X-Plane SST: Scratch Build

Will be here waiting!!

Don't get discouraged on a good site, I live, well let's say it's a geographical oddity, I am 2 hours drive from everywhere!!

That's cool though, we just make it a family event, which is WAY better than doing alone!!

Talked to Tim (Wildman) today... BT has been slotted. Parts should be shipped today / tomorrow.

Quaranta said:

Talked to Tim (Wildman) today... BT has been slotted. Parts should be shipped today / tomorrow.

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The fun will soon begin!

1st part arrived today. Not helpful for getting started... but critical none the less.

Quaranta said:

1st part arrived today. Not helpful for getting started... but critical none the less.

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Yep, I'd call that a necessity.

Fins and Wings have arrived. Both G-10. From PML.

I think I went thicker than necessary... .093 for fins and 0.125 for the wings.

I'm going to round off leading edges and bevel trailing edges.

NICE wings!!

I have never worked with FG, so I couldn't say, but they look cool!

Can't wait to see them attached, have you decided on a NC shape?

Spooks said:

NICE wings!! I have never worked with FG, so I couldn't say, but they look cool!

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Thanks.

Spooks said:

... have you decided on a NC shape?

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6:1 Fiberglass Ogive. Tim was out of stock of the 5:1 (my first choice). No harm,...the 6:1 will get the necessary nose weight that much farther forward!

Package arrived from Tim Lehr today...

3" x 33" FG Body Tube. slotted for 3 tail fins and 2 wings.
38mm x 15" FG MMT
3 CR's
6:1 OGIVE FG Nosecone with bulkhead plate.

One thing for certain,... she won't be light!!!

Tonights activity... wash the FG bits. Bevel / Shape / Sand the fins / wings.

Quaranta said:

One thing for certain,... she won't be light!!!

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A little heavy in the hips,ehh. Thats not a bad thing.
Nothing wrong with a Fat-Bottom design....:wink:
Anywhoo.........
Ill be viewing with pleasure.....op:

The biggest assembly decision was in what order to assemble in order to maintain access to the wing fin roots for fillets. I'm using 3 CR's (fwd / mid(between wings and fins), and aft.

I considered placing the middle CR first, and completing the wing fillets from fwd,... but they're a long way back. So I decided to work from the Fwd CR backwards... seems the easiest approach... just need to be careful when applying wing fillets so I don't have difficulty with the middle CR.

MMT washed; scuffed for 3 CR's, 2 Wings, and 3 Fins; then re-washed.

1st epoxy laid. Forward CR attached. Fillets applied.

In preparation for placing the 3 tail fins (not yet... just planning ahead)... I made a template. This website creates individual templates for fin placement. Works well. No affiliation.

https://www.payloadbay.com/index.php?page=Tools&action=FINGUIDES

Hint: To get it to print full size,... set scale to 100%.

Quaranta said:

One thing for certain,... she won't be light!!!

Tonights activity... wash the FG bits. Bevel / Shape / Sand the fins / wings.

Click to expand...

Progress:
1. All FG bits washed
2. Wings/fins sanded and bevelled.
3. Body Tube scuffed (at 3 CR locations inside; and at Fillet sites for wings and Fins inside and out)
4. I needed to open up the fin and wing slots a bit (a tad too narrow). I used a section of coarse belt sander "paper" attached to a 1" metal spackle spatula. worked well.
5. Re-wash BT/Wings/Fins.

Welded eyebolt attached to CR. CA and epoxy to permanently attach nut.

I tested the assembly in the BT to ensure the quick link was feasible. My arm/hand don't fit,... but my wife can do it.

Wow!!

She is coming along FAST and so far looks to be great work as usual.

Thanks for the sharing the link, that's one I didn't know about...

38mm MMT epoxied in place in the 3" BT. Only the Fwd CR epoxied for now. Aft CR loosely fit (with scotch tape tabs) for alignment.

I always use 30 min epoxy in this step to avoid being rushed. Epoxy applied using dowel rod with cardboard spatula taped on (to apply epoxy deep in the tube.)

Spooks said:

Wow!!

She is coming along FAST and so far looks to be great work as usual.

Thanks for the sharing the link, that's one I didn't know about...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind comment. I'm off today,... and my 6 y/o is sick. So I'm stuck at the house. Work will slow a bit after today...

Of course I never scuffed the attach points of the wings and fins... Scuffed / washed / dried.

If all goes well, I'll get the wings attached today.

Wings attached.

Note my hi-tech wing alignment jig! Inverted Campbell's Soup containers to restrain the BT. Inverted single serving apple sauce to support the wings, with an add'l quarter spacer.

90 degree square to ensure all is true. Measured about 5x... then bonded.

Will let it cure,... then I'll remove the aft CR and see how things look inside. Then internal fillets... followed by the middle CR,... and then I can add the Tail Fins.

Full cure for 5 min epoxy according to the box is 16 hours,... so that's it for today. Fillets tomorrow night

A peak down the fin/wing can... looks nice and square.

My curiosity got the better of me. Here are pics with the tail fins and nosecone dry fit...

I'm really happy with the overall look / style.

And the business end...

Internal fillets applied to wings.

Fillets done with west systems epoxy/slow hardener/west colloidal silica. Slurry mixture placed in 60cc syringe and applied using refrigerator tubing to get the slurry in position. Dowel to spatula to sculpt.

I was concerned about slop contaminating the MMT and body tube,... so I while thickening the epoxy I pulled off a small quantity of the mixture just prior to full thickness... with this thinner mix, I applied a bead to the MMT and BT and immediately placed the middle centering ring.

To avoid any issues with heat expansion during curing,... I pre-drilled (2) 1/8" holes in the middle CR to allow gases to ventilate.

After cure I will apply a fillet bead at the aft end of this middle CR.

Due to time constraint of getting the CR applied, I didn't get a pic of the internal wing fillets. But here is the middle CR in place...

Aft CR fillet.

To apply deep fillets in narrow spaces I use a syringe/tube to apply a bead of thickened epoxy (as above). Then use a V-tipped dowel to shape the fillet.

Next up... tail fins.

Build is coming along great, enjoying the pics, thinking about tackling some FG after my L2 flight...

What size MMT did you decide on?

I may have missed it.

Single 38mm x 15" long MMT, in a 3" x 33" Body Tube.

Thanks for the support. FG is very easy to work with. Give it a shot!

Looking good! I always do dry fits when I'm building-- it helps keep me motivated and excited about the build.
I like the profile of it, and I think the 6:1 NC looks better than a 5:1 would. It sure looks like it'll come in fast though, with all that fiberglass.
Keep up the good work!

Nice build Simon. Can you post the Open Rocket file?

bill2654 said:

Nice build Simon. Can you post the Open Rocket file?

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Thank you. Never attached an OR File. I'll try...

View attachment X-Plane HST 3in.ork