combatpigg

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Howdy Gang...!
While over at stunthanger I found a most excellent thread in the 1/2A Control line section about a TD .049 / FW 190 with a molded fuselage and LE made out of wet 1/16" balsa molded around a form.
The guy who presented this project goes by "GOOZGOG"
He went to the trouble to post a very detailed thread that takes you step by step through some "revolutionary" weight saving build techniques.
For example...ever built your entire control system out of thin wall aluminum tubing ...?
So...inspired with his way of doing things I decided to give it a try.
I chose the Rumanian Fighter since it is one of the simplest WWII planes to base a semi-semi scale model on. I mean..only some SUPER NERD would walk up and point out all the unfaithful deviations between this barely semi-scale Rumanian IAR 80 and the real thing....
I knew absolutely nothing about the PAW .049 [technically it's a PAW 80]...so that will make this project a bit more of an adventure. I bought the EBAY engine from some low life POS who calls himself TRTE-19.
He claimed it was NIB. Once the engine arrived it was missing the needle. At first he tried to argue..but eventually after much effort on my part I was able to convince him to send the needle. This whole transaction took 2 months and much aggravation to complete.
The 1/16" balsa is soaked in hot water for as long as it takes to make it pliable enough to wrap around your form.
I use bands of Scotch 33 electrical tape...WRAPPED STICKY SIDE OUT to hold the wet balsa just tightly enough to the form. Use the least amount of tape as it takes. Some modelers prefer ACE Bandage.
BTW...I used all of Goozgogs' critical areas and moments to lay out the fuselage length and the distances between hinge lines and so on...but the PAW .049 is much heavier than the COX engine..so I ended up needing to lengthen the tail by 2 inches after the fuselage was pulled from the mold.
With my diesel fuel mix of 33% John Deere starting fluid, 33% SIG castor 33% Kerosene and a splash of diesel starting fluid [cetane]...the engine turns an APC 6.3 x 4 @ 13,300 with the nose of the model pointed up and @ 12,000 sitting level. This is the most aggressive setting I've come up with. The engine is not ever "4 cycling" set like this..it just gains rpm when the nose is pointed up.
I doubt my wild guess fuel mix is the best for all out performance and so I'll spend more time later looking for what works best.
At this point I can only hope there is enough power to do the C/L Stunt Pattern on 42 foot lines.
.

Bud Lite Cowl

Form was made from a baseball bat

aluminum tube pushrod meets with aluminum tube flap horns and bellcrank pushrod

i'll add the rounded wing tips after I test fly the plane and find the best leadout position.....or maybe not

instead of centering the prop in the cowl I wanted to keep the thrust line as close as practical to the wing's centerline

The more finished wing turned out too heavy..so I might use it for a .074 project

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Finally....
covered with SIG medium silkspan ..SIG nitrate dope
some flaws in the tissue job were addressed with the help of Minwax stainable wood putty, my index finger, more dope and numerous slits made with the #11 blade to make the loose tissue submit to my will...especially in the concave areas.
The OD Green and brown are Tamiya Acrylic....lacquer...?
I know you are all in awe of how artistically the camo motif was executed..it's a gift I guess.... H^^
I don't know how wise it was to do this .....but instead of using Tamiya thinner at $500 / gallon I used 91% Isopropyl alcohol as a thinner
I have Brodak Butyrate Clear on order along with "flat" butyrate dope thinner
Rumanian IAR 80 Fighter decals are available in 1/72 scale.
I might try my hand at making my own 6 TIMES LARGER insignias to dope onto the plane before I hit it with fuel proof dope....
but
What would be the best material to make a DIY DECAL out of..then maybe apply with dope to the top side of the wing panels...?

I plan on many bumps and bruises for this plane while I try to learn to fly a recognizable pattern and DO plan on building another IAR 80 once I get a chance to wring this one out.

mgnostic

The Bugeyed Earl decal has held up on the tail of the Slim Jim for over five years and a couple hundred flights. It was made with a Testor's inkjet paper and Testor's decal clear coat. Earl is about 4 inches tall so you can do a fairly large waterslide. Raw fuel will attack to coating on the decal but Earl is doing better than some of the covering.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks..!
I hoped there was something out there that would save me from trying to brush by hand the Rumanian Crosses.
My Fuel Proofer is some Brodak Butyrate and "dulling" thinner that is on the way.
I like your planes...Bug Eyed Earl reminds of Chuck Auger who was a regular contributor at the Speed Forum 20 years ago. His motto was "BREAKING THE SPEED OF SOUND.....STRAIGHT DOWN...!!!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

At this point it needs a coat of fuel proof dope...a couple insignias, a better looking cowl.
It weighs 10.5 ounces which isn't great but maybe it'll do...?
I have no idea..we're talking about being able to fly the Stunt Pattern VS less challenging stuff.
I should try to find better looking beers cans.
There is actually a malt liquor called "CAMO"....I need to do some research.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Here she sits at 11.5 ozs.
I'm going to make a heavy spinner nut so that the CG is more forward.
Will the PAW .049 pull it through all the stunts with a 6.3 x 4 at 13000 rpm...?

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

THE GRUESOME FLIGHT REPORT
Well to begin, what I fly from is a well mowed combination of moss and pasture grass.
So I think take offs from the grass is a NO GO..plus I didn't want to add the weight of landing gear.
My one size fits all stooge works great with overpowered combat planes and it even works with this moderately powered IAR 80
The PAW .049 has been a disappointment with the compression backing off in flight and the needle valve having a mind of it's own too.
My home brewed 1:1:1 fuel probably isn't optimum.
The PAW was able to keep the 42 foot long lines tight for level laps..even when the rpms dropped to 3/4 power after a few laps.
I tried different props but the 6.3 x 4 seemed to be the best. There just wasn't enough line tension to try any stunts at 42 feet.
After a launching SNAFU that required repairs I substituted a Norvel .074 / Hayes 2 oz tank for the PAW / metal tank.
Even though this .074 is a little bit worn out the difference is like night and day.
The PAW .049 and Norvel .074 are about the same weight..but the Hayes 2 oz tank is much heavier than the little soldered tin tank I made for the PAW.
After a few really strong flights I did manage to have another launching SNAFU that required more repairs.
Now the plane weighs 13 ozs which qualifies it for ROCK ON A STRING STATUS...I believe.
The repairs went well...and tonights flights went pretty well too. I've got a "3/4 A" plane now to practice with.
I