Looking for thoughts on balsa WW2 models........

[bdefen]

I would use Titebond III wood glue for gluing the wood together. No heavier than Elmers and a lot stronger

And tissue coating?

 

[Casor]

And tissue coating?

I am no expert on tissue models but there is a lot of info on covering them online. Some guys use glue sticks, some use white glue as you noted. I prefer thinned nitrate dope but Sig Stix-it can also be used. I used Polyspan/dope for the wings/tail of my 30" rubber Storch and Coverlite/Stix-it for the fuselage. Coverlite is NLA however. My model has a carbon tube framework. The process is described in the attd FF Quarterly newsletter.

 

[SaparotRob]

Looks like expert work from here.

 

[bdefen]

I am no expert on tissue models but there is a lot of info on covering them online. Some guys use glue sticks, some use white glue as you noted. I prefer thinned nitrate dope but Sig Stix-it can also be used. I used Polyspan/dope for the wings/tail of my 30" rubber Storch and Coverlite/Stix-it for the fuselage. Coverlite is NLA however. My model has a carbon tube framework. The process is described in the attd FF Quarterly newsletter.

I was going to ask if that was the Dumas kit Storch, but your carbon tube framework suggests not. Beautiful work. Is the carbon fiber tubing easy to come by? That would certainly make for a much stronger model for flying. I've been avoiding conventional fabric dope coatings because of the fumes, so I'm open to suggestions for other more "benign". As I've thought, a Storch is a great candidate for balsa (or carbon) construction.

 

[Casor]

Looks like expert work from here.

Thank you - I mistakenly posted the wrong issue of FFQ. Here's the right one.

I was going to ask if that was the Dumas kit Storch, but your carbon tube framework suggests not. Beautiful work. Is the carbon fiber tubing easy to come by? That would certainly make for a much stronger model for flying. I've been avoiding conventional fabric dope coatings because of the fumes, so I'm open to suggestions for other more "benign". As I've thought, a Storch is a great candidate for balsa (or carbon) construction.

I actually have the Dumas Storch kit that was given to me but it seemed to be too heavily constructed and lacking in a lot of scale areas. My model is 3oz and I have test launched it and it seems to fly OK. The model also has telescoping landing gear and folding wings. Yes the carbon is very strong and won't warp under covering. Available from CSTsales.com. I recommend making the empennage control surfaces trimmable by using copper wire hinges, a common FF technique.

 

[bdefen]

Thank you - I mistakenly posted the wrong issue of FFQ. Here's the right one.

I actually have the Dumas Storch kit that was given to me but it seemed to be too heavily constructed and lacking in a lot of scale areas. My model is 3oz and I have test launched it and it seems to fly OK. The model also has telescoping landing gear and folding wings. Yes the carbon is very strong and won't warp under covering. Available from CSTsales.com. I recommend making the empennage control surfaces trimmable by using copper wire hinges, a common FF technique.

Many years ago, I remember watching a guy launch and fly (presumably R/C) a large glider model. It must have stayed aloft for 5 minutes, anyway. His launching method was a very long elastic material line staked into the ground, with the aircraft attached to the other end. The guy carried the airplane for quite a distance away from the staked end of the elastic (rubber band?) line, perhaps 50 to 100 yds. He held the airplane over his head, let go of it, the elastic line contracted, the airplane lifted up quite steeply, the line was released, and the soaring began. It was fun to watch. Sound familiar?

 

[special ed]

I use Titebond III because mine are powered models. I have tested Elmer' Carpenters glue (not the regular white glue) which appears to be the same as well as Gorilla Wood Glue (not the regular foaming stuff) and it seems the same. Since yours are display models you could thin your glue application. These are waterbased glues and I find if the wood to be joined is spritzed lightly with an atomiser, the glue penetrates the wood better. Don't go nuts with the sprayer. Also don't use the earlier Titebond Original of Titbond II as they aren't water proof when completely dry. Years back when only the original Titebond was all there was I sheeted a large styrofoam Spitfire with balsa and, when set, put in the sun in the yard to further the setting. Forgot it and the next morning found all the balsa skins delaminated and curled up because of dew.
I have no experience with thinned white glue as tissue adhesive. I'm still old school (1950s) silkspan and dope covering. I would not use model dope, even thinned, on light structures because of shrinking and warping the structure.

 

[special ed]

My luck, the bungee would pull the stake out which would hit me dead center in the head.

 

[bdefen]

My luck, the bungee would pull the stake out which would hit me dead center in the head.

Or in another part of your anatomy. Like that guy in the current dog biscuit commercial whose ex-girlfriend let's go of the end of his fully-extended retractable dog leash. It snaps back and hits him "down there". How the heck am I supposed to enjoy flying my R/C glider when I'm running around the park holding my crotch!?!?

 

[SaparotRob]

That's how I do it. It keeps the kids away.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

His launching method was a very long elastic material line staked into the ground, with the aircraft attached to the other end. The guy carried the airplane for quite a distance away from the staked end of the elastic (rubber band?) line, perhaps 50 to 100 yds. He held the airplane over his head, let go of it, the elastic line contracted, the airplane lifted up quite steeply, the line was released, and the soaring began. It was fun to watch. Sound familiar?

In the first half of the twentieth century full size gliders were launched that way off hillsides. A large vee of hefty bungee was attached to the tow hook and two groups of people ran away down hill stretching the bungee, while another group held onto the glider's tail as long as they could, then let go. On a layover in Elmira I got to see a demonstration of this at Harris Hill when the Schweizer folks hosted an antique glider contest. Awesome!

 

[bdefen]

Breakfast bombers, what a blast! Back in the 70s and 80s, fly-in breakfasts were quite the thing here in the northcountry. Saturday and Sunday mornings, usually on some remote grass strip on someone's farm or an EAA chapter's turf. Mostly Cubs, Champs, Luscombes, Ercoupes and the like. I would usually show up in a 150 with a student who'd already demonstrated competence in off-pavement landings, and was graciously tolerated despite the general prejudice regarding "tin can nosedragger drivers".
Once fueled up with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and real maple syrup, not to mention gallons of coffee, we were issued plastic bags of flour and swarmed aloft to demonstrate our prowess at daylight precision bombing. Our "mission score" was based on elapsed time, bombing accuracy, and spot landing accuracy after the bombing run. The "mission" required a climb to a specified altitude before descending for the bombing run, and you could level bomb or dive bomb as long as you didn't break the "hard deck" which could be at various altitudes according to the local terrain. Each breakfast spot had its own variation on this contest. Much fun for all involved, until FAA air safety councilors started showing up at these events and the fun meter needle sagged disastrously. "An airshow permit for a spot landing contest or a flour bombing rodeo? Man, surely you jest?"
"Since when is flour bombing an FAR violation?"
Oh well....

I know of an Idaho breakfast-fly-in that could have used a little FAA safety counseling over 50 years ago.

We had a private airplane collision occur Summer 1969 over a residential area of Boise upon the return of airplanes from a breakfast fly-in in either Stanley or Salmon, Idaho. The low-wing craft pancaked/cartwheeled into a vacant lot in a Boise foothills neighborhood and burned. No survivors. No other injuries or fatalities on the ground. Miracle. The other high-wing plane spun into a wooded residential street in front of a pre-school/day-care center. All passengers killed on impact, no fire. Again, no injuries on the ground. Another miracle. A piece of that plane flew off and knocked down the day-care picket fence. That was it.

It's thought that the planes were "fooling around" (my words) in too close proximity. Apparently, while the high-wing plane was below the low-wing plane, and unable to see each other, they collided. The high-wing plane's wing was severely damaged, thus its spin into the street, while the low winged plane's damage rendered it doomed, as well. It caught fire upon crashing.

I was riding my bicycle around the neighborhoods where the mishap occurred. Sirens blaring and word got out as to the crashes. Saw the aftermath first-hand. The police, fire, and other ER's cleared the spectators from the areas before they began to extract the victims' bodies. Sad. The word "fly-in" conjures up this memory every time I hear it.

I tried to Google some reference to this accident - FAA, CAB, etc. report, or a news story, and came up with nothing. Most that I found dealt with commercial or military accidents. Any tips or advice on finding airplane crash reports?

Sorry, to get so serious in the wake of your fly-in fun post. I'm really not Debbie Downer.

My Dumas Storch model arrived. I'll get some Titebond III and get it started. I've also got an Fw-189 build soon for the next GB.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

I tried to Google some reference to this accident - FAA, CAB, etc. report, or a news story, and came up with nothing. Most that I found dealt with commercial or military accidents. Any tips or advice on finding airplane crash reports?

Back in those days, most states had departments of aeronautics, which most have now folded into departments of transportation. They usually investigated GA accidents that weren't considered worthy of FAA or NTSB attention, or that were too remote for the feds. The reports are usually buried in the archives somewhere. Good luck!

 

[Skyediamonds]

I'd like to acknowledge the compliment from Crimea River on my making Guillows models look nearly like the full scale article.

I realize it's been awhile since I last posted as I moved into my new home & as with everything else, takes time to unpack & settle down.

However, I managed to resume building my Guillow's P-51 Mustang & it's nearing the finish line. I still have to add the exhaust, under belly variable duct, more decals, machine gun bullets (they were already fabricated but in storage), & some additional accessories.

Yep. It's a Guillow's.

Cheers,

 

[SaparotRob]

Wow.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Wow.

...and double WOW!

 

[Skyediamonds]

Thank you gentlemen. It's appreciated.

 

[bdefen]

Thank you gentlemen. It's appreciated.

Here's a WOW from me. And thanks to all for the balsa model input. IT'S appreciated, too.

 

[Skyediamonds]

Bdefen:

Thank you! That's greatly appreciated. It means a lot & keeps me motivated.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[Snautzer01]

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