[Pup Cam]

I'm still going to build one of these lovely aeroplanes to add to the Dawn Patrol's collection!   



The Great Crash of 09 provides a chance to clean the front end of  the build thread up a bit ………….


Fortuitously, Leon at Belair decided to produce a short kit for a 1/3 scale Triplane just as I was thinking about joining in the DP fun.   
 
The kit is supplied in two boxes - one for the plans and the other for the components.  The plan is a direct enlargement of Mike Booth's 1/4 scale version.   As a consequence some of the wood sizes come out a bit strange so presumably there will be some fettling to do to match up with stock size timber and it may involve a bit of hunting around to get appropriate material for some of the more important stuff like longerons.   Suggested stock sizes for some of these components are included.

The original plan comes as two sheets.  The 1/3 scale version is obviously too big to fit on the maximum width paper available so each original sheet comes in two halves.  The sheet joins have been arranged so that the bulk of the "build over the plan" bits use just one sheet.  The exceptions being the fin and rudder. 

Wow it's big!



The components come packed in the second box stuffed with crumpled paper to stop things floating around and getting damaged.   Some of the smaller components are supplied in sealed bags to stop them getting lost.   This is what you see when you lift the lid:



The short kit includes both ply and balsa components.   I have not had a laser cut kit before and I have to say I was very impressed by the quality of the cutting.   I'm used to die-crushedcut kits.   The main bulk of the wood is the balsa sheets with the ribs and riblets.  Although very small lands are used to retain the components in the sheets you only have to look at the sheets and the bits just fall out and won't require any trimming with the knife.    Other bits supplied include the firewall and cowl ring, cores for the tailplane and elevators and the cabane and interplane struts.  The tailplane and elevator cores are for the final, smaller versions used by the production machines.



Well that’s the kit, best start working on it!

Alan

[Pup Cam]

Thought I would use this post at the top of the thread as a sort of album for some of my prototype photos as they might be of use to others

Fuselage











1  = Front fuselage (Port)       2  = Centre strut (Stbd)         3  = Centre strut (Stbd)          4   = Rear fuselage (Port)
5  = Front fuselage (Port)       6  = Middle fuselage (Port)      7  = Exhaust Duct                  8   = Cowl cooling slots
9  = Fuel tank (Stbd)             10 = Instrument panel (Rear)   11 = Centre Strut Mounting      12 = Rear engine mounting and induction tube
13 = Engine brace (Stbd)        14 = Engine brace (Stbd)       15 = Rudder bar mounting        16 = Foot boards
17 = Rudder bar support         18 = Elevator pulley               19 = Front seat support          20 = Centre strut (Port)

Just found the limit to the number of photos on a post    I will re-arrange some of the following posts to make some more space, but later!

Alan

[Pup Cam]

Engine - 130hp Le Clerget






1  = It!                         2  = Plugs & push rods                3  = Push rods & rockers         4  = Distributor cover & magneto
5  = Magneto & oil pump  6  = Magneto & oil pump              7  = Air inlet (Port)                8  = Cowl
9  = Cowl

[Pup Cam]

Cockpit






1  = Instrument panel           2  = Joystick & Engine kill button   3  = Manual air pump & Fuel gauge    4   = Gun pad
5  = Tailplane trim wheel       6  = Rudder bar                          7  = Joystick base                          8   = Seat
9  = Seat & cockpit padding  10 = Covering lacing                    11 = Foot step aperture                  12 = Seat rear & Mount
13 = Rear spar mounting       14 = Rear roll tube mounting        

[Pup Cam]

......

[Pup Cam]

.....

[Pup Cam]

I wanted to use something a bit stronger than balsa for the spars and longerons.  With no experience of using Cyparis one of the first questions was which was best; Spruce or Cyparis?

Fighter Aces Phil said:
“Cyparis every time....MUCH lighter than Spruce, and very strong, though does have a degree of flex which is good in models of this type.      Stuart @ Solutions will cut whatever you need in any length up to 14ft IIRC.......his standard length however is 72". be aware though, he works in metric not imperial, so all timber slots may need adjusting in your parts to suit 'mm' not inches.

Just call him on 01207 544414”

Next question was what glue is best for Cyparis?

“Whatever you want really......it's not 'waxy' like spruce, so most normal modelling adhesives with work. CA, decent PVA or the foaming polyurethanes. I've used them all in various applications with success.”

I think I will go down either the PVA or foaming poly glue routes for the main structure.  I have tended to go almost entirely over to Cyano for smaller models 'cos progress can be very quick.   But I'm thinking that for something this big that something with just a hint of flex might be good.  I'm actually a big fan of foaming poly as it is so versatile but I think it might be a bit uncontrollable when building traditional structures.

Anyway an order for some 12mm sq for the longerons and 17mm sq for the spars was duly dispatched to Stuart @ Solutions sometime around Christmas  and about 3 weeks later a long thin packet arrived.

Just had to go for a trial fitting of the non-stock size spars in a couple of the laser cut ribs and Wow! was I impressed.

The spars are a beautiful, very slightly tight fit in the ribs.   It could have been so different if the cutting wasn't precise :(  I was very pleased and for anyone building a Belair 1/3 scale Tripe it's the way to go  

As the spars are quite substantial chunks of Cyparis I thought I would follow the prototype and machine them to form an I section to remove a (little) bit of weight.  A guide was made from scrap timber that enabled me to rout the spars quickly in the appropriate places without risking cutting through the flanges (which would be very bad!)  I probably left the central web a bit thicker than necessary but better too thick than too thin.  Anyway, the only “freehand” bit was the ends of the slots and you will get the idea from the photographs.   It takes a bit of care to avoid the bit picking up the wood and dragging it along and I found that it was a good idea to use a wedge to force the spar to the appropriate side of the guide as each side of the slot was machined.  



After a bit of deliberation on the wing joiners I decided to modify the approach suggested on the plane which is essentially this:



This allows the use of a single wire joiner to be used for both sides.  But, it means that you have to accurately drill the ends of the spar at an angle of 2.5 degrees and get all 12 spars spot on the same.   That would be extremely tricky with the facilities I have to hand so I decided to go with the following modified version:



With this approach you only have to drill the short centre section spars at the correct angle which will be much easier to achieve with a jig and the bench drill.

I used my little Unimat 3 lathe to drill the main spar ends by removing the Top Slide and replacing it with a machine vice which was accurately aligned with the lathe bed and therefore the Saddle and Cross Slide to which the spar is fixed.



Once the Cross Slide is accurately positioned to put the hole in the right place horizontally and a suitable piece of packing to go under the spar to get it in the right position vertically, drilling can commence.   The hole is gradually drilled out to the right size using “Long Series” drill bits which, as the name suggests, are just like normal bits only longer.   They are not that expensive but you need to find a machine tool supplier to buy them – an enquiry at the usual DIY shed will just get you a funny look!

The end result after all that routing and drilling is this:



12 spars ready for assembly      so, a trial run was in order



Just look at the fit of those spars in the ribs - fantastic!

And just to finish the wing bits off for now, the tips

Made from 4mm diameter aluminium tube, bent to shape around an MDF template using my sore thumbs!



Alan

[Pup Cam]

Whilst I was waiting to get the Cyparis to start construction in earnest I amused myself by making some of the cockpit details

The typical Sopwith joystick was drawn up and fabricated from ali tube.   The tube was cut to the correct angles using a slitting saw in the Unimat and mounting the ali tube in the tool post which was set appropriately.    The tubes were joined using Cyano although if I were doing it again I would use the Swedish ali welding / soldering rod.  The magneto kill button is a small ali turning.



Here are a few seat related photographs.   Using some old O Level Technical Drawing skills I developed the templates for the seat parts from the side and plan view drawings in the Pup book.   BTW the seat templates actually shown in the book are the wrong shape.

I originally thought that that the Triplane had a wicker seat and was just looking forward to some weaving but then I found out that, strangely, the wicker seats  came along later for the Camel.   Made it a bit easier!



The seat parts were cut from 1/32 ply and Cyano'd together.   The beading is the edge of some soft 1/8 balsa sanded to a half round section, trimmed from the sheet and then Cyano'd to the seat.    As the balsa was soft it readily followed the complex curves.



Next up – the rudder bar.  Again, the drawing was taken from the Pup book and the rudder bar made by laminating fret sawn layers of Obeechi.   CeeJay does a nice CNC version of it now.  The rudder bar mounting bracket is cut and folded up from nickel silver sheet.



Put the bits together .....



Alan

[Pup Cam]

While I was waiting for the timber (Cyparis) for the longerons and spars to turn up I mocked up the cockpit to get an idea on how things fit together



Another bit of sillyness was to rout out the lower end of the cabane strut in the cockpit as per the fullsize  



Alan

[Pup Cam]

A couple of shots of the real one which is in pieces having a fuel tank leak sorted out at the moment.  Trouble is to get the tank out you need to take the wings off! Very handy for me and my camera though!



A few things to note:  

1)   The top rudder bar steady tube that goes up to meet the rear engine mount
2)   The up elevator cables pulley attached to the rear of the rudder bar mount
3)   The footboards
4)   The bottom end of the starboard cabane strut complete with the handwheel for adjusting the incidence of the tailplane (a Prof )

Alan

[Pup Cam]

Thank heavens for rubbish Easter weather then!  Stuck indoors so an opportunity to make some progress with the Triplane.    

So, the first basic wing panel is built.  It is the port upper and needs the following to complete: aileron separating from the wing and finishing off, hinge blocks mounted, aluminum tip epoxying in place including binding with carbon tows, the root rib fixing at the correct angle, spars bound with carbon tows around joiner tubes.   The half ribs for the interplane struts are left floating for now and will be fixed in position when the whole thing has been rigged.    I didn't have any hard balsa long enough for the leading edges so I've gone with 3/8" square pine from Homebase.   Worked out nicely, only problem is finding more stock that is straight for four more wing panels.  The weight of the panel is 400g at the moment so no lightweight but it has a lot of "non-balsa" in  it.
Just five more to do then  



Alan

[xairflyer]

Looking good, the wings look the part with the routed out spars.

I got some nice 3/8 square pine in B&Q the last day, in the 2m long mouldings section, they also do a range of sizes now in 1m lengths which are useful, just need to pick through them to get the ones with the 45deg end grain and no knots.

[Pup Cam]

Before I get stuck in with building wing panel number 2 I thought I would just try and get a feel for the size of the beast .........



Me thinks it's not going to be quite ready for Scampton next week

Alan

[Mudders]

Before I get stuck in with building wing panel number 2 I thought I would just try and get a feel for the size of the beast .........

 

Me thinks it's not going to be quite ready for Scampton next week
Alan

LOL 

[Pup Cam]

I’m going to bind the spars at the wing roots with carbon tows as the spars have been drilled and sleeved with brass tube for the wing locating dowels.  The first 3 bays will be treated in this way i.e up to the 2nd full rib



The tip tube rod is also bound with carbon tows to the spars for strength



as will be the leading and trailing edges



The rear spar is built up to full depth where the aileron cut out is



The ailerons are being built integral to the wing to make sure they match and also to ensure that the wing remains flat.  They will be separated later.   The kit includes special split ribs but fortunately the kit had enough standard ribs to do it this way.  Not certain if this was a mistake and Leon put too many ribs in or not but it was certainly useful!    The supplied aileron ribs have notches top and bottom for spars.   Using the standard ribs has allowed me to use a single dowel spar which is closer to the original and, more importantly, won't be visible under the covering.  You will also notice that the ribs have been marked where they will eventually be cut  using one of the original aileron ribs as a template.



And this is the tip almost finished



Alan

[Mudders]

YAY, your rockin and rollin now PC, look out Cosford

[Patriot]

Will watch this with interest

[Pup Cam]

YAY, your rockin and rollin now PC, look out Cosford

But which one Matt - that's the question    Mind you, if there's a bit of Fodder DVI around for target practice that might encourage me to build a bit quicker 

Will watch this with interest

Are you still thinking about building one?

Alan

[Patriot]

Are you still thinking about building one?

Oh yes! have some plans that I need to get copied, just sorting a cutting list, will start the build later this year, other stuff to sort first

[Pup Cam]

Oh yes! have some plans that I need to get copied, just sorting a cutting list, will start the build later this year, other stuff to sort first

I've just remembered. Weren't you thinking about an (the!) Alcock A1?   Now that would be different.

Alan

[Patriot]

Thats why I need to copy the plan as there are quite a few mods to draw on, so if anyone knows where I can copy plans that are 42" wide and about 6' long please let me know

[idigbo]

Surely you have completed this Venetian blind by now  

Looking great, neat and tidy stuff

 Ian.

[steamysheep]

Surely you have completed this Venetian blind by now  

Looking great, neat and tidy stuff

 Ian.

I think he would have it done by now, but "someone" made him re-think about his wing tips.. 

[Norfolk'n'Good]

Watcha gonna cover it wiv mista?

I saw one wing at Tibenham, nice bit of work 

[Pup Cam]

Watcha gonna cover it wiv mista?

Solartex if I can get a mortgage or maybe I might try the fullsize stuff the name of which escapes me at the moment - Cellenex

I've made a bit more progress since Tibbers - well I can't go flying the Pup can I, sob

And this is the story so far ......



I might even start the fus soon

Alan

[steamysheep]

Solartex if I can get a mortgage or maybe I might try the fullsize stuff the name of which escapes me at the moment - Cellenex



Alan

Diatex...

s'posed to be cheaper than solartex too

[steamysheep]

please, do not use cemtex

[Pup Cam]

please, do not use cemtex

Now that would make any display go with a bang!

[Norfolk'n'Good]

Diatex...

s'posed to be cheaper than solartex too

Skycraft sells it HERE but they are out of stock right now.  I will be buying some myself once back in stock 

[Pup Cam]

I’m finishing off the basic work on the Port middle wing at the moment.  

The cut away trailing edge on the first full rib bay is one of the areas where you seem to have to make it up as you go along. Not a big problem but it does mean you've got to cut more ribs etc.  Because they are not on the plan  they are not in the kit.   Also, the first full rib i.e. #2 is just 1/8" balsa so it needs beefing up if it isn't going to turn into a banana when it's covered.  So I’ve added a 1/4” rib plus a diagonal dowel brace.  I have still to add a diagonal brace between ribs 1 & 2. Also added are 1/4” balsa half-ribs and a trailing edge for the narrow chord first bay.  Soft 1/2” sheet will be added from the trailing edge almost up to the rear spar eventually and then sanded to shape to match the rib profile.  This can’t be done until I’ve bound the rear spar with carbon tows to strengthen it around the wing joiner tube.  



Here is the beginning of the stub wing that mounts on the cabane strut and the piane wire wing joiners.   Again, this mounting will have to be an “own design” as the method shown on the plan is not suitable as I’ve moved the struts into the correct position inboard of the longerons.  Something similar to the method used at the interplane struts although new half ribs will need to be cut.  It has to be said though that I have a hankering for something closer to the original which used a tubular compression strut fixed between the ribs all held together with metal bracketry.  Watch this space ....



I made a little marking out template / jig for the spar ends using one of the spare aileron ribs that I’m not using.  This allows the ends of the spars to be marked out accurately so that the camber of the tip tube is consistent across the six panels.   Once marked out the spar ends need to be tapered down to the correct thickness.



So now I’ve got the port wings pretty nearly sorted apart from the detail work.  I must say I really like the basic construction method with the square spars and ribs slid on.  It is almost self jigging if the ribs are a good fit and the spars aren't twisted (which they weren't).  A few of the spars were very slightly curved so they were paired up and arranged so that the bend was in the horizontal plane and the front one was curved in the opposite direction to the rear one so hopefully the wings will stay nice and flat.  

So now it’s on with the Starboard wing panels – I must make sure I build them the right way round!

Alan

[Norfolk'n'Good]

looks like you would have been as well to drawn up your own plans!  Nice Neat and tidy work Alan 

[idigbo]

The wings on the other side will be a piece of p!ss now Alan

You decided to do the fuselage in stackable 12" long sections then?

Ian.

[Pup Cam]

You decided to do the fuselage in stackable 12" long sections then?

Only way it will fit in the car

[Lucky Dog]

Excellent work Alan!

[Pup Cam]

Excellent work Alan!

Thanks Mike.

I collected my CeeJay Scale Enterprises 1/3 scale Sopwith cowl from Ken B this evening.    Had a slight concern 'cos the cowl looked a bit bigger than my dummy fuselage section.  As soon as I got home I whipped the cowl ring former out of the box and offered it up to the cowl.

Result!      



Looks like a lovely job.  Thanks Chris

Also finally met up and had a good chat with Patriot.   His DP machine is going to be rather unusual (I'm glad I brought it to his attention ) if you can't remember what it is you will just have to wait and see    By the way CeeJay I think there might be an order for a CNC rudder bar coming your way.

Alan

[thescaleman]

hi Alan....

just came across this thread....... ...excellent stuff.......

might see you tomorrow/DX if you are there

cheers

dave

[Pup Cam]

might see you tomorrow/DX if you are there

I'm hoping to show my face and meet up with the DPers.

Maybe see you there.

Alan

[Mudders]

YAY, see ya there  

[thescaleman]

going sunday...

[idigbo]

going sunday...

Me too, when you going Puplesscam? 

Ian.