Build Along With Wonwing-FAIREY FIREFLY

[wonwinglo]

The new build is the FAIREY FIREFLY a kit made by Aerographics,the model is a very impressive 25 inches wingspan and construction is built on two crutches for the fuselage ie botton and top sections of the fuselage which are joined together once built,this is a fairly complex model as nothing on the Firefly is in a straight line ! however it is a mosty attractive subject and I am looking forward to getting to grips with it,firstly there are several sheets of parts to cut out from the printwood a task that I will do this coming week,then I will start to build the fuselage.
There is a good chance that I will convert this straight away for micro radio,it is an ideal subject,a decision will be made on this once I get into the build and see how it goes.





As usual with Aerographics the wood is excellent quality,it looks like sheeting wood has to be provided and is not included in the kit.



Lots of printwood to cut out a start has already been made.



Cutting out has begun.



Very nice cockpit canopy and a vacuum moulding for the lower nose.



Very nice drawings,once again a good feature of Aerographics.

[Guest]

Another great subject!

Have you any decent reading on ‘micro radio’? Might be something I consider at some point. I’ve enjoyed working with balsa and would love to build a flyer.

[wonwinglo]

Another great subject!

Have you any decent reading on ‘micro radio’? Might be something I consider at some point. I’ve enjoyed working with balsa and would love to build a flyer.

There is nothing unfortunately,I have just been experimenting for many years perfecting it with what is available,the best way is to buy a ARTF model and use the radio/servos etc,just recently they are bringing out what are called brick receivers which have two servos built onto the breadboard,many people are using these but I simply use standard receivers stripped down to the bare minimum and using 1S lipo cells.

[wonwinglo]

A concentrated effort has paid off to cut all of the printwood parts from the sheets,some of the parts were badly spaced out onto the sheets making blade access very tricky but I managed with ingenuity to find suitable tools to do do the job,one tool that is useful for tasks like this is a jewellers piercing saw which has a very fine blade,used in conjunction with a cutting 'V' wooden table you can fret out the parts especially the ones that have a thicker wood size.
With the advent of laser cutting, kits like this will soon be a thing of the past but to me cutting out parts is all part of the hobby and after the thousands cut out over the years it does not bother me,meanwhile I will continue to snap up kits that people cannot be bothered to build because they purchased them and find them too tricky,yes they can be fiddly at times but that in itself is a challenge.



I use flat card trays that postal items often come in to keep the parts tidy whilst cutting them out,this way you do not loose any and they are accessible during the build.








Soon we can make a start and get to grips with this Firefly model now all the parts have been cut from the sheets,they have been cut and sanded to the lines and only a fine sanding before assembly is required.

[papa 695]

Will follow this one Barry. It will be nice to see how it’s done properly.

[wonwinglo]

Will follow this one Barry. It will be nice to see how it’s done properly.

Check out my other detailed Buid-Alongs Papa,more information on balsa building here than anywhere,building up a library of builds.

[wonwinglo]

A modest start by splicing the two crutches for the fuselage then pinning into place for the lower formers to be installed.



A simple wood splice re-inforced with a strip of wood on one side forms the basic fuselage crutch.



A line of pins where the crutches are held into place pending lower formers to be installed,small piece of wood holds them together at the sternpost,a wash over with water with a paintbrush overnight will remove any stresses in the wood helping the balsa relax to the gradual shape.



Temporary pieces of strip wood will be added between diagonally between each crutch section to assist holding the shape during the construction.



Showing the pieces glued over the splice at the rear,scrap wood glued between crutch pieces to hold them together towards the sternpost.

[wonwinglo]

We continue to work on the keel,now the temporary cross pieces are added between the keel strips,these will be removed at some stage once their job has been done.
The instructions are very vague in places and tend to focus on the Co2 powered version,for this it appears that the front nose section is made as a separate module,I have placed F1 into position despite the fact it is not mentioned as required to be fitted at this stage,I cannot see any point in adding it later as it will be awkward to install,I will take a chance and fit it and if necessary make modifications if needed ? my version will be rubber powered with possible build of controls for eventual outrunner motor and radio control,see how it flies on rubber then if it is a good flier modify later with the provisions that have been made,we will see how it goes.




Lower fuselage keel with formers fitted.



Second former from the nose is not called for in instructions ? however experience tells me to fit this and carry on.



Making sure that everything is square,sometimes when adhesive cures it can pull things out of line so as it gels an intermediate check is wise.



A view before the formers were fitted showing the temporary spacers in the crutch.

[wonwinglo]

This morning I added the two wing seat pieces,the front lower spine and made up the tailwheel assembly;hit a problem with the wing seats as they do not fit as per the plan so to rectify the problem I took a slither of wood from former F2 so the piece fits snug against it,the other aft former takes the sheet which has to be eased around when dampened with water when the lower seat has dried however there is no support to glue it so two small pieces of balsa were glued onto the front of the former for support,I will get it right but the instructions/plan are vague again ? you meet these kind of things and just adjust and rectify as you go along with the build.



Note how the wing seat fits properly with abutment onto front formers;rear portion has still to be curved in when adhesive is set.



View of nose lower spine,a vac formed lower cowling bowl fits in this area.
You can see the wood taken from the sides of F2 to make it fit securely,there was no provision on the sides of the former to allow this to sit flush.



Tailwheel formed from piano wire ( missing from the kit !) bound and glued to lower rear fuselage,I will re-inforce this later when I do the stringering,I can see areas on this model that will need a little beefing up to be practical.

[papa 695]

Nice work so far Barry

[wonwinglo]

Nice work so far Barry

Thank you Papa you can only give it your best.

[wonwinglo]

The main construction below the lower crutch has been completed,now I have turned the entire lower fuselage over and made a simple cradle to make it easier to work on the upper fuselage.



The lower fuselage with all rear stringers in place and sheeted area pulled at wing attachment position.



Fuselage turned over in order to work on the top portion of the fuselage.



Starting to fit the upper formers onto the crutch,after careful checking for height some had to be adjusted,until the stringers go on they are very vulnrable at this stage.



The tall former is correct,this is where the cockpit canopy goes.

[scottie3158]

Barry,
Looking good mate. You make this look easy lol.

[wonwinglo]

Barry,
Looking good mate. You make this look easy lol.

Everyone tells me that Scottie ! it just needs patience and a delicate touch,I just love building.

[wonwinglo]

So over the fuselage goes into the cradle to steady it while I complete the stringering and other small fittings around the empenage.



There were no slots in the cockpit bulkhead but these were marked and cut before stringers were added,at this point just below the former shown the planking will end from there to nose forward,however I can see something that needs addressing as the formers in front of this station do not allow for the depth of the planks;for this I will rework each former to allow the depth of the plank,what they have done is make the formers to the outside line of the middle crutch;see how easy it is to go wrong and these things sometimes surface during construction.