larry@coyotenet
Posts: 189
Joined: 2/25/2003
From: pueblo,
CO, USA
Status: offline
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I am currently building the vailly 190 from a Precision kit. Here are my observations.
The plans and the kit are both off slightly on every piece. Variations are from 1/8 to 1/2 inches in some parts. The wood was overall acceptable but some of the parts and sheeting were horrible. Wing ribs required enlarging the notches for the spars and recutting the notches by 1/16th to 1/8 on every rib. All wood was labeled and easy to recognize. Some of the wood appears to be either old or very dry. It actually shattered when bent. Light ply parts were generally good but some of the ribs were warped badly. The method for building the wing was easy and went together fast except for the need to fine tune every part before it would fit correctly. The method of building the wing in the flap area required much beefing up since it had no spars and depended on 3/32 sheeting and ribs for it's structure, warped quite easily. The flaps themselves warp easily unless beefed up. I am no fan of the way the surfaces built, they look really good when done but the method of construction with the 1/32 ply forming the trailing edges is not my favorite. I was forced to get a plastic model of the 190 in order to visualize the contours of the fuselage for sheeting, the plans are very vague in this area. I am using Gene Barton retracts which are works of art but which have the worst mounting system I have ever seen, They required a very unique mount to be built into the wing.
I would go with the Vailly or the Robart retracts next time, very simple to mount.
Overall impression, Either the plans shrink and expand due to humidity (can be a problem with blueprint type plans) or they don't match the kit. Nothing is off very much but nothing really fits exactly. I would use a glass fuse next time, the shape of the 190 is deceiving unless you have a plastic model to go from, This probably is the reason why so many models of the 190 don't look quite right and you don't know why. The structure of the plane is quite light, for instance, the wing is 92" and a large chord, yet the spars are two (2) 1/4 x 1/2 spruce or basswood with 1/16 shear web. Wing center section braces are 1/8 ply and rear spar is 1/4 x 1/2 balsa on the bottom and 1/4 x 1/8 spruce on the top. The one I am working on will have the center section wrapped for strength. Fiberglass cowl is great, but BIG. I would say that this plane has a lot of air built into it! Should be able to meet the weight suggestion of 28 to 32 pounds with no problem, only trouble might be the retracts which weigh quite a bit more than the ones the plans show.
This plane is not for the novice, or even the reasonably good builder. I can see someone with experience building, say the TopFlite giant scale kits being totally lost on this one. For comparison my experience building warbirds and sport planes goes back to the early 70's building just about every TF and Royal scale kit and advancing to scratch building from my own plans and building from Bryan Taylor and other English plane designers. I have probably built close to 100 various types of planes from kits and plans and scratch so I consider myself to be competent builder.
Would I build this plane again? Yes. I would change some things like getting a glass fuse and using Vailly retracts, but I am sure the finished plane will be a great flier and look impressive.
Larry
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Warbirds and Warplanes >> RE: Vailly FW 190 Build 
RE: Vailly FW 190 Build - 
So many negative vibes regarding PCK, its putting my engineering background into a flatspin. 
I'll try to take the negatives, put them in a box and remember that I helped design upgrades to both the Patriot and AMRAAM missles when I worked at Raytheon and see where it takes me. Wish me luck and many happy thoughts. 
