speedzy

My Feedback: (1)

Hey ive seen a few posts with guys who put ailerons on ther cox warbirds. Im really interested in getting one of these little planes but like alot of you agree that warbirds need ailerons. Im just wondering how hard it is to do and what extra parts ill need, like what kind of pushrods? Do the little planes fly well with ailerons? thanks

quint-rcu

My Feedback: (24)

I had assembled and flown the F-4 and the P-51 on the stock motors with a 300mah Li-Po and stock elevator/rudder/throttle setup with many nice flights. Plenty of power, etc, BUT, the aileron bug got me too and I built a P-47 with ailerons. W-A-Y more fun and response - now it can do pretty nice rolls and even get inverted for a while.

Started out by cutting out the front wing retainer snap area, marking out the fuselage width and digging a shallow pocket (Hooray for a Dremel tool) to get room for mounting a servo sideways in the wing center section, just be sure not to go all the way trough the foam at the bottom. I glued a pair of 1/8" balsa strips to the leading edge to catch the fuselage at the front and left the rear snap alone (sort of the same installation used to secure the wings on an conventional engine powered plane). The servo is then installed transversely in the dug out area with the arm sticking up and moving from side to side.

The linkage is a single length of .015 wire passing through the servo arm at the center (a simple 'Z' bend there will eliminate the need for a heavy retainer since adjustment will be at the aileron ends). The wire is run inside a pair of K & S 1/16" x .014" aluminum tubing pieces formed to a radius (around an old pot) and spot glued to the top of the wing. The whole assembly looks like a bow with the tube guides arcing back from the leading edge to the stock aileron positions. I put the control horns on the top of the wing so they wouldn't catch or drag and be damaged on landings. Glued the rudder on straight and spray painted the whole model with a very light silver coat before applying the decals. - I just don't like the 'zebra stripe' color scheme on the P-47.

The P-47's flying weight using Bluebird 4.3 gram servos, a Bluebird receiver and an E-Tec 300mah Li-Po still came out around 4.9 oz. - Guess digging out some foam and removing one snap made up the weight of the tubing since the wire is the same weight as the rudder linkage would have been. A bonus was that the CG came out right without needing any ballast thanks to the forward placement of the servo and linkage.

These little warbirds are a hoot! and the installation method has been previously well documented here on RCU.

quint-rcu

My Feedback: (24)

Someone had asked me to post pictures of the aileron modification to the Cox Warbirds. Here is a step by step build-up of my P-47 - The pictures are at the bottom:

Step 1:
Verify the fit of the servo to the fuselage width, then using a Dremmel with a grinding burr; remove enough foam to seat the servo into the forward part of the wing.

Step 2:
Using a thin cutoff wheel, cut the ailerons from the wing.

Step 3:
Bevel the underside of the ailerons.

Step 4:
With the grinding burr, remove the area at the forward end of the fuselage to clear the aileron servo and linkage. The front wing snap will not be used.

Step 5:
Mount an arm with one side cut off on a servo, then, grind off the servo mounting tabs and secure it in the wing recess with double-sided mounting tape.

Step 6:
Hinge the aileron from the top with some of the tape provided with the model. (I also place about a ¼� piece on the bottom side next to where the control horn will mount, while allowing for the aileron’s movement – this assures a slop-free motion). Glue in the control horns to the upper surface of the ailerons.

Step 7:
Form the guide tube to a gentle bend around something like a pot or can and cut two pieces running from the aileron servo area to the aileron exit points leaving them about 1½� short at the ends. – See the attached sketch for routing, etc.

Step 8:
Form a “Z� bend at the center of the wire and pass it through the servo arm, then run the wire through the guide tubes to the control horn locations. Make a ¼� “Z� bend at each the aileron end just short of the attachment points to be used for adjusting the control wire lengths.

Step 9:
Permanently glue the rudder to the vertical fin. (Cut a small wedge of foam from the shipping material and use it to fill the beveled area of the rudder.

Step 10:
Test fit, and then install the radio gear where it will yield the desired CG balance point. (Also arrange it so the plane balances from side to side, or is just slightly heavier on the right side).

Step 11:
Cut two short lengths of dowel and glue them into the wing leading edge where they will line up with a point on the fuselage, then drill two corresponding holes in the fuselage. Test fit before cutting, drilling, etc.

Step 12:
I spray painted my P-47 with Testors silver and added some red trim before applying the decals.

EvaderMaster

Hey, just a quick question. Where can you buy those little cox warbirds?

Slo-V Flyer

Excellent pictures!!! I will try that to my micro wb.

quint-rcu

My Feedback: (24)

If your local hobby shop doesn't carry them try: http://www.coxmodels.com/
The radio gear and LiPo battery can be had at: http://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=V052392

Sign Guy

I gotta have one of these now

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Another way to do em. Torque rods. No control horns or linkages hanging out. Looks a lot cleaner. Torque rods connect directly to the ailerons and servo, rotate inside a control rod tube. I channeled out the rear of the wing for the tubes and rods, cut out and tape hinged the ailerons. Rod makes a 90 degree bed at the aileron and goes into the aileron. Single servo makes both ailerons work opposite each other. If the ailerons need adjusted, simply bend them a little at the rod connection. I did mine up in green/red. Flies great on the stock motor.
It's powered by a TP2S730 lipo. Actually mine was the Estes version, so I removed the actuated rudder and built an new one to eliminate it.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Oh a tip too if you add ailerons, take the dihedral out of the wing. Will make it more responsive, but will not self center itself like before.

packyj

This is very similar to the way I've done my second p47... i agree much cleaner look. I don't get the roll rate i did with quints setup but the look of the plane is much nicer. With quints set up my ailerons were standing STRAIGHT up in the air... 90 degrees from the wing. with the dubro micro aileron kit set up much similar to glaciers post i'm getting about 3/16"

gunracer

agree that torque rods offer the cleanest look...seems easier to set up as well...no extra parts purchased....just used whatever came with the kit...hope the below pixs help...also included a few of my firewall repair after a crash...26 flights and counting...

packyj

lol your crash pic reminds me of my first attempt at inverted flight with my first p47

gunracer

as long as you don't nose her in from 50', these models can take a beating because they're so light...inverted flight is a challenge because of the wing's severe dihedral...it's hard to see, but i also taped a steel rod across the wing's le to minimize flexing under load...lol...

packyj

that's a good idea to keep a nice steady line on fast down hill runs, i ended up putting an eflite 180 heli tail motor in my newest one... didn't want the all out craziness of the johnson 250 motors some are using... the 180 gives plenty of power and allows very easy inverted flight... nice large loops as well

matyo

do you have a pic of the underside of the wing? I'am really curious how the horns are attached and what makes the aieloron move, this looks like the easiest design. Where did you get the extra torque rods? I have had no luck with my stock p-40, the radio cutts out and it doesnt respond to my commands, it did one time out of 30 and the rest just flew into the ground.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

matyo. if you look at post #8 you can see the underside of a torque rod set up.
You don't have to buy them you can make a set easily.

Here I did a quicky layout for you