Swinging with the Comet 'nickle and dimers' and other stuff

[simpleflyer]

We've been kinda busy with fall yard chores so building has slowed, However, we've had a few opportunities for flying and were able to capture a short videos of the 'SimpleSwinger in flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUCMSZhTkK0

These are our first Utube videos so they are a bit rough. Hope that in time, we shall improve.

Al

[simpleflyer]

Our next addition to the SimpleSwinger family is the SS-24. From this point we will identify the SS models in terms of their wingspan. This version is based on the Comet Firefly.



The wing and tail surfaces will follow the shapes of the Firefly, but the construction will be modified quite a bit. Our model will has the same wing span as the Comet Firefly- 24 inches. Wing construction consists mostly of strips(1/4 x 3/32, 3/8 x 1/16, and 1/8 x 1/32).



The wing is mounted to the stick fuselage at mid-fuselage. The key to this wing mount is the connecting plate between the wing panels and the twin thick ribs attached to the plate. The plate on this model is 1/16 plywood.



The two thick ribs are attached to the plywood plate. The 1/16 sheet spacer assures that the wing will have correct alignment with the fuselage.



Wing assembled and dihedral formed.

[simpleflyer]

Here are the parts for the 'minnow' stick fuselage. The central stick is of two parts. The back part is 1/16 bass wood and the forward part is 1/16 balsa. The additional forward parts form the slot into which the pointed part of the tail piece slides into and capture the wing and hold it in place. The small oval parts cover nose ballast slots.



Nose parts are temporarily pinned together to try the wing fit.

[simpleflyer]

Tail parts are made of strips cut from 1/32 sheet balsa. The strips are 1/8 and 1/4 inch wide. Plan is covered with plastic food wrap. Covering tissue is placed over the plan and the balsa strips are glued to the tissue and to each other. The plan outlines are visible thru the tissue.



When dry the the tail parts are peeled from the plastic film covering the plan and are given a coat or two of thinned white glue. The tail parts are pinned in place till the glue dries to help prevent warping.



The wing is covered and given a couple of coats of thinned white glue.

[simpleflyer]

Some lead BBs are put into slots in the nose of the model. Oval shaped doublers are glued over the slots.



The SS-24 is ready for some test flights.







The first fights went well. The model is a slow and docile flyer

Al

[simpleflyer]

Converting the Comet Firefly into the SS-24 was such a satisfying experience that we decided to try converting another Comet design into a 'Simple Swinger'. This time it will be the Phantom Fury. The kit was designed to have a 32 inch wing span. Again we shall use the 'minnow' fuselage and the wing span will be reduced to 30 inches.

We have a couple of Phantom Furies in our Comet stash. We begin cutting out the parts that we shall need for this model. The model was designed with undercamber in the wing. Our next modification is to remove the lower part of the ribs. This makes the ribs a bit thinner. Our prior versions in the SS series seem to fly well with thin wings, so we hope that this one will do likewise.

[simpleflyer]

Work on the SS-30 is coming along OK. Back on Oct 15, one of the wings was framed up;



Then we made an unexpected trip to Louisiana to attend the funeral of my sister's husband and spent a week with her. Now we are home and construction of the SS-30 continues. Both wings are now framed.

[simpleflyer]

After a lot of activity with household chores and holiday celebrations with family and friends we are able to return on work on the SS-30.

The tail surfaces are framed and glued together. The vertical tail is formed from vertical strips of 1/16 balsa and horizontal strips from 1/32 sheet. The horizontal tail is made entirely of stripped 1/32 sheet. Both surfaces will be covered only on one side.



After the glue dries, the surfaces are removed from the building board and checked for fit which is OK. The strips are glued together over pieces of tissue laid over the building plan. This allows for covering and construction to be done in a single step. The extra tissue will be trimmed off and the surface tips will be cut to shape and a couple coats of thinned white glue will be applied to fill the pores of the tissue.



Next construction step will be to build the forward fuselage.

[simpleflyer]

The forward fuselage parts are cut and will be glued together and attached to the rear fuselage.



Here are all of the wood parts for the SS-30, except for a few gussets needed for the wing center section.

[simpleflyer]

The forward fuselage is glued together. Also, the wing center section is glued together and dihedral is formed.



Wing structure is fitted to the fuselage.





Application of tissue to the wing is next.

[simpleflyer]

Top of wing covered with tissue and fuselage has been shortened 1 1/2 inches. The shortened fuselage will require less nose weight and will result in a lighter craft and fly better.



Hope to have SS-30 flying early next week.

[simpleflyer]

Two coats of thinned white glue applied to the SS-30. Almost ready for a test flight. Tomorrow is forecast to have a high of 59F with no rain. If it is not too windy, perhaps a test flight will be attempted. The P-40 is almost ready for a test flight, also.

[simpleflyer]

The SS-30 was ready for a test flight today. The rain has stopped for a few days, but is still overcast, cold, and light breezes( 10 gusting to 15 mph). However, we were able to make a few test flights. Went OK, need to make some adjustment to the nose weight.

[simpleflyer]

On one of the early flights of the SS-30, the forward fuselage and right wing incurred a bit of damage.



The damage was readily repaired. The fuselage crack was glued together. A couple of wing spars were reinforced and a couple had pieces of strip spliced in. The repaired wood was then covered with tissue.





Yesterday, we had a nice weather day and were able to fly the repaired SS-30. The flights went well.

[simpleflyer]

On the next couple of 'simple swingers. we're going to use the wing from Hawk model produced by Jetco. The first one will be the SS-24JH. The rib spacing was increased so we have a few extra ribs left over which will be used in the next swinger.



Jetco used this simple wing structure in a number of their rubber powered and glider designs, consisting of tapered trailing edge stock for the spars and relatively thin simplex rib shape. Here the center section is being glued. The center rib spacing has been changed from 1/16 to 3/16s of an inch.



The extra ribs from the Hawk will be used in the 36 in wing of the SS-36JTC.



Assembly of the SS-36JTC. A similar wing of the same span was used in Jetco Models kit of the Thermic C produced in the 1950s.