Ken,
very nice looking Relic! I'm sure your grandkids will enjoy it.
I'm looking forward to the day my boy is old enough to fly. I think a year or two. Ihave to get him on the sim more often though.
Speaking of looking forward, thanks to you and Raindave's suggestion, I've pretty much decided to build a 40" span Brushfire around a little Webra 12 REjewel that I picked up recently. Ithink I can make it work with the engine inverted and the header running in the nose gear retract bay (no retracts on this one) and out through the forward wing belly pan former. The 10" pipe would run under the wing and end just aft of the rear pan former where the exhaust would be diverted downward. Unfortunately the belly pan would be built as a tunnel rather than keeping the nice round contour of the original fuse bottom... some compromises. I think the pipe would be concealed for the most part though.
If you have any suggestions on such a project they would be very much appreciated. It would also be great to read the original MB article if you happen to have it.
I do have a few questions if Imay:
<ul>[*]the fuse side view shows 3/4 sq (3/8" sq at 60% scale) along the bottom and along the canopy base. The section views however show a round profile to the fuse as if triangle stock was used rather than square stock. I though about using tri stock but it would provide little support for the "strip formers" at the base. Am Imisinterpreting something or do you think either one would work?[*]The 3/8" ply firewall is shown to be cut with round contours all around. How does the square stock in the retract bay intersect F1? Does one shape it to contour around the former? Likewise for the square stock beneath the canopy at the F1 junction? Do you think that cutting F1 with square angles at these intersections and providing a square slot for the stock to enter would work equally well? I'm thinking of something analogous to the way spars enter notches in balsa ribs; the square stock would meet and join F1 flush with the front of it.[*]Did F4 interfere with the flap servo or were notches just cut into the base of the former to allow the pushrods to pass back to the torque rods? I was thinking of omitting F4 on my little version. I don't know whether it makes any sense to install flaps on a model this size (a wet AUW of 33 oz is my goal).[*]The 3/32"balsa flap ribs are marked F1 through F4 with F4 being the largest rib. The wing plan shows these ribs as running from root to tip on the flap F1-F4 which would produce a wider flap at the tip than the root. Does this make sense or should the ribs be inverted running F4-F1 root to tip (flap would taper in thickness toward the aileron junction)?[*]Any suggestions on how to secure the round aileron servo covers? Simple 4 screws or did you guys do something clever? I was thinking of mounting the micro servo's with foam tape to the covers.[*]I really like the wing and stab planform as well as the wing core design. It would be really cool to use a flying stab! Any suggestions on how to do this (what hardware) at this scale?Maybe it would be simpler to just use elevators and a fixed stab.[*]Was the height of the landing gear as shown suitable for an 11" prop? I'm able to get a 7" prop to swing clear on the reduced plans but would have to raise to allow an 8"prop. Do you foresee any problems with a higher stance?[*]Last ones: what was the wing span and weight of your first wood/foam model? Did your glass ones come out lighter or heavier?[/list]Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
David.