Bucker Student

Why not share your information on your latest creation
Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » March 8th, 2020, 12:42 pm

A bit more work on the "Student". Fiddly little jobs that need done but don't appear to show much progress in the build.

The hard points for the venturi and handling points on the rear fuz have now been fitted as have the switches for the Rx and ignition batteries, one in each cockpit.

The skin for the top of the fuz has been made from 3 lengths of balsa sheet joined together using the masking tape and glue method. Once cured, the sheet was wetted on both sides with warm water to aid forming around the curve of the fuz and held in place with cable ties placed over the formers. Strips of T/E stock were placed at the edges of the sheeting to prevent the ties marking the wood before everything was tightened up and left until the wood had thoroughly dried out.
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Whilst this was drying, I decided to get on with some cockpit detailing. As the cockpit floor is raised to make room for the servo tray and battery stowage, this will be minimal at best.

I chose to start with the seats (seat backs only :D ) and fabricated them from K&B 3/32" brass tube for the frame, litho plate for the seat back and chemi wood (model lab board) for the cushion. The harness will be a Sutton type made from flat sports laces and servo mounting ferrules.
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As I don't have any documentation for the type of seat used, I adopted some artistic licence (cheated :lol: :lol: ) and went with a style used by some German manufacturers of the period. As only the top half of the seat will be required and will be placed against the former at the rear of the Cockpit, I don't see this being a problem.
I know you won't be able to see them from a 100 feet Dave (probably not even from 6 inches :lol: ) but i'll know they are there :ugeek: :ugeek: .

More to follow.

The frames were formed from the brass tube using K&B spring pipe benders, which give a lovely smooth bend without crushing/kinking the pipe.
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The litho seat backs had the lightening holes cut using a 10mm wood drill,
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and attached with Zap.

A jewelers anvil and plenishing hammer were used to form the curve at the top of the seat and fold the edges around the frame.
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A little tidying up with some 120 grade wet and dry paper and the job's ready for paint.
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The plenishing hammer comes with four interchangeable heads, cost a couple of pounds and has been invaluable in doing detail work. Go on, you know you want one. :?
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Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » March 13th, 2020, 8:34 pm

Once dry, the top decking had adopted the fuz shape perfectly.
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This was then glued in place and secured with cable ties until cured.
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The tail fin skeleton was built directly on to the fuz, aligned using the laser to ensure everything was square
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Fin "skins" were made, dry fitted and fettled until I was happy with the fit
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before fixing in place.
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Next up will be the rudder pull/pull and some cockpit detail whilst I still have easy access.

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » March 16th, 2020, 7:35 pm

I must thank Michael Stark, the secretary of the Quax Association, for sending me photographs of particular areas of the full size I requested. A true gent who went out of his way to help.
I am just waiting for his permission to publish them on the forum for other builders to use. :D

Seat cushions were shaped from Chemiwood and covered with tissue soaked in watered down PVA wood glue. (if doing this, wear gloves, I found this out the hard way. Everything you touch and some things you don't will stick to you! :oops: :oops: )
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Once dry, they were given a coat of un-thinned Copydex to simulate a leather surface prior to painting. (In retrospect I didn't need to use the tissue and PVA :cry: ).
I used Revell mid brown which is a very close match to the photos of the full size.
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The cushions were then fixed to the seat backs with contact adhesive and the seats fitted to the floor.
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The harnesses were made from white flat sports laces stained with tea. Use cotton rather than synthetic laces or the stain won't take.
Get a cup filled with boiling water and a tea bag and stick the laces in to soak. I usually soak for an hour at a time. The laces lighten as they dry, so repeat as many times as necessary until you achieve the desired shade.
I used a hole punch of the appropriate size to create the holes for the brass ferrules which were then fixed in place with a drop of thin Zap before trimming the back with a cut off disk.
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The pilot figures were then glued to the floors and the harnesses were passed through cut outs in the floor and zapped. Glue the laces at one end and put a little tension on before gluing the other end. Don't be tempted to glue the laces to the figure or you risk ruining all your hard work with the paint job! :twisted:
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Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » March 16th, 2020, 7:41 pm

Some pictures of the pilots "dry" fitted to motivate me. :D :D :D
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I also started on some detailing by turning the hand primer.
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More to follow.

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » April 2nd, 2020, 6:38 pm

It's day nine of the lock down and to be honest, I don't feel that much difference from normality, although my wife and daughters tell me I've been "socially isolating" for the past two years anyway. On reflection, they are probably right, as I tend to be a bit an anti-social bast**d at the best of times. :lol: :lol: :D :D :oops: .

On with the build, the primer pump was fitted in position below the instrument panel with a lithoplate strap.
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(For some reason this picture is upside down in preview. It should show the primer hanging down and I can't change the orientation.)

The space aft of the tail wheel is relatively unsupported and the skin has a severe and tight curve. I filled this space with a block of Chemi-wood
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and sanded it to profile.
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The balsa skin was cut to size before soaking in warm water for 30 minutes to ensure it was thoroughly soaked before bending it around the formers and clamping it in position to dry. As you can see it followed the curve without splitting.
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When dry it was glued in place.
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The E/I unit and battery for the E/I unit have also been fitted.
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Skinning is progressing slowly as I can't follow my usual method of joining lengths of balsa to form a single sheet as the compound curves of the fuselage won't permit this. Each sheet has to be cut to shape, wetted and fixed temporarily in place until dry and then glued and refixed. A bit of a patch work quilt effect but strong enough.
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It looks like retirement is over as I got my call up papers yesterday and may be back on the ambulance. :cry: So be sensible, stay safe and stay indoors. ;)

More to follow....

Alan Cantwell 1131
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Alan Cantwell 1131 » April 3rd, 2020, 10:48 am

You be careful out there, stay safe, and thank you,

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » April 3rd, 2020, 1:01 pm

Thanks for the support Alan, i'll do my best. The best protection is for everyone to follow advise and stay indoors. ;)

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » April 7th, 2020, 11:59 pm

I had some questions about some of the scale detail on the BU 180 so I contacted the Quax Association based at the Paderborn-Lippstadt airport in Germany for help.

Michael Stark, the club secretary and all round good guy, got back to me in short order and went above and beyond, supplying me with photographs which answered my questions and the offer of further assistance if required. :D

One of the debates on RC forums concerning this aircraft is "does this aircraft have rib stitching on the fabric covered areas on the wings and control surfaces?" as photos of the full size do not show enough detail.

The answer is YES it does!
Michael kindly provided the proof in both imperial and metric.....
1 inch between stitches on the wing
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25mm in metric
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and 1/2 inch on the control surfaces
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or 12 - 15mm (roughly)
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with 1 1/2 inch pinking strips :ugeek: :ugeek: .

I also asked about the labeling on the throttle controls positioned on the left side of both cockpits
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and the second picture also shows the warning for the tail wheel lock (rear cockpit only).

There is also the elevator trim lever on the right side of the cockpit (I don't have room to fit this as my battery switches occupy this space).
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and the primer pump which I did have room for.
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Also the rear cockpit
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and front cockpit which also shows the nose mounted fuel gauge.
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Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » April 8th, 2020, 12:15 am

I also had questions about the hinging/fixing of the metal panels and louvers as well as the stenciling on the aircraft as I knew it was there but couldn't read it on the existing pictures. (zooming in caused too much pixelation for clarity :( :x )
Once again Mike's the man. :D
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I hope these pictures may be of some use to others considering this aircraft as a project.

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » April 9th, 2020, 12:40 am

I made up the throttle quadrants, all be it, truncated versions, from lithoplate, Chemiwood and dress making pins and printed the labeling on to waterslide decal paper.
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I know they are not 100% accurate, but as they are hidden down in the cockpit and masked behind the pilot figures, I'm happy enough.
(still having trouble with the picture orientation but you get the idea)

I am hoping to make the fuselage floor an access panel, so I made it from 1/32 marine ply, well soaked and steamed, screwed down to conform to the shape of the formers.
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If it works I'll skin it with 1/16 balsa to bring it to the same thickness as the rest of the skinning. If not, I'll forget that idea and permanently skin the floor area with 3/32 balsa as per the rest of the fuz.

Dougie.

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » April 26th, 2020, 1:31 pm

Some more scale detailing work. Next up was the ground handling grips at the rear of the fuz.
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I followed the tutorial Harry Harland did on working lithoplate on this site at one time and I know I am probably getting into granny and eggs territory here but I'll run through how how I did it for those who have never tried this before :D .

The tools used were a plenishing hammer, mallet, pencil blow torch and a chisel.
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First up I made the male and female plugs with the female plug cut to the correct size and the male plug to the same size as the female less the thickness of the litho' all round.
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Next, I cut a piece of lithoplate generously oversize and using the chisel, cut a slot in the center to stop the litho tearing where I didn't want and rubbed it with soap on one side. I then heated the litho' from the other side with the blow torch until the soap "browned" to let me know when it was at the correct temperature and immediately plunged it into cold water.
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I clamped the litho' to the female mold to stop it moving/lifting and prevent wrinkles or creases,which can be impossible to remove, when inserting the male plug. I lightly tapped over the litho with the ball end of the plenishing hammer to delineate the edges of the hole before placing the male plug in position and giving it a couple of good whacks with the mallet.(I suggest using long nosed pliers or similar to keep your fingers out of the road of a rapidly descending mallet! :oops: :oops: )
The finished item, still to be trimmed to size but I'll leave that until the final fitting.
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I also made the fixing points for the wing servos
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and used 15mm push fit PE-X pipe to feed the servo leads through. Saves messing around making up paper tubes, weighs very little, is dirt cheap and fitted the holes in the ribs perfectly.
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The wings are now ready to cover.
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more to follow....

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » May 12th, 2020, 12:45 pm

It was time to offer up the wings to the fuz for the first time....disaster!! :o :o . The starboard wing was a perfect fit, the port wing was two degrees out and would not fit flush, with a noticeable gap between the fuz and the wings L/E.

After wracking my single neuron to work out why, it finally dawned. Jerry is American and works in imperial, the phenolic tube is metric so I had to increase the size of the holes to accept the tube and had managed to get them slightly out of line. :oops: :oops:

The starboard wing being a perfect fit was sheer luck!

So, much as it pained me to do so, the only option was some delicate corrective surgery (wood butchery :D ) to re-align the wing.
A section of wing skin was removed and the original phenolic tube was carefully removed (hacked out :D ) and the holes in the ribs slightly enlarged. The new tube was put in place and the wing tube passed through the fuz and into the wing. The wing was then bolted to the fuz. This ensured everything lined up. Generous amounts of Gorilla glue poured around the tube filled any gaps and fixed it firmly in place.
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The wing was then re-skinned. :D
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In retrospect, I should have built the fuz center section first and used it as a jig to ensure the wing tubes were properly aligned in the first place. Still, we live and learn. :oops:

Both wings have now been covered.
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Filler was applied to the base of the fin
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and smoothed and blended in to the fuz
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Next is covering the fuselage. :P

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » May 24th, 2020, 6:42 pm

Fuz is now covered
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I had to make the infill where the L/E meets the fuz and used a small block of chemiwood for this. I taped a piece of glass paper to the fuz and rubbed the chemiwood in a fore and aft direction on the glass paper until I had the correct profile and then smoothed it flush with the root rib. I then tacked it in place, offered up the wing and drew round the L/E and sanded to shape. Repeat for the other side and job done.
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Fortunately chemiwood is thermally stable and will take a covering iron, even at the hottest setting with no problem, so they were covered with diatex and epoxied in place.
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I used 3 coats of G4 pond sealer applied with a small foam roller and sanded between coats over the sheeted areas and dope over the open fabric areas. This is the first time I've used pond sealer and after a phone call to Dave Johnson, I committed to the job.
I must say I'm very impressed with the results. It goes on easily, dries in about an hour and sands beautifully. A lot easier and less messy than skinning resin. :D

Just waiting for the final sand
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more to follow...
Attachments
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Dougie Sheppard
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » May 31st, 2020, 11:52 pm

I used my preferred method for making rib stitching. One of the battens I used for jigging the fuselage was repurposed to make the stitching strips with panel pins hammered along both edges at 1/4 inch spacing for the wings and 1/8 inch for the control surfaces.
A big box of panel pins, best part of a day and a couple of sore thumbs where my percussive accuracy was some what lacking. :oops:
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The pencil lines were drawn to ensure the thread was lined up correctly.
Cling film was placed over the flat between the pins to stop the tissue sticking to the wood when doped to pre-shrink. Once dry cotton thread was wound across the flat between the pins and then given another couple of coats of dope.
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When dry the tissue and thread sheet was removed
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and cut into 8mm strips for the wings and 4mm strips for the control surfaces. These were then doped into position and covered with tissue pinking strips doped into place.
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The rudder is only dry fitted for the photo at the moment. :D

Next up, fun with litho'.
The ground handling points I made earlier were trimmed to size and fitted. (I must say, the diatex and G4 combo is bloody tough. Bodes well for ding proof-ness. :lol: )
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I made up a paper template for the litho' panel forward of the front cockpit and used a wood drill to cut the hole for the fueling point.
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After carefully forming the panel to the correct curvature, it was glued in position with contact adhesive and the hard point for the fuel cap was attached. I used a 8mm ID thread furniture fixing. (10mm OD self tapping.)
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The end result is a working, scale fuel point. I'm not 100% happy with the fuel cap, I think it is a little on the thick side so I may alter it at some point in the future. We shall see.
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More to follow....

DAVE JOHNSON
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby DAVE JOHNSON » June 1st, 2020, 7:16 am

Dougie----,following your build,looking really good---hope to see it in the air next time I am up north----DAVE

Dougie Sheppard
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » June 1st, 2020, 10:23 am

Hope to have it in the air next time you are up north. :lol:

Dougie Sheppard
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Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
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Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » June 6th, 2020, 11:09 pm

The lower litho' panel has now been fitted and the hinge between the top and bottom panel simulated with 1/16th polystyrene rod from Evergreen plastics.
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Dummy cockpit doors were fabricated from litho'. (I felt making working doors would remove too much structural integrity from that area.) Once the doors had been cut to shape I used the 1/16th rod as a former to bend the litho' around to form the curved, reinforcing lip at the top of the door.
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I used a precision forming tool to bend the doors to match the curvature of the fuselage sides, (Finger and thumb. :lol: )
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and attached them with contact adhesive. The dummy hinges were made from the 1/16th rod with a slot cut every 3/32nd and zapped in place.
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Convincing enough I think. ;) Other than the reinforcing points for the Zeus fasteners/screws fixing the top panels, which I'll leave until the cowl is finished, the fuz is now ready for paint.
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I also made up the pitot tube that lives under the starboard wing from more of the plastic tube I used to sleeve the tail wheel. I cut a 6mm thread in one end of the hangy down bit :lol: :lol: to fit a furniture fixing (I keep finding more and more uses for these.)
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and used an 8mm end mill to cut it to length to give the correct seat for the sticky out bit :lol: :lol: .
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I drilled a M2.5 hole, tapped to take a short length of M3 rod and glued it in place.
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The end of the pitot tube was formed to the correct profile and the two parts were permanently joined.
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I considered making the pitot out of metal but decided on something that would break easily rather than rip out of the wing in the event it gets caught in something, like the long grass at the side of our runway.

More to follow...

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
Contact:

Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » July 1st, 2020, 7:38 pm

Working on the cowl now. I thought I would experiment with a metal skinned finish as I'm notorious for dragging the nose along the ground on landing! :lol:
Starting point was the basic frame.
I modified this with hard points to fit the hinges for the scale engine access panels and skinned the top and underside with 1/32 ply.
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I wanted to try and fabricate a lithoplate front to the cowl so started on a pine dolly to form the litho around. Everything was going great until I sanded the contours in the front face and realised it was actually the back face I was contouring. Doh! :oops: :oops:
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Version two was more successful :D .
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However, no matter how hard I tried, I just could not get the litho' to form around the dolly without forming creases, no matter how many times I annealed it when it work hardened. The compound curves were just too tight. :( (That was a week wasted :( )
So, bin that idea and onto plan B. Fit and fill the balsa nose and cover with Solartex and five coats of dope.
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As the top and underside have conical curves and have other projects awaiting that will require forming curves in metal, I invested in a set of slip rollers.
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After a couple of days playing with some scrap off cuts and getting the hang of the rollers, much to my surprise, the first attempt at the top of the cowl was spot on. :lol: :D
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Next up will be the hinged cowl panels......

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
Contact:

Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » August 20th, 2020, 5:31 pm

It's been a while since my last post. With the easing of lock down, my engine whisperer was able to visit and we (He :lol: ) finished the E.I conversion of the AvioMac twin for the Genesis. The Student was put on the back burner to get the Genesis finished and out of the workshop.
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I also took a week out cruising the Inner Hebrides. ( I felt I deserved it. :D :lol: :roll: )

I wanted to make working hinged cowl panels and was going to make my own piano hinges until I spotted a commercial set on line, complete with the smallest fixing screws I've ever seen, at a very reasonable price. The hinge was cut to length, offered up to the panel and holes with scale spacing drilled before one side of the hinge was attached. The process was repeated for the other side of the hinge to attach the panel to the cowl.
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One side done, deja vieu for the other side. A time consuming and frustrating process (tiny screws and a cataract - not the best combination :( :( ) but the end result was worth it. :D
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The final part of detailing to the cowl, louvers and Zeus fasteners, and the model will be almost ready for paint.

Dougie.

Dougie Sheppard
Posts: 64
Joined: December 15th, 2013, 4:28 pm
Contact:

Re: Bucker Student

Postby Dougie Sheppard » November 8th, 2020, 12:01 am

Sorry, it has been nearly three months since my last post. I can assure you that it has not been due to loss of interest in the model, but rather to complications with my diabetes.

Back in mid August I developed a blister on my heel and visited the hospital podiatrists as an out patient (as per standing instructions :D :D ) for treatment. The blister had other ideas and stoutly refused to respond to any treatments and indeed, after a couple of weeks, decided to up the ante be turning into a necrotic ulcer :x :x .

Team podiatry responded with three different types of weapons grade antibiotics 8-) 8-) but the ulcer was winning and the vascular consultant was called in. :D. His opening salvo was to send me for a CT scan to see what he was dealing with.

It transpired he was dealing with arteriosclerosis of the femoral and popliteal arteries (the motorways of the vascular system, not the A & B class roads) and I would have to be admitted for angioplasty to open up the narrowed vessels, improve the blood supply to my heel and cure the problem. A process that would require only four days in hospital :D .In the meantime they would reinforce the 'cillins with larvae therapy (maggots to you & me :shock: :shock: :shock: ).

One week later I was admitted for my four day stay for the angioplasty. I was also hooked up to three different types of WMD strength IV antibiotics (collectively known as "Domestos" by medical staff as this combo' kills 100% of all known germs :lol: :lol:.) four times a day.

Yeah, right :( Seven days later I was wheeled into theatre for angioplasty under local anaesthetic. After 40+ years as a paramedic, humphing heifers up and down stairs, my back was shot and I was unable to lay flat on my back on the operating table with only a local anaesthetic for the angioplasty, despite four doses of equine painkillers which would, I was assured after each dose, space me out and remove the pain....nada :cry: As I had been given enough to flatten an elephant with no effect, it was decided to stop the operation after the femoral artery had been dealt with and deal with the popliteal artery under a general anaesthetic at a later date.

In the meantime, as the smell of decomposition coming from my foot was becoming quite offensive and starting to attract flies ( I know we all joke about smelly feet but I was seriously abusing the privilege :lol: :lol: :lol: ) one of the surgical minions was tasked with surgically debreiding the dead tissue. (rank has it's privileges and consultants should not be subjected to such malodorous surgeries. :D :D) and ironically, a second round of maggots. (All the way from Wales at £400 a shot. :o No expense spared. ;) ) Local angling shop would have done a bucket for less than a fiver. :lol: :lol:

A few days later it was back into theatre for the second round of angioplasty under general anaesthetic, only to be told the next day it had been un-successful :( . I was told my options were now a bypass with all the associated risks or an amputation. :shock: :shock: . After a full and frank discussion with the consultant, it was agreed that as a result of the current covid regulations banning all visitors from the hospital, I could go home for the weekend to discuss the options with my wife.

On the Friday I was getting paroled I was informed that the infection was starting to affect my organs and a bypass was no longer an option ( as the consultant put it, lose your leg or lose your life.) so it was a very different discussion when I got home. However it did allow me the time and opportunity to get my head in the right place when I returned on the Monday to the extent that the consultant said he would actively consider allowing others to do the same. :D :D

On the Thursday I lost the leg ( well, strictly speaking, I didn't lose it. The surgeons took it, they just didn't tell me where they put it. :lol: :lol: :lol: ) and was due to be released from hospital the following Wednesday only to be woken at 06:00 on Tuesday to be informed that the bloke in the bed next to me had tested positive for Covid-19 and they would still let me out but I would have to go straight into self isolation. :x :x :x :x :x

I feel so much better and did not realise how ill I actually was (48 hours from complete organ failure). I would like to thank the NHS for saving my life, the members of the modelling community including the SAA council, Dave Johnson, chairman of the LMA and the members of my own club ( who have collectively said they will never get on an aircraft with me :lol: :lol: :lol: ) for all the messages of support.

I now need to look at what I need to do to adapt my workshop to allow me to continue with my modelling activities, however, the first order of business will be to clear it out as my wife took the opportunity of my months incarceration in hospital to use it as a store. :x :x and have been warned to expect "Japanese subway train" when I try to open the door, especially in a wheelchair. My wife wants to be there with a camera to try and capture the expression on my face when all my treasured modelling gear tumbles out to meet me as I open the door. :o :o :o

I know this has nothing to do with the build but I felt it was only fair to those of you following the build to explain the delay since my last post and the delay before the next post whilst I reclaim and reconfigure my workshop. ;)

It has also been incredibly cathartic just writing this out in a post.

Thank you for sticking with it,

yours,

Stumpy.

p.s. I'll post pictures of the stump if enough of you really want ;)


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