you see her from this angle during flight, it's probably not going well.

Again, this angle would be less than ideal.

here's hundreds of little jobs I could still do to *perfect* things. But it's just not an effective use of time.

Still not 100% sure how tight the rudder cables are supposed to be!

I gave them a little more slack to reduce the chance of servo hum, draining excessive battery.

I've mixed aileron differential and automatic coordinated flight into the controls. Will need to play with exact proportions over time.

I've also assigned a switch to either raise or lowering both ailerons. This will hopefully serve as a backup of sorts to the elevator, should it fail for any reason.

The Corona servos move so fast! Wish I could slow them down a tad. The ailerons wobble when they suddenly jump to a new position. Maybe new radio gear would solve that.

'Gazillions' of Space Inside for a Doll/

Autopilot/

Actual Paraglider Variometer/

Serious FPV equipment/

Ridiculous amount of Battery.

I'll pop the video here of her flying when everything permits! Relieved to find out today that it all fits in my car (and I can still see all my mirrors). And here is the canopy securing method fully visible to the rear (right). It's a very tight push-fit.

My maiden flight!

How it Started.

(Mostly a joyous day).

How it's Going.

(Stupid second launch mishap)!

A clean Break Though!

This dry fit had me tempted just to glue it like this and wrap some bulky glass-fibre around the outside.

But that would have been lazy...

Here's the Tail Half.

The split occurred in a weak spot where the shape of the lower fuselage changes longitudinally and the lower skin segments butt up against one another.

The Fuselage Half.

The Google web page designer I'm using (called 'Sites') is strongly lacking a point and zoom function for presenting photo detail properly.

Plywood Skin Retracted.

Fuselage aligned. I cut the skin away with a Dremel cutting disc.

The damaged former has also been completely removed along with most of the excess old globs of dried glue.

I Made a New Former!

Whipped the scroll saw back into action. This one has a bit more material than the last.

Top Spruce Insert.

5-minute Epoxy used throughout, save for a small amount of expanding Gorilla glue here-and-there.

Bottom Spruce Insert.

Ideally these would be inclined scarf joints - but that's far too fiddly to achieve in this config.

So butt joins it is! The fact that they are sandwiched and will later be fibreglass-reinforced from the inside will make it strong. Epoxy is amazing stuff.

Side Spruce Pieces.

New former also now in place.

Fuselage Back Together*.

*but not quite finished yet!

It can be handled now, feels very sturdy, but there's more to come...

Namely further reinforcements and the attachment of new skin.

Undoubtedly will need a little nose ballast after this. GoPro? FPV cam?

Lower Skin Attached

30-minute epoxy this time. This will allow ample access to strategically place fibreglass over the lower skin joins internally - should be much stronger than before.

Servo Dead.

I noticed the rudder servo also received damaged.

A nylon gearing cog took the brunt, rather than my rudder :-)

A new one is a tenner and on the way.

Reinforcing Done.

Plywood tabs fitted to internal face of upper skin area to make a greater bonding area as the skin takes a lot of the loading.

Top Skin Added

And a sleeve of left-over model covering material (clear), shrunk to fit tight. Also adds (some) extra strength.

Hopefully the final white spray paint will hide most of the evidence of repair! We shall see.

I could easily add filler to the gaps between skins, but it's unnecessary and would add weight to the tail-end and that is highly undesirable.

And... Painted.

That'll do.

It's certainly sturdy - see you on the slopes!

Side note: considering making this thing powered.

jasonconleche@gmail.com

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