While in San Diego on my recent California trip, I had the great pleasure to be introduced to Sal at his shop by Ren DiLeo of Premier Pilots. Like many of us, Sal works out of his garage shop where he has a long workbench on one wall, plenty of storage shelves and cabinets on others and still organizes the space to be able to safely hangar a large number of sailplane models.
Ren and Sal look through photos from Tehachapi and the newly built Rhon Bussard.
Sal is different from many modelers however in preferring to kit his own parts and build to plans from which he often deviates to suit his building style and goals. And beyond that, he even prefers to mill his own spars and sheeting from hand selected stock. A local lumber yard for years has carried a large selection of woods including logs of balsa and planks of high quality Douglas fir. This affords Sal the opportunity to not only select the density, but also the grain and thickness he desires for each build.
The photos below illustrate his skills clearly: beginning with the plan and kit of the Sterling 70" span D model 1-26 as a guide, Sal proceeded to hand cut and custom build a correctly proportioned and scale B model 1-26. As usual, Sal chose to use varnished medium-hard balsa for the wing skins for which he book-matched panels left and right, applying Solartex antique iron-on fabric covering finished with clear water based polyurethane.
With careful planning and patience, Sal was able to cover the entire fuselage with a single piece of covering material, leaving no visible seams except along the ventral centerline. As is the norm for Sal, he abandoned the Sterling plans solid-balsa tails and opted for the scale spar-and-rib with curved trailing edge structure of the original Schweizer 1-26B allowing the sun to light up the surfaces in flight.
The nose cone is made from turned and sanded hardwood and is painted and then applied after the covering which allows a clean and scale transition line between the materials. By placing a T-nut behind and centered in the first bulkhead, the nose cone is drilled and countersunk in the location of the scale cockpit vent, and a single threaded screw is all that is needed to hold it in place.
Realistic cockpit detailing can be quite simple to construct using Sal's methods.
Sal is the master of detailed cockpits and his technique is instructional for any of us undertaking a bulkhead-and-frame scale project. Since most of our models dictate multiple longitudinal stringers and longerons in the cockpit area to meet the strength required when using balsa and spruce rather than welded steel, the first consideration is to cover this up. Although not necessary to do so, it offers cleaner surfaces and a more scale look.
With a little prior planning and preparation during construction, one can trim to fit thin balsa or thinner plywood sheeting which will insert into the floor and cockpit sides and cover the aft bulkhead in front of the seat. These can be pre-painted or as can be seen in the image below, covered with aluminum to simulate the desired color scheme or effect. Riveting details are easily accomplished by embossing metalized surfaces with thin brass tubing, and standard issue nylon hinges and simple shop-made latches finish the installation of the framed canopy.
The detailed cockpit of Sal's quarter scale 1-26B from the Moskal plan, demonstrates the effect of using both painted and polished surfaces and simple riveting details.
Seats in many vintage and classic sailplanes are made from cut sheets of lightweight plywood or pans of bent aluminum sheet in the case of monocoque aluminum aircraft like the Schweizer SGS 1-23, 1-26E or later 1-36. Its a good idea to have your pilot figure Like Ren's Premier Pilot with military jump suit shown above in hand when planning out these details. Position the pilot in place in your framed and uncovered model to visualize any trimming that may be necessary and to make sure that the full figure with reach under the instrument panel to the rudder pedals without interfering with the aft cockpit or carry-through bulkhead. This is particularly necessary to ensure all issues of servo placement are considered before proceeding with their installation.
Sal makes a box for the turtle deck and rollover bar which can be lifted out only after the canopy is opened and the pilot and seat are removed. In this way he can hide the servos, wires and connecting hardware while still proving plenty of access for servicing the electronics.
A recent article in the August 09 issue of Flying Models describes how easily scale details such as these and others may be designed and created by modelers. Using the computer with Corel Draw!, Illustrator or similar CAD programs, one can send files to be cut from ply or balsa by your local laser cutter or trophy shop. I will reprint it here in a separate blog entry.
Sal's Super Sinbad glider which he has flown at Torrey Pines Gliderport in San Diego.
Using the Berkeley Sinbad plans and increasing them to 150% and lengthening the fuselage by 8 inches, Sal was able to create a glider with great vintage looks and excellent flying habits. I focused on the canopy framing details in the photo above, just to demonstrate his skill as a metal worker.
Wow! Thanks again for the visit and great inspiration Sal!
Sal shows off his Mark's Models Wanderer: built years ago and still a favorite to fly at the cliff.
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