Sopwith Pup - Scale 20", rubber-powered.

You could whip them out using Acetone or thinners. They will soften most glues. Then put thinner ones in..

I've had another look and it's only on the top surface that I've used the thicker ribs. I've managed to remove the riblets and replaced them with the correct size, but I'm going to leave the main ones. I fear that if I try to remove them, I'll do more damage than good to the thinner ones underneath that they're glued to. It's a lesson, fortunately, a not too expensive one to learn...

Acetone / thinners should dissolve the glue enough to allow removing the top ribs safely

I've made a test piece to see what happens when I try to separate the ribs with acetone. However, for the moment, I'm moving on to making the main wings. There's no need to rush a decision.

That's the way .As I often say Experiment.

I've had the worst flu in (my) living memory, been decked for three weeks, which is most unlike me. However, I have found some time, between long sleeps on the sofa, to do a little bit of modelling. I made a wing, staying faithful to the plans which call for a 3/64 undercamber, and which, although I am rather pleased with it (never thought I would be able to make anything so delicate and complex) I have decided to relegate to 'trial'. The problem being that I couldn't cut my 1/32 ribs accurately enough, so they bent at different heights creating uneven upper ribs. I am now remaking the wings with 1/20 x 1/32, to make it easier to cut them more accurately, give them a little more strength, and to take advantage of their preferred direction of bend.





My balsa bending skills continue to improve, and my hot chisel is working well.



I've also started on the fuselage, which has been a joy, especially making the asymmetric stringers.





More as it comes off the board...

Crashrr

Very impressive build Crashrr

"WOW" is all i can say sir.

Just "wow"

Tony B

Great build, very interesting.

Had a second attempt at the wings using 1/20 instead of Galloway's prescribed 1/32. It doesn't look as fine, but is much easier to lay with a consistent curve, and will add a tad more strength. Apologies, no photo yet and, having read Andy's explanation of balsa grades, I realize that whilst I have 12 yards of 'A' grade, I don't have any 'C' grade. So work on the wings will have to wait. Till then, I've been sheeting the fuselage and bending the tailplane.






and, for light relief, started playing around with the engine. The Gnome engine has very fine cooling fins and I had no idea how to build these convincingly. So, just for a 'laugh', I tried wrapping silver thread around a bit of balsa and Blimey, it looks great! So, I'm going to try it with hollow rolled paper cylinders painted gloss black. Here's a photo of the first attempt.



That's all for now, except to say that, since I like having two projects on the go at once, today I am going to get some plans printed of Dave Rees's 30" Lockheed Vega. This, I hope, will be my first really serious flying machine...

Crashrr.

Engine cylinders are brilliant, almost real, well done.

Crashrr
Very nice.
Thread wrapped around paper tubes works well.
This is a Le Rhone( or Oberursel) depending on which side you flew!

Now if it is electric and the out runner bell doubles as the crankcase then it all goes round with the prop like a true rotary!

Q,

Yes, a rotating engine would be THE BEST! And how I have thought long and hard about it. Thus far, with no success. The problem is the length of the prop wire: unless I can brace it just behind the prop it will spin out with centrifugal force and rip the front apart! I have thought that it may be possible to make a brace, with, say, three thin strong wires attached to the cowl, but then the cowl would have to be made strong enough to take that extra force... I could try to make the cylinders spin where they meet the central engine hub - allowing me to keep the hub as solid noseblock, but then I'd probably need a ball race to overcome the greater friction of the wider circumference...

I haven't completely given up on it, but suspect that it's a detail for another (electric?) kite. There's another problem to take into account: nose weight. I am probably going to have to add considerable ballast to get the CoG correct. Obviously, the further forward I can site that weight the better. So, depending on how severe that problem is, I'm thinking I can either, stuff the bottom engine cylinder/s with ballast or, make a thin lead 'coin' with a hole to replicate the front engine plate - can't get much further forward than that - except in the very edge of the cowl, but that takes us back to a strong cowl... So, trying to find a forward location to place weight and have a spinning engine behind is a big engineering challenge. (To me.)

It still bugs me, though!

Crashrr

Still mulling over how to make a rotating engine but, until then, I decided to tackle the thorny problem of the cowl. It's such an in-ya-face part of the plane that it's got to be absolutely right. I decided it was time I tried my hand at moulding PET drinks bottles.

I made a wooden mould on my pillar drill - managed to smack myself in the face with the surform when it jammed on a knot... Ouch, fat lip. My first attempt turned out marginally too small, so back to do another one. This time I selected a piece of wood that didn't have any knots in it!

Making the mould was the hardest part, the heat-shrinking is actually very easy. I used 2-stroke oil as a releasing agent and it went pretty much according to plan. In the end it took me five attempts to get a decent cowl. It can be a bit tricky getting the plastic off the mould, and that fact that my mould had an imperceptible waistline, didn't help! Pleasantly surprised with the end result, and good to know I've now got a new, and very useful skill.

I can't recommend this process enough, it's so rewarding to make something that looks like it's come out of a box. Try it!

Crashrr

Great job, and very interesting