Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

Well, I got some covering done this day.. I've been thinking about the cleanest way to cover this fus and it look good.. I came up with "Panel Covering" method...Larger sections and fewer seams...I make paper templets, make my adjustments to the papers and then tranfer that to the covering... I used tape to hold the Covering in place until I get it Tacked and sealed around all four edges.. (I use alot of masking tape when building) I then poked small holes in the 4 corners for air to escape when I heated the loose center covering with a Tower heat gun...Rub it down with a "Hot Glove" This worked very well with no dings and iron marks in the covering so far....Took all day but the finsihed product is well worth the time now...Remeber, We are going to enjoy these planes for years so invest your best effort ....Good luck!
Terry B

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

I plan to spray the cowl and fus side vents when plane is almost done with Lustrecote....

scigs30

My Feedback: (8)

Looks great, what are you using for covering.

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

Since 1972 I had been using monokote, the p-38 pictured in an eariler post and all planes posted were done in monokote finsih but this plane , (P-47) being silver (Silver monokote was the hardest I ever applied) I decieded to go with ultrakote silver. All other colors will be monokote since I is what I keep mostly.. The only color I have ever had trouble with in monokote was the silver and it just would not stick well or shrink to suite me.. Ultrakote does not seem to be as thick but is sure a fine product.. Wish they had a color chart like monokote offers. Cutting the fus covering in large panels, ( bottom first, sides and then top, rear to front) sure gave a lot fewer seams and a much cleaner look. I have always just cut the needed width of covering off the roll and applied to what ever I was working on, then trimmed it off on the plane. But by making a paper template first, your seams are straight line and where you wish them to be. usually on a radius and this makes them harder to see.. I will also hid them with a panel line later on.. Hope this helps your model come out better toooooo.
Terry

scigs30

My Feedback: (8)

Well, the build still looks great. I have a sheeted practice wing and I will give the Monokote Silver a try to see how bad it is.

scigs30

My Feedback: (8)

I also plan on building a couple of future planes that are going to be covered with Aluminum Monokote, so I wanted to practice before messing up my builds. Please excuse me, I don't mean to hijack your wonderful build. But here is my practice plane covered with Aluminum Monokote. I sheeted one wing and the Monokote went on pretty easy. I put it on tight, leaving a couple of ends open for air to escape, then hit it with the hot gun and follow it up with my "bunny glove". I just bought the House of Balsa Mustang and P47, both will be done with Aluminium Monokote. Also want to use silver on my Easy Built Beaver. I still have to buy the Top Flite Kits, my fear is that TF will stop making them in favor of the ARF's. They look like great builds and fun flyers. Next thing to practice is making a camo scheme with Monokote.

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

I always wondered how the Alum. Monokote would do....looks like yours went on just fine! Good job..Please keep us posted..I too plan to keep using TF kits.,.. I dont want to loose the kits either!
What plane are you covering there?

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

Well I got some covering done today...The fus was gonna be the hardest part of the plane so I started there... I used a paper towel under my Trim iron to keep the scratches off the razor back area since it will need to have iron contact on every inch...Worked very well. I very rarely use anything but a trim iron. It small enough to control the covering well. I got away with no scratches so far.. first I iron on the black in front of the pilot and then left a bare balsa space for epoxy to glue the canopy on. The green on the top is done in three sheets.. Left and right rear then one sheet in front of the cockpit.. take your time here to avoid wrinkles ...after you get the film ironed on over the top of the spine.. Fold the covering back and rub it down for a crisp crease you can gut with a FRESH razor blade. By having a very straight cut just after the top edge, when you iron it down... it is almost invisable... A ragged cut just screams out! Again, let the heat of the iron do the work, not the pressure you apply denting your wood. I sanded the edge of the canopy where it contacts the bare balsa space.. Applied 30 minute epoxy and set into place with masking tape.. After it dries you can cut 3/8" iron on film strips and iron half the stip on the canopy and then the other on the fus for a very slick finished look on the canopy.. I finsihed with using 1/8" stips of monokote to make the canopy frame...Looks alot better for me than trying to paint them on....Hope you can use some of this and good luck! Please post what you do for your P-47..
Have a great week....Terry B

brockettman

Terry,

The P-47 really looks good! I have a building table set up and have been inspired to start mine...

This kit was given to me, and after taking inventory of the parts I ended up ordering a few things from T/F. So with a complete kit (the plans are a little torn and shabby and I also had to download the instruction manual) I'm going to start with the fuselage.

Wish me luck!

Ben

scigs30

My Feedback: (8)

She is looking great, can't wait to buy my kits. The kit you see in the picture is just a practice model. I use it to test covering and building techniques so I don't ruin the real model.

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

Ben, It's a great kit to build and everything I read says the plane is a pleasant flier to boot.. You will enjoy the quality of the kit and engineering done on the parts.. Makes for a great finished product... Post picts as you go to let us know how it looks for you.. Being a round fus,,, have lots of good block sanders to smooth out the joints.. my favorite block sander is a 1"x3" with 280 glued to it.... Lets me get into small areas with out finger marks in the wood... Have a good week everyone!

Goran619

My Feedback: (2)

Well I haven't had much time to work on my P-47 in the last week or so but I did get about 2 hours to play with it tonight. I got the top side of the wing finished and ready for sheeting. I had to install the pieces around W7 in order to attach the pylons to the wings, the aileron block installed and added the 1/16th pieces around the aileron control rods. I also got my engine in today I'm so excited about it, I am waiting for another package of stuff I forgot to initially order which should be in on wednesday or thursday. I will probably start the break in on the engine this weekend hopefully. I also got the engine mount that came with the kit cut up and mounted to the engine, i just need to get a protractor so i can find where my new mounting holes will be on the fire wall since i will be mounting this engine inverted and not at an angle like the kit was designed. I also had to do some modifications to the dowels that slide into the fuse since the original holes were a little off and would not slide into F2, is it worth picking up an incidence meter or should I be fine without one? Hopefully this weekend i should get some time to work on it and I will post pics at that time when I get the wing completly sheeted and the belly pan made and cut out.

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

Goran, if the wing fits nicely into the plywood saddles then the wing incidence will be fine...you may need to oval the holes in the plywood to make things line up then put a plywood "Washer" on the back side of the plywood bulkhead to make things tight again after you get everything corrected. Take some time to line it up when drilling for the wing bolts... If you every do buy a incidence meter, buy only the lazer meter from Greatplanes...it is sensitive and very accurate...dont get in a hurry...do good work and keep us posted...Terry

Goran619

My Feedback: (2)

Yea thats what I was kind of thinking, if the wing sits flush with the saddle I should be fine. I'm trying to get this plane finished or at least glassed my the beginning of may before I have to go to SD for 2 weeks for my yearly Annual Training.

brockettman

Terry,
I hope to get some pics posted pretty soon. I've got the fuse and stab parts punched out and bagged, so hopefully I'll get some CA applied to balsa in the next few evenings! I'll definitely keep a sanding block handy, I'd really like to get a clean sheeting job done on this plane.

Goran,
Is the engine you are waiting for the DLE-20? Would love to see some pics when you get it mounted.

Build well guys,
Ben

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

You will be able to tell a differance in the finished product if you will sand alittle on your wing sheeting seams before you apply them to the wing.. Lay them flat on your building table and sand the glue seams on top side only... When you are getting close to the covering stage.. Use some 1000 Grit wet/dry paper and go over the whole plane, vacuum and tack the wood.. The covering will look smooth like it is when it still on the roll.... Keep us posted. Terry B

brockettman

I got a chance to get going today and built up the horizontal stabilizer and elevators. I used a piece of masking tape when I beveled the elevator skins to get a good sharp sanding line. So far everything is going together very nicely.

I was wondering how you guys felt about using separate servos for each aileron instead of using the bellcrank, and if anyone has done this modification.

Build well!
Ben

Goran619

My Feedback: (2)

Well today I was able to finish sheeting the wing and the flaps cut out and formed, the left side has been drilled and the hinges have been fitted and ready for glassing. Tomorrow I will be finishing the right flap along with the ailerons and possible get the belly pan made. Today I was also able to get the engine mounted to the frame and bolted to the firewall. In order to achieve the 6 1/4" that the book calls for I will have to add about 1/2" of washers for a spacer between each corner of the mount. I would do it with drilling the holes farther on the mount however that will bring itto about 1/4" from the end of the mount and I don't think it will be strong enough. Plus should help with balancing since most of the things I've read say this ends up being tail heavey when finished. In order to get the GP mount that came with the kit to work with the DLE 20 I had to cut off the bridge between each half of the mount and then cut off the ends to make the ears to bolt the mount to the firewall. You can see this in picture 4. The plane is upside down so the engine is mounted so the cylinder is down instead of off to the side like the directions tell you to mount it. Tomorrow Iwill will epoxy the firewall on and mount the engine with the prop and the prop nut and Iwill post pics of that when Iget it mounted.

brockettman

Goran,
That engine looks sweet on there!

Goran619

My Feedback: (2)

If your going to go with this engine, bolt the engine about 5 3/4" from the base of the engine mount to the base of the prop and then add 1/2" spacer of some sorts between the mount and the firewall to achieve the proper 6 1/4". Doing this you will need to go down to your local hardware store and pick up either 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" bolts to bolt the mount to the firewall instead of the supplied 1" bolts. I will post pics of this tomorrow when I get it all assembled with the prop and the prop nut.you will also need the folowing.
Prop nut
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCRT7
Jam nut to mount the prop nut to
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKE13
Also you will also want to put a ball link on the throttle lever
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYCH4

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

Goran, lookin good there..I do like that motor.. hope to buy one someday..Today it was rain and cold all day here in SW Mo. we had a high of 41 here at the house so maybe this is it for winter after today....I did get to work on the wing some today.. I covered the trailing edges of the wing and trim covered the openings.. Cut a 3/8" strip of covering to put in the fillet for the belly pan.. This will make your wing and belly pan cover job look better.. After you get the tiny pieces ironed on , the flat sheets go pretty fast..I ended up with two lines that show on the bottom and panel lines will hide those.. On the top I did not want any bubbles in the covering so I applied the silver stripes and then applied the Black persuit stripes on bare wood. I ended up with about a 1/8" overlap of black over silver.. Again use a paper towel under your little trim iron to keep from scratching the covering.. The wing lacks the flaps and ailerons covered and then we will start on trim and panel lines..Getting close.. I only have two weeks left to work on this then sit it aside to start a Club Group build on two types of planes. Different pilots are going to build Tiger 2 kits, Pete-n-poke kits and one sig kit.***8 tigers, 3 petes and one Seniorita.. should be fun! Have a good weekend and keep building! Terry

Goran619

My Feedback: (2)

Looking good there Terry. This will be the sceme Iwill be going with.

Boomerang1

Yes I did when I rebuilt mine after crashing it. The original single servo method worked o.k. but I don't think anyone uses a single servo for this layout for ailerons these days.

Here's some pics. - John.

Terry Bolin

My Feedback: (7)

There has NEVER been a problem with single servo set up on ailerons if the linkage is kept tight and you use a good torque servo.. Most people blame "Flutter" on this set up but actually they have drilled their control arm and servo arm holes out to big and created linkage slop and or have too much hing gap at the surface causing the problem.. I seal all the surfaces with covering down in the "V" slot anyway. this really increases the effectivness and also helps to avoid flutter. I have a pete-n-poke that when set up per factory specs would not have enough roll rate to get out of trouble....but when I Sealed the hiing line...the plane came to life and I use less stick travel to get the job done .......
ALL THOUGH +++ dual servos do give you some insurance if a servo was to fail... I have been lucky and never had one fail yet. I have started using dual batteries.. Most planes crash because of battery voltage.( according to Don's RC and AMA) Have a great day! Terry B
John, where do you get those metal servo mounts shown in the pics...that is nice!
Goran, I relly like that color lay out! Please show pics as you get there!

brockettman

Boomerang, Terry,
Thanks for the input. At this point I'll most likely go with the single servo since I've never built that type of linkage configuration (gotta try it at least once!), however as the build goes along I may make the mod. My main concern would be the linkage being sloppy and not getting a good aileron response, but I suspect that the majority of these T/F P-47s flying around are using the linkage per design without any issues...

Build Well!
Ben