The Wet Weekend
Issue No.6

Paul was a novice to model flying. Despite this he began his first 'build', the magnatilla, a 60" span kit by Flair, loosley based on the World War I German Eindecker fighter. He recorded his progress on the club forum, condensed version shown below:

I mentioned that I’m completely new to this hobby and have undertaken the build of a Flair Magnatilla. I’ve been persuaded to log my progress here by one of your members (he shall remain nameless but his initials are Alistair) and give my insights as a novice.
 
My dad used to be in the RAF and I told him I was going to build a model aircraft. The conversation went something like this:
 
“I’m building a model aircraft”
 
“You’re a bloody fool!”
 
On opening the box I tended to agree with him. My first thoughts were: “Aren’t the bits small?” and “Not a mortice and tenon or dovetail in sight, how does it stay together?” and “I can’t do this”
 
After reading the instructions 100 times and then 100 times more and studying the plans at some length, I thought that, yes, I would go for it and began by making my building board. (reading the instructions over and over again is a must. I found information I’d missed on the previous readings and that would have been disastrous. It also gave me the opportunity to get the construction process fixed as images in my mind and I find this very useful). The check list is also a great help and not to be skipped. Not only do you need to know it’s all there but it gives you a chance to familiarise yourself with the parts.
I decided to use 30 min epoxy and slow CA in order to give me plenty of time when working. I saw that this business is not one to rush and I also made sure that I had a “dry run” of each gluing stage so as to foresee any problems that I might have and make allowances for them.
I’ve had a quiet spell with work lately and, as I work from home and, therefore, my workshop is nice and handy, I’ve been able to get quite a bit done in the last 10 days.
Forward fuz went together really well as did the rear fuz. Even though the rear fuz was very accurately built (notice the modesty here!), when it came to joining the two fuzzes together I came across my first problem.
The front most crossmembers of the rear fuz did not come into direct contact with the front fuz rear former. I had to do a bit of trimming to get this to fit. But… When the crossmembers were flush with the former, the tail end was off centre. In order to get everything on the centre line I had to forgo the nice fit (I couldn’t risk trimming any more in case strength was being compromised). See pic1.
It’s been suggested that I insert some triangular supports between former and longerons which I will do. Not sure if they should be Balsa or liteply?
Anyway, if you haven’t logged off or gone to sleep, you’ll be pleased to know that this is the end of this construction stage and I am currently the proud owner of a very strange looking oil rig

PAUL: Any ideas about the tri pieces I mentioned. Balsa or Liteply?

PHIL: Hi Paul use balsa .

Side fuselage formers were next fixed in place and the balsa sheeting put on. It’s beginning to look like the picture on the box now.
The balsa sheeting had some cracks and one piece had a section broken off. Most of the broken section was in the box, so I managed to butt glue it together. However, it has left me with a small space that needs filler – as does some of the sheeting which has some imperfections that need smoothing out before covering.
Decided to leave the triangular braces for the rear-to-fore fuselages until the end and see what stock material I have left. Although, looking at the material supplied, it seems that there is only just enough for a standard build. Make a mental note to buy some balsa.
 
OK guys I need some advice now if you wouldn’t mind.

What can I use as filler? Obviously it needs to be light and sandable at the same rate as balsa. Is there such a thing? I’ve heard of micro balloons but don’t know what they are or how to fly them.This is a little more awkward I think. The engine I bought to provide the power is a SC52 four stroke which is within the recommended 40-60 range. In the instructions for the plane it states that with the majority of FS’s it will be necessary to cut a section from the starboard side to accommodate the cylinder and/or induction system. Fair enough, but this also leaves the problem of the needle valve. Because the engine is side-mounted and the needle valve is to the left of the engine, this means cutting a section of the firewall at the top as well as the starboard side. Whilst the model instructions say that no strength will be lost with the first section removed I feel a little doubtful about removing any more from somewhere else.