Piper Pawnee

[Balsabasher]

The wings for the Pawnee's were cut in half,then dress making pins which had their heads removed were sunk into the wing roots half way,thin cyno run into the pins locks them into place before offering up for a trial fitting and then finally glueing into place setting up the dihedral angle by resting the wingtips onto blocks of wood the right height,these are then left overnight to dry.

[Balsabasher]

All aeroplanes need wheels so I set to work making some low pressure crop dusting type wheels turning them up on the lathe then lopping them off with a spare set for something else,the tail skid was hammered up on the anvil and the fork formed with a small pair of pliers,this was set at the correct angle and locked with a biy of cyno applied with a toothpick with a slit cut in the end.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

The Pawnee propellers have been carved and fitted,plus the air cooling scoops in the nose were added with a hand held Dremel tool,to make the tail wheels punch out some discs from wood and push into the centre of the O-Rings,lay these onto a piece of polythene sheet and flood the centre with cyno,when cured drill a small hole for the mounting pin.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

In case anyone is wondering where the wing struts are ? these will be fitted after priming and final sanding,the struts if fitted at this stage would make sanding very difficult especially getting into the area where they meet the outboard area of the wing,so for this reason on this particular subject they will be left off until the very end,what I will do to help adhesion is to glue and pin them with tiny dressmaking pins cut down and holes drilled through the struts and into the wing.
Those heavy struts are an important feature of the Piper Pawnee which is basically a low wing version of the Piper Super Cub with a new fuselage,wings and tail are identical to the Super Cub.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

How are things coming with your Pawnee contest entree? Looking forward to seeing the finished work.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

Held up by the weather Lou for doping and painting,its just too humid at the moment to add paint as it just blooms with the dampness.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

Turning the spinners for the Piper Pawnee's weather awful here with high winds and lashing rain,no chance of doing any painting yet.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

A bit of sunshine prompted me to nip down to Halfords and buy some high build primer and give the Pawnee's a coat,it did not go well as the paint absorbed the moisture in the atmosphere and bloomed badly,normally the primer goes off quickly but a quick quick check found the paint is still tacky,I will just have to leave them for a few days on top of the computer to help them harden befor an initial sanding session can be attempted.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

That is too bad, but the weather is temperamental at this time regardless of the continent you are on.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

The propeller spinners were completed and added to the Pawnee propeller boses,to dish the rear of the spinner so that it clears the pin I use an hand held rose bit,this simply dishes out the rear so it clears the pin used for the spindle,the pin simply floats inside the dished spinner.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

Nice idea Barry.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

Concentrating on one Pawnee I made up an oil cooler,this has been fitted under the nose.

Barry.

[lastvautour]

Looking good, thanks for the update.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

I could always add wing mounted spraybars or a big duster hopper underneath this one,in fact I may fabricate some atomisers with a wind driven pump.
Brass tube set into a jig with the nozzles spaced out and soldered may do the trick,another challenge never done one of those before.
Barry.