Looks very promising my friend!
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I'm rather anxious on how that concave covering will look after applying some dope...
Actually, Johan I will not be applying any dope, just the muslin glued on and that's it. The original Flyer only had unbleached muslin non doped as well.
Here is a view of the top and fully covered wing. I was able to pull it reasonably taught without any rib bending or deflection.
Just a little more progress here. Finished the lower wing with the extra pilot supports and engine support elements. I still have the elevator wings and rudder surfaces to go.
I began experimenting turning the basswood struts into a semblance of Ash or Spruce and like the results so far. I wiped on a water-based stain of Golden Oak then applied 2 coats of Minwax. I scraped the profile shown in the plans in prior to the staining.
Here is a nice photo curtesy of the National Air and Space Museum. I will try to capture the contrast of wood and muslin shown on my Flyer. There will be some tricky metal work involved in the connections of the struts to the wings.
Thanks for taking the time to look in.
I began experimenting turning the basswood struts into a semblance of Ash or Spruce and like the results so far. I wiped on a water-based stain of Golden Oak then applied 2 coats of Minwax. I scraped the profile shown in the plans in prior to the staining.
Here is a nice photo curtesy of the National Air and Space Museum. I will try to capture the contrast of wood and muslin shown on my Flyer. There will be some tricky metal work involved in the connections of the struts to the wings.
Thanks for taking the time to look in.
I never realized how much anhedral there was in the wings. I wonder if most of that came out in flight. Of course in more modern times our B-52 bomber has wing tip wheels while on the ground.
I hope I can replicate the sag as well. I do have some built in but not that much, hoping to cable in some more during rigging. The multi jig has this sag accounted for, I just have to wait and see.
Good question Johan. So far, I haven't read of that type of information. I doubt it exists knowing the plane only flew twice on the same day then while being unattended the wind flipped it over, broke it, and it never flew again. But I suppose they could have had some kind of tattle tale rigged up that would reveal that kind of data.
Well, in the movie version there was a ton
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You lost me there Paul, or I haven't seen the movie yet?Well, in the movie version there was a ton
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And as we all know, what's shown in a movie is the undeniable truth...Well, in the movie version there was a ton
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C’mon Daniel. Every kid who went to school in the US saw the ‘movie version’ in 8th grade science class. That’s how we know Americans were first in flight.
Well here is my metal work update. There are 36 strut fittings, a plate and open loop which attaches to the wing surface at the spars and a looped piece that attaches to the ends of the struts. These are tiny little buggers which challenged my welding skills, so the following is my weld up jig.
At first, I only welded up a couple then glued them to a test piece representing single and double muslin covered spars. The CA penetrated the fabric and holds very well so that's a big relief! I just need to be careful not to use too much CA or it will leak out and make a stain.
Lastly here you can see the strut loop and open loop. the strut loop is too thick to fit into the slot of the open loop, so I have to file down 36 loops thin enough to slide into the open loop.
I hope this helps future builders, thanks for checking in.
At first, I only welded up a couple then glued them to a test piece representing single and double muslin covered spars. The CA penetrated the fabric and holds very well so that's a big relief! I just need to be careful not to use too much CA or it will leak out and make a stain.
Lastly here you can see the strut loop and open loop. the strut loop is too thick to fit into the slot of the open loop, so I have to file down 36 loops thin enough to slide into the open loop.
I hope this helps future builders, thanks for checking in.
Thats good information, like you I wonder how much that dimension reduced under flight load.
Hmm, must have been absent the day they showed it Paul
, I did see Niel Armstrong's first step on the moon live though
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That statement is up for debate, although I'm not looking forward opening this can of worms.
There are others who claimed first powered and controlled flight: Clement Ader, Gustave Whitehead, Samuel Pierpont Langley, Alberto Santos-Dumont, to name a few.
A more truthful statement would be that it is very likel that the Wrightbrothers were first to fly, based on the available evidence.
Me too! I was home that day sitting in front of the TV with my mom. I still can picture it like it was yesterday.I did see Niel Armstrong's first step on the moon live though
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I must have jumped on Grants @GrantTyler rabbit, I'm all over the place on this build. After attaching the strut fittings to the wing, I just had to see how durable they really were going to be. So, I made a strut and hooked it up, they seem like they will work fine! I'm liking the contrast as well. I had painted the open loops and plate but decided to use Paul's @dockattner recipe with the brass black to color the closed loop pieces that go on the struts which worked really well. The black bindings on the strut are my handmade rope. Check it out.
Hope you all have a great day!
Hope you all have a great day!