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1/8 scale TopFlite Corsair Mods

Old 10-22-2014, 11:11 AM
  #1551  
m998hmmv
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Here are some pics of my RDS system. The install is complete, and I'm very impressed with the functionality of everything. I had to buy a reversing y harness for the flaps, but it was on $9 compared to $50 for a matchbox. The stability of these when they rotate is fantastic, it really seems like there will be absolutely zero slop in the control surfaces. Now to build the flaps and ailerons.
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Old 12-20-2014, 04:47 PM
  #1552  
facia
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I am pretty upset with myself right now.
Painted the wing today and cut away the fiberglass that was hiding the
wingspan retracts to expose them again after many months.
Hooked up the servo tester to the first one and lowered it. Perfect :-)
Hooked up the second one to the tester and slipped one pin over.
Sparks....Fry....Stink.... PCB board fried. :-(
Can't blame anyone but myself and that hurts.
Wingspan had replacement PCB boards in stock, but shipping to the great white north here
will probably take me into the new year.
Oh, well there is enough other stuff to work on the Corsair. I'll put my mind to the Topflite
Cockpit kit with a pilot, throttle and choke linkage. That'll keep me busy for a while.

Happy building & flying!
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Old 12-21-2014, 09:03 AM
  #1553  
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After the initial shock.....
put the aircraft together (mock) to see how the "working retract' would look and how it would sit on the ground.
The 100deg Wingspans sit nicely forward of the leading edge. Hopefully I wont have as much trouble with nose over
on take off as with my Hangar 9 Spitfire.
Also did up some non-scale propeller logos that will be printed on white decal paper when the time comes.
I had too many problems with trying to get the pin style hinges to work with the flaps and opted for a kind of
Fowler style drop down attachment. Works a charm, just have to hook up the servo linkages.
Once the hinges get ground off a bit and painted the same color as the underside, they should
not be too visible.
Have to do a bit of touch up airbrush painting to get a better blend of the tri-color anyways.


To all members a very Merry Christmas, a safe and happy holiday season!
Not to mention lots of building for the next season.


Happy building & flying.

Andreas
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Old 12-22-2014, 06:04 AM
  #1554  
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Finally getting back to mine. Got the Fuse assembled and ready for paint, then moved on to the wing, filling, sanding, and almost ready for filler coat of primer for a final wet sand. I checked the white paint I had made and looks like a perfect match, not too white, with a touch of blue/grey to it. Still have some final fitting to do for the flaps and ailerons too before gluing them in. Not going to work on the gear and tail doors until after I have the plane done and some flights on it. Once I see how it handles on the ground and landing, then I will have a better idea on if I should make them or not. Since I fly off grass, they could be easily ripped off.

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Old 12-22-2014, 11:23 AM
  #1555  
facia
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Looking good acdii.
I am heading to the LHS after work to pick up some
acrylic paint for the pilot figure. Will check out some
sites on how to mix the paint and different techniques for painting
the pilot. Another first for me. :-)
That'll keep me busy over the holidays.


Andreas
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Old 12-22-2014, 06:16 PM
  #1556  
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Thanks, My holidays will be spent away from the workshop . So probably wont get anything more done until next year. Need to get some rattle cans of 2K filler primer, I don't wish to mix and shoot what I have used so far on this since I would need to open doors to vent. The rattle cans dont make as big a mess in the air.
Old 12-25-2014, 05:57 PM
  #1557  
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My first pilot painted. Not scale colors, but
I think he'll look good at the control of the corsair.

Happy building & flying.
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Old 08-10-2016, 03:57 AM
  #1558  
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I have built this kit and used the Robart tailwheel plastic retract unit (Tower Hobbies Part# LXET15). Needless to say, I am not at all pleased with this and need to find a better, hopefully metal retract to use. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I can only play with my new build rolling around on the ground, no way do I try and take off or land!

Thanks for any help!
Dave
Old 08-10-2016, 04:35 AM
  #1559  
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I will be using a modified version of this unit (for a 63" span electric powered Corsair): http://www.bananahobby.com/tail-retr...9068-prd1.html
I modified it by replacing the wheel bracket and wheel with a Dubro unit. I need to take more pics with new wheel installed. The hook is a little long, I may replace/ modify it later. The 1st pic is the unit placed directly over TRUE 1/8 scale plans (the Top Flite kits and ARFs are 1/8 scale)
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Old 08-11-2016, 07:35 AM
  #1560  
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Thats a nice find. Let me know how it works out for you
Old 08-11-2016, 08:58 AM
  #1561  
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That Corsair project is on the back burner for now, it's summertime/ time to enjoy the weather while we have it. Build will continue when the snow hits the ground.
In the meantime, here's a pic of that Dubro tailwheel I was telling you about. It is closer to scale size, LOOKS better, AND is about ¾ oz lighter. I'll have to drill out the hole on the retract assembly to get it to fit.
The assembly comes with an electric motor to power it, but you would need a 'card' to make it function properly, so I removed the motor and intend to operate with a servo (actuates MUCH easier than Robart unit).
The entire assembly as received weighs 4.11 oz/ 117 gr., removing the electric motor drive assembly & mounting plate removes 1.36 oz, and since another 3/4 ounce can be removed by replacing the steel wheel 'strut assembly' and wheel with a Dubro one: you should be able to get the weight down to around 2 oz.
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Old 12-08-2016, 11:56 PM
  #1562  
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Default Tailwheel actuator

Hi all, I am a big fan of this forum and have been following and incorporating many of these mods on my own corsair. I thought it was time to give back and wanted to share the solution to a problem I have been putting off for some time.

I built my own tail wheel assembly from a plan I found on one of these forums. It is constructed with double sided circuit board material and brass tube. It came up great and all was going well until it came to actuating it. Initially I tried using a small micro servo fitted in the tail but I hadn't considered how it would be held in the up-lock position. Obviously a standard micro servo just isn't meant to lock in one position so I had to come up with a better solution.

At this stage I was fitting pneumatic main retracts so I figured a pneumatic actuator for the tail would do the job. I ordered a couple of cheap actuators from Hobby King and sure enough they were crap. They both leaked but I sealed one up and fitted it and it worked fine. However I wasn't happy with the way the pneumatic actuator snapped the gear up, almost punching it through the top of the fuse in the process.

Not happy with my pneumatic mains I purchased a pair of E-Flight 60-120 rotating electric retracts, so having a pneumatic system just for the tail didn't make sense. However now I need an electrical means of actuating the tail. I looked around and found these great Figelli electric RC actuators which would do the job, but they are $70USD and I am in New Zealand so you can add a whole lot more for shipping.
So in true fashion with this forum I decided to make my own. I found a local supplier who stocks Pololu motors and controllers for robotics. I picked up a 1:50 6Vdc geared motor and a simple motor control board for about $50USD. I also used two sizes of brass square section (one fitting inside the other), some 2-56 threaded rod, a 2-56 clevis and a nut.

The threaded rod is attached to the motor shaft and spins at about 625RPM. So with 2-56 threaded rod you get about 56 turns (one inch) in 5.3 seconds which should be plenty of travel for my tail-wheel. With this method you can create any length actuator you wish, and can get different gear ratio motors so you can create any actuation speed you wish.

The threaded rod spins in a 2-56 nut that I soldered to the end of the inner square section. I had to file the nut down to get it to fit inside the larger square section. This larger square section has a flange made of circuit board to attach to the motor face. I then fitted a clevis to the other end of the smaller square section.

The Pololu simple motor controller is quite a clever board and plugs straight into your receiver. I then have two micro-switches that I will use for up and downlocks.

The benefit of this system is the motor is braked when stopped, and the actuator will hold the gear in the up position easily. However its certainly not a quick and easy fix, I have spent a few hours on this. But hey that is what this hobby is all about eh!
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Old 09-03-2017, 01:29 PM
  #1563  
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In an early post Corsair Jock said he had an improved way of installing Robart Struts and provided a link to it. Unfortunately the link no longer works.
Does anyone have details of his fix for loose or rotating Struts?
Old 09-03-2017, 03:58 PM
  #1564  
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In a nutshell: the modification you may be referring to is to Robart 615 retracts: I bore and tap the trunions to accept "Keenserts", which eliminate play in the trunions and thereby extend the life of the "links", AKA "scissors", which are prone to becoming bent on less than perfect landings.
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Old 09-04-2017, 05:47 AM
  #1565  
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Many thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for, and thanks for starting this thread, I hope to include most of your modifications in my Corsair build.
I've already built Luke's tail wheel in preparation.
Old 06-05-2018, 02:04 AM
  #1566  
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Just found a Corsair model that put's all our efforts to shame. It doesn't fly but hell, what workmanship!!!

https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Park.htm
Old 06-06-2018, 06:44 AM
  #1567  
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I just found this thread. I have a .60 size TF Gold Series partially built I want to rework. I traded a Goldberg Cub kit and a ST .40 (made in Italy) for this airplane. The wing is built with Robart retracts and 4 3004 Futaba servos installed. The Robart air chuck was mounted through the fuselage side with a plywood cutout glued to the outside. Its as ugly as you just imagined. The balsa skin of the wing in the inboard area needs a little rework too. I traded figuring I would at least get a good set of retracts and 4 servos out of the deal. The Corsair is an added bonus. I plan on mining this thread for ideas and will rework my airplane after I get a few current projects finished.
Old 02-17-2020, 09:24 AM
  #1568  
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Holy cow. I never finished my Corsair, and grabbed the wing yesterday after doing some work on the B-25, and letting it dry, so I finally finished the whit belly painting on the wing, need to do some touch up on one panel and I can clear coat it. Was just now looking for flap setup information and ran across this old thread. It has been 6 years since I stopped work on the Corsair! SIX! Did not realize it has been SIX years, did I mention 6?

No wonder I forgot how the flaps are set up.
Old 02-17-2020, 09:29 AM
  #1569  
I-fly-any-and-all
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Time to revive the build!
Old 02-17-2020, 09:34 AM
  #1570  
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I just might. I completed (or very nearly completed) a Liberty Sport. It is ready to fly but the top wing needs work still, ran out of dope, so cosmetically not finished. I know the B-25 wont be any where near done this year, so may work on the Corsair instead. The Fuse just needs a final coat of clear, and the wing needs some touch up and clear, then its a matter of installing the radio and engine.

Now to settle on what engine to install. 4 stoke Saito glow, or 2 stroke gas. Will need to see what I have. I know a Saito 100 flew my P-51 well, so wonder if it will also work on the Corsair.
Old 02-17-2020, 09:37 AM
  #1571  
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2 cycle gas would be much more efficient
Old 02-17-2020, 10:01 AM
  #1572  
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True, but the sound, ick. Also the extra weight for the battery and ignition. It would have 3 batteries then, one for the RX, one for the retracts and then one for the ignition, so have to keep all that in mind.
Old 02-17-2020, 10:06 AM
  #1573  
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That's why I prefer magneto engines. There are many choices, choose what suits you.
Old 02-17-2020, 12:54 PM
  #1574  
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Originally Posted by acdii
I just might. I completed (or very nearly completed) a Liberty Sport. It is ready to fly but the top wing needs work still, ran out of dope, so cosmetically not finished. I know the B-25 wont be any where near done this year, so may work on the Corsair instead. The Fuse just needs a final coat of clear, and the wing needs some touch up and clear, then its a matter of installing the radio and engine.

Now to settle on what engine to install. 4 stoke Saito glow, or 2 stroke gas. Will need to see what I have. I know a Saito 100 flew my P-51 well, so wonder if it will also work on the Corsair.
mine flew very scale like on Saito .82 with MA 3 blade 13 x ? at about 9 lbs, 4 oz. It even had all 3 wheels retract, and 2 Vortac bomb drops.
Now days tho, everything is electric. They may not have the sound, BUT, they swing a scale size 3 blade prop (18" x 12)
Old 02-17-2020, 12:59 PM
  #1575  
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Hmm, then my Saito FA-100 should drag it around just fine. Need to double check my 3 blade props, I may have one that will work with the 100. It is in a Cub right now, but it is too much power for a Cub, and needs new bearings, which I have.

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