Scale RCM 1/3 Scale Champ Build

[TonyHallo]

It's a 5" throat, takes a 64" blade, Dayton brand. You can see it in the photo nest to the disc sander. My wife bought it for me in 1980. It's just like the small 4"X6" band saws that Harbor Freight sells except it is only a vertical saw. I have a 14" Delta band saw but it is set up in the garage so I only use it when I need a deep cut.

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[Alky6]

What’s the span on the bow and the size nichrome wire you are using for the foam cutting? Thanks!

 

[TonyHallo]

It is 52" long, I just use .025" mild steel MIG wire. Runs about 7 amps at 12 volts. It will cut both EPS and the wall sheeting foam board.

 

[TonyHallo]

I completed the cabin roof section to the point where I can glue the wings together. I wanted to slide the roof section onto wing spars while gluing the root rib to ensure everything will fit, it is a little snug and will require some sanding but all in all I think it will work well. You can see it in the photo below. I using sections of 2" aluminum angle and clamps to hold everything in place. I got 8 ribs glued in before I ran out of clamps. Ace Hardware had the mini bar clamps on sell before Christmas for $4.99, limit 4. I bought 4 and planned to go back but didn't make before the sale ended.

 

[Alky6]

It is 52" long, I just use .025" mild steel MIG wire. Runs about 7 amps at 12 volts. It will cut both EPS and the wall sheeting foam board.

Thanks!

 

[TonyHallo]

The trail edges are 1/4" dowel, I plan to cover the plane with Stits fabric and I would expect the shrinking process to deform the trailing edge. I dadoed a 1/8" groove 1/8" deep on the 1/4" dowels on the tablesaw. The ends of the ribs were finished in a make shift router table. I used 1/8" lite ply to reinforce the dowels. I don't expect that it will bend. Next up is the aileron traling edges.

 

[dhal22]

That router jig is awesome.

 

[TonyHallo]

I was quite pleased with the outcome the trailing edge is straight, I didn't have to sand any of the fits. Here is a sample of the result

 

[Alky6]

Lots of innovative ideas here. Thanks for sharing!

 

[TonyHallo]

Not a problem, that's what these forums are for.

Back to the build, I got the 1/4" balsa leading edges and the 1/4" balsa aileron trailing edges installed on both wings. I did manage to get the wing bow installed on the left wing. There are a lot of different angles going on there, I was quite happy that it didn't move around once the clamps were removed. I pinned the bows with 1/8" dowel into each spar. The Stanley Surform worked the best for finishing of the edges, I have the top roughed in and need to flip the wing to get to the bottom side. I wasn't looking forward to this step but it went better than expected.