I have decided that I watch too much TV, and putz around on the internet way too long. As a result I have started to get back into the hobby of building and flying Model RC Airplanes. It was a great hobby I enjoyed as a kid, and I have fond memories of time spent with my dad doing it. Additionally, it was the hobby that inspired me to go to school and become an engineer. Instead of spending countless hours consuming gobs of content; I decided to create something and harness my time for more constructive purposes. For the Holidays my Father sent me a lot of my old gear that he mothballed for me when I left for College. I spent the better part of the Christmas Vacation cleaning and restoring some of the equipment. I had an older Webra speed .40 that was a great ball bearing motor. However, I did a real poor job moth balling and storing the device. Upon receipt it was 
all gummed up and seized. A little time in the oven, and some cascade in a boiling pot of water seemed to really clean it up nicely. Some new Ball Bearings and it was back up and running in no time at all.
The next step was to clean up the garage and prepare it a little better. I simply purchased a cheep roll of cork and laid out a 34 inch spread. I afixed it using some Loctite spray adhesive. I went with the light duty re-positionable type. This allowed me to prepare a decent workspace in my garage that would give me enough space to at least lay out a wing half. Ideally, I would want a better equipped and more spacious shop and not have to work around my wifes car parked behind my bench. 
However, I rather get going now, and as time permits and things change, carve a better space out for myself. Its all about making the best of what we are blessed with. In fact when I was 10, my first airplane was a Great Planes Glider that was assembled on a mobile building board that slid under my bed. Mom wasn’t too keen on me playing with CA+ on her kitchen table. Apparently, Dad already ruined that party. She wasn’t too thrilled when she saw what happened to the carpet of my bedroom floor neither.
My choice for my come-back plane was simple. I grew up building a Goldberg Falcon MK II. It was a great second plane, and went together remarkably well. To my disappointment, the kit had been discontinued. Now you can find them in an ARF every now an then, but the point of the hobby is the bond that develops building and crafting your plane. Maybe I am the last of an older generation, but everything I found was ARFs. It wasn’t until I realized that the Tiger 2 and the Falcon MK II shared a lot of similarities did I give it more serious consideration. From my best estimation, it looked like the Tiger 2 was simply a low wing version of the falcon. The airfoil looked similar and the planes had a lot of commonality. Being that the Tiger 2 was dubbed a low wing “trainer” it helped cement my choice. I found a good “2nd” plane, and a kit. I stayed away from trainers, because I feel that I would get bored too quickly. I support that conclusion based on simulator time I have spent at my Local Hobby Shop on the Real Flight G5.5 simulator. My plan is to set-up the Tiger 2 with low throws and fly it conservatively as I get my “sticks” back. I suppose time will judge the wisdom of that decision.
The first thing I did was to inspect the wood. I usually just look for broken or missing pieces. All in all I was impressed, but did notice that the balsa was incredibly light. This could be my recollection improperly remembering balsa being a little denser, or it could be related to the supply constraints. After seeing all the pieces present and in good shape, I just made a mental note to be careful. Having light-weight balsa is not a bad thing. The other observation was the move to laser cutting. Since Great Planes acquired Goldberg they seemed to run the models down their production processes. This means moving from die cutting to laser cutting. To me, I am not good enough to really notice the difference, but laser cutting means I have to do less retracing of the outlines to remove the parts. The flip side is that I frequently have to go fishing for a part that fell out of the sheet. Which causes me to worry if its been damaged from wallowing around the bottom of the box.
Building began well. As normal I begin with the Horizontal stabilizer. This is because it’s step one in the instructions, and it builds quickly. Thus I get a quick sense of accomplishment that fuels continuation of the project. 
All in all the pieces went together well. I used a small miter saw to cut the soft balsa carefully. Using the X-Acto knife was great for scoring the wood, but jamming it down to simply cut, would cause deep impressions and round the cut. Thus squareness would be greatly affected. I also made sure to measure and check that I was using the correct piece for the application. Many kits will give a an assortment of wood all same dimensions, but of various lengths. If you use the wrong piece, you may affect a later building step. I learned this the hard way when younger. As a result I measure all three dimensions and make sure the piece is called for in that particular building step. The soft balsa was perfect for using thin CA, therefore glue would soak in deeply and bond quickly. Additionally it would help keep weight down. However, the bottle that I had was pressurized just a little. As soon as I broke the seal it went squirting all over my hands and the work bench. Fortunately, it was away from the pieces awaiting to be assembled. Gluing went well. Before I knew it the horizontal stabilizer was assembled and staring back at me. 
I remembered quickly, my weaknesses when it comes to building. I get rather impatient and try to complete too much too fast. The finishing of the stabilizer went poorly. I rushed the gluing of the bevel and rounding tools. As a result I was trying to sand the elevator surface to put the bevel on with a tool that wasn’t completely built and cured. It went so so. The real disaster struck when trying to place the 3/32 wire in to hold the two elevator half’s. I hastily pulled out my drill cut the holes, and then tried to bend the wire by simply heating it with a propane torch and a pair of pliers. That went poorly and wasn’t bent well. The train wreck continued, as I tried to force the poorly formed part into the elevator. I pulled out the 60 minute epoxy and went to town. In the end I am unsatisfied with the part, and worried that it will fail in flight. Now I am forced to replace the piece of wire and the elevator. I have to remind myself I am in no hurry to get this thing in the air. I want to enjoy the process of building, and make sure I am proud of the work that is displayed. Its off to Hobby Lobby, or my Local Hobby Shop (LHS) to replace the 3/32 wire and elevator stock. While I am at it, I will pick up a vice and research good ways to bend those wires to get clean crisp bends. Anyone have any tips?
Until Tomorrow.
Steven
figure was that the trailing edges were meant for another kit. The stock was shaped correctly, but was cut incorrectly. I am sure my Local Hobby shop had a piece of stock that could be fabricated to meet the specifications. However, I just didn’t want to spend that kind of time trying to make something work. Not to mention, I know my tendencies to rush things and it probably would have turned into pile of balsa scrap. Instead I took an alternative approach. I reached out to Great Planes customer service. Since I wasn’t in a hurry, and I had other things fighting for my attention, I decided to settle the matter via email. I looked up the part number on Great Planes website and sent off a very nice email explaining the issue
. I evened offered pictures detailing the defect. Now, most companies give a customer service email, but you just get a canned response to call some 1-800-number. However, to my surprise, a day and a half later I received a very nice reply, apologizing for the inconvenience and requesting that I respond with my shipping information to replace the defective parts. I was impressed. By the time I was ready to start thinking about building the wing I had pieces at my door. The whole process delayed me about a week and a half, but having the right piece was worth the wait. Needless to say, despite the mishap I am a very satisfied customer. Its not often you get that kind of customer service. I was so thankful I didn’t have to call and explain myself like a preschooler in the principals office detailing it wasn’t my fault that there was finger paint on the ceiling. The Bottle was PRESURIZED! . . . . . . . I digress. Actually, tonight, I was able to start and finish assembling the left wing. I will give the details in another post. 
