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Post by Jef on May 27, 2014 18:01:02 GMT
Bought a flyable electric 3.5m +tail Xplorer, that had been extensively repaired (and well documented), at a 'too good to miss' price. The repairs are to an excellent standard being strong, light and unobtrusive, but the repairs were not 'invisible'. Before flying the model I checked the CG, having fitted as far aft as practical, a NiMH 2600 4xAA rx pack as per all my other electric gliders and winch launched models. It looked good to me at about 110mm behind the leading edge at the fuselage. I also checked the motor current (to ensure suitable 4-Cell LiPos were used) and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Unfortunately the motor can fell off the gearbox on it's second launch (I found out when the motor didn't run for the third launch), as the ESC / Motor braking is fierce and the torque absolutely awesome from the big 18.5" diameter propellor. My Dad is an engineer of 81 years, so he got the job of preventing the failure from recurring. He fitted three 10BA screws radially through the motor can into the gearbox. More to follow shortly as the fus and wing finish is improved.  Attachments:
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Post by Jef on May 27, 2014 18:54:27 GMT
Using P38 Lightweight Filler, I smoothed off the repairs one at a time. Each repair was filled with less than a gram of filler! Attachments:
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Post by Jef on May 27, 2014 19:32:03 GMT
After sanding the bulk of the excess filler back with a flat block and sandpaper, I then used wet and dry 80 grit (wet) to get the repair flatter, and then 320 grit (wet) to get it as smooth as poss. I then masked off the bits I did not want to paint. Before the top coat could be applied, a primer and an undercoat had to go on. The moulded fuselage has a coating that allows release from the moulds. To defeat this, I tried using plastic primer, which is a thin clear liquid. It ran as soon as it looked at the fus, but I used it to attack the release agent. After a few applications and wiping away with a clean-ish rag, I then tried to apply a coat of "High-Build Primer" this showed a couple of areas where the release agent had beaten my method, so I wiped and scrubbed the primer back off again, using the volatile components of the primer to attack it with the clean-ish rag again. This time I was sure that I had won the battle, so I left the area to be sprayed (from the nose to most of the way back to the fin) as a uniform sticky mess. While the primer was still tacky I added a light coat of the top colour. This proved that the primer was good, so I left it to dry for 2 hours. Attachments:
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Post by Jef on May 27, 2014 20:00:05 GMT
...Then I gave it the final top coat. Total increase in weight about 10g. But it looks much sweeter than it did. Wing is next, but that will be another day. Attachments:
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Post by Jef on May 28, 2014 21:37:59 GMT
Evenin' all. Did some work on the tailplane today. First the repaired and still dented areas were filled, sanded and primed, and top coated/lacquered. Attachments:
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Post by Jef on May 28, 2014 21:48:43 GMT
The tailplane, being white, merely had hi-build primer and lacquer on most of it, the only part getting top coat colour before the lacquer being the red stripe (just to match the other half). Work has now started on the centre panel, I had to re-fill it after the first sand off, as there were obvious areas of (my bad) deficient filling. This is the most important one to get really good and I am not going to rush it. Next instalment when I have had time to do some more! Jef Attachments:
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Post by Jef on May 29, 2014 22:20:12 GMT
Crikey you can hear a pin drop in here. It's either an empty hall, or the audience is all waiting with bated breath... So without more ado, here it is - the wing progress picture. Please feel free to jump in with questions... Attachments:
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Post by JG on May 30, 2014 19:18:35 GMT
Evening Jef, The repairs are looking good, when i damaged my Supra got Neville to repair mine, keep us all posted on the finished result  |
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Post by Jef on May 30, 2014 21:38:57 GMT
The spray of red is just to reveal / highlight the low spots during the next sand. Here's a pic of the highspots sanded off again...  ....so it becomes obvious where needs filling next time. |
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Post by Jef on May 31, 2014 19:11:53 GMT
After sanding and filling a few times the wing was masked (covering half of the name) then sprayed with Hi-Build primer. This revealed porosity in the exposed carbon weave. Adding more primer to the dried wing in tiny drips from a cocktail stick filled the minute voids. A quick sand and then the wing was sprayed with the primer again.  Then the stencil was made to replace the name lettering.  |
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Post by Jef on May 31, 2014 19:22:01 GMT
The next step was to spray the left half of the name onto the primer. Masking an "O" is fun! I loosely masked the letters which gave an effect similar to Stork wing lettering.  Then I gave the still masked wing a coat of lacquer, and let it dry for a couple of hours. Removing the masking revealed that the lettering was reasonably lined up. Job Done!! Attachments:
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Post by JG on May 31, 2014 20:07:04 GMT
Very nice Jef |
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Post by Jef on May 31, 2014 20:34:42 GMT
Thanks JG. Can't believe it has only taken 5 days to complete the refinish. Some projects just grab your imagination like that, don't they.
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Post by JG on Jun 2, 2014 7:36:58 GMT
Jef Yes they do, i was the same with the Elan on it and now off it a bit with the baby, but well done Jef it's nice to see and looking forward to more from other people |
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Post by Jef on Jun 5, 2014 21:25:50 GMT
I needed a spinner and hub, with a 41mm backplate and for a 6mm shaft. Unable to find a spinner in the sizes that I wanted, I asked around and a good friend suggested "Electric Wing Man". The service I received from Paul Maddock was absolutely excellent. After a while spent 'fitting' the bits (when I got home from work today), so that the 42mm backplate was a 41mm backplate, and the drive shaft was short enough for the backplate to get close to the fuselage etc. etc., I checked the CG was still at 110mm from the leading edge then took the model to my local flying field, and trimmed the model out in the windy and turbulent conditions. Well pleased with the efficiency of this glider when the wind started to die back a bit. Here's an altitude trace from the best flight of the session, in very buoyant air. Jef Attachments:
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