n00bs Gonna Build a Carden

[gareth.ky]

Some pics of bits and pieces:


This is Dan's suggestion. I was wirried about the plates sticking together and he suggested I cut away some of the foam from the skins and fill the area with glue so the parts lock together. Very smart idea.


I cut a template from lite ply and drilled pilot holes for all the holes in ti with a 1/16" bit. Then the center points can be marked on the final parts with a mechanical pencil.


Here we are at the sand & fit stage. I glued them both last night. I used too much Poly glue on the first one and had to babysit it for an hour while the glue foamed out. The second one I used less glue and it went smoother. Always have lots of paper towels on hand to wipe up the poly glue in just in case.


Here are the phenolic control horns from www.dalebuiltgraphics.com. they look sweet and were obviously CNC cut. Now all I need is some ball links and its good to go.


There is a thread on FG about this new tail wheel. It looks sweet and doesn't wobble like the the other tail wheel I got. I like things that "Just Work" and the tail wheel is one of those things I see on most airplanes that doesn't work.

[why_fly_high]

Looking good! Remember, I let you fly my plane.

Dan

[gareth.ky]

	Quote: Originally Posted by why_fly_high
	Looking good! Remember, I let you fly my plane. Dan

Don't worry, you'll get your test flight

Man I just realized I need paint, covering, linkages, fuel tubing, servos, a whole bunch of stuff and I need to get it here pronto so its on hand when its needed. March is crunch time to get this project done.

[gareth.ky]

One thing I'm going to need for next weekend is a pilot. Any suggestions?

[iflyrc3Dstyle]

Hey Bud,

Try one these guys!

http://www.composite-creations.com/

[gareth.ky]

More 0's. The level is pretty finicky. Sometimes you move it and the change in the reading doesn't seem to correlate well with the size of the movement. Then you tap it and it corrects itself. I just tap it to make it take a new reading. I move the parts and keep tapping until it seems to come back to 0 more often than any other measurement. Without moving the part you could get it to read +0.2 to -0.2 if you hit it right. If your spread is more like -0.1 to +0.3 then your not level.

I don't want to say the 0.0's you see in all the build threads are fake but you can certainly coerce a 0 into happening without the part being "level". I stop messing with it when the "average" is 0. Only takes a few minutes.


Drilling holes on the drill press. I learned my lesson about the hand drill: don't do it. Find a way to use the press.


Elevator blind nut mounting pads. The one in the back is inset in the slot I cut in the tube socket support plate earlier in the build.


Its Big! I hope it its in the car!

[brandonduley]

looks awesome keep up the good work

[tommy321]

	Quote: Originally Posted by gareth.ky
	Its Big! I hope it its in the car!

What kind of car are we talkin' about?

[gareth.ky]

	Quote: Originally Posted by tommy321
	What kind of car are we talkin' about?

Its a 2002 Subaru Impreza/WRX wagon. The seats fold down flat. I got a 96" 2X4 in with very few inches to spare. Carden says the 260 is 98". I'm hopeful it will fit with the rudder bent sideways and the fuse sort of at an angle. I'm not sure how they got 98", hopefully that includes the spinner. I'm going to spring for the TruTurn spinner so its easy to remove, thats at least 4".

Oh I forgot to mention I cut myself, twice, trying to drill holes in those little ply blocks. Then I managed to bleed all over the airplane. Now at least the maiden flight wont be a disaster.

[tommy321]

	Quote: Originally Posted by gareth.ky
	Its a 2002 Subaru Impreza/WRX wagon.

Well as the driver of a 2001 VW GTi who wants to get something bigger than 50cc I'll be watching closely.

Tom

[gareth.ky]

Before I started this build I was a devoted fan of wood glue. I really like it over CA for lots of things, even general construction. Its strong stuff and it tends not to be as brittle as CA.

Recently I used it for attaching the LE and TE parts on the flight surfaces. It is kind of impossible not to have some excess and the stuff is as hard as a rock when cured. The razor plane really had trouble cutting through it.

For the root caps on the wings I used the Poly glue because I wanted the gap filling properties it has in that case. What I didn't really expect to find is that the razor plane goes through the stuff quite easily. It also sands at the same rate as balsa. Knowing that now there is very little I really can recommend the wood glue for.

About the only place where it does an excellent job is stick construction. There the poly glue would just be too messy. You would get the stuff all over you hands and it doesn't wash off.

Tips for Working With Poly Glue:
You usually need a lot less poly glue than you think. I try to apply it with a disposable foam roller or foam brush to get a thin even coat. The glue reacts with moisture in the air. Using the brush or roller helps mix the glue with the air and speed this up.

You can mix the glue on parchment paper and when it cures it will peel right off. Mixing the glue starts the foaming reaction and can give you a better idea of how much glue you will really need. You probably have 15 minutes to get the parts in position before they shouldn't be moved again.

If you don't aerate the glue and you use too much be prepared to baby sit the parts for the next hour. Its going to keep expanding and you'll have to keep cleaning up the mess every 5 mins.

Once you get used to working with the stuff its pretty easy to control.

[gareth.ky]

Man I royally screwed up on the rudder. I marked both sides but not carefully enough. I mistook one of the cut lines for the center hinge line from Side A. So this skewed the base of side B but not the top. So if you checked it from the top it looked OK. It's kind of hard to explain but the thing was like a moebius strip and you couldn't really see what was wrong. Both sides looks "right" but they didn't match.

So out comes the knife and I cut up side B, the wrong side, first. Then I flip it over and the problem jumps out at me. Man was I pissed, I had been so careful!

I calmed down and corrected the bad markings. I cut everything loose and was left with just 1 bad cut on the fin. I just filled the crack with poly glue and taped it shut. Looks good as new and should work out fine.

Hinges are beveled and slotted for the rudder and elevators. Ailerons are up next.

How should I cut the end of the aileron closest to the fuse? Parallel to the fuse side or perpendicular to the hinge line?

[mark786]

Gareth,
I made the mistake of cutting to match the fuse. When the ailerons deflect the gap closes shut at a bad angle. Don't do it.
Seems like most cut parallel to the wing tip. I mistakingly thought the wing tip angle and root angle were the same. (brain fart). The fuse tapers in so it is a different angle. You basically want the cut 90 degrees to the hinge line to save the bad angle.
Mark

[OnTheEdge]

	Quote: Originally Posted by gareth.ky
	Hinges are beveled and slotted for the rudder and elevators. Ailerons are up next.

Gareth, sounds like you don't have the hinges in yet. If that's the case, you might want to consider making the rudder removable. It will help it fit in the Subaru and at the very least, help you see out the passenger side mirror. (Not a bad thing on a long drive to a contest or funfly.)

I did it to my Yak so I dould fit in it the back of a pickup. Very easy to do takes only about an extra five minutes to assemeble at the field.

If you need idea about how to do it, let me know. Pretty straight forward.

...........Mark

[gareth.ky]

	Quote: Originally Posted by mark786
	Gareth, I made the mistake of cutting to match the fuse. When the ailerons deflect the gap closes shut at a bad angle. Don't do it. Seems like most cut parallel to the wing tip. I mistakingly thought the wing tip angle and root angle were the same. (brain fart). The fuse tapers in so it is a different angle. You basically want the cut 90 degrees to the hinge line to save the bad angle. Mark

Gotcha, that makes good sense. Thanks.

Here s a good pic of Gerry Dale's 260 from the Carden website showing the angle. I think its somewhere between 90 to the hinge line and parallel with the thrust line.