Scratch Building - Guppy Variant - some pictures

[Sunstorm]

I am scratch building a variant of the Guppy Sailplane.

here, take a look at some of the build pics

it is a Guppy microsloper foam core wing variant


just something to occupy my time....

wing is designed as a 3 piece wing with small midsection. reason for it - I have closed a car door on a balsa kit build before. Should have been more careful, but oh well, my build, my style


plank bottom side then cut out the cavities for wiring then plank top side\


top side


test fitting unplanked foam wings


more of the center section











dihedral wing, 6 degrees

[aeronautical]

very nice! what size is the wings?

[rt9]

Yeah.. asking the same.. going to be 4m?

[VinCopter]

or 5m

[Sunstorm]

1.45m small small only la

[Sunstorm]

more pictures 4u2c

[Sunstorm]

oh shucks I forgot to resize the photos

cos RCgroups auto resize for me.

erm, how ah

[wanna_be_pilot]

oh shucks I forgot to resize the photos

cos RCgroups auto resize for me.

erm, how ah

Doesnt matter. not much of a hassle.

[rt9]

oh shucks I forgot to resize the photos

cos RCgroups auto resize for me.

erm, how ah

nbrmnd la.. my screen quite wide.. still can contain them :p

maybe next time you do a 4m then my screen cannot tahan liao..

[Sunstorm]

a bit moar updates

I have decided to ditch the T-tail and go for conventional tail

but that's not in this post


build the canopy plug out of balsa


buy PET sheet, tape over the canopy plug as tightly as possible


use hairdryer, heat until floppy, and use oven mittens to press to shape. trim off excess

referred to Joe Yap's instructions on how to do canopy

[Sunstorm]

did up the wing hold downs


glued in carbon boom. using gorilla glue. use lines in floor tiles for rough alignment




tail assembly

[Sunstorm]

next, comes the really hard part.

seal wood with this

apparently its a alternative to varnish.

I chose it because well....it was for aircraft

seal, sand with 400 sandpaper, paint over another layer, sand again, lay on glass, sand again,



spray paint grey primer, sand again with 400 till smooth, spray on yellow paint, sand with 400, spray on multiple layers of thin yellow, sand with 600 then 800....


then FINALLY you get a glossy sheen.... phew



the next steps are pretty straightforward, covering with lightweight covering. I used the Japanese label ones from SHS. Point to note, they are easier to handle than lightweight Coverlite because they do not have a backing and thus the sticky side does not stick to itself

Oracover trim is used to give a bit of contrast

[Sunstorm]

anyway I've set up the linkages late last night

so it's off to fly it today = )

Mr James Lee was the witness

it flies!

today was a day for thermals. I had 10 minutes of flight on this. Just follow the swallows





and after that, you pack up

it is not a one piece wing




some data;

span: 1.45m
length: 80cm
weight: 370 gms (heavy)
wing area: approx 300 sq inches

wing loading: 6.25 oz/sq ft
wing cube loading: 4.3

servos: 4.7 gms from SHS for ailerons
2 x tp 6gm for elevators and rudder

motor: google this: AX1806c from HK
ESC: HK12amp

battery: 2s 450 nanotech

boy, I'm tired of scratch building. Maybe I'll get an ARF next....just maybe....

[pixeldixel]

Nice

Well done bro!

[rt9]

Meow..

You got a meow at home ah?