samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Happiness is...
I got my new project for this coming winter.
I picked up everything but the engine at the Toledo RC show.
I got the full lazer kit from Precision kit cutters, the retracts and wheels from Darrell, the plans, cowl and canopy from Ziroli and the full cockpit from Dbalsa.
I was amazed that I picked up everything I needed in one day at one place!
All pictures and information related to this build will be appreciated.
(thought I'd post this early to gets lot of 'input' before the build).
I plan on putting a GT-80 twin in her.
Almost forgot:
I was going to wait and get the FG fuse that was suppose to come out, but at the Toledo show, I talked to Nick JR and it didn't sound good on any due date so I bought the full kit.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Plans:

Plans are 4 1/2 sheets.
fuse detail
left and center wing
right wing and stab
templates
flaps/dive brake detail.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Color schemes.

Presently liking either the yellow wing or the red/white rudder versions.

Bill Jennings

My Feedback: (85)

G'Day Sam.
I am in again. Looking forward to hearing about the P38 flying.

Regards.
Bill

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Yo Bill,
Sadly, she's still sitting in the hanger.
Poor excuse but I've got several planes that I've built but haven't gotten' around to flying, yet!
A few weeks ago, I ordered a new 14' trailer that should be in within a week or so.
Previously, I could only take three planes to the flyins but now should be able to handle more.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Dbalsa cockpit kit.

Brian didn't have the SBD cockpit kit with him at the Toledo show but he sent it out on Monday and it came today.
Lots of detail (the box weighed 4 lbs), including belts of 'amo'.
All I need now is an engine (and time!).

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

GT-80 arrived.

The last of the major components came in today.
There's about a 1/4" clearance on the plug covers and inside of the cowl (tons of room).

LargeScale88

That GT-80 should pull it very well. I loved watching your P-61 build, congrats, lets see another warbird take air!!

Keep us informed on the build.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

full size videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiJhc...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-SZ...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLpnWLxeZq4

splitzed

Just subscribed to your thread, looking forward to watching your build, I've been working on one for a year now, I'm about half way through. It's gonna be a buiety!!! (sp?)

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

As long as the weather stays at a reasonable temperature, I'll be working on my daughter's 2nd floor trim work and new doors (about 70 for the next three days), but, in the morning, I'm 'easing' into working on the dauntless.
I got the crutch built and added FSW-2 (wing support) to the crutch and I dry fitted the formers to the crutch and also dry fitted the center wing.

pic 1:
Crutch built over plans with trusty wax paper as a protector of the plans.

pic 2/3:
FSW-2 glued to the crutch.
The wing supports are glued upside down to insure that they are perfectly level to each other to support the wing.
Lots of 'squares' and clamps used to insure all stays 'squared away'.
The small brass bar clamps come in handy and are from micromark.

pic 4:
The cross supports for the crutch are added after the two FSW-2 wing supports are glued in since the wing supports align along the inside of the crutch.

pic 5:
Dry fit of center wing.
Since no tail wheel to retract, the tank is inserted in the center wings ribs.
The plans call for a medium size robart tank but they don't make that size anymore.
I used a large tank and only had to enlarge the holes by an extra 1/8" larger radius via my oscillating sander.

pic 6/7:
Formers dry fitted to the crutch.
Initially, crutch is upside down.

pic 8/9:
I use carpenters glue for securing the bulk of the wood.
Carpenters glue is very strong, has sheer strength, bridges small gaps and is very inexpensive.
That gallon was half used, last winter, on the P-61 and panther which saves me considerable amount of money versus other brands of glue. Carpenters glue can be gently worked after about 20 minutes: since I'm a slow builder, that works fine for me!
I use contact lense cleaning solution dispensers to apply small amounts of glue (with laser eye surgery, these may 'go the way' of the typewriter!).
My preference of building tables are 20 buck indoor hollow core doors which easily takes pins, are flat and easy to store when not in use.

pic 10:
Happy 235th birthday:
semper fi.

NCIS

What happened to the P-40 you were going to build?

Barry

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Dauntless is first.
F6F is second.
P-40 is third.
The first two have 3 piece wings which will give me enough 'expertise' to convert the P-40 from a one piece to a 3 piece wing.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

I right sided the fuse on the block supports, glued the formers in and started on the stringers.
I used lots of supports on the crutch and lots of weight on the crutch to insure the fuse stays straight and level while gluing the parts on.
Carpenters glue used on the formers and stringers.
I cut some maple hard stock into triangular shapes and epoxied them to F-1 and F-2 to distribute the engine vibration along FWS-1/2.

pic 1:
All formers glued to the crutch, FSW-2's and SS-1 (stab ply) glued to the crutch.

pic 2:
A square used to insure all formers are perpendicular.

pic 3:
F-12 angled back (about an 1/8" on top) for the vertical fin.

pic 4/5:
Lots of supports were made last year and buckshot in butter cups used as weight.

pic 6:
Was paper between fire wall and F-1 so the fire wall isn't glued to F-1 while gluing the stringers to the formers (fire wall will, later, be epoxied to F-1).

pic 7:
top view.

pic 8:
stringer slots numbered on each former to insure proper stringer location.

pic 9:
Left over stringer cut from precious slot is used on the next slot location and sistered to another stringer to eliminate waste.

pic 10:
Cockpit floor lowered and glued to the crutch so a full cockpit interior can be installed.

pic 11:
F-2A for engine 'vent'. Will research but it appears that F-2B is glued to edge of F-2A to create the engine 'vent'.

pic 12:
Hardwood epoxied to F-1/2 and FWS-1/2 to distribute engine vibrations.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont)

Still working on my daughter's house but managed to get some work done.
The stringers were glued in, from top down to the bottom side of the formers. The bottom will be done after interior work is done: ie, tail wheel, wires, etc.
One sheet of 1/8" X3" X 4' balsa was glued to one side of the fuse.
The sides of the fuse are pretty uniform and smooth so large sheeting can be done versus the 'stick' method.
Carpenters glue used on the stringers as well as the sheeting.
Initially, I used a few pins to position the sheeting on the fuse; I then use a pen to 'tick' mark where the formers and stringers contact the back of the sheeting, remove the sheeting and draw lines between all the 'tick' marks; add carpenters glue to the formers/stringers and over all the lines on the sheet and then pin/clamp the sheeting in place. The carpenters glue give me sufficient set up time to clamp/pin the sheeting in place before the glue dries.
I had about a 1/16" (or less) gap on one side of the cockpit that was not resting on the risers so I put a couple 10 lbs dumbbell weights at that location while gluing in the last stringers and balsa sheet.
After the glue thoroughly dried on the balsa sheet, the weights were removed and that 1/16" gap is no longer there.
I'll be making a hatch on the side of the fuse to gain access to the tail wheel for maintenance.
There were some crew doors on the side of the fuse so I'll probably be making them as switch/air locations.
As with my previous builds, I'll be adding panel lines and raised rivets as well as a functioning canopy and probably functioning cowl flaps.

pic 1:
Stringers added to the bottom of each side of the formers.

pic 2/3:
large weights used to insure crutch maintains contact with all risers.
Paint sticks used to eliminate any scalloping of the balsa sheeting between formers.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse (cont) and wing.

I glued the 3rd/4th full sheets to each side of the fuse below the previous two sheets.
I needed lots of weight to hold the crutch to the risers to keep the fuse straight.
The large balsa sheets cause more warping than smaller 3/4" wide planks.
Per the Ziroli instruction sheets and plans, I traced new ribs/spars onto 5 ply aircraft plywood.
Ribs for ends of each outer/inner wings and the landing gear mount ribs.


pic 1/2:
3rd/4th full sheets glued to fuse.

pic 3/4:
Weak 3 ply traced onto 5 ply.

pic 5:
While watching the weekend collage games, I organized the stab/elevator/rudder parts.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Fuse, center wing and stab.

Center wing:
The Sierra retracts extent past the ends of the center wing so careful measurements were taken and holes were cut into W-6/6A for the retracts. The wooden retract mounts were an inch wide instead of the plans 3/4" wide so I cut larger holes in the ribs to accommodate them (figure wider is stronger). There's not a whole lot of room for the top of the retracts and top sheeting so I made the holes in the ribs a little larger for some adjustment for when the retracts are installed.

Stab:
Since I have to wait for different glues to dry on the fuse and center wing, I started on the stab.
The 1/4" thick balsa TE and ply stiffener were epoxied.
The bottoms of the ribs all have risers to keep the ribs properly aligned to each other.

Fuse:
Planking on the turtle deck is just about done.

(along with this sites many recent problems, the pictures are uploading too large: I'll reload them, later, when the site fixes their problems)

wing:
pic 1:
All needed aircraft ply (5 ply) ribs were cut and sanded to the correct template size.
The ridged oscillating sander from HD come with a nice belt attachment for sanding long surfaces.
A scroll saw was used to cut to about a 1/16" to the rib outlines and then the sander was used to get to the proper rib outline.

pic 2:
Forstner bits used to drill out the wing tube holes.

pic 3:
W-4A/6A sistered to W-4/6, respectively, with epoxy and clamped to a flat surface to insure the ribs are 'straight'.

pic 4:
The end ribs (R-6) epoxied to the main spar; each done individually, to insure nothing moves and they are perfectly perpendicular as these ribs are critical for a three piece wing.

stab:
pic 5:
Stab 1/4" thick balsa TE and 1/8" ply stiffener epoxied.

pic 6:
Ribs S-1/5/8 glued to the TE.

pic 7:
Remaining ribs added plus the top balsa spar.
Lots of weight used to insure no warping.
I'll be 'sheering' the spar to insure no 'stab folding'.

Fuse:
pic 8:
Turtle deck planked.

pic 9:
I had a little 'up' warping on the tail section of about a 1/8" so I removed the two risers holding the tail, added some heavy weight to move the tail about an 1/8" below level (as I figure it will spring to level as most wood does) while gluing the turtle deck planking.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Center wing (cont)

After dry fitting the gear and mount to insure I have wiggle room (both ribs have enlarged holes for the wooden mounts), I epoxied the next two ribs (W-5) to the main spar. I also pinned the bottom spruce 1/4"X1/2" spar to the plans to keep the main spar straight. A 1" high riser is put at the back of the ribs to keep them aligned.

Note: until the web site problems are fixed, just click on the first picture and it will show up normal and then sequence through the pictures.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Center Wing and stab (cont)

Center wing:
The secondary ply spar was added along with all the spruce 1/4"X1/2" spars.
Straight pieces of wood were clamped to the two outside (W-6) ribs to keep them perfectly straight while epoxying these spars to the ribs.
The newly cut 1/8" thick 5 ply LE was also epoxied to the ribs.

Stab:
S-9/10 were glued to the wing tips and 1/16" thick lite balsa was used for 'sheering' the two balsa spars.

pic 1/2:
Secondary spar WS-2 and all the spruce spars were epoxied to the ribs.

pic 3:
Straight piece of wood clamped to each outside rib to insure that they are perfectly straight, while gluing on the spars.

pic 4/5:
LE 1/4" square spar and 1/8" X 1 1/4" wide ply epoxied to the ribs.
Front wing mount also epoxied to the ribs.

pic 6:
The large wheel will require some 'chopping' on the LE so heavy duty ply is needed for strength.

pic 7-9:
With all the top spars in, the wing is now stiff enough to remove from the table and add the bottom spars.

pic 10:
S-9/10 glued to the wing tips.

pic 11:
Carpenters glue used to secure all the 1/16" thick 'sheer' balsa to the two balsa spars.
All grain running perpendicular to the spars.
The amount of weight of the sheer balsa is minimal yet makes the stab very strong.

NOTE: until the web site is fixed, just click on the first picture and it will come up 'normal' size and then sequence through the pictures.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Center wing (cont)


pic 1/2:
1/32" ply flap support. 1/8"X1/4" balsa stringer and last spruce spar epoxied to the center wing.

pic 3:
Dry fit the flap.

pic 4/5:
The wing support balsa blocks were epoxied to the wing mounts (one mount off by one rib so I had to make a new one and epoxy it in the correct location on the right side in the picture).
The wing is set up with one bolt at the front and two at the rear versus the traditional dowel in the front.

pic 6:
Wing tube supports and wing bolt supports epoxied to ribs.

pic 7:
some paint mask brown paper used for the servo wire guide tubes with CA added.

pic 8:
One set of 4 sheets and two sets of 2 sheets glued together to cover the top of the center wing.

NOTE: until the web site is fixed, just click on the first picture and it will come up 'normal' size and then sequence through the pictures.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Stab (cont)

The kit came with some nice lite weight sheeting for the stab.

pic 1-3:
Two sheets glued together for the top surface from the spar to the TE.
Masking tape used to hold sheets together while carpenters glue is applied.

pic 4:
3/32" thick sheeting used.

pic 5:
Front sheeting applied.

pic 6:
All but the right front done.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Center wing (cont)

The flap for the center wing was set up.
I used Nelson's piano hinge.
I removed the original hinge wire, which wasn't easy to do.
I have 30" long hinges and needed about 24" so I cut the piano part and left the wire intact using a dremel cut off wheel.
I put the 6" hinge side into a vise and use pliers to pull the other 24" hinge to remove the wire pin.
I then used a slightly smaller wire which is easy to insert and remove but still has no slop in the hinge movement.
With the new hinge wire, I can now, permanently, screw both sides of the hinge to the flap and center wing but still easily pull the hinge wire out for easy maintenance to the flap.
I kept the flap on a flat surface and put weight on the flap while securing the hinge and attaching the framing structure to insure that the flap stays perfectly flat.

pic 1/2:
Nelsons piano hinge secured to the flap with #0X3/16" screws.
A 1/16" bit was used to enlarge and make double the number of holes in the hinge so the screws can easily fit the hole without binding.
A #45 bit was then used to put a hole into the ply flap to easily attach the screws.

Pic 3:
Framing support structure CA'ed to the inside of the flap.

pic 4:
Presently, just four screws used to secure the hinge and flap to the center wing.
The screws go into a 1/4"X1/2" spruce spar so no worry about the hinge coming loose.

pic 5/6:
Dry fit balsa sheeting over the hinge with the only thing showing is the hinge pins.

pic 7:
Flap in the open position.

Tail feathers:

pic 8:
I'm probably going with two HS-645's in the stab to control each side of the elevator.
I'm more comfortable with a direct, close linkage of the servo and control surface (less induced slop and rod length changes from radical changes in temperature).
The servos only weigh 1.9 oz each which, in my opinion, would probably equal the amount of weight needed for control rods and supports if I mounted the servos in the front.
The plans also call for rods sticking out the side of the fuse so, esthetics wise, it'll look nicer!

NOTE: until the web site is fixed, just click on the first picture and it will come up 'normal' size and then sequence through the pictures.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Elevators

The plans show a 'traditional' rib set up and a scale version.
Unfortunately, the kit has the 'traditional' ribs
so I had to cut everything for the scale version
(and I'm still cutting them!).
The scale hinges are also being used.
I used 5 ply for the hinges to insure no slop ever develops
(versus the soft 3 ply hinges).
The TE of the stab has the sheeting overhang
by 1/8" at the center to 1/4" at the ends.
The LE of the elevator has to have a mirror image of this taper.
The scale elevator uses a 1/16" thick balsa sheet for the center.
I used 1/64" thick ply along both sides of the
TE of the center balsa to make it more hanger rash proof and
insures the TE stays perfectly flat.
Since a large cut is made into the LE of the elevator for the hinges,
some 1/8 thick 5 ply was epoxied along the back
of the LE to strengthen that area.
The scale rib location also has some sheeting that goes
across this hinge area to also help strengthen the LE.

NOTE: until the web site is fixed, just click on
the first picture and it will come up 'normal' size
and then sequence through the pictures.

NOTE: at least I found that limiting the number of words
per line at least makes the 'reading' part easier.

pic 1:
3/4" square LE.
Sullivan #504 golden rod (yellow piece only)
used for the bushing for the 1/16" diameter hinge wire.

pic 2:
Outlines put on LE sides and front for cutting purposes.

pic 3/4:
After cutting the front, it is re-taped back on so the sides can be cut.

pic 5:
Had to make the 1/16" balsa sheet center core of the elevator.

pic 6:
Scale rib locations.

pic 7/8:
Center sheet, 1/64" thick ply CA'es to the TE of the sheet
and 1/8" thick ply epoxied to the back of the LE to re-enforce
the hinge area.

pic 9:
Scale ribs added to one side of one elevator.

pic 10:
control horn ply mounts epoxied to elevator.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Stab and center wing (cont)

Stab:
I removed the supporting tabs on the
bottom of the ribs
and sanded the area so ribs and spars
are flush with each other.
I used carpenters glue to secure the
bottom 3/32" thick sheeting from the spar to the LE.
After the servo mounts are installed,
the rest of the sheeting will be done.

pic 1/2:
lots of clamps and paint sticks to hold
the sheeting in place while the glue dries.

Center wing:
The top sheeting done in three parts,
TE to the secondary spar,
secondary spar to the main spar and, finally,
main spar to the LE using 3/32" thick sheets.
Carpenters glue should hold the top sheeting
but I always seem to opt for epoxy to be on the safe side.
(the outer wings will get carpenters glue).

pic 3/4:
Somewhere under all that weight is the
sheeting being held down to the ribs!
The LE has a small compound curve so
some of my large wooden clamps
were needed to hold the sheeting tight to the ribs.

pic 5:
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"!

NOTE: until the web site is fixed, just click on the
first picture and it will come up 'normal' size
and then sequence through the pictures.
I hope they fix their problems soon
as it seems like this web site or part of it
is down 50% of the time!

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Center wing, outer wings.

Center wing (cont)
pic 1-3:
I cut rib W-2 so I could dry fit the gear into the wing.

=========
outer wings.

I cleared off all the junk on the build table
and put the two plans that have the outer wing templates.
The bottom spruce spars and wing washout risers were pinned to the board.
Ribs W-8 through W-17 were, initially, CA'ed to the spruce spar
but the CA didn't hold well
so I used my trusty carpenter's glue on them.
(I heard that CA doesn't bond well
to laser cut wood due to the burned area).
Rib W-8 has to be perfectly perpendicular
to that W-7 will be at the correct dihedral.
The six WA-1's were then glued to W-8
as these establish W-7's to the correct dihedral.
The W-7 ribs were then epoxied to the spar and WA-1's.
(W-7 ribs were previously cut using new 5 ply).

pic 4/5:
Plans, spars and washout risers added to build board.

pic 6/7:
W-8 through W-17 glued to bottom spar.

pic 8:
WA-1's glued to W-8.
Right angle squares clamped to W-8
to insure they remain perpendicular.

pic 9/10:
A straight piece of wood was clamped to ribs W-7
to insure they remain perfectly straight
(insures that W-7 will mesh with center wings W-6)
and then epoxied to the WA-1's.

NOTE: until the web site is fixed, just click on the
first picture and it will come up 'normal' size
and then sequence through the pictures.