Marks Models BOT, Build

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On the truck, I called Fedex this is what they sent LOL

Update Package arrived in Tucson on the 24th of March in Great Shape.. Thanks Fedex

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Feb14

Total time for the Build 94 hrs

All finished and weighs in at a trim and tidy 1300  Grams , and that’s with 70 Grams of lead in the nose. I didn’t ever think I would need that, If I could have sanded a 30″ 1/16 x 3 sheet of balsa out of the tail maybe I could have gotten away with no nose weight.

Ah well I’m not gonna do that now, I’ll have to wait till I build the next one

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more sailing

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and more 🙂

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Feb 13

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Stab  spoilers hatch ready for the cover

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Feb 9

Mold and lead for ballast

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3/16 dowel thru for adjuster screw

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Setting in place

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directly under the CG point, can be moved forward or rearward

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Removable at 201 Grams

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Canopy preliminary shaping

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Fuse

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Tow hook channel, and cutout in fuse

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Fin

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Canopy nearing final shape

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Battery, is this a 2 2 1 setup?

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Ballast, this mold should hold around 7 oz of lead

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Feb 7

Ultracote, I really like this covering much nicer to work with then Monokote. This is the wing color of the newest BOT in the west. Should be really viseble. Still missing is the spoilers

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Fin sheeting is glued on. I’m gonna sand a lot of this area away to get a nice blend between the fin and the fuse. Square corners and sailplanes never looked right to me:)

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Here you go, looks a lot better.

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and the left side, is that port or starboard, I can never get it straight.

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Canopy, hold down, some plastic pins at the leading edge

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and magnets at the rear. Rubber band for security, whad yaaa think Tom?:)

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Feb 5

Rudder push rod end, I like to use SS Cable and nylon tubing.

There’s a bit of a learning curve to get the tubing the right length, and get the Links Silver Soldered on , however it works very well with the Sullivan Quick Links

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Stab bellcrank, and inside aft end of fuselage

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Rear dowel for wing rubber bands

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Stab and rudder servos in place, a compact layout

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and of course the wings with their magical colors

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wing underside

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Feb 03

Wing center

A couple strips of Fiberglass where added to reinforce the area for the rubber bands

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Spoiler blades with magets for trailing edge retention

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Spoilers ready for magnets, holes carefully drilled into ends

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Servo mount

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Fiberglass reinforcement left wing

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Spoiler bay with adjustable stops in place

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Pre-made adjustable stops

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Setup for fiberglass reinforcement

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Feb 02

Both panels put together

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Left wing leading edge

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Leading edge profile template

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Wing is beginning to really take shape

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Leading edge, a flat surface to glue this on is important.

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Inboard panel rib caps

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Left tip panels rib caps

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Feb 01 2014

Left wing panel top filler sheeting as well as sheeting around spoiler bay

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Left wing panel outer LE sheeting

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Spoiler opening and filler sheeting right wing panel

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Right wing panel spoiler opening

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Left wing panel inboard top LE sheeting, edge at spar is glued with epoxy

 

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Right wing panel, fitting of balsa filler pieces surrounding spoiler opening

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Rib caps right wing tip panel

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Right tip panel top LE Sheeting

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Inboard panel LE sheet

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Spoiler servo setup, servo hanging of spoiler opening sub spar

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Spoiler servo mount blocks

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spoiler  bay sub spar

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the wing is getting longer

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main panel to tip join

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Top tip panel sheeting needs a stretch with a piece from the tip

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Polyhedral angle set

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wing panel join

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rest of ribs are placed

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wing inboard panel join

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Jan 14

Right main panel coming together, some shear webs and ribs in place making sure the correct ribs are placed for the spoiler opening

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The A ribs on inboard panel, they need to be set with glue in the area forward of the spar so the rear portion can be removed later to add the ply wood shear web doubler.

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Left wing panel moving along as well

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Top spar in place on right panel

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Left panel upper spar in place and weighted down until glue sets

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Jan 6

There are 6 pieces of 1/16 x 4 sheeting in the kit, Appears they were grouped in sets of two based on weight, I’m using the heavier wood at the inboard end as filler pieces behind the spars both top and bottom..

The lighter sheets will be for the top and bottom leading edge sheeting.

Right inboard panel build, I had previously glued the lower spar to the lower LE sheet

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Left inboard panel

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Partial rib stack with notches for rear spoiler spar as well as cutout for spoiler.

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Spoiler will be 3 bays wide, one bay inboard of polyhedral joint.

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Spoiler servo

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Jan 5 2013

I’m back, lots of snow here the last month, and of course Christmas in between..

Also finally got the correct CF for the wings, mind you CST could have done a better job with the width of the carbon fiber, minus .050″ is a little out of tolerance on the width in my book.. 🙂

Will it matter, not likely.

Spars without the CF

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I used a straight edge and held the spars tight to this before laminating the CF.

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Spars

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Spars upon completion, laminated and cut back to 1/8 ” thick 10 Grams heavier

 

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Rib set for one  inboard panel,

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Dec 12

Fin and stab linkage

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Stab linkage, bell crank,

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Actuator cable and linkage

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Fin in place, trial fit to check all clearances of the stab linkage

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A little glue

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2 part rudder gets glued together

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Tail comes together

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Dec 11

The two bottom fuselage pieces are glued together and the formers to the bottom..

This is the order I’m putting things together as I am certain the formers are square to the bottom

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Nose block gets glued between the two sides

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Bottom meets sides

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No more clamps, really turned out nice

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another

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Dec 6

Fuselage assembly, a lot of parts come together here, so I’m going to take my time with each piece, and make sure everything fits together snug, and has all holes added and shaping complete.

I don’t want a crooked fuse, or have to dig in there later to add something.

Formers 1and 3 with plywood reinforcement and wing retainer pins. The die cutting on the ply was a little off so the edges where all sanded with the dowel pin thru the holes. All three formers are glued at an angle of less then 90 Degrees to the sides. A pitfall here If one glues them to one side at 90 Degrees..

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Formers

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Lower fuse sheet, and join at former # 2

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Forward bottom sheet, the sides where not the same and the end was 90 degrees to one side which is incorrect as the sides are not parallel, a little bit of sanding and shaping was needed here.

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Slot for tow hook channel

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All the parts start to come together , the front nose block needed some shaping as well a little wider then what the plans state.

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Dec 2

Right tip panel

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Tip panel shear webbing in place

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Upper spar right tip panel

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Upper spar left tip panel

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Stab actuation , plans call for bell crank system, will a tube and cable system be better?

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I’m cobbling together the fuselage pieces

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First step, glue the fuselage doublers too the sides, making sure there’s a left and right side. 🙂

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Nov 29

Left wing tip panel begins to take shape. Take care and make sure the lower spar notches are deep enough so that the aft portion of the rib sits flat on the board.

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Stab cap strip sets, glued together at the trailing edge

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Her is where they get glued into place one set at a time.

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Training edge filler cut from a piece of 1/4 balsa stock, shape is marked

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Cut and some of the taper is sanded so that there’s not so much to do later

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Left tip panel with trailing edge in place

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Right tip panel on the board

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Nov 28

Stab coming together, I’ll add the inboard sheet and cap strips once the frame is off the board

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One frame off the board and the other set up, shims are placed under the trailing edge and the tips.

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Wing tip ribs cleaned up ready to be set on the lower spar

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Inboard panel ribs, these where quite rough when I removed them from the sheets. They took a little more cleaning up then those for the tip panel

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Cap strips cut in pairs, and the instructions say to install them in pairs as well to prevent warpage of the stab

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Lower inboard sheet on stab half

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Stab tubes in place, I’ve added collars to lock the stab to the fin

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Nov 27

Stab build, tips and trailing edges get put together first. I like to sand the inside edges lightly as well especially when it’s getting covered with transparent Ultracote.

Spars, leading edges other frame pieces are cut to length, and shaped 1st, always in sets, so that the other half of the stab is identical.

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The frame pieces have been pre cut , I need to shape the ends to suit before they get glued together.

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Tip panel lower leading edge sheeting. A triangle piece is cut from the end and glued to the inboard end where the width of the sheet is greater.

Spars are cut to length and are both marked for rib location, there can be variations on the plans so this will get all ribs in the same spot.

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Nov 25

We have some details ironed out

  • 3 bay spoilers, servo operated placed one bay in from end of main panel. DS285 servos
  • DS368BB servos for stab and rudder
  • CF strips on main panel spars, top add .021″ x .375″ bottom add .014″ x .375 ” and then rip spars to 1/8″ thick
  • add two 3/32 collars to retain the stabs
  • SS cable and nylon tubes for stab and rudder control
  • CG adjustable lead weight for ballast, this should be a treat
  • 1/16 wire skid to protect rudder
  • airtronics, channel style adjustable tow hook
  • glass at leading and trailing edge, main wing panel where wing bands pass over
  • RTF weight Goal , I’m shooting for under 45 oz

Some details, I’ve removed all the ribs from the die cut panels, they will all get a light sanding before assembly..

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Some of the other goodies, removed from their packages. I like to keep everything in a few trays just to keep things tidy

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The plans, two sheets that need to be taped together. I place tape over some of the edges, as they are quite brittle from the age.

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More plans..

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and more

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BOT arrival imminent, expect to start build, within next couple of days

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A classic kit from the 70’s or is it the 60’s

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Nice wood misc. packs with notes on who packaged them. Nicely done.

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I got all the wood out.

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I have a Build coming up of a Marks Models BOT..

A Dave Thornburg design from the early 70’s , I believe it’s a 118  ” WS.

It will have

dial cord operated spoilers,

possibly carbon reinforced spars,

colors red with yellow band on wings

Can’t wait