IMAC Dalton Yak 54, 38% please submit suggestions here....

[-Rick-]

Nice work! Following along with interest!

 

[BalsaDust]

I really liked the carbon stringers too. I love to build and I love seeing other people's build threads.

I think that building these airplanes helps us exercise our minds and you have clearly shown some pretty clever techniques!

I'll let you get back to building, but thanks for sharing!

There goes Cappy with some words of wisdom.

 

[orthobird]

Hi Ben, yes, I had ordered these balsa sheets that are 48" long and 12 inches wide.
It was not long enough to go from the root to the tip, SO i had to add some more sheeting on the end. Being that it would not be staggered, it would not make a difference if the grain was parallel or perpendicular.
It is only in the tip, and there is CF tow from the tip to the root on both the top and bottom side of the wing, therefore I am not worried. I do not, however, recommend this technique, if I ever were to build another one, I would not buy this big balsa sheet, and I would take my time and do it the recommended way.

 

[Notorious B.E.N.]

Cool, just wanted to make sure I was seeing it right. With mine, I actually ordered and second set of AAA balsa sheeting from Lone Star and then weighed everything trying to keep the wings light and even but I also reserved the lightest sheets for the wing tips.

 

[orthobird]

Well done Ben. I will not be doing that again, meaning, buying that oversized balsa sheet. I like the way you did yours better.

 

[orthobird]

Canopy, hatch, & cowl is now almost complete!
It lines up pretty good and I am happy with it. I have also covered the hatch balsa with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Now all this has to be sanded smooth then primed.

 

[orthobird]

The stabs/elevators are just about complete. All that needs to be done is glue in the hard points for the G10 horns and make a screw lock system for the stab tube.

They are beveled to be able to get 3D rates, however, I will not be using that!! Pure IMAC for this bird. This just assures that there is no cam effect of the beveled surfaces.

 

[orthobird]

I really enjoy making my own instrument panels. This will be my 1st where I make one with these tiny instruments. All the others I have made were either a photograph or the Vinyl kind from B&E.

These are from Iflytailies.

 

[orthobird]

The wings and ailerons are almost complete. All that is left is to bevel the hinge gap and glue in the hard points for the G10 horns. I also have to cap the tips and the root sides of the ailerons.

 

[orthobird]

Wanted to demonstrate a very easy way to find the center of the hinge line, prior to beveling. The wings TE and ailerons LE must be sanded flush with the sheeting. Then obtain one of the Robart drill guides.

Then, obtain a brad point drill bit: this bit fits snug inside the Robart drill guide.

NOw, insert gently and slide from the root to the tip.

final result! now ready to mark the hinge point location, and can drill. I will use 8 hinge points per wing.