How To Build a Composite Warbird Mould Video Series

[madmax]

Homepage.

[Slow & Low]

I was inspired by a friend today.

A Builder's Soul.

Building season's back again, that chill is in the air.
Soon the winter storms will blow, yet somehow I don't care.
There's solice in a friend they say, and yes I'll say that's true.
But all alone with wood and glue I'll find it in this too.

Another summer come and gone, the gentle breezes blew.
I found myself in air aloft on wings my fingers knew.
Far above my cares I soared, lifted up to better times.
Try to tie me to the ground but those memories are mine.

Building season's back again, that chill is in the air.
Soon the winter storms will blow, yet somehow I don't care.
There's solice in a friend they say, and yes I'll say that's true.
But all alone with wood and glue I'll find it in this too.

And now the winds of change are here that warn of colder times.
I'll shut myself inside my house, don't worry I'll be fine.
You see I'm building times remembered that once my father knew.
Crafted from a soul some say he made from wood and glue.

Building season's back again, that chill is in the air.
Soon the winter storms will blow, yet somehow I don't care.
There's solice in a friend they say, and yes I'll say that's true.
But all alone with wood and glue I'll find it in this too.

Nothing more than dreams it takes to fly to higher heights.
I still hear those words from him when I'm alone at night.
And so as winter's winds will blow and keep me on the ground,
Alone in precious silence is where you know that I'll be found.

I'll build another ship of hope to sail without a care.
From dreams and dust I'll rise again to challenge summer's air.

- A builder.

[Slow & Low]

Alright then, here we go concerning weights.
Before I get into it, I should begin with a few thoughts.

Concerning the fibreglass fuse.
This layup was only intended to validate the function of the mould and as such I wasn't overly concerned with weight.
I used 7Oz cloth rather than 6Oz - so that will likely save a couple of ounces.
I didn't vacuum bag it - so there will be a slight savings in an improvement of epoxy to cloth ratio there.
I put 5Oz of acrylic paint into the epoxy that wasn't necessary but I wanted some contrast so that I could verify the detail transfer from the mould.
I haven't installed ply for the motor mount, battery tray, or wing mounting blocks, but there's also extra material in the nose of the fibreglass shell yet to be removed in that nose.
All in all I expect these factors to amount to an additional reduction of around 7Oz's in the next layup schedule.

Concerning the plug.
There's alot more filler in the plug than I would've put on a flying model in order to achieve scale outline etc.
There's additional materials in the nose and wing saddle area to facilitate mould construction.

There are no control surfaces on either one at this point.
Alright then...

As it stands now
Plug weight - 49Oz or 3.1lbs
Fibreglass fuse weight - 32Oz or 2lbs even
net reduction - 35%

Considering projected weight reduction of 7Oz's in next layup
Plug weight - 49Oz
Fibreglass fuse weight - 25Oz or 1.56lbs or 1lb 9Oz (this is about what I would expect to see)
net reduction - 49% reduction

I still have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, but I think I'm track anyway.
Just out of curiosity does anybody out there have a fuselage in the works without control surfaces on it yet? I'd like to know what one would come in at without all the filler and extra material on it.

[Slow & Low]

Well, with the cold weather back in town, I've been spending some time with my P40 again. With the fuselage mould complete, I now have to finish a wing so that I can get on with the moulding.
After months of sanding filler and primer in my spare time, I've come to the point in the road where I'm satisfied that the form of the wing is good enough to lay down some glass cloth. This is always the hardest part for me - moving on. I always want things as close to perfection as I can get them before I lock it in with glass, but at some point you have to just stop and lay the dang cloth down! (Tip symmetry drives me nuts!)

If you're new to this operation, here are some things to note. Most of all, don't be discouraged from trying it! Personally, I think it's a lot easier than film - and there's more sanding fun to be had! lol

- I mixed equal parts of resin, hardener, and methyl hydrate (denatured alcohol in USA) in order to get a nice thin watery consistency. Don't fill the weave, just wet the cloth out and let it dry.

- Don't trim too closely (the weave will move around as you brush and what looks like it may fit, may not by the time that you get there. If you run a sanding block aroung the edge once it's dry, the excess cloth will pretty much fall off leaving a nice edge.

- Start in the middle and work outwards.

- Don't try to do too much area at one time, and don't worry about overlapping sections. You won't be able to see these seams after a finish coat of epoxy later.

[Slow & Low]

Wing is glassed.

[Slow & Low]

Scuffed everything up after the cloth was on with some 100 grit and hit it with another thinned coat of epoxy before retiring last night. Found some time this afternoon to get at it with some 150 grit on the longboard and hit it again with some el cheapo primer. Still plenty of work to do, but it's further along than it was...
Of course I had to do the requisite mock up to make sure that the wing still fit the saddle. I'm not happy with fit up front where the bellypan, wing fillet, and leading edge meet up. The fit is still good and tight, but there's room for asthetic improvement. I'll do some more finishing on the underside before getting to those things though.

[Slow & Low]

...just taking some photos for my own future reference - thought I'd post a couple for those of us who enjoy watching bodywork - personally, I find pictures much more entertaining than the real thing

I actually laid down another super thin coat of epoxy on the top surface of the wing since the last post trying to fill a few minor fisheye type situations, but it didn't really change very much, so I sanded it off, primed it again and was forced to get out the glazing putty this afternoon. Things are moving in right direction again. What am I doing? sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding.........

[Slow & Low]

I promise not to make you sit through every step of the finishing process, but people keep asking me how much sanding is really required. I can't give a straight answer, but I should be able to bore you enough to get the idea across! lol Today, I hit the topside again with some glazing putty, and then sanded it with 220 followed by some 600. It's starting to take shape. The underside needs a guide coat of primer before I can tell where I'm at after a couple of thinned coats of epoxy. Actually, I put some microballoons in the last coat on the underside to help with the sanding last time so it shouldn't be too far off. Unfortunately it's below zero out in the shed, so I will have to set up a little spray booth inside the backroom in the basement and ventilate out the window. Stay tuned....

[Slow & Low]

I found a couple of minutes to do some more sanding on the P-40 wing plug this evening. As you can see, there is still much work to be done, but none the less things are shaping up. With the holidays coming up, I hope that I will get a little closer to putting some panel lines etc, in place, but first things first, I must have a flat surface worthy of moving forward.
One of the things that gives me a kick is giving back to a hobby that kept me out of trouble as a kid, gave me distraction from the pressures of studying through my college years, and gave me something to call my own as I let the multinational corporate organizations rape and pillage me for all that my two engineering degrees and experience could yield them. (the trick is most definitely to bend them over first) Throughout this project I've hoped to inspire others. If you are out there and still need some motivation here's something to think about.
It began only weeks after posting the first video to youtube. First it was boat manufacturers, then it was artists. A couple of weeks later it was tool companies in the States, then it was Chinese ARF manufacturers. Today, it was a manufacturer of glass fuses for some of the names that I've only ever read about in Top Gun reports. If you are a young person out there who is looking to start a business, I would have to say that I have never seen market potential like I've seen here. You will not have to search for customers - they WILL contact you - no matter how anonymous you think you are....
Don't let others dissuade you, think it through for yourself. I only wish I had time to help them all.

[Slow & Low]

Over the course of the last month I've been spending my spare time on some of the areas on the underside of the wing plug that need special attention with respect to draft/release considerations. It's one thing to decide to mould wheel and flap bay details, but it's quite another thing to maintain a level of calm persistence as you spend hour after hour after hour holding a little tiny sanding block as your fingers lock up and eventually refuse to hold the darn thing forcing you to stop until the next day.
At first I spent a great deal of time building up draft in the wheel and flap servo recesses with glazing putty. It was boring, but my 4" wheels fit the bays like they should, and release shouldn't be a problem. It's taking some time, no question about it, but every day it moves closer. One of the things that consumes time is the method that I'm using to build up fillet radii in the the tight spots.
In order blend everything in the flap bays, I'm brushing on a light coat of thinned finishing epoxy. I leave it for 8 hours and then sand, prime, and repeat. The thinned epoxy flows very nicely into the corners and has a self-leveling characteristic that just can't be beat. You spend an inhumane amount of time sanding - but what you don't want is a beautiful wing plug sitting in the corner trapped inside a fibreglass sarcophagus

[CSpaced]

Thanks for keeping us posted!

[rcpilot82]

Great job!! Subscribed!