navy18,
i was at whiting in '86-'87 and got winged in kingsville in june '88 so i think you were a little earlier than me. as far as engines, i'd like to use either a pumped O.S.91FS or a RCV90. regarding pictures, i just use the "upload images" link at the botttom of the posting page.

doug d., your spit looks great! did you take any pictures during your build or post to a website? i'd like to see some if you did.

mark, what i'm actually trying to do is make the joiner a little larger diameter and blend it into the elevator halves so that it looks more like the real one. maybe you can see what i'm talking about in the photo.

Well Navy18 It's not a handfull until the speed bleeds off. Even then landings are pretty striaght forward. Mine come out heaver than I had hoped for. About 11lbs. If I'd a known that it would have turned out this heavy I'd paid more attention to the tail assembly. And probably monokoted it. But the Laser 1.00 pulls it with authority. (Stock muffler)
Century Jet retracts with a robart control valve(left over from another effort). There was no real hard part to the build, and no I'm sorry to say I didn't take any assembly photo's. But I've built several TF kits and have a couple more that I'd like to get to in the future. The only substitutions of parts that was made, was a fiberglass cowl and some wing sheeting that was way to soft.
If you've never built any of the other TF kits this may seem harder than it really is. Just take your time and follow the intructions and it should turn out okay. Just pay attention to the weight in the tail. [&:]

doug d., i'm also using the CJ retracts. did you have to modify the wing to accept the CJ's since the kit is built around the robarts?

mark, at first i didn't follow your post. but after sleeping on it i think i realize what you meant. basically, make a "U" out of dowels instead of using the metal "U" supplied....yes? i think that's a good idea since it gives the support needed for the elevators. thanks!

tubig
The CJ's are pretty much the same.A little more carving and a different width on the mounts. Take your time and you'll get it. [&:]

Thanks for all the info guys; I am not building a TF SPit yet so I will just keep an eye on this thread and plan ahead.... as much info as possible on the retracts, including pics, would be great. I'll try sending a pic to see if it goes through..... love those Spits. Do most builders use Monookote to save weight? That takes away from scale details you can add but the flinal weight is more important.

i think most modelers who want a realistic finish go with glassing and painting. that's my plan. there have been many threads on how to glass and paint lightly. practice on another model before you do a heavy-prone plane like the TF. i did my first practice on an OK models P51 and it came out just 2 ounces heavier than published range. you'll get lighter as you build more.

I need to research how to "glass" a plane made totallfrom balsa..... do you have a good tread for me to clue in on?

I have a TF Spit waiting a turn at the building table. It was not designed to be glassed for strength, and is structurally sound without it, so glassing would be for smoothness. IME, glass is messy, expensive, hard to work and can be pretty heavy. IMO, in the event of a crash, it will not save the airframe, and is difficult to repair. From posts I have read on the TF Spit, weight is not our friend, so I intend to use the following old trick:

I use clear butyrate dope and silkspan, filled and sanded with a dope/talcum powder sanding sealer and primer/sand to the smoothness desired.....

Materials (LHS should have all but talcum powder - unless you have a "different" LHS ): Medium weight silkspan, clear butyrate dope (2 qts should cover the Spit, may take another pint), dope thinner (1-2 qts), 1 bottle talcum powder (scent at your discretion ), large 2 inch brush, tack rag, sanding primer (spray can or airbrush), wet/dry sandpaper 240, 360, 400, (and 600 - 1200 if you're a masochist! )

Preparation: After balsa surface dings are filled and sanded smooth, brush components with two coats of clear dope - about an hour (dope dries FAST, and the balsa will suck it in like a sponge) When dry, lightly sand balsa fuzz off with 240 grit paper. Remove dust with barely damp rag.

Covering: Cut silkspan piece of a convenient size* - can do an entire .40 - .60 wing panel in one piece with a little practice - dip in water, lay on towel to absorb excess water, apply dope to the area to be covered with a large brush, lay damp (not dripping) silkspan on the model (If I think the silkspan is too wet, I'll lay another towel over the wet silkspan and press excess water out. The silkspan should be just damp to conform to the surface, definitely not wet), brush another coat of clear through the silkspan to attach it to the balsa. If the piece doesn't go on right, just remove it, reposition it, or trash it and cut another... Repeat till all components are covered - on the Spit, I expect covering to take about four hours. It goes pretty quickly once you get a rhythm going Note - when dry, any excess silkspan hanging over edges can be either cut or sanded off easily, and the next coat of dope will lay the edges down nicely

*I usually precut all the silkspan panels for the component I'm covering, dampen and apply, then set component aside and cut next set.

Filling: When the model is covered and silkspan is "overnight" dry, brush on a couple of coats of clear dope, sand lightly with 240 grit paper, then thoroughly mix about 25% talcum powder in a jar with clear dope, brush and sand till the silkspan weave is filled (3 - 5 coats), stirring up the talcum powder regularly. I keep the talcum/liquid percentage about 25%, but progressively thin the dope as more coats are applied, with the last coat being about 50/50 dope and thinner... Filling time depends on drying - may take a while in the winter... I would plan two building sessions of 3 - 4 hours

Finishing: When the silkspan weave is filled, sand with 360 grit and use a tack rag to remove all dust. Spray on two coats of sanding primer (spray can or airbrush) and dry or wet sand and reprime and sand to the finish you want. In a fit of passion a while back, I ended up wet sanding the primer with progressively finer paper, finishing with 600 grit... talk about smooootooooth Time depends on finish you want... I'm planning four hours, then another four or six for the camo scheme...

HTH

Jim

Jimbo, I am going to print your technique for future use.... sounds very involved but will attempt it on lesser projects and see what happens.... I researched the Robart gear and was discouraged at the price of the entire system.... makes the kit purchase seem secondary. Is there a better value in retracts that are dependable? Are we paying for the name?

Tubig; I am not familiar with the spitfire in your pic of the tail. Where did you see that desert colored spitfire?

Hey Navy18!

The Century Jet system for the TF Spit listed at Tower is a complete sytem. Except for wheels of course. And a good value. Mine are holding up well!
Complete system is an air tank, valve, tubing, tubing fitting and connectors, and of course the mains. And CJ's aren't wire, there functional struts.
They may look expensive, but there not to bad really. [&:]

Yes and no on the retracts. They are what they are and price will be an issue but you have to realize that these are cottage industry efforts at best and they never sell that many sets that would drive the price down. I will add that Century Jet is a viable option and a bit cheaper as they include pretty much everything you need whereas the Robart gear has a better finished appearance and some would argue the overall quality is better. I've used both and have no gripes about either (EXCEPT for the Robart 615's but that's another story completely!). I've also used Springair with great success. These "stock" retracts are expensive only until you decide on a custom set of gear! You won't ever question "stock" gear prices again!!!
Yes they're expensive so sit down and ask yourself "can I live with fixed gear on a warbird?" For most the answer is no. It's a reality of the hobby!
Make sure you're happy with whatever choice you make and go for it! It's supposed to be fun!!!
I hope this helps,

Mark

Do the rtracts fold up the scale way with the CJ system?
Hope so. I'm working on the Sea Fury but want to build the Spit afterwards.

David

Doug and Kram...... thanks for the input on the retracts. I will checkout the CJ retracts at Tower...... I agree that a well made spit deserves to have the wheels in the wells. If you have had good luck with both, I will be a good cheapscate and let price be the guide. Can I assume there are no viable mechanical rettracts for this kit?

you could put mechanical gear in but you're on your own in figuring out where to put the servo and how to route the pushrods. Mechanical gear aren't really meant for larger, heavier, scale planes. The servos will strain to pick up larger wheels and you can forget about scale struts. Should a retract servo stall for some reason you could end up with a pile of sticks as it can quickly drain your battery. The Top Flite kits are all engineered for pneumatic gear so most of the hard work is already done for you. Don't be put off by the air set up. It's easier than it may seem initially. Ask questions here and you'll have all the help you need!

Mark

Mark,

Thanks for the retract information...... I have zero experience but with alittle help (and some $$) that will change. After the GoldbergExtra I am building now, I plan on moving into the Spitfire. Should I have the CJ retracts as soon as I start the wing? I guess I will get into all that later.

sometimes you can "build around" the gear while you save up for them but I wouldn't recommend that if it's your first time with retracts. Top Flite's step by step method is designed just for you so do yourself the favor of staying with it. You will usually have to have the gear in hand fairly early in the building process so that gear rails and things like it all fit correctly.

Keep asking!

Mark

it's in the Malta Aviation Museum. try this link [link]http://www.digigate.net/aviation[/link] lots of pics!

Took longer to describe it than to do it

Would like to use the CJ retracts because it is a complete set and will save a couple of bucks, but I already have some Robarts in other airplanes, so think I will stay with them for future commonality...

The TF Spit is designed for the Robarts, and I don't know how much modification would be required for the CJs, so I see no compelling reason to use them, since you know Murphy will visit the installation at least once!

Jim

The Century Jet gear are a drop in fit. They will fit the rails as they are set for the Robarts.

Mark

Mark,

Thanks for the info!

Jim

well, i've finally made it back to my shop and have had a chance to do some more on the tailfeathers. here are a couple of shots of the rudder. originally, i wanted to shape the rudder with a pointy top to resemble the enlarged rudder that some MkIX's had so that is why these pics show that modification. however, i could not find any MkIX's in desert camo that had the enlarged rudder so i will be removing the tip and making it more like the plans. also, i intend to have a non-functional trim tab which just needs to be separated at this point. the leading edge has been rounded instead of beveled.

here is the fin/rudder together. i've included a couple shots of the hinge gap covering. this is the first time i've tried that and it really wasn't hard to do. the hardest part is trying to figure out how far out to extend the covering over the leading edge of the rudder while not causing any binding with rudder movement. the photo with the kit box in the background was to show the difference in the kit version of the rudder (rounded tip) vs. what i wanted to do (pointy tip) but, again, i've scrapped that idea. the other photo just shows some of the lightening i was trying to do in the tailfeather area.

i've had a chance to work some on the fuse. pretty straight forward. build the top half first, flip it over and do the bottom as with most TF kits i believe. i've just done the top so far. went together well except for a problem with some of the fuse formers being too small. this problem has been addressed before with this particular kit and supposedly was fixed by TF. either i got an old kit or it not been fixed. anyway my solution was to just use the supplied formers and fill in any gaps with scrap balsa. the balsa sheet is 3/32" for the fuse and takes quite a bit of wetting, bending, wetting bending, etc to get it curve around the formers. i thought i would crack the sheet at first but by being patient it slowly formed around the formers. i pinned the sheeting in place until it dried then removed it, applied glue and pinned it back in place which seemed to work well. i also discovered a big discrepancy which is the lack of the full size template for fuse skin stated in the instructions. what is actually supplied is a small template in the back of the instruction booklet which is useless unless you scale it up exactly. i ended up just going with trial and error.

i slightly modified the instructions in that i did not inset the balsa blocks at the back of the cockpit per the instructions. this block rests next to the first turtledeck former and i could not find any documentation that demonstrated this so i just glued it in flush with existing side rail.