BY JOE SMITH

GETTING STARTED

Fist you need to have a

"PLAN"

And where do you get that plan you ask...? Well you draw your own.I got one of those real cheap-o "IMAGE TRACERS" that enlarge pictures on the wall. It cost me a bundle...like $11.00 on sale. But it works fine for blow'in up 3-views and design'in new slope ships! How do you get a

3-view?
Go to the hobbie shop and spring a few coins for the model that you want to do. In this case we gonna do an SU-27. most plastic models come with a 3-view, some more accurate than others but we aint worried about prize win'in scale competition, just a good representation of the ship you want to build. I already have a model,and an"ENLARGER", now I need to draw the plans.

HOW BIG?

To start the plans we put the 3-view in the "enlarger" and trace in pencil the basic outline
of aircraft. How big do you make it..? Well..
big as you want or as small as the projected
wing loading will let you. This SU-27 is gonna
have "JR" micro servos and a 250mah. pack
so I'll be safe to go fairly small if I want. I've
built little F-16's and F-4's with 25" wing
spans and about 175sq. inch's of wing area
that seem to fly just fine use'in micro rx.
gear. It happens however that I'll be designing
this jet to be 46 inches in length, and 30
inches span. The actual wing area is hard
to calculate because most modern jets are
designed to have lifting body charictoristics.
The aprox. total wing area is around 350-375
sq. inches, and the target wieght will be
17-20 oz's. lighter if possible...(but I wont
worry bout it..built a MIG-29 this size that
has stnd. gear in it and it flies...)

REFINE YOUR DRAWING

TEMPLATES

I use 3/32in. plywood for templates because I dont have a bandsaw, and I can cut this stuff
with an exacto knife. If you do this BE CARE-
FULL!!! Dont cut your arm off! There will be
soft spots and hard spots, takes patience and
caution to cut ply with a knife...
When I have my templates done I just spray
3-M 77 on them and the foam, then stick 'em
right on the block to be cut. Works for me!
Now I try to design my slopers so that as little
shapeing as possible is required. HOW..?

HERE IS HOW THE TEMPLATES LOOK
You say...the central portion of the fuse. is
cut like any other kit, just blocked out..BUT..
the outer sections of the fuse that make up
the wing fairings are cut as though they are
airfoils..The temp. that makes the shape
that attaches to the central fuse section is
scale in conture, the outer fuse fairing temp.
is modified to the shape of the the root
airfoil section used so that the wing to fuse
blend looks as scale as possible. ALSO..
use registration marks on the center section
so you know were to glue the fairing sections
to..these registration marks are cut into the
central fuse. section templates...they're just
"V" notches that you can put ink marks thru.
these marks tell you where the leading and
trailing edges of the fuse to wing sections
align to. Now the airfoil templates are laid
out in typical fashion only with plenty of
washout built in to the tip section...USE
1/4IN. WASHOUT!! stubby wings need all
the stability they can get. The addition of
a few degrees of positive incedence also
adds stability. TOO MUCH DRAG YOU SAY?
Ok build yours without...washout or poss.
incedence...but when it dont fly, dont say
I didnt warn you...

CUTTING AND SHAPEING

Now that the plan and templates are done you
can layout your foam for the cuts.

HERE IS HOW IT LOOKS

The idea here is to get all your parts out of as little foam
as possible. I designed my jets to use 1 sheet
of foam and there aint any to spare..(I GOT 2
SU-27'S OUT OF A 24x36x4 and 5/8in. BLOCK,
ONE FOR YOURS TRUELY AND THE OTHER
FOR GLENN SALISBURY IN THE LAND OF OZ
HE's BEEN WANT'IN ONE FOR A WHILE)

TWO SLOPERS

I start with the center section first. Draw a line from the top corner diaginaly down to the opposite corner, that is the center line, of the center section fuselage. (some folks were wondering "HOW DO YOU GET A 40-46in. PLANE OUT OF
36in.'s OF FOAM? well.. now you know.) Next
layout the fuse flairs, block these out like the
wing panels.then the two intake pieces. Last
layout the wing panels.you should get all parts
out of the same sheet of foam. Hotwire time!

CUT

I cut the center section with 2 taper cuts from
the top veiw side. That is to say skinny in the
rear, getting fater towards the front. What you
should end up with is a block of foam measureing about 1in. at the tail and 3in. at
the nose and 2 3/8in. thick..you will need to add to the 2 3/8in. by glueing on another piece
taper cut the same way. You wont have to add
all the way to the tail because that end tapers
down to an inch or so..,just add enough to get
the fuselage side view temp's. on. I like to
cut the canopy first, then the fuse. Shape the
canopy FIRST. Then put the canopy in the
bed where it will sit and trace around it.
NOW you can cut the two fuse to wing fairs.
Cut those like the wing panels, a root section
and a tip section. Now line these two parts up
with the registration marks on the sides of
the fuse,and trace their outline. You can now
shape the fusilage by rounding off the corners
and rounding all the way up to the outlines
of the fairs and canopy.

SHAPED OUT

DONT SAND BEYOND
THE OUTLINES OR YOUR PARTS WONT FIT RIGHT! Take your time., look at the plastic
model..you'll find that with very little work
you should wind up with a fairly scale look'in
fuselage. Next glue on the fairs and shape themdown with 100 grit wraped around a
small can. I use TESTORS model master
cans cause they're pretty small..you use the
cans shape to blend the fuselage, fairing,
and wing like on a F-16...an SU-27 is very
similar in conture.

ONLY A FEW HOURS TO GET THIS

TRUST ME this is not
complicated or hard to do..I can cut out all the
parts and shape everything out in just a few
hours..most of the shapeing is done by the hot wire.

TAIL FEATHERS

The tail group is cut from CORAPLAST, you can get this stuff from craft stores, and sometimes grocery stores carry it. It's basicly
corigated vinal, and its pretty tuff.

TAIL GROUP

Lay out
the stab to be one piece. Line up the elevator
hinge line with the ribs on the coraplast. Ater
it's cut out, remove the webbing between the
two ribs on only ONE SIDE of the sheet to form your elevator hinge.Now add a piece of havy gage wire to the stab to link both elevators, bend a right angel on each end with the distance between of about 11in.'s. Then poke each right angel down into the coroplast
on each of the elevators,this will allow them to move up and down at the same time eliminateing the need for two servos. Next cut both virt. tail fins, line the ribs to run up and down for the most strength.

TEST FIT-UP LOOKS GOOD

No hinges to cut here, so your pretty much done with these for now.

AILERONS

By now you should have all the EPP parts shaped out and all glued together to form a one piece fuse and wing assy.

SUBTRAILING EDGES FIT AND GLUED ON

Dont glue on the tail group, or the intakes just yet. Now the aileorons will be tapered from about 2in.'s at the root down to 1in. at the tips. Cut the ail. stock on the fat side,so the taper remains consistant.The ailerons run 6 and 1/2in.'s from the tips.

FITTING UP THE AILERONS AND TORQUE RODS

You can also adjust the size of your airfoil templ.'s and then use flat 1/8in. balsa untapered for the ail.'s . Both types work just as well as the other.Add some sub trailing edge stock, these terminate at the fuse sides. You can add a spar if you want but these stubby wings get pretty stiff after they're taped and covered ,so that's your choice.. if you fly hard and land hard you may want to add some,but dont go crazy on the beef 1/4in. stuff is plenty. Be sure to cut the spar groove from one tip to the other, right across the belly of the plane.Cant put it on top cause the uper fuse shape is prohibitive. Get your ail.'s all squared away and the linkage of your choice installed.(I install my linkages to exit the bottom of the plane by cutting grooves deep enough to allow free movement, and installing the servo between the intakes where it's quite well protected)

ALL FIT-UP AND GLUED UP

On this model the grooves will
be cut in the top of the wing fairings, then the
tourque rod is run down so the ends come out
of the belly.

RADIO GEAR

Like I mentioned earlier I'll be use'in JR micro
gear. Lay your servos, battery, and RX on the
aircraft while holding the plane in the other hand. Move everything around till you get it balanced as close to the CG as possible.( I PUT THE CG AT 5 AND 1/4in. FROM THE LEADING EDGE OF THE ROOT ) This wil change a little after it's covered but you should not have to add a whole bunch of lead. Try to go light as possible, then you can add wieght later for conditions. The battery and RX sometimes end up in the canopy area, witch works great for installation. Next I usually cut the mounting tabs off the servos. The ail. servo will go between the intakes near the CG. the elev. servo will go about halfway between the ail. servo and RX. Play around with it till the ballance feels right, then mark where everything will go. Cut the servo pockets to fit snug so that any movement is eliminated. The ail. servo should mount flush with the belly.
The elev. servo is embeded so the servo arm
is about 1/4in. to 5/16in. from the surface of
the belly.

RX GEAR IN THE BELLY

Next cut a groove to accept the elev.
pushrod wire tube, it will angel out from the center to either outboard side of the plane. Use a little hot glue to final mount the equipment and that should just about do it
for the radio instalation.

TAPEING

Use 3M-77 spray adheasive on the whole fuselage, and let dry for several minutes. The spray will give the tape a good hold to the EPP. Start with the spar pieces, they run from
the tail end to the nose.


SPAR TAPED

Then the wing spar
pieces go from tip to tip on the top and
bottom.. little tricky to get 'em on in one
piece but it can be done..be carefull not to
distort the wing..when the wing spar tape is
on, hold the wing up and look at it from
the trailing edge.. do you still have washout?
Most distortions can be pulled out useing
another strip of tape,


BARREL WRAP


ANOTHER VIEW OF THE BARREL WRAPING
(TAKE NOTE OF THE ORDERLY AND TIDY
CONDITION THAT PREVAILS IN MY SHOP...
I KNOW RIGHT WERE EVERYTHING IS)

NOW start the barrel wrap, about mid wing chord, on the top of the plane.. cut several strips of tape
about 12in.'s long x 1in. wide.. and put
them on across spanwise on the fuselage.
overlap each pass by a 1/4in. and work your
way all the way to the nose..be carefull on
the fuse-wing fairings not to distort thier
shape, just push the tape around the
contures gently with your thumbs. it'll
follow the shape easily.. dont worry about
the gaps that happen they'll get covered
when you flip it over and do the botom.
Next put 2in. strips chordwise on the wings,
out about to the ailerons. Overlap these
by about 3/4in.'s or so. by the time you're
done you should have a lightwieght durable
package.

COVERING

All taped up? Right, ready to cover.. I start by
covering the wings and moveing in to the fuse. You'll
find that you cant cover the fuse in one piece..
do it in sections from the tail forward. I like to
use plenty of heat so everything sorta melts
together and the covering doesnt come out
all wrinkly look'in. I'll use white ULTRACOAT
on the nose and canopy parts then mask them
off when I paint, this makes for a cool look'in
paint job.

TWO TONE ULTRACOAT( GETS PAINTED ANYWAY..)

After you get it all covered glue on
the tail pieces, connect the linkage, and give
it one last RX test, if somethings wrong NOW
is the time to fix it before it's painted..

PAINTING

Not much here to tell ya exept I like to use TESTERS MODEL MASTER paint in the little
cans. Comes in seveal camo colors and
sticks to the ULTRACOAT real good. Like I
said I mask off the nose and canopy then
spray the lighter color first then the dark
color on top. I'll use "INTERMEDIATE BLUE"
and "FLAT GULL GREY" this
should approximate a good Russian style
military paint scheme.


JUST PAINTED

When the paint dries
I'll use a SHARPIE fine point perminant ink
pen to draw on the canopy outlines and
any other details that look cool.

SOME DETAILS PENNED ON

I cut out
a star shape and lay it on each wing in the
possition of the insignia then just paint
the star flat white, then with a RED
SHARPIE I draw a red outline around the
white star, next leaveing a white strip
inside the outline color the rest of the star
with red. With very little effort you will
have quite scale looking Russian stars
on your sloper! By now you should be
holding in your hands a scale slope ship
that will blow everyone away...


READY FOR THE SLOPES!!

FLYING YOUR SU-27!

Take your sloper to te nearest grass field for
the first test flights. Also take a flying buddy because I found that this design does'nt lend
itself well to one armed toses.. Give it a gentle toss ...if it doesnt nose up and stall, give it a little harder toss the next time.. if it stalled add a little lead to the nose (CUT A SMALL HOLE
UNDER THE NOSE INSIDE THE UNPAINTED
PART) If it flies strait ahead and the elevator
seems unresponsive you're nose heavy..
add lead to the tail (INSIDE THE TAIL CONES WORKS GOOD) When you get the trim
right you'll know because it'll be very
responsive up and down and left and right
yet it shouldnt be twitcy at all..( I was lucky on
the radio and servo placement, no lead was
needed CG is 5 and 1/4in.'s ) My test glides
went exelent, nice glide! Cant wait to go
to the slopes and give it a go!!! When you're
happy with how it feals GO TO THE SLOPE!
Take some lead to the slope so you can
adjust the CG a little if needed. Dont be afraid to fly it,..IT'S EPP, IT'LL BOUNCE if something
isnt right.. so let-'er-go Once its ZEROED IN sit back and have a blast fly'in
YOUR NEW SU-27 SLOPE JET!!!


Soon as I can get some good weather and wind I'll go to the slope and get some inflight
photos and let ya know how good (or bad)
she flies..judgeing by the test glides I think
this is gonna be cooooool!!!!!!!!!!
JOE SMITH....