That’s good. I have heard of an alternate fix for the particular issue jeffy uncovered. It requires the entire contents of an Enerjet Athena to make the needed mods.

Are you listening e-rockets?

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

I'm glad eRockets is correcting the rings.

Now for the main wing pivot box. I've pressed together the (4) pieces of the pivot box frame. The tongue in groove joints are VERY tight so I'll first assemble it and square it up before applying any adhesive. I don't use CA very often, but I've applied my thinnest CA to each joint and then gave it a short blast of accelerator.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

I then fit the pivot box assembly to the "X" side of the wing pivot. It was necessary to shorten the joining tabs just a BCH to make them fit into the wing pivot.

I then apply 30 minute epoxy around the entire pivot box to wing pivot joint and I let it seep in. While the 30 minute epoxy is still in liquid form I mount the crescent shaped pieces to the underside of the wing pivot and brace them with clothespins.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

I believe I hear "The Vixen" getting the Black and Tan spoon out of the cabinet--so I'm almost done for the night!

The 'kidney beans" won't even come close to fitting in their sockets without some shaping, so I carefully shape them with 400 grit sandpaper until I achieve a slip-fit into the sockets of the wing pivot. I then remove them, put a drop of carpenter's glue onto the floor of each socket, reinsert the "kidney beans", register them to the floor, and then brace them with clothespins.

Last step for the night: the metal binding post. Using a needle sander I first enlarge the bore of the wing pivot slightly--just enough to prevent a breakout or cracking of the basswood when I insert the binding post female half. I insert the post, back it out slightly, and then apply 30 minute epoxy to the underside and perimeter of the flange.

Gotta go. "The Vixen" has placed a Black and Tan in front of me!

Good night. TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Now for the nacelle strut.

After assembling and squaring up the nacelle strut I align, glue, and then fillet the strut to the rear of the glider's airframe. Note how the 1" length of launch lug inside the the nacelle strut is white. This is because in order to "fatten" the launch for a better fit inside the nacelle strut assembly I wrapped a short length of adhesive mailing label around the launch lug. To prepare the strut for accepting the nacelle I wrap a piece of 320 grit around a heavy walled BT-50 and hand scrape the top seating surface of the nacelle strut. Note how I employ the herculean left thigh to support the part being scraped so I can hold the camera.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Next I mount the nacelle and rudder. I'm glad a rock-hard, perfectly round, heavy wall tube was provided for the nacelle. IIRC the last Estes Scissor Wing I built just had a regular BT-50 for the nacelle and I ended up coating the ID with thin CA to stiffen it up.

The nacelle and rudder are now filleted with epoxy.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Now for the first time I've checked the fit of the pop-pod assembly into the glider's airframe. It goes in and releases a little too hard so I'll have some fitting to do.

Now I mount the main wing's pivot assembly onto the main tube. This joint cannot fail, so I first tack it with carpenter's glue and then fillet it with 30 minute epoxy and let it seep in.

It's now ready for the main wing--which I'll prep next.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Next I assemble and prep the glider's main wing.

The basswood upper pivot disk is doweled and glued to the underside of the wing. I then epoxy the wing tip release mechanism launch lug and scarf off the excess length of it. For added strength I douse the top and the bottom of the wing's rubber band anchoring tab with ultra thin CA and let it soak into the balsa.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

I've done some preliminary shaping of the leading and the trailing edges of the main wing and now I've temporarily assembled the wing to the pivot mechanism just to check out the action of the swing. The kit's supplied black rubber bands are WAY too short and if I used them it would break out the anchor point on the wing. I have a large assortment of my own of black rubber bands of different lengths and I found a perfect one and I hooked it up. The swinging action works but it needs some work and some fine tuning as does the sliding action of the pop pod and the release mechanism to the main BT and wing tip.

Assembly is nearly complete now--just the forward wing hold down tab, the BNC, and the rear elevator to go.

Time for some hooch. Good night.

TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Ah, I was wondering where the elevator was! Could you show what the rubber band looks like with the wing in stowed and glide positions? I'm curious to see how it compares to the Estes kit.

__________________
Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org