Avro Lancaster 102" Dambuster

Get a copy printed, i always build from copies of the plans anyway, mostly i do two copies, one for cutting templates for parts and one for building over

Made the undercarriage today. Using Hobbyking servoless retracts suitable for 6 - 8kg model weight with 110mm long oleos. Still got to dress up the oleos with the centre braces. But quite pleased with the way they have turned out.

Looking good Ralph.i use those retracts but I'm strengthening them up a bit
Mike also used them on his Sr 71 build and the Chinese alloy on them gave way, he reinforced his with some more 3mm alloy plate on top
I did mine with steel sheet rapped around the outside of retract
There's a photo on my F104 thread
I don't have one on this phone now

That does look really nice.
Is that 'stub' leg of the retract unit made of steel?
All the bending loads from the otherwise relatively stout U/C assembly will be concentrated at that point.

Hi Q. Yes that is a stub shaft and it is made of steel. The plan is that this is sacrificial should (when! ) I make a hard landing rather than rip out all the wood work or break the retract unit.

Been a while since my last post but the Lanc build is still going. The ailerons and flaps have been made and ready for covering and hinging.



The fuselage has been glassed, 25g/m2 cloth with WBPU floor varnish, and rubbed down. Its ready for a couple more coats then primer.



The front bomb aimer position is a separate removable section so that I can get access to the front of the fuselage to switch on the sound module and move receiver batteries for final balancing. I did this on the smaller 72" Lanc I built and it worked great so i'm going to repeat it.

I will build the shape with blue foam and trim it down with the dremel. When I cut the former i made is the same as the fuselage one but of course it will be too small by the thickness of the sheet skin. So taking a leaf out of the free flight guys build methods I have put some thin lengths of sheeting around the edge and glued it into place. I will then fix this to the fuselage and sand to shape.

Your pushing on with this one Ralph, looks good
Im determind to fly mine this year
Only had it since 2010 [badass]

I've managed to get some more time in on the Lanc. Both wings are now sheeted and I've started on the nacelles.



Motor fitted and moulding lined up


Top cover planked and filled. Just wait for it to dry and a good sand and thats one front nacelle done. Only another 3 to do!! Then the 4 rear fairings. :ohmy:

Rubbed the filler down on the nacelle top section and cut the hatch so I can get the battery into the nacelle. The plan is for each nacelle to carry the motor, ESC & battery.


Shaped the blue foam on the bomb aimers section.

Ralph
I also did motor, ESC and battery in each nacelle for my Bombardier Dash 8. It keeps the heavy power wiring to a minimum and as a side benefit structurally off loads the wing when in flight.
However unless you 'parallel' all the batteries, which puts all the wiring weight back, you do have to be pretty strict with flight duration to ensure they are all still running before you land.
In a severe ground loop the resulting inertia in the wing can be pretty destructive!

Thanks for that Q, I hadn't considered that.

The batteries are 3S 4000Mah Graphene, which according to the online motor calcs should be good for about 12+ minute flights assuming a standard flight schedule. As I get bored after 7 minutes I should have some capacity spare. So not expecting any LV cut off. From my F3a flying I always measure the batteries after each flight so I know if there are any potential issues looming up.

That's looking great! What's the projected auw?

Thanks Paul. I'm aiming for an AUW of 6.5kg. So i'm being very careful selecting balsa and keeping paint to a minimum.

How's this coming on Ralph?

Hi Paul

Thanks for asking. Just finished the covering, using 25g/m² glass and polyurethane varnish to all the wood work. Spent hours sanding and filling. Not a lot to see so no photos.

Have found a superb sanding system, its by a company called Mirka and available from Axminster Tools. It is a hand held sanding block with a vacuum connection and a mesh type sanding paper/felt. It doesn't block and really knocks down the surface. They do all grades up to 600 and they last for ages. Really impressed with it.

Next job is to install the wing tubes in the fuselage and fit out the electronics. Then apply paint. So not far away from completion.