Sukhoi 29KS

[Rod]

After too many problems with vaccuum pumps I got one that can run continuously. This is much more sucky than my previous ones so is better for fuselages and carbon undercarriages.

[brusty]

Good move Rod, I bought my unit from CST in 1998, and it's never missed a beat, just ticks away continuously through the relief valve.

I have resurfaced and resealed and released my molds again and yesterday sprayed on the Acrathane, its looking good with no sign of cracking or lifting. I'll do a vacuum lay-up next week. I think I will head to Taupo tomorrow for the MANZ meeting.

Trust your weekend away went well and you and Mike compared a lot of notes. Talking to him last week, he said he could still get the 2mm divinicell, it is the 1.5 they won't supply now.

Good you're back safely and posting again,

Regards, Barrie.

[Rod]

Am setting up the wing panels for skinning. I have marked out the positions for the various parts and first I cut the wing off at the outer tube position so I can cut the tube hole.

[Rod]

Cut the wing tube hole a little oversize so it wouldnt distort the core when I inserted the tube.

[Rod]

Sharpened the end of the outer tube and cut 1/8" balsa plugs then glued them in.

[Rod]

Made the wing support plates. This is where hand tools are the best solution. I put on 1/2"balsa spacers so I've got some leeway sanding the root for a good fit on the fuselage and on the outer plate so the tube goes stightly past the ply. Glued in the tube.

[Rod]

Made a couple of servo boxes. This is whatI call low tech cnc, design it in the computer print it out and glue it to the wood then cut out.

[Rod]

Made an undercarriage mold. Will soften the corners with microballoon mix and seal with thinned epoxy.

[Rod]

Some more glass finally turned up so I could stiffen the other side of the mold. I will cook it for a couple of nights so hopefully the mold will stay straight.

[Rod]

There was a fair bit of variation of weight between the wing skins 120gm 135gm 145gm 148gm. So I sanded the 120gm sheet smooth so it weighed 114gms and sanded the others down to the same weight. The Bosch sander is great as it has a dust catcher as I am sensitised to balsa dust now.

[Rod]

The wing cores are ready for bagging and the skins are sealed with nitrate. No honycombing here as this will be an all painted finish. You will see I have 2 plates for each anti rotation pin and there is some end grain balsa reinforcement for the double carbon aileron horn.

[Rod]

Made a wing panel today. Got everything prepared before mixing epoxy. Here is the bag ready to go with vacuum sealant tape around the edge. The plastic is reasonably thin so the wrinkles dont effect it much. The top half of the plastic is hanging down behind the table. I am doing it on the same table and in the same position and orientation as I cut the cores so everything stays straight and true.