Printing and assembly of the fuselage components.
Printing the formers:
The Formers:
The Stringers:
Fuselage Assembly Starting Point:
As illustrated in the image below. Start assembly with formers F3, F4, and F5. You will need the top alignment stringer: ST2, and the bottom alignment stringer: ST3. You will also need the side alignment stringers: (2) of ST1A and ST1B. Each of these stringers print with the corresponding numbers on tabs. simply cut them off when you understand where they go. All of these components should interlock snugly and the formers should be square to each other. We recommend using masking tape in a circular fashion around the stringers as a temporary hold on the body while you continue to add additional components. Once all of the parts are jigged together and you are happy with their alignment, begin bonding them with a thin CA glue at the joints.
Tail Assembly Added
At this stage you will bond F2 which happens to be the support for the tailskid to F1 which serves as the rear most former and also a hinge grudgeon for the rudder. Additionally you will need to add ST4L and ST4R as shown.
Mid Section Added
At this stage you will need to add ST5 on both sides as well as the lower wing seat doublers as shown.
Side Walls Added
Now the side walls can be added to the frame. They will interlock with stringer st1B at the back and then jig into formers F5 and F7.
Doubler Closeup:
Both wing seats have doublers for strength. Note that there is a doubler in the image below that needs to be bonded to the inside top edge of the side wall panels. These will become the mid wing seat.
forward stringers to firewall.
Top stringer ST7 and bottom stringer ST6 along with the previously installed stringers ST5 on both sides all jig into the forward firewall. Important! do not bond the end tab of stringer ST7 to F7. This will eventually be removed after alignment. From there the two the lower left stringer ST8 and lower right stringer ST9 can also be installed.
Cockpit and Turtle Deck Added.
The image below now shows the cockpit decking as well as the forward turtle deck added. Note the object rendered in red at the rear of ST7. This is nothing more than a spacer to be used when assembling the stringers for alignment. Once everything else is bonded this needs to be cut away. Also note that at this point the servo tray may be installed as shown.
Additional rear corner stringers Added:
With the assembly of all of the major components that aid in alignment, you can now begin adding the additional corner stringers. Take care to ensure you are not introducing any twist in the fuselage while you are adding these. Once these are installed you can proceed to complete the addition of all of the minor stringers.
Forward Motor Mount:
Understandably this part should be printed very solid as it tends to take some real stress.
Set infill to 100% on this part. Note in the picture below that there are 2.5 mm heatset inserts installed in four positions around the mount. these are the mounting points for the dummy motor later. For now, this can be bolted to the airframe using (4) M3 x 25mm alloy steel socket head screws. Make sure to include m3 washers on each side as well as an M3 nylon lock nut on each bolt. You can now dry fit the center wing forward struts and check for alignment. Do not permanently install these until after covering. You will also need to print and install 4 cowl mounts, but this is covered in the cowling section of these instructions.
Covering:
Conclusion:
That is it for the fuselage assembly! Check the main blog here for the next steps. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions. We will attempt to clarify the construction blog including your input as much as possible.
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