Bug HLG

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Building problems overcome

From: Mark Moran <flyeround@...>
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011 3:40 AM
Subject: Re: [BugHLG] Re: Building problems overcome
Just a couple of extras Stu. You might like to consider putting a 1/16 gusset between rib 7, the last rib, and the trailing edge. It helps reduce flex when launching.  Also there are some super Bug videos on youtube including ione guy slope soaring along one of the Mississippi levees.  Search for "Bug hlg".  Mark --- On Tue, 12/7/11, Stu Brad <stuartjaybradley@gmail.com> wrote: From: Stu Brad <stuartjaybradley@...> Subject: [BugHLG] Re: Building problems overcome To: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, 12 July, 2011, 13:57 I'm here and working my way through all the posts. Got the plans but yet to get started building. Looks like a fun little plane --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, plachance@... wrote: > > There are still a few of us here but it is quiet until someone posts again. The plane is a few years old, so interest is not what I used to be. > > Congrats on your first flights. > > Paul > > > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > > -----Original Message----- > From: "Mark" <flyeround@...> > Sender: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com > Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:24:54 > To: <BugHLG@yahoogroups.com> > Reply-To: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [BugHLG] Building problems overcome > > Just my luck! I have only recently found this group, having downloaded pdf plans free some months ago, so am disappointed to see that is almost inactive.  Anyway in case anyone visits the group I am based in Devon in the UK and in the middle of building four crucifix-tailed  Bugs. > > First set-back. Having bought the 1/8th dowell for the leading edges, by post, there is no good "builders" model shop in the vicinity, it was obviously pretty poor stuff, weak and kinked because the grain of the wood it was made from went in all directions.  I have some bamboo barbeque skewers for use on vintage planes but these are only 9 or12 inches long. However I discover that these can easily be spliced together to make longer lengths.  It is easier with more than two lengths to join, I had two for each wing on three planes i.e. twelve lengths to make six l/e. ( I had got two lengths of suitable dowell for the fourth, or first, Bug.) You need skewers of similar diameter for this to work well. I taped the skewers together side by side into a flat formation and chiselled one end to make a one-sided taper, this needs to be about an inch long or a little more.  The taper can be then dressed to a nice smooth, FLAT surface with a  file or similar.  When you separate the skewers and reverse each pair the tapers will mate together to make a seamless join. I rolled a short length of masking tape round each join to hold it steady and dribbled some cyano into it. Fantastic! I now had six long lengths of superior strong and bendy wood. I thought this might add a lot of weight but even though I did not choose the Contest-grade wood specified the planes are coming out at a tiny bit over the three and a half ounces shown on the plan. > > I had a lot of bother getting the servos linked to the control surfaces but overcame this by having a separate length of push-rod wire connected to the servos another to the rudder or elevator and soldering the joins in short lengths of brass tube in the cavity underneath the wing.  > > I sourced 120 mAh batteries at a very good price and these weigh just 15gm with leads. Servos are 5gm Tower Pro. Covering is Solarfilm Solite. > > First side arm launches were interesting, I had not done this before but I am now getting the hang of it. So far no lengthy flights though. > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Home Page - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BugHLG/ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
From: "Stu Brad" <stuartjaybradley@...>
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 8:57 AM
Subject: Re: Building problems overcome
I'm here and working my way through all the posts. Got the plans but yet to get started building. Looks like a fun little plane --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, plachance@... wrote: > > There are still a few of us here but it is quiet until someone posts again. The plane is a few years old, so interest is not what I used to be. > > Congrats on your first flights. > > Paul > > > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > > -----Original Message----- > From: "Mark" <flyeround@...> > Sender: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com > Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:24:54 > To: <BugHLG@yahoogroups.com> > Reply-To: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [BugHLG] Building problems overcome > > Just my luck! I have only recently found this group, having downloaded pdf plans free some months ago, so am disappointed to see that is almost inactive. Anyway in case anyone visits the group I am based in Devon in the UK and in the middle of building four crucifix-tailed Bugs. > > First set-back. Having bought the 1/8th dowell for the leading edges, by post, there is no good "builders" model shop in the vicinity, it was obviously pretty poor stuff, weak and kinked because the grain of the wood it was made from went in all directions. I have some bamboo barbeque skewers for use on vintage planes but these are only 9 or12 inches long. However I discover that these can easily be spliced together to make longer lengths. It is easier with more than two lengths to join, I had two for each wing on three planes i.e. twelve lengths to make six l/e. ( I had got two lengths of suitable dowell for the fourth, or first, Bug.) You need skewers of similar diameter for this to work well. I taped the skewers together side by side into a flat formation and chiselled one end to make a one-sided taper, this needs to be about an inch long or a little more. The taper can be then dressed to a nice smooth, FLAT surface with a file or similar. When you separate the skewers and reverse each pair the tapers will mate together to make a seamless join. I rolled a short length of masking tape round each join to hold it steady and dribbled some cyano into it. Fantastic! I now had six long lengths of superior strong and bendy wood. I thought this might add a lot of weight but even though I did not choose the Contest-grade wood specified the planes are coming out at a tiny bit over the three and a half ounces shown on the plan. > > I had a lot of bother getting the servos linked to the control surfaces but overcame this by having a separate length of push-rod wire connected to the servos another to the rudder or elevator and soldering the joins in short lengths of brass tube in the cavity underneath the wing. > > I sourced 120 mAh batteries at a very good price and these weigh just 15gm with leads. Servos are 5gm Tower Pro. Covering is Solarfilm Solite. > > First side arm launches were interesting, I had not done this before but I am now getting the hang of it. So far no lengthy flights though. > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
From: Rick Lindstrom <kb10troy@...>
Date: Sunday, July 10, 2011 6:15 PM
Subject: Re: Building problems overcome
Hey Mark- Glad you're having fun with the bug, and thanks for the bamboo skewer tip. I'm definitely going to try it. If you haven't already seen it, I have photos of my recently finished Bug here, in post #193: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1425492&page=13 I used competition DLG style pushrods which amount to .018" music wire in etched teflon tubing which can be had at Tailboom.com. The music wire I have in rolls because I used to build dulcimers, but you can go to a music shop and buy single plain guitar strings in whatever size you prefer. I read that Mark Drela used .012" wire in his Apogee, so I might go smaller next time. What the photos don't show is that the pushrods in their tubes exit the fuse at the same place the boom does (I intentionally left small spaces there for that purpose) and are glued to the boom with cyano down its length. These pushrods were quite easy to do, and are extremely light. If you want more details, let me know. Rick
From: plachance@...
Date: Sunday, July 10, 2011 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [BugHLG] Building problems overcome
There are still a few of us here but it is quiet until someone posts again. The plane is a few years old, so interest is not what I used to be. Congrats on your first flights. Paul Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: "Mark" <flyeround@...> Sender: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:24:54 To: <BugHLG@yahoogroups.com> Reply-To: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com Subject: [BugHLG] Building problems overcome Just my luck! I have only recently found this group, having downloaded pdf plans free some months ago, so am disappointed to see that is almost inactive. Anyway in case anyone visits the group I am based in Devon in the UK and in the middle of building four crucifix-tailed Bugs. First set-back. Having bought the 1/8th dowell for the leading edges, by post, there is no good "builders" model shop in the vicinity, it was obviously pretty poor stuff, weak and kinked because the grain of the wood it was made from went in all directions. I have some bamboo barbeque skewers for use on vintage planes but these are only 9 or12 inches long. However I discover that these can easily be spliced together to make longer lengths. It is easier with more than two lengths to join, I had two for each wing on three planes i.e. twelve lengths to make six l/e. ( I had got two lengths of suitable dowell for the fourth, or first, Bug.) You need skewers of similar diameter for this to work well. I taped the skewers together side by side into a flat formation and chiselled one end to make a one-sided taper, this needs to be about an inch long or a little more. The taper can be then dressed to a nice smooth, FLAT surface with a file or similar. When you separate the skewers and reverse each pair the tapers will mate together to make a seamless join. I rolled a short length of masking tape round each join to hold it steady and dribbled some cyano into it. Fantastic! I now had six long lengths of superior strong and bendy wood. I thought this might add a lot of weight but even though I did not choose the Contest-grade wood specified the planes are coming out at a tiny bit over the three and a half ounces shown on the plan. I had a lot of bother getting the servos linked to the control surfaces but overcame this by having a separate length of push-rod wire connected to the servos another to the rudder or elevator and soldering the joins in short lengths of brass tube in the cavity underneath the wing. I sourced 120 mAh batteries at a very good price and these weigh just 15gm with leads. Servos are 5gm Tower Pro. Covering is Solarfilm Solite. First side arm launches were interesting, I had not done this before but I am now getting the hang of it. So far no lengthy flights though. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
From: Tim Schuh <tim@...>
Date: Sunday, July 10, 2011 4:18 PM
Subject: Re: [BugHLG] Building problems overcome
On 7/10/2011 9:24 AM, Mark wrote: > Just my luck! I have only recently found this group, having downloaded pdf plans free some months ago, so am disappointed to see that is almost inactive. Anyway in case anyone visits the group I am based in Devon in the UK and in the middle of building four crucifix-tailed Bugs. As was once said by some folks on your side of the pond, "I'm not dead yet!" The list is pretty inactive but not completely dead. A few of us have built Bugs and they can be quite fun. I've seen video of a gent in Sweden slope soaring on a road-side berm in very light winds. With the advent of discus launch many of these smaller mosquito class gliders have gone largely away. Sadly, as you've found, there are fewer and fewer hobby shops that can actually support people that do more than put stickers on pieces of molded foam. At least with gliders there seems to be a fairly active group of folks that still build planes from scratch. It sounds like you've got the best solution for the LE in my opinion. I've always found hardwood dowels a big pain to form around a curve. My 2M sailplane also uses 1/8" dowels but during construction I was wishing they were bamboo. When I was growing up my mom used bamboo for the vegetable garden to give the plants something to climb up. I remember playing with it then thinking about how flexible and resilient it was. It should be a good LE provided you don't catch the model by the wing.
From: "Mark" <flyeround@...>
Date: Sunday, July 10, 2011 10:24 AM
Subject: Building problems overcome
Just my luck! I have only recently found this group, having downloaded pdf plans free some months ago, so am disappointed to see that is almost inactive. Anyway in case anyone visits the group I am based in Devon in the UK and in the middle of building four crucifix-tailed Bugs. First set-back. Having bought the 1/8th dowell for the leading edges, by post, there is no good "builders" model shop in the vicinity, it was obviously pretty poor stuff, weak and kinked because the grain of the wood it was made from went in all directions. I have some bamboo barbeque skewers for use on vintage planes but these are only 9 or12 inches long. However I discover that these can easily be spliced together to make longer lengths. It is easier with more than two lengths to join, I had two for each wing on three planes i.e. twelve lengths to make six l/e. ( I had got two lengths of suitable dowell for the fourth, or first, Bug.) You need skewers of similar diameter for this to work well. I taped the skewers together side by side into a flat formation and chiselled one end to make a one-sided taper, this needs to be about an inch long or a little more. The taper can be then dressed to a nice smooth, FLAT surface with a file or similar. When you separate the skewers and reverse each pair the tapers will mate together to make a seamless join. I rolled a short length of masking tape round each join to hold it steady and dribbled some cyano into it. Fantastic! I now had six long lengths of superior strong and bendy wood. I thought this might add a lot of weight but even though I did not choose the Contest-grade wood specified the planes are coming out at a tiny bit over the three and a half ounces shown on the plan. I had a lot of bother getting the servos linked to the control surfaces but overcame this by having a separate length of push-rod wire connected to the servos another to the rudder or elevator and soldering the joins in short lengths of brass tube in the cavity underneath the wing. I sourced 120 mAh batteries at a very good price and these weigh just 15gm with leads. Servos are 5gm Tower Pro. Covering is Solarfilm Solite. First side arm launches were interesting, I had not done this before but I am now getting the hang of it. So far no lengthy flights though.