Falcon XR

Hi Guys,

I've finished the repairs on my Miss America finally after a cross wind landing went wrong. For some reason the initial repairs started of quite simple. Then I found myself thinking about maybe doing this, and maybe if I do that it'll look like this, then if I......................

Well I guess the pics will give you the idea.

Falcon XR

I'd had a really good run with Miss America. I'm guessing 200+ flights before the tip over on landing. The damage was confined to the fuse, which split from the wing leading edge to the elevators. After glueing everything together again I glassed the fuse for extra strength.

Falcon XR

I used automotive base coat then cleared the lot. The flames were the most fiddley part of the whole thing. People asked where I'd got the decals from, but unfortunatley you cant get Dago red decals. So I had no choice but to paint them on myself.

Falcon XR

And now Miss America's all repaired and finished. I suppose it's Dago Red now, but I still refer to her as Miss America????
People at the field have asked me what happened to my old Miss America. When I say to them that they're looking at her, they usually don't believe me until I point out a few tell tale signs hahahaha.

Thanks for letting me share this with you all.
Enjoy.

MerlinL14

Fantastic repair job and that colour scheme.............................pure class.

SDCrashmaster

Nice work,
Had the WM .40 "Missy" ourselves and thought the world of it. Got totally shot down by a newbie. Had just rebuilt the entire front end just prior too.[]
Enjoy that great flying plane.

rfw1953

My Feedback: (2)

First Class ! Very nice work. One to be proud of. Congratulations and thanks for sharing. I have the 80" WS, W.M. Mustang and really like mine. Just wish they would do something about the gear. Guess Robarts are in the picture one of these days. I keep saying this, but just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe this winter.

Falcon XR

Thanks all for the compliments

rfw 1953,
I to have the 80" WM Mustang that's half way bashed at the moment. Again I've got carried away with the mods to the point now that I wished I'd left it alone. It will be worth the effort when finished I'm sure but..............

I notice that you have the Great Planes Pitts (I presume that it's Great Planes 1/3 Scale).
That's next for me to, no mods with this one. I'll just enjoy it the way it was meant to be hahahah.

Regards

Falcon XR

mnmills2

What weight glass cloth did you use? It looks like the wings are still monokote? How much time was involved in glassing? I have the 61 size P-51. I like the plane...not crazy about the covering job. This may be an option for me. Is that thin plywood that you ran down the side of the plane before glassing? How much weight did you add?

THanks
Mike

rfw1953

My Feedback: (2)

We all spend our fair amount of time on the bench. LOL You sure do nice work when you are there.

As for the Pitts, you are correct. It's the G.P. 1/3 scale Pitts. If you get around to it the only mod I would encourage is to add strength to the firewall. Tristock, pinning and fiberglass should be added if using gas. It's a nice ARF and fun to fly. Need to assemble for strength while also keeping it as light as possible.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

Falcon XR, can I send my models down to you for painting?

You do awesome work, the flames are outstanding.

Don

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

I was going to say the same thing, outstanding paint work!

matt

Falcon XR

mnmills,

Wings are the original covering carefully ironed and shrunk to get every wrinkle out. Then I used a scotch bright pad to "key" the covering for Automotive plastic primer. This stuff is clear and has the consistency of water and tacks off in about 5 minutes. Followed by a very light coat of Automotive acrylic primer. I then left the wing for a good week to let all the solvents escape. I then wet rubbed the wing with 600 wet and dry and again left it over night until I had all the other parts ready to start on.

The mods to the balsa fuse are all 1.5mm (sorry for the metric lingo) balsa carefully massaged into shape. I found that by wetting the out side of the balsa sheet lightly it was more then happy to follow the shape. The only real mods to the fuse are the one piece that runs from the canopy to the vertical stabilizer and some pieces to close up the gap left by the original canopy cut out. As for the fuse covering, I used 3/4 oz glass and polyester resin. Gave it a real good sand to remove most of the resin. Acrylic primer and rubbing with 600 wet and dry.

As for the all up weight I'm not really sure as I have'nt weighed it. It is heavier but not greatly and flys better for it it seems. The bonus of using 2pak Base Coat and 2pak clear is that there is no great build up of paint. The Base Coat is 50% solvent, which evaporates. Then by using the bare minimum of clear you also keep the weight down. I'll admit I'm qualified in the Auto Smash industry and am very familiar with the products and knowledge base on the way to use them. However with practice and patience it's very achievable to anyone willing to give it a go. Yes, really it is!

Hope that helps.

rfw1953,

The bottom pic of your Pitts has been my screen saver for ages! Thats one sweet bipe. Thanks for the extra info on the fire wall. I'll be using a Moki 2.10, so it's not going to be overpowered. Boy I can't wait to get it started. I'm looking at the box right now..........be patient my pretty. . Hope the missus is'nt listening heheheh

hattend and DiabloKid, Thanks guys for the complements, I'm glad I could share Dago with you.