Great Planes Tiger Moth -- Guidance
11-09-2002 | 03:21 PM
#1
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From: Reading,
PA,
Great Planes Tiger Moth -- Guidance
I am in the process of completing the aircraft, and would appreciate suggestions on the following:
1. The best way to paint the windshields, and are they attached directly on the covering.
2. The best way to make neat and smooth cutouts in the fiberglass cowl.
Thanks in advance for any help I may receive.
1. The best way to paint the windshields, and are they attached directly on the covering.
2. The best way to make neat and smooth cutouts in the fiberglass cowl.
Thanks in advance for any help I may receive.
11-10-2002 | 02:02 AM
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From: Lancaster,
CA
Great Planes Tiger Moth -- Guidance
I used 1/8" yellow pinstripe on the window frames. Over 40 flights and it's still on it. I also used small straight pins to attach the windshields to the fuselage with small drops of CA on the pins after fitting. Stayed on fine, then came off when I wanted it off for my latest improvement project.
The cowl, I used a 1/4" cylindrical rotary cutter in a moto tool to cut the pieces out, and then used a piece of sandpaper to clean up the ragged edges. You can also use a sanding drum in the moto tool for larger cuts.
Dave
The cowl, I used a 1/4" cylindrical rotary cutter in a moto tool to cut the pieces out, and then used a piece of sandpaper to clean up the ragged edges. You can also use a sanding drum in the moto tool for larger cuts.
Dave
11-10-2002 | 02:34 AM
#3
Great Planes Tiger Moth -- Guidance
Ed:
I have a GP Tiger MOth and I think it is one of the best bipes I have ever flown. It is just an asolute blast to fly. I have an YS 91 FS in mine( way too much power) but it flies really well at 1/3 third throttle with enough reserve power to do whatever you wish. I originally tried flying it with my OS 70 Surpass and found it to fly very realistically (read marginally powered), but it would fly.
Here is what I did with mine:
Instead fo painting the windshield framing, i just used 3/16" and 1/4" black trim tape to simulate the windshield frame. I attached the windscreen to the fuse (directly to the covering) with silicone adhesive (Zap) and it holds up well.
I may have trouble clearly explaining how to locate the holes in the cowl, but here goes. Mount the cowl to the fuse per the instructions and make sure the front of the cowl is the correct distance from the firewall (per the plans or whatever your engine requires). Remove the cowl and mount the engine to the motor mounts and ensure that the you have the correct diatance from the firewall to the spinner backplate (again per your engine requirements or per the instruction manual). Don't mount the muffler. Take some regular construction paper that you can get at the supermarket. Cut piece of the construction paper (maybe a couple of inches wide and of sufficient length to go past the part of the engine that you are trying to locate on the cowl (say the needle valve). Tape this to the side of the fuse and transfer/cut the hole/opening in the construction paper. Remove the engine and remount the cowling (leaving the construction paper taped to the fuse) and mark it for the hole using the hole you transferred to the construction paper. You can transfer multiple holes on one piece of paper if you like (example muffler opening, hole for adjusting the low end needle, etc). What I do with my cowlings is to put some masking tape on the cowling in the approximate location of the hole(s) I want to transfer and use a felt tip pen to make the holes on the masking tape. I leave the tape on the cowl while I am drilling or Dremeling the holes. The same approach can be used for the cutout for the cylinder head, needle valve, etc.
One thing, make sure that all of the wood screws that hold the cabane struts and the interplane struts to the wings are tight. You can drill the holes for the wood screws and then remove them and put some CA in the screw holes to add some strength to the structure. You might also consider going to a little larger wood screw. On my MOth, I wanted a different color scheme, so I stripped all of the covering off and recovered in a different color (will take some pictured of my model tomorrow and post them on my RCU gallery). When I had all of the covering off, I will say that this is one of the best built, if not the best built, ARF's I have ever had. The quality of the wood joints was just exceptional. My model was built better than some of my model and I think I build pretty well. I was really impressed. Anyway, when I had the model stripped, I reassembled it and marked the location of all the wood screws used to hold the struts in place. I redrilled all of the holes and installed 4-40 blind nuts. I also put a little thin CA around the wood structure near the blind nuts. Now when I assemble the model, I can tighten the 4-40 screws without fear of overtightening. I have found this setup to work very well. One other thing you might consider is the landing gear. It appears as though the main gear axles are just a little bit too far aft. This placement allows the model to nose over very easily (if flying off of grass) when landing. What you could consider doing ( others have done this) is to reverse the landing gear (i.e. turn it around so the wheels are further forward). I have not done this to mine but you could. Drop me an e-mail if you need further assistance.
Later,
Ed
I have a GP Tiger MOth and I think it is one of the best bipes I have ever flown. It is just an asolute blast to fly. I have an YS 91 FS in mine( way too much power) but it flies really well at 1/3 third throttle with enough reserve power to do whatever you wish. I originally tried flying it with my OS 70 Surpass and found it to fly very realistically (read marginally powered), but it would fly.
Here is what I did with mine:
Instead fo painting the windshield framing, i just used 3/16" and 1/4" black trim tape to simulate the windshield frame. I attached the windscreen to the fuse (directly to the covering) with silicone adhesive (Zap) and it holds up well.
I may have trouble clearly explaining how to locate the holes in the cowl, but here goes. Mount the cowl to the fuse per the instructions and make sure the front of the cowl is the correct distance from the firewall (per the plans or whatever your engine requires). Remove the cowl and mount the engine to the motor mounts and ensure that the you have the correct diatance from the firewall to the spinner backplate (again per your engine requirements or per the instruction manual). Don't mount the muffler. Take some regular construction paper that you can get at the supermarket. Cut piece of the construction paper (maybe a couple of inches wide and of sufficient length to go past the part of the engine that you are trying to locate on the cowl (say the needle valve). Tape this to the side of the fuse and transfer/cut the hole/opening in the construction paper. Remove the engine and remount the cowling (leaving the construction paper taped to the fuse) and mark it for the hole using the hole you transferred to the construction paper. You can transfer multiple holes on one piece of paper if you like (example muffler opening, hole for adjusting the low end needle, etc). What I do with my cowlings is to put some masking tape on the cowling in the approximate location of the hole(s) I want to transfer and use a felt tip pen to make the holes on the masking tape. I leave the tape on the cowl while I am drilling or Dremeling the holes. The same approach can be used for the cutout for the cylinder head, needle valve, etc.
One thing, make sure that all of the wood screws that hold the cabane struts and the interplane struts to the wings are tight. You can drill the holes for the wood screws and then remove them and put some CA in the screw holes to add some strength to the structure. You might also consider going to a little larger wood screw. On my MOth, I wanted a different color scheme, so I stripped all of the covering off and recovered in a different color (will take some pictured of my model tomorrow and post them on my RCU gallery). When I had all of the covering off, I will say that this is one of the best built, if not the best built, ARF's I have ever had. The quality of the wood joints was just exceptional. My model was built better than some of my model and I think I build pretty well. I was really impressed. Anyway, when I had the model stripped, I reassembled it and marked the location of all the wood screws used to hold the struts in place. I redrilled all of the holes and installed 4-40 blind nuts. I also put a little thin CA around the wood structure near the blind nuts. Now when I assemble the model, I can tighten the 4-40 screws without fear of overtightening. I have found this setup to work very well. One other thing you might consider is the landing gear. It appears as though the main gear axles are just a little bit too far aft. This placement allows the model to nose over very easily (if flying off of grass) when landing. What you could consider doing ( others have done this) is to reverse the landing gear (i.e. turn it around so the wheels are further forward). I have not done this to mine but you could. Drop me an e-mail if you need further assistance.
Later,
Ed
