ponda

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Hmm...Looking at plans now..and they do not show a 1-piece cowl....just several numbered blocks/rectangles of balsa to be glied and shaped....there is no written instructions..just the yellow large mechanical type drawing.....all parts are bagged or kinda banded together..canopy looks very nice and is bagged/clear packaged...What do the up-dated plans do..?

But you are saying there is a repro type fiberglas cowl that is available for this,,?

ponda

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Ah-ha..just returned from Flea-bay....Canopy and cowl I saw ..were show to be for Royal Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero with wingspan of 62 5/8"....
My plans say "Zero Fighter" and show wingspan of 52"......

Looks like 2 diff Royal kits.....

joe

scale dail

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Several Royal kits were made in different sizes. The senior was usually a .60 size, The Junior was like a .25 or .40 size, and then there was the 1/2A size for .049.

CaptainBlueSky

Hi Joe,

that size is not very common, just slightly  under the .40 size ( 1480mm wingspan), you better don't loose your canopy!

I don't think it is in the list I made for these Royal/Marutaka kits: Royal kits list but you can find there were many Zero's.

If you could ever find the corresponding number in Marutaka listing, please advise me.

Al

Riddle4U

As you've probably figured out...mine at the head of this thread is the 62" Zero "Senior". It has a spun aluminum cowl, which is a nice feature on many Royals. - Eric

I-fly-any-and-all

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ponda http://shop.ebay.com/u.s.wing/m.html

Roary m

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Sorry for your loss, Cory. I'm sure Dick Skoglund gave you his condolences as well. Did the Rhom Airs survive(I know, I had to ask)? Also, somebody said something earlier about someone making repro aluminum cowls, is that true?

Riddle4U

I fly any and all...please don't be shameless about connecting us all to dubious ebay sellers....trully now? That's not my goal here.

I-fly-any-and-all

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Yes someone on "ebay" is making reproduction aluminum cowls. I bought one for my .60 size corsair and it is an exact match.


not sure what you mean?
if your asking me not to send people to ebay so they can find there products I would hold up the forum I'll just private message.
none the less heres the ebay seller with aluminum cowls: http://cgi.ebay.com/Royal-Marutaka-B...item3ef5beb3bd

scale only 4 me

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He's talking about the guy reproducing plans.. That guy has had me on his block bidders list for about 8 years, I guess he didn't like it when I asked him about the ethics of copying plans for profit

The guy making those cowls is only a few miles from me, he makes a bunch of different metal parts, mostly for vintage Mopars. If i remember right he used to have some cool stuff for Customg Golf Carts too. Nothing Dubious about that since they are long OOP and the Company is long out of business, He had a few other rc thing listed at one time., those cowls are all that's left maybe

Riddle4U

No prob I fly any and all (what is your name btw). There are just some unscrupulous people on Ebay which others have mentioned here and elsewhere (I don't have personal experience, and not singling anyone out per se). I just wasn't sure where your motivation was, entirely. I kind of think it is a bit concerning that people are ripping off Royal/Marutakas intellectual property (whether they are in business or not), for gain. More importantly, that I here the quality is poor in many instances. If anyone cares to elaborate, that is great (on their experiences with Royal reproductions on Ebay). I think this thread might allow for people to get together with others who have kits, plans, e.t.c. to perhaps just share a bit. I.E. someone with a Royal .60 Stagerwing kit could photo copy a plan for someone else here on a one time basis for less than the Ebay people (and not as a business...that is the distinction). I am glad someone is doing the aluminum cowls; that is great. I just don't like it if these plans are not up to snuff quality wise (scale being off for one). Buyer beware I guess? Can you post a picture of your cowling from this seller? That'd be nice to see. I have a .60 Royal Corsair N.I.B. If I want to build another, I might be interested in a quality cowl. Maybe others can post and we can at least have a consensus on who is a good "Ebayer" with the Royal stuff. It is one thing to wonder about the potential impropriety of copying and selling plans for a business (i'm just not sure), it is another thing if that product is sloppy on top of that (I have heard this).

I-fly-any-and-all

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I just send people (mostly who are out of the USA) the links to where they can buy what they need.
I do fully understand that u.s.wing on Ebay has many shady dealings and is making a profit on out of production marutaka/royal plans and canopies.
What gets me ticked is he does this not for helping others build there planes but he makes a living on it!
attached are pictures of my "new reproduction aluminum cowl". Also Kelsey_B on here sent me all the cad drawings needed to scratch build the.60 size corsair and I will gladly send to anyone who asks.

Also gret idea about asking those here if they would do a one time copy of there plans for someone else.

I need the plans for my royal cessna 310Q, all I have is the unupdated early non scale yellow plans.
Also need new copies for my royal b-17, I bought a partial kit on RCU, some guy glued the spars and ribs for the wing together but I can scratch build.

I-fly-any-and-all

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also, any chance that someone here has the cockpit kit for the .60 size corsair?
I'm looking to duplicate for my own use and provide to others who want to scale out there corsair's, plus I have a build log on the .60 size royal corsair scratch build and would like to get underway.

My thoughts on duplicating the cockpit kit should be noted not for my own benefit, but to better the kit and scratch built royal planes that are yet to be completed.


Oh and I'm Jesse

Riddle4U

Oh, Scale and for me....I sent a message to your fellow about the cowlings. I don't know if he could do it, but I asked if he could custom turn a 1/6th version of a Corsair cowl for my blown up Royal Corsair plan. That would be super cool! I was offering to send him a plywood template for my profile, and not what the original Royal aluminum turning is. The correct cowl is not a cylinder, exactly, but a slightly tapered shape rear to front...and the lip would be curled in front and not just rounded to a flat like the one Jesse showed (though that looks just like the original Royal piece, and Ok for some). I am willing to make it worth his time! Aluminum would be far better than fiberglass in my mind and any extra weight is in just the right place! If he can't do it I wonder who could? Regards, Eric

And Jesse, you're fine...I just wondered if you were "shilling" for some of these Ebay oportunists...ha ha ha!

I-fly-any-and-all

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wors tcomes to worst I have access to a lathe at work and went to college to study machining!
I've also seen videos on metal spinning work shop

Riddle4U

Hell give it a try Jesse, I'll give you five bucks! Just teasing...if you want to learn, there are plenty here needing cowls! I think the other fellow shows some ability already....hope he could make one for me. If you come up with something I'll just find some documentation for a crashed Corsair..lol! Just being funny...I hope?

I-fly-any-and-all

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hey what ever works. the lathe at work is more for turning steel and threading and for spining a sheet of alumimum.
I need to get into another college anyway (first one was a 30 week cram course, no good when 22 weeks through and the flu hits you) so i can learn programming for the cnc (computer numerically controlled) lathe and mill.
When I'm on lunch I tend to be in the tool room instead and have been on the lathe turning and tapping T6061 aluminum prop adapters for weed wacker engines.
Or on the vertical mill modifying flywheels.

scale only 4 me

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I'm gunna guess spinning Aluminum is an art that takes a lot of time to get good at.

I don't know the guy personally,I just know he's been selling (small market) aftermarket stuff for a while, I see his stuff on the local craig's list once in a while too. I think I first notice him when he was selling AM parts for lawn tractors. Looks to be a reputable guy

Riddle4U

Yea, Jesse, no offense..but it might take a while to learn how to do it. You also need to turn a tool first whether metal or wood to turn the aluminum over (just like a plug for a fiberglass mold). I think I've found a company that can do it for me, but the question is whether it is cost effective. If I could find enough demand for aluminum cowls here, I could justify the investment in the tool for each cowl (just the Big Corsair for me now). I could consider investing in the tooling if I could sell enough of them to make a small profit. What do people here think? I know Royal had a lot of models with symetrical round cowlings, and the aluminum cowl I thought was one of the "coolest" features of their kits. Fiberglass is lighter maybe, but I never heard anyone complain about the weight of the aluminum cowlings that came with Royals? I think if I do just mine for now, I could sell a half dozen to others just here on RCU. I think with making the tool, the cost for just one might be $250 to $500 bucks! With a few made and sold (say 10) the unit cost might come down to $100 bucks on the high side? Expensive...but then I spent fifty bucks on a good spinner for my TF Mustang! The cowling is a bigger item though not as quality intensive (because of safety reasons). Hmmm, all just a thought. Would any of you pay 75 to 100 for an aluminum cowl? That's pricey..but at low volume, that is where I think it might fall. Royal had the Zero's, the Focke Wulfs, The Corsairs, The Oscars...and many more; all with turned aluminum cowls. I am guaging interest. - Eric

p.s. I am guessing there just isn't enough demand to justify a larger endeavour?

Roary m

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Thank you I Fly, I'm making a go for those cowls. Am curious what else he has up for sale.

Riddle4U

Yea , Roary I checked out his offerings it is mostly Mopar stuff (cool), but I am thinking he isn't making these cowls his emphasis (and may just be getting rid of whatever he had made in the past). I didn't see anything offered other than one cowl for the B-25, or whatever. It'd be nice if he had more...I just don't think it is an ongoing offering for us modelers. My opinion only. Frankly, it looks like a false start! I don't know why Jesse even bothered with a link since it looked like just one limited offering? I don't get it. Jesse??? This isn't a source as far as I am concerned...NADA! Nothing intended negative toward that seller, just that I don't think he is offering services on an ongoing basis and god love you Jesse, but that probably was a distraction? Hope I am wrong, honestly.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

I think he had more than just that one (set of 2) in the past, if you look back through his feedback he has sold Corsair and other Cowls going back 2 years. Got to assume he's a Modeler also.

The guy looks to be a businessman that makes small batches, if he thought he could sell a few I bet he'd run some off. never hurts to ask, curious what he says

I'll ask around and see if anyone in the club knows him

I-fly-any-and-all

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The tool they use is easy to make. It consisits of a long steel rod with a notch cut in the end where you insert and bolt in your cutter bit (either carbide or high speed steel)
Carbide is preferred. I can easily make one the tool rest on the lathe is calculated in "thousandths" of an inch. both for going inwards and left to right.

turning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSlFHav2fFg

All I would need are the dimensions "measurments" required.

Example:
rear opening outside diameter of cowl ......
the degree of the curve, and deired size of the opening of the front of cowl where crank extends.
The key to perfection would be keeping everything (all measurements) within tolerance. a good tolerance is plus or minus .005 (5 thousandths) of an inch.

I-fly-any-and-all

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The key to doing this without the plug is simple, you have a nut and bolt running through the center of the stock (aluminum disc) which is tightened up and the bolt is secured into the 3 jaw chuck on the lathe.

If a plug id truly needed I could make one out of wood.
I'll see how my week plays out for me, I'll try to give you guys a picture of a test plug by the end of the week.
If you are worried about flaws we have a tool room machinsit with 30+ plus years of experience who would probably be willing to do it just not all at once, only as his time allows.

I-fly-any-and-all

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMpGGsMq4yw

Here its done a manual lathe, identical to what the company has. see photo as well.

And yes in the ast the seller has made numerous cowls. when he began posting the b-25 cowls he started with around 30