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Posts: 1907
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My name is Jim Jager, and I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. I am starting this thread to help all those who have .60 size/ 1/8 scale Top Flite Corsairs (Gold Edition AND 'red box'), who desire an aircraft that looks much better and is more scale accurate than the ones built just like the one on the box. In other words, ways to make your Corsair a step above the others. Many of the mods to be discussed here could be applied to other 1/8 scale Corsairs as well. Most of the mods that I post are relatively easy to accomplish, add little or no weight, and have little or no effect on the flight characteristics. I encourage others to submit their ideas as well, but please submit only replies which directly deal the subject of this thread. Many of us subscribe to threads like this, and do not want to be annoyed with meaningless chatter. I work long hours (still haven't found the right 6 numbers), and every other weekend, so I don't have as much time as some people do for dwelling on the internet. I love my wife, and enjoy spending time with her. I love to build and fly model airplanes, and I love to spend time on the computer. So many loves, so little time. That said, I my goal is to add one 'how to' every week or two, to allow me time between posts and to keep this thread towards the top for newbies. Some of the things I post here will have already been covered in previous posts, I am hoping I can consolidate everything into this one thread. I will start with the most recent mod to my Top Flight Gold Edition Corsair. You can see more pics of this Corsair by clicking on the "Gallery" button in this post. This mod consists of the addition of a tailhook. It is a VERY easy project, can be accomplished in about 2 hours, and will add virtually no weight YET will make a very noticeable difference in scale looks. If you look at the pics, and compare to scale drawings, you will see that it is not totally accurate. Without the drawings in hand however, unless you are a true Corsair expert, it will appear very accurate. This mod can be performed on existing / already built Corsairs as well as un-completed ones. First off, is the 'notch' under the tail. I accomplished this with a Dremel/ sanding wheel. Just 'Dremel' to shape, and add covering material ( I used same color as the rest of the plane). I was actually this far several months ago, before it's first flight. But I went to the 2003 South Bend, IN WarBird Fly-in and several people inquired as to the reason for the 'notch'. So, I decided to complete the project by constructing the tailhook. My tailhook was made from 2 pieces of scrap plastic tubes, which I had purchased at a hobby shop some time ago. One piece is from 3/16" OD plastic tube, the other from ½" OD plastic tube. The sizes I selected were based on what I had on hand, and other sizes could be used based on scale drawings and/ or what looks right. I drilled a hole into the ½" OD tube, then CA'd the 3/16" OD tube into the hole. When cured, I sanded the tubes to desired width and length (using 'that looks about right' thinking), then cut out a portion from the ½" OD tube to form the open hook. A mixture of aluminum and gloss black paint provided the weathered steel look. The 3/16" OD tube is then glued into a 3/16" hole drilled into the slot. As I said, this is all very easy, maybe not exact scale but very eye catching and scale looking, and is guaranteed to set your Top Flight Corsair apart from the others. Well, that's it until next time, ............Jim
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- 9/14/2003 2:20:03 AM >
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Jim, Great thread you started here. Should be good to see what you and others are doing to modify their TF Corsair.
I am adding +1 incidence to BOTH the wing and Horizontal stab to give it better lines. Extensive testing on Real Flight indicates no bad habits if BOTH are changed.
I made a template of the wing saddle shape and after measuring came up with moving the dowel hole and leading edge of the wing 3/16 deeper into the fuse. the template was adjusted to taper to no adjustment or material removed at the trailing edge. Pete
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RocketMan: Thanks so much for the help. What RocketMan is doing is making yet another 'adjustment' to make his Corsair more scale accurate: full scale Corsairs have 2 deg pos. incidence at the roots, stab is 1 1/4 deg pos (see drawing, it shows the 1 1/4 deg), and engine is 0 deg. Top Flite designed this as a sport warbird, and scale inaccuracies abound, th e plans call for 0-0-0, or 0 deg down thrust, 0 deg. wing inc., and 0 deg. stab inc. So what Rocketman is doing (and I have done also) is making a correction which will bring his Corsair closer to looking and flying like the full scale. Performing this mod should also assist in making landings easier, as we should all know by now that a little effective downthrust (relative to the wing) reduces the tendancy for an aircraft to go into a fast dive when power is reduced, and increases the tendency for the aircraft to just go into a slower glide. I have attached a 1/8 scale drawing here, showing the tailhook area (which BTW, is one of the many details completely lacking in Top Flite plans). This drawing shows the tailhook in the tailwheel down position, and therefor the hook itself is slightly forward of it's completely retracted (up) position. Also, the gear doors are open in this drawing. This should assist all of you in locating the exact position and shape of the 'notch' . I should state at this point that I suggest that anyone and everyone who builds this kit (or ANY scale warbird kit) do some research, and invest a minimum of $10 more to purchase a book containing scale drawings, pictures, and history/ information about the full scale version of their kit. It is a small investment compared to what the rest of your project will cost, and will assist you in making final choice on finish/ paint schemes. Hopefully, you will choose to come up with a scale/ accurate finish which will make your's different from all the others, and above all, not exactly like the one on the box. Unless of course, you have a 'red box' Corsair, in which case it would be GREAT to have your's look like the one on the box. NOTE: This drawing is 1/8 scale/ actual scale size for Top Flight (and Royal) .60 size Corsairs. In order to print it correct size, you may need to download it first, then open it in a program such as Adobe Photo Deluxe, and print it from there. It may require cropping in order to fit on a 8 1/2" x 11" page.
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- Aug 16 2003 1:28PM >
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Great idea for a thread Jock,
one of the things that bugged me the most was the wing-tip profile (top to bottom, viewed from the front) the plans show the tips rounded evenly, meaning the top of the wing sloped downward towards the tip-which is all wrong. the bottom of the wing comes up to meet the flat top surface, just changing the way you carve the tip blocks fixes this.
I rough carved then glued the tip blocks on after sheeting, then masked the sheeting to prevent denting, with a long block with rough sandpaper on the end, i sanded for-aft, basically following the ribs, to match the top of the tip block to the top of the wing. periodically lay a straigtedge down and sight along to ensure flatness. then shape the curve, per plan. sand the bottom of the block up to meet the top in a nice taper, leaving about 1/4" vertical flat around the tip, even all the way. glue a small piece of rough paper to some soft foam, and wrap arround the tip to round off the corners smoothly and evenly. my camera is down, so no new pics, but there are some in my thread (that i've been neglecting) but none of the wing-tips, but some other mod's i've made http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/tm.asp?m=498654%20prototype%20scheme&pagenumber=1
I have a 1/48 scale plastic model that was an excellent pattern for this..
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Purchased this model a few months ago. Tail feathers are complete and the wing needs flaps, ailerons, and tips installed. Did not start fuselage yet. Consider myself to be a good builder, this is my first warbird. Appreciate what you say CorsairJock about all your "Loves" This will be a great place to visit while I build this model.
At this time, I intend to install the full cockpit and have been looking around for a sale pilot for this size plane, any ideas?
Engine: Supertigre 61 - Thinking bigger?? I have this engine in a box.
Retracts: Robart #615 I actually purchased the retracting tailwheel but sent it back.
My biggest decision will be how to finish the model. I am very comfortable with MonKote, but have been reading about glassing.
Anyway, I will send along pictures soon, and look forward to adding your scale touches to my project CorsairJock..
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by torp Hi Rocketman, is this a necessary mod and what are the advantages over the stock build ? Is it purely for looks?
Look forward to you doing the Horizontal stab.
Thanks Torp. [/QUOTE]
Torp, None of the modifications in this thread are necessary. The TF Corsair can be built per plans and flown with no problem. The challenge for me at least was to build something that didn't look like an out of the box TF Corsair. After doing some research (and I totally agree with CorsairJock that you develop a reference library of material for this or any Warbird) I saw many of the scale shortcomings of this kit. With some effort one can improve the overall look of the plane. The change in incidence was something that seemed to be missing so I looked into it, see my thread in the aerodynamics section http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/tm.asp?m=791263 I think I will have a good flying plane with better lines.
Finished the horizontal stab with +1 incidence. Notice that the control arm for the Rudder is away from the vertical stab. If you plan on using Robart hinge points then the arm needs to be 1/4 in aft so it's recessed in the Rudder giving it the same axis of rotation as the hinges. Need to do the same for the Elevators too. Take care, Petee
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One of the changes I had planned for my TF Corsair (which has now been sold) was to add scale, airfoil shaped tail surfaces. These could easily be adapted to the kit. If enough interest exists I would be happy to offer a laser cut kit for the new tail.
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There are 2 issues that I will address on the rudder: cosmetic (scale accuracy) and structural. The 2 are related in some cases, as you will see. This drawing below is actual/ 1/8 scale size, so with a little cropping (DO NO "Fit to page" you should be able to print on 8 1/2 x 11. I urge you to print it and compare to Top Flite drawings. You will note that the Top Flite drawings have the rudder slightly more squared in outline. Altho the difference appears to be subtle, it is not. In fact, a rudder built to plans appears noticeably incorrect to anyone who has observed the full scale Corsairs at airshow and museums. I noticed long before I owned my first Top Flite Corsair that the ones I had seen at swap meets and contests just didn't look right, even without the benefit of scale drawings on hand. The other issue I have with the Top Flight rudder concerns structural integrity. Let me start out by stating that I am one who loves to build light (to fly right), and that I do not like to add strength for the purpose of added crash survivability. BUT, the Corsair rudder is a different story, because if (when) the aircraft ends up on it's back ( I give it a 90% chance within the first 50 flights), the top of the rudder is what it ends landing on (unlike most other aircraft, where the fin bears the brunt). There are many reasons why most Corsairs ( and other warbirds) will/ can end up on their back sooner or later, not even counting pilot error: malfunctioning retracts (especially the unwanted strut rotations), varmit holes in the (grass) runway causing a wheel to stop, grass too tall and/ or too thick, and so on. My #167 is my second Top Flite Corsair, #102 was my first. #102 had the correct rudder contour, but was easily damaged/ broken when the flip overs occurred. The red lines indicate the areas where the rudder was most likely to break. My #167 has added rudder strength, and has now flipped over a few times and sustained absolutely NO damage. The changes that I made not only strengthened the rudder in key areas, they also actually made the rudder more scale authentic, and did so while adding only a few grams. Observe the blue shaded areas of the drawing: these are the areas that I strengthened. Note also, that these are areas on the full scale that have aluminum sheeting, and thus do not have the fabric over ribs look. The trim tab (rear, lower rudder area) was made from hard ply, and glued to an area of balsa which was cut out for it. Reasoning behind the needed strength here is that iron on covering tends to pull the soft/ thin balsa too much when being heated, thus causing balsa to flex and making it difficult to get wrinkles out in the lower rear corner. I also added a layer of 1/64 ply to the bottom of the rudder for the same reason, with the most grain going crossways (left/ right, rather than front/ back). The forward portions of the rudder had additional balsa added on both sides, grain running top to bottom, and filling most of the blue area. After sanding to proper shape, I removed an additional approx. 1/32" from each side of the hinge blocks, and added thin, 1/4" wide carbon fiber strips to both sides, running top to bottom, just aft of the hinge lines. Lastly, I cut 2 pieces of 1/64" ply to match the contour of the blue shaded area, and glued them over the previous reinforcement's. A few more notes: I like to add a little strength to the thin trailing edge, by removing 1/16" of balsa and then gluing on a 1/16" sq. stick of spruce. The 1/16" spruce bends easily (when dampened) over the top. This will allow you to make the trailing edge thinner/ more scale like while reducing tendency to become easily 'dinged'. Alternate methods, such as gluing a wider piece (maybe 1/16" x 1/4" spruce?) should work well also. Concerning sanding the ribs: if you look at full scale Corsair photos and/ or see them in museums/ airshows, you will note that the rudder ribs are really hardly noticeable, that the fabric covered area appears to be almost completely flat. I see many Top Flite Corsairs where the ribs are sanded in a manner which makes them way too pronounced. I sand them to a gentle, even arc, rather than leaving most of the rounding towards the rear as most people do.
Chad, I for one would be interested in hearing more of your scale, laser cut tail surface kit. Feel free to add more info on it at this site. You might also consider waiting until I post my wing tip mods, and maybe you could include parts for that mod also.
NOTE: This drawing, like the others, is 1/8 scale/ actual scale size for Top Flight (and Royal) .60 size Corsairs. In order to print it correct size, you may need to download it first, then open it in a program such as Adobe Photo Deluxe, and print it from there. It may require cropping in order to fit on a 8 1/2" x 11" page.
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- Aug 13 2003 4:11PM >
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1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods - 
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