Corsair with DLA 128 4 Cylinder Build
11-05-2014, 06:43 PM
#77
Hi Billy:
That looks great, Nice job!
I agree to leave some space between the flap and the hinges. I used 3/32 G10 while the flap is 1/8” This left 1/32” clearance. How did you ever get that gleaming finish on the stab? Wow!
I know Mike Gross. He is one of the top builders in our club which has many well know craftsmen including Dave Wigley, Nick Ziroli Jr and Roy Vaillancourt. Mike’s latest is a Glen Torrance DR1 that is truly museum quality and he flies it great. I am familiar with Mike’s Corsair and have closely checked it out. Last year he gave it to his son Mike Jr. who restored and repainted it. I've been watching it fly all season.
That looks great, Nice job!
I agree to leave some space between the flap and the hinges. I used 3/32 G10 while the flap is 1/8” This left 1/32” clearance. How did you ever get that gleaming finish on the stab? Wow!
I know Mike Gross. He is one of the top builders in our club which has many well know craftsmen including Dave Wigley, Nick Ziroli Jr and Roy Vaillancourt. Mike’s latest is a Glen Torrance DR1 that is truly museum quality and he flies it great. I am familiar with Mike’s Corsair and have closely checked it out. Last year he gave it to his son Mike Jr. who restored and repainted it. I've been watching it fly all season.
11-06-2014, 04:48 AM
#78
Z poxy
Hi Billy:
That looks great, Nice job!
I agree to leave some space between the flap and the hinges. I used 3/32 G10 while the flap is 1/8” This left 1/32” clearance. How did you ever get that gleaming finish on the stab? Wow!
I know Mike Gross. He is one of the top builders in our club which has many well know craftsmen including Dave Wigley, Nick Ziroli Jr and Roy Vaillancourt. Mike’s latest is a Glen Torrance DR1 that is truly museum quality and he flies it great. I am familiar with Mike’s Corsair and have closely checked it out. Last year he gave it to his son Mike Jr. who restored and repainted it. I've been watching it fly all season.
That looks great, Nice job!
I agree to leave some space between the flap and the hinges. I used 3/32 G10 while the flap is 1/8” This left 1/32” clearance. How did you ever get that gleaming finish on the stab? Wow!
I know Mike Gross. He is one of the top builders in our club which has many well know craftsmen including Dave Wigley, Nick Ziroli Jr and Roy Vaillancourt. Mike’s latest is a Glen Torrance DR1 that is truly museum quality and he flies it great. I am familiar with Mike’s Corsair and have closely checked it out. Last year he gave it to his son Mike Jr. who restored and repainted it. I've been watching it fly all season.
Zpoxy and and a soft brush. Thin 50%
11-06-2014, 04:57 AM
#79
Z poxy
Mike has been a big help ! I still have my first Texan from 1984. How did you hold your wash out in wing panels ? Keep epoxy thinned out for slick paint jobs ! Tac dust off first before Ppg primer and paint for glass finishes
Last edited by Billy J; 11-06-2014 at 05:24 AM.
11-09-2014, 02:41 PM
#81
Hi Billy:
Nice work.
I used a 3/8" square hardwood spar as the plans call for to give me the wash out in the corsair wing tips. I just finished all the glass work and have cut out and fitted the fiberglass parts for the gear doors. Photos will follow in a few days. I'm on a roll now with the weather becoming super for building.
Nice work.
I used a 3/8" square hardwood spar as the plans call for to give me the wash out in the corsair wing tips. I just finished all the glass work and have cut out and fitted the fiberglass parts for the gear doors. Photos will follow in a few days. I'm on a roll now with the weather becoming super for building.
11-13-2014, 02:25 PM
#84
It is interesting to note that the gear strut cover on the full size Corsair does not completely close the opening due to the geometry of the landing gear hinge position. On the Hellcat that also had rotating gear there was an extra small piece at the forward edge that closed it all up. I found that on the Corsair a sheet of black rubber like material was used to close the gap from the leading edge of the wing to the top of the strut cover. Here are a few photos to illustrate. You can just make out the black rubber sheet on the flying photo just in front of the closed strut cover.
11-13-2014, 02:27 PM
#86
I could have layed up my fiberglass gear doors over the bottom of the wing and not go through the extra step of making a mold but then I would have had a lot of sanding to do to eliminate the weave of the 6 oz cloth. It was easy to stretch 1 mill polyethylene sheet over the area of the doors to make a nice non-stick surface. I used at least 8 layers of 6 oz cloth and epoxy resin to build the mold. After two days it was nice and hard and I applied 3 coats of partall #2 green wax and then brushed on Partall #10 liquid release agent. I built up the doors in the mold with 5 layers of 6 oz glass cloth and west system epoxy resin for a hefty thickness of a little over .050”.
11-13-2014, 02:28 PM
#87
The next step is to cut out the balsa sheeting in the area of the door. I then cut the two ribs free in the area of the wheel and re-install the landing gear. Next I used a disposable scroll saw blade and a sanding block and trimmed to fit the new fiberglass door section in place.
11-13-2014, 02:31 PM
#89
Here you can see how I attached the forward strut cover using my clamps and a maple spacer that is epoxied to the strut cover. The fiberglass finishing plate that covers the gear mechanism is attached using ¼” wide hardwood blocks that are epoxied to both the gear bracket and gear mount, and then attached with #0 flat head screws.
11-13-2014, 07:37 PM
#91
Hi Billy:
Thanks.
You are probably talking about filling 6 oz cloth weave. I actually tried it on the flaps that were covered with 1 oz. I used a soft brush thinned out 50% with alcohol. It did fill the weave but it was very tough to sand. I usually use lacquer based primer surfacer for that. It sprays on thick, drys quickly and is very easy to sand. It is also nice for building up when making panel lines with chart tape.
Thanks.
You are probably talking about filling 6 oz cloth weave. I actually tried it on the flaps that were covered with 1 oz. I used a soft brush thinned out 50% with alcohol. It did fill the weave but it was very tough to sand. I usually use lacquer based primer surfacer for that. It sprays on thick, drys quickly and is very easy to sand. It is also nice for building up when making panel lines with chart tape.
11-26-2014, 06:35 PM
#92
The gear door hinges are attached to one side where the overhang is short with screws. On the other side where there is about an inch of overhand I glued them in place after adding a layer of 4 oz fiberglass cloth and resin inside to make it a bit stronger.
11-26-2014, 06:39 PM
#93
I slotted the door with the dermal and a small file to accept the offset hinges and used 45 min epoxy to mount them. I had to keep checking every 15 min until they were firm enough to stay put. When it was hard I sanded the excess flush with the outside.
11-26-2014, 06:40 PM
#94
I cut out the hatches and installed my aileron servers so that I could align where the aileron horn would go. I then slotted the aileron and epoxied the aileron horn in place. For reference I am showing the geometry of the aileron linkage and horn that I used.
11-26-2014, 06:42 PM
#95
I added flanges to my hatch openings using 1/32” aircraft ply. The hatch covers have 1oz glass cloth on both sides and I hardened the edges with Z-Poxy diluted 50% with alcohol. I will later use #0 flat head screws to attach them after painting. The flap servos are installed with a ball link on an aluminum arm with a dubro plastic link at the flap.
11-26-2014, 06:43 PM
#97
I mentioned earlier the Corsair using a black rubberized material to close the gap between the strut and the leading edge of the wing. I used some 1/32 thick black rubber that was left over from another project to cover this opening. I used a strip of 1/16” aircraft ply and #0 flat head screws to mount it. When the gear is up the rubber is slightly stretched across the gap and when down it is folded under just like the full size.
11-26-2014, 06:44 PM
#98
There is still some detail work left to do on the wing before priming but I am moving on to the cockpit. My plan is to get the cockpit all squared away so that I know just how much space I have left to install all the fuselage formers, electronics, and other hardware. I am starting on the canopy which I want to have the ability to automatically slide open. It would be a shame to hide the neat cockpit detail that I purchased under all that glass and framework.
I have the clear plastic vacuum formed canopy from Ziroli. I want to create a rigid fiberglass framework that will go outside of the clear plastic. Without this after I cut the front of the canopy from the rear it would not be stiff enough. I coated the outside of the plastic canopy with mold release wax and painted a coat of partall #10 on it. I applied two 6 oz layers of glass cloth with West System epoxy resin. This may be a bit on the heavy side but I figure I have a lot of sanding to do on the outside to remove the weave. It will probably come out to be about 0.015” thick or 1/64”. Hopefully it will pop off when hard but the Partall #10 is water soluble and I suppose I could soak it in water to release if I had to.
I have the clear plastic vacuum formed canopy from Ziroli. I want to create a rigid fiberglass framework that will go outside of the clear plastic. Without this after I cut the front of the canopy from the rear it would not be stiff enough. I coated the outside of the plastic canopy with mold release wax and painted a coat of partall #10 on it. I applied two 6 oz layers of glass cloth with West System epoxy resin. This may be a bit on the heavy side but I figure I have a lot of sanding to do on the outside to remove the weave. It will probably come out to be about 0.015” thick or 1/64”. Hopefully it will pop off when hard but the Partall #10 is water soluble and I suppose I could soak it in water to release if I had to.
12-12-2014, 06:09 PM
#100
Hi Billy. Thanks for the kind words.
The fiberglass canopy frame came away nicely from the clear canopy without leaving any scratches. I marked the outline of structure of the frame from my 3 view and cut it out. I made a template for a 3/32” aircraft ply support structure. I cut out two identical pieces. The one that was to go in the forward wind screen I fit in the fuselage so that it was in the correct position and made it removable. I then epoxied them into the forward and rear canopy frame.
The fiberglass canopy frame came away nicely from the clear canopy without leaving any scratches. I marked the outline of structure of the frame from my 3 view and cut it out. I made a template for a 3/32” aircraft ply support structure. I cut out two identical pieces. The one that was to go in the forward wind screen I fit in the fuselage so that it was in the correct position and made it removable. I then epoxied them into the forward and rear canopy frame.