CLARK COUNTY RADIO CONTROL SOCIETY MEMBER PROJECT PAGE
DAVE AGAR'S SCRATCH-BUILD                 DYNAFLIGHT SUPER DECATHLON                                       Page 2
Webmaster Note:  Click on any image below for a larger view!
I started with the horizontal stabilizer and elevators.
The stab is built by cutting up a lot of 3/16 inch pieces of wood and stick stock. Nothing too high tech there! The trailing edge of the elevators is built by laminating 1/16 inch by 3/16 inch strips together 5 times.
It is very time consuming and you will need alot of ammonia and water to get the strips around the compound curves. In the picture you can see the T-pins that are used to shape the curve.
The Decathlon now has a vertical stab and rudder!  This was built using balsa sticks and blocks.
I went with my wife to Joann's one day and found a great tool for cutting balsa strips at the proper angles. It is a mini miter box made by Midwest and it comes with pins to lock the wood in the miter against the cutting edge and the saw.
I have also built the fuselage which is standard construction using locking tabs. It is quite large in size.
It has the servo mounting plate about midway between the cabin and the tail. I am not to sure about that, but we shall see.
I got an engine for it and have built the needed shims for the fire wall to mount the motor mount. I will be using an O.S. 160 with a Pitts Style muffler. I will be installing the fuel tank soon and sheeting the front top deck.
I also got an interior kit for the plane. It comes with a dash board and a couple of seats, which I have built. They came out nicely, however the rest of the cockpit is going to need work, as the seats do not hide all the holes in the formers. I have some pictures of the real interior, so I will see what I can do. I am also going to have to go to the toy store to find a pilot figure as the seats are quite big and only a full figure pilot will work.
The upside to having knee surgery is you get some time off work, which has allowed me to get more done on the Decathlon. I have now mounted the engine, an OS 160, the fuel tank, the fuel lines, the throttle push rod and gotten the front deck sheeted. All pretty basic construction and installation, just a bit bigger.
I have built both parts of the wing.
It is a basic wing construction with the exception of the wing tube.  It took a little adjusting to make sure that I ended up with both wing half's joining together with the wing tube fully inserted and the center joint sealed.
After I got it all lined up, the wing was sheeted and had all the cap strips added.
Comments?  Click here to send Dave a message.                    Project Page: Home 2 3 4
	All Rights Reserved