Front Landing Gear Doors (Full Version)

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CorsairJock -> Front Landing Gear Doors (9/20/2003 2:56:17 PM)

The front landing gear doors supplied with Top Flite Corsairs (BOTH kits: 'red box' and Glod Edition) are not very scale in profile and size. Specifically, they are smaller and more squared than true scale. The drawing in this post is for scale gear doors, for those of you who want to remain as true to scale as possible.
I have found using scale doors to be a little difficult tho. For one thing, they are wider than the retract bay, and will probably require some widening of that area if you want them to look right when retracted. They also present some clearance problems with the wheels, depending on how long your struts are and what size wheels you use.
Therefor, I have designed my own gear doors, which are more scale than the Top Flight Flite ones but not true scale, and which will fit into the retract wells with no clearance issues. The choice here is yours: I have supplied the drawing to make scale ones if you want, OR make ones which are more scale than the Top Flite versions but which are easy to install.

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.



CorsairJock -> Front Landing Gear Doors (9/20/2003 2:58:20 PM)

Here is my design for easy to use/ install yet semi accurate scale landing gear doors. Actaully tho, you should make the top line angled as shown in the scale drawing (from posting above this one).
Rather than making them from 1/8" lite ply (as Top Flite does), I make mine from a lamination of 1/64" ply and 3/32" balsa. I use a large glass jar to attain some curvature during the lamination process, as true scale doors are not flat, but rather have compound curves to conform to wing shape when retracted.

I begin by cutting the 1/64" ply pieces.
Next, I soak 2 balsa pieces which are larger then the ply pieces, apply 30 minute expoy to one side of the ply pieces (be sure and make 2 opposites), then attach the oversize balsa pieces and then use rubber bands to wrap (ply sides out) the assemblys around something with a large radius curve, such as the top area of a large plastic jar. You will have to judge on your own an apprpriate size, mine was about 6" diameter.
When the eopy has cured AND the balsa has dried, you can remove and sand the balsa to the outline of the ply.

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.



CorsairJock -> Front Landing Gear Doors (9/20/2003 2:59:59 PM)

Here is a pic of my #167 Corsair, shown with the gear up. As you can see, the gear doors have enough room to clear the sides of the retract bay. Purists may consider this to be very unscale looking, but in flight this is difficult to notice and the gear doors do great job of covering up the retract units ( which would otherewise be very noticable).
You might also notice a little modification to the retract bay: instead of sheeting ahead of the spar (as per plans), I added a rounded piece of balsa on each side of the bay, attaching them to the spar, and then painted to match. From previous experience, I have learned that gear up landings are better than gear down landings under certain conditions (like dead stick, and especially if you can't make it to the runway). I have also learned that these gear up landings can be made which result in NO DAMAGE to plane or landing gear, especially if precautions are made in advance. One of the precauctions is the delete the sheeting ahead of the spar and replace it with the rounded wood as shown in the pic. This provides a smooth step for the wing to land on. The other precaution is allowing the gear door to go up into the retract bay a little, and thus lessoning the chance for it to become damaged.
Using these methods, gear up landings usually only result in a few scaratches on the finish (MonoKote in this case).
When RCUniverse gets its act together and returns my "gallery" to me (which I paid for), you can see pics of these gear doors in the wheels DOWN configuration, and I think they look very scale and hope you agree.

NEXT TIME: put a more scale curvature on the front of your fuselage AND improve engine cooling (for projects under construction or not yet started).



CorsairJock -> Front Landing Gear Doors (9/22/2003 2:39:20 PM)

Hereare pics of the left landing gear on my #167.
Visible in the 1st pic is the small black tie wrap which loops around the RoboStrut and thru a small eye-bolt which is screwed into a 1/8" ply plate on the back side of the front landing gear door. This insures that the door will follow the landing gear as it retracts. If you use this method, make sure your tie wrap is loose: too tight and it will bind when the landing gear wants to go down.
Also visible in this pic are the now painted left side exhaust stacks mentioned in an earlier mod, and the machine gun openings which will be covered later.
In the 2nd pic, visible is conventional pinned flat control surface hinges (outlined with black line, one per gear door) attaching the gear door to the wing. The top half of the hinge uses small scews for attachment into the leading edge (with 1/8" ply plate added), so the the doors can be removed is necessary. The bottom half is epoxied to the gear door. Note that the retract unit has been removed for this pic for better clarity of the door hinge.



Rocketman612 -> Engine exhaust (9/27/2003 1:45:01 AM)

Well after much debate I decided not to route the exhaust to a scale location for several reasons.The weight of the extra tube, I'd have to cut and support the stringer that runs right under the scale location and lastly the glow fuel exhaust streaming down the glassed fuse. Instead I cut the appropriate sized openings in 1/64 ply then sanded down the sheeting alittle to recess the ply. Glued the ply then sanded to blend in. I used the Dremel to hollow out the area to give it some depth careful not to go through the sheeting. After I will place some cut brass or plastic tubing glued in place . Should look good with less work and the exhaust should blow farther away with less on the plane. Pete



kram51 -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/3/2003 7:30:56 PM)

Bump!!!!
Need to keep this somewhere near the top of the list. Too many good ideas to let it die!

Mark



RC Flyer 2 -> RE: Front Landing Gear Doors (10/7/2003 1:40:16 PM)

CorsairJock,

I have really enjoyed reading your mods here. if possible, could you provide additional information on the attachment of the front landing gear doors to the wing.

Thanks



CorsairJock -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/7/2003 2:19:40 PM)

I will be elaborating on the gear door installation in a week or two. This past 30 days has been pretty hectic for me: 3 out of town trips (one week of work related training in Columbus, OH, one week of vacation in Chattanooga, TN, and now the passing of my GrandMother, who will be buried in the Chicagio area later this week).
I will also address engine cooling and fuselage mods to improve cooling AND scale looks.
Thanks to those of you who are interested enough to keep this thread going, and for those who have contributed pics of your projects (Thanks, Pete).
On the exhaust: I was building my 'red box' version to have scale, functional exhausts. But like RocketMan, I am having difficulty squeeezing all those pipes thru the compartment normally occupied by battery pack, and may end up going with the non functional ones.
Also, I have purchased a Jack Devine Models 1/7 scale Corsair kit (72" span), and plan to build it very soon, and will start a new thread which will concern this project. My intention is to scale this 'sport plane' out: as a 'bird cage' canopied F4U-1 (will have to make my own canopy).



kram51 -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/7/2003 3:42:24 PM)

Sorry to hear of your Grandmother's passing. I recently buried mine as well. I can relate. You certainly have my sympathies. You can never replace Grandma!
Chin up bucko!

Mark




Josey Wales -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/7/2003 10:00:41 PM)

Sorry for your loss..



Runway -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/8/2003 4:15:31 PM)

My sympathies, too Corsair Jock.
Thank you also for this thread. I expect many of us will be able to incorporate your modifications in our building programmes.

Just looking over the Warbirds threads in general, it is really noticeable how popular Corsairs are. Keep up the good work.

Regards



RC Flyer 2 -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/8/2003 6:23:49 PM)

Sorry to hear about your Grandfather. Thanks for the reply and I look forward to your continuation on the topics you mentioned. I am looking at a Spring launch for my new Corsair, so I'm in no rush. I just finished painting the cockpit kit, it looks awesome!

Thanks again CorsairJock..

BTW I posted pictures of my current project under the following thread. I did not want to add them here to keep this thread as clean as possible. This thread could be a How-to-manual on scale techniques.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_259482/mpage_3/key_/anchor/tm.htm#1187018

RC Flyer 2



William Robison -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (10/21/2003 8:32:50 PM)

Blank posts removed.

Bill.



CorsairJock -> Scale Engine Cooling Fuselage Modification (10/24/2003 2:31:56 PM)

Well, I’m finally back, and caught up on everything enough to find the time to post another mod.
Thanks for condolences AND keeping this thread alive while I was not able to do so.

This mod will improve engine cooling, while adding a more scale look to your Top Flite Corsair.

My first Top Flite Corsair ( #102, see my "GALLERY" ) had 3 different engines in it. All 3 used the same size prop: a Master Airscrew 3 blade 12" x 6.

The first engine was a used Super Tiger .75. I encountered many problems with this one, probably due to it's previous owner. But among the problems was that it would heat up quickly while on the ground. If I could get it airborne before it overheated, it usually ran fairly well.

The second engine was a YS .53 (4 stroke, and purchased before the .63 was available), which was new when installed. It was much more dependable than the Super Tiger, but it too overheated quickly while on the ground. Once in the air, it ran GREAT!

Eventually tho, I installed the same Saito .72 which is now in my current Top Flight Corsair (#167). Altho the YS .53 seemed to outperform the .72 when it was allowed to rev up (unloading when airborn), the .72 was obviously much more reliable on the ground and was more comfortable with the 3 blade Master Airscrew prop, and not prone to overheating.

But the overheating problems were more the fault of the kit design than the engines. That is because the Top Flite Corsairs do not have the scale fuselage inward curvature, which other kit makers were able to incorporate into their designs (Royal/ Marutaka, Jemco, D&B, Scale Model Products to name a few). What I am talking about is that the fuselage on full scale Corsairs is rounded inward, just aft of the cowl flaps (see scale drawing below), which in turn means that air is allowed to exit the engine area even when the cowl flaps are full closed. Top Flite kits (both versions, red box and Gold Edition) do not allow for any significant amount of air to exit this area, at best there is about a 1/16" gap between the inside of the cowl and the outside of the fuselage, probable less depending on how you build it. If it were to be done in a scale manner, a gap of about 1/4" would exist. As the circumference of the cowl is about 7 1/8", if you do the math (pi x 7.125 x 1/4) you come up with about 5 1/2 sq. inches! This is a significant amount of exit area, especially considering that the air is more or less sucked out, rather than having to push itself out of an opening in the cowl side.

As this info became known to me, I decided to build all future Top Flite Corsairs to be more like the full scale ones, so that I would have ample air exit area and thus better engine cooling.

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 and/ or rotating in order to fit on a 8 1/2" x 11" page.



CorsairJock -> Scale Engine Cooling Fuselage Modification (10/24/2003 2:34:00 PM)

To accomplish this modificatio, the area inside the fuselage is built up with balsa strips, so that the outside can be sanded and rounded. This of course is easiest to do if the fuselage is not yet completed, but it could be performed on a completed one also if the ambition is there. Ideally, start with the upper half of the fuselage completed (but not the bottom) except for the installation of F1. F2 should be installed, but not F1. Like I said tho, you could also do this mod to a completed Corsair, it will just be more difficult.


Begin by adding 3/16” thick planks to the inside of the fuselage between F2 and F3. You should pre- warp some balsa sheeting first by soaking with water and wrapping around something round and about the right diameter (like the cowl). Then cut pieces to size so that they will fill the gaps between the 3/16” square stingers, and glue them into place with thick CA. These pieces should extend all the between F2 and F3. When finished with the top half, fill any gaps with epoxy/ microballoon mix.

Now that the inside is more or less round (the stringers are even with the planks), you can add another layer of planks, and you can use bigger pieces since they do not have to fit between the stringers. These do not need to go all the way back to F3: they can be shortened to about 2” if desired. Also, thickness is not important. You will need to build it up a total of about 1” (counting the first layer, which is 3/16” thick), but how you get there is up to you. Thinner balsa bends easier, but requires more layers. It needs to be 1” thick up to F2 only: each successive layer can be shorter, and they do not need to go all the way back to F3.

When you have completed the fuselage top, go ahead and complete the fuselage by adding on the lower section, then add planks as described above. It will be more difficult than the top because you have less room to work with now.

When adding the planking is completed, it is time to remove material from the outside. Begin with by using a compass to draw a 5” diameter circle on the outside (engine side) of F2 This circle must be centered, so that the line is equidistant from the fuselage edge ( about 1” ) all the way around.

Next, measure 1 1/4” back from the front of F2, at several places( 4 ~ 8) around the fuselage. Use a thick tape, such as electrical tape, and wrap around the fuselage, lining up one edge with the marks, so that the tape exposes the 1 1/4” area directly behind F2 but covers the area directly behind the marks.

Next, draw a vertical line on F2, which ends exactly on top of F2. Now measure and mark 2 lines, each 1 1/8” from the vertical center line, one on each side. Apply tape to these lines, with the edges on the lines and the covering the area on the side towards the vertical center line. Extend these tape strips over the top of F2 and onto the top of the fuselage, going straight back, and extending beyond the tape which was previously applied around the fuselage.

You are now ready to remove wood. You can start out with a hobby saw to remove some large chunks, but eventually you will need a sanding “T” bar. The object is to remove the wood up to the tape. That means sanding the area flat, so that it appears that the fuselage lines have an edge that bevels in about 45 deg., then bevels again another 45 deg. at F2 (see drawing).

When complete, remove the tape and switch to FINE sandpaper (320 grit max, 400 best) and gently round the edge on the fuselage SLIGHTLY. Look at the scale drawing again: this is a fairly tight radius, so don’t sand too much (like I did).

The fuselage mod is now completed. Cover and/ or paint to your heart’s desire. Add a thin layer of ‘glass if you want (I didn’t). The only thing left to do now is modify F1 so that it will allow cowl attachment AND allow air to exit at the cowl flap area. I just set up F1 for cowl installation, then squared it off by drawing 3/8” diameter circles around the cowl mounting holes, drawing lines to connect these circles at the outermost areas, then sawing off the 4 crescents so that it ending up being nearly square. I use blind nuts for cowl attachment, I suggest that you mount the blind nuts prior to attaching F1 to F2, as it may be difficult once F1 is attached. You may also want to consider adding a layer of ‘glass cloth to the front of F1, especially in the cowl mounting tab areas for additional strength.
If you are building a 'red box' Corsair, F1 needs to be at least double it's original thickness, either by laminating another piece of ply to it OR just making a new one from 1/8" heavy ply or bigger. Also, I did not construct my 'red box' with the maple motor mounts: I replaced the maple with balsa, cut them off even with the firewall, and used a conventional motor mount.

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 and/ or rotating in order to fit on a 8 1/2" x 11" page.



CorsairJock -> Scale Engine Cooling Fuselage Modification (10/24/2003 2:35:41 PM)

Shown here is another pic of my still un-completed ‘red box’ Corsair, with the fuselage mod mentioned in these posts. In the background is my #167 Corsair, awaiting cleanup after some late October flying. A used YS .53 (previously installed in first Top Flite Corsair) is shown mounted, but a N.I.B. YS .63 will be mounted for flights when completed. Either engine is capable of swinging a Master Airscrew 3 blade 12 x 6 at over 10,000 RPM.

I had promised to cover engine baffling also, I will do so in the next post.


Until next time, Happy Modeling.



Ojzov -> RE: Scale Exhaust (10/25/2003 7:58:22 PM)

Hello CJ,

At the moment I'am installing the 615 robart retracts.
I see the struts are standard delivered straight. Do you think it might give problems
using them this way without a curl (and without robostruts) They look very rigid and do not bend to much, causing damage to the retracts or wing. Or is it mostly done this way?

Regards,

Ojzo



ganu -> RE: Front Landing Gear Doors (10/29/2003 6:41:52 PM)

great thread! I am considering trying some of the easier mods listed here and HAVE already started on other mods. (ie; one servo per aileron and access panels for flap and aileron servos.) Keep 'em coming!



cap10fan -> RE: Front Landing Gear Doors (11/7/2003 6:17:53 PM)

Great thread! just what I was looking for. I just picked up an un-started Gold Edition for a price I love. FREE![sm=lol.gif]

I am planning on doing most of the mods listed above.

Does anybody have any thoughts on modifying for a two piece wing?

Todd Coleman



Rocketman612 -> RE: Front Landing Gear Doors (11/8/2003 10:14:59 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: cap10fan

Great thread! just what I was looking for. I just picked up an un-started Gold Edition for a price I love. FREE![sm=lol.gif]

I am planning on doing most of the mods listed above.

Does anybody have any thoughts on modifying for a two piece wing?


Todd,
Two or three? ie. center section with plug in outer panels? In either case on this size wingspan I don't think it's worth the hassle and extra weight to make it work right. Aluminum Tube or some type of male/female slot joiner at the spar is needed. Either way it's going to in the wrong direction with regard to weight for this plane IMO. Pete



CorsairJock -> 2 piece/ 3 piece wings, engine baffling, retracts (11/8/2003 1:32:34 PM)

2 piece wing? Until now, I had never considered it, altho it would solve some issues with making a proper alignment/ fit to the fuselage: it is sometimes difficult to get the wing and fuselage to mate perfectly, with no 'edge' on either the wing or fuselage. As for a 3 piece wing, I HAVE considered that (as well as folding wings): I have considered making the outer panels removable, AND making them to they could easily be re-attached but in the folded position. Thus, you could display (and transport?) with the wings folded, then remove and re-attach for flying. But, as Rocketman said, the extra weight involved (and time/ labor) has so far kept me from trying any of the above. Keep in mind that the Corsair wing is a very complicated arrangement to begin with: not so much the gull but things like the 3 flaps on each wing, all at different angles, and one with a bend. Then add the rotating retracts, and aileron linkage (more difficult because of the gull, which is why many prefer to use 2 aileron servos).
I will be working on/ repairing a Gold Edition wing, which will utilize foam outer cores, and I may try to make them removable. If so, it may be on display at the Toledo show (Wing Mfg. booth).
Currently tho, my project is a Jack Devine 72" Corsair, which is requiring extensive modifications to make it scale. I had also considered folding wings on this one, but again decided against it due to the extra weight, loss of structural integrity, and additional time/ labor required. Would any of the above be worth it? SURE, if you have the time, engineering ability, and resources to do it. As for me, it's all I can do to add one plane to my fleet each winter. Some day soon I hope to have more time, just gotta figure out those 6 numbers.

At this time, I'll take a little time to address 2 other questions. I'll begin with engine baffling. First off, model engine and full scale engines are not the same, and do not operate under the same conditions. So, altho one should consider full scale baffling theories, they may or may not apply to our models. My own experience has taught me that the front of the engine needs to be exposed/ not hidden behind the baffle. My own idea is that the baffle should ideally be even with the middle of the jug(s). This means that it should be farther back than most plans show (like the full scale radial engines). I have a problem with the Top Flite dummy radials: they are too flat. That is to say, the center/ rounded 'crankcase' portion does not protrude sufficiently for scale appearance OR efficient baffling if mounted according to plans. The full scale has the crankcase extending forward of the cowl opening, while the cylinders are located well into the cowl. I have found some other aftermarket dummy engines which work much better, because they are deeper/ have more extension on the crankcase. I picked them up at swap meets, and unfortunately do not have manufacturer info on them. But to sum things up so far: look for a different aftermarket dummy radial, one that is 'deep' and can be mounted well back into the cowl while the crankcase is slightly exposed from the front.
As for the cutout for the engine: I used to remove one cylinder from the dummy engine to allow air to the engine, but have now decided that better cooling is achieved by removing 2 cylinders. This leaves an even number of cylinders (counting the real one), which is a no-no for radials (each layer/ bank must have an odd amount), but if done well enough, is barely noticeable unless some one is counting. As RCUniverse STILL doesn't have my galley back up, I am forced to add another picture: this is a frontal of my Gold Edition #167 Corsair with Saito .72GK blended into dummy radial and yellow cowl ring. Engine cooling has been very effective using this dummy engine/ baffle AND fuselage mods described in an earlier post. NOTE: prop in picture is a Top Flite static display prop with Major Decals wet transfer markings. I use a Master Airscrew 3 blade 12" x 6 for flight.

The other issue is retracts. I am hoping we don't start a big discussion here on them, as I feel it would be more appropriate to start a separate thread on them and/ or do a search ("Robart" and/ or "615", "615s" should work) here at RCU, as this subject has been discussed/ covered/ and thoroughly bashed in previous posts. I will briefly touch on what has been said: there are only 2 popular/ widely available options for air retracts for a 1/8 scale Corsair retracts- Robart 615s and CenturyJets. There are a few other options which are NOT so widely available: Rhom Air (no longer made), Giant Scale Planes (haven't heard whether the Corsair retracts are for sale separately yet), and Sierra (custom made by a well known giant scale retract maker, I and a number of others have ordered sets but still have not seen them), and possibly a few others. Mechanical retracts and/ or retracts with struts less than 3/16" daimeter are not considered viable options for Corsairs this large.
On the Robarts and CenturyJets: there are quite a few of us who are not satisfied with either.
The Robart 615s are rated for 5 ~ 10 lb aircraft, and are easily damaged when landings are a bit too rough, even with my 8 lb, 10 oz. Corsair. They are however easily repaired ($$$ for parts), compact enough for an easy installation, and look very scale when equipped with RoboStruts. The RoboStruts however, add some additional issues: they do not allow rearward deflection (as the spring wire struts do), and thus may tend to contribute to the possibilty of "link" damage ( Robarts refers to the 'scissors' like parts as "links: 2 per retract, one left and one right, $6.50 each) to the 615s upon hard landings. They also must have adequate set scews to prevent them from unwanted rotating on the wire struts (same goes for the gear at the top of the wire). There is at least one person at RCU who loves the 615s, but hates the RoboStruts (I won't mention his name, because he will think I am picking on him, even tho I am not).
The CenturyJets are more robust and less likely to incur damage, but they are bulkier and the included oleo struts are ugly and cheap looking compared to RoboStruts. The size of them makes a clean installation more difficult, and an additional hole needs to be in the main spar (in addition to the notch at the bottom for strut clearance) for the air cylinders.
So, there appears to be no good choice at this time. There are those who are very satisfied with the Robarts and/ or the CenturyJets, but there are many like me who are not. I am sticking with the RoboStrut equipped Robart 615s for now, having discovered a modification which has seemed to really help lessen the chance of damage to them (do the search, and you will find it). And, as stated earlier, I have a set of Sierras on order.

Having answered these 3 general questions (retracts, baffling, and 2 ~ 3 piece wings), please search and /or open new threads if you want to know more. This thread is intended to be Corsair specific, and the these 3 subjects are not. Also, I do not consider myself an expert on any of the 3, and opening a new thread may get more exposure and answers from other who feel they are. If I can keep this thread focused on 1/8 scale Corsair modifications, I can devote more time to that subject. I intend to cover machine guns within the next few weeks (how can you have a fighter, if it doesn't have guns?).



hannibal -> Illuminate Me! (11/9/2003 5:48:01 AM)

Fella's, great ideas and discussions! I've currently got a TF .60 under construction and will try to use many of your scale ideas. One no one seems to have touched on yet deals with lighting. I have run wires for wing tip and tail cone lights but also know that the planes had a series of colored identification lights in the wings. Is anyone up on the lighting aspects in general of this aircraft? Any ideas or suggestions for doing it right?

Thanx



RCHYFLYER -> RE: Scale Engine Cooling Fuselage Modification (11/9/2003 6:27:15 AM)

I know this is late in the game here but I was just reading on the overheating problem and I must say this,I have the Top Flight Corsair with a 91FX in it and what an engine. I know its not a 4 banger but man the power and sound is great! I have the baffle in it with the radial engine installed with no problems. I love this plane and and at half throttle the F4U5 flys scale like speed!



Rocketman612 -> RE: Illuminate Me! (11/9/2003 2:37:23 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: hannibal

Fella's, great ideas and discussions! I've currently got a TF .60 under construction and will try to use many of your scale ideas. One no one seems to have touched on yet deals with lighting. I have run wires for wing tip and tail cone lights but also know that the planes had a series of colored identification lights in the wings. Is anyone up on the lighting aspects in general of this aircraft? Any ideas or suggestions for doing it right?

Thanx


The TF Corsair kit calls for several balsa trees to be used in the tail that are carved and sanded to shape. Not having built this kit I was reluctant to "hollow out" for fear of carving through the piece on shaping. Having said that if I build another the balsa block that forms the top of the fuse tail can be "hollowed out" leaving enough thickness to glue to the top stringer. The bottom tail balsa blocks can also get similar treatment. I did carfully remove anywhere from 1/8 to 1/4 in from the rear formers. I enlarged the inner hole of each with a drum sanding bit on my Dremmel. I stayed away from areas that get glued or take stress like at the tail gear support. I also drilled F5 former with a 1in woodboring bit with two overlapping passes and cleaned it up with the Dremmel. I'm using a cockpit kit so the hole is not seen.
I'm not sure how much total weight I removed but every bit helps. Pete



Doug D. -> RE: 1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods (11/9/2003 6:17:41 PM)

Looks like you have had a lot of responses to your thread, good job. I like all the mods for scaling the model that have been discussed are very workable. I hope that some of the guys who have the larger TF Corsair kit are paying attention to this thread as it would help them to improve that model as well. Any way I've noticed a few post's regarding engines and thier problems with overheating. Some of them are caused by trying to turn a three blade prop on the 2 and 4 stroke engines in the recommened power ranges. If one wishes to turn a three or even four blade prop to help the scale appearance, look closely at the RCV .90 or 1.20 four strokes. They will turn a 15" three or four blade heavy pitch prop easily. (See prop ranges on there web sight www.rcvengines.com) They also have a video clip of a Skyraider flying with the .90. I have a RCV .90 that I will put on my TF Cosair next season to see how it performs. My Corsair is presently flying with a MVVS .77 that pulls it very well, but I turn a 13x7 prop in the recommended prop, muffler and fuel combinations. I also have it well baffled. Keep up the good work and have FUN !



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