Hot Jart

Well I got a chance to do a little final decorating , this is often determined ,by the colours I am spraying , as I line up a few plane projects for spraying at the same time .

Yesterday I mixed up some bright red 2k to finish off the yellow Jart and also spray up some mylars for a thermal ship which has been sidelined for some time.

First off I decided on a pattern and started masking with some plastic tape which gives nice sharp lines.

Next I masked and covered the entire plane , if there is any small overspray, this can be polished off later.

I layed down 2 x coats of 2k red and let it flash off, which is quick with the fast harderner.

As soon as its touch dry I remove the masking , carefully lifting the plastic tape. It all came out

rather well and with the red paint still pliable there is no chance of flaking or chipping which happens if you de-mask after a couple of days cure.

Final touch a JART sticker and now I will cut the ailerons and elevator and start the plumbing.

Wing progress

Bit slow on the wing progress, hope that I don't have the same problem with the paint that Evan had (see earlier posts by Evan re Eskom induced delays) as my stab and wing mylars were painted at the same time!

The joiner tube is a bit large so it needed filing down. The reason for the size is that the carbon joiner needs a fair amount of carbon in it and the aluminium tube is quite thick walled.


This is the joiner tube area after the first application of epoxy-cabosil-cotton flocks-micro balloon mixture. Some voids still need filling.

The aluminium tube with its carbon tows ready for insertion after resin application.



I am using the standard Reed specified S6062 at 7,95% thickness. For the stab I used an aramid leading edge but this was a bit tricky as I did it at the same time as the bagging! Not as per the experts and it was made even trickier because I only 3M77éd the stab halves together. Epoxy dissolves the bond after a short time...

For the wings Í discussed the layup with Craig (thanks!) and also used Joe Wurts' spreadsheet (http://www.charlesriverrc.org/artic...vacbaglayup.htm) which gives some comfort that things won't just break apart in mid air (as opposed to the more common/acceptable ground breakage!).

All the glass for the wings has been cut and is just waiting for the final sanding of the joiner tube areas while I debate whether to put on an aramid leading edge....

Started!

Finally, after ages of planning, reading and thinking I've just got a fresh Jart stab out of the bag, very chuffed as it's my second bagging attempt and the wow factor when you open a "To Dad, From Dad" present inside the bag is superb!

The leading edge and trailing edges just need trimming now.

Craig Goodrum and Evan Shaw's composite courses at AMT made it go pretty easy so it's on to the wings which came out great (thanks Mike for the template tip! - use thick Formica and a home-made feather cut).

The wings are going to be two piece for ease of transport. I discussed the wing joiner rod with Craig and I'm going to use the tows-in-a-disappearing-aluminium-tube idea. Pictures to follow as it's being done.

Thanks again Mike for your help and Reed for the generosity with the free plans for this beautiful plane!

Vic

About to start

Got the plan from Reed awhile ago and been threatening to start. Finally had chat to Adrian and see that I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. Anyway have made the decision to plunge headlong into this build. Going to get pdf printed and buy some foam and get started. (My son is on 6 weeks holidays and if I get going maybe I can entice him to get his hands dirty)


Here goes.

Jart 3 Canopy

Some good progress this last weekend on this build, I managed to join together all the big pieces,and it is now a Jart.













I fill the join lines and the wing shoulder gusset with micro balloons and some cloth on the wing and tailplane join lines.

After carefully cutting out the canopy, I make two small pieces in the mould, I dont spray the mould , the yellow in this case is pigment in the resin, these are the rough pieces on the wing nearest.











These pieces o about 4 layers of cloth are cut so that they fit on the inside of the fuselage and being flexable and more or less the right contour,
are easy to position and epoxy in place.











In this photo the lip is epoxied in place and the pegs hold two pieces of ply , which will be drilled to accept two small self tapping screws which hold the canopy on.










In the final picture the tear drop canopy has been sprayed black and the rest final coats of yellow.

Next I need to cut out the ailerons and elevator and wire up the servos.

At the moment it weighs 740 grams and feels lightish but battery , radio gear and balancing will change all that.

Hope this one flies even better than the red one.

I have done a slightly different canopy shape, but still starting ahead of the leadind edge so that I can still fit in a fair battery pack and full size receiver in its protective foam.

Some stripes next to tell the top from the bottom , important when doing rolls as these things roll , at a rate nothing short of a frenzy.