Rebuilding the Yak...again.
- Thread starter stangflyer
- Start date
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
Thank you. I actually am enjoying this rebuild. I did look over your post on the other site. I plan to go back and read it more completely. I pretty much feel the same way about Pilot airframes. Pretty tough to beat the service, the way they fly and the overall satisfaction.
It's ok David. We won't hold it against him. LOL
Thanks Chris. It is finally getting close enough to call it an airframe again.
It's funny you should mention this very comment. I was actually thinking this evening about that very thing. Wouldn't it be nice to purchase the entire contents of a Pilot R/C airframe and do the constructing at your leisure? I would love it.It's really interesting seeing the sequence of how this goes together. Now if Pilot would only offer these up as builders kits.
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
So here is Day 3's accomplishments. Pretty much straight forward. I got the right side outer fuse side in place and glued in. Once again, I was very pleased with how everything lined up. Very minimal fuss in getting it placed.
The whole time I have been rebuilding the front section of this badly damaged fuse, I have been thinking to myself..."there certainly is going to be a loss in weight." Reason being, I will not have that huge heavy stand off block on the firewall any longer. As some of you may remember, I had planned the 3w212 four cylinder then decided ultimately on the 210csts. Because I cut the nose of the motor box to allow for the four banger, I had to build a stand off to sit the 210 on. Well, that is now gone and will "NOT" be cut again. LOL. Also, I won't have any of that heavy paint on the motor box/firewall area. I mainly painted it to make it look nice. But I also know it must have added some weight. Add to that, some modifications I needed to do to the fuse to prep it for a different setup. Well, with that being said, I pulled out my trusty scale and weighed just the partial front fuse section of the original assembly. Then I weighed the entire rebuild fuse. I was shocked and very pleasantly surprised to discover this plane is coming in much lighter than it was before. By my closest guess, It looks as though it may end up losing about 4 or so pounds. YES, I said POUNDS. I remember weighing the fuse before I installed everything. It came in around 11 or so pounds. The way it is looking, I will probably be at the seven or so pound mark. I am really excited about this development.
I spent the better part of the day checking all components for alignment and fit. Sanding, cleaning up the build and getting things ready for the last and final stages of this rebuild. With the bottom front fuse belly ready for sheeting, I decided to check the fit of both wings, canopy/hatch and cowl. I also added just a slight layer of balsa filler to clean up any imperfections of the sheeting. Oh my goodness, she is really coming together.
I am very pleased with the fit of the Canopy/Hatch. It really didn't fit the original front fuse section all that well. It did to a degree, but it was like the fuse was bowed down in the middle. leaving a slight gap. Not so much now. Man that baby is snug as a bug in a rug. Once I was satisfied with the fit of all the other airframe components, I got to work on the wing socket sheeting. Not nearly as intense and as difficult as I first thought it would be. The only part of this sheeting was, how am I going to get that balsa sheet to "bent" at the leading edge of the socket. Ah ha!!! A dish of luke warm water should do the trick. I dipped the two leading edge pieces of balsa sheeting in the water until they were soaked. I was then able to bend them to the arc I needed to get them into the wing socket. After that, it was all pretty much down hill from there. There is a lot to be said about pre-cut wood for an airframe. Locate, test fit, glue..that's it.
The last and final thing I did tonight was work on the belly vent. As mentioned earlier, I knew I was going to have to do a little work to get it to fit properly. This was the only part of the reconstruction that gave me some problems. For what ever reason, it just did not fit properly. So a little sanding here, a little re-adjustment there and "wa-laa".
Tomorrow I will finalize the fit of the vent, do a final light sanding on the fuse and get it ready for covering. I will re-string the servo harnesses before I start applying covering. As with the first time I recovered this fuse, I discovered how simple it was to do the wiring first then the covering. Three days from the start of the rebuild to ready for covering...that's not too shabby I think. I am so excited to get this big bird back in the air.
I am thinking I may take a short break to go do some Sukhoi flying tomorrow morning. I had planned to today, but really wanted to make some more progress on the Yak. Stay tuned everyone... covering and electronics and engine installation coming up very soon.
The whole time I have been rebuilding the front section of this badly damaged fuse, I have been thinking to myself..."there certainly is going to be a loss in weight." Reason being, I will not have that huge heavy stand off block on the firewall any longer. As some of you may remember, I had planned the 3w212 four cylinder then decided ultimately on the 210csts. Because I cut the nose of the motor box to allow for the four banger, I had to build a stand off to sit the 210 on. Well, that is now gone and will "NOT" be cut again. LOL. Also, I won't have any of that heavy paint on the motor box/firewall area. I mainly painted it to make it look nice. But I also know it must have added some weight. Add to that, some modifications I needed to do to the fuse to prep it for a different setup. Well, with that being said, I pulled out my trusty scale and weighed just the partial front fuse section of the original assembly. Then I weighed the entire rebuild fuse. I was shocked and very pleasantly surprised to discover this plane is coming in much lighter than it was before. By my closest guess, It looks as though it may end up losing about 4 or so pounds. YES, I said POUNDS. I remember weighing the fuse before I installed everything. It came in around 11 or so pounds. The way it is looking, I will probably be at the seven or so pound mark. I am really excited about this development.
I spent the better part of the day checking all components for alignment and fit. Sanding, cleaning up the build and getting things ready for the last and final stages of this rebuild. With the bottom front fuse belly ready for sheeting, I decided to check the fit of both wings, canopy/hatch and cowl. I also added just a slight layer of balsa filler to clean up any imperfections of the sheeting. Oh my goodness, she is really coming together.
I am very pleased with the fit of the Canopy/Hatch. It really didn't fit the original front fuse section all that well. It did to a degree, but it was like the fuse was bowed down in the middle. leaving a slight gap. Not so much now. Man that baby is snug as a bug in a rug. Once I was satisfied with the fit of all the other airframe components, I got to work on the wing socket sheeting. Not nearly as intense and as difficult as I first thought it would be. The only part of this sheeting was, how am I going to get that balsa sheet to "bent" at the leading edge of the socket. Ah ha!!! A dish of luke warm water should do the trick. I dipped the two leading edge pieces of balsa sheeting in the water until they were soaked. I was then able to bend them to the arc I needed to get them into the wing socket. After that, it was all pretty much down hill from there. There is a lot to be said about pre-cut wood for an airframe. Locate, test fit, glue..that's it.
The last and final thing I did tonight was work on the belly vent. As mentioned earlier, I knew I was going to have to do a little work to get it to fit properly. This was the only part of the reconstruction that gave me some problems. For what ever reason, it just did not fit properly. So a little sanding here, a little re-adjustment there and "wa-laa".
Tomorrow I will finalize the fit of the vent, do a final light sanding on the fuse and get it ready for covering. I will re-string the servo harnesses before I start applying covering. As with the first time I recovered this fuse, I discovered how simple it was to do the wiring first then the covering. Three days from the start of the rebuild to ready for covering...that's not too shabby I think. I am so excited to get this big bird back in the air.
I am thinking I may take a short break to go do some Sukhoi flying tomorrow morning. I had planned to today, but really wanted to make some more progress on the Yak. Stay tuned everyone... covering and electronics and engine installation coming up very soon.
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Jetpainter
640cc Uber Pimp
Your not fooling me Rob, as quick and nice as that went together I think Tony shipped you one of his employees in that box too. 
Nice work!
Nice work!
Jetpainter
640cc Uber Pimp
As a guy that used to work with me in my dad's bodyshop years ago would say, "The black on that cowl is slicker than snot on a glass door knob"!
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
Thank you. I just finished the last minute details. Tri stock in the motor box sides, canister tunnel etc. Also got the belly vent completed and the final sanding to smooth all edges and clean up the fuse. She's now ready for covering. I do like to cover so this will be relaxing. The stringers sent from Pilot RC are long enough to go the full length of the bottom of the front fuse section. They come together at former "F7" and tie in on that former with the stringers that go full length to the tail. In my opinion, a very clean and strong design. I really do like how the fuse has come together. It's like brand new now.
Richard Rollins
New to GSN!
update?
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
Thanks...it has been such a breeze to put back together. I really can't understand why anyone with a damaged Pilot airframe would ever trash them. With Tony's commitment to his company, the superior customer service and the no charge for replacement wood, (other than cost of shipping) it seems a no brainer to me to repair an airframe vs. the cost to buy a new one. If I remember correctly, the 40% Yak is in the upper neighborhood of $2200.00-$2400.00 to get it to your door. When all is said and done on the cost of repairs to the fuse, my total cost will be $188.00. I could not even purchase a glow plane for that. Course I did buy new Spats and did spend about $100.00 for updates on the 210. Plus will need a new prop. But I really can't figure the engine parts into the cost of the repairs. They would have needed to be purchased regardless of what I decided to do with the big jugged red head. So complete cost of this unfortunate incident will be a miesly $485.00. Seems a small price to pay to keep a big bird in your hangar. But I was very lucky. It could have been much worse. Now as far as getting it in the air by this weekend? Oh I don't know about that. I really have a lot yet to do. Covering, installation of components, and I have to recover the right wing panel top and bottom. When the gear folded back, the Spat on the right side wheel acted like a knife and sliced right through both layers of covering. Again I was lucky. Only damaged the covering. The Spat just barely missed major construction and ribs inside the wing. I suppose I could just patch the covering......Nnnno!! I just can't bring myself to do patches. Unless...it is a small... (very-small) patch in a very inconspicuous location. I am pretty certain I can still beat my original goal of end of September though.
I will be starting the covering today. Will keep ya'll posted.