1/3 scale Ka3

[Fred]

Hi there,

So, here is my new project for the beginning of the winter !
During Retroplane, we were talking and showing the 1/4 scale Ka3, and between 2 glasses of schnaps  :mrgreen:  some of the German guys suggested that the Ka3 is fine, but bigger, that will be better !  

Ah well, sometimes, it's hard to say no to things like that !  

So, I have redraw the smaller Ka3, change a few bits and pieces, and here we go !
Slow start, let's say a warm up, with the tail mounting pieces.

The parts :


And 10 minutes later :



And that's it for today ! Next on that piece is to glue the carbone tubes for the V tail.

Next... Well, I have to make space in the garage now, and I'll certainly start the fuselage.

Fred

[Alan_Perse]

Looks nice Fred   . Can't wait to see it fully built. You can't beat laser cut parts. I'm telling you, my next project will have to be Laser Cut. Cuting out the parts your self is like  :!:  :!:  :!:  :!:    

[Fred]

Thanks Alan  
Well, it's cutted, but you still need to glue all the parts together... That put dirt on my fingers  

Sunday, busy day in the workshop, with the building of the fuselage.

A looooong 5x5 hardwood strip is placed on the plan. Everything is aligned with a laser and fixed to the workbench.
Then, all the formers are glued to the wood, checking at each time the alignment :



Of course, you also need to check that evrything is square !




And we glue everything slowly, making sure everything is straight



Then, we can glue the wing support on the fuselage

[Fred]

Then, the next job is to glue all the 5x5 hardwood strips to the fuselage...Twice ! because  I glue a first 5x5 strip, then, once dried, I glue a second one on top. Easier to bend, and once the second one is glued and dry, this is, well, I think, much stronger than a single 5x10 strip.
Of course, you glue each strips doing each side at the time (symetric and avoid the fuselage to go banana !  )
And you can check that everything is square using the laser




Once dry, you can move the fuselage to have a first overall look at the beast !



So, next, finishing of the fuselage webing, and another few bits and pieces and we can start to have a look at the wings !

[Alan_Perse]

What kind of laser do you use Fred. Do you have a pic of it.

[Fred]

Hi Alan,
This is a Black and Deker laser. This is a leveler, and "draw" a straight line.
I'll take a photo tonight. Cost me around 20 euros in Homebase  

I never had to use it before, but in this case, this is really handy !

[Fred]

Hi Alan,
So, here is a photo of the laser thing :



And the progress on the fuselage :





The webing is finished !    The fuselage is now really strong and light.
Next, I think I'm going to shape the nose and work on the Vtail  :?:

[Alan_Perse]

Looks great Fred. I might get one of those lasers myself. It looks usefull.

[Peter]

Hi Fred,

Wow! Great build and a nice fuselage. You have left me behind already!  Just about got all the bits of the B4 cut out now - just finished the ribs.  Had problems with the outer tapered part of the wing as using the sandwich method the section turned out weird - the outermost rib blank is tiny.  In the end, plotted and cut the ribs individually - at least the section is now consistent out to the tips. Will start on the fuselage assembly over the weekend.  Any advice on how to plank a fuselage?  Never done this before.

[Fred]

Hi Peter,

Good to start a new project !  :clap:
For ovoid fuselage like the Pilatus, the best way is to use 5 or 10mm wide balsa strips, and do the sheeting like a boat shell.
Easy and pretty much straight forward.
Other than that, you can use cardboard templates and plywood ( 0.4 or 0.6 I'd say at your scale :




Photos from Harold Ka2b    :clap:

[Fred]

Back to the Ka3 now, with a bit of work on the huge V-Tail over the week end !

All the pieces



And here we go ! The V-Tail assembly is a non event.. no difficulties at all here...





Ok, you can see the burn here... I think the cnc laser machine did a break here  :lol:  





And the result to motivate me !

[Fred]

Next are the LE, sheeting (with 2mm balsa) and the tail joiner made of carbone tubes (7mm ext. and 5 mm int.) and glued with epoxy


Same here, a non event...






Et voila ! the hinges are Robart type. the moving tail LE is sanded in 1/2 circle.



Next ?... back to the fuselage, with the nose cone, and i'll start to have a look at the cockpit interior... :?:

[cvanscho]

Non-events?  I would be proud enough of that work if I was you to regard it as quite an Event!

[Fred]

Ah well, no glory, it's just a big giant interresting puzzle !  
I had a look at the wings yesterday... Going to be big !  

[Fred]

Not a lot done over the week end...
But a bit of work on the wings.
So, 1/2 wing is almost completed, just the sheeting need to be done.
Photos of the early stages :


As I said, big puzzle ! The spar is made of Pine wood...



And then, the top spar :


For the ailerons, a balsa pieces is interlocking with the ribs.



Easy !
Well, I'll take more photos tonight, but the wing tip is done, so as the Leading edge (balsa 10mm + 5mm) and waiting for the wing joiner to come in to complete the sheeting.
I'll start the second 1/2 wing tonight !