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IMAC Aero Tech 35% Velox Custom Build

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
Will most likely buy one in the very early spring. Or pick up one at JoeNall will see how thing go and if they will be there.
I think you will really like it. It really is not too terribly easy to navigate until you start understanding it some. But once you do, it is like...."duh"! LOL. I am keeping a log in my head of the things I want to do to the big Mustang. I think a lot of the things I actually ultimately "do" is going to depend on added weight. If it doesn't add a legible amout, I will probably do it. But primary goal is still going to be weight savings without compromising integrity.

As for the Velox, I got a bit more accomplished today. I finished up with the right stab and elevator today. All that is left is to sand all surfaces... i.e., Leading edges, trailing, tip caps, root caps and elevator caps. Then cut elevator from stab and start over again. LOL.

The left stab and elevator is pretty much at the same point as the right stab/elev. now. All sides are capped and next I will sand those then separate the elevator from the stab.

TopLeft Velox Stab.jpg TopLeft Velox Stab2.jpg

Once you do one, the mate seems to be quite a bit quicker. I am letting the left stab/elevator cure tonight and will start working on both again in the morning.

The tail gear system really kind of sucks on this plane. I mean, it is a cool design and will look amazing when done. But I am just not much of a fan of sheeting foam just to turn around and "hollow" that piece back out to allow for the fitment of an item. Such is the case for the tail gear. First you bolt the gear into position. Then lay the bottom fuse cap over the top and mark your bolt locations. I did this by pushing the cap into position and allowing the bolt heads to leave an impression in the foam. Then drilled the holes to allow for removal at a later date. Hollowed out the cap so that it would go over the to of the gear plate in the rear of the fuse.

20181201_142730.jpg 20181201_144823.jpg 20181201_144826.jpg 20181201_144838.jpg

Then glued it into position and taped it down until the glue is cured. It will look pretty cool I am sure. And if the gear ever needs to come out, simply remove the bolts...slide the tail gear out, reverse to re-install.

The stab tube socket is now glued in as well and pretty much that is all for tonight.

20181201_144843.jpg 20181201_145948.jpg 20181201_145952.jpg

Tomorrow I plan to finish up the stabs/elevators, rear tail gear/fuse cap and then on to the fin/rudder. I will have to do the same to them as the stabs/elevators.

Getting the tail feathers done will be a big accomplishment. When it comes to the wings, I want no distractions. I will probably have to order some 1/4"x1/4" spruce spars for the wings. I want to put 48" spars the full length of the cores. I see this as the best and least expensive insurance policy available. Once the wings are done, I can then set the incidence on the main wings and the stabs. At that point, it is going to be pretty much all down hill in getting the Velox done.

Stay tuned fellas. Still lots more to come.
 

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
Believe it or not, I have been making progress on the Velox each night after work. I've been a little tired so I haven't been able to get any photos or postings done. I will try to get a little of that accomplished tonight.

First, I do now have the stabs/elevators and fin/rudder trimmed, sanded and now ready to cut the rudder free from the fin and the elevators cut free from the stabs.

20181205_190914.jpg 20181205_190908.jpg 20181206_191149.jpg 20181206_181917.jpg 20181203_190928.jpg 20181205_200348.jpg 20181205_200307.jpg 20181205_190928.jpg 20181205_190925.jpg 20181206_191206.jpg 20181206_181905.jpg 20181205_212630.jpg 20181203_190941.jpg 20181205_212553.jpg 20181203_190934.jpg 20181205_212547.jpg 20181206_191157.jpg

I dont know why my phone doesn't load the photos in proper order. But I guess as long as they load, right? I am going to make the cuts tomorrow after work and hopefully have the tail feathers completely done by the end of the weekend.

They all turned out so pretty. I am quite excited to see this plane all together.

More later fellas.
 

Snoopy1

640cc Uber Pimp
Believe it or not, I have been making progress on the Velox each night after work. I've been a little tired so I haven't been able to get any photos or postings done. I will try to get a little of that accomplished tonight.

First, I do now have the stabs/elevators and fin/rudder trimmed, sanded and now ready to cut the rudder free from the fin and the elevators cut free from the stabs.

View attachment 107233 View attachment 107234 View attachment 107235 View attachment 107236 View attachment 107237 View attachment 107238 View attachment 107239 View attachment 107240 View attachment 107241 View attachment 107242 View attachment 107243 View attachment 107244 View attachment 107245 View attachment 107246 View attachment 107247 View attachment 107248 View attachment 107249

I dont know why my phone doesn't load the photos in proper order. But I guess as long as they load, right? I am going to make the cuts tomorrow after work and hopefully have the tail feathers completely done by the end of the weekend.

They all turned out so pretty. I am quite excited to see this plane all together.

More later fellas.
Doing the same process on the Delta as you are on the Velox, edging. What planer do you use, I have perched several over the years but always end up using the the little black planer from master airscrew. If only someone made an exact copy of it out of aluminum would be nice.
 

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
Ok fellas, I am going to "TRY" to upload some photos of the last couple of days work on the Velox. I say "try" as my internet is being especially retarded tonight. Not sure I can even get them to come through, but will try.

In short, I have now got the rudder cut free from the Vert. Fin, and the elevators cut free from the stabs. They all turned out really pretty. I need to add the hard points for the control horns and the hinges. Also need to add trailing edge and leading edge pieces to the control and flight surfaces. I truly spent the entire day working on the stabs/elevators and the fin/rudder. I really don't know if I am being overly anal about this build or if I am just really paying closer attention to detail. Either way, this is going to be one really nice IMAC plane for my friend. He damn well better fly "ALOT!!" LOL.

Once the hard points are in and the trailing edge pieces are glued on to the stabs, I will be setting the incidence to the fuse. I can then finish up the elevators and rudder and set those aside while I focus on the main wings for a few days. The Velox is coming along quite nicely. If I didn't already have way too many planes, I would probably talk my friend out of this one. LOL....yeah, not so much.

Photos of progress:

Stabs and Fin prepped for removal of the elevators and rudder:
20181208_085755.jpg 20181208_085758.jpg 20181208_085802.jpg 20181208_090111.jpg 20181208_090500.jpg


Cut lines drawn and ready for slicing:

20181208_094247.jpg 20181208_094302.jpg


Handy little saw makes for easy cutting of the surfaces. Funny how after you look at lines and build for a few years, you can just see a line that does not look straight. Nice catch Rob. LOL...

20181208_095928.jpg 20181208_095938.jpg 20181208_100025.jpg 20181208_100037.jpg

Fin cut free from the rudder. Hey, looks pretty good.

20181208_100201.jpg 20181208_100219.jpg 20181208_100233.jpg 20181208_100254.jpg


I have two of these metal rulers. One 15" and one 18". They work great for straight line cutting.

20181208_103342.jpg 20181208_103356.jpg 20181208_131358.jpg 20181208_131415.jpg 20181208_143302.jpg

The capped ends are now sheeted with 3/32" balsa. Tomorrow will be another day of Velox building. I may not get too far on it as I have an appointment at Home Depot. It seems the calling of a certain Behemoth Mustang is telling me I need to build a...."Stang building" table. I am not really certain yet how I am going to make this work, but where there is a will, there is a way...right?

Believe it or not... I am going to attempt finishing the Velox while starting the construction on the Don Smith Mustang. The way I have it figured, I am far enough into the Velox now that I can continue with building and start the Mustang without really slowing the progress down too much. The Fuse on the Mustang is going to take a lot of time to work through. A little bit of at a time while I am waiting for glue to cure on the Velox will definitely make for some interesting days ahead while the weather outside is less than favorable for flying right?

So...here we go.
 

Snoopy1

640cc Uber Pimp
Looking good just a question when I was working with same construction foam and balsa overlay the best glue I found to glue cap strips on with is Gorilla glue the type that expands.

Which wood planer do you use to clean up the edges.
 
Last edited:

WMcNabb

150cc
Ok fellas, I am going to "TRY" to upload some photos of the last couple of days work on the Velox. I say "try" as my internet is being especially retarded tonight. Not sure I can even get them to come through, but will try.

In short, I have now got the rudder cut free from the Vert. Fin, and the elevators cut free from the stabs. They all turned out really pretty. I need to add the hard points for the control horns and the hinges. Also need to add trailing edge and leading edge pieces to the control and flight surfaces. I truly spent the entire day working on the stabs/elevators and the fin/rudder. I really don't know if I am being overly anal about this build or if I am just really paying closer attention to detail. Either way, this is going to be one really nice IMAC plane for my friend. He damn well better fly "ALOT!!" LOL.

Once the hard points are in and the trailing edge pieces are glued on to the stabs, I will be setting the incidence to the fuse. I can then finish up the elevators and rudder and set those aside while I focus on the main wings for a few days. The Velox is coming along quite nicely. If I didn't already have way too many planes, I would probably talk my friend out of this one. LOL....yeah, not so much.

Photos of progress:

Stabs and Fin prepped for removal of the elevators and rudder:
View attachment 107289 View attachment 107290 View attachment 107291 View attachment 107292 View attachment 107293


Cut lines drawn and ready for slicing:

View attachment 107294 View attachment 107295


Handy little saw makes for easy cutting of the surfaces. Funny how after you look at lines and build for a few years, you can just see a line that does not look straight. Nice catch Rob. LOL...

View attachment 107296 View attachment 107297 View attachment 107298 View attachment 107299

Fin cut free from the rudder. Hey, looks pretty good.

View attachment 107300 View attachment 107301 View attachment 107302 View attachment 107303


I have two of these metal rulers. One 15" and one 18". They work great for straight line cutting.

View attachment 107304 View attachment 107305 View attachment 107308 View attachment 107309 View attachment 107310

The capped ends are now sheeted with 3/32" balsa. Tomorrow will be another day of Velox building. I may not get too far on it as I have an appointment at Home Depot. It seems the calling of a certain Behemoth Mustang is telling me I need to build a...."Stang building" table. I am not really certain yet how I am going to make this work, but where there is a will, there is a way...right?

Believe it or not... I am going to attempt finishing the Velox while starting the construction on the Don Smith Mustang. The way I have it figured, I am far enough into the Velox now that I can continue with building and start the Mustang without really slowing the progress down too much. The Fuse on the Mustang is going to take a lot of time to work through. A little bit of at a time while I am waiting for glue to cure on the Velox will definitely make for some interesting days ahead while the weather outside is less than favorable for flying right?

So...here we go.

Stang building table? Found this some time ago and have it on my long list of projects.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/05/15/build-a-torsion-box-assembly-table
 

stangflyer

I like 'em "BIG"!
I have the flexible metal rulers too. I like them. "Bates" or "Fiskars" work well for me. I like the SS construction with the cork underlayer that protects soft balsa.
Yup, same as yours. They ah supa!

Looking good just a question when I was working with same construction foam and balsa overlay the best glue I found to glue cap strips on with is Gorilla glue the type that expands.

Which wood planer do you use to clean up the edges.
Planer? What's that? Lol... seriously, I dont use a planer. I use my trusty hobby knife to "trim" away the excess before sanding. I really need to get a planer. Just so used to doing things a certain way. (Insert old dog-new trick comment here) lol

Stang building table? Found this some time ago and have it on my long list of projects.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/05/15/build-a-torsion-box-assembly-table
Oh yeah... that would be great. Very nice and sturdy flat table. Great video. But I think I'll wait till I have more room for that. Lol. Thanks for posting.
 
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