ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

G’day everyone.

A bit of an update on the Birdog build here in Western Australia.
The l/h aileron has been the focus of our efforts and we are almost there.
The Ply Wood installation was my biggest worry. The wing Ply worked out good but the aileron seemed so much more finicky. For the aileron we did the following steps.
- After gluing the ribs we used a long sanding board that spanned 3 ribs and sanded the ribs to try and get even rib standout from the front spar.
- Then we glued the ply on one edge and let that set for approx 24 hrs.
- Then we marked out glue contact areas on ply and applied 2 coats of varnish over 2 days.
- Then we boiled a pot of water and pored it over the Ply and bent the Ply around the ribs and clamped in place and let it dry for approx 24 hrs.
- Then  we applied glue and re clamped the Ply in place.
- After the glue had set we trimmed all excess Ply and sanded smooth.

We are using the Poly Fibre System for covering our aircraft. It has been very nice to work with.
The aileron was varnished with an Epoxy Varnish over the whole structure and then coated with a couple of coats of Poly Brush. Then we applied Poly Tak to all the fabric securing areas and layed out the fabric and wetted through the Poly Tak.
Once it had dried we did an initial ironing job at 250F to snug up the fabric and then did another pass at 350F for the final tensioning of the fabric. After this we rib stitched the fabric, which was actually very enjoyable once we got the technique sorted out (courtesy of Poly Fibre video on Youtube), and covered the stitching with fabric strips.

We have now basically finished with the wings and ailerons so next will be to attach to the fuselage.

Cheers, Mick

More photos

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Great pictures.

Tom

It's almost never ending . We are getting closer to finishing these wings so that we can mount them up.

Glued on plenty of inspection hole rings and drain hole grommets and then covered them with dollies.

The final spray coat of Poly Brush looked really nice but then the first coat of Poly Spray Silver UV also came up nice.

The Poly Fibre stuff has been good to work with (although fairly pricey).

Cheers, Mick

Looking good.What color are you going to paint it?

Not 100% decided yet but probably same as the fuselage, Olive Drab, with the black and white invasion stripes.

This aircraft is also nice.

Yeah that's not bad. It's a hard decision though. I was thinking more like this pic.

I'm digging the Bird Dog look.....   get some tents and WWII setup for an airshow somewhere.....

Spent the day masking up and painting the White Stripes as part of the Invasion Stripes. Hopefully tomorrow the Black Stripes plus the Olive Drab Green.

Managed to get the Black stripes done plus the Olive Drab. Very happy with the end result

Wings are on. Can't wait to get her in the air but there are still plenty of things to sort out before then.

Mick, That's a nice looking airplane. Well done!

Thanks Dick. I'm quite happy with the way it's turning out . It was a big milestone in my mind to get the wings on. It looks like a plane now rather than just bits and pieces

We've gotten a bit further in our build. The below link is of one of our early taxi tests and the picture is as of today with the cowling getting ready for it's final touches after going through a high speed taxi test. We also finished installing the rear window which was a bugger of a job.

We're very happy with how things are going and hope to be in the air in the next few weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp--o15bdWw

WOW THAT IS FANTASTIC!! Have a great and safe first flight.  

Thanks aeronut. Will do

Hello!
What a perfect work! Congratulations!
I am also building a himax.
Can you please tell me the alloy/size of your birddog landing gear?
Thank you
Raphael

absolutely love it!

Quoted from raphael150 Hello!
What a perfect work! Congratulations!
I am also building a himax.
Can you please tell me the alloy/size of your birddog landing gear?
Thank you
Raphael

Thanks Raphael.
I purchased the project partially built so I'm not sure about the gear dimensions etc but the gear was ordered with the kit according to the receipts I got with the project.  
I could take some measurements for you next time I'm at the hanger if you have any particular dimensions you want.
The below link is for a site that has Composite Gear for the HiMax that may be of interest if you haven't already seen it
http://curedcomposites.com/himax.html
Cheers, Mick

Quoted from RedBird absolutely love it!

Thanks RedBird.

Quoted from Mickvds

Thanks RedBird.

Hello Mick,
Thank you very much for your response. I am building a himax in a bedroom in my parents house.
I already checked this curecomposites website, but I live in Brazil: not possible to order due to the abusive freight/customs.
I just wanted to know if your birddog LG is in aluminum, and thickness/width...
I already have mine in 3/8” aluminum 7075 -t6, but I think the stiffness is not enough.
Best regards
Raphael

That thing looks fantastic!  Would be proud to say I'm the pilot of an aircraft like that!  I really love the paint job.

may have a set of Plans for Aluminum gear, just not sure it can be done. A single sheet I got from someone else.

Quoted from PUFF may have a set of Plans for Aluminum gear, just not sure it can be done. A single sheet I got from someone else.

Hello There!
Can you please send it to raphael150@hotmail.com
Thank you very much
Raphael

Quoted from ITman496 That thing looks fantastic!  Would be proud to say I'm the pilot of an aircraft like that!  I really love the paint job.

Thanks ITman496. I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out