[sled]

Aft Turtle Deck:

A little carving ...... a little sanding, a little filling, ...... more sanding and the aft deck of the fuselage is almost done! Just have to shape the vertical Fin Fillets, that would be that large hunk of balsa at the rear of the fuse in pic #2. Did I mention carve, carve, carve, ........ sand sand sand!
'
sled

[Eganwp]

Nice work Sled!

I actually just started my US 60 build tonight.

Just working on elevators now. Good luck with the rest of it!

[robpreston]

you've come a long way. Good work buddy... I like it...
now you at the point were you want another brown bottle of pop just to wash the dust down ...

[sled]

I just realized that I have not posting anything on the Ultra Sport build since the end of Jan! Dam, don't you just hate when work gets in the way of some serious modeling.

Well here's the latest guy's (oops I mean fellow RC enthusiasts). Installing the wing fairings wasn't to bad, now to fill & smooth the top side!!

sled

[sled]

Installing the horizontal & vertical stabilizers, a little time consuming getting the fuse level and plumb. The laser level works great for setting the alignment!

The last 2 pic's show the progress as of today. The wing fairings turned out pretty good I think. A little Aylmer's wood filler & a little sanding.

I was a concerned about the weight of the plane to date. The weight as you see the US60 here is 3lbs 5 oz's. The only things installed in or on the airframe at this time is the engine mount, tank, & throttle linkage tube.

So the question of the day is the weight in-line with were it should be at this point in the build, or I'm I going to end up with a 12lb monster?

sled

[sled]

First real attempt at covering. I have had to make a few repairs over my short time as a RC pilot, and one or two do to some really dumb hanger mistakes.

So for my first go at this covering thing, instead of using the the KISS method I just had to something a little more involved. As a result here is what the tail feathers look like. The only thing missing is a little white pin stripe between the colours on the sunburst for both the horizontal & vertical surfaces.

There's no tool like experience, but having the right ones along with patience and practice and the results at least look acceptable.

sled

[darrenR]

I figured once the snow melted you'd get back at it, looks good buddy!!

[sled]

Well here it is the finished product, and the best part is it only took about 8 months to get to this point. Spent today tunning up the Saito 91 (been awhile since its been fired up), ground checks, & taxi tests. Alas no maiden flight today ....... that dam west wind picked up again which for those out there that don't know our field, that would be a 90 deg. crosswind & gusting at 15 to 20 kmp. Not one to tempt the Gods, ........... there's always next weekend for the maiden. Ok maybe I did chicken out just a little , but discretion is the better part of valor! Here's hoping next weekend is nothing but clear blue skies and dead clam winds for everyone.