Scale Soaring UK

Well it's time I dusted off the building board sharpened the tools and began a project iv been promising myself for years,
It's been around 8 years since iv been an "active" glide guider and a brush with cancer last year (all ok now) meant re evaluating what one gets from life and realising iv truly missed building and flying.
So after catching up with those household projects that got waylaid by ill health last year I finally got my shed in order and it's now officially a "workshop" with a few exchanges of emails with cliff Evans (laser cut sailplanes) I got my parts cut in no time,
Cut to a scale of approximately 1/2.7 (chosen that scale to fit the car) and based on the cliff charlesworth plans (enlarged)I'm hoping to have this ready for next summer.
The parts really are superbly cut and the wood choice throughout is spot on.

Framing up the formers on this model is such fun and very relaxing too (gosh iv missed building) so within a week of starting this is all I have to show ! But I'm enjoying it too much to rush, and I'm currently grabbing just an hour here and there between work sleep and other household chores but those odd few hours go too too fast !
Framed up the rear three formers so far another 6 to go.

Well iv managed to grab some more time and get another bunch of sticks glued up today.

Thanks,
It's been a very long time since I undertook any building,
Funny you mentioned the Woodstock as its a sailplane a fancy doing and have found an available plan from an American mag too 1/3 scale but be dammed if I can remember which mag it was in at this time in the morning! (just got home from a night shift)
Although after this H17 build I may unearth one of my glider kits from the loft first before another plan build.

Chris.

Ah Yes that's the one cheers Colin, Iv got ithat issue tucked safely away somewhere but havnt seen it in ages! I have spoken with the designer and he never gave that magazine permission to print his plan !!! Apparently the magazine bought out a smaller European company and used all the plans from it in their American issues !!! (Allegedly ,,,,,,as I don't wanna be sued) its a good design with plenty of good vintage style building but with a more modern performance,,,,,I'm still tempted but I can't build everything "on the list" as I'll never sleep.

Sleep dear cliff is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a chance to dream
Of whispering wings
And chattering servos
A chance to climb in endless thermals
Of perfect landings
And perfect circles
A chance to build that perfect model
Of subjects lesser known
And beat that other B****r
And take the trophy home.

I trust you had a peaceful sleep cliff???
Time to wake up you've got kits to cut!!,! Been a hectic week (my wife is soon moving to Cardiff for a few months with work so I'm helping with everything that needs doing) so I'm just grabbing the odd half hour here and there all week so not much to show this week.
Currently working on former "D" so will have pics by the end of the week to prove I'm still moving forwards!
Iv got some formers I have to draw up as in the upsizing of the plan they have disappeared off the edge !! So iv got to sharpen the pencils and get the ruler out this week.

Ps cliff iv just picked up a new 62 cc petrol so may be calling you to cut some ribs for a SDD greenley and run off a plan I'll be in Cardiff as of next week so I'll call you soon.

Well it's been a while since iv posted,
Usual things getting in the way,work,chores oh and a mad dash to Cardiff as my wife works away and injured herself but the good news is I have now almost framed up all the formers,just a few more hrs work (hopefully this week) and they will all be done.
I'll shoot off some photos as soon as they are done,
All I need to do next is construct my fuz jig and the fun stuff begins.

Chris.

Long awaited photos of the state of play so far,
the usual distractions have slowed progress somewhat work,cars,work etc but I've got all my Hutter formers completed now and I'll be shopping for the bits to build a fuz jig this week and begin turning them into a 3D object .

Been a busy bunny,
I've been getting my fuz jig made, and the trial fitting of some formers went very well today so progress finally ! All I need to do now is Finish getting all my jig supports spaced correctly and then I've got some templates to make and some steaming to do before I can begin adding the spruce longerons.

Dammed iPad camera !!,! It doesn't seem to matter which way up I take the ruddy photos!!! Sorry

Click and enlarge and they correct the orientation.
Mick

No they don't, but I can.....

Merry Christmas.

BC

Chris and I share a love of the diminutive Hutter H.17 and I've promised myself a 1/4 scale model one of these days - all of 2.5 meters span.
Anyhow I had a rummage in my loft and thought that some would be interested to see what an original full size H.17 rudder and fuselage frame look like............ not much bigger than Chris's model !

Paul

Blimey Paul, you have original Hutter 17 parts in your loft! I don't know about other members, but I have Christmas decorations and mice in my loft.
Brian.

I'm surprised you're surprised Brian !
You'll be telling me next that don't even have a garden railway

In fact I also have a wing rib from an early 30's RFD primary, which is interesting in that its is not only glued but nailed together !!!
Also some Nyborg components.
Some complete construction drawings plans have come my way - 2 original sets and 4 copy sets, rib ordinates for 2 Horten types
......... plus I've scans of all the Horten Ho229 jet fighter productions drawings......... as you do !

Extracting the Christmas decorations from the loft tends to take a while as I inevitably get a bit distracted.

Cool yule to you all
Paul

Paul, if I had a garden railway it would have to be amphibious at present, and if it did manage to rise above the waters it would get blown away. I don't even have old models in the loft - I am flying them all!!!
Brian.

Amphibious trains ! ?????
Nah, that's why we have rc boats !

Although my garden doesn't get terribly soggy, it hasn't been much of a year for the garden railway, so I'm moving towards an N scale Swiss railway running behind my building board.
Cheers
Paul

Brian I think Paul is being modest his collection is mind boggling !!! I could have borrowed his hutter bits and built the rest and had a real one !!,
Oh and if there is an amphibious train I'm sure Paul will know of it haha.

Stop blogging and get on with the build Chris !

Amphibious trains - now that just silly.
In WW2 the Germans designed a submarine with tank tracks - which is almost as daft.
My personal favourite is the Schwimmpanzer II designed for the invasion of England - with jettisonabble side sponsons each with a prop driven from the rear track sprocket.
But then again, the Horten H.IIIb sailplane was modified to carry ammunition in its centre section and outer wings to re-supply glider borne troops during the invasion ............. ah sanity............sanity claus ?
Cheers
Paul

Hey Paul haven't you got a Klemm to be building??.? Stop digging out research material and get gluing !
Cheeky beggar.
Had an hour or two too spare today so iv been messing about getting everything lined up its not looking too bad so it's now time to get splicing longerons and open up the wallpaper steamer to get some bending done,

Well it's been a little while since iv posted.
Things have moved on a little bit and it's beginng to look like a 3D object now! Flu,work and some essential DIY have slowed things down but hopefully by the end of this week all the fuz frame will be glued up and I'll begin adding the cross braces and start on making and fitting the metalwork.

A couple of more shots ,
Not great images I'm afraid as I don't have as much light as I'd like in the workshop (I can't pull too many amps or my heater trips out!

WOW looking good

PS - I now have the bits to make my jig

Thanks Jason
You won't regret making that jig it takes very little time and is quite fun to do,,,good luck

Excellent - will keep you posted

More progress begining to add the cross bracing,,,,,dreaded metalwork soon

Chris, is the curved top Spruce longeron permanent? If so, it will be very weak at the curved section, as Spruce has little strength cross-grain. You might be better served with a ply equivalent...

Hi Chris
It is glued in place now but could be substituted if you think it's not up too the job ? but I do have to add ply to either side to add some thickness to the top for carving a chamfer for the ply cladding.
It's also 3/16 thick spruce which I thought would be OK ?

Some ply laminations may well save the day

Phew I didn't fancy ripping it out!
Cheers Chris.

starting to look good chris

Cheers Roo,
I may see you up the beacon sometime soon? Although not with the hutter iv got some way to go yet! Your DG looks very nice

Having fun keeping this model moving forwards time seems to just fly by whilst down the workshop,
Right now I'm getting the top nose laminated parts glued in (you can never have enough clamps!) the cockpit side liners are all clamped up and has added lots of ridgity to the front section.

Finished it!!!! Hell iv not even started the wings yet ! At best I'm only getting an hour or so a day (one has to work unfortunately) so it's little and often at the moment but iv got a week off work very soon so I'll be grabbing plenty of hrs .
Trouble is I do tend to fuss over every bit so I'm working hard to trust myself and just get on.

In my teens I used to work weekends at Compton Abbas airfield near Shaftesbury, in the good old days when gliding was allowed there. We had an H.17 stabled there that got airborne on good days. I asked the CFI what it was like, he said it was the only glider we had that could beat the Piper Super Cub 150 tow plane down from 2000 feet!
Chris.

The other CW...

Or "Plank Man", as he is known.....

Keep those batteries charged.



BC

I'm having so much fun building this! iv not built anything this size before and I havnt built a thing for over ten years (life stuff got in the way) but I had clean forgotten just how rewarding it is to get glue all over ones fingers and time just flys by , to the point I was almost late for my night shift on more than one occasion!
It's moving forwards slowly and iv come to the conclusion I'm not a quick builder ,but hopefully that will change as confidence grows over the next few projects I have planned.
So to keep up to date the fuz is now all framed up and I'm ready to start adding the ply sheet all I need to do first is source some suitable metal for the various wing mounting brackets (noggins metals have some 2014 spec alli does anyone n the know think this will be suitable?) whilst I can't move on with the fuz I got stuck into building the rudder and I hope to start the tailplane next week when my pile of balsa arrives from those top people at SLEC.

Well progress has slowed somewhat, a troublesome problem with my right eye has got progressively worse very quickly and it's proving difficult (not impossible though!) to cut anything accurately i have done some bits here and there but it's taking forever double checking everything
I'm scheduled for an operation in just a few weeks time so I'll be jumping back into the build once I can see straight !

Well it's been a frustrating week or two but I'm up and about following my eye surgery , iv been super bored stuck indoors in the dark (everything seems to bright) so within the next week I'll be able to venture back into the dusty workshop again and get back on the hutter .
In the meantime here's one ugly mugshot to amuse you all.

Where is the Parrot ?
Get well soon.

AEB

john greenfield wrote:Where is the Parrot ?
Get well soon.

AEB

The parrot flew off when he was offered a piece of 8
That's the last ruddy parrot I'm calling judas !

Well it's been a very dull month or so of recovery as no leaning forwards allowed no dust and no driving ! Going stir crazy as I'm not allowed down the w,shop but all that is behind me now and I hope to be fiddling and fettling the Hutter very soon.
However I am currently indulging in a non scale project right now so I can get some flying in now I can see again and summer is finally here!
It's good to be back .

Thanks Martin
I'm all sorted now and I hope to be cracking on with the H17 really soon I'm currently messing about getting some old models airworthy so I can finally get flying again this summer after many years of being grounded.
Very nice picture thanks and I love the asw22 (pat teackle??) but I'm intrigued as to how one gets to borrow a H17 !! You lucky spud.

Any cockpit shots would be gladly welcomed iv no instrument shots of a current fullsize for reference.

It's been a very hectic few months (hospitals,daughters wedding and trying to complete the restoriation of my classic car)and very little work has been done on the H17 however I seem to have caught up with everything "domestic" and I have managed to begin framing up the tailplane on the hutter this week.
I do need to now tackle the metalwork for wing retention and then I can get cracking on building the wing spars finally.
I didnt even manage to get out and fly this year!!

This thread dates back too 2016 and a lot has gone on in the world since my last post here ,
The hutter is safe and well but alas she is sulking a little dusty and still in her build jig .
She does however now live in french France ! And is currently sitting on top of a pile (lifetimes collection) of model kits magazines and various brown nondescript boxes labbled “hobby stuff” all equally dusty!

Rest assured the hutter will be resurrected and hopefully the hobby room I have designated in the house will have an insulated ceiling , lights and a few plug sockets but it’s going to be 2022 by the time the room is done!
A lot of work has been done on the farmhouse and of course COVID lockdowns meant our planned new roof got delayed but thankfully it’s done now we have got our residents passes and can call France our home now ,

I realise posting this on this old thread probably isn’t really the right place to say hello again to everyone and not post any real build updates but I wanted to show that not all the old half started projects or threads are lost ! some get moved on some get broken up and some age and mature like a fine wine and get savoured and enjoyed !!!
Let’s hope the hutter gets the fine wine treatment after what’s proving be be a long hard slog of restoring a farmhouse!

Great to see you back. Can you sort Macron out for us?

Hello Cliff

You know what I don’t have access to uk tv ! My french is still” tre” bad haha and I’m usually so tired after bashing walls hoovering cobwebs and fitting plasterboard i don’t Google current affairs !! Haha.
But my guess is it’s post brexit and either farmers or fishing ???

You know what I don’t wanna know ! The only thing I need to know is balsawood still on the endangered list??
I’ve got a whole stack of your excellent laser cut Hutter wing ribs here waiting to get joined together next year!
Oh I do have a barn to restore and build the hobby workshop first though!