sylvaner

I recently purchased and am in the process of building a TF Gold Edition P-47, but I have a concern about the 1/16" sheeting. The problem that I have is that the 1/16 x 3" balsa that was included in the kit to use as sheeting is not uniform in thickness. Is this a common problem with these kits or did I get the exception? Is there someway that I can get replacement sheeting?

Thanks,

Dave

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

If your sheeting is defective, then please contact: [email protected]

The sheeting should be uniform in thickness.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

there is 2 thicknesses of sheeting included in the TF P-47 wing sheeting1/16 and fuse sheeting3/32 the wing is the thin stuff the fuse is the 3/32there shouldn't be that much difference between the 1/16 sheets.
something to check before reordering new wood that might take a while to get.

when I was glueing the sheets together for my wing, there was a slight difference,very small,but after the sheets were dry and I pre sanded them,before sheeting the wing, there was no real difference in the wood thickness,its important to inventory your wood before you start these TF kits there such a jigsaw puzzle.
the difference between the thicknesses is so slight unless you do a side by side comparison its hard to tell.

something to think about as well, when I did my wings I glued all the seams with Tite Bond glue,it sands well,and I did all my sanding before I sheeted the wings, the 1/16 wood is so weak that poking holes through it is really easy,also when I glued the wingtip area I wetted the sheeting with a 50-50% denatured alcohol and water mix,windex works well also to make the wood more pliable,I still had some rippling effect that needed filling after I glassed the wing but it wasn't too bad.

good luck I am on the final leggs of my build its been a journey.
glassed with water based poly and .56oz cloth,and body and logos painted with www.warbirds.com paints, water clean up,fuel proof to 15%nitro

sylvaner

Thanks Tim,

Your right with TF you need to do a good inventory of the parts before starting the build or you'll end up using the wrong piece's. I've been following along with all the different P-47 build threads and have found them to be very informative. I've built quite a few planes over the years but have never tackled one that is completely sheeted nor have I glassed one before. Decided this was the year I would quite thinking about building a warbird and do it. Tailfeathers complete, working on the fuselage. Have the Robart retracts in hand but have not decided on the engine.

I think that I will use 3/32" sheeting on the wings instead of the supplied 1/16".

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

the water based poly method is a very easy method and the water clean up is also a major bonus this is my second airplane kit that I have done this way and am really happy with the results I would suggest reading the SBD Dauntless thread on his website http://www.tompierce.net/SBD/index.htm his insite into finishes and his glassing and painting inspired me to use it.
I was going to power my JUG with a small gas engine but after doing some fitting there was just too much sticking out of the cowl so I went with a OS 120pumped 4st spinning a 15/7 3blade.
all the radio components are in the forward area of the fuse, except the rudder servo, which I set up with a pull pull set up for the retractable tail wheel just forward of where the airtank is mounted,I plan on mounting the fuel tank on the CG a bonus of having a pumped engine I expected this to come out a bit heavy but it is quite light really a OS91 fs would fly this plane well,the 120 has some extra weight for balance as well dead weight is just that dead.

sylvaner

I'll check on that build link. I'm always looking for good insight on how something is done.

I've been thinking about the rudder and tail wheel setup. I've got a Robart retractable tailwheel which I'm going to use so I've got to figure out the linkage between the rudder and the wheel. I'm using pull-pull on the rudder, and I was thinking about a seperate servo for the tailwheel tied into the rudder servo. Maybe a micro-servo?

You woundn't happen to have any pictures of your rudder linkage you could post or send to me?

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

sure I can,
this is a early pic of a yoke set up I was going to use, but instead I went ahead and made a servo tray forward of the fuse former that holds the air tank,I then used a HD servo to control the rudder pushrod as well as the pull/pull cables,the P/P cables are just 30lb fishing leader soldered into the coupler for ball links I also got a larger HD futaba servo arm set, so the balls are on the second holes and the rudder is on the outer most hole connected with a quick link connector for easy adjustment the direct set up made sense to simplify the whole opperation my rudder is just a single pushrod if I was to do it again I wil do a P/P set up.
it was a pain in the and doing the gear doors was also a real dream tomorrow I will take some snaps of the finish product overall I am pleased with the results but it involved alot of extra work,I also used a Robart air cylinder to actuate the TW up/down

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

Discussions don't belong in the Top-Flite Support forum, so it's been transferred to the kit-building general forum.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

I was wondering when this was going to get moved into the general discission area thanks Bax

sylvaner

Nice link on the SDB Dauntless. I almost cried when I saw what happened.

Like Tom alot of firsts for me, 1st Warbird, 1st Sheeting, 1st Glassing, 1st Retracts. I have everything on hand except for the engine and I'm going to have to decide soon. I thought about scaling it up but in the end decided against it this time. Going to do a little here and a little there to get all the first's out of the way. My intention is to get the Gold Edition and scale it up when I complete this one.

Any input that you or anyone can give will be appreciated.


"Never Under Estimate Human Stupidity" / Lazarus Long

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

is yours the red box version I have seen a few of the older kits but have only built the gold edition,for a Top Flight no need to do any scaleing up its been done for you between the gold edition and there giant scale there pretty strait forward builds check the warbirds section theres a 120page thread on the TF giant P-47 as well as numerous threads on the 60 size version as well

sylvaner

No I just have the Gold Edition. I'm thinking gear doors and a few others. Thought about scale hinge line on the rudder & elevator but decided that I really didn't want to on a 1/7 scale plane. Mostly I'll just be practicing the finishing with glass and some detail on the finish. I've reading the build threads here and other forums and have goten some good insight.

I haven't had as much time as I would like to dedicate to the build between work and home, but maybe after christmas.

I have the top half of the fuselage framed and hope to start the sheeting later this week. I've never used windex to help bend balsa, only soaking with water. I'm itching to find out how the windex works.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

the windex works really good it softens the wood so its very pliable and doesn't effect CA if your using it for your adhesive.for a scale hinge line I used robart hinge points,and extended the aileron,rudder,and elevator areas with some tri stock to cover the lines and make a covered pivot area for the control surface.
WARNING lots of sanding was involved LOL as well as getting the control surfaces to rotate properly and not bind,really alot of test fitting and making sure they were lined up when I epoxied the points in place.
knowing where they were to sit in the control surface,I glued the points in one side(the control surface)making sure the hinges rotate proprly.
its a bit away but when I glued the robart hinge points I put a drop of 3in1 oil in the hinge area so the epoxy wouldn't bind the hinges just a small drop does the job.
I tried to limit the amount of detail I piled onto the JUG keeping the weight down but the 120fs should drag it around the sky just fine.

sylvaner

Have you used 1/32" ply to cover the hinge line? I was thinking of doing that instead of the tri stock because of the alignment problems. Robart hinge points are the way I'm going.

A 120fs you say. I really haven't looked at that engine. I'll take a look at the LHS later this week.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

no I made my own stock from scrap and sanded and tuned it so there would be a curved channel using several grits of paper rolled into a tube to get the right curve, the problem that I found, and made me decide to do it that way was the ends of the tail surfaces are curved not strait,I sanded the channel so there was a slight taper towards the tips of the V& hoiz stab, it took a bit of testing, sanding, and fitting, to get the elevator and rudder to rotate smoothly in the channel with enough deflection.

the 120pumped that I am using is at the top of the recomended engine requirements/range, another club member uses a 912st and it flys great I happen to like the sound of 4st engines as well as being able to swing larger props so that was my resoning behind choosing that engine.
all my other 60 size warbirds have OS 91fs engines and they work great and really pull them around,I just figured the heavier engine wouldn't need any extra weight for balance but I don't have the radio fully installed,I should know by this weekend if I have time with Xmas and all that comes with it.

BTW tower has a Xmas discount thing going, if I am going to make any big purchases from them I usually wait till after the big rushthey usually have good deals in,Jan,Feb,and March, I bought mine off RCU classifieds for about 250.00 they come up on ebay all the time as well, in that price range.

sylvaner

I haven't paid that much attention in the past to the begining of the year sales from Tower. Thanks for the tip. I'll hold off and see what is offered after the first of the year.

I hadn't thought about the radius on the elevator & rudder and how that would effect the operation of them. Information like that is what makes these forums so great.

It will be interesting to find out how you compare the 120 vs 91. Hopefully you'll find time our the holiday to get out and do some flying.

Merry Christmas to All

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I did a lot of research on this kit before deciding on an engine. The consensus seems to be that the plane will fly well on either the 91 or 120 4 stroke but it seems that the plane balances better with the 120.

Of course each build is different but reading through countless threads on this and other forums this is what I generally found. I had bought a magnum 91fs for the plane and then came across a really good deal on a 120 so I snapped it up.

PM me if you are interested in a magnum 91 I could make you a deal if you want.

oldtyme

Big Tim,

I've decided to go with the OS 75AX engine for my power. The incowl 61fx header with the in cowl mubffler will fit in the cowl. I think this will be more than enough power for this plane.

Cheers,
Andy

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

I definatly considered going with the 75AX since I had a TF in cowl muffler that will fit that engine,and its on my engine choice list.
the 75AX should have plenty of power but you might be adding some lead in the nose to get the balance right,

the couple of things that steared me away from it for this project was, the need for nose weight,the reliability factor running a inverted 2stroke(I have had limited sucess running 2st engines inverted),the sound that 4st engines make,and the grease factor the amount of oil that a 2st generates Vs. a 4st is huge.

I have a TF FW190 to build that I might consider the 75 for, a club mate has a Irvine75 in his and it fly's great with no added weight in the nose,his plane weighs 12lbs

sylvaner

Has anyone glassed the elevator & rudder before attaching them to the fuselage? What are the +'s & -'s of doing it that way?
Would it weaken the epoxy joint when they are mounted?

Big Tim

Are you going to get a chance to try out the 120 this weekend. I should be able to start sheeting the fuselage tonight.

sylvaner

Well I started sheeting the fuselage tonight and the windex is the way to go. I just wish that I had been reading these forums a couple of years ago. I would have saved myself alot of time and trouble not to mention alot of split and cracked sheeting.

I will now attempt to post a picture or two.







That seemed to work. Just hope that they're not to large.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

I have been really lagging along with the work on my plane the last week between work,xmas,and my other hobby surfing, time has been at a premium,the surf has been really good so thats what I have been doing in the afternoon,all the little radio stuff takes forever to get dialed in and I have been doing a little bit at a time.

looking good on the build,I did all my glassing post assembly when the vert.stab.and horiz.stab were already epoxied to the fuse.
I glassed all the control surfaces separatly of course,rudder,elevator,and flaps,as well as painting all these surfaces before they are installed all the cutting, trimming,and filling should be done before you glass the model,depending on what method you use.
the filler that I had good results with was minwax wood filler,its cheap,light ,and sands well,my method was to thin the filler just a bit with water and stir the product so it has a creamy consistancy so it spreads easy,I did my fillets with it as well as filling the wood imperfections before the glassing process.
after glassing there will be more filling but the cleaner you make the surface the smoother your base surface will be adding less weight,a shot of my glassed plane before primer.
glassing with water based poly was a easy process and the results were really nice,giving a great base for paint as well as adding a little strength to the sheeting.

sylvaner

I'm to the point where I'm suppose to attach the stabilizer and fin but I have a question. It seems to me that it would be easier to complete the bottom of the fuselage before adding the tail feathers. I wouldn't have to work around them.

Is there something that I'm missing in the instructions that would create problems later in the build if I waited to attach the tail feathers? I would wait to finish the turtledeck after the fuselage bottom.

Big Tim,

That water has to be freezing. I remember how cold it was even during the summer when I lived out there. Of course during the mid to late 70's when I was living in Calif we didn't have global warming, back then everyone was worrying about global cooling.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

yes its on the warm side of 50o, 51.4 when I checked it on the buoy, loads of fun when you have the right wetsuit really its pretty darn cold but worth it.

I did mine by the book but building the bubble top I didn't have the razor back to contend with.
I used some foam insulation that came from a T.V. and fashoned a holder for my fuse for doing the bottom,the tail actually helped with keeping the fuse from rotating while I was doing the assembly.
I also got a cooler for shipping salmon thats almost 3' long that works great as a cradle as well
finishing the top of the fuse helps with any twisting when your building the bottom, instead of having the flat surface of a table when your doing the top to keep it stable and strait,your working on a unsupported surface the more complete it is the stronger it would be.
I would think you could attach the elevator afterwords, but if you read ahead in the manual attaching the V&H stab the way the book describes insures it comes out prefectly level,and vertical,mesuring off a flat surface for the elevator and using a tri-square for the rudder insures that the surfaces are spot on.

sylvaner

I would like to find out if someone has any pictures of the scale hinge line on the stabilizer & fin. I want to see how you addressed the issue where they angle back towards the rear of the plane.

Pictures showing triangle stock or 1/64" ply to close the gap would be great.

Thanks,

Dave