Genesis II   CW's Blog

BLOG:    Clearing the Workshop, And So it Begins, Genesis gets wings, A Mould is Created! Genesis is Born, Genesis 2 is born,     Genesis - The other one,  

11 Jul 12 - Small things,  First Flight Genesis No2, Video

Roll Control, Pilot Ready,  A Paint Job, Airbrakes,   Ready to go,  Forecast good, Still Waiting, And still we wait,  Wind Beneath Her Wings (Jun 13)

Latest Entries:   One Year on....Jun 14 , Aug 14, Genesis on Aerotow...Jun 2015

Introduction

During the run up to Christmas, a very good friend and flying buddy, Neil Tricker joined me up here in the NW for a spot of pre Christmas modelling indulgence. The weather was not particularly kind to us, but we did manage a couple of hours flying at Beacon Fell in the low cloud / and mist. This was the first time I had flown from Beacon Fell and did not know, until the day, that a blow of over 15 mph, (it was gusting 25mph) that conditions get quite turbulent. But this actually increased the level of enjoyment with the Dreamflight Weasel’s we had prepared. Never laughed so much….. and no broken models either.

The following day saw us up on Parlick enjoying big sky antics with various models including a small scale high aspect scale (ish) glider – Speed Astir. Epoxy glass fuselage for which I produced the plug for the mould, and solid Balsa wings. The model has no moving tail controls or Ailerons, Instead, it utilised Pitcherons. That’s wing twist to you and I, which when moved in opposite directions provide roll control and moving them in the same direction provide Pitch control….. I now have fuselage to make one of these myself, what a nice model, A full report of the flying activity can be found on the www.RAFMAA.co.uk website under “news”. “In the bleak mid-winter”

However, it was during the Wednesday evening (Winter Solstice) that this blog begins as we discussed the events that we attended during 2011 and what we may attend throughout the New Year. One such event which we attend last year was the Leek and Moorland scale fly-in. Last year I built a 1/5th Scale Pilatus B4, a lovely 3 metre model that really didn’t take that long to build from the Simprop kit; an excellent first scale model. Neil has a number of different scale models, new and old. However, for the next scale event we decided that we needed something different to fly, a challenge! Something that was unusual.
 

Having perused the www.sailplanedirectory.com web site, we came across the SB13 flying wing…. Definitely a shape to drool over. However, as more of the festive liquid was consumed and realisation that the SB13 may be a little more complex than ideal for our 1st joint scale venture, we looked for other possible candidates and eventually stumbled across the Genesis Glider. Still a flying wing but with a small stabiliser on top of the fin. A little more conventional, but still not the run of the mill glass ship.

After some significant research over the Christmas break and a few emails, I received a few photos and a cad drawing of Genesis 2 sailplane from Jim Marske, the designer.

A little tweaking of the CAD drawings with the help from Andy Holden, got me visualising a ¼ scale project beating up the slopes like in the scene from the Thomas Crown affair……. At a full size span of 15 metres, ¼ scale makes for a large (3.75m) but manageable size for a model sailplane. I won’t need to squeeze the radio in to this one! Yes, one could consider its too big, indeed my partner took a sharp intake of breath when I demonstrated the size of the model compared to the Pilatus, even that’s big. But hey, it could be worse; I could have gone 1/3rd scale (5m). ;-) Having discussed such thing as Construction methods, wing sections etc at length with Neil we are both committed to producing two of these models. I am to produce the Fibre Glass Fuselage and Neil will produce the wing cores (Foam) and canopy. Then we will both finish off the wing construction and assembly on our own, all before the event in August.

This blog will be a periodic progress report on the development and construction with photos; a disciplined approach to taking photos and notes throughout the process of building  new model from scratch.
 

A few ideas have come to mind how I can make a plug (Plug - a 3 dimensional shape from which to make a fibreglass mould).

One such method would definitely be high tech; 3D printing, creating a shape from polymers using heat or light, or even putting a block of foam on a CNC machining and rout it to shape. But I do not have the facilities. I have previously made smaller plugs from solid MDF (Jart / Speed Astir / Dude), but not wanting to give myself a hernia lifting this one up, as the fuselage will be a little over a metre long and half metre High, I have chosen to put some sheet MDF around a centre core of foam and carve this to shape....... or that is the current thought. I need to clear the workshop, so I can give this a little more thought before I make a start.

watch this space for the Progress on the Genesis 2............................

Colin W

I have just got a few small projects to finish;

1. Re assembly of the Weasel – I decided to re cover the model as I had used the wrong acrylic resin on the tissue. Yes tissue, the resultant finish was good, but not impervious to cold damp conditions, and a coat of exterior varnish did not meet with my expectations. All done now, just need to pour the radio back in it. Give me a couple of hours and it’ll be done.

                     
2. Repair of the Speedo Thermo glider that unfortunately met with a mid air with a “Thing” flying wing during our Winter Solstice outing on Parlick. Just to fix the tailplane back on now. Another couple of hours.

3. Lastly, finish off a new model called the “Solange” – low wing aerobatic model. Built up fuselage, foam wings, It is now covered in epoxy glass. I just need to paint and put some gear in to it. Then its clean down the worktops and I will be ready to start the new project. A week or so for this one! In the mean time, My mind is working out how I can progress the Genesis fuselage.
 

Weasel now finished. Gear Installed, it has come out a little heavier that the original, but that was to be expected, given that I had to strip off the old tissue and reapply new covering  - just need to fly it again..

Speedo Thermo tailplane now painted - just need to glue back on to the fuselage.

Solange coming along, first coat of paint applied and about to rub down - not sure of the colour scheme though.

Decision made on the Solange colour scheme, and most of painting now done, just a final rub down  and lacquer required. A few evenings this week should have that sorted and then the weekend for the Radio installation.

Had a mishap with one of my shockie models at yesterdays Warton indoor evening. I could repair it, but it will take less time to make a new one. I hope to take some photos of the assembly this time so I can pull together an article on how to make the indoor models with the help of Andy Holden. I can do this at the same time as the Solange so, it should also be done by the end of the weekend.

Hopefully, I can get the planning for the Genesis Fuselage sorted and make a start on the Plug next week. Lots to think about, current thoughts are on how to operate the tail stabiliser and yet keep it slop free. - now back to the workshop......

Solange now finished Gear installed (but not yet flown) and workshop tidied.

The replacement indoor Shockie model not complete yet but it wont take long.

I have been tweaking a few of the fuselage former drawing on the CAD programme in readiness for making the Genesis fuselage plug.

Given the current bad weather, sleet, snow and fog, it just isn't the weather to go flying, which has allowed my to concentrate on progressing the Genesis. The assembly of the fuselage Plug is now well under way. A new bandsaw blade made easy work of the MDF cutting a total of 10 profiles, now laminated together with resin. The boring bit is I've now got to wait until this is set before I can start to carve and sand my creation. Currently the MDF fuselage structure is under an electric Blanket keeping warm to help the epoxy resin set. However, Indoor flying tomorrow, so I will not be tempted to take the clamps off early and make a mess of it all.

I was talking to my old friend Neil - partner in crime for this project, and he is currently drawing up the wing plan in readiness for cutting the foam cores next week...... No pressure then! I have included as promised, a photos of the progress.

The fuselage is almost there. Some final sanding and a little filler required.

Next I need to manufacture the fin and fit the wing seats and blend these into the fuselage.
I’ve already made a start on the fin. One side almost done – planed and sanded to the formers fastened to each end, the fin so far has only taken me about 1.5 hours, got the other side to do tomorrow.

Also need to remove the canopy part of the plug and prepare this to go to Neil so he can form the acetate canopy. To do this I need to extend the surface area of the canopy plug about 20mm all way round the canopy seat, then prepare the surface finish as fine a finish as possible but with no resin, paint or sealer so he can then work his magic.
I used sanding sealer on a previous project and got into trouble as the vac forming machine melted the sealer – a bit of a mess by all accounts – kept sticking to the ABS plastic fuselage he was moulding for me at the time – lesson learnt!

News from Neil is that he was unable to get the wing cores cut last week – I think work got in the way, but is planning to get them sorted by the end of this week. I will hopefully get some photo of the wing cores when they are done.

Time to clean up the mess once more.

15/Feb/12   Update on the Wings: Neil has cut 1 full set and some of the panels for the second set before he ran out of foam. Photos to follow soon.
 

I've had the day off from creating dust today, however, on a day out with my good lady, we found ourselves walking past yet another charity shop where I'm always on the lookout for a good pilot. Julie looked up and saw the next member of the club with a big grin on his face looking down from the upstairs window of the Help the Aged Charity shop in Buxton, Derbyshire , was a smiling Postman Pat. A little humour and tradition of the ninety nine acre wood gliding club (NNAWGC)...(I know Pooh's gang is from the hundred acre wood, but we must be a wood short of a full one)......First it was Eeyore  now a fully fledged pilot in the Pilatus B4, Goofy for the paraglider, now its the turn of Postman Pat- just the right size for the Genesis, maybe?

I've another indoor session coming up tomorrow evening so another evening off from cutting fixing and sticking.  However, some work to do in the evenings during this week to hopefully get the wing seats sorted as the weekend is to get the new wings assembled and skinned.

Work has continued on the fuselage plug, now glued the wing seats in place and done a little more sanding, but not as much progress as I would have liked - had a few days off to catch up with other things. However, on Friday I packed the car with vac bagging equipment, a few blocks of foam, and of course, a few models both slope and indoor, just in case.......... and set of on the 3 hour journey with my very understanding partner to the slope soaring Mecca of England......... Lincolnshire. No not really the slope soaring Mecca, there is only one hill and that's got a Cathedral on top; Lincolnshire is particularly flat. The main purpose of our weekend away was to get the Genesis wing panels assembled and veneered. Neil and Sue's hospitality is second to non, and on arrival a good glass of beer and a lengthy catch-up chat, I think you can guess the subject, at least between Neil and I. Our two partners, had other things to chat about, being interested in mostly the same type of things as each other.

Saturday morning and the two girlies were up and out for some retail therapy leaving Neil and I to attack the foam in the workshop. The wing panels had already been cut and to my surprise, Neil had already put in the shear web part of the main spar and also installed the tubes for the wing joiners - Excellent job. So all that was left was to lay out the glass cloth and wet out the carbon.

The covering for the wing comprise of Obechi veneer a layer of glass cloth cut on the bias at 45 degrees between the foam and veneer and carbon tows wet with epoxy and laid into the rebate on the wings above and below the vertical shear web spar. Carbon reinforcement over the wing tubes, all sandwich together and vac bagged.

Having got one wing sorted in a couple of hours, what was left for the day was to get some fresh air. A well earned brew and a quick bite of lunch and we packed the car to venture across the border into Leicestershire - just an hours drive away to check out Burrough hill, about 5 mile south of Melton Mowbray. The wind was a Westerly, with an element of north from time to time. Needless to say, we had a good few hours of Weasel and Wannabee fun - two brilliant foam models. just right for the chosen slope. Coffee and Crimbles' and then home for an evening out.

Sunday morning saw us rushing to check out our handy work from the day before; a freshly bagged Wing. Back inside for Cereals, Croissants and Coffee, then on with the gloves to sort the other wing.

The second wing was efficiently dealt with, having had a good run through the process the previous day. Neil prepared the Carbon tows for the leading edge whilst I arrange the veneer. We then worked together to apply the carbon leading edge to the foam core. I then prepared the carbon spar tows, while the glass cloth was laid out and rolled with epoxy. The spars rebates were filled with carbon and rolled out in next to no time and everything sandwiched up again for the vac bag, again, all before lunch. The girlies had gone off to some craft fair, so what else could we do but have a spot of lunch, and go to RAF Digby to make use of their fantastic gymnasium that is situated inside a huge hangar. No one else around so out with the shock fliers and a little indoor flying.

The day activities precluded with dinner - as I said Neil and Sue are such good hosts, followed by coffee and pudding. Then we packed the car for the journey home to Lancashire. Having had a really good weekend in more ways than one, we arrived back to the Preston area to be met with rain; Oh, what a surprise.

The wings are still with Neil, as he has offered to prep the wings further and cut all the necessary holes for the servos, airbrakes etc. Another trip will ensue soon to get the 2nd set of wings sorted. Hopefully the pictures will give you the story so far. 

click on images to see larger photo

The canopy plug was taken to a secret workshop somewhere in Norfolk............ and as expected, the first acetate formed from it produced a few flaws in the plastic. However, the plan was always to produce a really clear canopy so aluminium powder and resin has now been poured into the first moulding. When fully set this will be smoothed and polished. This will form the new plug from which some serious vac forming should take place. fingers crossed!

The fuselage plug is getting lots of TLC. it has been coated in numerous layers of sanding sealer and sanded back to quite a nice finish. this is undergoing further work. It needs to be painted and worked to get that shiny silky smooth finish required for the mould. This will take a little time to get it to the finish I require.

Whilst all this has been going on, Neil and I have been getting out in the fresh air up in the Lancashire hills. Yes, he popped in, as he was just passing..... on the way back from a weeks holiday in the Lakes. The weekend was blessed with fairly good weather, a few showers on the Saturday, a little snow on Sunday, but you have to make the most of the weather and good company. I test flew my new Solange glider (see 24/1/12 on my blog)- what a lovely smooth aerobat; It took me back to my powered aeros days, flying a Ken Binks Adagio. The Solange is a nice relaxing but very capable aerobatic machine. it wont be hurried, it does everything at a constant speed, but does it all with such Grace. If you fancy actually building something and have a really nice machine to fly around and at just £68 including Posting, its a bargain. see more on the cloud models website.

I'll Report on further progress of Genesis soon....... :-)

I have now got to the polishing stage. Many coats of polishing wax to apply, buff up and reapply. each time getting more and more high gloss finish.

Whilst the photos show a nice white colour, the actual model has a few patches of the yellow showing through, this is where I've had to rub back to remove other  imperfections. But this has now resulted in a very smooth finish. I don't think I will be applying any more paint. Hope not anyway, As I am adding a few coats of wax each night now.

I have also cut out the frame in which to mount the plug ready for the next stage of making the mould. I reckon the moulding stage is only couple of weeks away, so watch this space.

Update on the Wings........

I have been summoned to Lincolnshire to help with the second set of Genesis Wings, much like before. But I will be bringing my own wings back with me this time. This will be the first time the plug and wings have been together. So I hope to take a few photos to whet the appetite so to speak, before I make the mould. In the mean time I'll keep polishing.

However, in between coats of paint / rubbing compound/ polish I have moulded up another Dude fuselage for a friend. (see My article on the dude ds from the club news menu). Its had time to cure and has now been popped out of the mould. got to remove the swarf from the seams then I can deliver it. The reason for showing the dude mould photos is to give you some idea of what I need to make next. The two clamshell - like items in the photos below are the moulds. the Genesis Plug will allow me to make these, but I will probably be making the genesis mould a 4 piece mould. All will be revealed why, later.

               See you soon.

A recent holiday up to Scotland has meant that work on the Genesis stopped for a week or so. Although I took a couple of models on holiday, always keen to get some stick time, I didn't get to flying them as the weather got the better of us; Edinburgh castle was in cloud for most of the week, rain, snow, then a lack of wind making sure that the models stayed in the car.

On our return home, a quick stop over, and then off to Lincolnshire to help Neil with the other set of Genesis Wings. These were laid up with the required carbon and cloth and vac bagged last weekend. We also took the time to prepare and vac bag the new glider tug wings, this will be a bit of a beast powered by a 45cc petrol engine. The wing cores are 3” thick and 1.6Kg each…Its Big! Possibly more on this project later.

The Genesis Fuselage plug has had a few more touch-up coats of filler primer to the fin, but it has now been polished and has been laid in the mount in preparation for making the mould. I am in the process of filling the gaps around the plug with plasticine to complete the process.

I have decided to make the mould in 4 pieces because of the fine trailing edge to the wing seat. If I made the mould in two halves, I think I may have problems extracting the model out of the mould. Therefore, for the purpose of removing the fuselage, and plug for that matter, I will be making each side of the mould also split along the wing chord line. More work, but it should ensure that the model can be extracted from the mould intact

12/Apr/12

Last night I finished the plasticine work and installed the flange that will help form the join of the mould along the chord line (photo 2). A little more therapeutic polishing is required and a coat of PVA release agent and I will be ready to start the moulding process.

I took delivery of some new Gel coat (decorative surface finish) yesterday as I wasn’t sure if my old stock was still any good. I hope to apply the Gel coat, followed by numerous layers of chopped strand fibreglass matting of various grades this coming weekend.
It gonna get messy!!!

13/Apr/12

Finally finished polishing, at least for now anyway. A coat of PVA release agent was applied
last night. This evening has been fun...... getting a little messy with the gel-coat which is now curing. (that's the grey paint like effect in the photo 3). The Gel-coat provides a really nice base and decorative finish that can be polished. This will be the surface you will see on the inside of the mould.

1st thing tomorrow, its back to the workshop and make a start of applying the layers of glass matting and resin to build up the mould. The glass matting of various grades has been cut to size for each quadrant of the mould and is stacked neatly to one side in readiness.

CW

I resisted touching mould this morning, instead the weather was good, and the wind was on Jeffery Hill, the sun was even shining so I went to get some stick time. Took the Smart, Solange and even the scale Pilatus B4. I flew everything, so definitely a good day!

On my return and after the weekend chores, cut the grass, clean the cars...... you know how it is, I was back in the workshop to check on my handy work and to prep for the next stage. This involved trimming the lose glass around the edged and removed the plastic flange along the wing chord - I was surprised how easy this actually came off - obviously the right amount of polish and release agent. I have now made some indents in the flange as a key for part 2 of the mould and cleaned everything up. Its now had a couple of coats of wax polish and I have just sprayed it with PVA release agent in readiness for laying up the next bit.

A day off tomorrow, as I'm going indoor flying. See you soon.

Back to top

Today I finished off the supports to the outside of the mould so it will stand up on its own on the bench, and once cured, I removed the mounting board support that the whole assembly had been resting on for the last week or so and some of the plasticine from the underside. Turned the whole thing over and with the minimum of pressure, the mould came away from the mounting board clean. (start breathing again........)

A little trimming required and a good polish and I can start to prep the 3rd part of the mould. Basically, a repeat of what I have just done, but using the flange on the LH mould to form against. Again, Its going to be a busy and messy weekend ahead.

Friday morning was a leisurely affair, I had a few task to do with the website, but by around 8:30 these had been done, including uploading a number of articles for the club news. By 09:00 my new order of resin had arrived, what great service! I laid up a few layers of tissue and let it cure onto the gel coat. After lunch and in to late afternoon more layers of fine chopped strand mat, were applied. The next day, Saturday, I awoke early and couldn't get back to sleep, the morning chorus of bird songs were just too much! So an early Breakfast and into the workshop with my mug of Tea to apply a few more layers to the mould.

My good lady also awoke earlier than normal due to the smell of resin permeating into the house....Oops...... Anyway, doors shut and window open sorted that out. By this time, I had finished the first few layers and so after coffee and toast we ventured into town earlier than planned. After a leisurely trip around the shops which was not complete until I had visited the model shop, we stopped in at the local garden nursery for a quick look around and a spot of lunch, after which, it was back home and changed for the final session on part 3 and applied the last of the layers of course chopped strand mat.  

Its now Tuesday evening and the plug and mould is ready for part 4 to be fabricated. It has been polished, had the pva release agent applied and a coat of gel coat. This will cure overnight allowing me to start laying up the final part of the mould tomorrow evening.

The word from Neil down in Lincolnshire, is that both sets of Genesis wings are sorted. This means that they have been trimmed, sanded and the recess for Servos and Airbrakes have bee routed out. I just need to finish the fuselage mould, create a fuselage and then we can meet up to do a swap, a fuselage for a set of wings - I reckon that's a good swap. He has also finished polishing the new plug for the canopy and he informs me that he hopes to vac form the canopies tomorrow.

That's it for now. I will be busy again tomorrow and I will report back when the mould is complete. Hopefully by the weekend, I will be ably to split the mould and extract the plug. A time of excitement and apprehension. watch this space!  

Final two layers of course glass fibre has been applied to the mould. It has been trimmed to shape and the wooden ribs have been cut and glassed in place so that each half of the mould will stand steady on the bench. These have been weighted down and are now curing.

More trimming to do tomorrow and then probably tomorrow evening or Sunday, I will be able to split the mould into its component parts and extract the fuselage plug. We will see just how much work is left once this has been done. I will of course, let you know.

A little damage to the plug's surface finish, but sometimes this is expected. The plug is good around the belly, so another new mould to fabricate the undercarriage doors is on the cards, and with a little tidying up, I may also be able to fabricate a mould for the canopy frame...... but they will be for another day.

I feel like all the effort has been well worth it. The mould need some trimming and cleaning up, and the inevitable polishing, but I am really looking forward to this. For now I feel like a proud dad. That's it for today though, I'm out tonight to celebrate!   :-)

Last weekend, over the bank holiday, saw me cleaning up the mould and doing a lot of polishing. A coating of PVA release agent to the four parts of the mould on early Saturday morning. After lunch I applied the Gel coat and then had to wait for this to go "green", before I could start laying up the glass cloth into the mould. I first started laying up the area of the trailing edge fairings requiring to put in a layer of cloth, then micro fibres before assembling the two quadrants of the mould to make up each half.

Then starting off with the fine grade glass cloth I methodically progress wetting out the cloth easing it into all the wing seat areas, again using micro fibres and resin to fill in the small gap at the trailing edge fillet. two layers of 160g cloth followed by a 300g layer to the main body and of course the Carbon cloth in the fin - that's the black area you can see in the photo.

Having laid up both sides of the fuselage I then had to wait for these to go "green" so I could trim the excess cloth and resin to allow me to join the two sides. The clock was ticking, it was already 8pm and I had not trimmed or joined the fuselage halves. However, by around 10:30pm, maybe more like 11pm, the resin had gone off enough to allow a sharp knife to cut through the cloth and resin cleanly, just life a knife cutting through firm butter. This is what I mean by going "green"....

A strip of wetted out glass cloth was then laid inside the fuselage on the join and the whole thing bolted together. At least this size of fuselage allowed bigger tools to be used to fully wet out the joining cloth and make sure everything was ok. 11:45pm and it was time to clean up. I was very glad that the Job was finished, I was tired, it had been a very long day, somewhat frustrated and how long it took to lay up the cloth, but pleased with the overall outcome.

I only ventured back in the workshop the following morning to make sure that the resin was curing properly and everything was ok. Then off for the day up to the lakes with the missus and a well earned rest.

Having undone all the bolts holding the mould pieces together, I started to methodically insert wooden wedges into the joins to separate them. This is a time of anxiety! It needs quite some force to be applied and teasing to get the mould to give up its hold on the content and the odd cracking sound makes you hold your breath. Finally mould released bit by bit to reveal it contents. The final part of the assembly is always the most resistant to release. I reassembled everything around the fuselage again, bolting it all together to get some leverage on the final quadrant of the mould. It worked. A final loud crack and the mould gave in to the tweaking. Everything quickly unbolted and the component parts pealed away for reveal a perfectly formed Genesis. Relief all round!!!!

Genesis is Born!!! Sweet!!. and a healthy 900grams. I can finally breath again. here's some photos of the big day.....

See you soon :-)

In the last 10 days I have been experimenting with canopy frames for the Genesis fuselage, also experimenting with a cockpit moulding and of course, preparing the mould in readiness for fuselage No 2.

I met up with Neil at a Control Line event this weekend at Barton Aerodrome near the Trafford Centre, Manchester. I found my way to the modelling site which, without the help of a modeller that I spotted with a hatchback full of Control Line models I would never have found. Once at the site I met up with Neil and another really good friend, Paul Blakeborough who was the other part of the Control Line double act. It was almost like a scene from the 'minder' series, exchanging goods in the middle of nowhere, where no one can see.....ere, what you got there then?????

No dodgy dealings here though, and there were witnesses.

While I was extracting the Genesis fuselage from the back of my car, another aeromodeller, and who happened to be, a full size glider pilot stopped and said...." oh, it's a Genesis". Well, I was impressed, and I must have done something right if someone can recognise the aircraft without its wings. Anyway, I duly handed over the fus, canopy frame and cockpit to Neil, and in return he handed me a set of wings, a joiner and a couple of canopies. A good swap I reckon.

Back in the workshop I had already treated the fuselage mould to a coating of release agent the day before, and late Saturday evening I applied the gel coat. It was difficult to get to sleep that evening, Have I mixed the gel coat correctly, have I got all the glass cloth  ready, Hope its not another 14 hour marathon......... you get the idea.

The birds woke me early, we have a few friendly chaffinches that like collecting bugs and other small insects that gather  around the window and door frames. and they continually flap around and peck the windows.... Needless to say, I was up at 6 am Sunday morning, quick breakfast and took a cup of tea into the workshop. By 9am I had laid up the Genesis fuselage and also a Dude flying wing fuselage. Excellent work! By 9.30 am I had cleaned up and was enjoying coffee and toast.

Later in the afternoon, My daughter came around for a chat and a favour, but I made the request first, she made me a nice cup of tea as I had trimmed the glass cloth and was already mixing resin to join the fuselage sides. A good chat a spare pair of hands and good brew allowed the  fuselage to be assembled in good time. I left the Dude mould until later, as this is more like micro surgery and it needs to be put into a jig to align the carbon tail boom, all was completed before dinner and a night off.

Both fuselages are now curing and although its now been over 24 hours and all seems dry, I always like to leave them  for a good few days before I split the mould. Thursday is the day! so watch this space. I hope that if the weather is good, I can offer up the wings to the fuselage and take a photo as a treat.. and to whet the appetite for the remainder of the journey.

See you then.

It's been an anxious week waiting to see if the second Genesis fuselage would turn out ok, having laid up and joined the fus at the weekend. Well, I shouldn't have worried as Genesis 2 fuselage came out of the mould fit and well at a healthy 850g. The mould released its prize easily, the last part always being the most difficult to release, but a little brute force did the trick, and all this was before dinner.

As I suggested the last time I gave you an update, I decided to get the wings and put them at the side of the fuselage to get a feel of the actual size of this 1/4 scale project. As you can see from the photos, its looking good, all 3.75m of it. Even the NNAWGC (Ninety Nine Acre Wood Gliding Club) team are drooling over it. See for yourself.

I now have a canopy frame to make and the cockpit interior. then finish the wings and fuselage and of course the Elevator which will sit at the top of the fin.

Further updates to come as it progresses further.

Back to top

Apologies folks, but it has been a while since I updated you on the progress of Genesis.
 

Things have progressed slowly over the past week or so. I have been experimenting with different canopy frames (moulded), which I have not been totally happy with. However, canopy frames aside, I have now married up the wings to the fuselage and this week, I need to concentrate my efforts on finishing this off. I also need to get the airbrakes installed in the wing and make the wing tips. If all is well and I achieve what I have planned, I hope to make the tailplane at the weekend, although I do have plans to attend a flying event on Sunday, so this will probably be a job for early next week.
 

Moreover, my partner and I spent last weekend down in Lincolnshire with Neil and his good lady. The main reason for the visit was to attend a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concert in the grounds of a Stately Home on Saturday evening, there was also to be a Spitfire flying aeros to the music – hence the name of the event “Spitfire Proms”. The bad weather (Low cloud, high winds and rain) grounded the BBMF spitfire, but half way through the concert, despite the weather, we had an aeros display from the "Blade" team in their Extra 330’s, with just enough height below cloud base to perform their normal routine. Lots of drift due to the gusting 30kts cross wind, but a really excellent display!

The sea of umbrellas between us and the stage was also a sight to behold. But the mix of good food (Picnic) good wine and excellent music and a fishing shelter to hide in, made for a memorable evenings entertainment.

Sunday saw us in Neil’s workshop inspecting his handy work on his Genesis model, which has been progressing well. The wings are on, canopy frame made….. (I think I will be copying this design), rudder post installed and glassed in with integral servo mount and the tailplane has been made and has now been mounted on the fin. All the things I need to do this week….. I need to catch up!

It is hoped that we can get both our models test flown at the end of July, which has always been the plan, and I think that we are still on track to achieve this.

Photos of Neil’s Model
 

I met up with Neil on Sunday at Leek and Moorland slope site in Staffordshire, for an organised fun fly event, some 2 hours drive away. The weather was a little wet to start with but got better albeit a little blustery as the day progressed. We took part in the fun competition, loops, rolls bunts, pylon race and whilst most used foamy flying wings, Neil and I flew the "Dudes". No we didn't win but we certainly created some interest in flying something a little different. Once the competition was out of the way, off the peg flying took part with lots of mouldies taking to the air and again Neil and I both flew the Dudes, better than in the comp and also aired our "Jart" models such were the conditions.

News from the Lincolnshire is that Neil's model is progressing well. All flying surfaces have now been glassed in 49g cloth and epoxy resin. This leaves me well behind, although I have made some progress.

The airbrake boxes have now been installed, wingtips formed and stuck in place and the whole wings sanded and some filler applied to get a better surface finish. I note from the many photos out there of Genesis II, that the aircraft has part of the wingtips angled upwards, so I need to estimate how much and embody this detail. My tail stabiliser has been made from balsa and I have been working out the method of fixing this in place on the fin and ensuring a suitable linkage - not quite finished this yet.

Other jobs to do is make the rudder , of course Neil has this already done and glassed..... I need to install the tail servo mount and rudder post, then create a suitable canopy frame. Doesn't sound much but it all takes time to get right, not always first time.

More updates to come

My Genesis has been progressing, albeit slower than I expected. The fitting of the tail plane is now complete and I am happy with the control linkage that I have fabricated. This is made from laminated fibre glass board. Cut to shape and profiled to the tail. Unlike the full size aircraft whose tail plane fits on from the rear, I was having problems coming up with a suitable design that would allow retention of the flying surface and to provide the control movement required whilst having enough strength to withstand the flying loads. Instead, I have opted for a tail plane that plugs on from the side and the control profile being sandwiched between the two halves, the join being hidden by tape. The actuator mechanism will be retained within the fin on removal of the tail plane.

The tail will be controlled by a servo mounted in the base of the fin, and the mount for this has been installed. The Rudder post was next to be made, this is in the form of 1/16" ply backed by 3/32" x grain balsa. The whole thing was cut and sanded to shape and epoxy glassed in place with a suitable gap for access to the elevator servo mount. Now this is full cured, the whole fin is very strong with no signs of any twist .

a number of areas required a little filler and sanding and this is also complete. Tonight it is assemble the model, make sure everything is ok and the wings mate well on to the fuselage and then I can start to Apply the glass cloth tomorrow.

An update from Lincolnshire,
Neil’s model is now fully covered in 49g glass cloth and epoxy resin, due to some slight imperfections in the fuselage moulding in the form of air bubbles in the Gel coat (how embarrassing), this has had to be cut back with wet and dry and the air bubbles filled - a little P45 car body filler has done the trick. The problem was only over an area of about 4 square inches, so not disastrous. He has also been cutting out the ailerons and dressing the wing and ailerons with epoxy and micro balloons. A text message last Friday stated that the canopy and frame have now been fitted to the fuselage. Another text message on Monday stated that Neil has now started to paint his model.

The clock is ticking, but there is no point in rushing. It will be ready when it is ready! More updates to follow.

A couple of days ago, I received an email from a fellow modeller in Spain, Rafael Sanz who found our website and my Genesis blog purely by chance. However, the best thing here is that there is a whole community out there, Rafael being one of them, that is in the throws of building their own Genesis 2 models. Rafael's  website is quite informative and also provides some links to other Genesis web pages. The website is in Spanish though. However, If you put the following web address into google, you can have the page translated for you. http://tallerdedalo.es/web/Genesis-2D  Technology, isn't it fantastic!

Rafael's model is almost complete which he started around the same time as me back in January 2012. The model is a little smaller at 1.6m. Visit the website via the google translate if you want the detail, otherwise the photos will give you a flavour. Hopefully I will get an update of how it flies is good time. Good luck Rafael.

Well, It time to venture back in the workshop for an hour. see you soon

12 Jul 12

Here it is, Genesis in the flesh so to speak..

I have now cut all the glass cloth ready to finish the wings and tail plane and rudder this weekend.

To be honest, I think that the amount of work that has been done to get the Genesis to this point, burning the candle at both ends so to speak, I reckon I must have over done it a little, and given the fact that some of the more intricate jobs were not going so smoothly at the time, I found myself getting distracted.

As I a keen cyclist, I found myself distracted by the Tour de France, and the Olympics. I have also produced a "Mistrale" kit (a swept back version of the Dude flying wing) for Ron Ovenden. I have put a few finishing touches to a new and much sexier looking glass fuselage to an old design of mine - Wotsit flying wing. (Named as such  because everyone kept asking me - what is it?  - wot is it  - wotsit)

All that and a few extra hours at work prior to going on a flying Holiday last week in South Wales (Awesome lift on Rhossili Down), I have done very little to the Genesis since my last update. Phew, not enough hours in the day - I can't sit and watch tv for too long, especially when the day job requires me to sit at a computer most of the time as well!!!!!! So here I am batteries recharged and motivation on the up.

The Genesis wings and flying surfaces are now covered in glass cloth and epoxy, although there is a little extra work to do to the finish of the wings as a few bubbles appeared under the glass cloth on the top surface during the curing process. I have subsequently rubbed the wings down and filled the holes. But I now plan to put an extra thin layer (25g) cloth and epoxy over this. I don't think the extra weight will be a problem.

Just last night I was fettling a new cockpit interior for the Genesis in foam ready for a layer of glass cloth and by doing so, renewed my enthusiasm to complete the Genesis project.

This weekend should get me even more fired up as Neil has finished his Genesis and I plan to join him at the Leek and Moorland scale competition this coming weekend to test fly, as well as enter our other scale models.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to Rhossili, near Swansea on the Gower peninsula in South Wales last week and had a really good time. We rented a cottage for a week just 2 miles from Rhossili. Both Neil and I went flying whilst the girls went off and did girly things........

If you can imagine a 400-500 ft 45 degree slope westerly facing range of hills and a 15 mph wind, with nothing but sea and sand in front of it - it just produced some of most smoothest lift I have ever flown in. The lift stretched out so far even the Quarter scale models were getting a little too far away for comfort, but the lift was still good. I was flying the Pilatus B4 around with such grace. Big sweeping turns, loops, roll (well it is a scale model of an aerobatic glider). Pretty impressive! On our first full day we flew from around 10am until we watched the sun going down around 7:30pm. A wonderful day resulting in Flat batteries. as a sun downer, it was back to the cottage for Tea and medals, well, a nice cold beer really!

Yes, I will be going back!

We had a few days where the wind direction was not blowing on to Rhossili Down, with much lower wind speeds, but cliff top soaring in marginal lift conditions is challenging but extremely rewarding. The last day and on the way home, we stopped off at another fantastic slope site used frequently by the slope racing competition fraternity, but one where we had flown may time before. This time an Easterly facing site on the "Bwlch" overlooking Treorchy down in the valley. This time the wind was was gusting around 25mph onto a shear cliff face of around 300 ft with a rounding slope leading from the valley floor up to the base of the cliff. As common with very steep hills, there is a rotor (turbulence) on the top of the hill, making ladings tricky, but the landing area was pretty big so we could move away from the major turbulence. However, having put the Dudes and Jarts together, we enjoyed a couple of hours of BIG AIR. 60 inch models undertaking inside and outside and knife edge manoeuvres that were so big, that any powered flyer having a stir of the stick would have been converted to slope soaring instantly. Any powere flyers reading this should really have a go. When the wind is a little too strong on the powered field, get up the hills, its Great Fun!

Anyway, I will update you after the weekend adventure at Leek and Moorland with hopefully some photos and a video of the first flights of Neil's Genesis.

Till then, Happy landings

CW

Yesterday I joined Neil at the Leek and Moorland Scale Competition. We took a number of models, the Libelle, ASK and the Pilatus, but the real show stopper was Neil's Genesis 2

Once the rain had passed, much later than forecast, we decided to commit a few models to the air. The wind was slightly off the slope but the lift was ok, but not in abundance. As the afternoon progressed, the wind came round to be on the slope, but it still didn't give the amount of lift we expected. (reckon we had been spoilt by or holiday in Wales)

The Genesis was assemble, and soon became the the topic of conversation. Controls were checked, programming tweaked, then checked again and it was time to make the decision. Fly or not to Fly? Neil made a quick decision and armed with a Camera/video, which I gave to someone else to film the launch, all was set.

The fuselage is pretty wide, so I went armed with a surgical glove. Not for anything sinister, although I thought I might have to help Neil with his bicycle clips........... Seriously, I was not taking any chances with the launch. The glove was so that I could get a good purchase on the fuselage and so it did not slip out of my hand when I launched it.

Controls checked, clear above and behind...........A quick run up and good positive push forward and the Genesis was away.......... Wow! A few clicks of down trim was all it needed to fly straight and level. During the flight the stall was checked and did not provide any surprises. Stall was straight with no wing drop. The Centre of Gravity seemed a little far forward as the dive test proved, but we were airing on the side of safety for the first flight. The model looks good in the air. See for yourself.

Neil had two flight with Genesis during the day, and has now gone home with a few idea and things he want to tweak before we take it along to the Long Mynd scale Fly-in in September. I don't know if my Genesis will be ready by then. I have to do some repairs to the Pilatus, having had a mid air with another Pilatus at the Leek and moorland event.

We need a better day to take more photos and show the Genesis off to its best potential. It was certainly a talking point though.

And on a humorous note, Tigger (the rooky pilot) and new member of the Ninety Nine Acre Wood Gliding Club had a good time.  

I'll be back again soon

CW

Back to top

Since the first flight of Neil's Genesis, I have been trying to edit the video footage of its maiden flight. However, a number of computer hardware problems has resulted in delays to updating this website, and getting to grips with video editing. It's all sorted now and I have uploaded the first video onto Youtube. Click on the link below:

My initial upload was not particularly good as youtube edited the film to stop the shakiness of the video such is the nature of hand held videos trying to follow a quick model being put through it's paces. The video had a weird effect, so I have now removed it and added a few better videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FqDQh9hCAQ

A second video, slightly better footage of the test flight and includes a number of still photos capturing the story so far. Take a look for yourself

http://youtu.be/UzHUFSAhH70

Last week, Neil and I attended the RAF Model Aircraft Championships at RAF Honington in Suffolk. On the Saturday Afternoon, we returned to Neil's place in Lincolnshire, prepared our scale models and was up exceptionally early the next Morning (5:00am), to drive the 3 1/2 hours to The Long Mynd in Shropshire, to attend a Scale Competition.

We flew the ASH, Libelle and the Pilatus B4, Yes I had managed to repair the Pilatus after the mid air at Leek and Moorland a few weeks earlier. Aesthetically, you can't see that the model has been repaired and it flies just as it always has, Great!

The Genesis model, turned a few heads and was the subject of much debate, but sadly it did not fly as the Aileron servo gears suffered some damage during a launch. This has now been repaired and we await good conditions for our next outing.

I have been back in the weasel workshop, between editing video, updating the website. I have been sanding the Genesis wings in readiness for the ailerons to be cut out and Spoilers to be fitted. Now I have finished uploading videos, work on Genesis should now pick up pace, and I hope that I will have it sorted in a few more weeks, I hope.

Some more photos to come of the finished model, when I get there and I hope more video of the maiden flight.

See you soon

Colin

Yesterday's weather was an exception, cloudless sky, great visibility, but alas, no wind! pity, as it would have been fantastic up on the hill. At least it gave me the opportunity to get back in the workshop.

Work has recommenced on my Genesis. I have now re-glassed the wings having sorted a few problems with my previous effort.

The wing has a further 25g cloth and epoxy covering and I await for this to cure properly so it can be rubbed down, following which, I need to cut out the ailerons; a job for next week.

I have been sorting out the canopy frame, now finished, and also progressing the work on the cockpit interior.

Also if you did not see the link to the latest video that I uploaded to youtube last week, then the link is below:

http://youtu.be/UzHUFSAhH70

 This presentation is slightly different to those offered previously. Indeed, it has a number of still photos and captions depicting the story so far from concept to first flight of Neil's model, with a few photos at the end captured from the video.

Hopefully the next video will be of my own Genesis 2 test flight, which I hope to undertake before the weather turns for the worst. Still much to do.

See you soon CW

Whilst I have not been getting out and doing much flying due to all this rainy weather, it has allowed me to get back in the workshop to progress my Genesis.

The wings have now been trimmed, and treat to a couple of coats of sanding sealer and rubbed down. Also the Ailerons have been cut out and the mating surfaces filled with epoxy and micro balloons. Next is to install the Spoilers, the wing surfaces can then be finished off.

The cockpit interior is also coming along; most of the foam has been removed now the structure has been coated in glass cloth. The instrument panel is also coming along, this is still a mock-up, but the photo below gives you an idea of what it should be like once everything is rubbed down and painted. The instruments can then be assembled properly.

I have also been working on the fuselage. The aero tow mechanism is now installed in the nose, and also the rails, on which the cockpit interior sits on. A brace has been installed internally across the rear wing seat to stop flying loads and any abrupt landings from allowing the wings to squeeze the fuselage.   

I must thank Curt Lewis in the States', who has been really helpful. Curt owns a full size Genesis and has provided me with some really good information some excellent photos. In fact, he has many youtube videos of his aircraft in action. The link below is of Curt in his Genesis dumping water ballast on a fast flypast. Pretty cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQWhEjwRIMk&feature=plcp

Now that's food for thought..... How cool would it be to fly across the slope and vent water ballast just like the real aircraft.......

There's still a way to go on my project, but once the canopy is fixed onto the frame and everything is checked for alignment it'll be time to don the mask and start painting.

Back soon. CW

Since my last update, I have been quite busy at work trying to get ahead of the game so I could go away on holiday. a couple of weeks ago I spent a really good week in Shropshire with my partner at a really nice B&B in Church Stretton, one that we visit quite often, being at the foot of a favourite  range of hills called The Long Mynd - Well worth a visit both from a flying point of view and the fact that there are some fantastic walks and country side. I just had to take a model, the walks we quite good too, we even spent an afternoon exploring the Castle at Ludlow. We had a really good time and the weather wasn't too bad either, allowing for a few hours flying either early in the morning or when we got back from our outings, prior to nightfall. One evening there was a really good sunset which coincided with a westerly wind and a visit to "pole Cottage" the "Long Mynd's Westerly slope - a really nice sun down flying session.

The following weekend, Neil and and Sue came up to Lancashire -the girlies going out to find craft shops, such are their interests, whilst Neil and I spent two full days up in the hills getting cold but having a really good time - plenty of lift. Glad I took my sports shelter to hide from the icy Eastlery wind though.

The Genesis has been progressing, albeit at a slow pace. I haven't been able to get much done during the evenings due to work commitments and the weekends being taken up with other things, as well as making the most of the conditions to go flying.  However, there has been progression none the less.

The cockpit  (Seat, Instrument panel) has now been finished including the joystick which is mounted on a ball link allowing it to move. The Canopy took a good deal of time to get right. Damaging the original transparency while I was trimming it, so I had to cut and trim the spare.   

Designing and getting the front canopy hinge to work also took some time to get right. Many attempts has now resulted in a plywood offset hinge and I/m glad to say works really well so the canopy now hinges / tilts from the front, which sits nicely in place with the Cockpit installed. The Spoilers have now been installed and the stabiliser/tailplane assembly and linkage has been completed and the incidence set with respect to the mainplane incidence.

  All that is left to do is cut the holes in the wing root of the fuselage to accept the additional front locating pins and wing retention mechanism and the holes for the wing control plugs. A final sand and tidy up of the fuselage, hopefully this week and then it'll be ready for the paint finish next weekend.

Whether I get to test fly the Genesis before the turn of the year remains to be seen,   but if the weather Gods are on our side, it may just happen. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Hope to bring you an update next week.

CW

On inspecting my handy work on Saturday evening, it was evident that a few areas of the fuselage needed a little filler mainly on the mould seam line due to a few air bubbles in the Gel coat. On Sunday Morning, no, not an early start, but having rubbed down the filler from the night before, I was soon in a position to start applying Genesis's plumage. The fuselage was hung up and given a number of coats of primer, checking after each coat, and the flying surfaces also receiving a coat or two of primer.

Later on this evening, I managed to give the Fuselage a coat of Gloss paint. she is starting to look really nice. The tail and rudder has also had a coat of gloss. I don't normally use gloss, instead I opt for clear lacquer on top of the primer, but Neil's model looked good having received both primer and gloss, so I though I would give this a try myself. It has come out really well, although when fully hardened I will flatten this gloss finish with 2000 grade wet and dry and give it a good polish to get a nice even high gloss finish.

The canopy frame has also had its paint; so, short of a polish of the transparency, the canopy is all but done.

Tomorrow evening, I will be attending the regular winter evening indoor flying session, so this will keep me out of the workshop until Tuesday, when I should be able to progress the paint job further.

Until the next update.....

During the evenings last week, I was busy painting the wings. The top coat being applied yesterday, Saturday. After a leisurely breakfast this morning, I turned up the heater in the workshop, but did not stay in the workshop, far too cold initially. Instead, I put the computer to work, to size, print and cut out the aircraft registration numbers and lettering.

I ventured into the workshop at around 11am, the room had warmed up a little by then. I started the job of flattening the paint on the fuselage with rubbing compound and polishing to a good gloss finish. Once this was done I applied the lettering. I also installed the rudder and stabiliser servos. The photos do not do it justice, but I am pretty please with the outcome.  The wings are still awaiting some attention and this will be the activity for the coming evenings; the paint needs flattening and polishing, Spoilers need to be painted inside, and the radio gear needs the final components installing. I removed the Spoiler servos so the wings could be painted, so these need to be reinstalled and the aileron servos need to be installed completely. Ailerons will need to be attached and then connected.

Things are looking good Neil and I have arranged a flying session on the 15th December and hopefully, weather permitting of course, Genesis will take to the air. That's the plan anyway.

So here's to a productive week of evenings and hopefully all that will be left for next weekend will be to programme the radio, and take a few photos.

See you soon

Colin

I am now installing the aileron servos. but this is taking a little time to get the servo mount right to maintain the clearance for the servo arm and ensure that the servo covers seat properly. Hopefully, these should be done by Friday evening. Then I can make up the wing wire harness and get it installed.

I reckon by the end of the weekend It will be finished. So lets hope this dreadful cold weather clears ready for the test flight on the 15th, don't know the venue yet, it all depends on the weather and wind direction. hopefully I will be able to bring an update on the build in the next day or so, and then hopefully get a few photos of the fully assembled model. Watch this space.

Back to top

The servos and wing wiring harness have now been installed and servos covers fettled, painted and fitted. Last night I assembled the whole airframe ensuring that the wing joiners, locating pins and plugs lined up correctly. That done, I tweaked the Elevator and Rudder servo installation prior to applying lead weight to the nose to balance the aircraft and get the centre of gravity in the correct position. I still have to fix the lead in place so it does not move during flight, and at some time. I also need to fit the Aerotow release servo, but this additional control can wait until after its first flight.

I weighed the whole model last night, my kitchen scales deciding not to play as the model exceed its 5kg limit. So, armed with the bathroom scales, I weighed the model which came out at a respectable 5.3kg (11.5lb). I have not quite worked out the wing loading yet, but given its generous proportions, I have no doubt that this will be well within a respectable tolerance.

Unfortunately the weather forecast is not good for this coming weekend, more rain and high winds I’m afraid. But hey, the model will get to fly as and when the conditions are right, hopefully sometime over the next few weeks. I have now finished work for the Christmas break and I hope that the weather will at least allow me to take some photos of the complete airframe. Watch this space for the photos.

This project has definitely been an adventure, a labour of love at times but, I am more than happy with the outcome. Definitely well worth the effort on looks alone. To say I’m really chuffed with the model would be an understatement, especially that it is actually only the second large scale glider I have built, the Pilatus B4 being the first from a kit, but the Genesis 2 project was a whole new giant leap, to build from the CAD drawings, make the Mould and experiment with different techniques to acquire the desired outcome. Definitely a great experience, I just lovemaking things! 

I am really looking forward to getting some air beneath its wings and putting it through its paces and to report on the outcome with some more photos and video and it would be really speciall if I could get video of both G2’s flying together, however, this may be something for a later outing. For now, its one step at a time. If it happens, I’ll bring you an update.

I would really like to thank Jim Marske (Designer) and Curt Lewis (Owner , 95) for all their help along this journey, without which, Genesis 2 may not have been built. Thank you.
Here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and hope you have great New Year with clear horizons and fantastic weather.
 

So as promised. Feast our eyes on Genesis 2:-

Even though I do say so myself, the model looks great and it just looks and feels like it just wants to fly......... I can't wait until the weather is suitable for its test flight -  Lets hope we get some good weather soon.

I'll bring you updates as soon as I can. Hope you all have a really great Christmas.

Colin W

Happy New Year to you all.

Christmas for me was quiet, I even managed to stay out of the workshop for Christmas Day, my partner and I went out for the day and had a Christmas lunch / picnic - turkey sandwiches, mince pies on top of "Gummers How" overlooking lake Windemere in the Lake district. (wish I'd taken a model.)  We have been planning a Christmas picnic for many years, but the weather always got the better of us, but this year we were determined regardless of the weather. As you can see, the cloud cleared for us providing us with quite a dramatic view.

The Christmas weather has not been conducive to flying, mostly low cloud and rain. However, the forecast is good for the next few days, Neil is available, so we're off to the Leek and Moorland SW flying site, this is just to the east of the town of Leek in Staffordshire. The venue just happens to be equal distance for both of us. Indeed, its where Neil's Genesis was test flown. So, Given the fact that My genesis 2 is ready for its maiden flight, the weather is forecast to be W / SW 9 mph possible gusts to 15 mph I think its time to get some air beneath its wings; a promise of a pub lunch is also appealing. I hope to bring you the photos and video, so stay tuned as they say.

However, I've not been idly watching tv and getting bored, as you may have guessed, I have been in the workshop. A new canopy and frame for the Pilatus B4, which was damage earlier in the year, a new vac bagged wing for a new sporty flying wing design under development. The new wing is a tapered wing rather than the original swept back design which I have made to compare the flying qualities.

And, I've got a present for Neil, who on his last visit to Lancashire for a for pre-Christmas flying session did show some interest in my Genesis 2 cockpit. So over the last few days, I've been creating a cockpit for him. And of course, Goofy just had to test it out.........

The seat is primarily fabricated from foam, glued to an 1/8" ply base. The foam is shaped on the band saw and a 1/4" sliver removed for the seat cushion, which is subsequently reduced in width by about 1/2" and stuck back on to the base and then the whole assembly covered in two layers of 160g Twill weave glass cloth and epoxy. I use Twill weave cloth as it moulds very well to intricate shapes. The instrument pedestal is also made from 3 pieces of foam and assembled before covering with obechi wood veneer then a layer of 49g glass cloth. The instrument panel is a good quality photo behind a layer of plastic (Margarine tub - well, one has to recycle!) with the instrument holes cut out.  the control column is made from a plastic tube and carved car body filler for the hand grip, which is mounted on a 2mm steel rod and is pivoted on a ball link allowing the stick to move. It wouldn't take too much to get this to move with the radio control, but not this time. Every time I make things like this, I am on a learning curve, Neil's cockpit being in my opinion, better than my own and uses slightly different techniques honed from the first attempt. Indeed, this cockpit went together in just a couple of days - most time was waiting for the epoxy to cure. Pretty convincing I think - Hope Neil is pleased with his new cockpit, although I think Goofy will have to wait.

Anyway, I'm off to get ready for tomorrow, an early start to meet up at Leek for coffee and croissants at 9am, (well, one has to live well!) prior to some flying. Hopefully back tomorrow with some photos.

CW

New year pleasantries out of the way, we both settled down for our second breakfast of Croissants and fresh coffee in my car out of the cold breeze and drizzly rain. We exchanged Xmas stories and discussed what shiny things Santa had brought. Neil was made up with his new cockpit and it almost fit his Genesis straight off. It just needs an 1/8" of the base trimming and it'll be a perfect fit.

The weather was still not showing any signs of easing and conversations led to what models we had brought along for the days flying. For once, I had taken along more models than he, 7:5.!!!!   This is a major event as we always take a number of models to cover differing weather conditions, but more often than not, he seems to always pack in more than me. To give you an idea, when we both went on holiday together down to Rhossili in Wales, on one day whilst the girls were off sight seeing, were managed to pack 24 models into Neil's car and there was still room for the others that we left in the cottage. Well, we have to be prepared for all eventualities. (full Rhossili story link ) Anyway, I digress.

The weather did clear at about 11.30 and having donned our wet weather gear and boots, we ventured out on to the moor top and launched our small flying wings (Wotsit and Weasel) to check out the air. Not so much lift and no sooner had we launched we saw a few other models also flying in the distance to our left. A quick landing and back to the car to check out the other modellers and more importantly, see what frequencies they were using. Good job as most were on 35MHz which Neil was flying on although non of the frequencies clashed. Not so much of a problem for me on this occasion as I was using 2.4GHz, which, due to the frequency hopping characteristics of the radio, does not suffer from cross channel interference.

 A group of locals had congregated on an alternative flying site just a mile 1/2 mile down the ridge catering for a more Westerly wind compared to the S Westerly direction of our original slope. However, this slope was not really working too well either, with the lift being very light, but all modellers together! After an hours flying, we decided to have lunch - no not the pub lunch that was discussed, as both our partners had packed up a suitable selection of sandwiches and cakes. Oh the spoils of Christmas fayre.... after which, further flying ensued. The wind was now strengthening and moving round to the S West. was it time to get the Genesis out?

After a while the locals started to pack up and we decided to move back to the original slope with a view of getting the Genesis ready for its first flight. This was not to be, as I had noted on our walk back to the cars, that the neighbouring hill tops were now shrouded in cloud. By the time we had transited the 1/2 mile to the new site, we were also in cloud. A good strong wind, probably too strong, but we could not see the track to the slope face, let alone the horizon. More coffee and a thought that we could sit it out until the cloud clearred, but to no avail, patience would not bring good weather as the light was beginning to fade and no sign of the cloud lifting, so the decision to go home was made.

Funny thing though, just 5 miles away from the moor land there was light blue sky and light cloud, but this only lasted until I reached the motorway and over the 90 mile journey home the cloud base got lower and lower until there was no horizon and just rain.

So here we are, now awaiting a new day for Genesis to make it's maiden flight, but patience is a virtue.  I'll let you know when it happens.

Back to top

Although the forecast has not been too favourable, I found myself waking last Saturday morning to a totally unexpected beautiful day, albeit very cold, it was a cloudless blue sky and a Northerly 9mph wind, just right for Jeffery hill. But........ I had planned other things so by the time I was ready to fly, the clouds had rolled in  and the wind dropped to but a slight breeze. Looking at the forecast for Sunday, Low cloud, rain....... and yes, I'd missed my opportunity. Indeed, low visibility (I couldn't see the hills) and rain for most of the day.

Here we are, still awaiting a nice day for Genesis maiden flight.

Life in the Workshop has not been void of activity though. My new O/D flying wing sports model is almost finished. The new trial 'lost foam' epoxy/glass fuselage on the original "Wotsit" highly swept back wing has now been mated to a new wing. The new design is a more tapered wing planform and a new aerofoil section. This should be ready this weekend for a test flight. If all is well with the new wing, I will be cutting a new swept back wing with the new aerofoil section and also a larger 60" tapered wing, all to mate to the new fuselage. If this works out well, then I will be moulding the new fus with hope that I may be able to sell a few.

 Also on the building board is an all new "Jart" aeros model  designed for high wind speeds. It has a different wing section to the original to try and help improve the slow speed manoeuvrability. this is well underway; the wings have been vac bagged and I'm currently sorting out the tailplane. I hope to bring you a few photos of this soon.........

I have planned to venture down to a favourite range of hills in Shropshire (The Long Mynd)  in a couple of weeks, where I hope to meet up with Neil. So fingers crossed for good weather. By then I hope to have quite a few models to test fly - Genesis being one of them, in readiness for the coming flying season.

I'll report again with more news soon.

Mr C

A couple of weekends ago, my partner and I met up with Neil and Sue at our favourite B&B in Church Stretton, at the foot of The Long Mynd, having planned a couple of days flying while our good ladies had planned to flex the credit cards and do some retail therapy in nearby Shrewsbury.

The forecast had been ok until the week prior to our visit, during which, the weather seemed to be turning cold again; but you know what the weather forecasts are like, sometimes they are correct, other times , not so.

Not wanting to be put off by a little cold weather, we continued with our mission. We went armed with various models for all conditions, but what was to greet us on the Saturday morning was not quite what we had expected. With light and variable N, NE winds; we tried the "Darnford" slope on the North end of The Long Mynd, but the wind was not quite on to the slope. So back in the cars and we ventured around to the NE - E slope overlooking the reservoir. This slope was working better, but the lift would come and go, sometimes the lift would be quite thermic, allowing for some reasonable height gain, but it was very light and sporadic.

Unfortunately the weather was not right for flying the Genesis, so it stayed in the car. However, whilst we predominantly flew our foamy models, namely a brace of Weasels, which are great fun, I did get my new flying wing out and gave it some air time.

Named Sharky due to the shape of the fin - my new flying wing sport model initially presented me with pitch instability with some pitch oscillations in level flight, but it was not overly sensitive to pitch input.

The lack of lift made it impossible to gain enough height to check out the centre of Gravity aerodynamically, by abruptly diving the model and watching what happens to its flight path without any pitch input, and I wasn't prepared to push the model out too far over the valley - I didn't want to land out and go for a walk, so I made a landing and added a little more nose weight to see what difference it made.

The next flight was promising; the pitch oscillations had stopped and the model maintained more speed, but I was still unable to gain much height due to the conditions. Needless to say, the new wing needs to be flown in better conditions to evaluate it properly, but the early signs were good. It certainly looked good in the air.

 By 1600 hrs we we both shivering, indeed, the car temperature gauge said that the ambient temperature was -2 Degree C, with the wind chill, I reckon it was actually about -5 Deg C, having drunk all the coffee in our flasks, we headed back for tea and medals and the warmth of the B&B.

Saturday evening, saw snow start to fall (not forecast) and having enjoyed a good meal and a glass of wine and telling ourselves that there is no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothing.....(we were prepared), we planned our attack for Sunday.

Well, The snow continued to fall, and by morning everything was covered in a light dusting of the white stuff. Nothing too significant, but it had been freezing and with the forecast of a NE wind, it was back to the reservoir slope, but that plan was dashed after we found the "Burway", the main route to the top of The Long Mynd closed due to snow and ice.

Not being put off, we ventured round to the Northerly slope at Darnford, but whilst the red kites and other birds were making the most of the light lift, it did not produce the necessary lift to fly more than the small foamies, and of course, give my new model another flight.

a Snow flurry passed through and although we tried to keep flying we couldn't see the horizon so we retired for coffee and the warmth of the car. after the brief snow flurry the wind eased and shifted round more to the East. So, forever the lift chasers, we ventured round the back of the Mynd' to see if we could get to the reservoir slope.

The road was open and we were soon donning our hats, ski goggles and gloves to try again. The slope was not working, Neil launched and had a bit of a walk to retrieve his model. I launched the Weasel and flew the opposite way to Neil, but there was no lift there either. We kept trying for a while but by 13.00hrs it was obvious that the day was not going to get any better. Cold, with a temperature of -4 degrees C, the threat of more snow and no lift, we retreated to the warmth of  the accommodation; after warming cup of tea, we packed the cars and headed for our respective homes.

Funny enough , by the time we had driven back the 110 miles to Lancashire, it was sunny, there had been no snow. But I consoled myself with  the fact that the wind direction had also been wrong for any serious flying.

We'd had a good time though, and I have just received a text from Neil saying that he is free for flying for the next 3 weeks, so I'm keeping a close eye on the weather, although the coming weekend is forecast to have more snow.

I hope to bring more news soon.

CW

I have a couple of modelling away days planned in May and June which are not too far away. I promise, as soon as I have some news you will definitely hear about it.

CW

I have been trying to get the lift beneath Genesis wings but its either been too wet, wind not in the right direction, or no wind at all. That said, I have not been sat idle either. I ventured down to the RAFMAA 3 day Slope meeting back in early May, again the weather was not quite suitable, but I did get some good flying in; it was either very light and thermic or a howling gale. On the day it was blowing somewhat, I aired my Jart and Dude Models, perfect for the condition, I only had a few takers to have a go with the Jart, but those that did, said it really grooved and gave the tranny back reluctantly. I'm actually building another one of these, and its now at the painting stage.

Having demonstrated the 60" Dude flying wing, I have have secured orders for three fuselages which are now complete and should be delivering these when I go away on a modelling holiday...... Oops I let that one slip :-). Also, I've made 2 new plugs ready for making the moulds, one for a new Dude Fuselage (with canopy hatch), and another secret weapon..... small aerobatic model which is the next model on from the "SmArt" model featured on one of my other web pages... more news on this as it progresses.

Well, what of the Genesis?

No its not flown, but I plan to take it on holiday where we'll be meeting up with Neil and his good lady for another Model Flying expedition... I will come back to you with the news very soon. I'm also getting married while away, so may well be a double celebration..

In the mean time, I suggest you look at the news article - "Aerotow" which shows that I have been out and about and have taken my first steps into the realms of aero towing. What a fantastic weekend. Good weather (no rain) and a very successful outcome to what seemed like a immense daunting challenge.

See you soon

Colin W

It's been a long time coming but Genesis has finally flown…..

Last week my good lady and I had arranged to meet up with our good friends, Neil and Sue at our favourite B&B in Church Stretton for a flying holiday. The girls going off to visit craft fairs etc whilst the boys go flying. In fact this holiday, was slightly different to our normal outings to the Long Mynd. Indeed, although were at our normal B&B, we were effectively house sitting whilst the owners had gone away on their own holiday, leaving us with an extra bedroom to invite other like minded friends, so three couple together.

The weather during the week turned out to be quite light and variable. Saturday was good with a nice steady wind from the West but not quite suitable for the Genesis test flight. Unfortunately the wind and conditions got lighter and predominantly from the North East as the week progressed leaving us chucking discuss launch gliders most of the time.

Wednesday was by far the brightest day with plenty of sunshine, but still light winds from the North East. However, there was a little digression for Wednesday's activity as I had instructed my flying buddies to bring a suit and a shiny pair of shoes. Whilst we flew the light winds in the morning, after a light lunch we all donned our best bib and tucker and ventured to Ludlow so that my partner and I could get married followed by a photo session around

 Ludlow Castle, and then more photos in the garden of our B&B accommodation. After a well earned break...... a good cup of tea..... we were off to the hills again, this time with the girls in tow for more photos with Julie lining up the Pilatus for a wedding day launch....Yes flying on my wedding day,  Love is!

We got some funny looks from the many walkers out and about that afternoon, and rightly so. Its not everyday that you see a group of nutters dress up like they're going to a wedding (we'd already been) running around the hills playing with toys.

At around 6pm, we packed up and went back to the accommodation and made ready for the evening meal at a fantastic Tapas bar called Housmanns. Well worth a visit if you go to Church Stretton!

Thursday was a bit of a wash out with low cloud and rain, but we did manage a walk into the hills in the afternoon, but no flying, although I did carry a model just in case.

Friday, however, was a completely different day. The wind was back from the West, on the best slope, Pole cottage, Ideally suited for for scale gliders. The conditions started quite light, but by midday, the wind had picked up with some nice sunny intervals creating good thermal activity.

Having checked out the conditions with various type of models we made the decision to get the pair of Genesis 2’s from the car and make ready for a test fly and fly them together. After photos of the models together, Neil was first to take to the air checking out the conditions with his Genesis, this time having familiarised himself again with the flying characteristics he flew a loop which was very impressive and nearly came unstuck when he executed a stall turn close in to find that it tucked under in the vertical dive, an indication that it is tail heavy. He did however, have plenty of height to recover from the dive and flew around a little while longer before making an excellent landing.

Having checked my centre of gravity which was a little way in front of Neil's CoG position we lined up for the launch. It took a couple of launch attempts; as with any flying wing, the attitude at the point of launch is critical. However, on the third attempt the model cruised away straight and level with no trim change.. With knees shaking I familiarised my self with the controls, and whilst it didn’t create a major problem I noticed that the Spoilers were being sucked out into the airflow by about 5mm. Obviously, the spoiler locking mechanism needed slight adjustment. but the model was behaving very well. Stalls we executed which were somewhat benign in nature and the model just ate up the sky when put through its paces. The CoG was checked out aerodynamically, and seemed to be spot on with the model just slightly pulling out on its own from a fast dive. My confidence was short lived though and what followed surely tested my flying abilities to the full….

After about what seemed like about 10 minutes flying around, I noticed that the left hand spoiler had driven fully out and could not be retracted. The model was slowing down and sinking. Already low and ensuring that I always turned away from the stuck-out spoiler, to avoid what could be a nasty tip stall and inability to recover, it was hard to get to a landing position. I finally manage to line the model up on the face of the slope and made an abrupt but safe landing…… On retrieving the model I noticed a strong smell of burnt electrics coming from the open airbrake.

With shaking hands I poured a cup of coffee and tried to analyse what had gone wrong by viewing the video and photos that had been taken. I was please with the flight but really concerned about the failure. With all the electrics disconnected, I settle down to enjoy the remainder of Friday afternoon flying my other models, there would beplenty of time to fault find when I got back into the workshop. Following an excellent flying session at around 6pm, we headed back to our accommodation for our last night of the holiday and to celebrate what I think was generally a successful Genesis Test flight… the model flies well, but I need to understand what caused the failure….… Party on!

Saturday Morning and after a thorough clean up of the holiday accommodation, we left for our respective homes as our modelling expedition and memorable events had come to an end.

Back in the workshop, I removed the cover from the airbrake servo to find a molten mess that was once a servo……. you can even see the heat damage to the servo bay.

I have analysed the problem that caused the total failure of the left hand spoiler servo. In fact, whilst the servos on the spoilers could have been of better quality and will be replaced, to be fair, the problem was my own doing.

Having tried a few different receivers and other servos it has become apparent that the 2.4GHz receiver was programmed for High Speed operation. According to the instructions, this mode of operation is not suitable for analogue servos. Guess what, the spoiler servos and tow release servo are Analogue! All the primary controls were driven by digital servos, so they were ok. The clue to this was the constant buzzing from the analogue servos, not the one fitted, these did not buzz at all. The alternative servos I used during the fault analysis, something that was not apparent when the model was initially set up.  There is a flashing LED on the receiver that indicates the mode, but unless you are aware that the LED flashes at different rates and different receivers give different indications then this is not readily apparent.  The problem was also apparent on one of my other receivers when switched to HS mode.

With the receiver suitable re-programmed to normal mode, suitable for both digital and analogue servos, the problem has been corrected.. No servo buzz and all the right indications from the receiver LED. All my receivers have now bee re-programmed, Lesson learned!

WARNING:

Please check that your receivers are set for correct speed especially if you are using analogue servos, my experience could have resulted in more than a melted servo; I was lucky.

Anyway, Replacement servos have been ordered, and I'm in the process of replacing the wiring loom. Additionally, I am looking at different methods of launching Genesis from a hill, possibly by using a bungee, and of course there is also the option of an aerotow at some time in the future.

Enjoy the photos. I hope to bring you the videos soon.

More flights to follow.

Colin W

One Year on, time, weather and other factors have not been on my side when it comes to flying my scale models, especially when it comes to actually getting the Genesis out of the hangar and in the air. I haven't been inactive though. I have designed a new sport model - the "Midge" see the other model articles, and I have also made a CNC machine to cut foam wings also featured in the "How-To" pages.

However, A friend and colleague from work who has helped motivate me in getting my CNC machine off the drawing board and finally sorted, asked if I was going flying last weekend as he would like to come along and it would be good to see the Genesis fly.. Well he'd done his homework; he'd checked the weather forecast and the wind direction (NNW) was suitable for Jeffery Hill. For those that do not know the local topography, this means I can park at the top of the hill and have just a short walk to the actual slope, ideal for taking the scale models out. the wind direction was accurate on the day, but the wind speed was not so encouraging, so I went prepared with various models. Whilst the wind was particularly light and variable before lunch the wind gradually pick up as the day progressed and by around 4pm, was sufficient to get the Genesis out of the car.

I had taken a short elastic bungee to launch the model with, but due to the long grass this was not effective. A local modeller who had been flying his F3F model and Vector came to the rescue. An experience modeller with a definite height advantage over me as he is much, much taller, he was able to provide a good launch to get the Genesis away. This was only the second flight for the Genesis, so some trim adjustment was necessary. Shortly after launch the wind again shifted and reduced in velocity, which reduced the amount of lift and I struggled to gain much height, but I was able to get more of a feel for the model, I reckon it could use a little more nose weight as it seems a little sensitive on the elevator. I  was able to fly the model for around 10 minutes, although it seems more like hours before I had to get the model into a good position for an approach and landing parallel to the slope. The landing was uneventful, and I hadn't really much to worry about as the model was very well behaved during the approach landing using the spoilers. Anyway, my good lady wife was able to take some photos which I have included here. More flights to follow soon I hope, but who know when, but I really would like to get more familiar with its handling characteristics, and become more comfortable with flying it. You've got to admit though, it does look good in the air.

I hope to get more air time soon.  

This last photo is the actual full size aircraft included for comparison

Related Slope-Dudes Articles:

    Three Go Mad in Shropshire

    A New Beginning

    Circles and Slopes

Yes you read the title correctly, Saturday saw a very nice warm sunny day, with a steady breeze from the West, South West.

The RAFMAA event was arranged to hold a gliding competition, but given the direction and types of models most people owned, there weren't many of us that had suitable models for a competition. However I had taken both my scale models. The 3 metre Pilatus B4 and the Genesis. Neil also took his Pilatus B4 and the Labelle along with the Glider Tug.

The Pliatus models were first to take flight behind the tug with the help of a fellow modeller, Dave Rumble who flew the tug whilst Neil and I enjoyed the challenge of aerotowing and silent flight; the models performed well.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to assemble the Genesis and lined this up rather nervously behind the tug. All the necessary checks were completed and the slack taken up in the tow line, the tug initially struggles to get the Genesis moving off the grass but it soon got up to speed. However the bumpy nature of the sports field got the better of the Genesis and the tow line was released as the Tug leapt into the air.

The models were recovered back to the start and lined up again for a second attempt. The tug was given full powered from the start which got the Genesis moving quickly and it quickly lifted off from the grass and serenely floated low behind the tug until it also lifted off and started to climb away. Keeping the wings level and having popped hte airbrakes slightly to provide a little drag to stop it catching and overtaking the tug, a technique used with the Pilatus. All was well as they both climbed away into wind and a gentle turn to the right was executed with both models moving fast but well behaved.

When tug and glider was turned back into wind, the genesis flight path got a little untidy. It was catching up to the tug quickly which had seemed to turn a little quicker than expected, with a view of situation quickly developing with the towline threatening to loop behind the Genesis wing and corrective action with the genesis was taken to turn away from the loop in the line. In hind site, I should have released at the first indications of the developing situation, but before my hand could select the switch, the Tug finally the towline which caused Genesis to yaw violently resulting a tip stall. At this point both I and the Tug pilot hit the tow release, the towline release successfully from both aircraft and floated down wind as I recovered from the stall. The tug was unaffected and flew around at distance while I got the Genesis under control. Not knowing what damage may have been inflicted on the Genesis, I decided to keep the speed on and perform a rapid decent and landing which given the circumstances was a fairly innocuous landing albeit a little fast.

In reflection, I felt that during the stall recovery, the pitch control was somewhat lacking during high speed, whilst I had control in reserve by deselecting the rate switch, something didn't seem right. On inspection, although there was no damage to the model, the elevator could be stalled with pressure to the control surface, which would account for the seemingly lack of pitch response. I need to check out the servo and control geometry.

 The main lesson though, is don't be a hero and try to recover a very slack towline, especially in the turn, hit the release before any situation gets out of hand.

I must admit, The Genesis looked very impressive taking off behind the tug and hope that we can reconvene again soon to get some better photos and video.

CW

2016

The Genesis has been entered in a number of scale events this year (2016). firstly the Leek and Moorland event in August and came first in the modern class. A few weeks later I entered in the Long Mynd scale event and came second place. This event was also featured in the January 2017 edition of the RC model World Magazine which the Genesis 2 received some great publicity.

Back to top