Cleveland Cloudster 900 - Hinging the Horizontal Tail

Electric Cloudster 900 Project

Three Klett hinges were used on each side of the horizontal tail. The maximum thickness of the stab rear spar at the hinge line is 5/8". So the hinge halves were installed 5/16" up from the bottom of the rear spar as shown below.

 This picture is a view of the stab's rear spar showing all six hinge halves installed with a single .032" piano wire hinge pin running through all six halves.

 The picture below of the left half of the horizontal tail shows the stab and elevator pinned together with three hinges. The significance of this picture is how far the hinge tongues extend out beyond the 1/4" thick spars. Twelve enclosures (little boxes) for these twelve hinge tongues were made in an assembly line fashion using a simple jig as will be described below.

 The 5/16"X 11/16" sides of the enclosures were cut out of 1/8" balsa as shown below.

 A hinge jig was made by slotting a 1/4" piece of balsa and inserting a spare hinge half through the slot replicating the hinge halves in the stab's spar. A stop was glued on end of the jig as shown below

 Two of the 1/8" enclosure sides were placed on either side of the hinge tongue and butted up against the jig's stop as shown below. 

 A piece of 1/16" balsa was glued with aliphatic glue to the back two sides as shown below.

 Once dry, the two sides joined at the back was removed from the jig. A spare hinge half was inserted between the two sides to maintain the gap and a piece of 1/16" balsa was glued to one end of the sides and allowed to dry as shown below.

 The sides of the enclosure were trimmed and sanded smooth and the other end was sanded off square. The enclosure was finished by sanding a small radius on the one closed corner as shown below.

 This picture shows one of the hinge half tongues extended out beyond the inside face of the stab rear spar.

 Aliphatic glue was applied to the edges of the enclosure, which was then carefully slid over the hinge tongue and into place against the rear spar and stab rib as shown below. This was pretty labor intense considering that this process had to be repeated twelve times for the twelve hinge halves. 

 However, all twelve enclosures were built and glued in place by working the entire day as the picture of the horizontal tail below shows. 

Tomorrow, the two hinged spars will be trimmed and sanded to match. Some soft balsa filler blocks will be glued on the tip pieces and on the inside of the two elevator's "V" members. The entire horizontal tail will be trimmed and sanded to shape including the leading and trailing edges.......................Tandy    

Cleveland Cloudster 900 - Stab's Center Planking Complete

Electric Cloudster 900 Project

This morning it was raining and Sue had a dual dental appointments. First, I took her to the oral surgeon to get two abutments installed on her two Titanium implants, which took only a short time. Then we immediately drove over to the dentist office for a rather lengthy procedure. First impressions were taken from which two crowns will be made. Then the dentist fashioned to temporary caps and installed them on the abutments until the crowns are ready.  We will return in about three weeks to have the permanent crowns installed. So I did not get to work on the Cloudster 900 until after lunch.

 

I did manage to get the stab's center section fully planked with 1/16" sheet balsa. The bottom planking on the stab  is shown in the picture below.

 This picture shows the stab's top planking, leaving the slot in the center for the fin. Notice the two holes down in the slot for securing the fin.

 This picture shows the fin installed in the slot. There is still work to do on the fin's little leading edge fairing that goes up to the point of the stab. Once the stab's leading edge is trimmed and sanded to shape, the fin's fairing can then be made. 

 The picture below shows the squareness (90°) of the fin in the stab slot. If the fin is slightly out of square, which it generaly is, this can be corrected with the top planking by forcing fin into square and then gluing the planking in place.........................Tandy

 

Cleveland Cloudster 900 - Vertical Tail Hinges and Gussets

Electric Cloudster 900 Project

In the picture below, the fin has been slipped down into the center slot in the stab between the two 1/8" ribs. The first rib bay on either side of the fin will get planked with 1/16" balsa sheet.

 This picture taken from the bottom of the stab shows the two 2-56 Cap screws that secure the fin in the stab slot. The bottom of the stab will also get planked with 1/16" balsa sheet between the two 1/16" plywood supports.

 Klett hinges were selected for the control surfaces of the Cloudster 900. The two halves of a Klett hinge is shown below. Notice that the tongues of the hinge will extend out the back of the 1/4" post.  

 The tongues of the hinges were inserted through the 1/4" posts and the portion that extended out the back was boxed in with balsa as shown below. 

 Two of the three vertical tail hinges were installed today. In the picture below, you are looking at the fin's rear post that shows two hinge halves with the .032" hinge wire going through each. 

 In addition, gussets were added to the 1/16" ribs to prevent the covering from crushing the 1/16" ribs into the medium soft balsa leading and trailing edges. The completed vertical tail is shown below. All that remains if to sand the fin and rudder to final shape with rounded leading edge and tapered trailing edge..........................Tandy Walker

400 mph R/C plane

The take off and the landing are OK.

Don't blink your eyes you may miss the flight.

Bucky

Spinners

Some Harry Higley spinners turned down on a drill and shaped with a hand file.

Fin Detail: Tandy's 900 Cloudster

Tandy's updates have been coming faster than I can post them.  Here's #14 in his series on the 900 square inch Cloudster.  The fin detail looks pertinent to a lot of other designs.

 

 

Electric Cloudster 900 Project

The fin base is a 1" piece of 1/4" balsa sheet that slips down into the stab center slot. Notice the cut out for the stab's 1/8" center spar. Two 1/8" X 1/4" plywood rectangles were cut to size, drilled, tapped with 2-56 threads, and glued into the bottom of the fin base as shown below.

 A 1/4" square fin post spruce brace was cut to length, tapered, and glued to the rear of fin base as shown below. The two 2-56 cap screws are used to secure the fin base in the stab slot as will be shown later. 

 To start the fin framing, the fin's 1/4" X 5/16" leading edge and 1/4" square rear post were pinned down and the R1 tip piece was glued in place as shown below. A slope was cut on the leading edge of the fin base, which was then glued in place to the fin's leading edge and rear post as shown below. Notice the forward 1/4" gusset that reinforces the joint between the leading edge and the base. Finally the three 1/16" X 1/4" strips were glued in place as ribs.
 

The rudder was lined up on the pinned down fin with a 1/16" gap for the hinge line and the picture below was taken so you could see what the complete vertical tail will look like. 

 

Tomorrow gussets will be added to the 1/16" ribs to prevent the covering from crushing the 1/16" ribs into the medium soft balsa leading and trailing edges. The rudder will also be hinged to the fin tomorrow before the sanding and shaping begins.......................Tandy

Goldberg Eagle 2 part I

Hi Guys,

Jim Keppler gave this Carl Goldberg Kit to me Sunday at the annual SAM 39 party.  It is Wednesday and the photos show what I got built.

 Notice all the scrap lite ply that was left over from punching out the parts.

 I am bolting the wing on verses rubber banding the wing on.

 Notice the 1/8 dowels used to pegged the hardwood cross piece for screwing the 4/40 nylon bolts into to hold the wing.

 How about that 5/16 dowel for the leading edge.

 More photos to follow.

See what an old man can do when the weather is very windy; plus a lot of CA glue.

Bucky