IL2windhawk

Ditto. I'd like to try fiberglass on mine. But i know nothing about it.

ticketec

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Hey Guy's

I'm not new to warbirds, but am new to fibreglassing the whole model, so i don't want to say too much incase i miss inform you.

The cloth i am using is 0.5 oz/yd fibreglass cloth. it's really easy to work with, and conforms to the various curves of the mustang well. I'm also using aircraft grade epoxy which i'm not sure is commercially available.

Peter Oz who normally hangs around the RC warbird and warplanes forums here on rcuniverse is helping me out (read: mentoring me) with glassing the mustang. If you start a thread on that froum your bound to get flooded with responses on how to do it.

The way we are doing it is to first, rough cut the glass to shape, with plenty of overhang (about 2" extra) I mix up the resin as per the instructions on a set of scales. Then we thin it down with methylated spirits so that approx 75% of the mix is the metho. This is meant to keep the weight down as the metho will evaporate. starting from the center of the item, a generous amount of resin is brushed on to hold the glass in place. once the glass is tacked down, slits are cut in the glass (no resin in these areas yet) so that it can go around corners, fold around stabs etc. once complete, the rest of the glass is wetted down with the resin.

As it dries, you want to try and ensure that you don't have any "wet" looking spots on the surface. if you do, we just brush the resin around. I pop into the workshop every once in a while, while the resin is drying, until the excess resin in the pot goes hard, and then it's just a matter of waiting 2-3 days for the resin to fully cure before lightly sanding down the "wet" loking area and feathering the edges of the glass in before you do the other side.

Next time i glass a model, i'm going to subsitute the metho with acetone. I think this will do a better job of thinning the resin down, and evaporate quicker. But for this first glassing job, i will follow my mentor'[s instruction to see how it comes out.

Thanks

P.S. I just read my previous post and realised that i should read what i post before posting it Sorry!!!

Rate1

Adam,

Check this web-page out. It has many excellent how to articles, including how to fiberglass.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...nish/index.htm

Christian

gwong

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Gents,

What servos are you guys using...need to buy some for my Topflite P51 1/7 scale kit that I just started to build.

Thanks,

Gord.

tlgibson97

Does anyone have any tips on how to mount the fuel tank?

jeffk464

I had a top flite 190 with a mix of Airtronics and Hitec standard servos all the way around and they handled it with no problem. You dont need any higher torque than a standard servo. I did make sure I had the airtronics servos on the flaps and rudder because they are a little higher torque, but I dont think it was necessary.

Mustang1964

Hello Guys:
What hole did you use for the aileron bell crank push rod? I am about to join the wings and I am getting the hardware ready. I am using the Hitec 635 servo.
Thank you in advance.

zope_pope

I am using one servo per aileron to simplify the rigging and decrease slop. I plan to go scale on the hingeline as well. You can mount the Aileron servos in the wings using a similar method as the flap servos. Just my 2 cents.

Mustang1964

I planning on putting the servo in the middle of the wing per the plans. Before I cover the wings I would like to make sure I have enough travel for the aileron. I was going to both on the farthest out hole. For the guys that finished their bird. Where did you join the push rod on the bell cranks?
Mustang1964

jeffk464

I also went one servo for each aileron, I think its definetly the way to go.

IL2windhawk

I'm using a single servo with the linkages for my ailerons, so I bought a heavy-duty
Hitec 645MG servo, since it will be running both control surfaces and it will also need
to overcome any friction in the linkages. I bumped up to 4-40 rods from the 2-56.

Also, I'm setting up the flaps to run from a single central servo (also a 645MG), with
similar linkages to the ailerons. Notice the bell cranks are in the same orientation.



Having independently actuated flaps gives me the willes [&:]

vasek

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IL2 since you mention it, why aren't the flap bell cranks symetrical (same as ailerons)?

just had to ask

V.

tychoc

I assume because he wants the flaps to move in the same direction....

Mustang1964

The ailerons move in oppisite directions and move up and down. The flaps only move down and at the same time.
I am using a 635 for the ailerons and a 645 for the flaps. I think the flaps take move force. I like the ideal of moveing up to the 4-40 rods. I am going to incorprate that change as well.

zope_pope

I thought I would post this link for those who want to add scale hinge lines. scale model with horns exposed just doesnt do it for me.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_21...tm.htm#2114278

I plan to use the RDS method, but have no experience with them. If anyone could help fill me in, that would be great, but there are various methods that are on that thread that look awesome.

vasek

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LOGICAL [sm=75_75.gif]

N1EDM

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ticketec,
Just read your comment about using acetone... you may want to re-think that due to the odor. It might be a little bit intense. I don't know much about glassing yet, but I do work with acetone from time to time.

I wonder if denatured alcohol might work? or would it inhibit the cure or weaken the resin?

Just poking my nose in where it doesn't belong.

Bob

ticketec

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Hey N1EDM,

Poke away mate!!!

I know that acetone has a bit of an odour to it, but i ware a gas mask when i do glassing work. I have also used denatured alcohol, but have been told that it might attract moisture (as per our glow motors) an so you could end up with pockets of moisture trapped under the glass.

I wanted to use acetone because i know that there is a manufacture of expoy resin that said that you can thin their resin with a little acetone or thinners if required.

I sanded the wings smooth after the second coat of resin and i wasn't making resin dust. instead, there was balls of residue coming off. this is after about 4-5 days of drying which leads me to believe that there might be some compatibility issues with metho and my resin. e.g, the resin still hadn't totally cured yet. No adverse effects as yet other than i'm going to have to use a little more filler/primer because as i knocked off the top layer of resin, the stuff below it seems to cure after a day or so. the only problem is that since i sanded it smooth (about 1 day ago) the weave has started to show there again. again, i think it's the metho playing up, as it has evaporated away.

As for servo's, I'm using the Hs-85MG (metal geared)micro servos, one each for each aileron and flap (x4 total), Hs-81MG for the retract valve and inner gear doors, and flight controls might end up with the Hs645 servos.

i have glassed the fuse today, with only the lower sides of the hori stab left to do, plus all the flight controls. the wing upper surface is now primed and i'll sand it back tomorrow to see how she has come out.

thanks

zope_pope

That is looking really good. Are you doing inner gear doors? If so, how are you actuating them. It looks really good!

tlgibson97

Here she is. Pretty much done for the most part. Stil lhave to balance her and run her through all the ground tests and make sure all the throws are correct and all that good stuff. I couldnt resist starting it up last night and driving it around in the driveway. With the OS 91 fx in it, she wanted to pull out of my hands at vertical. I cant wait to get her on her maiden flight. Here are some pics for you guys. im glad my crappy covering job doesnt show up too well in the pics.

ticketec

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Hey tlgibson97,

Looks like a great job covering her from this side of the pond

Man you sure go it done quick, well done. You'll have to give us the maiden report when it's all said and done. By the way, what is your weight ready to fly? did it need much nose weight?

Hey Zope_pope,

Yeah, doing the inner doors. The set-up i'm using is the same as Grumman-cats used on his model. I'm about ready to begin the install of the inner doors, I just have to do a little detailing on them before i install them.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_38...tempest/tm.htm

There are some pic's on the link that show you how's it's done. I'll post some of mine when i get there! I'm working on the wing fillets at the moment so i can finish the external fuse build and concentrate on the cocpit again. The wing is glassed and primed. so i'll be cutting the servo hatches out soon and getting the flight contols all sorted too.

Thanks

ticketec

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Did a little on the inners before i got to bed

The two pieces of balsa add heaps of character to the gear doors an added about 0.2oz of weight. I have now put filler on the inner sections of the doors and i'll sand them tomorrow. So far each inner door is 0.9oz. Not to bad, but i'm hoping it comes down a little with a bit of sanding.

Now that this is done, i would have gone for a lighter glass lay-up for the doors because the extra rigidity that the balsa has added is unreal, which could have saved weight in the fiberglass department.

All that's needed is an attachment point for the retract arm and i can prime the whole door. I was originally indenting to use offset gear door hinges which have an integral attachment point molded in, but the turned out to be a pain to try and set-up, so back to the old school pin'ed hinges.

Thanks

tlgibson97

Putting a 2-stoke in it I figured I would have to add nose weight to it but it turned out I needed 3 oz in the tail. It was also a little right side heavy so I just added all the weight to the left side of the tail and that balanced everything out. I think it ended up nose heavy because I have a smoke muffler on it that is probably adding some weight to it. Its a little arger than the pitts style muffler I was going to put in it. Thats whay you can see it poking out both sides of the cowling. I was going to put smoke in it but after everything was all together I didnt have any place to put it. I may redo the nose section later if I decide to add a smaller muffler. The nose kits dont cost that much anyways. Using my 250lb scale which may not be 100% accurate at this weight showed a total weight of right at 10lbs. I ought to bring the bathroom scales down and see what number I get from it. I hope to have it in the air this weekend. I hope the "after" pics match the "before" pics. The only problem im having with it right now is the robart tail wheel is wanting to spin on its own. I cant get the set screw tight enough to hold it from spinning. Also after the first ground run, one of the hinge screws in the tail wheel worked itself loose so I had to put a small hole in the side of the airplane to screw it back in. If it keeps coming loose ill have to figure something else out.

zope_pope

Those sequencers are really nifty. I will definitely be going inside doors on my p51 then as well.

Have any of you thought of making the p51 into a plug, and then making more p51's out of it? I am leaning towards this as i am sure it will come out lighter, and this way I can easily duplicate my beauty. I came across this really cool site that has all kinds of info in making your own molds and making your own composite a/c out of built up kits or your own design. Thought this may be interesting to those who want a whole squadron of mustangs.

http://www.nextcraft.com/fiberglassing.html
http://www.nextcraft.com/indexrc.html

jeffk464

CMP already makes a very nice 70" fiberglass mustang. It might be fun to get into making molds and all that, but its probably more economical to buy the cmp. By the way you can get foam core replacement wings from http://www.dbalsa.com/ if you start making fiberglass fuselages.