BVM T-33 Build
 

I have just started building the BVM T-33, and have a question about painting the fuselage inside and formers. Bob seems to be quite clear about doing this, and while I totally agree with sealing the formers, I do not get the merit in painting the glass and Aeropoxy filets. He recommends keeping the weight to a minimum, and be careful of how much paint and glue is used. The recommendation in the manual is to use PPG K36 which is a high build primer which would end up adding a significant weight if you did the whole inside and formers. To be honest, I do not see this done on any of the other jets, so is this just for show or is there some rational here.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

I use Rustoleum spray white. covers well and is fuel proof.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Dave, I would just do wood formers where appropriate and the same for the grey primer. I built one of these and did a full build thread on this forum for a client early last year and applied grey to key areas but not others.

marcs

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

While it is not necessary to apply K-36 to anything other than the wooden frames and formers, a light coat adds some "visual continuity" to the fuselage interior....it's up to you.

An additional benefit is that of fuel-proofing the wood and glue joints. Use two coats of K-36 on the wooden parts, and one light coat on the fiberglass.

Also, drill a few small drain holes on the bottom of the fuselage to drain any accumulated fuel between flying sessions.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Thanks for all your replies so far. Marc S, could you please post your build thread URL, as I can only see the photo gallery on your site.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Hi Dave,

Is that the T-33 I helped finance when I bought your reaction ? LOL
I've got over 150 flights on her and have since bought a eurosport as well. I'll be following your thread as I'm a big t-33 fan.

Thanks

Albert

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Hi Albert. I have seen you mentioned a few times in the Reaction thread, and am glad you are having fun with it. I knew when you did a 1 foot pass on the first flight that my plane was in good hands. 150 flights in less than a year though! That’s great to hear.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

I would forget the primer-Looks cool but as far as I am concerned not worth the weight it also is a pain if you need to glue in anything post primer-all you are bonding to is the primer. To fuel proof the wood I either paint on a thin coat of epoxy or use thin Zap-this has the added benefit of adding strength to the wood as it soaks in so well. The 33 is a great plane-keep it light .Scotty

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Old converted DF model now with P60

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Did you add flaps to your T-33? I have a F-80 EVF that I ordered the flap kit for. I haven't started the kit yet but I was reading through the manual and the flap installation instructions. It's sorta straight forward and sorta not lol. Any pictures would help.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Bob

Yes, though I didn't build the airframe, I bought it converted on the flaps. I don't have any shots available but could get any done you need, by the new owner

Dave

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Dave, thank you for the offer. I might need some on the future if I get stuck.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Hi Dave,

I'm doing a df/turbine conversion right now. Power will be an MW54 Mk3. What was your final weight and how did it handle at slow speeds?

Thanks and regards

Joseph

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Joseph

It's not been weighed, but it's 2k painted and uses a P60. Slow speed is fine, it even had a flame out on the first flight and landing was fine

Dave

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Thanks Dave.........

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Well I think that GSR has hit the target with his comments on to paint or not paint, the inside of the fuselage. I know that when I see a BVM jet painted on the inside, it does look cool, but I guess I am still reluctant to add weight where there is no benefit to strength or longevity. I have been sealing my formers with thin ZAP before installing, and sanding the fibers and dust off the surfaces. Out of curiosity, I did a weigh test on a few of the parts to see just how much weight this process was adding. First of all, I used the side of an old CA bottle to act as a squeegee, pushing the CA around. I found that this greatly increased the coverage, and prevented any puddles or thick spots from forming. I then lightly block sanded the surfaces and cleaned up the edges and holes. Here is the weight with raw wood, and the weight gain in grams for some of the major parts or structures. I was using a good digital scale, and just for reference, a pencil with an eraser end came in at 6 grams. I was surprised how minimal the weight gain was while adding strength and protection to the wood structures.</p>

LG Assembly 46g + 2g
Main Spar F4 110g + 4g
Both Parts F3 78g + 2g</p>

Dave
</p>

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

I am a bit surprised that there has been little activity on this thread. I started it because I had a few questions at the start of my build, and I am sure that there will be more, but I am sure that there are several of these kits sitting on the back shelf, and in need of motivation. With the prevalence of really good ARF&rsquo;s and the instant gratification of having a completed model, it does put a strain on the time and effort it takes to make a kit like this. I am hoping that this thread may spark some of the models in progress to get completed, and along the way discuss how you tackled or got motivated through the different tasks. BVM does a really good job with their manuals so this is not meant to re-right it, but hearing how you did things is something that I think many would like to see.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

F6,

This was one build I did not post a thread on the build as there seemed too little interest, I'm happy to post a CD with pics for good resolution, just let me know.
On my site if you select the up arrows it does enlarge this thumbnails if you had not spotted this already.

marcs

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

marc, I'm soon to start on my F-80 so I'd appreciate an pics you care to share. What's the url for your website? Thank you.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

I&rsquo;m glad to hear that there is still interest in this thread. I would like to show how I setup the Fletcher wing tanks which are standard on the T-33. As you can see, there is a sub assembly that you make which has the carbon rods which slide into the wing tips, and mates to a cavity in the Fletcher tanks which gets secured with epoxy. To ensure that the assembly did not sink too far into the tank or worse still having the front and rear not being aligned, I glued popsicle sticks to the surface that allowed a perfect match of the surfaces. It also turned out to be a great way to hold the tanks in position while curing, and visually giving a reference that the tanks were also not sagging down.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

www.gbrjet.com

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

More shots from today with Steve's T-33.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

FYI. I was talking with BobV. the other day and he indicated that he may make an EDF version of the T-33 like he did for the F-80. Good news for the EDF guys!

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Well, progress is being made. I now have the wings glassed with &frac34; ounce cloth, and ZPoxy finishing resin. Because of the live hinge, you have to make sure that the resin does not fill the groove during the process. I have seen a few threads on alternate ways to ensure that the resin does not get in, but I used the BVM method as described in the manual, and it could not be simpler or more effective. They recommend putting a cotton string in the slot before applying the glass, and then pulling it out once the resin was applied. I thought that I should do a dry run before trying this process, and this turned out to be a good thing. The string must be much smaller than the groove, or the friction would be too strong to be able to pull it out. My cotton string had 3 strands, so I pulled 2 out and just used the 1 small one. I also found that it was much easier to pull from the tip. The process worked perfectly, and there was no tendency to pull the glass cloth out of place. As you can see, after one coat of resin, the live hinge is perfectly void of resin. I also found that by tacking a small piece of balsa on the opposite side, it held the aileron in position while glassing. This was easily removed after the resin dried.

RE: BVM T-33 Build
 

Dave,

I'm familiar with live hinges on composite airplanes but how is it done on this one ?

Thanks
Albert