The Black Arrow

[Jmk89]

Try from another computer
You cannot view this attachment.

[Jmk89]

The prop blades were carved from Paulownia which were slotted into a celery top pine hub.  The freewheel is a Garami clutch.

There was no CG shown on the plan nor was it mentioned in the AM article.  So I will start it off at about 1/3 of wing chord, even though there is a lifting tail.

[dputt7]

Very smart Jeremy, could we have a few more photos please.

[Jmk89]

Here are a couple of the prop

[Jmk89]

I have built a new TP .

Exactly as per the plan but with a top spar at about 30% chord. Hopefully this will resist the tendency for the TP to generate curved dihedral as the covering (Mylar covered tissue) shrinks, which I think resulted from the unbalanced structure with only a lower surface spar.

Also, last time I covered the TP almost as soon as it came off the building board and I think the joints were still a bit too flexible when the stresses of covering were applied. So this time I'm waiting a day or two for the glue (Ickysticky aliphatic) to harden a bit more. I want the structure to be quite stable before covering this time.

[Lastwoodsman]

Hi Jeremy.   More pics please.  And what is a "TP" ?   I thought you just figured out how to post pics properly ....       A picture is worth a thousand words .... Seriously now ....

Lastwoodsman
Richard

[Jmk89]

Sorry, Richard - TP is short for tailplane, the UK (and Australian) for horizontal stabilizer in North American.

 I didn't think that pictures (or even 50 words) were needed for the point of my post.  Sorry.

Here's a pair of photos that show:

1  the curved dihedral of the TP (or stab)
2  the new TP with the extra spar on the upper surface (bottom spar in the picture).

As someone who is much more verbal than visual in the way I think, and communicate, pictures often don't help me - they usually don't tell me what I'm supposed to be seeing and I often have to ask the person who shared the picture what it is supposed to be showing. In fact, I'm so strange that it is often better to show me a formula than a graph or a picture.  All a case of "we're all different, pet", as my late mother would say!

[dputt7]

  Hi Jeremy.  Have you used Icky Sticky Aliphatic much before
I got some to try and it seemed to be "rubbery" when dry, is that the problem you have or am I doing something wrong?
  Now could I order 1 a photo from the side
                                 2 a photo from the top
                                 3 a photo from the rear 3/4
                                   all of the complete model
                                   No Fries to go though Thank You!

[Jmk89]

The Ickysticky aliphatic seems okay to me but it does take a day or so of extra drying to get to a sandable state.

I will take and post some more photos once the TP is covered, the fins mounted and the whole plane is ready for having its picture taken 

[dputt7]

Thanks Jeremy.

[Lastwoodsman]

The Black Arrow

Tuesday June 23 2026

     Hi Jeremy.   "Sorry, Richard - TP is short for tailplane, the UK (and Australian) for horizontal stabilizer in North American."  -   North American what?

     The words Tail Plane are not too hard to spell out.   How come  'TP' only includes just the Stabilizer?   Does it not include the Fin and Rudder?   Spell out your acronyms first,  instead of assuming people know what they mean,  then use the acronym,  thereafter,  all you want.   It is a drag and a real waste of time,  to have to actually ask you to explain it in this Forum  -  I'm sure you know what  I mean  ....

    Well,  Jeremy,  you are only half way there with the pics -  you just found out how to do it now after all this time ??    Thanks for actually going to the time and effort to post a couple.    Try posting the max number of pics, which is four pics in one reply.   I'll be looking forward to that,  and watching with hopeful anticipation.   You have 9 pics in 23 posts,  and I see you already know how to post four pics in one reply.    You don't have to wait for the whole plane to be completed to take pics of it  -  some people feel pressured to not post a bones pic (same vein).

     And please try posting some pics of your build which show the features of your build,  not just a final pic and a bones shot.     You can post a haphazard pic  (ie - not a scan),  of the plan,  without violating any copyrights,   I think ....  so that we can follow along ....

Lastwoodsman
Richard

PS:    What the heck does this mean?        (sorry -  looooong overdue question ....)   Quote from Jeremy -    "Better drowned than duffers,  if not duffers won't drown "       I think we are all probably waiting for an explanation on this one ....       LOL LOL

     Ok let's have some fun with this -  let me guess....    You were a  'Hacker'  duffer golfer,  who almost drowned in the lake,  while hawking golf balls,  and you were then too embarrassed to play the game again ...          Just a wild guess ....     

[Pete Fardell]

PS:    What the heck does this mean?      (sorry -  looooong overdue question ....)  Quote from Jeremy -    "Better drowned than duffers,  if not duffers won't drown "      I think we are all probably waiting for an explanation on this one ....      LOL LOL

    Ok let's have some fun with this -  let me guess....    You were a  'Hacker'  duffer golfer,  who almost drowned in the lake,  while hawking golf balls,  and you were then too embarrassed to play the game again ...          Just a wild guess ....   

Richard, it's a quote from 'Swallows and Amazons'. If I remember rightly, it's the telegram response the children get from their father meaning they are allowed to go sailing on their own, on the grounds that if they're not good enough to handle the boat then they're better off drowned anyway.

[Jmk89]

Absolutely correct, Pete

[Jmk89]

Further progress on the new tailplane:
  Photo 1 -  You cannot view this attachment.
New tailplane covered in Mylar and tissue with the two original fins.  The fins were removed from the original tailplane by putting the whole structure in a Ziploc bag with a teaspoon of thinners and leaving overnight. The covering has got a bit looser but the fins came away quite easily after the thinners dissolved the adhesive. It was lucky that I used balsa cement to stick the fins to the original tailplane!  The points of the drawing pins showing in the middle of the left hand fin are to help locate the tailplane to the fin.

Photo 2- You cannot view this attachment.
One fin being glued to the tailplane. The drawing pins which are underneath the fin are holding the fin and tailplane perpendicular, helped by the right angle blocks (the fin is held up on a couple of spacers of balsa to allow for the heads of the drawing pins).

Photo 3 - You cannot view this attachment.
Beginning of construction of the end tail casing.

Photo 4 - You cannot view this attachment.
The original tail case casing which I am remaking for the new tail plane. It plugs into the fuselage just rear of the rubber peg and is held on by rubber bands. It would be pretty easy to turn that into a dethermaliser joint (like the one that Dave Hipperson talked about in his recent Aeromodeller articles on the Senator).

[Jmk89]

The first part of the tailplane casing has been glued to the bottom of the new tailplane on top (bottom?) of one of the centre ribs (which mirror the taper of the fuselage. 
You cannot view this attachment.
Once that joint has dried, the second part (identical to the first) will be glued to the other sloped centre rib.  Balsa cement (UHU Hart) is used because of the use of dope and banana oil on the tailplane covering and also because it has good grab and dries quickly.

The next steps are:
1.     glue the plug piece between the two vertical spacers
2.     shape two upper side pieces from 2.5mm balsa
3.     glue the upper side pieces onto the top of the sloped centre ribs of the tailplane
4.     sand the plug piece so it fits into the hole in the front of the fuselage.

Stay tuned for more Black Arrow excitement!