The Cyprus A10 THUNDERBOLT

If you look at it like that then I suppose there is no right way up
Added ply blocks for the hinges

Cut some proskin to cover it with

Glued it on with polyurethane glue and weighted it down to dry

An hour later it is done the surface is ready to paint

Cut the fin plug to shape and pinned it on ( as you do )

Took the parts outside and laid them in position





Shes a big un
But I had to do me day job first today, did this for her

Looking good Tony.

the fin just cut from one sheet or is it layers.

Tony B

Two layers of 9mm balsa

After I had finished my day job I got on with the A10, started on the plugs from the engine housings

Filling and rubbing down with wet and dry, they are now being polished

Much less work needed on the plugs made from balsa than the ones made from foam,
Added the hard mountings for the underwing stores, four on each wing

Then the fin, I had intended to do them in fibre glass, but I would need four separate moulds, four separate half's to be joined together with the internal woodwork, so im doing them in balsa, cut out some middle bits to lighten, saved 42 g :lol: then rebated it and laid 3/32 balsa in it





Then the tail plane, added the ply frames and pull strings for wires for the elevator servos, ply blocks for hinges, hard points for fixing the fins to sanded it all down and then covered it with proskin and weighed it down with magazines

Rebated balsa skin!
Seems a complex way of doing it. I would have thought it would have been simpler to build a balsa framework and then balsa sheet it.

Yes Simon but this was the plug for the glass fibre ones

seems an awful waste of balsa wood to me, but i am a tight so and so.

Tony B

I think it's what you're comfortable with Q. It's another building method and my thanks to BB for showing us. Somewhere in the world a model may be languishing because the builder has run out of ideas to get around a problem. This may just provide the key!

I have always gone through life with the attitude that there is an easy way and a hard way to do anything, so I always look for the easy and best way out of a situation, if it cost a few penny's more so be it, but look at the time saved, time to me is priceless
Some people money rules their lives, thank god I have never thought like that
I have never been rich nor will I ever be, I only have my state pension to live on, after events of 5 years ago, but I don't let it bother me,

If the original solid balsa fin was going to be used as the plug for a glass mould then the chosen method of its conversion to a 'flight' item makes complete sense. Many thanks.

Been tidying up the tail plane and finishing it off, servo mounts are done, just waiting for the hysol to go off

Made the other fin, same as the other one to keep the balance, also laid in a 6mm ply mounting point



Laid the first of the engine to fuselage fairings

And have been figuring out the main gear mounting o get the angles right, it seems the these planes have long legs, I never noticed before but to get the wheel in the right place with it up determines how long the legs are, probably a 100mm longer than the hunter



I shall be trying to do my own gear again as the set for the Skymaster A10 which is the exact same size as this one is 1900 dollars :S

Not a real productive day today
Been working on the retract bearers and the retract pod, took a bit of working out as I have lost the parts for the 1/48 plastic model








About finished the fins, a bit more sanding then they can be glassed

Also finished the tail plane I think ?

Was hoping to go to fly in the morning but the weather looks to be bad as it dose for the whole weekend :S

An even less productive day on this gal, a bit more sheeting done and I found just enough bits of blue foam and stuck them together for the front of the pod

Flying in the morning before gardening but hope to do a little more on her

Had no time much on it today, but done some more on the pod, reshaped it as it did not look right, it is about done now and I have sorted the retracts out so I can use the same sort as the other jet, cheap