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Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 13 May 2021, 13:37
by Peter Balcombe
Whilst this may not be the 1st build of one of Jilles Smits’ Olympia kits from Laser Cut Sailplanes, I hope the 2b version will be of interest, particularly as I don’t think there has been a detailed build thread produced.

The kit provides build options for either the original Meise canopy shape or modern curved variety, plus full skid or wheel. This build will be the 2b version, with modern canopy & wheel.
There is also a 3D printed nose cone available.

Cliff delivered a set of plans & a big bag of nicely laser cut parts the other day, so the first job was to go through the labelled parts, Bill of Materials (BOM) & plans to check off all the bits & identify where they went/sort into wing, fuselage etc sets.

First up on the build schedule is the fuselage, which I will construct on a flat plank of wood claimped to my bench top.
The plank is a standard length of planned softwood obtained from the local wood shop & is about 150x25mm & 2.1m long, just long enough to accommodate the fuselage formers and act as a build surface.
After marking a lengthways centreline & marking a position for the front former, I glued Former 1A base onto the building surface with the former base centre marker on the base centreline, ensuring the former was vertical.

Once the front former was fixed, I could use this as a reference to add the other full length formers F4 & F8, tied together by the 2 front keel pieces. Note that I am glueing the bases of each full length former to the building surface.

Once these parts are fixed in place, F2 & F3 can be added (plus the tow release servo plate ST1) & then F5.
The upper nose longeron (S4) & 2 upper side nose longerons (S5) can now by fitted.

Note that F7 must be fitted before F6 and associated 2 servo plates are fitted, otherwise it cannot be fitted as the servo plates go above it’s base. The 2 wing joiner doubler plates DB1 fitted between F7 & F8 locate the top of F7.
The following shots show the above.
First formers fitted
First formers fitted
Full formers centred
Full formers centred
Tow release servo plate
Tow release servo plate
F6-F8 area
F6-F8 area
Front assembly
Front assembly

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 13 May 2021, 20:34
by Peter Balcombe
Moving on to the wing root area, the doubler B1A can be glued to the top plate B1 & the 2 M4 captive nuts fitted, followed by former F9 glued at right angles to B1.
This assembly can then be slipped into place over the top of the F7/8 pylon & glued to the tops of each former.
Note that the root ribs cannot be added until this until in place, otherwise it cannot be fitted over the pylon.
Once F9 is in place, the two wheel side cheeks can be fitted to tie the bottom of the assembly to F8.

Once the glue has set, F10 & F11 can be fitted from under B1 and the bottoms of the formers secured in place by adding the 2 K1WR pieces.

Next up is the rear keel & remaining formers ....
F9 & wheel sides
F9 & wheel sides
F10 & F11 plus keel
F10 & F11 plus keel

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 13 May 2021, 21:33
by Max Wright
That's going to be a biggie at 5 metres, Peter.

Thanks for posting. It will be an interesting read. 8-)

Cheers

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 14 May 2021, 20:42
by Peter Balcombe
Further progress today has taken me to the point where I need to await delivery of some M4 captive nuts to complete the tailplane seat, necessary before being able to attach the fuselage waist longerons.
Once the rear keel has been attached with the aid of the 2 rearmost full length formers (set vertical on the build board), the remaining formers can be added, remembering to inset the F20A & FR0 to set the finpost in place.
Thereafter, the fin can be built up, top rear longerons (S7 & S8) added & upper forward longerons (S1) added.
I will fit the outstanding front canopy former (F3A) tomorrow.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 15 May 2021, 22:37
by Peter Balcombe
A bit of further progress today in that the lower forward longerons, plus the full length waist longerons (only secured as far back as F14 so far to allow the outstanding tailplane mount formers to be fitted) have been added. (The waist longerons are 2.1m long, so these were spliced up from standard lengths before fitting).
Also fitted were the G1 gussets at the top of F6 and the forward cockpit former F3A.

A check fit of the wheel supplied by Cliff showed that this was wider (at 40mm) than the 36mm gap between the wheel plates. A standard Dubro or similar wheel will fit, but these have a lot more ‘give’ & may not give a heavier 1/3 scale model much cushioning. The wheel mounting design relies on 3mm ply plates only & does not contain any internal aluminium doubler plates as usually found on larger models, so I have decided to beef this area up a little whilst also widening the gap to take the firmer tyred wheel.
With the standard wheel plates carefully removed, the locating slots in F8 & F9 have been widened to allow a 40mm gap and replace the 3mm ply wheel plates with 1/8” aluminium axle support plates and 0.8 or 1.6mm ply wheel plates.
(The original slots will be filled with 3mm ply offcuts when the new plates are fitted).
The lower part of F9 will also be fitted with a doubler to increase its thickness to at least that of the 4mm ply F8.

The new plates should arrive tomorrow, so I will make up a pair of aluminium plates ready for a trial fit.
Watch this space ...

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 16 May 2021, 16:45
by Peter Balcombe
The FEMA wheel is now installed between 3mm aluminium plates, externally faced with 1/16” ply.
A ply cover will now be fitted to form a full wheel box.

Some M4 captive nuts have also been fitted to the tailplane bolting positions at F17 & F19 A/B pairs. With these assemblies in place, the rear part of the waist longerons have been secured.

I forgot to say before that the fuselage main joiner tube has also been fitted. The joiner is a 20mm dia. fibreglass rod & Cliff can supply this, together with a close fitting fibreglass tube with 22mm OD which slides nicely into the pre-cut holes in the fuselage root ribs/doublers.

The plans advise having a tailplane available to check for correct operation of the elevator pushrod setup & elevator movement before the rear fuselage is skinned. Thus, a attention will now turn to building up the Stabiliser & elevator framework & a start has been made with the centre stabiliser section.
(Note that the half rib SR2 should be fitted to the lower outside of SR1 in order to form a support for the lower skin edge - so not as shown in the photo!)
FEMA wheel in place
FEMA wheel in place
Wheel box
Wheel box
Tailplane seat fixings
Tailplane seat fixings
Stabiliser centre section
Stabiliser centre section

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 17 May 2021, 18:59
by Peter Balcombe
With the main joiner tube fitted a couple of days ago, I completed the fuselage joiner installation by sliding some 9/32” brass tube into the rear incidence tube slot, then reinforced this with 1/4” Sq. spruce above & below.
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The tailplane structure was built up by adding the stabiliser rear spar to the rear of previously completed centre section & then adding the ribs between the rear spar & tabbed false LE pieces over the plan. Once the ribs are in place, the main & rear spars can be fitted in their slots.

The elevator was built using the False LE strip as a base. The elevator ribs can be slotted into the false LE & tied into position by the CNC cut TE piece which locates into the false LE and each rib.
The overall structures as built up so far are shown below.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 20 May 2021, 09:15
by Peter Balcombe
Skinning now underway on the tailplane & the inner ends of the elevators added, plus TE infill being sanded to profile.
The balsa elevator LE yet to be added once I have the elevator horn available & fit checked.
The tailplane tips & LE will be fitted once the skinning is complete around the edges.

Meanwhile, the rudder rib structure has been assembled and the spliced 1/16” ply TE assembly fitted.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 23 May 2021, 11:36
by Peter Balcombe
Tailplane structure now check fitted and a trim tab separated out from the elevator.
The canopy framework has also been assembled apart from the wing root ‘ears’ for which I need the wing structures to ensure everything mates up.

The plan shows a skinned area around the elevator trim tab area, rather than a separate tab. As the tab is a fairly prominent feature, I decided to add a balsa strip hinge spar & tab LE spar, plus end riblet which then enables the tab to be released from the elevator.

The Olympia trim tab is a fairly simple affair compared with the ASK13 as it is set in a fixed position on the full size using a closed loop bowden cable arrangement from the cockpit trim lever & the tab doesn’t move relative to the elevator. Thus I will keep things simple & just have the separate tab, complete with non-working C/L cable ends going to top & bottom horns, but the tab in a fixed position.
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Canopy frame
Canopy frame
Trim tab released
Trim tab released

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 24 May 2021, 09:27
by Peter Balcombe
Just realised that the elevator design is correct for the Meise version, but the Olympia 2b has an extra rib on the trim tab side. However, this is approximately halfway between the first 2, so easy enough to add an extra one :)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 25 May 2021, 11:19
by Peter Balcombe
The additional Oly 2b elevator rib now added in addition to the 3/8” Balsa LE (recessed to fit around front ply spar doubler). The LE will be tapered towards the tips & shaped to curved profile later.

The rudder is being fitted with pinless 3/16” hinges plus piano wire hinge to make this large item removeable.
I first fitted an 1/8” balsa layer on the front of the rudder post as a spacer, then dry fitted the rudder side of each hinge with a single length of piano wire as a hinge pin running through lengths of 3/32” tube between each hinge as guide tube. With the hinges pressed in to get the tube sitting against the balsa strip, the tube can then be set in place with a few small blobs of epoxy near each end of each section - being careful to keep the epoxy away from the piano wire.
Strips of 1/8” balsa can then be glued to each side of the tube to cut as a spacer for the forward section of the LE.
The rear hinges can now be removed to leave the holes clear until the full LE has been added & the holes found/ opened & hinge movement clearance slots made. The hinges can be glued in later, using the piano wire hinge pin to position correctly.

Meanwhile, the 3D printed nosecone has been check fitted with the tow release tube & then the inside glassed, M4 nuts fitted inside the fixing lugs & this area securely bonded to the glass layers using thickened epoxy. This unit is now ready to received ballast prior to final fixing to the fuselage.
Modified elevator with LE
Modified elevator with LE
Rudder hinge pin
Rudder hinge pin
Glassed nose cone
Glassed nose cone

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 27 May 2021, 16:28
by Peter Balcombe
Whilst awaiting a couple of bits needed to complete the elevator linkage, I decided to make a start on the 1st wing structure.
First job was to splice up the main spars & taper the tip section as per the plan, plus epoxy the 3 spar web sections together. With this done, a start was made on the LH wing structure this morning & the pics below show progress made by afternoon cuppa time (even when using Aliphatic glue rather than Cyano).

Note that as per the plan note, the root ribs to R3 must be left until the top & bottom 1/4” Sq rear spar sections have been fitted, otherwise you will not be able to get them in. (They slide through the ribs & the spar is cranked at rib 4).

Also note that the pin hinge holes in aileron hinge web are not on the centreline, so this item needs to be put on with the hole nearer the lower surface. A good check is to make sure that the hole near the aileron servo location lines up with the rib slot.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 29 May 2021, 10:33
by Peter Balcombe
The root end of the 1st wing structure is now complete, so just the TE & brakes to do before skinning can commence ;)

One of the shots below shows how the rear spar line is cranked, hence the need to insert the centre wing sections before adding ribs 1-3.

As for the recent ASK13 build, I will be making up the TE from a balsa/0.8mm ply/balsa sandwich strip rather than the solid spruce strip indicated on the plan. My reasoning is that this allows the balsa to be sanded to profile down to the ply strip, giving a much better chance of getting a consistently thick & straight TE.
With the addition of 0.6mm skins (for this build), I obtain the 2mm TE thickness shown on the plan.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 29 May 2021, 19:30
by SedB
Looks very promising so far Peter!
In what livery will this one be? I've been thinking of doing a 2B in 'RAF' colors (don't think the RAF it self ever had Olympias..), but haven't found much reference so far. Would be a nice coincidence if that's what you are building. If not, well I'm still staying tuned to this build as I love to see how it comes together!

Daniel

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 29 May 2021, 20:39
by Peter Balcombe
Hi Daniel,
I think that it will be in the Cirrus blue Empire Test Pilot School livery.
There are 2 fairly recent rebuilds flying, VV400 & VV401.
I built both in 1/4 scale from the Cliff Charlesworth plan a few years ago (see build threads)
Full size
Full size
Model
Model

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 30 May 2021, 14:40
by Peter Balcombe
Sandwich TE now notched & fitted to both the wing and aileron.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 31 May 2021, 19:58
by SedB
Peter Balcombe wrote: 29 May 2021, 20:39 Hi Daniel,
I think that it will be in the Cirrus blue Empire Test Pilot School livery.
There are 2 fairly recent rebuilds flying, VV400 & VV401.
I built both in 1/4 scale from the Cliff Charlesworth plan a few years ago (see build threads)
Yess those are the one's I mean. Thanks, now I know what color is used on these!!
Where these actually ever flow by the Empire Test Pilot School?

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 31 May 2021, 20:45
by Peter Balcombe
Daniel,
Precise colour is Cirrus Blue BS4800 18E50.
VV400 was faithfully restored using a paint match with a piece of the original fabric.
I think you will find that both VV400 & V401 flew in the ETPS, but this was long ago. The ETPS started in 1943/44, originally being called the Test Pilot School.
I think that VV400 was built in 1946, but is still flying & it is currently based at the Cotswold Gliding Club site at Aston Down near Stroud, U.K.
Peter

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 01 Jun 2021, 10:11
by SedB
Many thanks for all the info Peter!!

Daniel

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 02 Jun 2021, 16:37
by Peter Balcombe
Daniel,
A few photos of VV400 taken a long time ago in B&W, plus a close up of the ETPS crest & lettering on the rebuilt glider.
Note that the crest & lettering were kindly replicated by forum members for the models I built, so are available for other builds.
Peter.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 05 Jun 2021, 16:56
by Peter Balcombe
All of the main structures built put together now apart from the canopy frame which awaits the wing root ears to be added - so putting all together for an initial photo as this just has to be done :)

With the elevator pushrod M3 ball link now available, I see that the 4mm spacing on the elevator crank is insufficient to accept an M3 part (4-40 parts shown on the plan) Therefore if intending to use a M3 ball link as I have, it would be a good idea to increase the thickness of the L2 crank spacer to 5mm when this is built up. The brass lower pivot tube length will also need lengthening to match.

Whilst still awaiting delivery of some angle brass for the elevator horn & 0.6mm ply for the rear fuselage & wing skins (beefing these areas up from the 0.4mm ply shown on the plan to better cope with the expected heather populated landing areas) I will now get the fuselage back on the bench & sort the forward upper fuselage skinning with 0.8mm ply.

Note that I have left the wings off the fuselage until this has been skinned & removed from the building base board.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 05 Jun 2021, 21:54
by Max Wright
Nice, Peter. 8-)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 07 Jun 2021, 23:04
by Peter Balcombe
Work is progressing on the forward upper fuselage skinning, with the LH side now done back to the wing root (Photos to follow tomorrow).

Meanwhile, I’ve also been working on an alternative airbrake arrangement to replicate the full size which has shorter, deeper, but staggered ‘box type’ brake blades. The full size blades are much more heavily profiled than the fairly plain ones shown on Jilles’ plan.
The photos below show the scale RH wing blade profiles looking from the LE, plus a prototype blade arm yoke assembly made up from carbon tube & a few 3D printed parts.
(The lower blade is mounted behind the top blade & its arm has a crank to operate the blades. The crank is pulled towards the root to open the blades.)
More to follow ...
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 08 Jun 2021, 12:11
by Peter Balcombe
A couple of images of the initial fuselage upper nose skinning as promised.
I have fitted 1/8” balsa former edge doublers where I have skin joins.
The front 6 former skins (to rear of cockpit) are 0.8mm ply, changing to 0.6mm thereafter.
Most skin joints are scarfed to overlap the pieces.
I will see how far my (currently limited stock) 0.6mm ply goes along the upper half of the fuselage, but also don’t want to do too much aft of the wing until I can get the elevator linkage completed & functionality confirmed before boxing it in completely.

Note that I haven’t carried the fuselage skins up over the canopy sides as this is shown on the plan as being skinned in 0.4mm ply.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 08 Jun 2021, 15:26
by Peter Balcombe
Nice pristine canopy moulding just delivered from Barry & his team at Sarik :)
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 08 Jun 2021, 16:16
by Cliff Evans
I am definitely getting better with the plugs!

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 10 Jun 2021, 09:42
by Peter Balcombe
With the upper fuselage now skinned back to the wing root TE and my stock of 0.6mm ply temporarily exhausted, it’s time to get the canopy frame base skinned.
Closer inspection of the canopy frame built up for the Oly2b version (rather than Miese version) shows that there is absolutely zero support for the 0.4mm skin over the forward 1” or so. Thus, I have made a narrow (1/4” wide) version of Former 3A to act as a forward canopy frame hoop & linked this to the bottom of the plan-built frame using 1/4” wide liteply strips. (If necessary, most of these extra bits can be removed once the canopy skin has been glassed.)
The photo below shows the revised arrangement, complete with 6mm magnets previously fitted for canopy retention.

The canopy framework has already been sanded to a curved profile, noting that the edges on the doubled upper ply hoops will be sanded to virtually form a continuous curved edge. I did the skinning as 2 sides as there is a only a narrow join at the front centre.
The canopy skins are cut to cardboard (cereal packet) templates & then finally trimmed to fit at the front, rear & bottom canopy frame edges before being carefully glued in place with the frame held in situ to ensure it retains its proper shape as the skin is applied. (Apply a thin shiny tape to the fuselage coaming before glueing to act as a release layer for any wayward glue).
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 10 Jun 2021, 15:35
by Peter Balcombe
Looking at Jilles’ canopy assembly drawing again, I see that he has based the 2b canopy on a design which has a curved & canted front as seen in side view, whereas the canopies I have seen have a flat canted forward front as in the pics below.
Also interesting (and fairly obvious when you think about it) is that the angled wing LE fairing is bolted to the rear of the canopy & therefore doesn’t have to be attached to the canopy glazing itself!

With the canopy frame sat in place & the 0.4mm ply half skins fettled to give a good fit on the front, rear & lower sedges, they can be glued to the frame. I used the white glue/iron technique but set the skins in place one by one once the glue had been applied to both parts & wiped smooth with a finger. Once the glue had been left for a while to dry, I then went over the joints with a hot iron to make sure they were all in good contact.
Once the front, rear & lower edges had been cleaned up, the excess material around the top could be removed with a sharp blade & sanded flush.
I subsequently note from Jilles’ drawing that the upper frame piece CP10 is intended to act as a canopy moulding rim & therefore should probably be left off until after the skins have been fitted & sanded flush to CP9. CP10 can then be fitted & the canopy placed over the edge of this, sitting on the top CP9.
I will carefully rebate the top of my skins to expose CP9 ;)

Note that the front of CP1 and the the associated vertical piece CP11 will be removed once the canopy skins have been glassed.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 10 Jun 2021, 17:47
by Jolly Roger
Wonderful build Peter. Thoroughly enjoying it.

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 10 Jun 2021, 19:46
by Peter Balcombe
Thanks Roger, I’m enjoying this one.

Canopy frame skin now modified at the top to leave CP10 proud of the skin to provide a ledge/guide strip for the canopy moulding to sit onto. Much more like that shown on the plan & should give a good glueing land.
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Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 11 Jun 2021, 09:35
by Trevor
Very neat. How did you cut that rebate?

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 11 Jun 2021, 11:26
by Peter Balcombe
Trevor,
Very carefully ;)
As I knew that there was a small step between the top two layers, I started by carefully removing the skin at one end, starting from the top until I had exposed the start of the 2nd layer.
It was then a case of carefully working along the joint line with a sharp blade, removing the material bit by bit.
Luckily, I had attached the skin using white wood glue, so easier to ease away from the top piece as I worked my way around
Edges tidied up with a square needle file to complete.

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 11 Jun 2021, 15:14
by Peter Balcombe
Progress is looking good on the scale airbrake front :)
After having assembled the brake arm yokes using a 3D printed jig (as previously shown) the arms have now been fitted with 3/32” blade hinge bearing tubes & the central cross tube length trimmed to fit inside the brake box.

The 1st pair of blade boxes have also been made up as laser cut sides glued either side of a 1/4” Sq. Balsa spacer. The laser marked pivot hole locations have had 3D printed carbon doublers glued on the outside & the holes in these opened out to take the 16SWG hinge pins.

Pleased to say that the blades appear to move freely when assembled into the arms, including when the centre pivots are located in the laser cut brake box side pieces.
The scale arrangement increases the overall brake box opening to 25.4mm in order to accommodate the staggered blades. Each blade cap is 13mm wide & an extra brake area skin support sub spar will be added top & bottom to support the staggered openings.
Next step is to make up a dummy brake box to provide a more rigid mount for testing prior to modifying the wings to accept the revised brake arrangement.
Brake assembly parts
Brake assembly parts
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Upper surface view
Upper surface view

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 12 Jun 2021, 11:46
by VinceC
Nice to see the endeavour for True Scale

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 13 Jun 2021, 20:14
by Cliff Evans
Peter has asked my to share some video with you.

all.



Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 13 Jun 2021, 20:44
by Peter Balcombe
Thanks Cliff.
Note that the brake unit has been fitted in a recycled test box (cut down from recent ASK13 brake build) but having the same internal dimensions as the yet to be modified wing structure.
Essentially, I will move the rear brake aperture sub spars rearwards to 25.4mm behind the existing front ones & fit revised brake box sides (main pivot holes are closer together) on the inside faces of these after removing the unwanted rib sections in the brake box area.
I will also fit 2 additional brake box sub spars (1 upper & 1 lower) to provide a rear skin support for the upper blade & a forward support for the lower rearward staggered blade. (Note that the 2nd of these must only be fitted after the blade unit has been installed & checked as you will otherwise not be able to get the blade unit into the box).
I will also tweak the brake actuation pushrod route to reach the crank on the rear blade, rather than effectively the front blade location - which is where the default blades are located.
The scale blades have 1/4” solid balsa perimeters/0.4mm ply faces, so the blade tops should be able to be readily sanded down to the wing profile before adding the blade caps as usual.

The 1st video clip shows the upper box area closed with balsa to show just the blade opening, whereas the 2nd clip, shows the completely open lower side of the box to allow the blade unit to be withdrawn after testing through the lower aperture after pushing out the two main pivot dowels. Once the extra lower sub spar is fitted, the blade assembly is ‘locked in’.
(On the full size, the blades are individually bolted to the brake arm yokes, so are easily removable).

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 18 Jun 2021, 14:17
by Peter Balcombe
Back to the fuselage briefly after the initial assembly of the tail feathers showed the elevator being a rather snug fit against the base of the fin :o
It turns out that the 2 other U.K. builds have had the same issue, so after a check with Jilles, the fix is to move the tailplane forward by 8mm.
Jilles will look at this shortly, but in the shorter term, my fix is to move the front sub-former on each of the fuselage tailplane mounts (F17A & F19A) forward 8mm, make the captive nut plates 8mm longer & fit the captive nuts/move the tailplane seat holes forward by 8mm.

The revised arrangement now puts the tailplane & elevator in the centre of the tailplane seat, with adequate space at each end. :)
Original elevator/F22 gap
Original elevator/F22 gap
Revised elevator gap
Revised elevator gap
New holes in tailplane seat (B2)
New holes in tailplane seat (B2)
Reduced forward gap
Reduced forward gap

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 19 Jun 2021, 18:28
by Peter Balcombe
Having tried to get hold of some 8x3mm brass angle, I have given up waiting & bent up some 0.8mm brass sheet today to make the elevator horn parts.
An hour later, I had the elevator horn soldered up & epoxied into the slot in rear of the elevator, capped with the 1.6mm ply EP3 piece.
The pics below show the installed horn, plus the fuselage linkage once the tailplane has been fitted, although the temporary crank pivot screw will be changed to a 3mm brass pin before the fuselage skinning is completed.
C74D02A4-AE44-463A-BDA0-6C40E4CBE8E3.jpeg
36E339AF-1BA7-4D58-B7F7-A0D5EF8CCB44.jpeg
227E8821-03C3-437C-9D67-718B2F16C602.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 20 Jun 2021, 12:15
by Cliff Evans
Another video from Peter.



Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 20 Jun 2021, 13:02
by VinceC
Smoooooooth

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 20 Jun 2021, 16:36
by Peter Balcombe
Thanks Vince,
Now that the elevator linkage is sorted & with a new stock 0.6mm ply available, good progress is being made today on completing the upper fuselage sheeting.
I hope to finish this tomorrow, so will post more photos when done.
This marks a significant point, as the fuselage is then sufficiently rigid to be removed from the building base board :)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 22 Jun 2021, 14:19
by Peter Balcombe
Upper fuselage & fin skinning now completed, so the fuselage has been removed from the building stands in order to get to the lower half.
Whilst skinning around the tailplane seat, a balsa block was put in & roughly shaped to the tailplane LE profile, followed by bedding the tailplane in a layer of filer to get a good fit. I also used this technique to identify the tailplane underside profile in order to be able to get the side skins close to the tailplane to avoid having an unsightly gap.

Attention has now turned to getting the bottom skin support longerons in place & adding 1/8” balsa former edge doublers to increase skin glueing area as for the upper sections.
Note that there were no slots cut in the bottom of F6 to take the bottom longerons each side of the skid keel sections.
I cut mine by hand, but hopefully this will soon be corrected for future kits.
Free at last!
Free at last!
Stab in LE seat
Stab in LE seat
Stab underside skin support
Stab underside skin support

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 28 Jun 2021, 20:01
by Peter Balcombe
With the fuselage skinning now completed (remembering to fit the rudder C/L wire guide tubes before it’s too late) and the skid fitted, the fuselage is looking nearly complete.
A little filler has been used to smooth over the skin section overlapped joints, which are particularly noticable at the nose due to the greater angles between sections & greater tendency for the skin sections to take a straight line in the fore/aft direction.
I fitted some 1/8” balsa plates around the rudder C/L wire guide tube fin exits & then used these to support the rearmost ply skin sections, having slotted these to fit over the protruding tubes.

The rear skid area is blocked up with balsa & then sanded to profile to allow the rearmost skin sections to be attached all the way to the bottom. A ply strip can then be fitted to the bottom when both sides have been skinned.

The nose skid was pre-bent to shape by running a trickle of freshly boiled water over both sides of the forward section for a few seconds (which made it quite pliable) then holding in place on the upturned fuselage whilst the wood cools & dries out.
I glued hardwood blocks between the keel pieces at front, rear & just forward of centre to allow the skid to be glued and screwed in place.
(I found that the skid supplied for the 2b version was about 10mm too short, so glued a small ply extension at the rear. The CNC file has now been updated to increase the length.)

The wing joiners have now been cut to length, so an overall dry assembly can be done to see how much church roof can safely be squirrelled away in the nose cone before this (& the tow release) is permanently fixed in place.
Weather permitting, I will try to get this done tomorrow.
Skinned fuselage
Skinned fuselage
Rudder C/L tube exit
Rudder C/L tube exit
Nose skid fitted
Nose skid fitted

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 28 Jun 2021, 21:41
by Max Wright
It looks lovely, Peter. 8-)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 29 Jun 2021, 08:47
by VinceC
Nice work Peter

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 29 Jun 2021, 10:48
by Peter Balcombe
Initial CoG check indicates that I can virtually fill the nose cone with lead if I like :o

Whilst the wings are joined to the fuselage, the canopy ‘ears’ can be fitted.
CDFF8486-A4A8-441E-86BA-0FDEA4184CC5.jpeg
0ED8AADD-929F-474A-A953-B57349804F5A.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 30 Jun 2021, 19:24
by SedB
Looks great so far, nice to see how it's coming together!!
Just for comparison, may I ask what filler you use? I use lite basla filler myself, but would be surprised if there are better options :D

Daniel

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 30 Jun 2021, 20:15
by Peter Balcombe
Thanks Daniel,
My filler of choice is a lightweight polyester body filler called ‘Big Boy’ & available in ‘Proper Job’ stores here in the U.K.

After doing the trial assembly & initial balance assessment yesterday, I’ve got to do it all over again tomorrow due the the recommended CoG location not being where shown on the Jilles’ 3 view sheet I was working from. This shows the CoG to be 90mm behind the wing LE (376mm chord), which puts it at only 19% chord.

So, for those currently building this model, please take note:
The CoG should be at 28%, which equates to around 133mm behind the wing LE
(This point is quite close to the middle of the main joiner.)

Consequently, I have revised the nose cone weight downwards (currently just under 1kg) & will re-check the balance tomorrow before fixing the cone & tow release in place.
Peter
490A2346-F0BD-4B4A-B1CE-9B53C113C787.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 01 Jul 2021, 10:13
by VinceC
Sometimes I mix my own filler using 'lightweight filler' powder I get from a local Marine shop. It comes in a dark brown shade and sands very smooth. I mix it with epoxy, but that takes longer to go off to a suitable hardness to sand. You cab, of course, mix it with F/Glass resin for quicker set.
Filler.JPG

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 04 Jul 2021, 18:46
by Peter Balcombe
Rudder LE now shaped and the 2 part pin hinges fixed in the LE using the hinge wire to make sure they are all in line - then the other halves added & the whole assembly attached to the fin post after confirming full & free movement.

Meanwhile, the scale RH airbrake assembly has been fitted into the wing.
The rear airbrake sub-spar was repositioned 27mm behind the original front one to give a 25.4mm slot between the brake box sides. With the new brake assembly installed using its two 3mm axles, the space around the upper & lower blade areas was filled with 3mm balsa sheet to provide wing skin support.
The servo pushrod line was also tweaked to connect to the horn at the rear (lower) blade pivot arm.
Rudder hinged
Rudder hinged
RH brake top
RH brake top
RH Wing underside
RH Wing underside
RH Brakes viewed from TE
RH Brakes viewed from TE

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 04 Jul 2021, 20:50
by SedB
Thanks a lot for sharing gents!

Daniel

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 09 Jul 2021, 11:47
by Peter Balcombe
With the airbrake installed in the RH wing, the D box has now been skinned and a bit of other skinning applied behind the main spar to the point where I have run out of ply again!!
However, more will available after the weekend & a softwood LE strip will be fitted & profiled, rather than try to bend ply around the LE.

Meanwhile, the RH wing has been refitted to the fuselage to check the fit of the aluminium sheet wing retainer which is epoxied into the root ribs & projects from the wing root. The tongue slides through a slot in the fuselage root rib during rigging & is clamped onto the fuselage top plate by an M4 bolt in a captive nut as shown below.
I have slotted the tongue to allow it to move away from the bolt in ‘extremis’.
Photo of retainer in the wing root also shows some of the balsa strip skin supports added behind the main spar (& other places) where skin panel sections are butt jointed.

Meanwhile, an instrument panel has arrived from Cliff at Laser Cut Sailplanes :)

Also, the 2nd brake mechanism has been made up, ensuring that it is a mirror image of the RH unit. This unit will now be fitted to the LH wing once the brake box width has been increased as for the 1st wing.
Not sure if I mentioned it on the first brake build, but I am using 1.6mm wire pins for the blade hinge axles, running in brass tubes epoxied into the arms. The actuation pushrod fits into an M2 ball link running on a 2mm axle epoxied into the arm crank. All of the above axle pins need to finish fairly flush to the mount in order to prevent a projection catching on an adjacent blade or brake box edge during operation.

I have now received an updated 3 view drawing which shows Jilles’ amended CoG position, which is 157mm behind the LE - so just as well that I reduced the nose cone ballast load before fixing it in place ;)
RH wing partially skinned
RH wing partially skinned
Wing retention method
Wing retention method
Retainer in wing
Retainer in wing
Instrument panel
Instrument panel

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 10 Jul 2021, 14:53
by Peter Balcombe
LH brake now fitted in the wing & connected up to the root servo.
Shot below shows it prior to adding the 1/8” balsa sheet covers over the recessed blade on each side to give skin support . An added bonus is that these strips also tend to act as closure stops.
Lighting is poor, but you can just make out the pushrod going to the crank on the rear (lower) blade arm.
LH brake fitted
LH brake fitted

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 10 Jul 2021, 19:52
by Jus Gordon
Lovely build Peter, great workmanship!

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 06 Aug 2021, 09:43
by Peter Balcombe
The build has been progressing behind the scenes, with both wings now fully skinned, tips on & ailerons hinged - so just about ready for covering.
Pics to follow once the weather allows outdoor shots ;)

Meanwhile, the fuselage is back on the bench to allow a removeable battery tray to be installed up front, above the tow release servo.
The tray front slides in between 2 cross rails fitted onto the front former, with the rear supported by, and secured to, another cross beam.
The tray is 6" deep & 4.5" wide, so should accommodate two batteries side by side, secured by Velcro, or similar, straps.
The tray & tow release servo will be largely hidden by the instrument panel once this is in place - next job!
Oly Bat Tray_rot.jpg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 07 Aug 2021, 16:37
by Peter Balcombe
The instrument panel has now been fitted using 3 ply “ears” glued behind F3 at roughly 10, 2 & 6 o-clock positions, onto which small small magnets have been fixed. Magnets have also been fitted in corresponding positions on the rear of the panel, allowing an easily removeable, but adequately attached panel.
As can be seen in the photo, the panel covers the battery tray & all but a little of the tow release mounting structure :)

Other jobs recently completed include installation of the wing servo wiring harnesses in the fuselage - connection being via fixed 6 pin Multiplex connectors in each fuselage wing root rib.

Both wings have also been finished ready for covering, servos fitted & pushrod cutouts made in the aileron servo hatches. M3 threaded pushrods have been used with a metal clevis at each end.
(All wing servos are JX PDI-HV2107MG digital types which produce over 5Kg torque).
The brake servo access covers are similarly fitted at the root end, although they need no surface slots.

Meanwhile, the glassed canopy frame has been rubbed down & given an initial coat of grey primer both inside & out in readiness for spraying the outside in Cirrus Blue whilst the inside will be brush painted in Aircraft Grey/Green.
00C9EAC3-F137-4764-B15E-2E9A0EB8D90A.jpeg
2059E685-9DE1-45DA-94A0-13299D5C8162.jpeg
3BCB6E3A-ADCE-4867-9C6E-A5B9F5B1010B.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 08 Aug 2021, 17:40
by Peter Balcombe
With the canopy frame now sprayed with grey primer it was time to bite the first bullet & cut the canopy to shape.
This task is slightly more pressured than normal as cutouts are needed at the rear to clear the ‘ears’ framework and also make sure that the top of the canopy goes up to the top of the framework in order to meet the LE shroud when fitted.
The photo shows the resultant ‘dry fit’ before spraying the frame in its final Cirrus Blue colour.
C421ABD7-57DC-4D87-931F-4CF7E20C90C7.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 09 Aug 2021, 12:37
by Bovin
I am enjoying your building very much! What a beautiful canopy :D

Vincent

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 09 Aug 2021, 18:28
by Peter Balcombe
Thank you Vincent 👍
Canopy frame given first coat of Cirrus Blue using a rattle can. Will put on a further coat tomorrow once the 1st coat has fully dried.
The interior will be painted Aircraft Grey Green.
9C511C03-CFD6-41CE-A924-124A3D274F9C.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 11 Aug 2021, 18:39
by Peter Balcombe
Interior of the canopy frame was painted today with Aircraft Grey Green, so I will be able to fit the glazing tomorrow. Once that has been done, I will remove the lower rear frame cross member as this will make it much easier to fit the canopy with a pilot in place. (Note that there are pins on each rear side of the canopy frame, so they will prevent any ‘spreading’).

With the canopy side coming on nicely, I have produced a scale seat arrangement using info kindly provided by the owner of Oly VV400.
Thus 2 seat supports side frames have been 3D printed (blue is the only print filament I have at present I’m afraid!) & spacers cut from ply to make a frame which sits on the fuselage former & co-incidentally puts the pilot’s rear end at the correct scale height.
Note that the support frame slope in front of the seat pan is where the control stick assembly is attached on the full size. Similarly, the sloping rear uprights are used on the full size to attach either a recess or non-recessed back plate, depending on whether the pilot uses a back parachute or not. Both VV400 & 401 pilots use back parachutes, so there is a recess arranged for this to fit into.
Adding a seat pan made by laminating 3 pieces of 0.4mm ply together provides the correct seat profile & a test fit with one of Wilson’s pilots shows that all look good.

Having talked to Cliff, he will be able to supply laser cut parts for the seat support frame etc. in due course.
Seat support frame
Seat support frame
Seat pan in position
Seat pan in position
Pilot & canopy frame
Pilot & canopy frame

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale

Posted: 13 Aug 2021, 13:11
by Peter Balcombe
3D printed set supports have now been replaced by laser cut ply ones, plus tabbed spacers & the assembled unit screwed down onto front & rear plates mounted between the tops of the keel pieces just behind F3 & F5.
The seat pan has then been screwed onto the upper support cross pieces, so if the pilot is secured to this then he isn’t going anywhere ;)
The seat rear has not yet been fitted, but can either be a laser cut curved ply back or a simple flat plate - either can be mounted via the seat support rear uprights to suit the chosen full size arrangement.

As mentioned before, a control stick can be mounted (as per full size) on the sloping topped area of seat support frame at the front of the seat pan.
A050FDAB-11A3-458E-8024-B5822EA2DA58.jpeg
1E4D8A40-6265-4FBF-8DE2-80E100D357C0.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 17 Aug 2021, 23:31
by Cliff Evans
A nice little bit of detail to add to the cockpit of the Oly. Made to scale.
20210817_232338.jpg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Aug 2021, 20:02
by Peter Balcombe
With covering completed, it’s time for another assembly check ;)
JG’s tip about initially attaching the Ceconite to the panel edges with Covergrip helped a lot 👍
69EB3576-8C8B-4CBE-9F0A-A54880115D15.jpeg
Just the canopy ‘ears’ & wing centre cover to make/fit before she goes off to the paint shop.

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 30 Aug 2021, 17:51
by Peter Balcombe
I had forgotten all about the tailplane/fin shroud, so this has now been fashioned from block balsa. It locates under the fin using a rear pin into the lower fin structure, plus a small magnet under the front which hopefully is attracted to the forward fixing bolt head.
E6F54BD0-466C-47E6-AB51-C5023D4D38BC.jpeg
The canopy ears shroud has been sprayed to match the canopy frame & tack glued to the canopy ‘ears’ with wings assembled. Once the tack glue had been given time to set, the wings were carefully slid off the joiners & the canopy removed to reinforce the shroud attachment. A bead of canopy glue will be carefully added later to seal the shroud to the canopy ;)
Hopefully, the completed canopy can still be fitted in place when tried with the wings assembled :?
72DC61C8-1734-45BC-920B-39DDC7209B8A.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 04 Sep 2021, 11:52
by Alex Tankink
Cliff Evans wrote: 17 Aug 2021, 23:31 A nice little bit of detail to add to the cockpit of the Oly. Made to scale.

20210817_232338.jpg
That calculator is a fantastic bit of detail!!

How did you build it?

I hope one day I can put together a cockpit with this kind of detail 💪🏻💪🏻

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 08 Sep 2021, 18:43
by Peter Balcombe
The line between canopy ‘ears’ & glazing has now been sealed with canopy glue & the rear internal part of the canopy frame carefully removed (else it will be in the way when the pilot is in place).
The rear canopy frame location pins have been left in place to ensure that the canopy rear sides are located in the absence of any internal cross member.
Another check assembly shows that all is well & the canopy fits snugly.
Completed canopy
Completed canopy
With the the canopy ears now fitted & the canopy on the assembled model, the wing centre cover has been initially fitted using 2 small screws at the front & a hand formed U section aluminium rear retainer bent up from very thin aluminium sheet.
The front cover screw holes have since been slotted to allow the plate to be slipped over fixed screws & slid back slightly into place. I will now fit a couple magnets along the centreline working back towards the TE in order to ensure that the 0.4mm ply cover sits down onto the wing upper surface along its length. The cover magnets will mate with others fitted on cross-members between the fuselage root ribs at appropriate points.
The aluminium TE cover is a push fit & will probably be retained with a tension spring/elastic band attached to the rearmost cover magnet cross-member.
Wing & TE centre covers
Wing & TE centre covers
Canopy & cover fitted
Canopy & cover fitted

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 08 Sep 2021, 21:21
by Max Wright
Nice, Peter.

Still watching. 8-)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 18 Sep 2021, 17:24
by Peter Balcombe
Last post prior to painting :)

Wing cover TE U bracket fitted with an M2 threaded rod ‘U’ to provide scale-ish rear fixings (Wing cover should finish just short of the TE bracket, with 2 threaded rods attached to rear of bracket, with wing nuts used to tension the cover).
The model TE bracket clips over the wing TE and is tensioned by the 2 springs attached to the rear of the rear incidence rod former. This avoids having to fit small nuts during rigging, plus the paint is likely to stay on a bit longer.
The use of a small cup hook for forward attachment allows the arrangement to be removed if needed.
Wing cover TE bracket attachment
Wing cover TE bracket attachment
Meanwhile, the pilot seat back has been fitted, comprising of a small horizontal piece behind the seat pan & 2 upper side plates which extend to the fuselage side skins. (I’ve made all parts removeable in order to be able to get at the seat frame fixings)
Seat rear plates
Seat rear plates
The model former locations are not quite as per the full size, so slots had to be cut in the seat upper side plates to allow these to reach the fuselage skins.
A picture of a full size arrangement shows the similarities, although I have omitted the additional slot for airbrake cables on the Port upper side plate. This photo shows a rectangular headrest, whilst VV400 sports a circular version.
At 1/3 scale, the headrest is a 50mm diameter domed cushion mounted on the front of a short 50mm diameter pillar, like the one shown.
Full size seat rear
Full size seat rear
Headrest style
Headrest style

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 18 Sep 2021, 17:47
by VinceC
Nice work Peter on the small detail. This is going to be a stunning model

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 18 Sep 2021, 21:11
by Max Wright
VinceC wrote: 18 Sep 2021, 17:47 Nice work Peter on the small detail. This is going to be a stunning model
+1 8-)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Sep 2021, 14:06
by Peter Balcombe
With the model now ready for the paint shop, the overall weight (less paint, pilot, batteries & Rx) is 10.3Kg.
A quick final assembly indicates that 0.9Kg of lead placed at the instrument panel location is enough to get the balance near the position identified on Jilles’ 3-view pdf drawing.
Thus the amount of lead secreted into the nose cone was probably about right as the pilot figure & dual battery arrangement should be pretty close.
At <12Kg it should be a floater :)

Hopefully we will see post paint shop & flight pics in due course.
Peter

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Sep 2021, 20:24
by Max Wright
Looking forward to the maiden, Peter. 8-)

Will there be a video?

Cheers

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Sep 2021, 22:25
by Peter Balcombe
Hi Max,
Don’t know about video etc as the model is not mine.
However, I hope to see something in due course as it should be a stunner when finished in its blue ETPS livery.
This is my 1/4 scale version from the Charlesworth plan.
B139F41F-076E-4837-BE1E-6BD609409B2A.jpeg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Sep 2021, 22:43
by Max Wright
Very nice. 8-)

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Sep 2021, 23:43
by Cliff Evans
And mine from the same plan.

20170709_175705_crop_646x564.jpg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 24 Sep 2021, 23:48
by Max Wright
They are lovely.

The story of those aircraft will make interesting reading.

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 25 Sep 2021, 08:46
by Cliff Evans
Max Wright wrote: 24 Sep 2021, 23:48 They are lovely.

The story of those aircraft will make interesting reading.
Here is a little history on BGA1125 (VV401) I have Vince doing some searching for info on VV400 that Peter modelled.
BGA1125 History.jpg

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 26 Sep 2021, 09:34
by Peter Balcombe
VV400 started life at the Empire Test Pilot School in 1947 (as a Type 1) and was EoN/0/27. Originally registered as BGA558.
She was completely restored in the 2010’s by then owner Alan Pettit & had to be pretty much completely stripped down owing to much glue failure. Converted to a Type 2 (fixed wheel).
Was then based at Rivar Hill, registered as BGA1698.
Sold on a few years ago to a new owner.
Now based at Aston Down & flown regularly.

VV401 was EoN/0/029, registered as BGA559 as a Type 1 Olympia.
Written off at Farnborough 23 March 1952.
Rebuilt after many years, apparently using donor parts from several other gliders according to Alan Pettit.

Peter

Re: Olympia 2b 1/3 scale**

Posted: 26 Sep 2021, 22:14
by Peter Balcombe
Link to video of first flight of VV400 after 20 years on 29th June 2013, following major rebuild/restoration.
https://youtu.be/1Gmso7BAi2U