Nieuport 17 Build

[ka8yyz]

Hello folks,

As a lot of you know, I lost my (I mean Karen's) 1/4 scale Nieuport 17 back in February. Well, Karen wants me to build another. I have the kit and plan to start on it soon. I thought I would start a build thread for those that would be interested and also provide any easy way to keep my son, Chris, in Hawaii updated on the build. Some of our members who strictly fly ARFs have said they are interested too.
I will post pictures and information. Please feel free to chime in with questions and suggestions. I have made a list of improvements I'm planning from things I learned on the previous build.

So stay tuned!

[kcfadmin]

Looking forward to it Jesse, I'm sure I'll learn a lot.

[ka8yyz]

OK gang, well I managed to start on the Nieuport. I am behind on posting. Attached is what it looks like out of the box. I spent about an hour sorting and bundling the sticks by size.
I also labeled all the parts on the die cut parts sheets. This saves a lot time later on.

With the hot weather, I managed to get a lot done this past weekend on the wings. I promise another post this week with wing pictures. Karen has already started to get impatient and is wondering when we start covering!

[ka8yyz]

.

Top Wing Under Construction

Top_Wing_1.jpg (31.84 KiB) Viewed 23 times

Well, work on the Nieuport has progessed, just posting hasn't. Work begins on the top wing. The picture is of one half of the wing. My primary glue for this project will be Titebond II wood glue. This glue is different from standard Titebond in that it has a faster tack time. It bonds to the plywood and hardwood components much better than CA.

One modification I am making is the replacement of the balsa spars with basswood. This will provide more strength for minimal weight gain

[ka8yyz]

Now with both wing panels constructed, and the rough sanding is done, it is time to joing the wings. Even though the Titebond is in the picture, I do not use it to join the wings. Loctite One hour Epoxy is the glue of choice here.

You may be able to see a string stretched in front of the leading edge. This is used to set the sweep of the top wing. This wing will then be used to set the identical sweep on the bottom wing.

Also , I use a lot of clamps to insure that the parts are flush against each other.

Another mod here... I am changing the servo mounts so that the servos will be inside the wing. Just looks a lot better.

[ka8yyz]

Now, this will catch me up on posting for awhile. The bottom wing construction follows just like the top. The bottom wing is actually easier, due to less parts and no ailerons. Again, the balsa spars have been replaced with basswood. Another mod, is the shear webbing. The two shear webs at the dihedral point are now 3/32" plywood, instead of balsa. The shear webs connect the top and bottom spars, and give the wing it's strength. The other Nieuport had a wing failure in this area, so the bottom wing will get extra attention.

Here is the bottom wing joined together. The two wingpanels have the dihedral set with 1-1/2" blocks at the last rib, and the middle section is built to fit. The top wing is used a gage to insure both wings have the same sweep back. All glue in the center is epoxy. So, now this will need to sit for a day or so to dry. Then I can do some preliminary sheeting. As with the top wing, final contruction and sanding will be done at the assembly phase.

[kcfadmin]

Hey Jesse,

Tell me more about basswood... I know from your posts that it is stronger than balsa but also heavier. I'm curious about how much heavier it is and also is it much more expensive? Do you use it just in the lifting surfaces or do you replace balsa with it in other parts of the airframe as well?

Thanks!

Thom

[ka8yyz]

Thom, Good questions. OK, bassword is a soft wood with little grain. It is harder, stronger, and more flexible than balsa. It is also heavier. From my research, balsa weighs 170 grams per cubic meter, while basswood weighs in at 332 grams per cubic meter. The weight of balsa varies with humidity, as it absorbs moisture from the air. Bassword is relatively stable.

In model airplane building, basswood and spruce are basically considered hardwoods because of their relationship to balsa. Spruce can have an oily surface, if not properly dried, causing glue to not stick to it very well. That is why I chose basswood.

Basswood and ply do not absorb CA the way balsa does, so I chose wood glue. As to cost, I checked Balsa USA's site: 1/4"x3/8"x36" Balsa Stick $0.56. Same size Basswood: $0.66. So price is not a big deal.

I am only replacing the wing spars with basswood, so on a model of this size, the weight gain is minimal.

[ka8yyz]

Well, the lower wing is off the board, so it is fuselage time. Here is one side of the fuselage. It all constructed of 1/4x3/8 balsa. Now I need to start on building the other side. Then we start installing the formers to build it up.

Karen saw both wings together, and is anxious to start covering! I keep telling her, that is the last thing to be done. After flying Greg's Giant Stik over the weekend, I will definitely be putting a DLE-30 in this guy.