Bert Baker BT-13
 

I am in the process of making a trade for a Bert Baker BT-13 kit. I believe it is a 90 inch wingspan. Anyone know the cowl inside diameter and the recommended engine as per the plans or instructions? I am thinking a G-45 would be the right power for this plane but dont want to butcher the cowl. Electric could be an ioption, glow fuel is not an option! Also, what main gear are recommended?
Thanks, Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I had one of those many years ago when they first came out. I believe I used the large Supertiger glow engine. I think the 45 would be a great engine for this plane. Just remember to keep the speed up on landing as this plane would fall out of the sky with little warning if to slow on landing.

Dave

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

No dimensions, but here is a pic of a full sclae BT-13. Maybe scale it to get what you need?

Sincerely, Richard

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

We have a BT-13 Vultee Vibrator in our local CAF hangar.

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I believe that one is a North American NA-64 Yale Richard, otherwise known as a BT-14.

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

It is a BT-14, the BT-9 was similar to the BT-14 except the BT-9 had fabric instead of aluminum skin on the fuselage and a few other things. I have a 1/5 scale BT-13 with cowl here, I was hoping someone knew the Bert Baker Cowl but I did hear from a friend that has one, its 9 inches diameter at the rear of the cowl. Thanks for the inputs guys.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Thank you for the correction. I had thought that it was the BT-13 from the fixed LG, vs the retracting gear of the T-6. My Mistake.

Sincerely, Richard

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Hey Denny,

If you want to do a little something different with your BT-13, try this. This BT-13 was converted to an Aichi Val dive bomber for the movie Tora, Tora, Tora. I've seen it fly quite a few times now and it is AWESOME to watch.

David

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

They are easily confused, its a very common thing. I have seen the movie conversions but we will do this BT-13 in the colors of the one my son flew in formation with me. I got some great video and stills when we flew in formation. My buddy, Carlos has a Burt baker like the blue and yellow one flown by Tom Smith in the pictures. Would be fun to fly the three of them together. I am currently building an American Eagle BT-13 in the colors of Skip Enge's BT-13, the one I was riding in when the pictures were taken.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

That certainly is a beautiful airplane. Good luck with your building. Thanks for sharing the pics....:D

David

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Speaking of doing something different with a BT-13, check this out. It should be ready to fly in a few weeks.
Denny

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_89..._8/key_/tm.htm

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

The Burt baker BT-13 shipped today, I should have it by Monday. I will do a review of the kit as packaged by the manufacturer as I inspect the contents.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I picked up the Burt Baker BT-13 at Greyhound today. Everything seemed to be there, there is no inventory list that I am aware of. There is no instruction booklet. All the instructions appear to be on the plans. I have to say, I am very impressed with the plans. They are very accurate and detailed. They even show the rivets and many other details. I was disappointed that the fuselage was distorted/ crushed near the tail and damaged at the rear of the cockpit. Its obvious this damage was done over time not being stored properly, not by shipping damage. Everything else seems to be in good condition. I was pleasantly surprised at the hinges, they are made of fiberglass and reflect the scale hinge configuration for the rudder, elevators and ailerons. Also included are the pre-formed aluminum sheets for the trim tabs. I will post pictures soon. The wings are presheeted, as are the vertical stabs, horizontal stabs, rudder, elevators, ailerons, and flaps. The canopy is in two pieces and appears to be of good quality. I also now have a Zenoah G-45 with the flat plate mount and a pitts exhaust, it looks like it will fit well into the cowl. I will consider a custom scale exhaust and smoke system for this plane. I dont plan on making this one super scale, but we shall see as it goes. It might be hard to resist after all the research I have done on the BT-13 from my current build. I need to now figure out what kind of gear to use. The plans call for non load absorbing gear, I think I want some sort of oleo strut. One thing for sure, I wont be covering this one with aluminum sheeting!
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I have been looking closer at the fuselage damage. I am not sure how good this can be made to look as far as getting it back aligned. I doubt that with what I have here, that I can get it straightened. The damage was in two places on the right side, right at the back of the rear cockpit and just at the vertical stab. Its not just dents, the whole fuselage looks like a bananna, the whole thing is curved. Its like a car, not just a fender damaged, it a frame issue. I am sure the seller didnt realize it had been damaged. He seems like a good guy. He may have another Burt Baker kit, if he does we can swap fuselages or I will get that one and but this kit at a greatly reduced price. With a good fuselage, I could make some bulkheads and stringers to maybe heat this back into the correct shape. We went to Sun N Fun here in Lakeland last weekend to get pictures of the BT-13 pictured earlier in this post. Unfortunately it was one of the many aircraft damaged in the storms so it was in an area we didnt have access to. He is based here in Florida so we will get another chance to get detailed pictures of the graphics and artwork on the plane.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I finally took a break from the American Eagle BT-13 kit to take some pictures of the Burt Baker Kit. If I remember correctly, the Burt Baker kit is 90 inch wingspan and the American Eagle is 100 inches. You can see the fuselage other than the distortion, is of reasonably good quality. The bulkheads you see were already installed, I believe from the manufacturer. The canopy comes in two pieces and is of average quality, not great. It has scratches from the mold visible, comparable to the American Eagle canopy. The wings came pre sheeted as did the vertical and horizontal stabs. The elevators, rudder, flaps are also presheeted and come in their foam shapes to protect them. Included is a fiberglass belly pan. I was impressed that the belly pan and the fuselage came with the stiffening ribs already included. I found them tough to make on my aluminum covered version. There are two bags of balsa and hardwood parts for the tips of the wings and the stabs. The cowl appears to be of good quality, no noticible big or excessive quantity of air bubbles. The items that impressed me the most were all in one bag. The scale style hinges were a surprise to find. They are made of fiberglass and already bolted together. These hinges took a lot of time to make for my American Eagle kit. The other thing that impressed me were the aluminum skin for the counter balances, commonly identified as trim tabs. The only trim tabs are on the elevators I believe. The aluminum skin already had the stiffening ribs molded in, what a great feature. All in all, if the fuselage hadnt been stored badly and the fuselage warped, this would be as quick a build as ever. The fuselage will take some work. I am hoping that I can find another Bert Baker BT-13 that I can use to make bulkheads to get this back into shape. I already have a Zenoah G-45 for this plane, I plan on using the flat plate mount and possibly a scale custom built exhaust. I do have a pitts muffler for the engine, but at this time dont plan on using it. This build will have to wait till after Top Gun and finding a plane to make bulkheads from.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Well, Top Gun is over. The American Eagle BT-13 is not done, but its flying. My next project will be the Burt Baker BT-13. I dont have a lot of documentation on the specific one I will be modeling, but I have enough to get it started. I have the kit, a Zenoah G-45, a pair of main wheels. The only major items I need are the main gear and tail wheel. Oh and time to complete the build. I will start on my jig to hold the fuselage to get it back into shape. I suppose the best place to start with that would be some consistent centerline and waterline references permanantly on the jig. I am thinking I can begin by supporting the firewall and the rear wing attach support, good solid and square structures. I can then begin measuring and building my outer jig from the front and work towards the rear where the damage is. A combination of pressure and heat will be what moves and freezes the fuselage in the proper shape. I wont use aluminum skin like I did on the American Eagle BT-13, the one I want to model is painted silver, so painting is the way to go. Possibly Behr faux paint like I used on my giant P-51 and P-47. That will look correct and be easy to apply. Heres a pic of my BT-13 from Top Gun this year.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

After looking at pictures of the aircraft I want to model, it has become apparent that it is not a BT-13, or a BT-15 but a NAVY SNV-1. It clearly says SNV on the tail. Now that I have that established, I can proceed. I have made a call to Mr Bill Doty, the pilot of the SNV and hope to find out when I can meet up with him and the aircraft in the near future. Heres some pictures we took of it in Boca Raton FL.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I couldnt resist tinkering with the fuselage. I put it out in the sun with some foam and balsa to help shape it and I am already seeing it change. I used the heat gun on the worst of the creases and that worked good, I just worry about overheating it and weakening the epoxy. I dont think I will get it perfect, but I can fill some low spots and it should look respectable. My son and I were talking about how scale to make it. The full scale artwork is very worn, faded and weathered, not sure I can get that stuff reproduced as it apperas. Some of the stenciling is also faded and not sure I can have that replicated either. One thing for sure, I do want to do that specific aircraft. I will post pics when I get a chance.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Well, I have been vary patient, well, OK, not really. Its been one week sice Top Gun and I converted the eaglet to electric, converted to electric and built a glider and I started on the Burt Baker Bt-13 today, Geez, I mean the SNV-1. Thats gonna take some getting used to. I pulled down the fuselaghe and the G-45. I have a wraparound Pitts muffler and despite having to cut out the bottom of the fuselage and firewall, I am going to use it. I marked out the mounting holes for the G-45 mount plate, drilled and installed two 1/4-20 nutplates. Looks like a trip to Home Depot for the other two. I mounted the muffler to the exhaust and used the assembly to mark where to cut for clearance. My handy jigsaw and dreml made quick work of the cuts. Now I can see how the engine will fit and can begin boxing in the fuselage. The spark plug and a corner of teh carb will protrude from the cowl, thats life, not gonna get crazy and spent lots of money and time hiding everything inside the cowl, been there, done that recently. My prop clearance looks good and I will have to put a notch on the rear edge of the cowl to clear the muffler. The more I have looked at this fuselage, the worse it looks, not very good quality, lots of miscast parts of the fuselage.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

OK, now I am more confused than ever, if that is possible. The tail, as you say, shows "SNV-1". But the designation shown on the last photo with the nose art, clearly says "US Army BT-13A". Can it be both? Thanks,

Sincerely, Richard

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Actually it was not the last photo, but next to last; and it was not nose art, but the side view just below the front of the windscreen. that shows "BT-13A".:eek:

Sincerely, Richard

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

Richard, No, it cant be both. I will look at the data plate next time, that will be the tiebreaker, but I believe it is a BT-13A painted as a SNV-1. I was referring to the last post with pictures not the last photo (typo, left out the s). On the right side of the rudder it is stenciled in white. The cowl did say BT-13A but the paint scheme is of an SNV-1, the NAVY variant of the BT-13. I will also paint mine as an SNV. The nose art says nothing about what type of aircraft. I might just stencil mine the same as this one, just for the fun of people asking about what it really is :)
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I roughed up the areas that had missing chunks on the fuselage. I mixed up some west systems epoxy and along with some carbon fiber cloth, I filled the missing pieces. I ground it into the rough final shape, but it will need some more sanding to get it ready for finish filling.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

The project has been on hold for other things. I have done a few large electric concersions and now plan on powering this airplane with a Power 160 outrunner with 10 lipo cells. I also hope to put a sound system into it. Not one of the cheap ones, but the nice $350 ones. I hoope to get back to this project in the near future. It wont be a super scale airplane like the last BT-13 I built.
Denny

RE: Bert Baker BT-13
 

I built an Bert Baker kit in 2006 BT-13 (SNV-1) I used a G-62 as that is what I had. It calls for a .60 size Glow. Not sure if that wa big ebough to make it taxi. I thought mind was 100" wing span. Took mind to Oshkosh to show it with the full size and then to St. Charles, IL for a giant scale meet.. Got stolen there.
Jim