Scale Wendell Hostetler 30% PA-28 Cherokee Build

Just north of you. Sounds like a good place to move to? Meets the boss's criteria! I guess we will not be seeing any progress on the Cub!

TonyHallo said:

Just north of you. Sounds like a good place to move to? Meets the boss's criteria! I guess we will not be seeing any progress on the Cub!

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Yes on good place to move to. Good friends live in Bradenton but better airfield in lower Sarasota. Wife can't wait to move but last kid starts high school this fall and I gotta do something with my plumbing company eventually. Not moving yet.

Finished the exhaust. I used 1/2" streamline copper fitting for the bends and 5/8" KS brass tube. The tube is .014" wall. Cut the ends of the fitting off so that the tube engages 1/16" to reduce weight. The "Y" pipe is connected to the rear section of exhaust with a silicon tube provided with the engine for exhaust extensions. Need to get spring clamps yet and they are in my card at McMaster Carr, may order some silicon tube as well as the tubes provided are on the short side. Another 1/2" in length would be great. The rear section exhausts at the lip of the cowl near the scale location, it is attached with the flange to the firewall and is self supporting. The full scale exhaust is shown on the attached photo.

Very nice!

On to the cooling air exhaust. Cut 1" slits in the bottom of the cowl to the bend line, with the cowl weighted along the bend line, clamped scrap balsa to facilitate the bend. Used a heat gun set to 500f to soften the resin and form the lip. Held in position while the resin cooled. The weights and balsa also act as a mask so that only the area along the bend line is heated. Made dams out of scrap balsa covered with packing tape, the end of the lip were glassed. There will be some finish work once the epoxy cures but that is to be expected.
Need to flip the fuselage over and install the sloped section in the lip area now.

pawnshopmike said:

Very nice!

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Thanks Mike!

Spent the winter looking at the plug for the windshield, it was in the garage where the setting sun would cast shadows. Really didn't care for the shape so a quart of Bondo putty and I'm happier with the shape of it. Couple coats of primer and a guide coat and it may be ready for color coat. Started sanding the fuselage but would really like to finish the canopy before covering. We'll see what happens. My plan is to lay up a mold and pull a fiberglass copy, than cast the plug in the mold. May end up with a vacuum formed canopy or glass canopy with windows.

I finally got around to marrying the fin to the fuselage. How much easier the laser level makes things especially on these round shaped fuselages. The tail post is long and is inserted into a slot on the fuselage. The mating surfaces were painted with the unthicken epoxy so that it would penetrate before adding the microfibers. Once the epoxy cures a fillet is added at the front of the fin.

Switched the efforts to the canopy plug while the epoxy cures. What a pain, the primer just clogs the 320 dry sandpaper. Sand a few strokes then clean the paper out with a slap of a putty knife. Would rather wet sand but worried about getting the balsa wood structure wet.

Spent a lot of time recently working on the "new to me" mill, time to get back on the Cherokee. Mounted the canopy plug to a dry eraser board purchased at Lowes, then put on 14 coats of wax, sprayed the last coat of release film this morning. Hope to lay up the mold tomorrow. It will get to 81f so I can work outside with the polyester resin. Never used polyester resin for a mold so this will be a first.