Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

OK guys, I thought I would share my BT spitfire project with you. Ibought a 85% framed & sheeted kit last year and I've been hitting it here and there ever sence. After finishing my Corsair, I've started hitting the Spitfire pretty hard now.


The first four pix are how Ibought it.

Being I didn't have any plans to go by, just a couple of books that came with the sale. I started on a tailwheel. With a little redneck engineering I came up with pix 5-7.

Pix 8&9 ; after mounting the cowl and engine I needed tail weight. So I moved the elevator and rudder servo in the tail. This really helped that. This will alsoget a hatch latter.

More Later.
Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

I had to move the firewall back and do a little reinforcment for the DL-50. I will be making a 1" hub extention tomorrow if everything goes well. The engine is mounted and the servos are linked up.( not picture yet) Also the engine pix shown is not the reinforced firewall (sorry)


Having had surgury Monday morning I'm on lite duty for a couple weeks, so I jumped (slowly) on the "scale" (loosely) exhaust. They are made from 1/2 copper 45s shaped square with my hammer. I used foil tape to accent them. thenthey weresprayed flat black. Then I mounted them on a 1/4" ply and attached them to the cowl. Just one side done so far.
Kelly

DaddySam

My Feedback: (9)

Looking great Kelly!  I've got this bird ready to build, but it's a few projects down the line.  It's the first time I've heard of any Spit needing tail weight....what's the secret?  can't wait to see more.
Sam

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

HiSam, Thanks for the compliments. The F/G cowl for this plane is a beefy one. I don't know anything about the builder or where the parts came from , but they appear to be of very good quality and detail. (But heavy.) Add to that the wieght of 12 copper elbows that's a lot of nose weight.

Sorry for jumping around and being so quik with everything. I'm just trying to bring everyone up to speed.

Today I started on the prop extention, but because of the heat today in my dads shop and still recovering from surjury I only gotabout half way done with it. I still haveto drill and tap the propbolt holes and make another center shaft.
Later,
Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Ok, I did make it back out to the shop tonite.

Pix 1-3 I finally decided where to mount the RX switches. On the right side. I work all my planes from this side soI try to keep'em standard.
This plane is all balsa, and very thick in some places. The fuse in this spot is about 1/4' thick. Idecided to add an extra3/32 to it with another piece of balsa for a little more depth. Then I cut a 7"x2-1/4 peice of ply for the mount. Now all that's left to do it make a hatch. I need to get some hinges first.

Istill haven't made up my mind on where to mount the ignition switch but I do have a few ideas.

Pix 4&5 Now for a fewpix of the new firewallw/ reinforcements. I still need to pin it from the sides. It also has tri stock in the back. Also shown is my trottle and choke setup. These servos arejustfor setup only just incase anybody thought Hitec 645s were overkill The wood peice with the fuel tubing is there to help hold the cowl up during mockup.It will be removed later and replaced with a stronger permanant one.

Also I'll throw in a pic of my servo cover for the rear hatch. Pic #6 It's just a proto type so far. (sorry it's blurry)

That's it for tonite,
Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Ok, Here's the finished prop extention. Had to drill and tap the new holes for the prop. That part I can do in my(air conditioned) shop. Now all that's left to do is make a new center shaft. That will be to big a job from my little lathe so I'll have to go back to dads HOT shop to use hisbig lathe.

Also dida test mount wth the cowl and everything is looking good. Ieven put the lower cowl on just for motivation. Oh-YEA!

Now I just need to finish the left side pipes and then the fuse can be set aside for a while.

Kelly

Brad330l

My Feedback: (1)

Mate, that looks awesome. The spinner looks right at home too.

Cheers,

Brad

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Ok, Ifound some hinges today so, I worked on my hatch door.

Three sheets of 1/64 ply (with the hinge relief removed from the middle sheet) and a few bits of metal and two rare earth magnets. I have a hatch door. Then I put a ball link on it for a nob.
While it may not be scale, it is easy. I'm all about easy. Now to figure out where to put the ignition.


BTW I assembled the plane tonite with everything except the Batteries, 5 servos, muffler, pilot, and few other things. 14-1/2 lbs.

Also with the two servos in the tail so far it balancing out really good.

Later,
Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

OK, got lots more done today. but can't see most of it be cause most of it is on the inside.

However I did attach the lower air intake to the bottom of the cowl. It still needs to be glassed in from the inside. Here a few pix of the job.

Also I worked on the wing today. made my canons and mounts. . I center drill them on my metal lathe. (which work pretty good with wood also).

More on the wing tomorrow

Kelly

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Kelly you are going to have one fine Spitfire. Isn't there something you can do to make the switch access hatch look better? Just think of how good your Spit is going to look only to be spoiled by the door. Just a suggestion.

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

I don't see anything wrong with it. It's easy to get to, flush with the sides, and square. The nob is on there for my conveniance.
I have a simular hatch on my Corsair. Very easy to open and invisible in the air.

Kelly

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Is there an access panel where the door is? If so then all is good.. if not.. its just out of place. I'm not tryring to be critical, please understand. In the air its invisible.. on the ground its not.. There are access panels on the Spitfire where you could put things and it would be proper.. just a suggestion.

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

I could tell you there is a access door there, but if you don't know, how many other people will know it's not suppose to be there. I'm not a stuck on "exact scale" I'm more "looks right"
Sure there is a hatch right behind the cockpit on the left side. But putting a box and switches in there is to much trouble. When you are finishing a modelthat someone else has built, you have to plan for what you have. If I had built the plane , yes I would probubly put a hatch in the "scale" door.

I understand your point and I agree for the most part, but sometimes good enoughIS good enough.

Shoot, I was just going to mount them on the side to start with

Kelly

crashproof

Hey Kelly the Spit looks great!! Look forward to seeing it fly. How are you doing with your surgery ? I was planning to go to the Fuquay Fly in but the wind is starting to look a bit much, 10 gusting to 25 and I think across. I was at Warbirds over GA last week and had a great time. Also stumbled onto a bargain. TFGS Corsair 3W 60 with 8103 radio for 1100.00 I could not turn it down. I flew it twice at Fayetteville Sunday on my way home and it flew great. See ya soon.. Kevin.

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Hey Kevin, Thanks.
I'm doing pretty good. Ihad Appendicytis. (I don't know how to spell it)I'm able to get around great.Ijust can't do any heavy lifting and my job requires a lot of that. So I'm out of work till at least the 29th.
Iam getting a lot caught up in the shop though. It's like being on vacation except the pay sucks.

I'm still planning on going to Fuquay Saturday, but if it's going to be as hot as they say we may want the wind to blow.

Lastly, That's a great deal on that corsair. That one looks great.

Well back to the shop, more pix tonite.
Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

BTW Kevin, You just about have your own Airforce now, don't you.
Kelly

crashproof

Well I have three GS. TFGS Corsair, Yellow P40, and TFGS P51. I lost the Byron on the 10th flight. About 50 ft straight and level and the left side wing panel snapped off, it was a total loss. That one really hurt it was a great flying plane, but I guess thats how this stuff goes. That's why I was so happy to stumble onto the Corsair deal at GA. I really like the looks of the Corsair if it had not been a Corsair I would have passed on it, and this is a one piece wing, one less thing to worry about. I may still see ya at Fuquay, got to get my nerve up. Kevin.

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

WhenI bought this plane the spars were 1/4 balsa. So I have to do surjury on the wing and Ireplaced the load bearing spars with 1/4 basswood. With a few peices of ply she's really strong now. I also had to replace the stock flap setup and redo the ailerons. So that reqiured more butchering.

Also the sheeting on the wing was pretty thin and of poor quality,so I removed some soft spots and some places thatwere poked though. Most of the sheeting on the bottom is new now.

I also finished up the flaps and the servo hatch for the flaps and ran some wire loom threw the wing .

The last picture is of the left wing with all the holes patched and a little filler job.

That's all for now,

Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Ok, Here is todays progress,
I had to make two new ailerons. Ionly got one with the plane and Ididn't like the way it fit. I won't go in to detail how the aileron was made but I will show a pic. of the inside. They are both hinged and waiting on glassing.

Also I finally got the whole top of both wings sheeted and a few patches of filler on. Now all that left to do is to make the aileron hatch and servo mounts.

The wing is almost done.

Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Hey Kevin, Here's a few pictures from the fly-in Sat.

I have to say, I've never seen anyone land a plane like this.

See you next time around.


Kelly,

BTW more pix coming on the Spitfire. I just took the weekend off.

crashproof

Hey Kelly nice pics, the Corsairs look pretty good together. I can personally vouch for the Mustang pics it is not staged. I know cause I was flying it !!!! Luckily no real damage just a broken upper strut. The wind was alittle tricky, but still a good time. See ya. Kevin.

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Yes the wind was nasty for sure. It wasn't a strong wing, it was just super bumpy. I was glad to get mine back on the ground safely. That was the most turbulent wind I have flown in, in a long time. Lesson learned
Kelly

crashproof

Hey Kelly here is a short video of my Byron Corsair before the wing panel seperated. May she rest in peace. Kevin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMoP8BTdDxo

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

Hey Kevin, Great video,

OK back to the Spitfire.
I've been working on the bottom of the wing alot. Had to replace even more of the sheeting on the bottom. The former owner used some very light weight balsa, and I kept pushing my heavy fingers through the sheeting. (THIN)
All the hatches for the bottom are done. I still have to blend the bottom of the wing with the fuse and cowl chin.

I also decided to go with two servos for the elavators. So I cut out another space for it and droped it in. I'm made provision to remove the rudder/tailwheel servo if the weight is an issue. (remember that this one is nose heavy)

Lastly, I finally fitted the lower cowl. All the screws will be replaced with button head screws later.

Sorry, I forgot to get pictures of the cowl blocks and the bottom of the wing, so I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them.
Kelly

Thunderbolt47

My Feedback: (8)

OK more pix.

First off I am the king of "fix one, do the other later" so I finally finished the other exhaust stacks. They are pinned for extra security.

Next, are the pics of the cowl mounts I promised. They are glued on the main upper cowl.

Then I made a cover for the bottom of the wing that it will be used to vent hot air out of the cowl. There is a duct in the fuse to channel the air. (pix later) There will be more exit holes later also. I still have to blend the wing to the scoop.

Also, I mounted the retract parts. The wing air system is self contained. Just hook up a servo wire and go. Those are the Robart extra small tanks. I can get 7 cycles out of them with 100psi.

While I was waiting on glue to dry, I mounted the barrels on my cannons. Those are bellcrank bushing.

Lastly I mounted the ignition module and fit the pug cap/wire to the cowl. To my surprise and amazment I only had to trim a small, unnoticable part of the cowl.

Later,
Kelly