redtail

My Feedback: (15)

Good Luck David on your project. To all the BobCat Builders and Fans, Merry Xmas and for sure, a much better New Year for all of us. Chic

Murphey

My Feedback: (11)

David: I think the 3 piece wing is what Rich did on his...and mot doing it is probably the biggest regret I have on mine. My wing, with all the electronics and engines in the wing is huge and mine weighs 24 pounds!...the fuse only weighs 7...so the 3 piece wing is well worth the effort and the little extra weight! Keep in touch as you work on the gear!
M

dauntlessuk

Murphey,
I couldn't transport a 100" wing in my car so it has to be a 2 or 3 piece set up. A 3-piece wing seems the better option. I think I have decided to model the silver/blue bobcat N51469 / no.644 of CAF. I can use silver solartex to cut down on painting and weight.
David

Murphey

My Feedback: (11)

David: Good idea! If you don't have the history on that specific tail number...I'll bet Spaceranger can find it for you! But for some reason I thought the CAF Crane's were yellow?? May be wrong...note I used the word "Thought"...
M

SpaceRanger

N51649 is c/n 6644, a UC-78B (USAAF 43-32706) from the last batch built (650 airplanes). It was never a Crane. I think he meant "CAF" as in "Confederate Air Force," but it was never with that organization. It is currently registered to the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, Galveston, TX, and is in the Lone Star Flight Museum, Galveston. It was damaged when Hurricane Ike struck Galveston in 2008, and its current condition is unknown to me, but the Museum's web site lists its status as "Flying/Display." It was painted/blue/silver.

I do not yet have details of its military service, but here is its civil history:

Date of Mfr 4-1-44.To RFC (San Antonio, TX) post-war for sale at Cuero, TX. S/t Frank Hlavacek Jr., Wilmette, IL, 8-8-45 ($8,500.00). Reg’d. NC51469 4-9-45. Civil conv. compl. 21-9-45. AwCert iss’d. 5-10-45. Prop spinners installed 13-1-47. S/t Robert C. Moravek, Melrose Park, IL, 7-3-59. S/t Robert E. Kennedy, Philadelphia, PA, 5-12-59. S/t M. M. Marshall, Kernersville, NC, 25-7-61. S/t P. McNeer Dillon, Jr., Statesville, NC, 27-2-64. S/t Frank E. Davis, Raleigh, NC, 18-5-68. S/t Air Service, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI, 29-9-68. S/t Melvin L. Schuck, Sawyer, MI, recorded 21-10-70. S/t Danny Rice, Sinton, TX, recorded 8-10-72. S/t Thomas P. Rowe/Theodore B. Shanks, Elgin, IL, 24-1-73. S/t Lone Star Flight Museum, Galveston, TX, 9-11-81. Cleveland wheels/brakes installed 8-9-93. R/t Texas Aviation Hall of Fame (name change) 23-9-97. Curr. as N51469.

T50UC78

Hi all Don Smith T-50 fans and a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Delaware to all. May the New Year keep and expand this great thread and see a few more Bobcats done and in the air!

rhsmrt50

I went with the three peice wing mainly for storage and ease of handling.......I have a van, so transportation is no problem........the center section of wing is one peice including the nacelles and bolted to the fuselage.......wing panels are removable where they meet the nacelles.........the tricky part washow to configure the flaps since they bridged the seperation point......thesolution was to hinge two points to the outer wing panelsand use a plug-in at the fuselage which provided the third hinge location.......plus, it was also a square plug which also provided drive from the servos.........so really the servos are mounted in thefuselage.............Itis illustrated earlier inthis thread, but I'am not sure of the page............If you are interested in this modification I willbe glad to help .......

Rich.

rhsmrt50

Murthey, as I mentioned earlier, the LG is back from Down and Locked..........and I cant say enough of the parts and workmanship......simply beautiful work.........they are smooth as silk, sound real!........and retract time is the same as the real thing.......positive lock when up and stowed..........positive down lock with no play what so ever.........I am setting a mock-up for a test, so will include photos later on............so, I guess I better put the pen down and pick up the X-acto knife..........time for some more fun.

Rich.

rhsmrt50

Murphey.......thought I would throw a few picks of the gear we have..........hope they come thru okay...

Rich.

rhsmrt50

.......Rich.

Big_Bird

My Feedback: (1)

Really looks good Rich. You can demo it for us Saturday night.

Murphey

My Feedback: (11)

Pics came through perfectly Rich! Yes Mitch and Ron do great work! And the motors don't really use more battery than a couple servo's so there really isn't any need to worry about that either! Thanks for sharing the pics!

By the way...Santa brought me the complete Sky King Series DVD set! I'm 8 episodes into it now!
M

rhsmrt50

Thanks Ken........I'am planning on it!..........work is in progress as we speak.........so to speak.

Rich.

rhsmrt50

Thanks Murphey...........when I bought my set they were on VHS and there were 64 episodes........but I understand that they found the missing ones that were reported to have been burned up in a film storage facility...........but that was later found to be false.........so, I was wondering how many episodes did you receive?


Rich.

Murphey

My Feedback: (11)

18 disks with 4 episodes each...72 total...
M

redtail

My Feedback: (15)

Happy New Year to all you BOBCAT fans and builders. Chic

rhsmrt50

.....Ken, here is a sneak preview..........13 pic's.....so it will be a two part......you know, sorta like a sequel......enjoy

Rich.

rhsmrt50

.......Same song......second verse!!!

Rich.

rhsmrt50

.......More LG parts......

rhsmrt50

......Test set-up for the finished gear and the newly installed "Down and Locked" electrical conversion..........after a few glitches and retract limit problems were solved........ this system works beautifully.......

Big_Bird

My Feedback: (1)

Rich, that looks sooo good. I'm looking forward to seeing it tonight. I have my electric loaded up for the midnight flyin.

dauntlessuk

Thanks for the info Michael. I only said it was CAF as one internet source stated the aircraft was part of the Commemorative Air Force. However, there are many inaccuracies on websites. I appreciate your informed response.
David

dauntlessuk

Thanks Rich for your offer of help with the three-piece wing. Actually, most of the info on your method is here in this thread. I'm a long way from building the wing at the moment but I want to think about the options before building. Perhaps I can contact you in the future if I have questions.

Regarding your own model, I take my hat off to you. It is an oustanding model with incedible attention to detail. I am very much looking forward to seeing photos of the finished model.

Wishing you an excellent 2012.

David

JeffH

My Feedback: (43)

Is there normally any sort of stitching used on the fuselage stringers like that used on the ribs? I know the stringers have pinked tape on them, but I am not sure about the covering being attached to the fuse with stitching.
TIA
Jeff

skylarkmk1

Jeff,

I don't know about the Bob Cat but most fabric covered aircraft just have the tape applied over the fuselage stringers as wear strips, no stitching. The purpose of the stitching as I understand it, is to help keep the fabric from lifting from the frame work in low pressure areas (wings). Often the rib stiching in the the area of the propwash is closer together than it is further out. Check your specs. It may be 2" apart in the prop wash area and 3" or 4" further out or it may be the same all over. Again, check the specs. as many aircraft have the spacing of the stitching spelled out in the TO's.

Question - how are you going to get someone inside the fuse to feed the needle back out, especially down in the tail area with out damaging the stringers? Stitching also causes extra drag which the designers were well aware of when the Bob Cat was designed.