S
My Aeroplane
- Thread starter jamie_duff
- Start date
How heavy are you??
If it's not a huge amount over then we might be able to ballast the nose and carry just a couple of gallons of fuel to check the gross down and CofG in check :?
If it's not a huge amount over then we might be able to ballast the nose and carry just a couple of gallons of fuel to check the gross down and CofG in check :?
Wow, looks fantastic, makes my RC plane project look a little small now. Keep up the great work.
This thing is just like an r/c model.... all the same construction, just a tad bigger 
Modelling is a huge help when starting something like this - most of the skills are directly transferrable :wink:
Modelling is a huge help when starting something like this - most of the skills are directly transferrable :wink:
Looking good. Gill still giving you grief for spending loads of time doing your plane then giving you loads of grief for having it in the garage and not doing anything with it? :roll:
S
Stewart
There would be nothing left of me
And Paul, no, little has been said on the subject this last week, which is nice.
Unfortunately it's bucketing down again today, so woodworking will be minimal. Might make some parts - can't glue them in though
And Paul, no, little has been said on the subject this last week, which is nice.
Unfortunately it's bucketing down again today, so woodworking will be minimal. Might make some parts - can't glue them in though
A
Anonymous
P
Prostheta
jamie_duff said:
Admit it Jamie, I bet you sit on the sofa with that lot on your lap once the missus has gone to sleep :-D
Maybe an aeroplane shaped guitar would be more plausible??
And Karl - yes, I've sat with it on my lap, twiddling switches etc. It's an aeroplane builder's right.
Today I was fiddling with the control stick and pedals... once those spars are glued in permanently I'll fit the controls.
It is then my right as a builder to sit in the seat (which I haven't built either come to think of it ) and wiggle the stick around making engine noises. It's an ergonomics test. Honestly
And Karl - yes, I've sat with it on my lap, twiddling switches etc. It's an aeroplane builder's right.
Today I was fiddling with the control stick and pedals... once those spars are glued in permanently I'll fit the controls.
It is then my right as a builder to sit in the seat (which I haven't built either come to think of it
) and wiggle the stick around making engine noises. It's an ergonomics test. Honestly jamie_duff said:I've sat with it on my lap, fiddling with the control stick and wiggle the stick around It's an ergoerotic test. Honestly
You little Tinker :wink:
P
Prostheta
I can only imagine how you'd "nee-owm" and "broom" in your accent Jamie. Priceless indeed!
Aeroplane shaped guitars would cause many problems as planes aren't designed to tuck under beer bellies and don't have contours for your arms :-D That said, I was more fascinated by your woodwork than anything else! I suppose wooden structural engineering and guitar building are the pickiest of the lot in totally opposite spectrums when it comes to materials. You don't want wood shearing off your wings (or anything come to think of it) and I don't want wood that splits down the grain or warps!
First person to mention Burberry gets a slap SO big, you know?
I'm surprised at the good prices you're achieving on this project Jamie. Any chance we'll be seeing Duffways floating on the stock market anytime soon?
Aeroplane shaped guitars would cause many problems as planes aren't designed to tuck under beer bellies and don't have contours for your arms :-D That said, I was more fascinated by your woodwork than anything else! I suppose wooden structural engineering and guitar building are the pickiest of the lot in totally opposite spectrums when it comes to materials. You don't want wood shearing off your wings (or anything come to think of it) and I don't want wood that splits down the grain or warps!
First person to mention Burberry gets a slap SO big, you know?
I'm surprised at the good prices you're achieving on this project Jamie. Any chance we'll be seeing Duffways floating on the stock market anytime soon?
Certainly hope not Karl!
I expect there are many similaritieswith our crafts Karl...
Needless to say, warps and splits would be disastrous to both of us
Once the glueing is mostly complete everything gets a coat of varnish inside the plane. Not too much mind, just enough to stop moisture soaking in. Trying to get it shiney inside is a sure fire way to build a lead sled ground hog......
I also expect that we are both slightly nervous at the prospect of taking cutting tool to beautiful piece of wood for the first time (actually that's the first time for every beautiful piece of wood). Funnily enough, as it progresses the nerves never really disappear. Sticking my spars through the table saw for final shaping was a wide-eyed moment after wasting 15 minutes of quadruple checking and trying to find more excuses to put it off til next weekend
It gives me a really warm feeling though when any given part is finished and given it's home. It's like watching something grow. I don't expect guitar building is any different whatsoever.
As for the price, I have been extremely jammy. To build from absolute scratch would cost a small fortune (only in the UK where prices are multiplied for fun). When I first decided to do this, someone much older and wiser gave me much encouragement and told me not to worry about the cost. He said that "When the time comes, things will fall into place".
Of course, I didn't believe him, but he was right! When I needed a project, a old, but excellent quality abandoned project appeared for ?ú900 including all the materials I was about to take out a ?ú8000 loan for. A little woodwork started, but it was fine. It was also a friend of my father's and my father had signed off the woodwork done so far. The price was so low because this guy wanted to help a young lad and also wanted to see his aeroplane eventually fly.
Just a couple of months back, whilst I was wondering how on Earth to pay for a ?ú6500 engine, ?ú2000 for instruments and a radio, and ?ú600 for a propeller, I got an email from someone offering me just that, for ?ú2500 (hence then trip to Gloucester).
So far I've learned that building aeroplanes is all about networking and making like minded friends. Almost everyone I've met through aviation has been the type of person who'll bend over backwards to help anyone and are more interested in putting smiles on people's faces than profiteering. Consequently, whenever you tell people you're looking for something, someone will pop up with exactly what you need lying unused in a shed/garage/hangar etc.
If anyone ever wanted to get involved in something, but assumed they couldn't afford it, nonsense. If you want anything badly enough in life, opportunities will present themselves for the taking.
I expect there are many similaritieswith our crafts Karl...
Needless to say, warps and splits would be disastrous to both of us
Once the glueing is mostly complete everything gets a coat of varnish inside the plane. Not too much mind, just enough to stop moisture soaking in. Trying to get it shiney inside is a sure fire way to build a lead sled ground hog......
I also expect that we are both slightly nervous at the prospect of taking cutting tool to beautiful piece of wood for the first time (actually that's the first time for every beautiful piece of wood). Funnily enough, as it progresses the nerves never really disappear. Sticking my spars through the table saw for final shaping was a wide-eyed moment after wasting 15 minutes of quadruple checking and trying to find more excuses to put it off til next weekend
It gives me a really warm feeling though when any given part is finished and given it's home. It's like watching something grow. I don't expect guitar building is any different whatsoever.
As for the price, I have been extremely jammy. To build from absolute scratch would cost a small fortune (only in the UK where prices are multiplied for fun). When I first decided to do this, someone much older and wiser gave me much encouragement and told me not to worry about the cost. He said that "When the time comes, things will fall into place".
Of course, I didn't believe him, but he was right! When I needed a project, a old, but excellent quality abandoned project appeared for ?ú900 including all the materials I was about to take out a ?ú8000 loan for. A little woodwork started, but it was fine. It was also a friend of my father's and my father had signed off the woodwork done so far. The price was so low because this guy wanted to help a young lad and also wanted to see his aeroplane eventually fly.
Just a couple of months back, whilst I was wondering how on Earth to pay for a ?ú6500 engine, ?ú2000 for instruments and a radio, and ?ú600 for a propeller, I got an email from someone offering me just that, for ?ú2500 (hence then trip to Gloucester).
So far I've learned that building aeroplanes is all about networking and making like minded friends. Almost everyone I've met through aviation has been the type of person who'll bend over backwards to help anyone and are more interested in putting smiles on people's faces than profiteering. Consequently, whenever you tell people you're looking for something, someone will pop up with exactly what you need lying unused in a shed/garage/hangar etc.
If anyone ever wanted to get involved in something, but assumed they couldn't afford it, nonsense. If you want anything badly enough in life, opportunities will present themselves for the taking.
Just found the sales spiel from the designers.... In honesty it's very optimistic (well any one spec could be achieved with this design, but not all by the same aeroplane) but you get the idea:
P
Prostheta
Cruise speed - 180mph, Stall speed 52mph? Very nice! Good job you don't get city traffic in the air then...
I love my routers. Awesomely enjoyable bits of kit for something that'll take fingers off without batting an eyelid. I don't think I'll get around to building a plane anytime soon though.
What wood is the ply made out of? I presume it'll be something like epoxied birch laminate as it's pretty stable tough stuff as it is and grows on trees so to speak!
I love my routers. Awesomely enjoyable bits of kit for something that'll take fingers off without batting an eyelid. I don't think I'll get around to building a plane anytime soon though.
What wood is the ply made out of? I presume it'll be something like epoxied birch laminate as it's pretty stable tough stuff as it is and grows on trees so to speak!
Yep, it's birch ply..... phenolic resin glue..... costs the Earth (in Britain). Can buy if for about $20 a sheet in the USA, here it's ?ú100 a sheet.
P
Prostheta
phil robbo said:jamie_duff said:What if they get a bit carried away???
make sure those wing bolts are extra tight. :wink:
torque - /tawrk/
noun, verb, torqued, torqueing.
ÔÇônoun
1. see [LOTS]
P
Prostheta
That's an utterly crazy price! Admittedly, I import most of my hardware and tooling especially router bits (crazy eh!) inlaying shell, etc. Surprisingly enough, I bought a fret slotting saw and specially made aluminium mitre box cheaper from the US including shipping and import duty/VAT than it would be in the UK. Get this - the blade was made in Sheffield as well....