I decided to bring this old thread up to the front.

John, how's your folding wing Hellcat going?

I just got the plots of the formers to cut the foam slices for the fuse plug of my self designed 110" Hellcat. It started about one year ago with the collection of all available data about the F6F. A few months ago I began to construct a 3D model inside the computer. Although I'm a mechanical engineer I'm not a ProE power user so I had a pretty hard time to learn the 3D cad basics. All I wanted to get from the CAD system are templates for hot wire cutting the foam parts for the fuse and the wings. Well, this particular job is almost done.

The next few weeks the foam slices will be glued together and roughly sanded to the right shape. I hope the heavily glassed plug will be ready for detailing until xmas. The molds should be finished in spring 2008. I allready have some experience in making small plugs and mold. But such a big bird is a real challange. I'm glad to have a friend who made a full composite 110" P-47 recently. He promised to help when ever I need him. And I suppose I'll his need his help very often.

I have no intention so far to make full composite wings. They will be made of balsa sheeted foam and will be plugged to the fuse with a 2" wing tube.

The undercarriage is custom made by WABO in germany and the engine is going to be a DA100 with BMB mufflers. The weight of the finished plane must stay below 55 lbs which I think is realistic. My 110" Ziroli Dauntless weighs 47 lbs.

If you want to see some pics I'll keep you informed about the progress.

Joe