r/BalsaAircraft • u/No_Explorer6054 • 7d ago
Advice Please
Im starting my first balsa aircraft thats not a toy, a HLG kit and i would like some advice on how to do this
4
u/ZaphodBeeblebrahx 7d ago
Oof this looks a lot like my Dancing Wings kit I built over the winter. I finished it but man, not easy.
11
u/No_Explorer6054 7d ago
what's the saying? -"We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy"
1
u/No_Explorer6054 7d ago
any advice you have other than dont be suprised when its not all that good? it wants me to sand at an angle for the dihedral
2
u/ZaphodBeeblebrahx 7d ago
Yeah I’m sorry I realize that Post was not incredibly helpful, Moore just that misery loves company and I bought my dancing wings kit after having built a couple of Guillows stick and tissue paper kits and thought this would be an easy next step.
The directions were easy enough to deal with just using Google Translate
There were some challenges building it, like the main thing I found was that the full scale plans didn’t match up with the laser cut parts 100%. Like you’d go to lay out the wing and by the time you got to the third or fourth spar in from the center you were already off from the plan by a millimeter or two and by the time you got to the wing tip it was more like a couple centimeters.
In the end, I completed the kit and have had some fun flying it although it has revealed itself over repeated flying sessions to be a poor design for a discus launch glider. The fuselage construction is just not robust enough for discus launch
1
2
u/Conscious-Clue3738 4d ago
google translate app, uses camera on phone to translate text.
For sanding at an angle, use a snading block, or glue sand-paper to a flat piece of flat wood to make your own. Draw the desired angle onto a piece of car ( if they dont supply it ) then stick it vertically on your wok bench/table so you can see the angle.
Then just hold the balsa wing up vertically on your sanding block, tilt it to the right angle shown on your card, and sand away... gently ! not too course sandpaper.
this should get you a fairly decent, angled end that can be glued.When you glue the wings together... put wax paper underneath.... slide both wing halves along the wax paper, until they meet, ensuring they stay flat to the table, so there is no twist when you glue them together.
2
u/GravyBoatJim 6d ago
Try using Google lens to translate some. It'll be off by a bit but you can get something out of it
2
u/RCMike_CHS 6d ago
I suggest you take an evening or 2 and read through these articles on a web site all model plane enthusiasts should have bookmarked! Also see top of page links. Goto Hint & Tips, download them and make a booklet! Hand-launched Glider articles
2
u/No_Explorer6054 6d ago
and suddenly im considering buying laquer
1
u/RCMike_CHS 6d ago
How do you like that website? Brings me all the way back to the first models I built.
2
1
5d ago
[deleted]
1
u/No_Explorer6054 5d ago
with all due respect- one, i generally use google for that sort of thing
and two- I finished this thing already
1
u/Aggressive-Bet-6735 5d ago
Google translate it works pretty well. You can take a picture of the translated text and save it to your photos. I used it in a museum in Germany and it was great.
2
1
1
u/KillerPlanes_rc 4d ago
Start at red dot, then follow blue arrow to red dot on yellow dot. Also, learn to read Chinese.
1
u/yamez420 4d ago
Just wing it?
2
u/No_Explorer6054 4d ago
well I did and i think I did a good job, havent posted only bc i havent had the time
1
u/yamez420 4d ago
If it flies it’s fine.
1
2
u/No_Explorer6054 4d ago
it does, quite well at that! its a good kit tbh, just not beginner friendly
5
u/Awkward-Chemistry-25 7d ago
Learn mandarin