wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Thanks Hal, that sounds exactly right.

I'm really wishin' for a glass fuse about right now that's for sure....Man, Chuck you speaketh the truth. This is a lot of sanding. I did get the primer down to a base, and finished most of the low spot filling this morning. Being my own worst critic mostly, I'm never quite comfortable with thinking that I'm finished doing this, as there always seems to be that pesky spot that you see in a certain light only, so will take time and do little by little as I see things like this that pop up while doing the other detail work. Got a good jump on it though, and managed to talk some sense into it while sanding...."C'mon man, who's your daddy here", "Yeah man, you know you want to come off that fuse" "Oh, c'mon, you xxxxer, you know you're not going to clog that sandpaper with only this much left to go"....you guys know the routine.

Have been a physical mess the last couple of days covered in sanding dust to the wife's behest, but such is the life of the model builder.[]

Probably asking a little too much of wife's patience to get a hack at the canopy before leaving tomorrow, but feel good about knocking this process out this week, as it was a big one.

Jmik

Wulf190:
Did you ever find out about the downthrust in Ziroli's F6F?

Jmik

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

J: Sorry I keep forgettin' to check out the plans for you. Not sure if it lists the degrees of downthrust, but do know that there's a good amount in there. Will try to get a number for you.

She's in her ugly phase at the moment getting smoothed in, but she sure is smooth now. Evercoated areas are all real thin, so not concerned about weight penalty here. Being pretty finicky on getting it baby-bottom smooth though while the hatches and stuff are getting done.

This said, got the port side hatch done now. Nelson hinge on there and the hatch is in the scale location on both sides. I think this was for the main and aux. tanks. Here it'll house all the switches and do-dads that need to go in and be hidden.

Jmik

wulf190

Thanks for getting back to me. Your F6F is looking good! I love it when you can hide all your necessities under scale hatches. By the by, I have checked with a few other folks, and I believe the concensus is the 3 degrees of downthrust is necessary because of the outer dihedral of the wings. I guess with that configuration the plane wants to climb like crazy, so the downthrust is added. I will watch in anticipation the completion of your big bird, and any forthcoming info you can supply will surely be appreciated!

Jeff

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

I looked at the plans Jeff and it didn't list a degree of thrust, but it's in there. Save any trig or geometry in measuring it, the thing looks like about 3 degrees give or take. You'll probably have some room to fiddle +/-, but that seems a good number from what I can tell.

Here was some fun stuff...finishing off the hatch work. Still need to attach the magnets and smooth them in completely on top. Seems like it'll all work out pretty well...whatcha' think Lynn? Easy enough to get fingers in there for ya? I used my own big digits as a reference figuring if I can get mine in there, then most guys are safe.. Doors open all the way up, so that helps.

langerl

My Feedback: (5)

It's really looking good Mike ! I can't wait to get together this weekend and check out all the toys! See you soon.

regards,
Lynn

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Got the primer back on it now, spraying this coat on. Had to get more canopy rails today to do the slides, so that's next. Am real encouraged by how the fuse looks now though. Got the primer on and said, "yeah, that's more like it". Still a couple of small spots I see now, but very close, so will move on to the other parts after the slide mechanism is done and get the wing up to the same state of completion as the fuse at least. It looks much better in it's grey coat. Very motivating to continue on, and as schedule has eased slightly, can make some more consistent progress again. Antsy to get the canopy mounted. Pics coming up with that part.

langerl

My Feedback: (5)

Great Mike!
I'm sandin' my wrists off too. 102 inches of Meister wing took me TWO DAYS of work to get smooth. But its as smooth as glass now. The panel line chart pack worked GREAT; nice crisp lines in the primer. I'll hit them with 1000 grit then put down the first coat of paint.
Sheesh, this Klass Kote stuff take a LOT of time.... but the results are encouraging. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress, Mike. Let me know how much it will take to ship the stuff from John's and I'll get a check to you ASAP.

Take care and keep up the good work.

regards as ever,
Lynn

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Will do Lynn. I know how that goes for sure. Real glad that the largest part of this is behind rather than in front now on this one, cuz, it's a big 'un too. Glad that it doesn't take much rubbing with fine grit at this stage---shoulder's still sore from the earlier one!

I've got the templates and FW stuff to organize for you as well, so will try to get on that this week. Forgot to tell you, that I told him to hold the Mosquito for me too. The kit was really cool, so might as well stock up now.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Been following most of this and find it very interesting. I have a set of plans and have them out studying. Would like to know if a Brison 6.4 will totally fit inside the cowl?

wulf190

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i think that's what we've got going in this one....the opposed twin will just BARELY squeeze in there, but it does fit without cutting.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Great. Thanks.

langerl

My Feedback: (5)

ScaleGuy,
Mike is correct. We did the measurements for the Brison 6.4 in the Ziroli fiberglass cowl and it DOES fit, but the twin cylinder heads have to be mounted at a slight angle (from exact horizontal). We estimate the heads will be at the 10 o'clock and 4 o'clock position inside the cowl to keep the plugs inside the fiberglass. Even so, we will be using the mini-plugs and boots. Exhaust will be routed out of the cowl by stainless flex hose.
Remember to measure the distance back into the cowl from the front. Your clearance measurements will be from the thrust washer scale location at the front of the cowl to the plug boot of the forward-most cylinder. The Brison twins have the cylinders slightly offset fore and aft so there is definitely a slightly forward cylinder and an aft cylinder.
We did this same thing for a 6.4 mount in a Meister FW190D9. The engine fits like a hand in a (tight) glove. Required two barely noticable 1/2" cowl holes for the mini-plug boots. But the results were excellent. The Brison 6.4 pulls the 37lb 1/4 scale Meister around with great authority. It should do the same for the Z Hellcat.

Hope this helps.

regards,
langerl

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

langrel, Thanks for the information, that is interesting. I do not recall seeing a twin cylinder engine being mounted like that but don't see why it wouldn't work out just fine unless there would be some cooling problems, fuel feed different to each cylinder or other unknowns. However, you have already done this setup on your 190 so you would know if there were any issues.

Modelflyer

My Feedback: (2)

I looked at the set of plans I have for the Hellcat and on sheet #1 in the bottom right hand corner it says 3 degress of downthrust and 1-2 degrees of right thrust. I have just started on the fuselage of my kit.

Paul

OldScaleGuy

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wolf, langrel, Perhaps the Brison 5.8 would be the better option. Slightly smaller with approx. 1 hp less than the 6.4. Certainly would eliminate any fit issues. Any thoughts on that?

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

I say go with the biggest you can put in there and think Lynn will agree with that. There's plenty of exit area for the air flow in the cowl with the exhaust exits cut out on the fuse sides and the belly pan area. I think it'll be a nice fit in there with the short plugs actually and Lynn's choice of power and fit matched my own thoughts on what I would squeeze in there really.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

So, with the short plugs, will the 6.4 fit sitting horizontal? Thanks. By the way wolf your Hellcat is looking great. Got any new pics.

langerl

My Feedback: (5)

ScaleGuy,
I don't think the Brison 6.4 plug boots will fit entirely within the Z Hellcat cowl if you mount the heads dead level (3 - 9 o'clock). We did not mount the other Brison in the Meister at an angle (10 - 4 o'clock), but we have asked around and there is general consensus it is OK to mount the engine slightly off level (again 10 - 4 o'clock) to get the plugs entirely inside the Hellcat cowl. Remember, when you FLY a twin, the engine does not care whether one cylinder is slightly lower than another (i.e. in a bank or not). The only issue we were concerned about was flooding the (low side) plug on start up. At about 25 degrees off level, the upward mounted plugs should be just fine. If you have any information that contradicts this, I'd love to know.

Good luck on your Hellcat!

regards,
langerl

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Yes, Lynn is right on here. The engine's gotta be tilted as the shape of the cowl is just a little too narrow to allow the thing in there horizontally mounted. The fit is good however at the position that Lynn indicates with the short plugs and boots, actually fits pretty nicely in there I thought. I'm just humbly building the craft for Lynn, Scaleguy, but thanks for the nice words on the way it looks. I'll get a pic up of where she's at now here later on today as it looks much better now in dress grey again . Should be able to get the canopy on there this weekend......and of course more sanding and priming on the wing too [:@]

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Sanding and priming can seem endless sometimes. But the outcome is worth the effort. Dave Platt says the difference between a good model and a great model can be summed up in one word "sandpaper". He has a good point.
I really do not have any knowlege that contradicts the issue of canting the motor to fit in the cowl. Sounds like it will work fine, just a bit of an different appearance.
Looking forward to the updated pics.

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Here's one....Still need to smooth in the hatches and a couple of small spots...and it's unsanded still after the prime.

attwooddrow

My Feedback: (75)

Mike, just found your Cat posting. She looks great. Love to see her in the skies over Joliet. Today looks like a building day, but if you are going to your field give me a call[8D].

Talk to you soon. Chris.

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Yeah, sorry about the weather last weekend Chris. Maybe sometime this week perhaps.

Managed to get the canopy slide rails installed and from the preliminary look of things it seems as if the mechanism is going to work very smoothly. As the full scale plane has sort of a plate over the canopy framing in this area, it made it a little easier to install the I rails on the underside of the canopy. Pics will help to explain things a bit, but no camera until Monday as I left it at school the other day after taking pictures of my new students and classroom this year......(finally an AWESOME school--a pleasure to go to work as a teacher, and know that's kinda rare today, so thankful for it.) By the time I get pics, the install will be completed, so sorry to not go step by step through this part. Pretty basic though for anyone looking to do this...The Hellcat is an easy one to accomplish this task on I guess. I'm always a little surprised for some reason when making a part like this when it actually turns out to work well--even though I've made enough of them now not to be surprised . Self assessment still a little behind in the scheme of things for scale part making I suppose....but then there's always a better way [X(].

spinner

My Feedback: (8)

wulf, you mentioned in an earlier section that you used Nelson hinges for the fuse access hatches. What type of hinges do you plan on using for the tail gear doors. Also, how will you actuate the doors?