questions about the Fokker triplane

[blueangel2304]

Hi everybody, this is the first time I post anything in this forum so let me introduce a little bit about myself: I'm a newbie in balsa wood airplane. This Fokker is my 3rd plane after the 500 series Hellcat and the Spitfire. So, my pleasure to meet everybody.
Ok, here are my questions for now: How can I make the leading edge of the wings? I cannot find any number on the map that tells me what part of my Guillow kit I should use to glue into the wing. It's frustrating me because I only have 10 days for Spring break to finish this project and I only have 2 days left.
And another question, how what kind of glue other people use to connect parts together? I use the Elmer White Glue-All glue and it's good since it leaves no stain after dry out but it's also bad because takes way too long to dry compare to CA just takes some second to bond. So I just want to know what is the best glue we have.
Thanks for your attention

Here are a picture of what I've done:




[img][img]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4783/cimg1771vq7.th.jpg[/img][/img]

[SteveM]

Welcome! This is the right place for asking such questions.

The leading edge of the wing is not a numbered part, it is made from 1/8" x 3/16" stock (as is the main spar). Near the center of the wing on the plans you should see an note telling you what size to use. Take a look at the wing on James Good's DR-1. You can also see the leading edges in this picture. The leading edge must then be sanded to shape as shown in this side view of Barnstormer's DR-1.

As for glue, it's pretty much a matter of using what you like best. Some people build slow and enjoy slow drying white glue. Others like fast acting CA or some of the in between stuff like the Testors wood glue. Check out this glue discussion.

And lastly, all those pictures of DR-1s are from the Virtual Aerodrome, a great place to share your build pictures and see how others build their plans. I encourage you to sign up and share your photos, we'd love to see them.

[blueangel2304]

thank you so much for your reply SteveM. It makes sense now. So now I know what to put on the edge, but I realize that sanding the stock is a tough job for me. I tried to sand some edges on my Spitfire before but they do not looks straight at all . Is there a tip or special technique to sand them straightly and nicely that anybody can share?
I will check out the Virtual Aerodrome website as soon as possible and post some pictures I took during this project.
Ah, one more question . Where can I buy some pins to hold parts on my working board? ( I'm living in Seattle, Washington). I tried some cheap sewing pins from Walmart but they bend right away when I force them onto my board. I will stick with Scotch tape right now.

[SteveM]

To shape the leading edge you might want to start by removing the bulk of the wood with a plane or hobby knife, being careful not to cut away too much. Then sand with the grain of the wood using a sanding block. You can either buy an aluminum sanding block and/or make one from a wood block. Check out David Duckett's sanding of the LE of a B-17. You can see his three sanding blocks and he briefly mentions his technique.

The problem with your pins is due to using plywood for a building board. You need to use a softer wood like pine, a ceiling tile, or even a magnetic board. Here is the building board and pins that I use. However, I also use ordinary push pins that you can get from just about any store with office supplies.

Try to locate a hobby shop in your area as they will often have just what you need there on hand.

[supercruiser]

Hi Blueangel,
Welcome. Nice DrI you've got there. SteveM has given some good answers. I've got to figure out how to do those hyperlinks in the text like he does. Just to add my 2 cents worth, as for sanding the leading edge, you need a sanding block, as mentioned, to keep things looking straight.
I suggest using 220 grit paper and then finish with 320 or maybe 400. For building boards here a some more ideas: a large cork bulletin board, Guillow sells a thick balsa building board on their main website. I made my own by covering a plywood board with cork(glued down with Gorilla glue). Bought the cork sheet at a local store. As for glue, right now I'm using Ambroid. Seems to be a good compromise between CA and Elmers.
Dries fairly quickly (30 or so seconds) but, low odor/fumes. Most hobby shops have it.

[blueangel2304]

The process in slowing down since I have to prepare for Spring quarter so I'm just working on the middle and bottom wing. I need to sand them before I glue them into the wings. After that, I believe I only about 1h a day for my fokker, so sad
I think I will stick with cork board that superscruiser suggest. I saw Home Depot have some cork boards that are cheap. I'm a student so I'm trying to minimize the money I spend on tools. Buying the kits has already been difficult for me . Supercruiser, is the glue that you're using good to use in a closed room? I'm living in a small room and that's where I sleep so I want to make sure that it's safe for me. I had some health issue with the CA before.
Thanks SteveM for looking for the hobby shops for me. That's really helpful. I haven't had time to check the Virtual Aerodrome out until this weekend so I will stick with my old way to post pictures until then.

Here are what I've done so far. The Hellcat is my first balsa wood plane so it's really bad. I don't know how to cover it with tissue paper therefore I uses the clear paint from Home Depot to make it like a decorated furniture . My second plane is the Spitfire, which is better. I tried to use the tissue paper provided with the kit but the paper ran out before I could cover the left wing. So I decide to leave it "naked". I will need some help when I cover my fokker with the tissue.
[img][img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1608/cimg1772nd1.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5353/dawdwawdrn9.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/805/cimg1779jz1.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/8707/cimg1780tf6.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/5244/cimg1781gg4.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8240/cimg1782fz6.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6144/cimg1783ot7.th.jpg[/img][/img]

[supercruiser]

I've wanted to do that to a Guillow model: not cover it, leave it bare and paint it with clear coat or clear dope. As for Ambroid glue, I think you will be o.k. in a small room. My workshop is a 3 foot by 4 foot wide closet. The door is open while I'm building.
The fuselage on that Fokker of yours looks good. The formers look squared up and such as that. I see it's a laser cut kit. Those are nice kits to work with.
I've got the laser cut SE5a kit. Keep on building, your models are nice. And a personal note; try to hang on to that first one; 20 or so years from now it might mean something special to you. AND one more thing...... if you run out of tissue, you can order more from Guillow or just go to a local craft store and buy pack of tissue. Comes in many assorted colors.

[blueangel2304]

yup, the Fokker is a laser cut kit. It's nice to work with because it's really precise. However, there's on big problem with this laser cut kit is that it always make me hungry when I'm sanding the parts since the smoking smell always remind of me smoked sausages or salmons

[blueangel2304]

does anybody know what materials people used during WW1 to cover their planes? Is that silk and cover with a glue or something? Can I use silk to cover my planes? I think it would be easy to use silk instead of paper since silk is more flexible, stronger than paper so we can stretch it out easily, don't we? Has anybody tried silk before?

[SteveM]

I believe the WWI planes were covered in silk, but I think silk may not be well suited for such a small model. Silk is a natural fiber so it changes with temperature and humidity and can get loose or tight. I know Bill Parker uses muslin but his planes are very large.

You might want to look into Silkspan, it is also a paper product but is much stronger. Tissue is very weak when wet but silkspan looses almost no strength when wet. It comes in light "000", medium "00", and heavy "SGM". The SGM is good for static and large models while the 00 and 000 are good for smaller flying craft.

Also, I have heard of modelers using SIG Koverall on WWI planes as it has the look of silk when painted. It is a polyester fiber product that can be put on with dope and is shrunk with heat. It is stable over temperature and heat. But I think even it would be too heavy if you plan to fly your DR-1.

[blueangel2304]

thanks SteveM, got it. I will try tissue again.
I just came across this video and I wonder if this is what everybody do to cover the plane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erxs74Vi9wI

[SteveM]

That is a good video showing one way to make a patch.

I have used tissue, silkspan, and plastic film as coverings. And I have used dope, white glue, and an UHU glue stick to adhere the tissue and silkspan. There are many ways of covering and many types of covering. I suggest you browse and/or search this forum for the discussions and tutorials that others have posted.

Some good tutorials have also been posted on the web at Mike's flying scale model pages and at Easy Built. There is a wealth of information at both of these web sites that are worth looking into and reading.

[supercruiser]

Early aircraft may have been covered with silk, not 100% sure about that. A book I have says the Wright Flyer was covered with sateen. The material was later used for dresses for the Tate girls. Irish linen was used on the Curtiss Jennys. And for a few decades Grade A cotton fabric covered many aircraft. Maybe someone like scigs30 could make a covering video and post it on youtube. ????

[blueangel2304]

finally, I finished making the wings guys. Thanks for everybody help.
[img][img]http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4082/cimg1790gr6.th.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/329/cimg1792dj4.th.jpg[/img][/img]

Now I have to cover them. It's really nice to work with these little thing, isn't it?

[Xanadu]

That looks pretty darned good..........

Read all you posts in this thread, really brought back memories of when I first started building models about 40 years ago.
Lucky for me, my dad was a builder and helped me along for the first bit.

Keep up the good work, and enjoy the build.........