hi all, just wondering if any1 has one (not giant)and if it built tail heavy for you also? also what is the weight of your p-47? am curious because i glassed mine with a saito 120 and onboard glow and retracts. it came in over 13 lbs....am worried about the weight of this thing. any thoughts? -Tinman-

Tinman

For what its worth, I too have a TF P47 with a saito 120DP which is very old. Mine weighed in a 10.5lbs with about 2ozs of lead.

like you, it was glassed, retracts etc, (no onboard glow) so I don't know how you came to get 13lbs, unless you were a bit heavy on the "glassing"

I built mine straight from the box with no mods or change of wood. I confident that yours with fly ok, but your high wing loading means you will be landing at a higher speeds, which, in turn, is going to put more pressure on your retract blocks.

I assume from your thead that you have not flight tested it yet?
I would be interested to know how you get on

greyfly

thx for yur reply, was my first glass job...probly went a little heavy i guess. i have not flown it yet but will soon and post results here. we have a good (long ) runway..thankfully. guess i will get to fully utilize my flaps... -Tinman-

I am just about finished with mine. I installed century jet retracts with robart scale wheels. It has been fibergalssed. I am using flight metal covering. At this time I have not installed the engine or radio equipment and it wieghs 6 1/2 pounds. Once the radio equippment and engine is installed it should wiegh around 9 to 10 pounds.

Hey Kirk, Your plane sound like what I intend to do with my TF p-47! How did you like the flight metal? Please post a picture so we can see it. Thanks, Ben

While mine may weigh over 12 pounds when completed, it's more from the equipment I'm putting in it (RCS140 plus the kitchen sink). Still hasn't flown yet... hopefully within a week or two. I'm not too worried about the weight. It should still fly easy compared to a lot of warbirds. Deadsticks will be more of a problem than if it weighed 10 pounds... and darn it... it won't 3D worth a hoot.

Tinman, do you know what your P-47 weighs without the engine and equipment?

If anyone is curious... I made very accurate weight mesurements at the various stages (all weights in ounces except for the last row):
"Before Glassing" is completely built and ready to fiberglass. "Ready To Paint" includes glassing and priming. "Ready to Clearcoat" is all painted and decals applied, and "After Clearcoat" is just that... ready to install equipment.

The wing and fuse were weighed on a Royal RC40 scale, which is extremely accurate (verified 0.2 ounces) up to 40 pounds. The cowl and control surfaces were weighed on a borrowed set of nice triple-beams... accurate to 0.1 grams.

Glassing was done with 3/4oz fiberglass and Varathane. Paint was a combination of Sherwin Williams exterior latex for the most of it, and SW marine aluminum paint for the underside. Clearcoat was Dupont ChromaClear Multiuse, which is a two-part automotive clear.

I need to add this data to my webpage... and when I do I will include the actual gram weight of each control surface. (if you want it before then, email me).

Here is a pic from Show&Tell at our March club meeting (more pics on my website below):

hi andy, i did not weigh it before i installed everything...sry. i used zpoxy and 3/4 fiberglass also.most of the extra weight came because it was so tail heavy and i had to add over a pound to the noseto balance. i have everything at cg or forward except a microservo for retracts and the aircan which are directly behind the wing. will test next week.....could be ineresting -Tinman-

Mine came in tailheavy too (more than I expected)... but it looks like I'm going to be able to move things around to balance without adding lead. Thinking it would be nose heavy with the heavier engine... I had several things as far back as I could get them.

It is easy to end up with more weight in the tail than expected. Glassing and such on just my tail's control surfaces added over 1.5 ounces. Who knows how much I added when I epoxied the robart hinges. Being stuck out there so far... the tail has great leverage and any extra weight there translates into many more ounces up front.

Good luck next week... let us know how it goes!

well heres a pic...jus needs fine tuning now. -Tinman-

and 1 more....(notice i HAD to put wifes (owner..lol) name on her.... -Tinman-

I'm curious as to what engine you guys are using for a TF P-47 to come out tail heavy. Mine seems like it will be balanced pretty good. Glassing and painting as well. I'm planning on a YS .91 4 cycle.

Scott

hi bvm, i have a saito120 in mine....notice the brass spinner i made? i also have a piece of steel 1x1x3 in the firewall....

Tinman That 13 #s should fly fine. My 1st P-40 was 13 Pounds with an OS 1.08 The Jug has more wing and a better wing Planform. Nothing to worry about there. You could shed some weight with a lesser engine, as these planes were designed to fly very well on a Schnuerle .60 AN OS .61 fsr Made my old 10# tf p-40 really sing. good luck with it it looks great. and PS I have an ARF .40 size Jug that took 10 oz. of weight to balance.

ahhh i feel mucho better now ty US -Tinman-

It will fly well at 13#, I test flew one for a friend that was 10# and only had a ST .75 on it, was a joy to fly! The P47 tracks like a pattern plane and at 10# floated in like a feather, its a REAL nice flying airplane. I dont think the extra weight will be a problem at all.

By the way NICE job!

ME

Ben


I will try to take some pictures of it this weekend. Working with the flight metal takes a little getting used to. On flat surfaces it isn't bad to work with. Around curved surfaces, it can get a little tricky. If you practice first on some scrap it isn't too bad. The outcome is definately worth the extra effort. If you need more info, email me and I will be glad to help.

Mine Flies fine with a ST75 @ 11.75 lbs. Mine is glassed, painted, flaps, retracts & tail retract. She flies very scale like....

Andy


http://www.1nvrc.com/AndyB1-R.jpg

How did you guys like the TF kit???
I am looking into trading some servos for my friends NIB TF P-47 kit.
Thanks Doug

Hi all,

I have glassed a lot of planes with epoxy. The secret to cut down on weight is to thin out your 50/50 mixture with and equal part of Denatured Alcohol. This thins out the mixture to almost a water consistency. You will need two thin coats but will notice you use a lot less expoxy with an excellent result. Once sanded you prime and paint. Your weight will be cut in half in regard to the amount of finishing resin. Try it you will like it. It spreads easier and sands easier. At times have used one coat and let my primer fill in the weave of the 3/4 ounce cloth. Here is a photo of my latest glassed project.

Stevant

Like you, I use 2 coats of thinned expoxy, and it really works well.
As you say, it helps keep the weight down, and is much better to sand.

I like your P40, is it a TF model?

greyfly

You got it..... That is a TF kit!!! Nice looking plane!!


Here is my Wing Mfg. Hellcat....

Aww nuts Stevant All I see is your hellcat THough the Hell cat is really nice I'd love to see the P-40 too!

Go back to page 1 of this thread. You will see my P-40 at the end of the page. Let me know what you thinik!!

Oh OK Cool!
Aww Nutz when you posted the Hellcat sir it posted the Hellcat to both posts oh well thanks anyway.

Here is the P-40....