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

[simpleflyer]

After the SS-36JTC center section dried, it was fitted to the SS-30 fuselage and it fit OK. Next some old Jetco tissue(30-40 years old) and still in good shape will be attached.

[simpleflyer]

Application of tissue to the top of the SS-36JTC wing. The Jetco tissue applies well with thinned white glue.

[simpleflyer]

The SS-36JTC wing is covered and two coats of thinned white glue applied and is ready for a test flight. The SS-24 JH wing will soon be covered and painted.



The SS-36JTC attached to the SS-30 fuselage for a test flight.



Weather was nearly perfect for flying - sunny, cool, and light breezes and the new wing rewarded us with some nice flights.

[simpleflyer]

After a couple of busy weeks during the first of February, we are able to return to work on the SS-24JH(simple swinger using a modified Jetco Hawk wing. The wing covering is finished.



On this wing a center rib spacing of 3/16 inch will be used instead of the 1/16 inch as used on the SS-30 wing.



This spacing allows us to simplify the forward construction a little bit and allows for a stronger wing to fuselage fit. The picture shows the difference between the two fuselages. The top two fuselage parts are for the 3/16 center rib spacing and the bottom two fuselage parts are for the 1/16 center rib spacing.



This shows how the wing is fitted to the fuselage. The wing is slid into the slot in the forward fuselage. The the pointy end of the rear fuselage is slid into the slot in the forward fuselage capturing the wing in place.



Pix of the top and bottom of the wing to fuse joint, showing the clean simplicity of the connection - no rubber bands, peg, magnets or other stuff.





The SS-24JH ready to fly.



On the first sunny, not too cold day we tried some test flights. A bit breezy but the craft flew well.





Al

[simpleflyer]

Our newest addition to the 'SimpleSwinger' fleet is the SS-25CB. The wing on this model has a 25 inch wingspan. This past December we bought a few Cloud Buster laser cut rib sheets. The wing span of the CB was extended from 18 inches to 25 inches and the wing spars were rearranged a bit.

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A bit of trivia about the Cloud Buster. Originally a Comet kit it could be purchased for $ 1.25, our rib sheets cost us $ 2.50 each, Guillows MSRP for the Cloud Buster is $ 19.59. Ain't progress a wonderful thing



The CB wing design is simple and builds up quickly.



The forward fuselage from an earlier SimpleSwinger will be used on this version. A new tail boom is constructed with tail surfaces built up from strips cut from 1/32 sheet.



The center ribs are spaced at 3/16 inch apart.



Reinforcement gussets are added to the center section and dihedral is formed.



Wing is covered with Guillows tissue attached with thinned Elmers wood Glue.



Wing and tail tissue is sealed with a couple of coats of thinned Elmers glue and the SS-25CB is ready to fly.



In spite of drizzly, chilly, breezy conditions a few test flights were attempted this past weekend and went well.







Al

[simpleflyer]

After a couple of distractions, filing IRS return and some spring gardening/lawn chores, we're back to the Simple-Swinger fleet. Next will be SS-40M. The wing will be built using ribs from a Comet Meteor. The Meteor wing is the same as the Comet Cloud Buster.

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The wing will consist of three 14 inch panels. This is the right outboard panel. The Meteor wing has been extended.

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[simpleflyer]

The right outboard panel built up easily enough. Some of the spar notches needed relocating as the leading and trailing edges were changed to a double tapered arrangement. The scrap plan above the completed panel is for the center panel. It will have parallel leading and trailing edges and a pair of center ribs with a 3/16 inch gap for the fuselage

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We completed the center section today. It took a bit longer to build as we were figuring out the construction as we went along. The two center ribs are essentially two cracked ribs made from pieces of 3/32 and 1/8 strips glued together and spaced 3/16 inch apart.

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The left panel will go a little faster and should be completed tomorrow.

[simpleflyer]

The left wing panel is built and now the three panels are ready to be joined together.

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The center panel is mounted to a 'simple-swinger' fuselage for a test fit and it is OK. The outer panels were placed in position to give an idea of what the craft will look like.

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Now we will need to figure out how to join the panels together.

[simpleflyer]

Got the outer panels attached to the center section using braces for the center spar and a modified cracked rib at the dihedral breaks.

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Test fit the wing to the largest 'simple-swinger' fuselage, and the fit is OK.

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Papered the outer panels, today, should have the whole wing covered, tomorrow.

[simpleflyer]

Yesterday, was rainy and wet. So we had time to cover the wing a apply a coaat of thinned white glue.

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The SS-40 compared with one of its siblings, the SS-12.

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[simpleflyer]

Today was sunny and clear. A welcome change after a few rainy days. A bit breezy, but we chanced a few test flights this afternoon, which went OK.

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[simpleflyer]

It's become hot and dry so the best time for flying is early in the day or late in the afternoon. So here are a few pix from a late afternoon flight session when the temperature was relatively reasonable. High temps have been 98-103 for the last month and are forecast for a month longer.

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[simpleflyer]

The model in this flight session was the 'simple swinger' SS-40. These first 3 pics were with the long fuselage built for the SS-40.

Shortly after building the SS-40 we built another fuselage for it. The second fuselage consists of three parts and is built of all balsa and shorter and a bit lighter in weight. The three parts allow for a removable nose which allows for easier adjustment of the nose weight. The top fuselage is the original, the lower one is the newer one.

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[simpleflyer]

Pix of the SS-40 using the newer fuselage. The lighter plane is more maneuverable(tighter loops) and feels lighter on the line. The longer fuselage SS-40 has more 'pull' on the line, making it a better flying model in windy conditions.

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[simpleflyer]

Looks like it's time for another long winged 'Simple Swinnger'. This one will be a modified Thermic 50-X from the Christine Zaic Company. This is a redesign by Frank Ehling of the Thermic 50-X originally designed by Frank Zaic. I like the Ehling redesign because of its simplified construction. The kit plan and materials are excellent.

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The ribs are nicely die-cut and leading and trailing edges are well formed. However parts are not numbered so a little bit of building experience is useful. We traced the wing lan to tracing paper so we could fit it to our building board. We traced the rib shapes to cardboard for use as rib cutting patterns in future builds of the Thermic 50 wing.

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