Time for a quick update on the Wild Thing. I finished sanding the seam on the tube and it is now quite smooth as can be seen in the below photo.
I did have a spot on one end of the tube where one layer of the fiberglass lamination did not stick and got sanded off. The first layer was still well attached to the tube so I just needed to patch the one layer. I mixed some 30 minute epoxy and spread it into the divot. Then I took a strip of blue painters tape to get the epoxy to lay smooth and avoid a bunch of sanding. After it set I removed the tape. I gave it a day to completely cure and then sanded it smooth. The below picture shows the edge where the patch is. You can hardly tell it is there.
With the tube done for now, I turned my attention back to the motor mount. I dry assembled the parts and then put the fins in place. I wanted to see if my tape spacer at the end of the 29mm tubes was going to affect how the fins fit in place. Here is a picture of the dry assembly.
It looks like they will fit fine. Without the tape spacer the 29mm tubes would be too close together to get the fins all the way to the 38mm tube. This is the way the kit was designed. The result would make the fins just a bit more fragile on landings. With the spacer in place I am able to get the fins all the way to the 38mm tube. This will result in a much stronger joint. I ran the change through Rocksim and it doesn’t affect the stability. With seven fins it will be very stable even with the fins being about 3/8 to 1/2 inch shorter than the original design.
Next I wanted to start assembling the motor mount. Since the 29mm tubes actually hold the 38mm tube in place it was going to be very messy trying to glue the tubes together tube by tube and keep them parallel to the center line while keeping the centering rings perpendicular to the center line. Here is a shot of the plans showing the way the tubes fit together.
What I decided to do was to fit all the tubes together, then get the centering rings lined up and make sure the tubes are not angled. Then I applied some CA glue to the centering rings and 29mm tubes to hold them in place. Then I mixed up some 30 minute epoxy and glued the 29mm tubes to the upper centering ring.
After that had cured I used more 30 minute epoxy to glue the 38mm tube to the 29mm tubes from the top of the upper centering ring.
When this is completed I’ll epoxy the 29mm tubes to the back centering ring. The 38mm tube will be firmly attached to the airframe not only at this point, but also at it’s upper end by the baffle that I will build later. At the business end, the fins will solidly attach the 38mm tube to both the fins and the 29mm tubes.
When I finish the fins, I’ll work on the baffle at the front of the 38mm motor tube.
Much more to come. Thanks for looking.
Luhman-ations 