Pilatus B4 build

[joe]

Keep up the good work Peter. Looks great!

[Peter]

Well that took a while!! But it is ready to go.

[Happy Days]

Now that looks like something to be proud of Peter :clap:  :clap: well done 'ol Fruit.

So when is it going to take to the air?

K.

[Alan_Perse]

Wow. That looks nice. Great Job Peter  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

[lothar4862]

Well done!

she looks great.

Regards

Lothar

[joe]

Wow!!
Very nice job Peter. It looks fantastic and not a bit of fibreglass to be seen!! :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

[Peter]

Thanks guys - moment of truth - next weekend I hope, weather permitting.

[Fred]

Looking really good Peter !!  :clap:
So rare to see a B4 all in wood these days !  :clap:

[Tresbling]

I am building from the same plan!

I haven't started the wings yet, and I must say my building quality is not up to yours! I have a few questions...

Did you stick with the dihedral shown on the plan? Seems a bit much to me.
What section did you use and why?
And most importantly... How does it fly?!

Many thanks

[Peter]

Hi 'Tresbling' - glad to hear you are working on a B4.  I stayed with the dihedral on the plan, but fitted a carbon fibre rod/tube rather than the brass box shown on the plan. I used a thinner HQ2.5/12 section as I talked with someone who built this model some time ago and they said the scale-like section shown on the plan was not that efficient and that restricted conditions in which it would fly. Anyway - I have flown mine three times now - the weather has been rotten over the winter so it last flew September.  I'm pretty pleased with it. Still want to play around with the tail incidence as soon as Spring arrives.  However - it seems to be pretty efficient and if anything, I struggle to get it back down on the ground again!  I fitted Graupner air bakes rather than make up the blades as shown on the plan.

Good luck with your wings.  Post some pictures of your build.  Always interesting to see how other people 'do it'!

[Tresbling]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the reply. This project is odd because I built the fuse when I was 16 (now im 24!) and then lost interest. Its been hanging in the garage gathering dust since then. The tailplane got stepped on so ive rebuilt that, and also done lots of other finishing. My building standards back then were not up to scratch! Im doing the canopy frame at the moment, Traplet still sell the canopy for this plan (but it isnt quite big enough!).
Taking the wings from 17% down to 12% is a bit drastic, i trust it is still strong with the wooden construction. Did you keep it at 12% right down to the tip?
I too have bought graupner brakes for it, didnt fancy building them. Ive used the brass box/steel joiner. What did you use for the main spars, they look lighter than spruce.
Sorry for all the questions, this is my first plan build. I'll put a couple of pictures up when I make some progress.
Al

[e-segler]

Hello Peter,

I am planning to built (after finishing my Sagitta) a B4 from a plan.
Yours is from Traplet?
Are you satisfied about the plan? Was there any problem while you where  building the model.

The airfoil that you used is a HQ 2,5/12. Does it fit to the model?

Greeting, Leo.

My English is not so good.....but my flying skills are very, very bad!!!

[Peter]

Leo,

Plan was fine and yes it was the Mike Trew Traplet version - just one inaccuate former - if you change the wing section like I did, you also need to modify the fuselage formers so as to accommodate the new wing root.  Good luck with the build - post some picures as you go along!

Peter

[e-segler]

Peter,

Thanks for your information. I wil see if i order the plan.
B.t.w. it is very interresting that you can order a canopy!

Best wishes, Leo.

[alibodin]

Excellent build an inspiration, just recieved the plans for this, looks ok to build. I will probably build on a jig and have complete formers rather than two halves. The COG looks quite far forward, anyone any guidance on the COG please?

Alistair