spacewalker SIGRC61, Building And Flying Instructions

Page 1: ...is J 3 Kitten won Best New Design at the 1983 Sun N Fun EAA Fly In He won a Grand Champion Prize at Oshkosh in 1984 with his J 4 Sportster and in 1985 at Oshkosh his J 6 Karatoo won the Outstanding New Design award This prolific designer then decided to build himself a personal fun plane and in 1986 it flew for the first time That airplane was named the Spacewalker and the designer of all of these...

Page 2: ... it first flew Originally only the rear set of tail brace wires were installed and the exhaust pipes on the engine flared outward at the ends Jesse said that the open pipes gave the airplane a distinctive sound but it was just too loud to live with The pipes were later routed into the cowl where they met at a centre muffler Two more pipes route the exhaust straight down out of the bottom of the co...

Page 3: ... On page 40 is a striking color photo taken at Sun N Fun 87 of Jesse s airplane with our first prototype model next to it The article is entitled Dynamic Modeling but there s no mention of the Spacewalker PRIVATE PILOT June 1987 On page 69 is another small photo of Jesse s bird and the scale model at Sun N Fun Interestingly the caption reads Skywalker a common mistake when talking about this airpl...

Page 4: ...ng Ribs 2 1 8 x9 x18 W 2 W 3 W 4 Wing Ribs 4 1 8 x12 x18 W 1 W 2 W 3 W 4 Wing Ribs 1 1 8 x7 x36 PS 2 PB 2 G 1 TM TWM F 6A PF 1 1 8 x9 1 2 x36 SW 4 Shear Webs Die Cut Birch Plywood 1 1 16 x10 1 2 x7 Instrument Panel JW 1 Dihedral Gauge Wheel Pant Plates 1 3 32 x4 1 2 x9 DB 3 DB 4 Hold Down Plates L G Mount Plates 2 5 32 x7 1 2 x8 F 1 1 5 32 x2 1 2 x17 DB 1 DB 2 1 5 32 x10 x12 JW 2 JW 3 IW 1 IW 2 Sa...

Page 5: ...e bag Glues There are many different glues available today for model construction that it can be confusing to even the experienced modeler To simplify matters most glues can be classified as one of four types 1 Fast cyanoacrylate adhesives abbreviated as C A such as Sig CA Hot Stuff Jet etc 2 Easy to use water based wood glues such as Sig Bond yellow and Sig Super Weld white 3 Super strong but hea...

Page 6: ...pacewalker Cover the top surface of the building board with a piece of celotex type wall board or foam board into which pins can be easily pushed Don t hesitate to use plenty of pins during assembly to hold drying parts in their correct position When pinning or gluing parts directly over the full size plans cover the plan with wax paper or plastic kitchen wrap to prevent gluing the parts to the pl...

Page 7: ...l radio system for your Spacewalker to operate the ailerons elevator rudder and throttle Heavy duty servos intended for use on 1 4 scale models are required for all of the flight controls Also use a receiver battery with at least a 1000mA capacity to power those servos for a safe amount of time Be certain that your radio system s frequency is approved for use in R C model aircraft Using a frequenc...

Page 8: ...g ribs Make two of these subassemblies These are the two ribs that will meet at the wing joint when the outer panel slides in place The 1 16 balsa scraps serve as temporary spacers that hold the ribs in perfect alignment After construction the spacers are cut away so locate them around the edges where it will be easy to get at them 4 a Again use scrap pieces of 1 16 balsa to join two W 4A sub ribs...

Page 9: ... rear spars and the leading edges the ribs should all be perfectly straight 9 Glue another laminated spruce main spar assembly to the tops of the ribs Use a builder s triangle to make certain each rib is vertical 10 Locate the die cut 1 16 plywood dihedral gauge Position the W 1 W 1A wing rib subassembly in its position on the plans using the dihedral gauge to insure that it is at the proper dihed...

Page 10: ...JW l joiner web and again trim as necessary b Epoxy the IW l subassembly to the JW l joiner web as shown in the diagram Wipe away any excess epoxy before it dries c Trial fit the die cut 5 32 plywood IW 2 and JW 2 webs as you did before Epoxy the pieces together as shown in the diagram Notice that only the JW 2 joiner web closest to the wing joint has an IW 2 inner web glued to it The outboard JW ...

Page 11: ... web is even with the top of the cutout for the landing gear block in W 1A b Glue a die cut SW 2 shear web in place on the front of the spars No shear webs should be installed on the backside of the spars now because you will need to get at the pins in the bottom spar when it is time to remove the wing from the building board c Lightly sand flat spots on the front of the rear spars as you did befo...

Page 12: ...ock at the notch that you made in part a of this step 29 a Add the 1 4 sq balsa forward spars to the bottom of the wing b Sand the leading edge to the bottom contour of the wing as you did in Step 20 c Glue the 3 32 x3 balsa bottom leading edge sheeting in place in the same manner as the top leading edge sheeting Notice that the center section sheeting must be cut about an inch short at the inboar...

Page 13: ...loads from its nine foot wing it must also bear the brunt of the landing loads Many of the following steps are required to make the landing gear attachment as safe strong and scale as possible 35 a Sand the inboard and outboard ends of the center section halves bringing the spars leading edges and trailing edges flush with the end ribs Trial fit the center section halves together with the die cut ...

Page 14: ...en the front I g blocks and DB 3 from scrap 1 8 lite ply and glue in place b Add the 3 32 balsa center sheeting to the bottom of the center section c Glue scraps of 3 32 balsa to the sides of the W 1A sub ribs to finish off the bottom center sheeting 42 Strips of 1 8 x3 8 x10 1 2 lite ply are provided for stiffening the ribs at the wing joint This is necessary to keep the ribs from bowing inwards ...

Page 15: ...nel bringing all of the spars and sheeting flush with the end W 4 rib b Glue the die cut lite ply WTR wingtip rib to the end of the wing c The fiberglass wingtip can be glued to the wing using epoxy or CIA Be sure to clean and lightly sand the inside of the fiberglass where the glue will come in contact Notice that the wingtip overlaps only onto WTR when glued in place Also notice that WTR does no...

Page 16: ...shown on the plans but it s not quite as sturdy We recommend that you use the horn position shown here if you are building a wing with the short four bay ailerons since it will benefit more from the increased differential than will the longer aileron versions Many of the new radio systems give the modeler the ability to adjust the aileron differential electronically making the original horn positi...

Page 17: ...s on their hinges without glue to insure that a good match between the elevator and stabilizer was obtained during the sanding process Notice that the tips of the stabilizer leading edge must be trimmed slightly to blend in with the curve of the elevator tips 53 Prepare the stabilizer fin trailing edge by gluing a piece of 1 8 x3 8 x36 spruce to a piece of 3 8 x3 4 x36 balsa Be sure to keep these ...

Page 18: ...udder are assembled over the plan in the same manner as the stab and elevators 60 a Pin the laminated balsa spruce fin trailing edge in place Notice that the trailing edge extends to the bottom of the fuselage b Pin the 3 8 x3 4 balsa fin leading edge in place Notice that the leading edge extends down below the stabilizer c Glue the four 3 8 sq balsa ribs in place d Add the 3 16 x3 8 balsa diagona...

Page 19: ...nding block to fit the parts exactly to the structure Before beginning work on the fuselage you should decide what engine you plan to install Since there are so many engines available that can be used on the Spacewalker it was impossible to design the kit with a standard nose section See About the Firewall F 1 Location on Plate 4 for more information If you must build the model before deciding on ...

Page 20: ...you did with the front fuselage main frame c Glue the 1 4 sq balsa crossbraces between the frames Seven on top seven on the bottom 70 a Tape together the two fuselage top views using a long straightedge to make certain the centerline is perfectly straight from the front to the back b Sand the front end of the aft fuselage section with a large sanding block so that it fits flat against the front fu...

Page 21: ...ght from front to rear Trial fit several stringers and trim F IA as necessary to make them straight When satisfied with the fit glue F IA to the back of the firewall 76 Glue five 1 4 sq balsa stringers in place between formers F IA and F 3 Trim the stringers flush with the back edge of F 3 77 Protect the balsa stringers and the edge of F 2 with masking tape then use a long sanding block to bevel t...

Page 22: ...of the center stringer should be rounded at the rear as shown on the plans The two outboard stringers are cut off flush with F 10 All of the stringers should be perfectly straight from front to rear Strengthen each stringer to former joint with a small fillet of glue 83 Add the die cut balsa apron pieces between the stringers The apron pieces will need to be trimmed on each side for a perfect fit ...

Page 23: ...d PW wing hold down straps to the inside of the fuselage The top end of PW butts against the bottom of the 1 4 sq balsa crossbrace b Brace the back side of PW to PS 1 with 3 4 triangle stock When dry carve the triangle stock to match the wing saddle 89 a Use the Cross Section at F 2 Plate 1 to locate and mark the position of the wing hold down dowel on PW b Drill PW at the mark with a 1 8 pilot dr...

Page 24: ...e main frames Cut and shape the side stringers from 1 8 x3 8 x36 spruce then glue them in place on the fuselage b Use a sanding block with one end covered with heavy paper to sand the fill strips to the shape shown in the fuselage cross sections Plates 1 and 2 The paper protects the spruce stringers from being taken down while sanding the fill strips Use the same technique to sand the fill strips ...

Page 25: ...vent tubes to the bottom opening in the cowl To fuel the aircraft simply pump fuel into either of the vent lines until it runs out the other Plug one of the vents with a short bolt to keep the fuel from siphoning out It s not necessary to remove the feed line from the carburetor to refuel To defuel turn the fuselage upside down and pump any remaining fuel out through one of the vent lines If your ...

Page 26: ... screws and the square nuts provided b Epoxy the nuts firmly in place being careful not to get any glue on the machine screws When dry remove the leafspring c Trim away the balsa fill strips on the bottom longeron in the area where the tailwheel mount fastens to the fuselage The spruce longerons will have to be relieved slightly to allow room for the square nuts Drill a relief area into the longer...

Page 27: ...a is provided for fairing in the sides of the landing gear Cut out pieces to fit between the 3 16 wires noting the grain direction shown on the plans Epoxy the fairings in place and allow to dry b Heavy weight fiberglass cloth is provided for reinforcing the landing gear and the fairings Cover one side at a time using slow drying epoxy to apply Lap the cloth past the edges of the wood completely a...

Page 28: ... Thread a 2 x1 2 sheet metal screw into each mounting hole Remove the spinner cowling and engine then place a drop of thin CIA into each hole to toughen the threads 111 Trim out the left and right plastic dummy engine cylinders using a knife or scissors Use a sanding block to smooth the edges leaving a 1 16 gluing flange around the cylinders and exhaust pipes The cylinders can be glued to the cowl...

Page 29: ...nt the compass flat black before gluing it to the painted fuselage RADIO INSTALLATION It is generally easiest to mount all of your radio equipment and pushrods in the model before covering and painting Once the initial installation has been made and all the bugs worked but you can remove the radio system and then reinstall it when the airplane is finished Mounting Servos in the Fuselage The fore a...

Page 30: ... clevises used in your model Receiver and Battery Wrap the receiver and battery pack separately in foam rubber such as SIGRF240 held on with rubber bands or tape to protect them from engine vibration The best location in the fuselage for the receiver and battery can t be determined until your model is completely finished Shifting these components fore or aft can help get the model balanced properl...

Page 31: ...shed bias edge Lay the Koverall on the wing pulling out any major wrinkles Koverall shrinks up considerably under heat there s no need to worry about such things as packaging fold creases because they will come out easily with the iron Brush clear dope around all the edges This will soak through the fabric and adhere it to the dope already dried into the framework Allow the dope to dry before trim...

Page 32: ...ge Paint Scheme Plate 3 The patterns can be cut or traced from the plans and positioned directly on the airplane Draw around the pattern lightly with a soft lead pencil remove the pattern and mask off the surface using the lines as your guide We use low tack drafting tape to mask off paint schemes on our models Seal the edge of the tape with a coat of clear dope before applying the trim color If y...

Page 33: ... possible when the decals are applied dry Interior Detailing Some modelers enjoy spending many hours providing their models with intricate detailing while others spend no time at all The cockpit area of your Spacewalker can be given as much scale detailing as you wish however no materials except for the plywood instrument panel are provided in the kit The following recommendations will add immense...

Page 34: ...port pilot After the model has been trimmed and you are more familiar with its flying qualities you may want to experiment with slight changes in control surface travel and balance point until the model flies and reacts just the way you like it Advanced pilots who are striving for maximum realism and smoothness should coordinate their turns by adding a small amount of rudder at the same time and i...

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Page 39: ...Sig Mfg Co s only obligation shall be to replace such quantity of the product proven to be defective User shall determine the suitability of the product for his or her intended use and shall assume all risk and liability in connection therewith ...

Page 40: ... Copyright SIG Mfg Co Inc SIG MFG CO INC Montezuma Iowa 50171 0520 ...