onewing

My Feedback: (27)

Forgot to mention two more things:

1. CG: On his thread posted on 12/30/2002, f4you suggested move the CG 1/2" ahead of the forwardmost recommended position. I did that, and the plane flies very smoothly.

2. Robart 148 rotating landing gear holds up pretty well. Much better than the 60 sized 615.

Onewing

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Going to ebay to "buy it now" on the servos. I think they were of average strength as opposed to the little tiny weakest ones that are like 10 oz/in. or something.

Excellent to know on the CG. To be truthful, I don't mind flipping the door switch separately. I think that setup you've got is tough to beat for reliablity and simplicity though it's just one of the successful options as we've seen.

My 148's are good units. They seem nice and tough, very able to hold up to the load. I've got two sets of wheels to buy this week, the Aerotech's for this plane, and a set for my 1/5 FW, and between the two, it'll be more than 200 bucks.[]. I can buy new wheels for my Honda for that, four of them. But, hey, I'm not in this hobby to save any money anymore. Good stuff costs dough.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

RT,
mate love the way you have your gear doors done, excellent work. Could you post some pics of the front as to how the front door is hinged at the bottom and the trailing arm linkage you use to the gear strut?

thanks
cheers
Peter

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Pete


Will try to take some close up's, later this week and post.

Bob T

bosssman

My Feedback: (35)

Hi Bob, Mike, et al:

I am embarrassed that I started this thread and because of what happened to me job-wise, I have been hanging in the background. I am AMAZED at some of the posts I have read and the DETAILED PICS of operating gear doors and cockpits and other GREAT ideas!! I am almost ashamed to post any pics at all as I am WAY behind you guys - I have the top fuse done and sheeted and starting on the bottom half. I have FINALLY finished up laminating that MASSIVE main spar from 6 separate pieces. Keeping it aligned during each phase of gluing was a challenge, but I ended up with a fairly flat and straight main spar and have begun to glue the ribs to it to create the center section. I want to keep going on the center section so I can get to the retract mounting phase and follow along what Bob, Mike and others have already accomplished....

I must say for those that don't have this kit that it is BIG. I have other large kits waiting in the wings including a 1/5 Pica P-40 and Pica 1/5 Spit to mention a couple. I also have a Saxton Hellcat, which is a "knock-off" of the very popular Byron Hellcat. Now that sucker is HUGE!!! But, it is of fiberglass and foam wing/tail feather construction which doesn't really equate to building a 100 percent balsa 80+" warbird. I am extremely grateful for all the ground work that has been laid and hopefully I will be able to contribute a bit myself....

randy

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Hi Randy

I ve seen your name lurking around RCU so I new you were out there, But it great to have you back cant wait for some pic's,


Bob T

onewing

My Feedback: (27)

Randy,

George Jenkins wrote a review article on this kit for R/C Modeller magazine. You can find that article on Top Flight's website.

He made many re-enforcement on the structure which I followed. The obvious ones are:

1) Add shear webs on the outside wing panels. I was really surprised the original design does not have shear webs. Even TF's 60 sized warbirds have shear webs.

2) In the original design, the ribs are just butt-glued to the main spar. I think that is too weak. George Jenkins add triangular pieces (I forgot did he use spruce or balsa) to re-enforce those areas.

3) Use 1/8" dowels to re-enforce the structure: fire wall, wing mounting area, landing gear area, etc....

It is an article worth reading.

Also, I used the control surface throw specified in the instruction for both high rate and low rate. I found that with the CG recommended by f4you (1/2" ahead of the forwardmost recommended position) and the high rate recommended by the instruction, the airplane flies very well.

Onewing

bla bla

Or in other words... dare I say... generally overbuild it in the good ol' scale tradition?

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Randy

I have read All[>:] the wright up's on this Kit and have been building my secound, One the wing is plenty strong as designed, if I were to build a third I might add a stub spar bhind the wheel wells and just giggles webbing the first space out boardof the c/section, uother whise keep it light also add the firewall mods for cooling as well as the rudder and wing tipmods for looks. if I was looking for a SCALE bird to build then I would pick a different kit

Bob T

Iam ready for some pic's

onewing

My Feedback: (27)

bla bla,

I think this is one of the reasons we like to build from kits. Each person can build it with his own flavor. This is just a hobby, and there is no absolute right or wrong in terms of how strong your structure should be (well at least it has to be safe). I admit that I may be over-building a bit. But hey, this is my kit and I like it that way.

The extra weight coming from re-enforcing the structure obviously did not affect the flying quality. This airplane flies so well that I am glad I did not skip those re-enforcement because of the fear of weight gain.

Use common sense to decide if you should make some re-enforcement. If you can strengthen the structure by 10% with a 1% weight gain, then it is an viable option.


Onewing

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Onewing
As long as you are happy , thats all that counts


Bob T

ctflyboy

My Feedback: (3)

Bossman, & to ALL
I am grateful for you starting this thread,I have built a few scale projects but, all I had then was books for references, I have learned so much from all of the input from this thread.Its nice too know that there are people out there that have a wealth of knowledge and are willing to share it with you.

Man, THIS IS A GREAT HOBBY
Thanks
George

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Ctflyboy

You were asking about my muffler take a look at post's 53, 55, and 56 in this thread, if you can print them do so as it will help when I get the dim's together for you.


BobT

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Hi every one

Still need an ansure to my question about cowl flaps on a stans cowl, (see post 265 pg 11 )any help on this will save me a 40 mile one way trip to our big mpls libary,[>:]

Bob T

Rocketman612

My Feedback: (85)

Bob,

I do not think you can bend the fiberglass without breaking or weakening it to an unstable level to get the results you are looking for. You have two options.

1) Leave the flaps as they are and make a larger exit area on the bottom of the cowl. 2x as much exit area as intake area.

2) Cut out all of the flaps that would open on the full size plane (remember the flap section at 12 o'clock doesn't open). Then reattach the flaps in the desired position with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. Round the front of the firewall as much as you can to help. The angle would be about 30 to 45 deg. Make a mockup with posterboard and see how it looks.

Pete

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Pete

Sorry[] to be so slow in responding I will try to discribe how I did mine, At the bottem or leading edge I used a large do-bro pined hinge, with the tang cut off, so the pin can be pulled, The lay up is one layer 3/4 oz, one layer of 5 or 8 oz mat and one layer of 4 oz cloth, except at the hinge area there an extra layer of mat and 4 oz cloth. then I notched both the strut door and the hatch in set the hinge, then a outer layer of 3/4 oz cloth. Now about the strut atachment, its a spring and a piece of fuel tubing for a stand off, (I like to keep things as simple as posable) I looked at several ways to do this and this was the best for me, my build is what I call fun scale as this is only my second time.

Hope this helps hear are some close up of the detales

Bob T

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Rocketman612

Youve hit it on the head, just thought some on would have a better way,Thanks any way for the info..

BobT



PS the previous post was for Peter oz

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

Bob,
thanks for that and no worries, very much appreciate you responding. I have a large pile of carbon fibre mat, maybe aBOUT 8 OZ WEIGHT so may use that for doors as it will be plenty strong and light as well. Will try that out on the 47 doors.

I am quite some way from even starting this kit as I have my GS TF P47 to finish off plus the refurb on my 82" P51 then have a TF Cessna 182, a 48" Ultimate Bibe and a Tiger 60 to build ( that is the wifes).

Oh and forgot I will be stripping down and overhauling my 90" Mk XII Spitfire. Order of prioroty may change about a bit but the Corsair will be towrds the end, besides the Cessna has been waiting since Christmas of 96 when I bought it whilst on holiday in Texas.

cheers
Peter

Dave_ORCC

Hello All,

OK, so where to begin...............I recieved this kit about 4 years ago, christmas gift from my better, and I emphasize BETTER, half. It's been a long build for me for various reasons that I won't get into but, most of the major builidng (wood) is done. Just have the middle flaps yet to build. Need an engine, and main-gear retracts before going much further. Wish I had access to the internet when I started as there is a lot of good info out there and recommended mods. So far it is completely stock but there are a few things I want to do before completion. 1- Gear doors.......2- access hatch for switches etc.......3- sliding canopy (that's on the wish list) ..........I'm sure there are others but, they'll come up as I continue to monitor and maybe contribute to. I'm getting a bit of a headache reading through all the posts so far so I'll just pose a few questions and hopefully not upset anyone if the answers are buried elsewhere.

1- The manual mentions not to fly with gear leg door because it is too draggy. Those of you who've made them, are you going to fly with them on?
2- What's the deal with the Robart retracts..........I recall hearing that there were other options out there that were a little stronger. What's your opinion of the Robarts?
3- Flaps..........One servo driving three sections seems a little scary to me. Has anyone tried using maybe 2 servos driving the outboard sections and having the middle flap slaved to them?
4- Concerning the apparent necessity of nose weight (lots of it apparently) has anyone tried extending the nose slightly to hang the engine a little more forward of the CG, I think we're all in relative agreement that this isn't an "exact" scale model so adding an inch or two to the forward fuse probably wouldn't be noticed much and it might shave off some pounds.

Like I said I'm sure I'll think of more questions but that's it for now, need to go find an aspirin

I can't seem to find the few pics I have of it so far, I'll take a few and post.

Cheers,
Dave

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

Dave, To answer your questions as best I can without having flown one yet,

1) Yes, the gear fairing adds drag, pretty noticeable from what I gather. But, hasn't prevented guys from flying them this way.

2) I think you'll find most guys pretty happy with the Robarts, but yes, there are other options, all involve a healthy wait for your options. The 148's are good units though.

3) You can do like Bob has done on his flaps, using a plywood plate instead of the wire to connect the flaps. It's probably a better connection than the wire in the plans, though I know this works alright too, and it's the way I've done mine so far.

4) It appears to me that the TF model already has a nose like Howard Cosel and I'm not sure I would go too far with extending it further. It might give you a look you don't like too much. I'm using a G62 and it'll probably take about a pound and a half. I wouldn't worry about the nose weight with this engine or a bit larger as from what I've seen with the way they fly on that motor, it's not an issue....lot's of power for maneuvers.


Hope that helps. You can find everything you need through searching for this plane, but might be kind of nice to save you some effort here.

Mike

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Dave-orcc


I'll throgh in my twq cents hear

I will say that my first T/F G/S with out flaps was a hard to land, it would get down on ground effect and just float even at 21lbs. With full flaps 45 deg it would still float on ground effect but not near as bad, you have to make wheel landings, my G63 well idle at 2150 RPM vary nicely with a 20x8-10 wood .

The robarts handled 21lbs like a dream and I fly off of a grass field.

As for one servo driving all three flaps use a good hi torque unit, I will add a word of caution, if you are not arare of the carbnite problem in hi tech servos only use metal geared.

If you have not covered the tail fethers yet See pic'sI this thred about lighting holes put in all that you can it realy helps.

Good luck and hope you will post pic's

Bob t

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Correction my G62

onewing

My Feedback: (27)

Dave ORCC,

My answers to your questions, based on my experience, are quite similar to Wulf190's and rt3232's.

1. When I put the gears down, the gear doors (2 front doors and 4 side doors) did not cause any problems. I suggest you put the gear doors on when you fly.

2. Robart 148 works fine on my 30+ pounds TF giant Corsair (so far at least).

3. I built my flaps per instruction. I use Hitec 645 metal gear servos. It works fine. Use flaps the way they are supposed to be used: reduce throttle before you put your flaps down.

Like Wulf190 said already, I think Bob's way of connecting the flaps with plywood pieces is a good idea. Just make sure whatever you do has enough strength to hold the flaps together.

4. With my 3W75iUS engine, I put 2.5 pounds of weight in the nose. The nose weight does not bother the airplane at all. The airplane flies just fine.

Onewing

wulf190

My Feedback: (19)

George,

Here's your first pic of your build online!! I figured on the second one, I would make the gunsight a little larger and closer to scale. Also the inst. panel was first covered in Flitemetal on this one and looks much better than mine. I'll do this on all my future ones. After doing a couple of these now, I'm getting a better idea of them....anyone else need one done? P.M. me while I'm still on task doing them...

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Ctflyboy


Hear are some close up's of my muffler, will try to get sketch with dim's posted next week.

Bob T