Jtec Radiowave 2.8m MX2 Build(s)

[jtec/radiowave]

A dual build perhaps ??

Anything we can do to help!! LOL

[Scrappy]

Not sure what happens to the order of the pictures I am uploading but this batch did not load in order......

After end capping the phenolics with some hard balsa with CA and sanding them to match the tubes which were also lightly sanded I have glued in the root rib, phenolic tubes and the false rib holding the phenolics in place with Gorilla glue, I laid them in the shucks with a layer of wax paper and lined them up using the stab tube to keep everything lined up and to keep the phenolic tube from deforming from any expansion of the Gorilla glue. The first picture shows this after all had set up under wight and left to cure overnight.

The 5th & 6th pictures show where I line up the servo box to drill in the servo wire tube and while I didn't get a picture of it I shamelessly copied Gordon's technique on his build thread on RCCanada of using a piece of copper tubing heated up with a propane torch to melt in the hole for the servo wire, it worked quite well! I also made a paper template of the servo box locations (I took & recorded the measurements as well. As the right hand stab will be the mirror image of this simply flipping this over should do the trick.

Pictures #2 & 4 show the left stab sheeted and under weight (approximately 140 lbs), again I used Gorilla glue for the sheeting and very lightly misted the foam just before putting the glued smeared sheeting on it. I will post pictures soon but this stab came out of the shuck looking great!! Pic #2 you can see the small clamps on the trailing edge, I used some scrap balsa strips and clamped the edges down on advice from Gordon in order to keep them where they are supposed to and this worked well for me.
I guess the foam does not always apply enough pressure at the edges so as long as you account for this somehow it will keep things in order!

I got the hatch tabs #1 & 2's laminated and that is what is show clamped up in picture #3 so they are (with a light edge sanding) ready for when I start the hatch. l have now sheeted the right hand stab and trimmed the excess sheeting from the left stab and this will keep me about a week behind Gordon!

[Machzx]

Anything we can do to help!! LOL

Im in just gotta convince my builder guy im worthy of a second build !!!

[Trumpetman]

Ya, taping the edges of the sheeting together really helps the lamination process. You would think 150 to 200lbs of weight would do the trick but it really makes a difference to pull those edges together. Looking good!

BTW, it's not a race but I'm way more than a week ahead LOL

[Scrappy]

Ya, taping the edges of the sheeting together really helps the lamination process. You would think 150 to 200lbs of weight would do the trick but it really makes a difference to pull those edges together. Looking good!

BTW, it's not a race but I'm way more than a week ahead LOL

Thanks Gordon.

I said about a week.... LOL!
You got a lot done over the past few days so I'll have to do some double time this week....

[Scrappy]

Tonight I got the second stab out of the shucks and got the LE balsa glued up on both stabs and after taping it up I also got the servo holes cut out ( my paper template worked well!) . I need to pick up some more basswood 1/8" x 1/4" and 1/8" x 3/8" and will use some of this on the TE.

I got 4 x 1" x 1" x 3/8" and 2 1-1/2" x 1" x 3/8" plywood tabs (laminated 1/8" & 1/4") cut out for the fuselage for the hatch assembly (picture #3 only shows the 1" x 1"). I will use the longer ones at the rear as it needs a bit more meat to grab into the cut out area of the fuselage sides. I clamped it in up against the fuselage doubler and then used my hole center drill to mark where I will need to drill that tab. I will be using some 3/8" dowel that will be drilled and counter sunk as a bolting seat for the bolt heads and will be glued into these plywood tabs and flush cut. Using the dowel should eliminate (reduce) any compression as this will be end grain the hatch bolts will be snugged up against.

I have the fuselage sides marked for drilling the hatch bolt holes but will be doing this once I have the dowels ready. I think the plan will be to use the bolts to line everything up and as clamps to glue the blocks into the fuselage....we'll see when I get there.

[Scrappy]

I spent some time working on and figuring the hatch mounts out last night, not anything exciting to post pictures of but as it goes together I will add a few.
I did get the basswood TE glued on the H stabs and also got some housekeeping done as the shop was getting cluttered, I tend to cover every possible surface within reach with "stuff", it is hard to stay disciplined in keeping everything tidy!

Next few days are busy so I'll get back to this on the weekend!

[Scrappy]

As it turned out my weekend was busier than expected so I didn't get as much done as I would have liked!

I did get the fuselage hatch tabs figured out and glued in. I used 3/8" dowel inserted through the plywood tabs with a 1/4" recessed hole drilled using a brad bit to give a flat surface for the hatch bolts to face against, these were drilled slightly deeper than the depth of the head plus a lock washer so once tight they will be recessed as I wanted them.

The dowels were first glued into the 1" x 1" x 3/8" plywood fuselage tabs (for the front 2 locations) and I made the rear tabs 1" x 2" x 3/8" as they had to span an open spot is the fuselage sides. Once the glue cured I sanded the dowel flush on both sides and drilled one side to depth using the 1/4" brad point and then drilled then through with a regular bit for the 6-32 bolts to pass through. They were then glued inside the fuselage using the 6-32 bolts to line them up into the hatch tabs which were held loosely in place on the hatch frame and the blocks then clamped to the fuselage sides

I also curved the visible corner of the rear tabs to keep the lines smoother as this will likely be visible through the covering and I filled in the open spot with some hard 1/8" balsa I glued in and sanded to match the fuselage sides. I also treated each dowel with a couple of drops of CA so combined with being on end grain these should last for some time.

I spent more time than I thought I'd need figuring out the mounts for the cans and landing gear last night and will get back at that tonight and will post up some more soon.

[Trumpetman]

Ok Alan, time to pull out the stops and git'er done!

[Scrappy]

LOL! I have been picking away and getting a bunch of smaller things done, nothing super photo friendly to show the process as I was doing them but I will post up some later on to show where I am at.