JohnMcGowan

My Feedback: (15)

Its looking good so far Mike!!I got my copy of RC Report yesterday and in it was the review of the Toledo show. It had a plug for Skyshark and said they are planning some warbird arf's sometimes next year. Can you throw us a little nibble of whats coming or will we have to be in suspense till then? ;() Thanks!! John

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

So where do you go to find a scale spinner for this particular size FW-190? Most spinners do not have the correct frontal curvature.

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Good question Richard. This is a discovery journey for me just as it is for you guys. I am in the process of looking for a scale or "semi-scale" spinner for this bird. Will let you know when I find one.

Thanks,

Big Sasquatch

Just curious,
Will the kits be any cheaper from a seperate distributor/dealer than if you buy one straight from skyshark? Some manufacturers jack the price up if you buy direct to keep their own dealers happy. I'm getting one regardless, but am curious about prices....

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Kurt,

Yes,

We will be offering the kits at a slightly discounted price below the mfg. suggested retail price. When/If you get ready to buy one shoot me an email with the particular model and I'll get you a price.

"Enough Business"... Back to building! :-)

Thanks,

w0mbat

My Feedback: (1)

Kurt: We have established a list price for the kits and you are likely to pay close to that price (within 10-15 dollars) no matter where you purchase the kit. We don't fix prices - so, dealers can sell at any price they desire, however, I don't think many dealers will discount the kits much off the list price because there is not a lot of profit built into the pricing.

In regards to giant scale kits, I don't think we will enlarge our existing kits at this time. Due to the design of the kits, they would need to be priced very high due to the time it take to laser cut the larger parts. I don't think we could be competative. We are, however, coming out with some new larger planes in ARF and Kit form. We are currently working on an 80" P-40N ARF and also a 61" Christen Eagle ARF. Still, most of our kits will be in the 60-70" wingspan area.

We are also working on some scale spinners for the Tempest, Stuka and FW190's. I'm not sure when they will be available - it may take a while yet.

Mike Grey
President
Skyshark R/C Corporation

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for chiming in Mike.

Guy's, I am as new to these kits as you are. I will try to answer as many questions as possible but SkyShark R/C is the best source if I cannot answer your question.

I started this thread so I could share my learning experience with all of you guys. Keep the questions coming!

BTW... Can't wait to see the P-40N!


Thanks,

nemesis4u

My Feedback: (77)

YA'LL SHOULD TRY TRU-TURN AT 281.479.9600 THEY ARE LOCATED HERE IN TX! THEY WILL DO CUSTOM WORK ALSO IF NEEDED.... I JUST GOT 2 CORSAIR PROP HUBS FROM THEM FOR 2 75" CORSAIRS NICE WORKMANSHIP///

WhiteRook

My Feedback: (38)

Mike , I REALLY like the kits . I SEE YOU have the Tempest, but
its only 54 inches . DO you have any plans for a Typhoon in the future? or a larger Tempest ? I think alot of people
want to see a kit builder market a .46 or .60 size HAWKER TYPHOON.


THANKS..


Have a great day.



Dan

gut

hey Mike, If we're talking possible future aircraft... I'd like to see a Hawker Hurricane... There really isn't any comparable sized kit available. If I look at what the Hurricane can offer as a kit I see a generous wing area, offering an acceptable wing loading with a relatively high lift, thick cord cross section wing. also a wide LG stance with good in cowl capacity compared to say a Spit or Stang. historically it may place second to the Spitfire, but it was responsible for more kills than any other allied aircraft through the first two years of the war.. there is a whole lot of good documentation available on the net for this craft and it could be modeled for just about every allied airforce, in every war theater..

am I'm dreaming..... Gut

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

I contacted Tru-Turn about having them custom make a 3" FW-190 spinner and a 2-3/4" Zero spinner, and here is their reply:

"We can make you one of each for $850.00 ea or 10 of each for $225.00 ea in the shape you require. We will need a sketch or photograph from you and then we will have you sign off your approval on the final sketch prior to running."

t_burley

My Feedback: (59)

DOOOOHHHH!!!!!
man, I better figure out a better way
for a 4 1/2" 3 blade spinner for my Spit!

Todd

Grumpy Monkey

My Feedback: (7)

I have an article somewhere on how to build a custom spinner out of balsa and then glassed. From what I remember, It was a fairly easy build, except you need a prop adapter machined or purchase one aftermarket and incorporate it into the build. I am gonna build one for my 109 so I will be digging out the article in the next few days if you guys are interested.

Warren

Brian C

Hey guys,

What size spinner does it call for? Wing Manufacturing offers a black nylon 2 1/4 inch spinner for their 54" FW-190 (Cat No AC 217)
I seem to think that it was around $8.00 a few years back when I bought their short kit.

You take a look at their site www.wingmfg.com

Thought this might help.


Brian

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Tonight... The Ailerons!

They went together as as easy as the other control surfaces. The trick with these guys is to make sure you have everything straight and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS! I have so many people telling me about kits that they are building where they go back and have to redo a section because they skipped ahead!

Anyway enough on that rant! :-)

Here is the first image of the laser parts glued up. Very easy and straight forward! Be sure to leave plenty of overhang on the aileron leading edge toward the outside of the control surface. This aileron actually becomes part of the wing tip.


Next we have the Ailerons sheeted and the tips installed. As usual, this was very simple and easy to assemble. Make sure you bevel balsa sheeting where the top and bottom trailing edges meet (per the instructions) or you will end up with a funny looking aileron.



Last but not least here is the ailerons rough sanded and puddied ready for installation. I always leave my control surfaces slightly roughed out until I am ready to install them. Then I can sand them to fit nicely!



Here is an image of all the completed control surfaces. Not bad for a total time investment of abut three hours.




Tomorrow night we start the wings! Can't wait for you to see that!

Good Flying!

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks Brian!
I'll check it out!

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

I think 2-1/4" is too small. Looks like the spinner has to be around 3". I have a 60 size FW-190 with 60" wingspan, and it comes with 3" spinner:

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Richard,
What is the WS on your FW-190?

Thanks,

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Mike, WS is 60". The plane is about the same size as the one you are building. I believe you can order an accessory package from Bob Holman: http://www.bhplans.com/bt4.htm, which includes a fiberglass cowl, a canopy, and a spinner.

Perhaps you can order just the spinner from Bob.

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for the info Richard!

Big Sasquatch

Thanks for the reply on pricing Skyshark! The kit looks really good so I will be getting one soon.

Mike, looks like this kit a breeze to build, keep up the good work!
I'm still curious about the paint scheme you will go with, any luck posting a pic for us to see?

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Well Guys... Started the left wing tonight!

Didn't get a whole lot done on the wing. My time has been short this week between work and a family illness.

Anyway let's get started. First, take a look at one of the ribs. Skyshark has done a fabulous job lightening their kit by doing little thing s like this.



Here are all the ribs laid out for the left wing. As you can see there is a lot of lightening going on here. However after looking at the plans the wing actually looks quite strong.



If your doing the retracts version you will skip ahead in the manual to that section. The first thing they have you do is add the plywood reinforcements to the ribs for the retracts. A couple of quick notes about this step.

1. Study the manual and the plans thoroughly. It is very easy to get confused on this step and glue the plywood to the wrong side. This step of the manual could be a little clearer IMHO.

2. Be sure and make sure EVERYTHING is straight and aligned correctly before you glue it.

3. Don't worry about reinforcing the area where the retracts are at this point. we will do a little extra reinforcing (as with any kit) when we get the wing completely framed up.


Here is the left wing partially framed up. After preparing everything and making sure everything is straight and level it took me about an hour and thirty minutes to get to this point.


Everything has fit perfectly so far on the wing. I am continually impressed with the quality of this kit. Kudos to Mike Grey at Skyshark.

I'll be unable to work on the kit until Sunday so I'll see you guys then. If you have any specific questions about the wing construction please let me know.

See you next time!

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Had about an hour today to work on the wing. Made some good progress. Here is a photo of the framed up wing with the leading edge plained but not sanded yet.




Construction was uneventful and expected. However I have a couple of suggestions for you at this point.

1. When your installing the shear webs on the outer section of the wing between the top and bottom spars make sure the grain runs vertically not horizontally on the balsa used for the webs and when you glue them to the spars, you should completely cover the spar side with glue. This will DRAMATICALLY increase the strength they provide.

2. The manual (which I know Shyshark is revising as we speak) does not mention (unless I just missed it) when to glue the trailing edge stock on the wing. This was not a problem because it was obvious that it needed to be done but someone with less experience might go ahead and sheet it without the trailing edge stock.

3. On the very last rib at the tip of the wing I would suggest adding a piece of scrap balsa cut to a small (1/2 inch) triangle shape and glue one between the leading edge and the front of the last rib and to the trailing edge and the back of the last rib. This will help make the tip much stronger. I can tell you as you see the wing right now it is VERY strong and VERY light!

I just have to add some various blocks for hinges (i'm going to use the small robart hinges) and install the nyrod and bell-cranks. Speaking of that let me put my two cents worth about using a single servo setup. If you make sure EVERYTHING is good and tight and ABSOLUTELY no slop it works great and saves a bunch of weight on a small plane like this. OK, enough about that.

Next we will be doing the pre-sheeting sanding and then sheeting the top of the wing.

See you next time!

MikeChilson

My Feedback: (2)

Kurt,

Here is the final paint scheme I decided on. I know it's kinda bland but I think it will be definitely different from the standard Yellow and Red accented FW-190A's





FW 190A-8/R2 W.Nr 730283 Black 12 + of IV.(Sturm)/J.G.3, Schongau, Germany, August 1944

Black 12 + was the third aircraft built in the production run at the Ago factory at Oschersleben in April 1944. It is depicted above as it appeared in early August 1944 with IV.(Sturm)/J.G.3.

IV./J.G.3 achieved great success against the Allied heavy bombers during this time.

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Mike, does the wing have built-in washout or will you be adding washout to it?