Scale Wendell Hostetler 30% PA-28 Cherokee Build

[TonyHallo]

The sleeves are glued in with Gorilla glue, once cured the skins will get glued on. The skins were block sanded with 320 and are ready to go. The vacuum pump is checked out and ready to go. It has been several years since the pump was used, bought at flee market some 30 years ago. Use plastic drop cloth for the bag sealed with cheap door and window caulk, vacuum is controlled by a bleed valve on the pump. Use 5" for white foam, will go a little higher with this foam. The system is crude but effective, no need for fancy controls and reservoir.
Time to look at the vertical fin and rudder.

 

[TonyHallo]

Wetted the wire slot so the glue kicked off quickly, on to the skins. Using Gorilla glue for skins as well, spread thin with a credit card, you can see the amount of glue used. Wiped the core with a wet paper towel and sealed the bag, pulled 10" then backed down to 5" once everything was in place, was worried about the bag getting cut around the sharp edges of the sleeves. It has been running about a hour now, maybe three more.

 

[dhal22]

I like to use a foam paint roller to spread poly glue.

 

[TonyHallo]

I have used a roller in the past, these surfaces are to small to get a roller soaked. Cut the vertical fin core. When cutting high taper sections such as vertical fins I anchor the bow at the intersection of the trailing and leading edges then cut pulling the wire on the outside. 2# foam doesn't melt away as bad as 1# when cutting high tapers. Glued a 1/8" plate to the bottom of the core before sheeting. The sheeting will overlap this plate. The fin just get glued to the fuselage sheeting so I wanted a good wood to wood glue joint. Also added a 1" balsa block to the core before sheeting for the rudder control. The fin is in the bag now. Installed the leading and trailing edges on the stab as well as the wing tips. It is about ready to cut into two pieces and get fitted to the fuselage.

 

[Snoopy1]

What do you use when sanding skins. Done more than my share of sanding and sanding wing skins and the dust gets to me. Up now all I used is 2 inch by 18 inch sanding blocks seems to give me the best results. Been thinking of trying one of the fancy 6inch Festool orbital sanders

 

[BalsaDust]

What do you use when sanding skins. Done more than my share of sanding and sanding wing skins and the dust gets to me. Up now all I used is 2 inch by 18 inch sanding blocks seems to give me the best results. Been thinking of trying one of the fancy 6inch Festool orbital sanders

Festool is pricy. I know one of the guys I used to follow all of his builds on over on FG had a big belt sander for his business that he used when laying up sheeting

 

[TonyHallo]

I'm using a 1/4 sheet Dura Block with 220 open coat production paper. When I built my work bench I put an old furnace fan in the middle, it sucks through a 16" x 25" filter on one side and discharges on the back side, it's normally running when sanding. I try to sand as close to the inlet filter if possible. All the sanding on the canopy plug was done right above the inlet. I'm using Titebond white glue and with taping the top and bottom of the sheets when gluing the sheets cleaned up with a couple of swipes. I read where people don't even bother edge gluing, when I tried that it didn't work out well. These were small sheets so it didn't take much sanding.
On large wing skins I've used a 1/4 sheet palm sander with 320 paper.

 

[TonyHallo]

Before the stabalator was cut in half, 1/4" lite ply jointer blocks were install, these were drilled and pinned while gluing. Once the glue cured they were sanded flush. Finished capping the vertical fin and cut the rudder free in the band saw. The hinge holes were predrilled in the trailing and leading edges, the edges were pinned together so that everything lines up, I do hate hinging!

 

[Snoopy1]

Have to agree with you hinging is not my favourite job either. Like the way you drill all the wood first before you glue it to the flite surface, good idea and solution thanks for the tip.

 

[TonyHallo]

Got my COVID booster on Monday morning and it knocked the heck out of me yesterday, spent the whole day horizontal, feeling better today. Got the stab fitted and end capped. Operated stab servo, throws and operation are good. Started looking at the rudder linkage, thinking about using a MKS slim wing servo in the rear for rudder. The nose wheel will a servo as well. This https://www.amainhobbies.com/mks-se...bV_ra99rnjP0i4tea8CJxGx_ongk_XLBoCm9EQAvD_BwE is twice the required torque based an online torque calculator. Anyone have any thoughts about this servo?