1916 photo of early SSWD1s in the Nuremberg factory.

I'd never done ribstiching before, and there are many different ways to do this. I chose to use a new product from Scale Rib Stitch. Basically this is a simulated scale rib stitch tape that comes in various scales (dictating the spacing of the stitch). This stuff  comes in 2" x 36" wide strips that you cut to the width that you need. The "stitching" strips were measured and marked with a straight edge (center pic), then cut out with scissors (at least this was the method I used). You then peel off the backing tape, and apply to the top of the rib. The rib tapes were cut out of Solartex using a Top Flite SmartStripe Cutting Tool. You then peel off the backing tape on the top side and apply the rib tape. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, as it was difficult to keep the rib tape centered on the stitch tape. The solution that I came up with (shown in the right pic) was to make a cardboard template with a cut-out the width of the rib tape. I centered the template over the applied stitch tape, and make small marks with a pencil every so often. This made it immensely easier to do. The application of the rib tape was done with a fairly hot iron. The rib tapes are tacked down to the top of the stitch tape, then I came back over the rib tapes with the iron (using the heat with little pressure) followed right behind with a damp rag to press the tape to the covering and down  around the stitches. Come back and hit any spots where the tape looks loose, and you're done (with that part).

Next were the sub-rib tapes (with no stitching per my documentation), and adding the leading and trailing edge tapes to finish off the covering. This was all applied to the tail feathers as well.  This was probably the most time consuming part of the construction, but the final look is great!

(Click on images to enlarge)

After drying for a few days, the Maltese crosses were masked and painted with hobby enamel. The pattern I used for the crosses were decals left over from my Slow Stick. They were enlarged to the sizes I needed on a copier, then templates were cut. The outlines were transferred to the various locations in pencil. I used blue painters masking tape cut into narrow strips to out-line the crosses, masked off the rest with tape and newspaper (except for the rudder which was all tape). The white was applied and allowed to dry for a couple of days. Then the white out-lines were masked and the black was sprayed on. A little touch -up here and there was all that was needed to make all ready for a couple of light coats of polyurethane to finish it off. 

Pull-Pull
I used Dubro's 4-40 Pull-Pull system for controlling the elevators and rudder. Dual servos were used on the elevator (one for each half). I like the added safety factor here. Much of this was set up temporary lines run before covering.

What? Me nervous?

Airborne! 

Climbing out in the haze.

Bill rolls it. Colors sure look good!

Final approach.

Post flight thumbs up!

To make matters worse, I was topping off the Tx battery (with all the added set-up time, it had run down) with my field charger before the maiden flight.
My Hobbico Field Charger MKII fried my Tx battery, cooked it. It was so ho, that the plastic shrink wrap was peeled off, and the battery itself was to hot to touch. I immediately removed it from the Tx. After it cooled down, it was topped off with a different charger, and deemed adequate enough for a test hop. 

I asked Billy Thompson to do the honors. I was pretty nervous about it, and seeing that Billy is a very good pilot, and already had quite a few flights on his Nieuport 17 (which mine is based), I thought that if there was a serious problem, he would have a better change at recovery than me. I also wanted his assessment on how mine flew compared to his. 

The take-off was perfect, but Billy did comment that it seemed a bit underpowered with the 31cc Ryobi. Bill took it around the patch a few times and commented that it flew great which was a huge relief to me! He performed a few gentle aerobatics and then brought it in for a perfect landing. Wow! It sure looked good up there. Upon post flight inspection, we found that the rudder hinges were loose. As I didn't have what I needed to properly repair it at the field, my first flight would have to wait for the following weekend.

09-03-05
After fixing a loose rudder (and replacing the Tx battery), my first attempted flights with the SSWD1 were Saturday the 3rd at my club field (Johnson Co. R/C Flyers). The grass part of the field was so rough however, that it was beyond my skills to keep it tracking straight enough for a take-off. I decided to call it a day, before I had more than just a few flying wires to fix, and try aging the next day back up at Phil's.

09-04-05
After more engine tweaking (the forbearer of future issues), it was time for me to give it a go. After a few fast taxi's to get the feel of it, It was off the ground with me at the sticks. Yup, seemed a bit underpowered, and had to be flown on the wing. I was up for about 4-5 minutes when the engine died. I was able to just make it to the field (which is surrounded by beans and corn beyond that). Made two more flights that day, with both resulting in dead sticks. I unfortunately put those both in the beans with no apparent damage other than a broken flying wire or two (later I discovered a stripped servo gear for one of the ailerons. Needless to say, I was not at all happy with the Ryobi, and even with lots of knowledgeable help around, we could not figure out the problem, as it ran okay on the ground for the most part, but top end was never very consistent. Not good, as the Hoosier Dawn Patrol Fly-In was two weeks away, and the big event at Dayton, the 2005 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous, was the weekend after that. 

One week (and $400.00 lighter in the wallet) saw a new Zenoah G38 mounted.  That solved the engine problems. I could tell when I fist taxied it out with the G38 that this was going to be more fun.  It flew great! After a few test flights with the G38, I mounted  the spinner  in time for the Hoosier Dawn Patrol. 

Hoosier Dawn Patrol 09-24-05

My son Ted (my spotter) and me at the 2005 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous at Dayton. 

"A scale project is never done, you just quit working on it".

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