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Phil Dutton creates a beauty |
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Written by Phil Dutton
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Musger 19b SteinadlerPhil Dutton
Surfing the internet for scale sailplane plans I came across Vincent Besançon’s site Retroplane.net.fr. Amongst the numerous interesting planes was the Musger 19b Steinadler. An Austrian sailplane of the early 1950’s. Attracted to the model’s attractive lines, with a low set elliptical wing,
(photo from retroplane.net.fr)
I soon bought a set of plans.
At 1/6 scale, its 2.9 metre span would be easy to transport in the Commodore and not too awkward to build in my 4 metre x 2 metre workshop.Of course I intend to paint it in the same apple green paint scheme, something a bit different whilst still showing off the structure beneath the translucent parts of the wings and tail. It’s always nice to see scale sailplanes of this era as they pass overhead with the light filtering through the covering.Vincent sent me the CAD files for the formers and ribs. With this complex shape it would be easier to get the parts laser cut. Paul Rose of Sparc Laser (www.sparclaser.com.au) was only too helpful with advice on how to best edit the files to suit his process. An offset being required for the width of the laser cut (different for ply and balsa) and the addition of small tabs to retain the pieces in the blank after the laser has done its work. Being in the CAD line of work, I modified the files to suit and sent them off to Paul. Soon, I had a kit of perfectly cut balsa and ply parts to work with.
Early stage of the fuselage construction.
The fuselage has been thoughtfully designed, with each former including a jigging portion. All that was required was to position them squarely in line at their correct stations and the beginnings of an accurate, straight fuselage was underway. The entire fuselage is sheeted with balsa and will eventually get a protective skin of light fibreglass cloth and epoxy. The same finish that I’ve used on the Habicht with good results. The plane will eventually be painted using automotive acrylic lacquer.
Sheeted Fuselage.
A pair of canopy plugs were carved from balsa and canopies pulled from clear plastic. The tailplane and rudder are a fairly conventional open structure, built, ‘in the hand’ rather than flat on the building board. The laser cut ribs ensuring a straight structure. They are covered in Sig Koverall and doped.
Covered Tailplane
That’s as far as I’ve got so far. The next job is to build those elegant wings.
TO BE CONTINUED ............
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 March 2010 )
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