One serious project that I have going is the construction of a balsa wood scale model that I do want to convert into a remote control flyer. So far, I have done a wonderful job of building the basic fuselage frame and wings with balsa wood reinforced by bass wood where extra strength is needed. Essentially I have followed the blueprint design of Guillow’s Mfg for a standard kit representing a Fokker DVII sesquiplane.
It is one thing to have a dream or an idea while remaining in complete ignorance about the implications or complexities of what was originally intended. It has been a great exercise in building the balsa wood rubber band Fokker DVII sesquiplane for the second time. The first attempt at building a balsa wood Fokker DVII took merely a month while the second effort has taken well over six months so far. Much of my time has been taken up by trying to mentally image workable solutions to the problems of construction and engineering necessary for the completion of the balsa wood sesquiplane project.
It is a worthy exercise of capabilities to engineer and construct an adaptation of a rubber band glider into what would be a remote control flyer of questionable capabilities. It would be hard to say how well the construction of the sesquiplane would hold together. It would be a trial and error sort of project in discovering how well built the balsa wood craft would be in aerial maneuvers and in landings or takeoffs. But then, it would also be a trial and error exercise in learning how to handle and fly the sesquiplane once it is completed. That ought to be fun, eh?
It seems another month has slid past my home plate while I dozed off at the wheel again. I am now recovering from blood clots in my lungs, of all things. And, I complicated everything with having cataract surgery on my right eye. I can see better without my corrective glasses now. The only real worry I have is that I am on blood thinners and bruise ever so easily.
I have spent better than six months at building my little balsa wood Fokker DVII sesquiplane. I don’t think about the time that is going by while my life is busy in handling my health issues. I do think about the time I have spent in hobby shops while chasing down all of the remote control equipment I would need. It becomes very complex and expensive in a proportional hurry.
The best option I have been offered so far is to buy a complete kit and scrap the plane for parts I need. I can spend at least $170 for a kit plane of the same weight and size as the Fokker DVII. Then it would be a matter of learning how to fly with something I will tear apart later. But then, maybe I can learn what I do need to buy as in replacement parts to get my dear warbird in the air.
So far, I have added the nylon hinges to the rear elevators and rudder. The nylon hinges work as hinges do and show up the alignment of how I set the hinges. I have had to trim the elevators to bevel the edges so that they can swing up and down freely. My mistake was in setting the nylon hinges on only one side of the tail section instead of centering the hinges into the tail section. Each elevator has its own two hinges so that it will operate independently. At least it is easy to keep the balance centered upon the alignment.
Speaking of alignment, I should check how things stand with what I have built already. I know I have tried to follow the plans as closely as I could. I also know it only takes a bit of balsa wood in the wrong place to upset the precious balance. And, I have yet to add the remote control equipment. That will be a job and a half when it does come about.
I didn’t know how much I would have to learn about things when I first started to build a conversion version of a beautiful sesquiplane. I am now thinking of the length of the horns to add to the elevators and rudder. Simple measuring means measuring the distance of actual movement of the movable parts. Then, there is the measuring of the actual length of the control rods from the positions of the actuators to the affixed control horns. Hm, where is my ruler now? Is it metric or standard? I forget.
The work on my balsa wood project proceeds in fits and spurts. I can’t seem to hold a steady pace with anything. One day I can accomplish a whole lot of engineering and construction while the next day is a complete loss. I might work for a day and the rest of the week is wasted without a thought of doing anything. In actual fact, the only real work I seem to be able to get done is to build an imaginary farm called Farmville.
One day I was brilliant enough to take my Fokker DVII down to the hobby shop and say, “Here is what I am doing. What do I need to get this project flying as I intended it to do?” The six foot and four inch tall clerk looked down upon me as if a teacher to a student. It was definitely a fact that school was in session from that moment onwards.
The next hour was crammed with a crash course in putting together a remote control system that I would need for the size and weight of the Fokker DVII. The complexity of the remote control equipment was explained to me and simplified with examples of prebuilt kits. I was thankful for the education I received from the store representative.
It helped me to break down the entire remote control system into four basic areas of concern. The first concern is the type and size of an electric motor to power the craft in flight. The second area of concern is the circuit board mounted with the motor speed controller, the radio receiver, and the dual actuators that would move the elevators and rudder. The third area concerns the control rods that would connect the remote control actuators to the elevators and rudder. The fourth areas of concern are the elevators and rudder.
Simplifying something that is complex doesn’t always make it any easier to manage. The remote control system is only a fraction of the entire engineering project that amounts to the overall redesigned capabilities of the rubber band powered glider turned into a remote controlled electric motor powered flying sesquiplane. As wonderful as it seems in presentation, the project of the Fokker DVII isn’t entirely complete nor finished. I do have a considerable amount of work yet to do before that first flight could ever happen.
I had started off with a twelve dollar kit of balsa wood that would enable me to build a rubber band powered sesquiplane. The design of the balsa wood glider was such that it would fly an amazing distance in a level and straight flight. The balance and flying characteristics were a part of the design of the sesquiplane. I merely wanted to take the same design of sesquiplane and add remote control equipment. I didn’t think of the actual engineering that would be needed to equip the sesquiplane with the necessary control and power to fly successfully. Right.
The twelve dollar balsa wood sesquiplane suddenly took on a rapidly accruing expense. The interior of the fuselage would take on an electric motor and circuit board with a motor speed controller, a radio receiver, and two actuators for a total price of about one hundred and ten dollars. Then add the cost of control rods and control horns for about six dollars. The real expense is in the remote control radio transmitter control for about one hundred and seventy dollars. I know that there is the added expense of batteries, battery charger, and plug adapters. I know I am missing things that are yet to be added to the toolbox and equipment list.
Summary of parts and purchases 12 April 2011
EFLUM180BL BL180 Brushless motor 2300kv 36.99
SPMR6610 DX6i DSMX 6 channel transmitter 159.99
SPMAR6400B AR6400 w/Lin Sx/BL KSC/x-port 69.99
DUB107 Control Horns – 1/2A (2) 2.38
CSTT3234 Carbon Micro Rod .080 x 4′ 5.29
total cost 274.64
I thought to add the list of purchases I have made to ease the way for anyone who might want to adapt their own balsa wood rubber band powered aircraft to become a remote control micro park flyer. The hardest part of everything is to adapt the right size of an electric motor to be able to handle the weight to power ratio for proper flight. Experience is all that is needed to build the remote control equipment into whatever project you have in mind.
It is a fact that I have handled the balsa wood sesquiplane a lot in constructing it and in transporting it around to the few hobby shops in my area. It doesn’t seem to matter that I have so much familiarity with the fuselage and wings of the Fokker DVII. It is almost inevitable to have something break or separate at a glue joint. It has prompted me to take along a cutting knife, a flat file, and a tube of glue on my rare travels out of the house.
There has been a steady list of breakages resulting from my clumsy fingers and accidental impacts with mostly door frames and floors. Unbelievably, it has been my fingers that have caused the greatest amount of breakages. I can’t help thinking of reinforcing the handling areas of the fuselage and wings to prevent those unwanted breakages. In a few breakage incidents, I have been able to redesign the weak points or simply add bass wood instead of fragile balsa wood.
It is one thing to build something to play with and then spend a considerable time doing minor repairs that would plague the enjoyment of playing. I have the idea that once something is built, that it should have a reasonable survivability and be free of those little annoyances and breakages. The construction I have been doing has been basically to follow the plans laid out in the Paul K Guillow’s Manufacturing schematic plans. I am happy with the overall results of my efforts because only in a few instances have I resorted to using bass wood instead of balsa wood .
I have thought about the placement of the circuit board and the electric motor. I have to keep the balance of the fuselage with each placement. The actuators and battery have to be put where the point of balance for each is evened out. Then, I have to place the reinforced carbon fiber rods to connect the actuators with the elevators and rudder. It seems easy enough to do, but there are inherent troubles that have to be solved.
The carbon fiber rods need to be cut into equal lengths. Each length has to be prepared for fitting into place with reinforcements inside the fuselage. The ends of the carbon fiber rods have to be prepared with short wire extensions to hook into place. Literally a short piece of wire has to be moused and glued into place on the ends of the carbon fiber rods. The attached wire can be hooked exactly at the right length and be easily adjustable with only a pair of pliers. Care has to be exercised in the length of the connecting control rods and supports along the length to prevent flexing. It is important to ensure stable control rods to have reliable flight controls.
The work on my balsa wood project proceeds in fits and spurts. I can’t seem to hold a steady pace with anything. One day I can accomplish a whole lot of engineering and construction while the next day is a complete loss. I might work for a day and the rest of the week is wasted without a thought of doing anything. In actual fact, the only real work I seem to be able to get done is to build an imaginary farm called Farmville.
One day I was brilliant enough to take my Fokker DVII down to the hobby shop and say, Here is what I am doing. What do I need to get this project flying as I intended it to do? The six foot and four inch tall clerk looked down upon me as if a teacher to a student. It was definitely a fact that school was in session from that moment onwards.
The next hour was crammed with a crash course in putting together a remote control system that I would need for the size and weight of the Fokker DVII. The complexity of the remote control equipment was explained to me and simplified with examples of prebuilt kits. I was thankful for the education I received from the store representative.
It helped me to break down the entire remote control system into four basic areas of concern. The first concern is the type and size of an electric motor to power the craft in flight. The second area of concern is the circuit board mounted with the motor speed controller, the radio receiver, and the dual actuators that would move the elevators and rudder. The third area concerns the control rods that would connect the remote control actuators to the elevators and rudder. The fourth areas of concern are the elevators and rudder.
Simplifying something that is complex doesn’t always make it any easier to manage. The remote control system is only a fraction of the entire engineering project that amounts to the overall redesigned capabilities of the rubber band powered glider turned into a remote controlled electric motor powered flying sesquiplane. As wonderful as it seems in presentation, the project of the Fokker DVII isn’t entirely complete nor finished. I do have a considerable amount of work yet to do before that first flight could ever happen.
I had started off with a twelve dollar kit of balsa wood that would enable me to build a rubber band powered sesquiplane. The design of the balsa wood glider was such that it would fly an amazing distance in a level and straight flight. The balance and flying characteristics were a part of the design of the sesquiplane. I merely wanted to take the same design of sesquiplane and add remote control equipment. I didn’t think of the actual engineering that would be needed to equip the sesquiplane with the necessary control and power to fly successfully. Right.
The twelve dollar balsa wood sesquiplane suddenly took on a rapidly accruing expense. The interior of the fuselage would take on an electric motor and circuit board with a motor speed controller, a radio receiver, and two actuators for a total price of about one hundred and ten dollars. Then add the cost of control rods and control horns for about six dollars. The real expense is in the remote control radio transmitter control for about one hundred and seventy dollars. I know that there is the added expense of batteries, battery charger, and plug adapters. I know I am missing things that are yet to be added to the toolbox and equipment list.
Summary of parts and purchases 12 April 2011
EFLUM180BL BL180 Brushless motor 2300kv 36.99
SPMR6610 DX6i DSMX 6 channel transmitter 159.99
SPMAR6400B AR6400 w/Lin Sx/BL KSC/x-port 69.99
DUB107 Control Horns – 1/2A (2) 2.38
CSTT3234 Carbon Micro Rod .080 x 4′ 5.29
total cost 274.64
I thought to add the list of purchases I have made to ease the way for anyone who might want to adapt their own balsa wood rubber band powered aircraft to become a remote control micro park flyer. The hardest part of everything is to adapt the right size of an electric motor to be able to handle the weight to power ratio for proper flight. Experience is all that is needed to build the remote control equipment into whatever project you have in mind.
It is a fact that I have handled the balsa wood sesquiplane a lot in constructing it and in transporting it around to the few hobby shops in my area. It doesn’t seem to matter that I have so much familiarity with the fuselage and wings of the Fokker DVII. It is almost inevitable to have something break or separate at a glue joint. It has prompted me to take along a cutting knife, a flat file, and a tube of glue on my rare travels out of the house.
There has been a steady list of breakages resulting from my clumsy fingers and accidental impacts with mostly door frames and floors. Unbelievably, it has been my fingers that have caused the greatest amount of breakages. I can’t help thinking of reinforcing the handling areas of the fuselage and wings to prevent those unwanted breakages. In a few breakage incidents, I have been able to redesign the weak points or simply add bass wood instead of fragile balsa wood.
It is one thing to build something to play with and then spend a considerable time doing minor repairs that would plague the enjoyment of playing. I have the idea that once something is built, that it should have a reasonable survivability and be free of those little annoyances and breakages. The construction I have been doing has been basically to follow the plans laid out in the Paul K Guillow’s Manufacturing schematic plans. I am happy with the overall results of my efforts because only in a few instances have I resorted to using bass wood instead of balsa wood .
I have thought about the placement of the circuit board and the electric motor. I have to keep the balance of the fuselage with each placement. The actuators and battery have to be put where the point of balance for each is evened out. Then, I have to place the reinforced carbon fiber rods to connect the actuators with the elevators and rudder. It seems easy enough to do, but there are inherent troubles that have to be solved.
The carbon fiber rods need to be cut into equal lengths. Each length has to be prepared for fitting into place with strong reinforcements inside the fuselage. The ends of the carbon fiber rods have to be prepared with short wire extensions to hook into place. Literally a short piece of wire has to be moused and glued into place on the ends of the carbon fiber rods.
The attached wire can be hooked exactly at the right length and be easily adjustable with only a pair of pliers. Care has to be exercised in the length of the connecting control rods and supports along the length to prevent flexing. It is important to ensure stable control rods to have reliable flight controls.
I had a call today from the hobby shop I deal with. They had received a brushless motor for the balsa wood plane I am building and converting from a rubber band flyer to being a full remote control sesquiplane. I don’t know anything about remote controls or how to put it all together. It is a big leap of faith that I can actually learn enough to put it altogether and make it fly as I have hoped it would. I am a big dreamer sometimes.
You wouldn’t think I have spent too much for what I have so far. It has cost me about $12.00 for the balsa wood, bass wood, and glue. My dream of actually seeing this sesquiplane take off by itself is suddenly getting expensive very quickly. I spent far more than what I had thought possible for my cheap little project. I am building a 1/16 scale balsa wood kit originally by Guillow’s Manufacturing but actually built from scratch. I already know the sesquiplane is a wonderful glider, so there is a basis for my hope of flying it.
So far I have sunk a lot of thought, learning and patience into the building of this balsa wood project so far.
EFLUM180BL BL180 Brushless motor 2300kv 36.99
SPMR6610 DX6i DSMX 6 channel transmitter 159.99
SPMAR6400B AR6400 w/Lin Sx/BL KSC/x-port 69.99
DUB107 Control Horns – 1/2A (2) 2.38
CSTT3234 Carbon Micro Rod .080 x 4′ 5.29
total cost 274.64
The cost of today’s venture into the hobby shop was another little surprise. I became the proud owner of a brushless motor about the size of a quarter in diameter and about half an inch long. The weight of the little motor is amazingly heavy considering how small it is. The little electric motor hooks up to a circuit board about an inch and a half wide and about two inches long. That in turn hooks up to a tiny battery. I will have to make the control rods myself and hook them into the actuators to connect the elevators and rudder. I do hope it will be within my capabilities to actually get working. Oh, I forgot…
EFLUM180BL BL180 Brushless Motor 2300kv Goods Total: 36.99
HST: 4.81
Invoice Total: 41.80
I haven’t been able to get to sleep so far tonight. I am wild with the thoughts of putting everything together into the Fokker DVII that I have yet to make a hatch cover for the battery access and then paper the whole thing and paint it something other than the bright red as suggested. I don’t really want to fly a bright red sesquiplane if I can help it. But, it leads me into the vast array of camouflage colours that were used way back in 1917. I will have to really think about that one.
It wasn’t so hard to get into building with balsa wood. It is so easily shaped and can be used for all kinds of things. I have begun by building the first Fokker DVII kit by Guillow’s as a birthday present. Now, I have built eight other balsa wood kit planes and a dozen HO scale buildings. It really is interesting to get the details just right from whatever research I have been able to do. It is a very time consuming activity that actually has helped me learn about buildings and aircraft. More importantly, it has kept me busy at doing something I find very absorbing and interesting. Hm.
I am waiting for the battery and propeller to arrive at the hobby shop. At month’s end I will have enough cash to buy the final pieces of the remote control system. I should be busy putting in the stuff I already have, except that I don’t know where to begin. I have to balance everything, set it in securely, and adjust the control rods to the exact length. Once the remote control equipment is installed into the fuselage of the sesquiplane, I would be able to start covering the outer surfaces with the rice paper.
I have imagined the Fokker DVII all covered, painted up and looking ever so beautiful the warbird it is supposed to be. Ah, how do I change the battery? Well, now it seems that I have to design some sort of access or hatchway to be able to change the battery. I have to mount the outboard designed electric motor into the nose of the sesquiplane. I also have to shave off a whole lot of weight to make up for the addition of the remote control equipment.
0n the bright side, while I consider what I should do next, I have been busy at filing down the rough shape of the tail section. I have added a length of balsa wood to each side of the base of the tail upright. It will strengthen the joint of the elevator bases to the upright of the rudder base. The elevators have to be perpendicular to the rudder and it is this faring joint that I am referring to. It will be some time devoted to filing smooth the shape of the tail section.
Something of a disaster happened while I was working with the tail section. I hold the sesquiplane by the strongest points along the fuselage. Somehow I managed to drag a sleeve of my kimono across the rear of the upper wing. The stress was enough to break away the two supports holding the upper wing to the fuselage just ahead of the cockpit. I will have to make sure to use bass wood to replace the two broken balsa wood struts. Perhaps I should notch the struts to lock into the upper wing edge. Hm.
There is always something that breaks while I make great strides in the construction of the sesquiplane. I don’t often think about how much I learn as I go along. What matters to me is that I am making something that is durable and strong enough for my handling of it. I am not making a brick, but it does need to be resilient to stand up to my abuse of handling it. Oh well, another repair will be done after some thought as to how to make the best of it.
I have spent a lot of sleepless nights lately. My sleeping pattern has been upset and literally reversed. The rising of the sun often sees me in the slow movement towards the bed. I am not rested from what sleep I do manage to squeeze into a day. Oh well, it all comes out in a wash, eh?
My rough handling of the sesquiplane had broken the rear struts supporting the upper wing to the fuselage. I cut some stronger balsa wood lengths for the struts and glued them into place. I hope the wood is strong enough to keep the upper wing in place.
There are a lot of details to be added to the tail section. I have measured the placement of the control rod horns. The trouble is that the bolt holes are too close to the edge of the elevators. I will have to add some balsa wood to the elevators for strengthening the placement of the control rod horns.
I have worked a bit more at filing the tail section and filling in where it is needed with glue. The simple work will take time until it is in a presentable condition. At least it shows that I am doing something realistic with getting on with the actual installation of the remote control equipment.
The preliminary glances at the sesquiplane seem to tell me that it will not be so hard to fit everything into place. I shall have to keep dreaming about the remote control equipment installation until it is actually completed. However, I will have to get to sleep so that I can dream. I don’t dream so well while wide awake.
My spare time has been rather limited lately. Our sleeping patterns are reversed to sleeping in the daylight and having breakfast at supper time. We don’t see much of the three other adults in our home. We hardly even send e-mails to them of the pictures and writings we do. It seems that they would know little of what we do so long as we keep up with their needs of coffee, tobacco, and other necessities that we consume so blatantly. Afterall, we are consumers in every sense of the term.
I am waiting for the battery and propeller to arrive at the hobby shop. At month’s end I will have enough cash to buy the final pieces of the remote control system. I should be busy putting in the stuff I already have, except that I don’t know where to begin. I have to balance everything, set it in securely, and adjust the control rods to the exact length. Once the remote control equipment is installed into the fuselage of the sesquiplane, I would be able to start covering the outer surfaces with the rice paper.
I have imagined the Fokker DVII all covered, painted up and looking ever so beautiful the warbird it is supposed to be. Ah, how do I change the battery? Well, now it seems that I have to design some sort of access or hatchway to be able to change the battery. I have to mount the outboard designed electric motor into the nose of the sesquiplane. I also have to shave off a whole lot of weight to make up for the addition of the remote control equipment.
0n the bright side, while I consider what I should do next, I have been busy at filing down the rough shape of the tail section. I have added a length of balsa wood to each side of the base of the tail upright. It will strengthen the joint of the elevator bases to the upright of the rudder base. The elevators have to be perpendicular to the rudder and it is this faring joint that I am referring to. It will be some time devoted to filing smooth the shape of the tail section.
Something of a disaster happened while I was working with the tail section. I hold the sesquiplane by the strongest points along the fuselage. Somehow I managed to drag a sleeve of my kimono across the rear of the upper wing. The stress was enough to break away the two supports holding the upper wing to the fuselage just ahead of the cockpit. I will have to make sure to use bass wood to replace the two broken balsa wood struts. Perhaps I should notch the struts to lock into the upper wing edge. Hm.
There is always something that breaks while I make great strides in the construction of the sesquiplane. I don’t often think about how much I learn as I go along. What matters to me is that I am making something that is durable and strong enough for my handling of it. I am not making a brick, but it does need to be resilient to stand up to my abuse of handling it. Oh well, another repair will be done after some thought as to how to make the best of it.
I had a call today from the hobby shop I deal with. They had received a brushless motor for the balsa wood plane I am building and converting from a rubber band flyer to being a full remote control sesquiplane. I don’t know anything about remote controls or how to put it all together. It is a big leap of faith that I can actually learn enough to put it altogether and make it fly as I have hoped it would. I am a big dreamer sometimes.
You wouldn’t think I have spent too much for what I have so far. It has cost me about $12.00 for the balsa wood, bass wood, and glue. My dream of actually seeing this sesquiplane take off by itself is suddenly getting expensive very quickly. I spent far more than what I had thought possible for my cheap little project. I am building a 1/16 scale balsa wood kit originally by Guillow’s Manufacturing but actually built from scratch. I already know the sesquiplane is a wonderful glider, so there is a basis for my hope of flying it.
So far I have sunk a lot of thought, learning and patience into the building of this balsa wood project so far.
EFLUM180BL BL180 Brushless motor 2300kv 36.99
SPMR6610 DX6i DSMX 6 channel transmitter 159.99
SPMAR6400B AR6400 w/Lin Sx/BL KSC/x-port 69.99
DUB107 Control Horns – 1/2A (2) 2.38
CSTT3234 Carbon Micro Rod .080 x 4′ 5.29
total cost 274.64
The cost of today’s venture into the hobby shop was another little surprise. I became the proud owner of a brushless motor about the size of a quarter in diameter and about half an inch long. The weight of the little motor is amazingly heavy considering how small it is. The little electric motor hooks up to a circuit board about an inch and a half wide and about two inches long. That in turn hooks up to a tiny battery. I will have to make the control rods myself and hook them into the actuators to connect the elevators and rudder. I do hope it will be within my capabilities to actually get working. Oh, I forgot…
EFLUM180BL BL180 Brushless Motor 2300kv Goods Total: 36.99
HST: 4.81
Invoice Total: 41.80
I haven’t been able to get to sleep so far tonight. I am wild with the thoughts of putting everything together into the Fokker DVII that I have yet to make a hatch cover for the battery access and then paper the whole thing and paint it with something other than the bright red as suggested. I don’t really want to fly a bright red sesquiplane if I can help it. But, it leads me into the vast array of camouflage colours that were used way back in 1917. I will have to really think about that one.
It wasn’t so hard to get into building with balsa wood. It is so easily shaped and can be used for all kinds of things. I have begun by building the first Fokker DVII kit by Guillow’s as a birthday present. Now, I have built eight other balsa wood kit planes and a dozen HO scale buildings. It really is interesting to get the details just right from whatever research I have been able to do. It is a very time consuming activity that actually has helped me learn about buildings and aircraft. More important is that it has kept me busy at doing something I find absorbing and interesting. Hm.
Here it is at the end of the day and I am in such a rush to get out a few words about this and that. The first thing is that I have had the second eye surgery to correct the cataracts that I have developed after years of bright sunshine and other abuses. We do have to be careful about our bodies and the parts thereof. Right.
The hobby store had called to let me know that some of the things I had ordered were in stock. I couldn’t go right away, as much as I wanted to, until the money I usually receive was deposited into the bank. It doesn’t do well when you try to melt the plastic of a debit card by any sort of tricks.
I entered the hobby shop and began browsing around. I looked at propellers, tools, and all sorts of neat stuff that can be found. I was happy to look at all kinds of things to let my mind wander in processing information. It is always good to learn what is available in the latest technologies besides what is basically eye candy kits and stuff. Good stuff is always in demand, even though an outrageous price can be set just for looking good.
I did see a few things that I dearly wanted but refrained from actually getting into my hands. Eye candy is designed to be hard to resist and almost always overpriced to the hilt. My experience at resisting temptation held me in good stead until I actually walked up to the cash register. My preordered goods were organized and bagged while I paid with that little debit card of plastic.
SPMR6610 DX6i DSMX 6 channel transmitter 1 159.99
KFLU4051 UMX Beast spinner 1 0.00
KFLU4067 UMX Beast prop adapter 1 0.00
KFLB1202s2 li-Po 120 mAH 7.4 volt 20C 1 0.00
KFLUPO50275 Ultra Micro Beast propeller 1 4.49
Goods Total 185.86
The receipt was stapled to a computer printout of the sales order and folded once before going into the white plastic bag holding all of the goodies. It was almost laughable that a big box and one tiny bag with a seven inch plastic propeller filled the interior of the shopping bag completely.
At this point, I had most of the equipment I would need to fly the sesquiplane in theory. I still needed a few critical things to be able to get started with actually balancing and placing everything within the fuselage of the Fokker DVII. Each visit to the hobby store was netting me tempting additions to the overall picture of that dream in my mind’s eye about seeing the Fokker DVII doing a wingover during a full tilt flyby at low altitude. Yess!!
Back at home, I sat everything on my desktop and sat quietly for a while. I needed to come to terms with what I had, what I had already accomplished and what there was yet to complete in making my mental dream picture a reality. The most technical part of constructing my flying sesquiplane was now upon me as I began seriously considering what to do with what I had.
On the other hand, I still needed some critical things to make everything work. I needed a battery, a motor mount, and something else that I know I am forgetting. The battery is a trouble because there are none in stock and a long list of backordered requests would be ahead of my own request. I am tempted to do something a bit radical about the battery situation. For the sake of a special little coupling, no other type of battery would be compatible. Hm.
It is already very late in the evening and I do need to go to sleep. The simple necessity of adding drops to my eyes at two hour intervals will make me very cranky soon. The fact of a little bit of suffering for now is not a consideration considering that I will have greatly improved vision when all is said and done.
Here it is at the end of the day and I am in such a rush to get out a few words about this and that. The first thing is that I have had the second eye surgery to correct the cataracts that I have developed after years of bright sunshine and other abuses. We do have to be careful about our bodies and the parts thereof. Right.
The hobby store had called to let me know that some of the things I had ordered were in stock. I couldn’t go right away, as much as I wanted to, until the money I usually receive was deposited into the bank. It doesn’t do well when you try to melt the plastic of a debit card by any sort of tricks.
I entered the hobby shop and began browsing around. I looked at propellers, tools, and all sorts of neat stuff that can be found. I was happy to look at all kinds of things to let my mind wander in processing information. It is always good to learn what is available in the latest technologies besides what is basically eye candy kits and stuff. Good stuff is always in demand, even though an outrageous price can be set just for looking good.
I did see a few things that I dearly wanted but refrained from actually getting into my hands. Eye candy is designed to be hard to resist and almost always overpriced to the hilt. My experience at resisting temptation held me in good stead until I actually walked up to the cash register. My preordered goods were organized and bagged while I paid with that little debit card of plastic.
SPMR6610 DX6i DSMX 6 channel transmitter 1 159.99
KFLU4051 UMX Beast spinner 1 0.00
KFLU4067 UMX Beast prop adapter 1 0.00
KFLB1202s2 li?Po 120 mAH 7.4 volt 20C 1 0.00
KFLUPO50275 Ultra Micro Beast propeller 1 4.49
Goods Total 185.86
The receipt was stapled to a computer printout of the sales order and folded once before going into the white plastic bag holding all of the goodies. It was almost laughable that a big box and one tiny bag with a seven inch plastic propeller filled the interior of the shopping bag completely.
At this point, I had most of the equipment I would need to fly the sesquiplane in theory. I still needed a few critical things to be able to get started with actually balancing and placing everything within the fuselage of the Fokker DVII. Each visit to the hobby store was netting me tempting additions to the overall picture of that dream in my mind’s eye about seeing the Fokker DVII doing a wingover during a full tilt flyby at low altitude. Yess!!
Back at home, I set everything on my desktop and sat quietly for a while. I needed to come to terms with what I had, what I had already accomplished and what there was yet to complete in making my mental dream picture a reality. The most technical part of constructing my flying sesquiplane was now upon me as I began seriously considering what to do with what I had.
On the other hand, I still needed some critical things to make everything work. I needed a battery, a motor mount, and something else that I know I am forgetting. The battery is a trouble because there are none in stock and a long list of backordered requests would be ahead of my own request. I am tempted to do something a bit radical about the battery situation. For the sake of a special little coupling, no other type of battery would be compatible. Hm.
It is already very late in the evening and I do need to go to sleep. The simple necessity of adding drops to my eyes at two hour intervals will make me very cranky soon. The fact of a little bit of suffering for now is not a consideration considering that I will have greatly improved vision when all is said and done.
Time is a blur like the curtain of white fog over my left field of vision. I can’t help thinking that I want to pull that white curtain aside just to peek out from behind those tenuous folds. Of course, it can’t possibly happen even though I can delude myself into believing that I just might be able to pull it off somehow. Heaven knows that I have pulled off some very remarkable things in my time, so it isn’t as far fetched as you could think of with respects as to what is or isn’t possible in reality.
It is now the day after surgery and the surgeon has checked out the work on my eyes. Afterwards, I stopped off to visit the nurses who draw blood to check my Warfarin level for this week. I just hope it will be only until the end of this summer that I will have to go through the routine of checking my blood level.
Speaking of checking, I should check in at the hobby shop to see what has appeared on the shelves for today. I am still trying to remember what it was that I forgot to remember. I know it was something that was ever so neat in the way of constructing fuselage interior supports. The nose of the sesquiplane is actually very thick and should need a long extension rod to separate the propeller from the outrunner motor. I should also draw a plan to center out the alignment and plumbline of the fuselage. Hm.
Sitting back to think about things has helped me to visualize the bit of plan that I have going for the parts of the remote control equipment that I have already. I do want to make the best of the options I do have available for the moment. There is nothing like a plan to go astray for the slightest whim. I am sure you know what I mean by that.
I have been trying to familiarize myself with the components of the remote control equipment that will be installed within the fuselage. I do have to get all of the components before I can realistically balance and place the components within the fuselage. It would be nice if there was a lot of forgiveness in the weight balancing department. But, it is a critical aspect of component placement and the actual length of the control rods connecting the actuators to the elevators and rudder.
A ticklish development is the placement of the outrunner motor in the nose of the fuselage. There is so little to grasp in the rear mounting of the motor. I thought of a thin plastic or tin wall to hold the motor in place at the correct position within the fuselage. It would solve a lot of technical limitations by cheating on the motor mount. It will take some ticklish measurements to securely mount the outrunner motor within the nose of the balsa wood fuselage of the Fokker DVII sesquiplane.
Going from one problem to another doesn’t always work when a compounding of problems can occur. It has to be remembered that what is done to one component will affect the other components in respect to balance, position, and accessibility. I still need to come up with a suitable solution to making a battery hatch.
Looking ahead, I intend to make active air louvers on the sides of the fuselage beside or behind the placement of the motor. There is a distance of about an inch that needs to be spanned with a long rod connecting the propeller to the motor. I have explored using a brass pin to mount the rear of the motor. The front of the motor would rest snugly in some sort of bearing mount.
The propeller has a one eighth inch diameter center with two and a half inch long blades. I can fill the center with bamboo and drill a centered hole for the brass rod. The brass rod also fits into the corresponding centered hole of the motor axis. I should be able to connect the driveline from the motor to the propeller with glue. I use a cyanoacrylate superglue mixed for both wood and metal bonding to great effect. At least I am happy with the results of my efforts that hold together under my own fingers.
The hard part is thinking through things. It is one thing to have a pile of parts and another thing to put them where they should go, not where you would think to put them. The engineering part is to balance out the weight distribution across the entire length of the fuselage instead of loading up one end or the other. I was always one for trying to do my best when it came to doing the fancy stuff. I seem to excel when the chips are down to the wire.
The components I have are small parts of the electric remote control system that will be mounted into the fuselage. I can spread out the distance between the pieces until a sort of static balance is made. That center of gravity will change as I add more weight to the sesquiplane in the form of doped rice paper and paint. Surprisingly, even paint can add a considerable weight to change the essential center of gravity.
I once built a beautiful balsa wood scale replica of an SE-5 biwing scout fighter plane. The fuselage and wings were covered in white rice paper doped with lots of liquid lacquer. At that point, everything was perfect, and balanced properly as it should have been. It flew beautifully in test tosses onto the bed from across the bedroom. I didn’t want to damage anything and that was as soft a landing I could have picked.
The beautiful SE-5 had everything it needed to be a finished project. All I needed to do was to paint the fuselage and wings a dark green colour. Unfortunately, I was given an acrylic paint to use. The acrylic paint went on in five thick covering coats before the desired colour was achieved. Five coats of acrylic paint weighted a few critical ounces.
The poor SE-5 was far too heavy to fly although it looked so great while hanging from a string to the ceiling in the computer room. That was all of the flying the beautiful SE-5 was capable of because it had been rendered too heavy for it’s finely engineered aerodynamics. The matter was soon forgotten as another balsa wood project became the priority. However, the lesson in the use of types of paint wasn’t forgotten. I stick to very thin coats of stiffly covering enamel paints.
The more you build, the more you learn types of lessons associated with each type of construction you attempt. I had made a few wonderful models all painted up and looking super for the world to stare at. The details were a tempting extra that took unbelievable lengths of time. I took two days to build two identical boxes that were half an inch long and a quarter of an inch wide. The boxes were to become the ammunition boxes on the sides of the twin machine guns for the present balsa wood project of a replica scale model Fokker DVII sesquiplane.
I have already built one balsa wood kit of a scale model rubber band powered flying glider replica of a Fokker DVII sesquiplane. Sesquiplane means that it is only one and a half wings but not the two full wings of a fully featured flying biwing aircraft. I have put the two perfectly identical balsa wood sesquiplanes side by side to examine them more closely. It didn’t surprise me that there were obvious visible differences between the two supposedly identical balsa wood kits.
I wondered why it was that two sesquiplanes sitting side by side were so different while using the same set of blueprint plans using the same overall thicknesses of sheets of balsa wood materials. I began to think of the places where I used thicknesses of bass wood instead of the fragile balsa wood. I also thought of the time I spent in filing and sanding the outer surfaces of both the sesquiplanes. I could only summarize that it was a wonder that the two balsa wood sesquiplanes even resembled each other.
Time is passing by much faster than I want it to. Already I seem to have slipped into a habit of not stopping by to post my latest work. It’s so frustrating to realize just how lazy I have become because of all the computer crashes and disk troubles. My only reliable website has kept me from losing everything. As it is, I still have lost so much that I dare not think about it.
The balsa wood Fokker DVII is coming along in slow and uneven sessions. I have had to strip off the tail to a bare frame to begin building it all over again. The wood has warped and curved the alignment so that the tail points almost twenty degrees off center. It is easy to wet the wood and straighten it, but I have decided to place the tail elevators a bit lower than suggested so that the fuselage ends more evenly at the back.
It is one step closer to completion by working out the positioning of the tail. The looks are much better by seeming more pleasing to the eye. Another accomplishment is the placement of hinges for the elevators and rudder. All that needs to be done is the installation of the remote control setup. I don’t seem to be able to get much help any of this critical work. My own inspirations are slow and tiny steps at a time. I have already spent six months at building the Fokker DVII when most of that time is merely idle neglect.
There are several forms on the wings that I want to cut out and replace. It is more than looks behind such work. The balance is affected a bit by wrong placement of the wing formers as much as the overall curvature of the wing surfaces. It is a very tedious and necessary correction of my poor workmanship. Eventually I will get it right.
Today was another day of acquisitions by purchases. I bought another thirty dollars worth of materials at the Great Hobby store. I wasn’t happy about spending more money on items for the sesquiplane. But, it seemed the wisest of things to do the simplest solution available to get past the obstacle of mounting the outrunner motor into the nose of the balsa wood fuselage.
I spent a few hours playing with the newly acquired pieces to see how best to fit them together. The battery pack and the addition of nose pieces together can’t weigh more than a few grams. It’s more weight than I would care to add, but it is sort of a short cut necessity. Somehow I will have to make a solid support in the nose that will have as little friction as possible in securing the propeller and propeller shaft.
I am having a terrible time in concentrating my mind on the topic of learning how to fly. There is a steep learning curve in learning how to use the computer capabilities of the remote control transmitter. Once it is programmed, the transmitter is capable of doing a number of programmed tasks. Operating the ailerons, elevators, rudder, and trim tabs become a matter of activating switches and stick controls of the complex six channels of the capable transmitter.
The biological mind is a far more complex type of computer than the remote control transmitter. Programming a mind is not the same as programming a remote control transmitter. I will have to learn how to operate the switches and controls of the remote control transmitter in order to be able to fly the Fokker DVII sesquiplane. I do want to see the balsa wood sesquiplane doing a low altitude flyby as I have imagined it. One of these days, possibly by the end of this year, it just might be able to happen. I would like to see that happen so much.
Already I can see a trouble looming up with the Fokker DVII styled nose. There is far too much material thickness to go through with the already lengthened propeller shaft. The added length of the propeller shaft will likely have some sort of bend enough to change the alignment and balance of the propeller shaft. I will have to be extra careful in how I join the separate pieces of the propeller shaft.
I have loaded the complete setup of remote control equipment into the fuselage. It is merely resting in about the place where the final installation would be. There isn’t much difference in the overall weight of the bare balsa wood frame of the fuselage and wings of the Fokker DVII. Now it is a matter of going through each step of making a permanent place for each component.
The nose of the fuselage is like a hollow mask. The nose mask fits snugly into the front of the fuselage. Initially, the nose mask was far too thick and heavy. I started carving out the nose piece until it was less than a quarter of its original weight. Hollowing out the nose piece does make it lighter, at the cost of strength. Hollowing out the nose piece also makes room for the placement of the electric motor that must fit in somehow. I have yet to design the placement of the little electric outrunner motor.
I have trimmed balsa wood from the nose piece. Now it is a matter of drilling a hole for the propeller shaft to fit through the thickness of the nose piece. The hole must be aligned with the propeller shaft and strengthened with plastic or nylon to reduce friction. I do have a drill of the right size for the thickness of the propeller shaft hole, Aligning the hole is necessary to support the outrunner motor. Right.
The drilling of the hole for the propeller shaft went well enough. I found that the motor was almost a good fit between the nose piece and the front of the fuselage, I tried to make the fit as close as possible, but the motor width was too large for the space that existed within the nose piece. I will have to cut into the fuselage about a quarter of an inch for the allowance needed by the motor. Meanwhile, the right side wheel fell off. Okay, it’s bath time.
There is always something better to do when the going gets tough. I had a tough going and now I can see with a different attitude. It does make a difference to take a rest once in a while just to keep your thoughts in line with what you are doing. It is far too easy to think about other things while you are working on something small. Then, it becomes magnified by the number of breakages that happen. Resting your eyes and fingers can save a whole lot of unnecessary repair work.
Moving right along, I took the time to think about how the fit of the nose piece might allow enough space for the insertion of the outrunner motor. The outrunner motor requires support at the rear of the motor assembly only. The propeller, propeller shaft, and outside of the outrunner motor is able to spin freely with a greatly reduced weight factor. The only trouble comes in the mounting of the outrunner motor. And, that is exactly what I am trying to solve.
The outrunner motor has a half inch wide spinning magnetic band that rotates on an eighth of an inch hollow shaft of black plastic. The motor shaft is just a little short of the length to reach through the nose mask to mount the propeller. I spent an hour and a half in trimming out the nose mask so that the propeller would fit onto the motor shaft reaching through the nose piece. I am happy with the work I did on trimming the nose piece enough to fit the outrunner motor into the space allowed.
I sat for a while to think about the possibilities of extending the motor shaft. It would be so easy to add a quarter of an inch to the motor shaft. I thought of using a half inch long piece of bamboo hollowed out for a wire support. I finally settled on using a second motor shaft that I cut to the right length to fit the propeller. A piece of brass wire will be glued into the center of the outrunner motor shaft and the extension into the propeller.
The electrical wires to power the outrunner motor stretch out behind a deflecting wall. The deflecting wall guides airflow through the nose piece to exhaust vents on the side of the fuselage. The deflecting wall also supports the back of the outrunner motor without interfering with moving parts. A glob of glue will hold the outrunner motor in place on the deflecting wall without stressing the nose piece. The propeller will sit on the motor shaft with about an eighth of an inch clearance from the balsa wood nose piece.
I would have thought the outrunner motor as being the trouble spot for installing remote control equipment into the fuselage. By simply whittling away at the nose piece, the fit of the outrunner motor was easily managed. I have to think of strengthening the mounting of the outrunner motor. Leverage forces of the propeller could break loose the motor as a result of a bad landing or crash.
It remains to be seen just how sturdy I’ve built the fuselage, landing gear, nose, and wings of the balsa wood Fokker DVII sesquiplane. Now comes the task of mounting the circuit board and battery components. I also have to cut an access out for the battery in the underside of the fuselage. Ah, I almost forgot to think about the balance of everything. That will certainly complicate matters.
I took the time to draw out the shape of the circuit board on a piece of balsa wood. Then, I began cutting quarter inch wide strips to be glued onto the sides of the balsa wood backing for the circuit board. The circuit board will be mounted onto the balsa wood partly for protection and partly for stability that will be needed by the actuators. The little actuators will be taking the full load of whatever stresses that will come along the control rods from their control surfaces. The elevators and rudder will be able to exert quite a lot of pressure against the control rods.
The next step is to find the center of balance in the fuselage. I will use that point as the center of the mounting for the circuit board. I do plan to put the battery on the other side of that same balsa wood backing for the circuit board. There should be some sort of compartment to hold the battery and circuit board in a stable position within the fuselage. The hard part of the installation will be in keeping the balance at the center point of gravity for the sesquiplane. Left and right points of balance have to be the same center point for up and down centers of gravity.
There was a discussion of using a balance beam for the exact measurement needed to find the center of gravity. I will have to find that article and determine how to go about building a balance beam for the sesquiplane. That should go a long way to helping the actual flight balance needed for a straight and true flight path when the sesquiplane is airborne. Hm, I think the idea is a good one to follow up.