samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Robart retracts (continued)

Main retracts (continued)

First picture:
After the epoxy dried over night, the mounts seem pretty sturdy so I put the retracts in.
Pretty standard stuff here.
I used Dubro's #6X3/4" socket head screws.

Second picture:
Back to the nose retract.
With the gear up, it shows the position of the clevises.

Third picture:
The clevises rotate correctly when the gear goes down.

Fourth picture:
On her feet again.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Replaced fuel tanks.

First picture:
I found some 16 oz fuel tanks among the ones 'we never use because we always want a larger tank'.
I have no idea what plane they came out of but they were 16 oz and fit perfectly in the nacelles.
(I didn't like how those flexible tank were bent in the nacelles anyway!).
They were perfect fits but I had to put them in without the lines and plug.
After getting the tanks in, I carefully marked the tops of each line and then screwed the plug into the tank opening.
After getting everything squared away, I filled the tanks and checked that they were full and not leaking and then
emptied them to make sure they also emptied.
I had to take the engines off to do this so I made sure all worked so I wouldn't have to do that again.

Second picture:
I put the cowls on so she's all set to rock-n-roll.

We've got a warbird flyin next weekend
so I'm working on the P-61 tomorrow.
Not much to do: just the nose gear.
Plus a few more birds after that.

hhilandscaper

My Feedback: (1)

Here is a great site for the REAL Heavenly Body. Lots of info and pics to help with locating some of the decals.

Sam, the 'Ed Watchdog' decal goes at the base of the dorsal turret - you were asking about that earlier. Looks like on both the left and right sides but the decal sheet only has the one.


[link]http://www.b25.net/[/link]

nemesis4u

My Feedback: (77)

Samparfitt,
NICE...Now SHE LOOKS ALOT STRONGER AND BETTER on those RObarts.....Nice job...Is that A WM P-82 I see lingering inverted in a foam carrier in the background....is that a warm up twin now??
I am going to fly my P-82 tomorrow (SUnday) at Bomber FIeld in Monaville...just for practice... I hope to have a B-25 soon as well...Thanks for all the write up and keep the updates coming...Hope to see more videos as well...
CHeers,
Tomas

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Tomas,
Yep, a twin F-82.
Got a ton of flights on her.
Dale, who took the video of the B-25, should be at next weekend's warbird flyin so I should get videos of the P-61's maiden flight.

bennecycle

My Feedback: (1)

has anyone put gas engines on the kmp b-25 yet. someone suggested to me to use a couple of 18 or 20cc conversion engines. I am not sure of the weight issue or what size glow engines are equal in thrust. can anyone help me here.

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

There will be very little cowl left after cutting for gassers. Cowls are only 6" in diameter. Here is how much the OS .91 sticks out. However , the engine weight may be fine, as mine needs 1 1/2 lbs in the nose to balance.

spitmad

Hi guys here are some shots of my ill fated B25

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

Do you by chance have any pics of the area that failed. I would really like know exactly what to look for on mine before I attempt to fly it.

spitmad

The jury is still out on the actual cause of the crash however, the dihedral brace between the engine nacelle and the outer wing panel was not glued in.
This dihedral brace is not visible as it is pre built and the only way to check would be via destructive investigation (i.e cut a hole in the underside of the wing)

I will post some pics of the torn wing ASAP

cheers

Alan

bennecycle

My Feedback: (1)

I have been watching this forum B25 myself, the retracts are like the others. not holding together. the wing is a bit of concern. I have access to a CT machine and am thinking of checking the joints before i proceed any further and before i try to fly. will post results of scan if it does in fact happen. really not sure what the fix would be anyway. guess i just would hang the plan.e up for display and shy away for others like it

CB1000C

My Feedback: (6)

Spitmad,
I just noticed you tinted your canopies. Did you dye or paint them?

Thanks
Bret

CB1000C

My Feedback: (6)

OK, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know if the outer wing spar was glued or not. I created an access hole in the outer wing spar using a hobby knife by going in through the outer flap servo door. I patiently cut a 1/4 by 1/2 inch rectangle in the wing spar and removed the piece of wood. There's definitely no glue in the area that I cut away. I then decide to see if I could slide the spar in any direction to possibly confirm that the entire spar was not glued. I marked each end of the spar with a marker then drilled a small dimple in the spar itself so that I could get a bite on it with a Phelps screwdriver. I was unsuccessful in moving the spar in any direction. I must admit that there is no gap between the external spar and the internal spar and it appears to be a precision fit. My guess is that using glue on the spare may not be part of the manufacturing method, and that the two plywood ribs (one on the fiberglass nacelle and the other on the outer wing panel is the basis of strength joining the outer wings to the nacelles. I think if Andrew confirmed whether this is indeed the correct manufacturing method then I would feel better. I guess time will tell if there is indeed a design problem or if Spitmad was just unlucky on his second flight.

Spitmad, I too would like to see pics of your wing to better understand where and how the wing did snap.

RAMFlyer

My Feedback: (65)

I emailed Kondor four days ago asking if they would sell the B25 without retracts and, if so, what would be the price. So far they have not replied to my questions.

Really hate to buy an ARF, throw the retracts away, and buy new ones!!

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

We had our giant scale flyin today.
Flew the B-25 again and the maiden flight on the P-61.
The Robarts on the B-25 held up great.
The Spring airs on the P-61 also held up great.
I'll be getting lots of pics and videos shortly from club members and will post them.
Those OS FX.91's with the MAS 3-blade 14X7's are turning 8500 RPM's and sound sweet.

ps: see P-61 thread for those pics.

RAMFlyer

My Feedback: (65)

In fairness to KMP I must update my entry on 5/21/2005. I did get a response from KMP concerning buying the b25 kit without retracts but it was caught by my spamblocker program!! To quote:

"no Bill, at present time there is no credit per say but i could make an exception here for a $20.00 credit toward our Eurokit retracts.We could ship them in the same box to save you an additional $15.00 or So. Please visit www.kmp.ca to view.
Thanks Don"

I appreciate their reply but think, if I buy this ARF, I will put Robarts in it. To me, the Robarts are a proven system. I can't say the same thing about the Century Jet or Eurokit retracts. My dealings with Century Jet have been less than satisfactory and I know nothing about Eurokit.

(I give up--didn't mean to have the last paragraph highlighted in bold script but can't seem to do anything about it!! Don't mean to seem I'm hollering...)


{edit to remove the bold}

spitmad

I painted the canopy frames with Topflite Lustrecote (Olive drab) as the canopies on the Australian delivered kits were all unpainted, the tint effect is an illusion as the inside of the cockpit and nose is matt black, so.....no I didn't tint them.

spitmad

Hey guys
Good news, I just heard that the wholesaler here in Australia, after contacting ESM in China is going to replace my B25 (the one that lost a wing in flight), there is some admittion of of liability.
They have obviously conceded there is a fault with the wing spar and are addressing the problem!


The only problem is I now have to wait until July for the next shipment[&o]

Alan

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

Now raises the question, is it an isolated incedent, or is it all the aircraft made before a certain date?
Mr Kondor, please advise!!!

warks62

My Feedback: (140)

This last weekend at CAFB a friend of mine was flying his KMP B-25 was on approach and lost a engine it went into a flat spin faster than you can imagine. It was about as flat as possible at about 400 feet. He tried all kinds of controls but nothing worked just stayed in the flat spin. Gear was down and that was probably good since it took most of the shock so all that happened was the gear blocks broke out and cracked all the gear covers. Hard to believe that was all that happened but it should be back in the air in a week or so. Other than running out of fuel causing the engine out it flew great.

MANFRED

My Feedback: (27)

DId he try dropping the throttle on the live engine?

warks62

My Feedback: (140)

Yes but it was still at idle. May of caused enough thrust anyway not sure. Only thing I wonder is if he had gone full throttle and opposite rudder maybe came out of it. Will have to try it on mine if it happens to me. Other than that he had tried all kinds of input but nothing seemed to change it at all. Still amazed at how slow it came down with hardly no damage since he came down on cement. Couple of small scratches to the bottom of the fuse with nothing on the tail or wing. Gives him the excuse now to change the retract mounts to the correct location and angle.

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

Also, it shows that his wing spares are all glued!

MANFRED

My Feedback: (27)

AMEN!

stephen thompson

hi,

have you had a engine stop on your b-25 yet?

steve.