BT80H Upscale Interceptor Project

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OKTurbo

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It has begun....

All of the parts have been gathered (except decals....Phred's working on it), the plans are drawn, and wood is being cut....

First the fins. Wings and Vertical Stabs are cut from 3/16" basswood. Lower strakes are 1/8" basswood.
 
Oohhh....It's gonna be a big'un...

Nose cone, tail cone, and wing pod parts from Sandman. Body tubes and wood from BMS.
 
Holy Smoke! Absolutely beautiful! Incredible work. You're gonna have some big decal sheets from Phred!!!
Drew Tomko
 
Man, it looks like I have to make myself one!...

No where can I get the nose cones???:confused:

That looks fabulous!
 
Geez fellas....no pressure!?!?:D

I sure hope it turns out nice. I still want to try a functional strap on booster for this, but I'll probably wait until it flies solo first.

BTW...I have the BT80H / BT52H 29mm size fin patterns in pdf format if anyone's interested. I ~think~ I can attach the pdf files to a post here on TRF.

Gordon...you're drawings helped a lot. I only changed one thing. The booster pods looked a little short when compared with a scaled up JimZ picture. I lengthened the BT50 tube a bit to get them close to "scale" length.

Anyone know how to get ahold of edwardw at STL? I sent him a few PM's wrt to a chute for my big Sprint but I never did hear back from him. I'll be needing a "special" chute for this project. I have a feeling that the TRF messaging is messed up. His website doesn't have an e-mail address on it?!?

Thanks for the kudos guys,
John
 
I've added some 1/16" square balsa strips to the MMT. The fins will "key" into these through the body tube slots...hopefully keeping everything lined up and straight...
 
Nice job on those fin 'foils. You are making me crave building another one (maybe not quite as big as yours) ---- the last one I had was about 35 years ago.

Keep the pix coming?
 
Man, this is almost...I said almost...as good as building it myself.

Glad I didn't have to sand all those fins.

Very impressive!;)
 
This little baby makes shaping basswood a breeze...

LOL! I have the exact same model...

I paid $12 for it at a second hand store with no motor.

I've had the motor from an old washing machine (free) running it for the past 15 years!
 
OK,

Really beautiful job on those fins.

But I think NAR section 316, subparagraph 14B, specifically defines using a belt-sander as "cheating, but really smart". :D :D :D
 
LOL Gus...

So now my secret is out....

I only screwed up one fin. I had to cut a replacement. It takes a fine touch with power tools. At least I still have all my fingerprints. :D
 
I worked a little on the wing pods.

I'm a bit worried about how well these pods will hold up to landings. I put in a little TTW for the pod fins....for alignment and also to toughen them up a bit.
 
Glued up and ready. I'll attach the forward pod cone to the wing tip first. Then once they're aligned and dry, I'll glue on the rest. This will make it easier to line up the pod fins vertically.
 
I hoped you wouldn't mind that I left the wood dowel in place when I sent you the parts.

I thought it would make working on the parts a little easier.

I didn't do it on all the parts 'cause... I didn't think of it earlier.:D
 
Actually leaving the dowel in did make it a lot easier. A couple of seconds with the razor saw and they were off. The dowel gave me something to hang on to when cutting the slots.

Good idea.

Thanks.
 
That's what I figured on the dowels.

Usually I cut them off and center punch/drill a hole for a screw eye but...didn't have to on these!
 
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