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Scratch Built Holiday by pfinn. Viewed 1352 times.
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pfinn27-Jul-09 13:44
Hello scirocco14. Here's my $.02. This looks strikingly similar to what happened to my "Holiday" fuselage (actually my plane looks like this since this came first!). Here we go. The red and green lines represent the side frames to be built first. Note that the top stringer is straight! The green vertical formers' lengths are measured from the angled lines on the cross sections to define the bottom stringers curvature. The side view on the plan is the fuselage is a depiction of the completed fuse therefore the verticals are "Forshortened" (not perpendicular to the view). After building two side frames use crossmembers measured from the cross sections (F#'s) to build the fuse. See on the side view that the aft portion of the fuse curves up? This happened to me while making the Holiday quite by accident. By changing the cross section from nearly rectangular to trapazoidal to triangular, one is forcing the top stringer to travel further. But since it is already at a set length it will pull the rear of the fuse in an upward curve like a canoe. I'd leave the stringers long on the tail-end and trim after the vert fin position is determined. Don't use my little sketch as a plan cause I just "Eyeballed" it to give visual reference. Get ready for some compound angle miter sanding on those crossmembers! He He! But seriously, this should make a really sweet fuselage. Hope this helps, and moreover, hope it works!
scirocco1427-Jul-09 18:49
pfinn, I thought about what you said and then looked at the last three formers (F7, F8, F9). The triangles show the vertical former sides are attached at an angle, not 90º as if I built the frame flat. If I build it flat and then try to connect the frame at the bottom won't that twist the top former? Thanks, Mark
pfinn27-Jul-09 20:03
Yes you are correct. Hence the compound miter joint comment. The crosss members should be cemented a bit shy of the top corner of the twisted stringer so after assy. you can sand the top surface planar. I started at the firewall and went back. I glued both top and bottom crossmembers at the same time. With the non-parallel sides one clue to get the fuse true is to make sure the top and bottom spreaders are absolutley parallel. This is not vey difficult because with the Trapazoid shape it's very apparant when they're not. Some lightweight rubber bands and some small sticker "Dots" may help hold things together. Built mine off the workbench in midair sighting down center-line as I held each "F" position manually while I glued. I got lucky and it came out straight. Phil
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