Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions/semi-build thread?  
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Warbirds and Warplanes >> Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions/semi-build thread?
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Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions/semi-build thread? - 3/14/2008 5:19:27 AM   
mesaflyer


 

Posts: 441
Joined: 5/24/2007
From: Calimesa, CA, USA
Status: online 		Hello Everyone,
I have started to build my second kit (fifth plane) tonight, the Top Flight Sea Fury. There doesn't seem to be to much current info on here about this kit. I have read pretty much all of the threads on here involving this plane/kit. I have read the manual, twice. I don't see any problems building the fin/rudder and stab/elevator. But, I do see a few questions coming up that I would like to get some help on. Mostly, they are general building questions, I think. For example, on page 21 ( mounting the retracts) after installing the retract rails it says "for additional strength, add .....Fiberglass". Where exactly do I add the fiberglass? I know how, just not sure where. And on page 22 it talks about adding 3/4 oz cloth and epoxy to the inside surface of the sheeting of the wheel well area. I can do this, but was wondering, since I am planning on glassing and painting this plane, do I need the glass on the inside? I will probably have a few more questions later on, but most of the build seems pretty cut and dry. I like the instructions, lots of detail. I will be building the flaps and cockpit kit, but not trying to make this any where near a scale plane. That is WAY out of my league. Wasn't planning on doing a build thread, as I might be a little slow, but if some of you are interested, I can take some pictures and post them. Oh, and if I just have general build questions, should I ask them here or is there a better/different forum?
Thanks,
Pete

< Message edited by mesaflyer -- 4/5/2008 7:01:02 PM >
       Post #: 1

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/14/2008 8:19:19 AM   
jeffk464


 

Posts: 1241
Joined: 10/31/2004
From: cerritos, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I have had trouble with my top flite mustang's retracts being ripped out of the wing. For this to happen the wing sheeting has to be ripped apart, so I think a lot of the strength is in the sheeting. If I were building my mustang again I would definitely glass the sheeting around the retract area, it might have saved me a whole lot of time in repairs. One more suggestion, you might want to use polycrilic instead of epoxy.

(in reply to mesaflyer)
       Post #: 2

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/14/2008 12:56:51 PM   
greyfoxx


 

Posts: 194
Joined: 11/8/2004
From: Benton, KY, USA
Status: offline 		Mesaflyer - I've got one of these kits also. I probably won't get to build it this year, but perhaps a project for next year (I build slowly), but I am definitely interested in your experiences with this kit and would appreciate your sharing any information you have on potential problems in your build and will certainly try to keep up with your experiences with it seeing as how I have found that, "Experience is a hard teacher, always giving the test first, and the lesson some time later!"

Thanks,

Phillip

_____________________________

greyfoxx

(in reply to jeffk464)
       Post #: 3

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/14/2008 8:30:33 PM   
Scott G


 

Posts: 342
Joined: 1/25/2002
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I have one of this I build a two years ago.

As far as the retract reinforcement, I think they might be referring to making re-enforcing fillets with epoxy and milled fiberglass mixed up. You can apply it where the beams meet the ribs. Just make sure you don't let it get into places that will interfere with the retract bodies. Also, make sure your two beams are on the same plane. If they are not they will tweak the retract bodies when you tighten the screws and potentially make your gear less reliable.

I would add the extra fiberglass to the inside of the bays. By the time you get the ribs cut away to clear the wheels there will be very little support to keep the sheeting strong. The 3/4 oz fiberglass and epoxy is not going to add an appreciable amount of weight given that it will only be in three rib bays on each wing. When you apply it scrape the excess epoxy off the glass after each coat. I don't think I would bother with more that two coats.

I covered mine with Monokote and it came out at 10.25 lbs. I have seen them fly well all the way up to 13lbs.

scott.

(in reply to mesaflyer)
       Post #: 4

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/15/2008 1:58:06 AM   
mesaflyer


 

Posts: 441
Joined: 5/24/2007
From: Calimesa, CA, USA
Status: online 		jeffk464,
Thanks for the tip. I will glass the interior. I figured I'll use Z-poxy. I have a little experience with it. As for the polycrylic, are you refering to the exterior? I saw a thread somewhere were the guy used 6 coats, brushed on with a foam brush if I'm not mistaken. It looked pretty good. I was wondering about that. I have another plane that I am going to practice on before I get to this one.

Phillip,
No problem, if I have any problems, I will just keep adding to this thread. And I will keep asking questions here.

Scott,
I think I follow you on the milled fiberglass mixture. Just mix it up and spread it around where the rails attach to the wings. And thanks for the tip on the rails being on the same plane.

Thanks,
Pete

(in reply to jeffk464)
       Post #: 5

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/15/2008 2:09:34 AM   
mesaflyer


 

Posts: 441
Joined: 5/24/2007
From: Calimesa, CA, USA
Status: online 		So much for the fin/rudder build being cut and dry. There is a part called the "upper stab saddle" (it's just a little 1/8 balsa sheeting die cut part) on the plans and in the kit. It's not mentioned in the instructions, because the manual shows a picture of the rudder skin cut away to match the top os the stab, instead of adding the USS. I cut mine like the picture in the manual. If I need to trim it later, I can. That's about all for today. This is going to take me some time to build. But, this building thing is kinda of fun. What's wrong with me! Had my wife go out and buy me a scroll saw. She came in the hobby room and saw the plans for this plane and said "Oh my God, what were you thinking!" I then reminded her that she bought me the plane for Christmas.

(in reply to mesaflyer)
       Post #: 6

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/16/2008 1:38:26 AM   
Corsair 29


 

Posts: 56
Joined: 10/8/2006
From: Selma, AL, USA
Status: offline 		I'm with you on that too, I just followed the pics of the vertical stab in the manual. I made a template out of clear plastic to use on the skins. worked out well. here are some pics.

good luck on your build.

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(in reply to mesaflyer)
       Post #: 7

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/16/2008 2:03:05 AM   
jeffk464


 

Posts: 1241
Joined: 10/31/2004
From: cerritos, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Polycrilic is suppose to give a much lighter finish then epoxy and is easier to work with. One issue with polycrilic is that it goes on thin and takes a lot of coats to fill the weave unless you add a filler like talc on the second coat. Epoxy will give you a stronger finish at a higher weight and I think will go on with one coat. Do a search and you will find a lot of discussions comparing the two.

(in reply to Corsair 29)
       Post #: 8

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/17/2008 7:35:42 PM   
mesaflyer


 

Posts: 441
Joined: 5/24/2007
From: Calimesa, CA, USA
Status: online 		Corsair 29
Thanks for the pics. I figure that I would make some kind of template when I was finished with stab.

jeffk464
Thansk for the info. I will check that out.

(in reply to jeffk464)
       Post #: 9

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/17/2008 9:31:11 PM   
jeffk464


 

Posts: 1241
Joined: 10/31/2004
From: cerritos, CA, USA
Status: offline 		One more thing, this particular top flite kit likes to have an engine with some grunt.

(in reply to mesaflyer)
       Post #: 10

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/18/2008 4:51:14 AM   
Scott G


 

Posts: 342
Joined: 1/25/2002
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: offline 		As far as engines, I'm happy with how mine performs on a Saito 1.00 with a 15x6 APC. I fly at sea level and it seems to have plenty of pep for me, but I have seen these built with 1.80's as well.

As for the polycrylic I used it for the first time on a Lancaster I'm building. I have never done an entire airframe with resin. When it came time to glass the Lanc resin just seemed like a pain in the butt by comparison. Small areas like the wheel wells on my 'Fury are an exception.

Lanc build

The glassing starts on post #47.

scott.

(in reply to jeffk464)
       Post #: 11

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/18/2008 6:38:53 AM   
bigtim


 

Posts: 2335
Joined: 5/31/2004
From: san francisco, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I have done 2 top flight kits using Varathane Diamond,water based poly, its easy and has low odor,and can be recoated in as soon as 1hour without sanding between coats.

after sealing the wood with laquer sanding sealer,I then applied 4 coats of the poly over .56oz glass,then a light sanding then 2 more and its done,very light and strong,
the diamond is a furnature and floor finish and when dry its really hard and sands smooth,I didn't need any filler for the weave to get the surface smooth after the light sanding the last coats were slick.
I then painted with www.warbirdcolors.com water based paint,a great combo if you want to go with water based products,I like the clean up with water,instead of having to deal with solvents,other than the sanding sealer which stinks to high heaven,I am looking for a alternative for that one as well.

on both these kits the insignias and markings were made by Gary from www.getstencils.com very easy to use,as well as the end results were what I wanted a painted plane.

I am really pleased with the results of all the water based products, the paint is also fuel proof to 15% nitro.

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< Message edited by bigtim -- 3/18/2008 6:53:00 AM >

(in reply to Scott G)
       Post #: 12

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/18/2008 7:16:17 AM   
jeffk464


 

Posts: 1241
Joined: 10/31/2004
From: cerritos, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I really need to build a spitfire, that looks great. Even my mustang likes spitfires .

I noticed that when I used the sanding sealer it raised the grain in the wood and made it rough. To fix this I just did a quick sanding job before I applied the fiberglass cloth.

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< Message edited by jeffk464 -- 3/18/2008 7:27:45 AM >

(in reply to bigtim)
       Post #: 13

RE: Top Flight Sea Fury 60 Kit Questions - 3/18/2008 7:26:38 AM   
mesaflyer


 

Posts: 441
Joined: 5/24/2007
From: Calimesa, CA, USA
Status: online 		Thanks guys for the replys. Haven't been able to do much work on the plane. I have been sick with what I thought was a BAD cold, but after going to the hospital yesterday, turns out I have pnumonia (not sure if thats spelled correct, know it starts with a P). Better now, just tired, and will be off work for the week, so should be able to get a few things completed.
As for engines, just started looking. But since I see that alot of nose weight is needed, I was thinking about the OS FS-120 Surpass III. It's alot of money, but seems like it has good power, and with 35.3oz, it will add some nose weight.
Scott,
Thanks for the link your Lancaster build. I have marked that as a favorite. Little too tired to read it right now, but I will. It looks like a nice plane you have built there!
bigtim,
I have been looking at the warbird colors, but still haven't decided on the color scheem. Have a few months to decide. I have been reading the thread (off and on) where you were giving some pointers on their product. I am pretty sure I am going to try that