TaipanThe aim of this project is to further refine the very successful Adrenalin, but make it reproduceable with a molded fuse. The following adjustments will be made:
- The root chord will be reduced from 200 to 180mm which will increase the aspect ratio significantly
- The tail moment of the fuse will be shortened by 25mm to improve banging turns
- The nose moment increased by 25mm to aid in reducing balancing weight
- I have opted for a X-Tail this time, as it will be easier to set the tail incidence and it avoids the problem of making a strong V-Tail join. It also means only making one stab.
- The Vertical Stab is big enough to cater for up to about 2m or 80", giving some flexibility for a larger wingspan.
Here are some pictures of the progress so far:
After making the plug, I cut out the parting board and waxed it 10 times.
I then put the plug into the parting board and layed up over it starting with black coloured gel coat, followed by several layers of 6 oz glass and some chop strand for added strength.
After the parting board is removed, the first half of the mold is waxed before doing the layup over it and the plug.
Before cracking the mold, holes for bolts were drilled to ensure they line the mold up perfectly when joined. The final shape of the mold was then traced around the edge of the mold. The canopy area will be cut out after a full bodied fuse is pulled to make a canopy mold from, as the plug was damaged making the mold. After that, the canopy area will be removed and a recess made for the canopy to sit in.
Here is the finished mold (first stage) after it has been polished and waxed, ready for layup.
Just the lay up to go now.
Well here is the first fuse popped out of the mold. Its almost perfect except for a few minor air bubbles in the surface.
Now all I need is some wings and a tailplane and Im in business!!
UPDATE
This is the progress so far.
The wing just after it got pulled out of the vac bag. It weighs 525 grams. I couldn't resist a bit of bench flying.
The underside of the wing.
With the finished tailplane.
With the canopy installed.
And the finished product.
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