A10 Trainer Build - After a 3 decade gap!!

[LuMan]

It's been over 30 years since I built a balsa 'plane and I really wanted a self-built ship to take my 'A' and 'B' certificates this year. I was wondering whether I'd find the time, then COVID-19 rocked up and stuffed us all in isolation mode. Being a glass-half-full sorta guy, I saw this as an idea opportunity to rekindle my scratch-build passion. Almost.

I picked up a fairly cheap T10 Trainer from Amazon for about 30-odd quid. It's designed to be put together by a rank amateur, so I figured it would be good to get me back in the swing.



It comes complete in one box, so nice and tidy. There are options for covering, ESC, batteries, motor, Tx/Rx, etc. I opted for frame and film, as I've got loads of electronics and motors kicking about.



Point 6 seems interesting to me. I've never actually tried doing this....



All very nicely packaged, with a double-sided A3 full colour sheet of fairly well translated instructions.

Next bit... The build.

[LuMan]

So, onto the build.....



Lots of balsa, some push-rods, carbon fibre spar and a bag of hardware for landing gear. Oh, and the film, too.



The first job is to stick the fuselage bits together. I got a load of these clip-type things that have fairly easy springs on them. Much better than me mum's clothes pegs that I used back in the 80s....


While I was waiting for the glue to go off on the fuse I decided to start on the v-stab. Next day, all looks pretty tidy.


Fuselage formers in place. The clips are holding a couple of balsa rails in place that add a bit of rigidity to the fuse. I also completed the rudder.

Next part is completing the little extras on the fuse and then onto the h-stab, elevator and wings.

[ched]

That is great to see how it goes together. One strange question: Why are you still getting up at 6am?????????       

Looking forward to tomorrow's installment.

[LuMan]

That is great to see how it goes together. One strange question: Why are you still getting up at 6am?????????

Heh. Thanks, Ched. Keep the positivity coming, as I'm dreading doing the wings!! 

I've got 4 and 7 year old daughters getting totally scatty with cabin fever due to lockdown. 6am is a bloomin' lie in!!   

Hopefully I'll get some more bits done tomorrow and post the progress. I'm also building a mini-quad in tandem, so I'll start a build thread for that too. The frame arrived today and I'm wondering which build will take precedence..... 

[ched]

Ah kids, I have been told that some get up very early  I blame the parents        should train them to sleep in     
We once had a nice and nephew stay for 2 weeks with us. At first they got up at 7am. At the end of 2 weeks we had trained them to sleep till midday        No idea why they were never allowed to stay again         

Build looks good, I am looking forward to seeing how 'film' works.

Mini quad should be fill in when you are waiting for glue to dry. Unless it's one you could fly round your house garden, then you need to build it soon so you can get some flying in.

Been flying my Mobula6 round the garden as much as poss (if dry and not windy 20x1S packs a day) and it is really helping my sanity. Which is weird as I would only normally get to fly at the weekend normally.

Please keep up the great build thread/s 

[LuMan]

Ah kids, I have been told that some get up very early  I blame the parents       

LOL!! Me too! Apparently it's all my fault (according to my parents), as I was a manic, hyperactive, turbo-charged morning imp!!

Build looks good, I am looking forward to seeing how 'film' works.

Thanks. I'm taking it quite slowly, but also eyeing up a few balsa packs so I can create a total scratch build. I'll get a few hours under my belt with this one, first - just to be safe! 

The 'film' (their words, not mine) looks like a cross between iron-on and heat-wrap. Quite a bit thicker than Solarfilm. I'll do some tests with it before I commit to sticking it on the actual airframe. I've got a fair it of balsa left, so I'll make a few dummy sections and try it out. Although, this IS a good excuse to treat myself to a new modelling iron and heat gun...   

Mini quad should be fill in when you are waiting for glue to dry. Unless it's one you could fly round your house garden, then you need to build it soon so you can get some flying in.

The AIO FC arrives today. I'll probably do a very quick build thread for it, as quads seem to go together a lot quicker than 'plane builds. It's a very small, FPV-equipped rig, so I can boot it around the garden at daft speeds!!

Been flying my Mobula6 round the garden as much as poss (if dry and not windy 20x1S packs a day) and it is really helping my sanity. Which is weird as I would only normally get to fly at the weekend normally.

I've resorted to my collection of 'toy' quads to get my fix. The Syma X11C, FQ17W and E57 have all been routinely tracing a path around the kids' slide, swing, koi pool and washing line!!  

Please keep up the great build thread/s 

Will do. And thanks for all the encouraging comments and interest.   

[Dickw]

..............
The 'film' (their words, not mine) looks like a cross between iron-on and heat-wrap. Quite a bit thicker than Solarfilm. I'll do some tests with it before I commit to sticking it on the actual airframe. I've got a fair it of balsa left, so I'll make a few dummy sections and try it out. Although, this IS a good excuse to treat myself to a new modelling iron and heat gun...   
............................

There are indeed a variety of films of different strengths/thicknesses, but don't forget to take the backing film off first before trying to iron on.
That is sound advice from an experienced builder of many years standing who a couple of weeks ago spent several "curse filled" minutes trying to iron on a section of film - only to realise that it works better if you remove the backing 

My only excuse is that isolation does things to your brain 

Build looking good.

Dick

[LuMan]

Thanks for the advice, Dick. I'll take another look at the mysterious 'film' tomorrow. I've done a load more to the fuselage, although it's not that obvious when you look at it. I'll post another couple of pics shortly (as in, any minute now, while I'm multi-tasking watching TV!!).

Thanks for the positive comments, too. Really makes a difference and inspires me to keep chugging along at those points where I snap the wrong bit of balsa, or glue my flippin' finger to a wing rib!!    

[LuMan]

A little more done today. Here's how the day started:


Completed the H-Stab and elevator while scoffing brekkie. I actually took this photo to show my father in law, who I also got a small balsa kit for to build during lockdown. He's finished his kit already! A septagenarian putting a <ahem> 50-something to shame!!

It wasn't all plain sailing, though:


Didn't quite get this bit right, so a bit of persuasion was required.



...and I had a bit of a mishap with F5... Resulting in a bit of 'balsa mitigation'  - which is a phrase I'm going to be copyrighting before the end of this bloody build!! 

There are a few bits of balsa panelling that involve some complex curves. The old trick of running the sheets under water before panicking and frantically hunting for rubber bands and hair bobbles (thank God for having daughters) seemed to pay off. When I finally wrapped up tonight I had this:


So, just the wings, hinges and covering (or 'film'!!  ) and then I can look at radio gear....

[Dickw]

.....................So, just the wings, hinges and covering (or 'film'!!  ) and then I can look at radio gear....

I tend to have a temporary "dry run" of the radio installation before covering - saves finding out after covering that you can't get something in now, e.g. pushrods through fuselage formers!

Dick

[LuMan]

I tend to have a temporary "dry run" of the radio installation before covering - saves finding out after covering that you can't get something in now, e.g. pushrods through fuselage formers!

Dick

Good thinking, Dick. Thanks for the heads up 

It'll be a day or two before I can jump back into the build, as my band have been asked to put together a 30-second track for a monster compilation album to raise money for the NHS. Amazing exactly how much time a 30-second track takes to put together!!!

[ched]

Good thinking, Dick. Thanks for the heads up 

It'll be a day or two before I can jump back into the build, as my band have been asked to put together a 30-second track for a monster compilation album to raise money for the NHS. Amazing exactly how much time a 30-second track takes to put together!!!

Any links to youtube for past stuff?

[LuMan]

Any links to youtube for past stuff?

Well, in the spirit of totally shameless self-promotion.... 

https://www.anteloup.co.uk

EDIT: It's a bit out of date.. I really ought to update it!!

[badger1]

looking good.  I mostly fly planes, but I haven't built a proper balsa machine since I was a teenager, which is more years ago than I care to remember.    I've had a SLEC (electric) Limbo Dancer kit on the shelf (along with all the electronics) for a few years that I must get around to some time.

I would check CofG before you cover it too, & perhaps even before you box the fuselage in fully, just in case you need to move things around a little to get the balance right.  it might save you having stick a load of lead in one end of the other. 

[LuMan]

Cheers, badger1. I'm going to start on the wings, probably tomorrow night, and then do an electronics test fit before covering.

I treated myself to a new Radio Link R6DS mini (well, smaller) receiver for my trusty AT9 Tx. Our flying club has re-opened the field again, so I'm itching to get out there!! 

I've had a bit of time off the build, so really need to get back in the swing before I start to lose momentum.

[LuMan]

I finally managed to find time between family, work, quads and 3D printing to carry on with my T-10 build. Last night I decided to crack on with the wings. For some odd reason wings always seemed to be a daunting affair for me. No idea why, as they generally come out OK. All the parts are laser cut and slot together in a logical manner, so it didn't take long to get the ribs onto the non-load-bearing spar. I then realised that I was short a few bits of balsa. Not an issue, we're modellers, so botching... sorry... utilising what we've got hanging around is what we do best.

A bit of spare balsa strip and glue and clips soon had a replacement part:



Once I'd got that bit done there's a bit of balsa skinning to be getting on with. Just the leading portion of the wing top and bottom. I'm not sure if anyone else uses this approach, but it served me well back in the 80s, so I applied it this build. A bit of string holds the damp balsa to the ribs as the glue dries:



The second wing always goes together quicker! Here they both are, strung up for the night!


I placed the wing tips in place to make them look prettier. I'll glue them later on.

Next up is the leading edge, which is a length of balsa that gets glued on and sanded into a nice cuuuuurve. That'll be fun. Then I need to figure out these darned paper hinges that were supplied....