Kit #302 cessna 170

[backyardbalsapilot]

Hello All,

I picked up a Cessna 170 at my LHS recently. Construction of the fuselage has gone smoothly except for one part: the cowl. In my limited experience with the 300 series, B1 needs a lot of sanding before the cowl will fit on, so I wanted to build a nose block. My plan started with duplicating B1 minus the stringer notches, and sort of ended there. I could glue that part to the cowl and have it attach with rare earth magnets. Does anybody have any other ideas or pictures of a nose block for this sort of model? I don't want to cut apart the cowl, since it doesn't have a notch in it like the cub cowl does.

[David Lewis]

Explain what you mean by a noseblock.

[backyardbalsapilot]

I was thinking something like what scigs30 does in his cub build (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1466&start=30 scroll about 75% down), or somehow making the nose bowl removable, with maybe a balsa rectangular-ish prism covering the distance between B1 and the nose bowl/thrust button. Either way, whether I make a nose block or double up B1 and glue the cowl to that, I would have 2 pieces.

[David Lewis]

I believe the purpose of the removable nosebowl in "scigs30" case is to permit thrust line adjusments. Do you have a different reason for making the cowl in two pieces?

[backyardbalsapilot]

I was hoping to put a pretty large rubber motor in, so a removable nose block would help with winding (I have a 5:1 winder that I would use). Also, I would probably have to replace the motor due to wash/re-lubricate.

[David Lewis]

I make an oversize thrust button out of wood. This allows for a larger rubber motor.

[backyardbalsapilot]

David Lewis,

Thanks for the help. I plan on going with a noseblock like ADW's FW190 (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2170&start=15), but with magnets instead of rubber/friction fit. Also, I will not move the motor peg that far forward. Does anybody have a how-to for making laminated tail feathers? the kit wood is kind of heavy and hard. Each wing weighs over 4 grams before any sort of finishing, so, not bad, but not great. I would have excluded every other rib, but this was my firs time building this kit.

[backyardbalsapilot]

For the tail feathers, I shaved away the inner ~60% of each part. I will post pictures when they are finished.

Will I be able to fly this plane free flight without dihedral?

[David Lewis]

No. It will spiral in. The dihedral shown on the plans is about right. To reduce wing weight, omit the 1/8" x 1/4" wing spar and half the wing ribs.

[backyardbalsapilot]

Well, since I can't fly it, I might as well skip the nose block and just paint it. I plan on using Krylon (I really like the way it comes out of the can) since I don't have an airbrush. I'm not sure how to do trim with a spray can, so I will probably use the kit decals, unless anybody has any ideas. Will pledge floor polish be OK to seal the tissue, or should I use actual Dope? Also, should I put the windscreen on and mask over it with Tamiya masking tape, or leave that until the end?

[NcGunny]

Leave ur windscreen off and paint it. If you know how to use bare metal foil or aluminum foil I have found its easier than masking off the blow mold canopies. I have never tried to dope using Pledge but have sealed several after paint and decals.

[backyardbalsapilot]

NcGunny,

Thank you for the advice. What exactly do you recommend using the aluminum foil for?

I think I am going to go ahead with the pledge dope idea. I tried it on other tissued surfaces, and it looked uneven but sealed. By uneven, I mean that parts of the tissue were clearer than the rest. Paint should cover that up. I plan on going for a white base with red and blue trim, in fitting with independence day weekend. For the first time in a while, I will use kit tissue. I normally use easybuilt lite.

Here is a picture of where she stands with no dope or tissue.

skeleton.JPG

Oh, has anyone else noticed this with the kit wheels? I'm pretty disappointed with guillows. Thankfully I have plenty from declining to do landing gear on my 500 series builds.

skeleton.JPG

[NcGunny]

I hear ya man. Look back and read a thread i started on aftermarket pieces they should offer. Coming from styrene building for years I find the plastic pieces..umm (disgusting). Aluminum foil...spray 1 side with 3m adhesive and let it tack up.Cover your canopy with it smoothing it all out.Use ur scalpel or xacto to cut foil around framework. You can Youtube vids on doing it if u never tried it. Once you get the hang of it,you can foil 3 to 1. I have used Maskall with success also. Paint it on let it dry,paint your framework and peel it off.

[davidchoate]

I always buy better wheels.

[NcGunny]

I had forgot but not long ago I had taken a set of those wheels and carved out the backside,a 1/24th inside rim can be inserted into it. Thought it improved the look somewhat. Once trimmed and glued together I take the tire assembly and sand the crown diwn to make a flatter look to a already miserable looking tire. I used a xacto 42 tpi blade to cut tread grooves and then sand the entire area to get a used look. If you take a flat black paint and hit the sidewalls (brush it on kinda dry, dont load ur brush with paint) the wheel can come out much better than what you start with. I know you may not have model car rims laying around like me, but you could cut out a backside and infill with plastic to get the drum look. My whole complaint is that if I soend 30.00 on a die crunch kit..i have 3.00 worth of balsa, 1.00 in tissue paper, a plan , and aggravation because of dusgusting tires and blow mold plastic.