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CorsairJock -> Corsair Main Landing Gear Wheels (12/20/2003 2:15:43 PM)
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This is another item that I noticed when things just didn't look right. If you have an early Gold Edition Corsair box top, look at the completed Corsair with gear down, and then look at some pictures of full scales in about the same orientation. You should notice that the wheels on the box top look way too small. That's because they are. Let's talk scale: a full scale Corsair has a wing span of about 41 feet, or 492" (41 x 12). Divide by 8 and you come up with 61 1/2", which is about the same as your Top Flight Corsair (and EXACTLY the span of a Royal Corsair), which means that these aircraft are 1/8 scale, despite what may be stated in manuals or advertisements. NOTE to you owners of the Top Flite Giant Corsair: This is also mis-labeled by Top Flite, it is NOT 1/5 scale. 492" divided by 5 equals 98.4", the Top Flite Giant Scale Corsair has an 86" span, which is much closer to 1/6 scale than 1/5 (492" divided by 6 equals 82"). The main wheels on a full scale are about 32" in diameter. If you divide that by 8, that means that the correct size for scale wheels is 4". Top Flight recommends using 3 1/4" wheels, which is the size that are shown on the box top. Royal recommends 3 1/2" wheels for their Corsairs. So what size to use? 4" Wheels: 4" wheels can be made to fit in the wheel wells. That is to say, there is sufficient room between main spar and trailing edge spar for the 4" wheels to fit into. But there are some other issues why you may want to use a smaller size: 1) Bigger wheels mean more total weight. 2) The weight of wheels on a Corsair (or ANY aircraft with retracts that move for to aft, rather than laterally) moves the balance point of the aircraft when the gear is retracted. More weight means a greater shift in the center of gravity. 3) Even tho the wheels fit between the spar, there may be other clearance issues if you elect to install operating gear doors. 4) I have a set of Robart 4" scale wheels, they use the same hub as the smaller wheels, and this hub just doesn't look right (too small) with the 4" wheels. 3 3/4" Wheels: Robart 3 3/4" scale wheels are a very good choice if you really are after the scale look. Other 3 3/4" wheels work pretty well also, but the Robarts are the most authentic looking right out of the package (no mods except paint). This size has the appearance of being scale size, but allows more room in retract bays than the 4" variety. It should also be noted that Robart scale wheels, although very authentic looking, are also among the heaviest wheels. 3 1/2" Wheels: This is the size I usually use. The are big enough to not be so obviously under sized as the 3 1/4" wheels, and leave a lot of room in the retract wells. In other words, I think they are a good choice unless you are about to compete in a scale event, in which case go with the Robart 3 3/4" wheels. I am currently using 3 1/2" Dave Brown treaded foam wheels, which are about 2 oz. lighter than a set of Robarts the same size. The Dave Browns do not look near as good, unless you modify them as another Corsair fanatic has: Luke. Go to his thread "Royal Corsair Project" to see how Luke added the scale spoke look to his Dave Brown wheels. So, the bottom line here is that I recommend that your wheels be at the very least, 1/4" larger in diameter than the size that Top Flite recommends. I therefor consider this a modification, rather than just a choice of accessories. Also, most manufacturers do show scale size AND their recommended size for main wheels, Top Flite does not. Well that should answer some all questions about main gear wheels, in a later post I'll address the tailwheel.
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