2014 Building the Centurion
 1 27 January 2014 LASER ALIGNMENT I build the fuselage in my recently made fuselage jig to ensure that the fuselage is perfectly symmetrical. Then I put a 2-56 screw in the tailwheel mount and adjust the screw until the top of the fuselage is level. |
 2 27 January 2014 LASER ALIGNMENT With the top level, I can install the wing and make sure it is at o° |
 3 27 January 2014 LASER ALIGNMENT To make sure the wing is horizontal, I first use a spirit level across the motor mounts to set the fuselage horizontal. I then sand the wing cutouts in the fuselage until the laser tells me that the wing is level. It only takes a hundred or two tries to get it right. |
 4 27 January 2014 LASER ALIGNMENT I glue the wing in place with epoxy and microballoons and let it set overnight. I then instal the horizontal stab in a similar manner. |
 5 27 January 2014 LASER ALIGNMENT I check that the horizontal stab has about ½° positive incidence. I also use a Robart Gauge to ensure that the wing is set at 0° |
 6 17 March 2014 DESIGNING THE GRAPHICS I take a picture of the inboard wing and import it into Corel Draw |
 7 17 March 2014 DESIGNING THE GRAPHICS I then draw around the photo of the wing after which I delete the photo. The lettering is imported from the internet and is the SchwabachDeko font with some perspective added to give it a right italics slope. The lettering on the opposite wing has a left italics slope. |
 8 17 March 2014 DESIGNING THE GRAPHICS Same with the Centurion Graphic - import the image into Corel, draw around it and then delete it. This image goes to the cutter. |
 9 27 January 2014 HARDWARE Heavy duty ball joints are epoxied into the front push rod. Aluminium sleeves fit over each end of each pushrod and are pinned in place with 1/16" copper tube. The clevises on the rear pushrod are originally quik-links but I drill them out and rivet 3/32" stepped pins in their place (then solder as well) |
 10 17 April 2014 FINISHING I seal the balsa with epoxy and then fill the grain with a mixture of two part Estapol and talc (finishing resin also works well for this step). I sand the entire airframe, then I spray a pressure pack undercoat and wet- sand most of that off. |
 11 17 March 2014 CONSTRUCTION The vertical stab is the same as on the Trivial Pursuit plan except that I add a curved portion at the top. I'm really not too keen about its looks. Too late now. |
 12 20 April 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING Masking the outboard wing is complete |
 13 20 April 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING This is probably the most intricate mask I've ever made |
 14 20 April 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING Graphics installed. Now I have to mask off all of the areas that are not to be painted red |
 15 20 April 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING I'm starting to mask off the plane ready for its first colour - Mazda Velocity Red metallic. |
 16 26 April 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING I've sprayed the Velocity Red and masked that off. The areas now exposed will be painted Mazda Champagne Silver (same colours as my Mazda Tribute) |
 17 26 April 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING I used Frisket Film to mask off the fin graphics but it's way too difficult to use. Next time I'll use liquid masking film and paint it on. Gluing the flaps and elevators on at this stage was a mistake. |
 18 8 May 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING I have a miserable time getting the paint to stick. This is the second attempt and the paint fractures at the edges again. I even manage to rip some paint away from the balsa. Not happy right now. |
 19 8 May 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING So I sand it back again and have a third go |
 20 8 May 2014 MASKING AND PAINTING This time it is successful. |
 21 16 May 2014 THE CLEAR COAT I used 2K paint for the third attempt at getting the lettering right and I was lucky to get a perfect colour match with the original. |
 22 16 May 2014 THE CLEAR COAT After a thorough cleaning with turps to remove the glue left behind by the fine-line tape, the masks and the masking tape, I get some good weather and spray on the two part clear. |
 23 16 May 2014 THE CLEAR COAT The clear goes on reasonably well but not like the previous two planes (or the two Mazda Tribute bumpers that I repainted) |
 24 16 May 2014 THE CLEAR COAT The clear was a few years old so I think that may have been the reason the finish was sub-par. I can buy the clear only in a 1 litre can at a cost of over $100. |
 25 16 May 2014 THE CLEAR COAT The rear end worked out OK |
 26 19 May 2014 SAND AND POLISH The finish is not as good as I want so I wet-sand the high visibility points with 1500. |
 27 19 May 2014 SAND AND POLISH Then it's out with the T-Cut and a couple of hours of serious polishing |
 28 19 May 2014 SAND AND POLISH It's worth the effort though because it looks really schmick |
 29 19 May 2014 SAND AND POLISH Jenni hand painted the "exhaust" port because I shake too much to do it myself. The landing gear is super light C/F imported from Hobby King in Hong Kong. It's so light that it needs the C/F rod to stop it from flexing too much. I like it and will use it on future models. Later; No no no, it flexes too much. Sometimes on takeoff the wheels twist out of alignment and then snap back in a continuous cycle. Horrible. |
 30 19 May 2014 SAND AND POLISH Next time perfect (I say that after every model but I haven't achieved it yet). |
 31 23 May 2014 FIRST FLIGHTS Then it's off to KMFC for test flights. The first few half-flights were spent getting the handle right and the engine running at a sensible speed. |
 32 23 May 2014 FIRST FLIGHTS Flying weight is 63¾ oz with tip weight. Balance is good. Lap speed om 69' lines is 5.5 seconds. |
 33 23 May 2014 FIRST FLIGHTS Power is from a PA75, pipe length 19½", Mejzlik 13¼ X 4¼ propeller. RPM: 9,300 - quite low for a tuned pipe. Later: There is a trick to setting up a PA75 of which I was unaware. So, I sold the PA75 to Gordan Delayney and bought a RO-Jett 67. It went great just like all RO-Jett 67's do. Because it was running so well, I replaced the 67 with an old PA51, 11.25" prop and large Eather pipe. This also runs great but different. |
 34 23 May 2014 FIRST FLIGHTS Foam wing with built-up vertical and horizontal stabilisers. The wing is one I had built about 15 years ago and never used; the balsa in it was excellent and I haven't seen any like it for years. |
 35 23 May 2014 FIRST FLIGHTS I'm running 15% nitro and can afford to take some fuel out of the tank to get a 6½ minute run |
 36 29 August 2020 The end In the six years that this plane existed, it had had quite a few different engine/propeller combinations but the one I liked best was the RO-Jett 61 with pipe. |
 37 29 August 2020 The end It deserved a better end than this. A line broke, an entirely preventable incident, my second own-goal of the year. It was beyond repair. Return to the home page |
