Free-Flight Basics #7 - Making Canopies With Heat Shrink Tubing and a Hair Dryer

[@conexo4668]

Hello!! I worked for 25 years in the most important Aeromodelling store in Argentina until its closure in 2017. It is a pleasure to see that there are still real Aeromodelers who use balsa wood with mastery and Japanese paper. It is unfortunate that this activity is being lost due to the modern lifestyle. Where all that could be sold were assembled RTF products. I continue with the idea of ​​being able to promote this activity and set up a school to transmit this knowledge to future generations. thanks for your art! my greetings!!

[@maxfliart]

Thanks for the kind words. We'll continue to build & fly stick & tissue for as long as we are able. Cheers!

[@rhjimmy911]

I'm a self taught modeler. After almost 60 years, it is amazing to learn new techniques that make easy out of what I always considered almost impossible! Thank you for all your work ans willingness to share! You've really inspired me!

[@nateg6320]

My modeling just jumped from zero to hero! Thanks for such a great video as always

[@taildragger7355]

Brilliant! Can't overstate how useful ( and beautifully made) this series is.

[@maxfliart]

Thx. Much appreciated.

[@garydickens7567]

Yet another master-class! Thanks very much.

[@miguelsuarez8010]

Your models are stunning. Display grade.

[@grrmtthgrrmtth3000]

Thank you very much for this video. Awesome

[@barryharrison1750]

Thank you for posting your techniques,Tom! I have tended to shy away from models where forming canopies would be required. That has now changed:)

[@patrikcalloch7953]

ce sont les plus beaux films de construction vol libre , que j'ai eu l'occasion de voir depuis 73 ; Ce Max est du haut niveau d 'Emmanuel Fillon qui a réalisé tous les avions civils français des années trente en formule "french arachide " et gagné la wakefield de 38. Encore merci à vous .

[@maxfliart]

Merci. J'apprécie vos aimables paroles.

[@davidquerry8869]

Thank you so very much for doing this. It is greatly appreciated.

[@jimr3633]

Your step by step building videos are my favorite. I wish this was available when I was a kid making Guillows and Comet kits that came out too heavy to fly.

[@maxfliart]

Thx, Jim.

[@Hoverbatic]

Thanks so much Tom for this wonderful series.

[@GuzziIan]

Many thanks again Tom for continuing our education! This series of videos is wonderful.

[@TheMendipman]

Thanks again Tom. This is building into the best F/F course ever! Noel

[@carlwattjr]

sincere thanks for giving us all this help.

[@indoorfoamfliers7536]

Very precise and impressive😊

[@ricklewis4377]

Pure craftmanship, a pleasure to watch.

[@clay2027]

Great video and a solution to at least a dozen styrene plastic kits I've struggled for years with. Many missing, damaged, or poorly canopies can now be dealt with. I've used thermoform sheets and vacuum form, but your balsa master technique is much better than what I've used. Thanks!

[@fabiohaddad2531]

Many many thanks for the lesson! The process itself is not complicated but not so easy at first to install into fuselage with your level of precision, will need practice... pilot figure is fundamental to the final apearance, the model is very beautiful.

[@muzaffergecim1933]

Thank you very much Mr. Hallman.

[@yassermasood3423]

Thank you so much Tom ❤️ for doing it. Otherwise I would have never known how to do it. Keep it common please.

[@rowanadventures]

This video was posted just in time. I just finished a P-51 from scratch and was dreading the process of making a canopy. I used the process you showed here and it worked perfectly. I still have to perfect making plugs, but no longer worry about this normally daunting step. Thank You!

[@maxfliart]

That's great to hear. The bonus of course is that it opens up an eternity of designs, as ur no longer held back by a specific kit canopy or wingspan.

[@indoorfoamfliers7536]

My rubber power models i built never had canopies. But now they will get their long due canopies. Thank you

[@vaughanlockett658]

Love the TG beautiful airframe the canopy looks fantastic .

[@jaybarua7095]

Excellent tutorial, thank you. I like your focus on weight. No wonder your planes fly so well. Kudos.

[@jirihamersky6152]

Thanks for this great series. It's definitely the best on youtube.

[@52TONBI]

素晴らしい技術です！軽く作るのに熱収縮チューブを使う！！

[@flaviotorinetti7722]

I'm happy. I'm learning each detail. Thank you so much for these espectacular videos "Teacher".

[@StephenFauble]

Great, I have subscribed!

[@alfredobarrios4356]

No hay nada que decir sos bueno 💪 que buenas tecnicas

[@robertploth6400]

Great stuff as usual noticed the peg holes under wing cant wait to see how you attach your wings. I keep smiling trying to get mine airborne but frown with the crashes thanks

[@ioannisbatas1614]

Superb !!!

[@ianhirons7762]

Another great lesson jam packed with a lot of useful information and tips,thank you again Tom.I do have a question about DTs and was hoping you would be covering this topic in your Free Flight Basics series.

[@maxfliart]

Thx. I've written an article on DTs, so perhaps ur answers are here. www.hallmanstudio.com/DT.pdf

[@ianhirons7762]

Thank you Tom.

[@mark3713]

I sure hope you do a video on how you build wings. Thanks

[@HD-su9sq]

Brilliant! Thank you!

[@stephenpropnut7486]

Old dog new trick... thank you!

[@robinboucherwonderfulflight]

Great information Tom, thank you very much. What is the final sanding grit you use on the balsa block please? I never understood the difference between dope filler coat and dope sanding sealer, is there a difference? Does the sanding sealer become soft from the heat gun? Your method is very clean, thanks again for sharing. Michael

[@maxfliart]

Thx, Michael. It was 400 grit. For this one I used the water based filler, but have also used the dope sealer. Both did well and didn't react negatively to the heat. Not sure what the diff. is between filler and sealer.

[@robinboucherwonderfulflight]

@@maxfliart Hi Tom, Aero Gloss makes a Fillercoat Primer and a Sanding Sealer. I have used a Fillercoat on control line models. I guess a Sanding Sealer isn't as heavy, thick maybe. Thanks, Michael

[@mikeo7604]

questo e meriviglioso!!

[@jimr3633]

Can you do a video on how you lay out the stringer spacing? For scratch building that is the hardest part for me. They seem to wind up being in funny places when I am done and kind of "squiggly".

[@maxfliart]

Episode #5 shows that to some degree. It's best to notch the beginning and ending formers, drop in a stringer, then mark the formers with a sharp, soft pencil. A simple notching tool is key. Here's the link. Good luck. kzbin.info/www/bejne/apmtoZScqtuta9k

[@alejandromascitti541]

Thank you so much Tom for posting these technics! Who is the pilot of the glider? Louis Bleriot? :)

[@maxfliart]

Not Blériot, but perhaps a friend from those days? It's Léon Molon...one of the early air racers. He lived until '52, so I'd like to think he might have flown in a Schweizer.

[@alejandromascitti541]

@@maxfliart Inshalah!

[@thomasarnold9747]

Tom, is it possible to split a section of tubing open, wrap it around the canopy form and pin it on the bottom if your mold is a bit too big for the size of tubing you have? I can't wait to try this...what a fabulous technique. Thanks again for a great video.

[@maxfliart]

I've never tried it, but it's certainly worth a shot.

[@maxfliart]

Although a big part of the process is to be able to pull & stretch the tubing, so you'll still need a bit of length on each end to grab.

[@Yosemite-George-61]

Thanks a lot! (Just make sure the pilot's beret does not have a button on top, if he hits the canopy in turbulence it will hurt!) :-)

[@windsurfer3329]

I love your vids! What glue do you use to glue the canopy on to the frame?

[@maxfliart]

Thx. I usually try Sobo, since it's a softer glue that works with thin plastic, but sometimes I slide in some CA if it's a difficult area to keep down with the Sobo.

[@maxfliart]

I've even used a glue stick, where I didn't want to risk getting glue on the exposed tissue, but it tends to let go at some point.

[@andrewchandler980]

Genius

[@payres48]

Pardon my lack of knowledge, but I would have thought the canopy would be part of the kit?

[@maxfliart]

Hi Paul. My models are scratch built, many from my own designs or plans, so there isn't a kit involved. That's easy to overlook if you're new to free-flight scale modeling.

[@charleswampler-yb9ll]

How do you make your pilots

[@tofu6698]

I am a junior high school student in Japan. I can't read English sentences. You learned how to make a canopy by watching the video, but what kind of plastic material do you use?

[@maxfliart]

PVC熱収縮チューブを使用しました

[@maxfliart]

これが私の米国での情報源です。 www.walmart.com/search?q=PVC+Heat+Shrink+Tubing

[@jardaschannel]

I also tried to make my own rocket engine, and it works. It is simple, you need sugar+KNO3 (potassium nitrate), I tried to make my planes with this type of engine. It was interesting, it sounded Pfffff at maximal thrust (for about 2s).

[@Errol.C-nz]

thats amasingly light material.. 2mm? you mean .2 .. ive been using a similar system.. discarded clear meat trays from supermarket.. & heat gun.. it all but flows to form.. pvc insulation foam as used in ridgid self supporting roof panels, for formers/molds, its fine grained & heat proof.. instead of balsa block.. much cheaper & easier to form.. epoxy, balsa cement & thinners proof.. excellent foam construction skinned with tissue & thinned aliphatic resin or balsa cement or sanding sealer.. cheers from NZ

[@raymondo162]

#1 put your wooden 'plug' on a piece of 3mm plywood and draw round the base with a sharp pencil. cut the shape from the ply, sawing on or 'outside' the line. sand the resultant shape smooth. (ie you create a frame that's the same shape (on the inside) as the 'plug' base but tiny bit bigger. #2 mount your 'plug' on a small piece of board with a small 2mm spacer under it. #3 warm plastic gently in the oven til it goes floppy #4 drop plastic over 'plug' and push down with the shaped frame ( from #1 above) #5 allow to cool. remove n trim to size #6 enjoy that smug feeling of a job well done..............

[@raymondo162]

also: if you are likely to make many canopies, investing time to make a small vacuum box seems a good idea......... in the long run, i think it saves time, and makes the process easier and more reliable.......

[@GesersihTv20]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Tadrjbs]

Talent on loan from God. Thank You God...Moses

[@froyserrano5969]

Oye maxfilard pueces hacer mas aviones te lo agadeseria muchisimo

[@maxfliart]

Thx, hope so.

[@ignatzpepchuk]

Great videos but man, that soundtrack keeps putting me to sleep! You could start another channel for insomniacs😴