Building a Nieuport 11...

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Frank,
I'm not really sure why you didn't reinforce the other side of that Aluminum Step hole/ Fabric guide...

Seems like it could rip like it did before...?

If your lapping that Gusset...

Maybe a quick rivet would secure the aluminum "U"... ?

That hole will be used a lot... Twice each flight at Minimum....

It's hard to see... But maybe the "U" is already shielded by the Gusset...?
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Gotta Fly...
JAM
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[Frank Giger]

Well, to be honest the reason I didn't reinforce the other side of the step U is I wasn't sure if my first solution would work. I just cut a piece of thick tubing of the same diameter as the longeron as wide as the step guide, cut it length wise, and then using a screw driver and other wedges that seemed to work widened it until I could get some purchase on it. Then I beat on one end of the tube until it was flat with a hammer. I have no idea how it turned out to be just what I wanted - a J shaped piece of tubing that fit over the longeron. It actually goes around half of the longeron, poking up through the fabric underneath.

All the bad force is upwards, and I really don't want to put a hole in the longeron if I can avoid it. I reckon it won't elongate and it sure won't slide. Missing the hole on the way out results in a mark on the fabric - the thin aluminum won't catch on a shoe or boot.

The position of the hole is such that if a toe drags or pokes hard into the hole it's on the rear.

I may well reinforce the front of the U, though. I've got the scrap for it, and now I know how to make the piece. The only time I throw away scrap is when it has stuck into my skin. I have used some of the tiniest pieces for things - heck, I've used the thin trimmed pieces about an eighth of an inch wide as a grabber for washers that have fallen down.

A couple other notes - painting the plane with latex has been a blessing. Since the fuselage is exposed to the elements (my Wonder Tarp Tent blocks the sun, which is the big deal, and most of the rain), dust and junk collect on the plane. Cleaning it is as simple as a little soap and water.

Running the brake lines through the gear was far more of a chore than it should have been, but I've been missing drama in my life of building so it was kind of refreshing. It seems entirely too simple - drill two holes and run a cable through them.

Heck, Rule 11 of building, "Cut nothing until you have to" made things easier, as I've got a huge amount of brake cable to feed through the holes before I get to the sheathing.

Time for the Tool Hunt. What's required? A little allen wrench to loosen the brake line from the brake itself. A 3/16 inch drill bit. No problem! Open up the bit holder - one missing. Son of a...start looking around the work table. Found it! Oh, it's in terrible shape. That's why I didn't put back in the drill holder. I needed to replace it. Hmmm, forget it, I can go one bigger if I can't find the replacement bit I know I bought. Maybe it's in the storage shed.

Open up the socket set briefcase to get the allen wrench to loosen the cable from the brake. Pull out wrenches - one missing. For the love of Pete, are there evil gnomes messing with me at night? Crap in a hat, it's a conspiracy! Grumble a bit about how it's a pretty important tool and impossible to replace without buying a whole 'nother wrench set. Easy to lose, too. Something I should have placed where I could....oh, I did. I've got a plastic bin from a fishing tackle box that I keep all the nuts and bolts required to put the plane together kinda sorted to purpose. I put the allen wrench in with them because it's small and easy to lose.

What a clever fellow I am! Good thinking!

Hmmm, drill bit. Drill bit. 3/16 bits are something I've used a lot, and I know I bought several. Last time I used one is right before I got the replacement drill (needed a new battery and it was cheaper to buy the identical drill with one than a replacement by itself)....check the old drill. Sure as heck, pull out the old one and there it is, and in good shape! Slap a battery on it and I'm all ready with the bit in place!

Drill the holes.

Getting the wire into the top hole is no problem. How to get it out of the bottom one? Try grabbing it through the hole with a looped twisty tie. Nope, too big with the cable in it to come through the hole. Try grabbing it with a bit of safety wire looped. Impossible. The cable doesn't want to bend for me. Run the brake cable through the hole all the way to keep it in one place and out of the mud. Drink some coffee and wipe sweat (it's approaching 95 degrees in the tent). Notice the end of the brake cable is at the bottom of the gear leg. Ah. Run safety wire from the bottom hole through the end of the gear, wrap it around the end of the brake cable, and use it as a guide to pull the cable through. That wasn't such a chore was it?

The other leg, however, isn't cooperating. The cable doesn't want to pop out of the end of the gear, no matter how much I twist it about. Try the loop catch thing, which works about as well as the last time, which is to say not as all. Maybe I can go the other way? Run some safety wire up the leg from the bottom hole to the top. Aha! This I can loop and catch pretty easily with another bit of safety wire. Wrap and pull it through.

Time spent? Two friggin hours. Two hours to pull a cable through two holes, twice.

[Frank Giger]

Hmmm, I'm of the mind to get the engine mounted before taking her out to the airport.

I've seen a lot of pictures of folks dangling engines on firewalls to mount them, but I think I'm going a different way.

My engine weighs around 150 pounds with accessories, and my mount about five. So it's occurred to me to mark the mount to center/line of thrust, take it off the airplane, fit it to the engine, mark the spots for drilling, drill it, and then put the mount back on the plane.

Then I can simply raise the engine to the mount, put the bolts in, and tighten.

Anybody see a problem with this technique?

[Todd copeland]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I know with the lycoming dyno focal the challenge is getting the engine on the mount itself. I needed to have the mount on my plane so I could leverage against it to get it on the mounts. If your engine goes on the mount easily I think you have a good plan.

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Frank,
One thing to keep in mind...

When I was fitting up my Engine mount... I asked the question...

With "Tolerance".... plus or minus.... WHICH WAY should I favor...

The reply I got was plus "Right"..... Zero - Left....

So aside from getting it PERFECTLY straight.... If it's "off" a little.... Favor "Right"
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Or Does YOUR engine turn the opposite ???? If so... Go the other way...
Ask someone you know with the same engine...?
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Gotta Fly...
JAM
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[Frank Giger]

Yes, it turns "the other way."

From other builders of type, trying to bring the thrust line to the left results in a lot of work with little effect; but a little down angle is desired (about five degrees). Those with straight on mounts say it's not enough to make much of a difference, as in the end the plane is ground trimmed for cruise at the vertical stab.

One of the things that drew me to this particular plane is that it's sedate; apart from a few quirks owing to the free flying rudder they're analogous to a Champ - everyone who pilots these says Champ time is the best way to be prepared for them. I wouldn't say I'm a great pilot, but I can work the stick of a Champ pretty well in the air and all of my takeoffs and landings have been on pavement with a model that doesn't have the "no bounce" gear (so why don't they call it the "bounce gear?").

I was asked once why I've spent most of my time doing touch-and-goes, and my response was that's where the trouble lays in flying a tail wheel. That and it's my favorite thing to do in an aircraft, apart from flying down the river at 500 feet AGL.

The mount itself is a sort of double bar H placed on its side. The long ends run flush across the firewall and connect to bolts coming out of the longerons, and the vertical bars between them spaced to fit the back of a VW engine. One simply drills holes and runs bolts through them (or fits a nut at the longeron bolts). It's simplicity that's oddly beautiful by my way of thinking.

The starter will poke back from the engine, and rather than extend it outwards (which will have CG implications) I'll cut the firewall and make a box for it on the inside.

Changing subjects, I made a mess of the 7/8ths scale Lewis gun kit. It's formed PVC, and I mucked up cutting it out of the forms and mating the sides together. Naturally I fixed it to the point of being ugly, and no repair will make it anything other than ugly. So I bought some wood and will use it as a pattern for a replacement.

[planecrazzzy]

Cool....GUNS....
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Yeah the Idea was just putting any tolerance on the proper side...

Not trying to compensate for anything...

Mine compensates "P" factor torque by off-setting my Vertical Stabilizer by 1/2"
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You say compensating "Down"..... Was that in the Design or because of the Engine your using...

I think Free Flight models do that with their engines...
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Gotta Fly...
JAM
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[Frank Giger]

Inherent in the design, as the lower wing has an angle of incidence that tends to pitch the nose up. But the guys back in 1914 didn't have CAD-CAM and computer modelling.

[Frank Giger]

Cool....GUNS....

What else does one put on the upper wing of an aircraft? Blinking lights?

[Frank Giger]

I'll put up pics later, but the gun is done except for the handle and painting.

I received a message from Mirka, a guest to our forums from Poland - and his English is much better than my Polish - that was encouraging. It's nice to know that folks can see a plane can be built in the most primitive of conditions and figure they can do it themselves.