RE: WACO YMF
 

Nothin' so high-tech as 6061, but I did make mine, or, I should say, bought some nylon spacers from the specialty parts bins at Lowe's and used them. They come in different lengths, inside and outside diameters and thicknesses, just a matter of picking out the sizes I needed and trimming the length. The ones I used had a hole that was a snug slide fit for a 8-32 hex head machine screw; I still used blind nuts, but these are fiberglassed in place and won't come loose. the only thing about mounting the engine the way I did is that you have to slide the screws through the mounting plate holes, then the spacer, then a washer (times four screws, spacers and washers) and try to keep it all from falling off until you get the screws started into the blind nuts.

I had thought about putting the blind nuts on the outside of the firewall, and screwing the bolts from the inside, and then putting a low profile nut on the outside to lock them in place. This would give you 4 studs sticking out; easier to hang stuff on and then use nylock nuts to hold it in place---but I didn't.

On another note, I've come up with an aluminum main gear for the YMF, designed specifically for my ARF, but should be readily adaptable to the Pica kit, since it will screw directly to the rails the wire gear mounts to. Jay (damifino) is going to cut and bend it for me, I'll post the mounting and finishing of it. Should look just like the wire gear when done, just a tad heavier, but much stronger. Wheel pants will fit without the problem of them loosening and rotating on the axle.

RE: WACO YMF
 

It's a real chore getting fuel in flight without that probe and we never paid much attention to FARs much - especially this one (b):

Sec. 135.203

VFR: Minimum altitudes.

Except when necessary for takeoff and landing, no person may operate under VFR--
(a) An airplane--
(1) During the day, below 500 feet above the surface or less than 500 feet horizontally from any obstacle; or
(2) At night, at an altitude less than 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal distance of 5 miles from the course intended to be flown or, in designated mountainous terrain, less than 2,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal distance of 5 miles from the course intended to be flown; or
(b) A helicopter over a congested area at an altitude less than 300 feet above the surface.

Your property wasn't congested either... unless you consider acres and acres of fresh produce congestion. And since when is a barn a dwelling?... unless your a chicken[8D]

Now get back on topic Master Chief before we start pi$$ing folks off... again.

Todd
WACO Brotherhood #47

RE: WACO YMF
 

Got some primer on the fuselage and tail feathers this weekend, now I can REALLY SEE all the IMPERFECTIONS.. I guess thats why they invented sand paper !

RE: WACO YMF
 

That looks excellent Jim. I was hoping the primer on mine would of covered a lot more than it did as well.

Next build I do, it will be with Koveral and dope, very nice!

RE: WACO YMF
 

The koverall still will show imperfections as well as pin holes. At least it is easy to correct these imperfections.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: WACO YMF
 

Ken --
If this works, I'll post some pics of my Stearman in the Recall scheme. I saw one of these years ago at a flyin on the eastern Shore of Md, and this is a copy, except for the "66", which is my VMI class. As you can see, it's hanging in my office, 'cause I don't want to have to deal w/ the 50+ screws, bolts, clevises etc it takes to get the wings on and off.
Al

RE: WACO YMF
 

Ken and John --
I really envy you your time at the flyin. I'm attaching a couple of more pics of "Big Red", the model G17 Staggerwing you showed the other day., as well as another G17 that was at the Tullahoma Beech flyin a year ot so ago. (But that's it for the "other than Waco" posts for me!
Al

RE: WACO YMF
 

Al,

I have more picture of Les' Recall PT-17, NC 48784, #137, if you need some. He just bought it and brought it to Creve Coeur Airport on the 5th of May 2007. It needed some minor maintenance, but that was attended to and was flown during the Fly In. The Staggerwing, NC 44G is also based here at CCA.

RE: WACO YMF
 

I've been adding stringers to my latest, and putting in the backer boards for the wing fillets. This problem that I'm still having with my computer is the pitts.....The chief guru says that he does not know when I'll have it back. I can't post any photos until I get it back online. Jay (damifino) and I have been talking about several ways to replicate the metal panels on the fuse, and I'm rethinking my idea of using real metal for the panels. We are also working on a more scalelike method of mounting the top wing and the Interplane attachments. This one will not use the stock interplanes, but will use interplanes that look like three seperate pieces.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: WACO YMF
 

Been reading the posts here, and maybe my suggestion will work for you. To replicate the metal parts on the Waco you may try using some aluminum flashing you can purchase in just about any hardware store, it is thin and it is strong. Also a hint as to the corrugated covering on the ailerons instead of pounding out litoplates, which by the way may also be used for metal parts Sig sell corrugated plastic for their Morrissey Bravo stock numbers SIGRPCP .010X8X17 $2.50 per sheet. SIGPPCP .010x6 1/2x13 1/2 $1.99 per sheet!

Hope this helps someone.

RE: WACO YMF
 

John,

I did consider the aluminum roof flashing, but I wanted to give the illusion of having metal plates without the possibility of all the metal to metal contact and the resulting RF problems that can creep in. I will probably use the old add primer in layers method for mine.

The SIG plastic from the morrissey kit is not a bad idea, but can you let me know what the spacing between the corrugations are? The Pica 1/5th kit uses 27 corrugations per aileron surface, and scale appears to need 34. Size of the corrugations would come into play as well, because if they are too large, they will stick out like a sore thumb. I suppose that I could build a mold, and pull them from fiberglass, and build the internals into the skins, rather than adding thin skins to a built-up balsa structure. It is not going to be a simple fix, I suppose. The spacing on the kit version is about 1/2", and for the corrugation to look scale, they need to be about .41". That is only 1/10" difference, but the apperance would be noticable.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: WACO YMF
 

Bill,

The only YMF to show up at the Fly In was NC 14081, a 1987 YMF Classic. Here are some photos of the Cabane and Interplane struts and fittings;

Pic. 1 – Cabane struts. A one piece unit. The round dot below the forward strut is a retractable foot peg for fueling.
Pic. 2 – Interplane struts, 3 pieces.
Pic. 3 – Top Forward fitting
Pic. 4 – Lower Forward fitting
Pic. 5 – Lower Rear fitting with aileron connection rod, note round shape.
Pic. 6 – Lower Forward fitting looking aft, typical of all other fittings.
Pic. 7 – Upper Rear fitting on QCF-2, NC 12428 (wing is upside down).
Pic. 8 – Lower Rear strut over fitting on UBF-2, NC 2091K (fitting is the similar to the QCF) note cleaner appearance than on the YMF.

The YMF fittings have the bolt going front to rear with the strut end between the fitting parts. The UBF and QCF have the strut end over the fitting with the bolts going side to side. The strut end (one end only, pic. 4) is adjustable on the forward and rear struts, not adjustable on the center strut on all the aircraft pictured.

RE: WACO YMF
 

John,

Yep, that's the look that I'm going for. It is actually going to be about as easy as the original kit form.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: WACO YMF
 

Bill and the rest,

Pica apparently got it wrong with the landing gear. The plans show the inner landing gear strut going from the center of the fuselage down to the axle, not so. The inner strut actually attaches above the axel to the upper section of the oleo as shown in the below pictures. The first is the Pica Subject plane NC 14031 in a photo from the Andy Heins collection on the National Waco Club site. The second is from a YMF Classic, N# unknown and the last 2 are from YMF Classic, NC 14081, belonging to Robin Williams of Michigan, who attended the AWC Fly In 2 weeks ago. The drawings by Paul Matt for the Historic Aviation Album have the landing gear drawn correctly. If some one has a picture of different gear on a YMF, I would be interested in seeing it. The gear on the newer Waco Supers is shorter but of similar design.

RE: WACO YMF
 

Hello Bill and Ken,

I have indeed found this thread and I really appreciate the kind words. I certainly enjoyed meeting Ken and John and Creve Coeur, and enjoyed having them along in the Waco. I feel honored to be a member of the Waco Brotherhood, and I'll wear my T-shirt proudly!

I am looking forward to following the thread and keeping up with what you folks are doing with your Waco models. From what I've seen so far, these are some impressive airplanes! If you ever have any questions about the "full scale" versions, I'd be happy to try to help.

Already looking forward to Creve Coeur next year!

Joe Norris
Waco UPF-7 NC39748
WB #54

RE: WACO YMF
 

Joe,

Welcome aboard and thanks for the flight. I think you will find there is an interest in all thing Waco, not just the YMF. For those who don't know Joe, he was kind enough to give Ken and I a ride in his UPF-7. He also has a little blog going at http://www.classicwaco.com/blog/ about his Waco. Enjoyed meeting you Joe and hope to see you again next year at Creve Coeur.

RE: WACO YMF
 

Joe! Good to hear from you, glad you found the forum. I intend to keep up with your blog, also, and will be posting my build of the UPF-7 here. It was interesting reading about your oil leak; when I first started riding motorcycles back in the 70's, I had a Triumph, known for not holding their oil very well. The old "repair" you found sounds like something I've done to the rocker boxes of my old Daytona many times to slow the flow. Much as my old Trumpet must have thought different, the inside benefitted from the lubrication much more than the outside did. I think the gasket surfaces on the Conti are probably truer and more oil tight than the ones from Coventry:).

RE: WACO YMF
 

Jay
Gottem T's and you can start a slush with the shipping and handling;) on its way;)
Thanks for your :eek: well what can a man say but great job and a big THANKS
Larry Kutchar
The Out Law

RE: WACO YMF
 

RC OUTLAW- No need to send more money. Everything worked out fine despite the USPS changes.

Thanks again for all the support and comments on the Tees.

RE: WACO YMF
 

All this talk about the tee's, can't wait for mine to arrive [8D]

RE: WACO YMF
 

I will bet your Tees are not far behind;)

RE: WACO YMF
 

I think the aluminum gear KHODGES and I are doing for his COX arf will lend itself to the correct appearance rather well. Among the many other things I have unfinished:) is a mod to the PICA based build that will allow aluminum gear to be attached while retaining the stringers and F-6(?) former. I will definitely share the mod with you guys as it is mocked up and hopefully implemented into my project. I fly my stuff a good bit and the permanent nature of the stock PICA set-up makes me a little nervous.

RE: WACO YMF
 

Are you the guy that roles these for CO'2 Guns at drag racing events:D Those things fly a long ways:eek:

RE: WACO YMF
 

Since when do Racecar Engineers get nervous??? Ain't like you're strapped into a noisy (very fast.. and low) MH-47 'Hook in the middle of the night... in rural Tennessee...:D

Todd
WACO Brotherhood #47

RE: WACO YMF
 

For God's sake, is that night in Tennessee the ONLY exciting thing you did as a Dog???????:D
I can tell you one thing that does not make me nervous..take some cheese and a jar of.....Oh never mind.