Cessna 177RG beta build- Murph's Models

[RyanShort]

The cowl flaps are manual. We keep them open MOST of the time (sometimes not on startup in the winter) on the ground, and in climb, then close them when cruising or descending. We almost had an incident today - something busted hydraulically and we had the gear come halfway down on their own - but got her down safely and she's still in one piece tonight.



And yeah, if that mirror isn't on the model yet - I'm adding it when I get a chance to buy it. That mirror was a lifesaver today, that and the manual gear extension lever.

https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.mcc...05560169509062

[YOAVHOZMI]

it looks very good...well done

YOAV

[elliott]

Close call Ryan, glad you and the plane are OK.

[willygoat]

I'm glad all is well and that you used your skills to get home safe. I'm guessing that is on t b e port side? I'll see if I can add it.

BTW Ryan, thanks for the info on the cowling flaps. I figured that was what they were.

[RyanShort]

The mirror is in the starboard side. Pitot is on Port side. I'll try to get some pics in the next day or two.

[willygoat]

It's about time I make a report on the build of the 177 RG Beta. All of what I'm showing I actually did about 4 weeks ago. However, my industrious little 2 year old daughter commandeered my camera and decided to use it to take pictures of her stuffed animals. Apparently, my son taught her how to use it, and didn't bother telling me that she had it. Well, many weeks of hunting later, I found my camera with the pictures!

Picking up where we left off:

1. I decided to take a whack at the main gear wells since I knew they would have to be worked into the rear fuselage. Just remember that the marking go INSIDE the formed piece.

2. The two gear wells built out

3. Parts of the main gear leg. Not how small the parts are. After 5 tries, i gave up on the card stock and used 20# printer paper.

4. One of the legs formed. Because I used lighter weight paper, I coated the legs in a couple light coats of super glue. Now they are quite sturdy. (I know I got some of the angles wrong. It's hard to keep them accurate with such light paper and them being so small)

5. rear fuselage sections. Note the gray "cut out after forming" sections

6. Gear wells cut out of fuselage sections

7. Fuselage sections joined

8. Rear fuselage former. Be very careful when fitting this one. I had to sand it and get it just right before gluing, otherwise the gear wells won't fit the curvature of the fuselage.

I glued the gear wells in before gluing the former in place. I added some glue strips along all sides to give more mounting surface.

9. Main gear leg w/ wheel. I made the tires WAY too wide. I mounted the sides of the wheel onto 1 mm cardboard. However, I didn't account for the thickness when I rolled the tire tread. I made the tread circle too small.

You can also see that I used a small piece of toothpick as an axle. I used my pin-vise to drill a hole in the inner wheel disk and glued the toothpick to the outer wheel disc. Once set, I slid into place in the loop at the end of the gear leg. At the top end, I glued in a small piece of wire to add some support.

10. Main gear legs dry-fit into the gear wells.

[willygoat]

Carrying on with the nose gear:

1. Nose gear parts

2. Gear legs rolled and glued, and wheel

3. Nose gear in place w/ gear door mounted

4-6. Standing gear tests

7. Upper fuselage- The windows and upper fuselage are exactly the same as the standard fixed gear model as far as I can tell. Once again, I used the B&W print on light 20# paper to make additional glue strips

8-10. Windows mounted pics with gears

That's what I have for now. I hope to get the tail feathers done this weekend.

[willygoat]

Almost finished! All that is left is the prop cone and prop. I'll do those either later tonight or tomorrow. Here's the photographic run down of what I did today.

1. Vertical tail and fairing

2. Tail assembly together

3. Vetrial tail mounted too fuselage

4. Wing center spar

5. Assembled wings ( they are exactly the same as the fixed gear model.

6-7. Wing mounted to fuselage. Not the horizontal tail has been mounted as well. I also glued in the retractable main gear legs.

[willygoat]

Well, it took me long enough, but I finally finished Murph's Models Cessna 177 RG beta. He put it up on his site a while back, but I hadn't seen any builds yet other than my slow test. I can confidently say that this is a great kit. 90% of it is the same as the fixed gear option, which means it builds soooo smoothly. That last 10% takes some thought, but if I can do it, anyone can.

Here are the last few build steps and the final result.

1. The remaining parts for the prop cone, props, and exhaust pipe and fairing

2. Prop cone parts laid out. Again, I used a copy printed on 20# paper to cut for glue strips.

3. The 3 cone rings

4. Finished prop cone

5. Small fishing weight added to inside of cone to add aditional nose weight.
Apparently, some of the weight I added in the fuselage shifted back a bit. That, and the slight angle of the main gear legs tended to have the plane tail sit with a lite breeze.

6. Prop cone fairing on nose of plane

7. Props folded and edge colored

8-12. Final beauty shots

[willygoat]

I recommend you go to Murph's site and pick this up. It is a great kit for general aviation fans.

Murph's Models - Cessna 177