Scale 20cc DHC-2 "Beaver" Kit Build from Moustache Model Works

After learning my supplied rudder linkage wasn’t going to work (nylon fitting wouldnt thread on) I finally figure out what would.

Modified a Redwing push rod. Ground the wrench flats off, bent to mimic the original - except a bit longer, and inline with the rudder hinge gap. Then cut to length.

 

Wing strut mounts. Okay... so I’ve heard a few reports of the screws pulling out of the wing.... I didn’t realize there wasn’t much of a hard mount for the brackets.

so I made a plan.

Used M3x20 screws from McMaster

M3 T-Nuts (Blind Nuts) from Micro fasteners

Left over spar material to put the blind nut in and epoxy on top of the lower spar.

Carbon G10 board on the underside of the wing to help carry the load and prevent squishing the wood.

see my plethora of photos:

 

Glued my custom rudder tiller bar in place. Since my shop was cold I decided to drain a LiPo to death (bad cell) and use its heat to warm the epoxy. Efficiency folks.



then I finished routing my wires to the end rib. Along with a hole for my beacon wire.

 

MMW gives an etched cutout for a possible throttle servo location. It looked pretty good for my Standard MG servo, so I decided to go with it. What I didn't realize is that my custom throttle arm linkage was slightly longer, so I ended up cutting more material out to move the servo aft a little bit. The manual shows using some spare blocks to go on top of the deck, I ended up putting them underneath the floor.


Measured the distance to the servo arm from the deck and transferred it to the fwd firewall. Looked from the top to get the angle from the servo arm to my custom extended throttle arm, drilled, and then elongated to get the right clearance.



The Ignition module location is pretty obvious, right on top of the motor box. Found a spot I liked then made a couple slots to let the module fit snugly with a piece of foam underneath it.



Then routed the ignition wire to make a smooth path to the plug, made a couple clearance cuts, and a little standoff to put a zip tie around so the wire wont float to the cowling and rub against it.



Got a little ambitious and made a hole for the fuel line vent. Thinking back I probably should have made it a little further away from the ignition wire, but its fine.



Joined my elevator halves FINALLY, used some clamps and standoffs to keep everything as true as possible, keeping in mind I can fine tune it a bit by bending and installing my robart hinges.

 

Made some long awaited visual progress. Covered the ailerons, flaps, and rudder using Hangar 9 Ultracote Brite Yellow.

here’s a photo dump of how I tackled it. I’m no expert here, but my process is low temp, bottom to top, overlap the seams in the direction of airflow.

Next up is the tail feathers. A bit nervous to cover the vertical as it has a sharp leading edge with a lot of curvature which will be easy to introduce warpage.

 

Covered the elevators.

 

Covered the vertical stab.

first side I did the tack and low temp iron trick, it worked. The next side turned out much better ironing from back to front.

Now that all the surfaces are covered (except the trim, and horizontal - more on that later) I used my pencil Wellner iron to burn the robart pin holes out. This helps seal and leave a nice clean hole for glueing the pins later.

 

Silly me for thinking I could just cover the doors really quick. Took me 1/2hr per door! Burned out the hinge and handle locations. I’ll add the blue and stripes later

 

Got some warp in my rudder... hmmm not sure whether to live with it or try to fix it. Pretty sure it’s the build and not the covering.