Posts: 5091
Joined: 7/3/2003 From: newton,
NC, USA Status: offline
Hi guys-- After three years of sitting on a shelf, the 'Dawg is gonna finally get built. Here are the details:
Vaillancourt plans, 1/4 scale (108" wingspan) Laser-cut kit done by Larry Katona & Precision Cut Kits Motive power will be a ZDZ-50NG, turning a 22" prop Radio will be 2.4 GHz It will be built as a Vietnam-era Army spotter/FAC, the exact plane yet to be determined.(see comment below) Wing hardpoints will be set up to mount any of the underwing items the BirdDog used, from twin rocket pods, to 7-shot pods, to M-60 MG's, and maybe even loudspeakers (used for propaganda purposes, the L-19's were called "Bulls**t Bombers" ). I'll scratchbuild these items as needed.
I doubt if I'll compete with this plane; I want to build something representative of all the 'Dogs that flew in S.E. Asia, instead of a single model of the type. In doing this, it would not qualify in a scale competition, but the prime purpose is to show what the L-19 was capable of and to honor all the guys who served as FAC's in both the Army, USAF, and USMC.
I'll probably get off to a slow start, but here's some pix of how the pieces look: 1st is the kit; very complete, I couldn't believe the box wasn't 3 times as big to get it all in. Firewall, gear plate, and a few other structures needing extra strength are hobby grade ply, the fuse formers, cabin sides, elevator and rudder T.E.'s are lite ply. There are hardwood sticks and balsa sticks and sheet; everything is organized, with either a sticky label or laser etching to I.D. the parts. All the wing ribs are bagged together, and the smaller parts are also bagged together, very nicely packed. Wood quality is excellent throughout. Based on how I received this kit, I would highly recommend Precision Cut Kits. I know that I have seen questions about them recently, but this kit is well done.
2nd picture is the cowl, which I ordered through Vailly Aviation, as well as the landing gear and main gear wheels, which are in the 3rd and 4th pics. The wheels are machined aluminum, and the tires are Sullivan 5" diameter. The landing gear is 3/16 aluminum 6061 T6. I may look into having a set made from spring steel like the prototype; depends on the weight.
< Message edited by khodges -- 1/1/2008 10:40:01 PM >
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Club Saito #2, WACO Brotherhood #20. What other trouble can I get into?
Posts: 5091
Joined: 7/3/2003 From: newton,
NC, USA Status: offline
Now that I have all the pieces parts, they do little good without something to show how to put them together into some semblance of a flying machine.
Vaillancourt's plans are full-size and are four sheets, three feet and a few inches wide, and almost ten feet long. They show every part in planform such as the formers and ribs, in case you need a template to make something (or obviously, to cut your own kit, if you're not too lazy, as I was, and get somebody else to do it for you ) Notations are made for incidence, dihedral and washout for the wings; this plan has no right thrust designed in, and I will not add any.
There is a photo pack of the build-up of the kit from Vailly, and I bought it. There are a few "holes" that the pics don't fill in, but I don't believe it will be a problem. It is also obvious here that Roy figures that the builder will know what needs doing and how to do it.
For details, I have a couple of hundred pictures of two L-19's in my area, both recent restorations; one is an "A" model, one a "D" model; one is done in Army green, the other in USAF gray. The other reference I have, and will be my "bible", is a book called "The Lovable One-Niner" by a gentleman named Minard Thompson. It has complete info on all variant specs, markings, flight performance data, engine specs, technical specs on what radio with what model, etc, you name it, it's in there, along with a couple hundred color and B&W photos. There is also an index of ALL serial and tail numbers of all the L-19's built, with where they were first assigned. Lots of crash pictures, too
Here's a few details from the book; I give full credit on all reproduced photos and/or pages from the "Lovable One-Niner" to Minard Thompson:
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Club Saito #2, WACO Brotherhood #20. What other trouble can I get into?
Posts: 60
Joined: 7/30/2007 From: Vernon,
CT, USA Status: offline
Those Bird Dogs had plenty of power when you needed it. Gliders used to drop in my dad's airstrip on the farm (1800 feet) and the L19 was sent in to pull it off no sweat!
Posts: 5091
Joined: 7/3/2003 From: newton,
NC, USA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: jhcorsair
Those Bird Dogs had plenty of power when you needed it.
They sure did. Rated at 190 hp @ 2300 rpm for most of its operating range, it was rated for take-off power at 213 hp at 2600rpm for 5 minutes. (Continental O-470-11 or -15). The earlier models with gross weights of 2100 lb could take off in 355 feet and clear a 50 ft obstacle in 580 ft.
I laid out the tail feather plans, and set out the pieces, mainly to inventory them and get a feel for what I need to do that the instructions (aren't any written ones) don't say. I'll build the tail feathers first, to get into the swing of things. The first thing I noticed is that the trailing edges of the rudder and elevators are cut from 1/8" lite ply and are sort of flimsy feeling. This is only three plies, and they were cut with the outer plies going the short way. One of the elevator T.E.'s was broken; I decided then to re-cut these pieces, using 1/8" hobby ply, which is 5 plies, and to run the outer plies long way, which stiffens the pieces significantly.
Also, according to the plans, both halves of the elevator receive a small block for a control horn. On the full-scale, there is only one horn for the elevator, on the left hand side. I'll build mine this way, so I'll also have to fabricate a joiner for the elevator halves that will not flex and allow aerodynamic loads to twist it, which in turn lets one elevator deviate from the other in it's deflection under load. Not sure what I'll use yet, but I have some carbon fiber tube that may fit the bill. The rudder only mentions one control horn, but I'll be using a pull-pull setup like the full scale.
< Message edited by khodges -- 1/2/2008 3:10:25 AM >
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Club Saito #2, WACO Brotherhood #20. What other trouble can I get into?
Posts: 322
Joined: 10/14/2002 From: Alexandria, VA, Status: offline
Hello there, all construction on my 1/4 scale Vailley Bird Dog has just been completed. Just finished primering the fuse, tail feathers, and cowl. The wings are about to be glassed. I will be more than happy to give you any tips on the construction but the best thing you can do is get the construction CD from Roy which helped alot. Also, I will look up the website of a Bird Dog construction website which was extremely, extremely helpful to me. Among other things, it showed construction of a jig to build the fuse on, etc. Worked great. If your interested send all of your email to my personal email address. It is redtailpilot@aol.com I did a few extra things to make Roy's Birddog just a bit more scale. I also believe I have an extra cockpit kit for the Bird Dog from Dynamic Balsa. I'll sell it cheap, I do not need two. Smile. Chic White
Posts: 5091
Joined: 7/3/2003 From: newton,
NC, USA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: redtail
Ken, here goes my first attempt at posting photos on the web.
Redtail, all I can say is, WOW! You have certainly set the bar at a height I'll have to work damn hard at to reach. That's beautiful, even in primer. I especially like that you did the FM homing antennae on the H stab. Will you fly it with them, or do you think there's little chance for the lower antenna to snag in the grass?
What references are you using? Did you get a photo pack (like Banka's) or did you have a full scale to detail from?
Things around here are conspiring against my getting a good start. We've had washer/dryer problems on the home front, and had to get that taken care of to keep the wife happy and the family in clean clothes, I'm doing some grading and landscaping work at our field, trying to get some grass going while there's enough moisture in the ground (it actually has rained here twice in Dec.) I've delayed starting the tail feathers; after looking through all my pics, I don't have a really good photo of the rudder and elevator hinges, and I want to replicate them as closely as possible in aluminum and brass, so I've got to arrange a photo-op at the grass strip down the road where a BirdDog lives. While I wait, I'm going to do some detail work on the cowl, by marking where the access panels will get cut, and making the panels themselves. I remeasured the engine I'm using and am disappointed to find that the spark plug cap will require a relief hole in the bottom of the cowl. I really don't want to do that, so I may look at a different power plant, something that has an angled plug. I'd love to do a twin, but don't know if I can find something in the 45-50cc range that will fit the cowl without having the same problem on the sides. I have a Quadra 35, which is what the plans show, but I want more power. I might use the US-41 I also have, that's on another plane. It is similar in size and weight to what the L-19 will be, and the -41 does a good job with it, so I might go that way. What are you using?
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Club Saito #2, WACO Brotherhood #20. What other trouble can I get into?
Posts: 322
Joined: 10/14/2002 From: Alexandria, VA, Status: offline
Many thanks for the comments Ken, all I can say is "Go to school off of the problems I and others went through in building this airframe". That is why I say, email "Roy" at Vailley Aviation for "anything", he is some kind of great. As noted, he sent me a paper on how to build in the washout, etc. First to answer your questions, I will fly the model with the FM Ant installed. I am trying to figure out something flexible to install like the full scale bird so that brushing through the grass won't have a heavy impact. 2nd, yes I have two photo packs, one from Banka and one that is a 17 picture calendar done on the L-19 Bird Dog (www.lulu.com), color scheme will be overall white with red tips and tail feathers, I have the same book you have and I also have the Squadron "In Action" Series on the Bird Dog. 3rd., Smile, trust me with regards to the household stuff, I too have just replaced the washer/dryer, tree removal, replacement of 15 windows - $$$$$$, so my progress has been slowed to a crawl. Heck, I have a Meister P-47 and a Kellogg TBM Avenger in the wings. Anyway, I will be using a Zenoah 45 which fits just perfectly in the cowl without any, any, any unnecessary holes other then the exhaust slot across the rear of the cowl. 5th., I am using the large Robart pin hinges which looks pretty darn scale, 6th, I too will be cutting holes in the F/G cowl which I will then cover with 1/32 plywood access panels. 7th, I greatly modified the top cover for the fuse, (Observation Windows). Initially, I decided that the rear portion (two windows) will be more or less permanently installed. The front portion (four windows) will be removal to get access to the wing bolts and wiring. I used the plywood patterns from the kit as patterns and then enlarged the top cover to resemble the full scale. The new top extends beyond where the wings mate up with the fuse. It extends about an inch past the fuse edges. The kit patterns served as the base, then the plexiglass is layered onto the base and the new cover then layed on top of it all. I also have the new top curving around the leading edge like the full scale. Weights and windex helped the 1/32 ply curve around the leading edge. Again, if you want the copy of the rcscalebuilder "L-19 Bird Dog Build", just PM your snailmail address to me. Ready to help if I can. Chic White
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25% Cessna L-19/0-1 Bird Dog build - 
). I'll scratchbuild these items as needed. 
