hammerd

Here's my build of AerodromeRCs' 40" Sopwith Pup. This is my first electric plane so hopefully I'm doing things properly.
Opinions and advice welcome.

The "short kit" from AerodromeRC. Motor and associated items not included:



Fuselage sides build up:



Camping coffee maker being canibalized for the cowl. It's very thin SS. Most WWI short noses need additional weight up front to balance anyway, right, so I'd rather have a heavy duty cowl to take the nose-overs than lead weight.



Motor mount. Uses original mounting points on fuse sides, and maintains proper down/right thrust, but will fit the brushless motor. Fuse assy:





Mounting cowl:







Display motor to be used as dummy to fill that big ol' opening up front:











Mounting motor and dummy engine:











That's it so far.

ramon54321

Hi Hammerd

Looks good and i am an electric flyer fan. Iv got a U can Do 3D Ep, so I MIGHT, only Might be able to help on any problems you have. Oh and really cool thread. Keep the pics coming!!

Ramon

abufletcher

Really nice work on the dummy engine! I'm looking forward to more photos of the build. How scale do you feel the Aerodrome kit is in terms of outlines?

cooper998

Great job so far Hammerd!
I am a big fan of the Pup, I have the BalsaUSA 1/4 and 1/6 scale kits waiting to be built and after seeing your work on the Aerodrome kit so far I will most likely be ordering one before the week is out.
Keep up the good work, I look forward to your progress

cooper998

jumpinjan

Hammerd,
What motor & prop are you using? I think I can see an E-flight 450 & 11x5.5 prop? Isn't that a big motor for this biplane or not?
Jan

hammerd

thanks.

abufletcher, to tell you the truth, I really haven't done any real research in to how close to scale she is. It looks right, that's good enough for this project.

jumpinjan. Yes, you're correct on the motor/prop. I read where another fellow used that setup and was happy with it. I also got the same recommendation from a local guy here who is pretty knowledgeable on electric power.

hammerd

Tail end parts, and aft fuse sides:

vonJaerschky

My Feedback: (3)

Aerodrome's kits are very scale with respect to outline. The designer frets if everything doesn't match the 3-Views.

Really nice work on the front end, Hammerd!

iron eagel

awesome!
Thats not a model it is art.

hammerd

Update.







I added a small strip of balsa to the aft end of the strakes on the fuse sides. I'll sand these to a taper and use them to attach the coverng to so I have a proper edge there, per full size.



Pattern transferred to wood.



Cheek sheeting attached.





Next I'll attach the cabanes and sheet the top. Trying to do as much as I can before the tail goes on. I'm afraid I'll bust it up it's so light.

hammerd

hammerd

Weight so far is just over 18 oz. That's with motor, ESC, and battery. Shooting for around 30 oz. ready to fly.
Attaching aft fuse:







Wing construction:

Redwulf__34

Looking really good!

Where did you get your magnets? Did you make them or are those buyable someplace? The more I watch different build threads, these sure do see to be the way to go!

Was that coffee maker the perfect size or did you have to make a small modification to the front end for it to fit? It seems pretty amazing that it happened to be perfect!

Sean

hammerd

The magnets are cabinet door catches that I canibalised. You can buy just the magnets, with plates, but I buy these by the gross for my business so I just use them. Magnets are very useful for this type of work.
The coffee maker was a perfect diameter, I just worked over the forward edge to smooth it out. The profile isn't perfectly scale, and the opening too large, but it conveys the right look I think.

Wings are built and top wing joined. Weight of all panels comes to 4.7 oz. With the addition of radio gear my total weight so far is around 24 oz.

LuvBipes

My Feedback: (4)

Beautifull precision work Hammerd. Thanks for the pics and keep'em coming!

hammerd

Been working on the gear:

KitBuilder

Does the kit come with the rubber for the tires?. I was thinking of making my wheels for a Glo Nieuport but couldn't find rubber that would work.e I trided big rubber dirve belts for vaccum cleaners, etc but nothing looked right. I broke down and bought some proctor wheels at 30 beans which included shipping.

hammerd

Yes, it comes with rubber, or urethane, not sure what it is. You butt glue the ends together around the wheels

[link=http://www.aerodromerc.com/Accessories/Wheel_kit/wheel_kit.htm]wheels[/link]

hammerd

I wasn't content with the undecarriage, so I built a new one with suspension. A simplified version of the full scale setup. Some shots of it and assembled frame to this point:





Fixture built to keep everything square and allow me to solder things without burning the Pup up:

iron eagel

Very nice setup you have there!

The shock absorbing that provides should save a lot of stress on the airframe, not to mention looks a thousand time better.

hammerd

Still working on her.

Setting up the controls:












Base colors painted on the pilot. I'll shade and highlight after it cures up well:


Battery hatch. Forward plate is for the ESC. Should get plenty of air there:




The gun. I built a Williams Bros., but the scale was too large so I sectioned the barrel and am building a new one at the correct scale:

ramon54321

HI Hammered!

Great model. Just one question, how did you model that gun, especially that barrel, its so good!

Ramon

hammerd

I cheated.
I started to build the Willams Bros. kit, but it's really too large (the Pup is 1/8 scale and the gun is 1/6), so I sectioned and shortened the heat shield (barrel cover) and used some other parts from the kit to make this one. The basic construction is an aluminum tube for the barrel, wood for the stock, and brass for the gun sight ring. Not exacltly to scale in detail, but close enough.

iron eagel

Wow.
were is the belt and rounds feeding into it...

Flytoolow

My Feedback: (17)

amazing!