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The Guppy is a really good airplane that everybody should build. \u00a0I built one a long time ago, before I had a laser cutter, and powered it with an OS 26 Surpass. \u00a0It would be equally at home with a Saito 30, but it really doesn\u2019t need more power than that.<\/p>\n
The plan shows flaps, but no ailerons. \u00a0I built mine with flaps, and I added ailerons, and it was great. \u00a0I\u2019m offering your choice of ribs to build with or without the ailerons, so please specify when ordering.<\/p>\n
The plan shows no plywood braces at the wing root. \u00a0In the article the designer says to use Celastic to reinforce the center joint, and notes that if you do not want to use it you should build your wing with plywood braces. \u00a0I\u2019ll include a set of plywood braces and a dihedral gauge in your choice of either 1.5 degrees or 5.5 degrees per side. \u00a0As I always say, if you\u2019re flying without ailerons you need plenty of dihedral to get the plane to roll. \u00a0The plan shows low dihedral and no ailerons, which I\u2019m not a fan of, so you get your choice. \u00a0Tell me which ribs you want (ailerons or no ailerons) and choose low or high dihedral.<\/p>\n
I thought the Guppy\u2019s chin was a very impractical design. \u00a0If you think about it, building it as shown on the plan would be kind of tricky. \u00a0You\u2019re supposed to fill the corners with scrap, then sand them to the outline of the firewall. \u00a0But the firewall is covered by the fuselage sides and the bottom sheeting. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t make sense to me. \u00a0So I simply cut the bottom of the firewall off flush with the bottom of the fuselage side. \u00a0Add a 3\/4\u2033 balsa chin, or two layers of 3\/8\u2033, and sand it to shape. \u00a0This is the way I did it when I built one, and it was easy. \u00a0Refer to a plan such as the Cloud Dancer to see what I mean about the chin block. \u00a0Also note that if you do the chin like the Cloud Dancer, you can extend the block in front of the firewall all the way to the front of the cowling, or sand it flush with the firewall and add big balsa blocks on the front, which is what I would do.<\/p>\n
One other important detail is that I\u2019ve used lite ply rather than balsa for the aft bulkheads, tank floor, nose bulkheads, and the filler on top of the fuselage behind the wing. \u00a0The reason for the change is because lite ply comes in larger pieces than balsa does, so you get the\u00a0big parts all in one piece instead of joining them.<\/p>\n
The naked airframe in the photo was built by Collin Shulz.<\/p>\n
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The Guppy is a really good airplane that everybody should build. \u00a0I built one a long time ago, before I had a laser cutter, and powered it with an OS 26 Surpass. \u00a0It would be equally at home with … Continue reading