Winter build project: Wolfgang Matt’s ATLAS

It's very satisfying watching the hot wire gracefully cut through the foam, and thankfully I no longer need to keep sketching out a diagram to try and illustrate Mike's gravity feed machine to people, I can just point them to Mike's video.

I've just released the fuselage from the jig and to my surprise it didn't spring apart

I've decided I'm a plodding builder rather than a speed daemon, I'd had hopes of be further forward than I am, but all in all it's not been a bad weekend, on Friday I had no wings and only bits of wood cut up, today I have foam wings, and the fuselage is taking shape. Mike popped over to give me a new foam tail, which was really kind of him, and I was able to pick his brains about the next steps. I didn't notice any sharp intakes of breath as he looked over what I'd done so far, maybe he was just being polite



Any updates from the other Atlas builders?

Chris001 wrote: It's very satisfying watching the hot wire gracefully cut through the foam

Not wanting to hijack the thread but.......A bit "Heath Robinson" but by God it works! :woohoo: Minimal effort too. Could start cutting out Delta wings?

Chris001 - If you do not understand "Heath R" ask some of your peers. :lol: He was a master of it.........

Phil, I feel that liking Mike's... 'contraption' to an invention by Heath Robinson is quite disrespectful.

However I'll admit there is one area of the design that would trouble me if it were mine... Mike used a number of combs for the fine adjustment of the fishing line, however they were not all identical. This is troubling for many reasons, first is the possibility that he purposely bought mismatched combs, to my mind that requires a certain amount of planning and effort as it quite likely involves going to more than one shop. The second possibility is that he raided whatever he had in the house... this is perhaps even more disturbing for how many combs does one man need in stock at any one time? And does this mean he is currently combless. Troubling thoughts I know, and it's been keeping me awake at night.

Heath Robinson is fine...although I'm not sure that his machines did anything useful!

As for the combs...whilst at Castlepoint, I popped in to Asda and bought two combs for £1. They were the same but different colours. Back home, I realised I needed another comb, and Morrisons sell a pack of three mismatched combs for £1. The combs are the magic ingredient and carefully hidden away from view so that no one can reverse-engineer the machine

Mike, I just realised why you cut the balsa at F5, I'm thinking hard as I don't want to admit defeat and cut it there too

It's not that I don't know what needs to be done, it's just working out the best way to achieve it... nicely.