jofunk

The excess glass got trimmed off and I was able to flip the fuse over. I was interested to see the top and to start figuring out the next set of engineering challenges. I stuck all the pieces where they go to get a sense of size. I looks like it will be a nice everyday flyer. You know, just toss it in the car and go………………. I brought the fuel bay stress analysis team down stairs for some preliminary load testing. So far so good.

jofunk

I glued in some balsa to start feathering in the step in the intake. I laid T stock in the nose gear box and in the fuel tank bay. I dyed the epoxy red to see where I covered, and just a little goofing around. Everything got wedged in with some scrap balsa.

jofunk

A slow go with Easter and a trip to Disney World. Although I did visit Graves RC in Orlando. I messed around trying to figure where the tops of the 3 missing bulkheads go over the wing mount box. I will also need to build a hatch into this area.

jofunk

Here is a better picture of the fuel bay stress analysis team at work. Notice the simultaneous rearward and sidewall inspection in picture two.

rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

Neat project Joe! I can't wait to see it!

BTW, I would recommend that he not wear a shirt that says "Kiss me" when he goes to High School!

Bob

jofunk

He should out grow it by then………….I glued on the missing three bulkheads, twice. The first time they were too high. I used some tape over the top to see the lines. I also glued a top onto the nose gear box.

jofunk

I glued some straps across the tops of the intakes to stiffen them up since they are out there floating in space....I also made a strip to terminate some stringers. In this area the flat fuse top and the curved top of the fuse converge between two bulkheads.

jofunk

Wrong picture. Here is a picture of the straps on the intakes. I cut two holes in the top of the engine box. This is where I will be inserting and removing the pins which will hold the hoz. stabilator. They will need to come off for transport. I laid some stringers down. They are helping to give me a visual on where a hatch will need to go. It looks like the full length stringers will be the width of the hatch.

jofunk

This is what happens when you elbow your bulk head as hard as you can doing something else. I started to box in the hatch area. The sides of the box are hooked under the wing spare with a couple of gussets to stiffen things up. The hatch will be material doubled up inside this area. It will be cut out after everything is sheeted and shaped. I also hacksawed some slices for the stringer locations.

jofunk

A few more stringers over the intakes.

jofunk

I sharpened the corners on the hump to make it easier to sheet into. Tight inside radii are very difficult to sheet. I put a support under # 11 to the top of the box to stiffen things up, and more stringers.

jofunk

The gussets were not enough. I needed something to terminate the stringers on between the wing plug ins, so I added some partial bulkheads.

jofunk

I reenforced another bulkhead, and finished stringing the top. I was finally able to start sheeting the top. The two 36" pieces curve over the top so I used quite a bit of weight to hold things down. To give me more time with the big pieces they are glued down with urethane glue. the only drawback is the over night curing time. The smaller pieces of sheeting in the rear are glued with CA.

jofunk

I put more sheeting on in the back. One piece was too big to use CA so I used urethane and a few bricks. I had to build up the side of the intake a little to close it up when the top sheeting comes over...... My combat plane got cut in half in an aggressive combat session so I needed to make another wing.

jofunk

I started closing in the rear of the fuse. There is a radius on this corner that transitions into a right angle somewhere near the TE of the wing or a little forward of the TE. I need to look at some pictures.

jofunk

The radius starts 4 " in front of the TE. With the corner square I cut back 1/2 inch on the top and side. I ground down the radius on the bulkheads and sanded the sheeting down on a 45 degree angle. I capped it with a 1/4" piece of balsa and rounded that. The radii on the bulkheads top corners were too tight to sheet. This way there is some material back there.

jofunk

I notched some sheeting to save on some trimming. The sheeting is the top of the intake. I also cut off the extra material above the intake.

jofunk

I finished sheeting over the intakes. The sides of the intakes are wrong on the Trumpeter kit. The inboard and outboard edges are not straight, they are curved. Also the inboard edge does not stop at the LE of the intake. It runs up to the notch just behind the LE.

jofunk

I'm not a super scale guy but the intake shape is easy to change.

Jet20

My Feedback: (2)

If I remember right, the earlier Vigi's had the curved outer inlet edge while on later ones it was straight. In both cases, the inboard edge curved to the bottom of the inlet which is definitely wrong on the plastic kit.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...VAH-7_1979.jpg

turbofixer

Hi Chris,
You are correct that the last block of RA5 had the straight outer duct edge. You can also note that late block aircraft have the strake from the wing to the front of the intake duct...I have learned a lot lately about the viggy converting the Golds kit..Talk about sport scale..argh
Fellow RA5 fan...Scott

jofunk

Thanks for the good research guys.

jofunk

OK the LE of the intakes is going to be straight. I worked on the inboard sides while the outboard sides are still open. I cut the curve and straight line and cut out the former, The side is doubled up with some stiff balsa. It will get glassed and then some urethane foam to feather in the step further in the intake. I clamped a plank on the outboard side to see what is visible in the intake. I also doubled up some formers to create a hatch. It will get sheeted, get stiffened with some glass, and then get cut out. The last picture is for Sierra Tango. I was practicing squeezing rivets. Some I purposely messed up to see what happens.

jofunk

I glued on a piece of 1/32 aircraft ply to the LE of the intake to save the straight edge. The plywood had some glass and paint on it from a previous wreck of something. I filled in the underside of the tops of the intakes. The pieces needed a little shim to get them flush. I also glued some sticks between the sheets to stiffen them. The outboard intake walls got added and the angle cut. It looks a little more like a Vigilante.

jofunk

I put the last of the sheeting on the sides and slid out the aluminum bars. I rotated the fuse on the table 90 degrees to jig up the wing.The top of the wing airfoil matches the top of the fuse pretty well with the trailing edge running down the way it should. When I got the tops to match the incidence meter read not even a 1/2 degree Positive. That is encouraging.....................Here are a few pics of my Memorial Day salute. The axis planes stayed in the garage.