|
| |
|
| Construction of Mike
Bealmear's 1/4 scale Siemens
Schuckert D1 Page 1 , Page 2 |
|
 |
|
| As I said before, this is the first time I've ever tried to
build something from essentially plans. While I don't really
consider this as a pure "scratch built" project, because many
pieces (ribs, formers, etc.) were laser cut for us, there is a lot to be
done. Plus, the modifications I'll be doing to make a Nieuport 17 into an
SSW D1 will create some additional challenges as well.
I completed the frame-up of the top and bottom
wing the last week of October 2004. Their construction was fairly easy and
straight forward (see below). Then my "airplane building" switched to" kitchen
remodeling" (at home) for the next 5 weeks. Then Christmas
kicked in. As a result, little time was available for airplane building until
the new year. |
|
|
|
|
|
(Click on images to enlarge) |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
October 2004
Construction Begins
"The Cave" (what my wife Kathy
has christened my basement work shop). I'm very lucky to have a great
place to "do my thing" and even luckier that it's a straight
shot up the stairs and out the back door. These pics show
construction of the left half of the upper wing. It's built flat, with no
dihedral by the way.
|
|
|
|
|
January 1, 2005
Fuse Construction and Engine Mounting
Fuselage construction shots. Again, pretty simple and straight forward. Laser
cut parts fit well. My only problem was not looking at the plans closely,
and gluing the completed fuse sides to the firewall at a right angle. The
slight taper of the fuse begins at the firewall. Actually, it worked out okay, as
with the SSW D1, the forward fuse has a more rounded cross-section anyway.
It did make it tougher to get the formers in properly, but it all came
together just fine. You can see in the frontal shots the modifications to
the cowl ring, making the sides straight rather than rounded on the
Nieuport. Test mounting of the Ryobi 31cc converted weed-eater engine
(later replaced with a G38) came
next.
|
|
(Click on images to enlarge)
|
|
|
|
|
January 2005
Forward Fuse Modifications
Next came the modifications to the forward fuse. With the more rounded
cross section, I used cardboard at first to cut patterns for the balsa
formers. Once I had these, I traced them onto balsa a
cut them out. These were the CA'd in the proper locations. Next the notches
were cut for the 1/8 x 1/8 balsa stringers. There's a sharp enough
bend from the last new former to the fuse side, that I needed to wet the
stingers first (with just water) so they wouldn't break.
If you look at the lager version of the second pic, I put in a while line to
give you kind of an idea where the standard Nie 17 forward fuse side would
be.
Rudder Modifications
The last pic shows the modifications done to the shape of the Nie 17 rudder
for the more rounded SSWD1 rudder.
|
|
back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Tail Feathers
Tails feathers pinned in place. Robart type hinges temp. fitted in the elev.
halves. Getting ready to start looking at the runs for the pull-pull and
servo placement next. The last pic shows wooden pins in the fuse. I decided
that the structure wasn't strong enough here. Drilled small holes and CA'd
in short pieces of bamboo skewers (tooth pics would work too.)
|
|
|
|
|
Cabanes
The cabanes were made from strips cut from aluminum sheet stock inserted
into streamlined aluminum tubing. JB Weld was used to keep the tubing in
place. When mounting, much care and test fitting was done to get the top
wing incidence correct. Holes were pre-drilled in the cabanes, and
once the proper location was determined, the holes were then drilled into
the sides of the plywood fuse side. Hardwood strips and blind nuts were then
used on the out-side (later the forward fuse sheeting would cover this). I used #8
cap screws and blind nuts here (probably over-kill) and further secured
things by blocking in the cabane mounts with some light ply. This also helps
line up the holes to re-mount the cabanes later after the top deck is
sheeted. The center and left pics were taken after the top deck was sheeted.
|
|
|
|
February 19, 2005
Club Mall Show
The Public Debut (of sorts) for the SSWD1. Our clubs annual Mall Show. As you
can see, the cabanes are now mounted as are the top and bottom wings.
Landing gear is duck taped together. Cowl is rough cut to fit. Looking a bit
more like an airplane!
|
|
|
|
|
March 2005
Final Construction
Forward fuse is sheeted and over anxious pilot figure checks out his ride.
Covering was next.
The last pic here shows the louvers. I neglected to take pics of their
construction, but the louvers themselves are shaped basswood, glued to
1/16" lite ply. This was then glued to an area carved out of the
already covered fuse (which was an error, should have done that before
covering). Because the cross section of the fuse is not quite flat hear (it
probably should have been) it was a challenge to get them to fit well. The air scoop
is a 1/48 scale P-51 spinner from the parts box, shortened and cut in half
and attached with CA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Early April 2005
Tail Skid
I did the tail skid first by enlarging a photo of the real tail skid to the
size I needed then cutting pieces of music wire to size and soldering it
together with brass sheet stock, with the "U" bracket for the skid
also made from brass sheet stock. The skid itself is hardwood cut and
shaped to size. It's a shock absorbing skid just like the prototype,
with a heavy rubber band acting as a bungee on the front part of the
skid. My original tail skid looked good, but didn't hold up past the first
flight. The side braces broke loose where they joined the assembly just
above the skid. The re-design (pic on right) retained the scale shape, but
used a small shaped hardwood block as a origin for the for/aft and side
braces and skid mount. Kind of crude, but I need a fix fast. The side brace piece was simply wrapped around
the bolt through the "U" channel the skid it self was mounted too,
then bent up to attach to the fuse bottom fuse stringers (if I paint it, it
might even look a little better). Perhaps if my solder skills improve, I can
make a better metal one down the road. Nylon inserts
(from inner nyrod) were expoxied into holes drilled for them for the attachment
screws to mount too on the side braces. The main for and aft legs are bent
to simply fit into holes drilled in the ply mounting plate and are held in
place with nylon landing gear straps. So far, this skid has held up to a lot
of abuse.
|
|
|
|
|
Main Gear
The main gear was done as per plans (I didn't attempt to do sprung gear like
Greg Emerick did on his). The only modification I did was to add successive
diameters of brass tubing to the axel until to same diameter of the hole in
the wheel was met. This was them solder in place, and drilled for a small
cotter pin . A bit more work, but far more dependable than wheel
collars.
To the music wire legs I added streamlined hardwood (from
Balsa USA). A grove routed on one side for the gear leg to recess into. This
was glued in with a liberal amount of JB Weld. When dried it was sanded,
primed and painted. They're held up pretty well. I've had to squirt some CA
into a few cracks (after a particularly hard landing) and clamp until
set-up.
|
|
back to top
|
|
|
|
SSWD1 construction (page 2) continued here
|
Please feel free to Email
me if you have any questions or comments.
|
