Evening All,
Many thanks Paul, Nigel, Gary, Alexis, Skyhook and Alan for your very kind comments - all are much appreciated.
When Rolls made his historic first return non-stop crossing of the English Channel, he had floats strapped to the underside and front booms in case he needed to ditch in the sea. Looking at the photos I estimated the size of the floats and covered two pieces of dowel and two pieces of plastic tube with crepe paper. I painted them grey to try to represent canvass covering - I suspect (but do not know), that the floats were some form of covered air bag because the Short Brothers had been making balloons for many years. In any event the photos of the aircraft show some form of fabric covering. The floats were tied to the airframe with thread as on the original machine they had been secured with rope:
The last major item to add to the airframe was the front biplane elevator. I had already made the flying surfaces and struts but I added the rigging first by drilling holes in the "solid" parts of the elevator surfaces. I cemented struts into the "solid " parts of the elevator surfaces and allowed these to set before the lower elevator was slotted over the left horn, (the right side had been broken off earlier in the build). The right horn was CA'd in place and supported with a conventional jig while the CA set properly:
When this structure was secure I could add the upper elevator, the central struts and then rig the whole. The boom supports from the wings to the undercarriage skids were made from 30 x 40 strip:
The early Flyers including the six built by the Short Brothers were launched from a wooden rail: the machine was mounted on a simple dolly which was attached to the skids and fell away on take off. I made up one of these from plastic strip with rod for the rollers:
The above image was taken before I had touched in the paint!
To complete the model I finishes attaching all of the remaining rigging wires - mainly anti-drag wires to the front and rear, and some bracing for the rear elevator. One of the last items added to the model were the propellors - these had been carved from wood and stained.
The above image shows the completed model before I mounted it on a base. I want to show the aircraft as it would have been prior to take off for Rolls' historic flight so I made a launch rail from basswood with wood strip for the ground supports:
The base was made from hardboard mounted on a wood frame, painted and covered with 2mm static grass. The rail was glued to the base:
Two trestles were made from strip wood to support the wings and stabilize the model on the launch rail. Finally the model could be placed on the trestles and rail and was considered finished:
I will post more pictures and notes in due course in the completed models section. The light has not been good today and the weather windy so I have been unable to take photos outside but I am hoping to have more luck tomorrow.
In the meantime, thanks for looking.
Stephen.
