Return to the original engine.

Last year I enlarged some plans looking for a 600 sq. in. wing plane. It ended up being 665 sq. in. So I built it for one of the .60 size engines I have. Try as I may I couldn't get the engine to run right. I ended up installing one of the .46 size engines and it flew the plane quite well. I was told at the Houston contest that my planes needed more power to get them through the maneuvers with authority. I have that covered but the 665 plane is simply too big for the engine I have on it. I have been looking for a larger engine for the 665 but there are none in my price range. Then it hit me. I could put the original engine back on the plane and try it again. Since all the holes are still there I swapped engines in a jiffy. Just for giggles I weighed the removed engine, prop, spinner and muffler and got 17 ounces. With the bigger engine I put a lighter muffler and a wood propeller so the new package is lighter making the plane a bit tail heavy. This morning I took it to the park and fired it up on 10% nitro fuel and made a short flight. The engine ran steady and pulled the plane very well. I got in two more flights just to be sure. At home I put a one ounce weight under the spinner and made up a larger fuel tank for it. I have two 6 ounce plastic tanks but can only account for one. More searching is needed.
   I covered the wing, stab/elev, and flaps on the ARF Strega. The fiberglass cloth hasn't come in yet so that is on hold.

Cheaper by more than a dozen.

A few weeks ago our neighbor finally had someone extend his driveway in width and length so he could park his lawn maintenance equipment with ease. I had two bluebird boxes with nests and eggs with in 20 feet and 3 feet of the digging and other noise. After it was all over I didn't see any activity in one of the boxes but the closest one was still being used. After the used box hatched I peeked into the other and there was 4 eggs and no parents to be found. I figured the noise and activity drove them to abandon the nest. I decided to wait until the used box fledged out and then I would empty both boxes. Today I removed the empty nest and went to the other box and found 4 baby birds. I left them alone. That makes 16 bluebirds from my boxes around the perimeter of the property. And I saw a hummingbird yesterday and put up a feeder and the bird is coming to drink now. The neighbor had 6 hens that were laying eggs and she would give them away. As I was checking all the bird houses I noticed that all the chickens were killed. I don't know if she knows yet.
  I called Horizon Hobbies to see if I had really ordered two rolls of covering because I couldn't find any record of the transaction in the emails. I had ordered them and they did come in in today's mail.
  I've been thinking on how best to set up the flaps as the wing is not quite straight, it's straighter than it was after twisting and wetting though. I didn't want to have to tweak the flap horn because it only connects to the end of the flaps which isn't too strong. Then I figured I would shorten each flap by 6 inches and use the outboard piece as a trim tab. Problem solved. I had to cut two more hinge pockets in one flap and 4 in the movable end. I installed 3 pieces of copper sheet in the flap segment so it can be bent as needed to level the wings.I can start on covering the wing/flaps and stab/elev. As soon as the fiberglass gets here from China I can cover the fuselage and start the finishing process.

Cutting out paper dolls.

With the new flaps being an ounce heavier than the originals and the plywood landing gear mount under the fuselage adding weight I started to trim most of the wood out of the wing ribs. After that I cut half of each shear web out. In total I trimmed 2 ounces off the wing. Then I cut into the fuselage and removed the plywood gear mount and replaced it with balsa. The top turtle deck is on and the canopy trimmed for best fit. I think I'll paint the inside of the canopy rather than buy a pilot bust.
  The across street neighbor was having a yard sale so we went over and looked around. There was a glass top table for $15.00 so I bought it for the shop. With all the wood cut out of the wing I could twist it a little. I set it up on the new table and put the incidence meters on and blocked them up so the plane was sitting on the meters. I did this the other day and found the wing has a warp. The meters confirmed it again today. I got some water and a sponge and wet the wood top and bottom then weighted the wing down one degree past level in the opposite direction and let it dry. When I returned and removed the weights the wing sat on all four points like it should. I'll recheck it tomorrow to made sure it stays put. I'm waiting for the covering material to arrive before I can proceed with finishing the plane. The line clips/snaps came in today but that doesn't help with this project.
 

Waiting for stuff.

I ordered wheels, fiberglass cloth, covering, duo-lock snaps, and probably some other things. I have come to realize that I won't see any weight reduction on the Strega. I was barely holding even when I remembered that the fillets were not on the ARF. I also made new flaps using stiffer balsa which is heavier than the originals. I did make them smaller though, that should help. By switching to a wood propeller I can save 2 ounces, that will be the largest weight reduction. I'm on hold waiting for the covering.
  I've been flying the P-39 lately getting it trimmed up for a contest if the need arises. I change props as it didn't seem to have the power I figure it needs. Today I flew it and it went very well. The ground is a bit drier than yesterday as it didn't rain. My shoes still got wet and they are fairly new and should not leak.

Progress photo.

I settled on a design for the tip plates on the stabilizer and made two of them. I put the new turtle deck on and the upper cowl piece

for the photo. Now I have to go to the store and look for a plastic bottle I can use for the canopy. That could take a few trips.

A trip to Wal-Mart and I found a Pepsi bottle that did the trick. I ended up extending the rear turtle deck 2.5 inches forward to get the right look.

Drying out, I think.

So far today it hasn't rained. I still got my feet wet at the park because of the standing water and crossing the ditch.
I bit the bullet and cut the leading edges off the stabilizer and elevators. The hinge pockets were really messed up after being reworked twice. The same goes for the flaps. I'm going to  make new flaps so that won't be a problem but the wing trailing edge could be tricky to repair. I made up new leading edges and sanded the new hinge pockets in and glued them back in place. I used up all my hinges on the last Nomad so I have to get some at the hobby shop. I found pictures of another design that has the fin/rudder on the ends of the stabilizer like the Lockheed Constellation 4 engine passenger plane except only the two tip fins were on the model plane. I'm planning on adding fins to the stab. tips on this rebuild. I added a lot of filler to the divots in the balsa and other defects that will cause problems in the finish if left alone. The elevator push rod has a spherical rod end at the elevator control horn. That takes a 4-40 screw and a large hole in the horn. Not the easiest thing to adjust when the plane is all together. I filled the horn hole with braze and drilled a 1/16 inch hole in the braze for a steel clevis. That will make any needed adjustment a lot easier later on.

Flying between the raindrops.

The rain stops for a while each day, I just have to be ready to take advantage of the respite. After flying with 10% nitro and making the tanks hold enough fuel I figured that I could spin the engines a bit higher using my 2% fuel mix. I've done that for two outings now and it's working. The planes seem to like it.
  I finally got tired of looking at the plane I got in the raffle last November. It's ugly to say the least. I had cut holes in it to get at the controls and some smaller holes didn't get covered. Yesterday I started to remove all the covering and take off as many pieces as I could. If I change enough things I can legally claim to be the builder of the model. That entitles me to get appearance points which are added to the flight score. I cut off both wing tips and hollowed them a lot. That saved about an ounce and a quarter. I knew the tips were full of balsa just waiting to be dug out. I cut off the stabilizer and removed the hinges from the stab and elevator. I removed the flaps and hinges also. I cut off the top turtle deck from the front of the canopy to the tail end. Then I made a turtle deck that is an inch higher out of a block of balsa I had left over from the kit version of the same plane I built a few years ago. I'm planning on installing aluminum landing gear as the original wire gear is quite heavy. The fin and rudder will get re made to change the look a bit. As I've had good luck with lowering stabilizers I've lowered it 3/4 inch.With it out I can put it back together in perfect alignment with the wing which is very important. The plane was built in China and they used tab and slot construction where the kit is not making it a bit harder to assemble properly. That may be the best way to have non modelers do the building. Most of the beginner type kits are tab and slot design.