bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

China just kicking some rear ends at the games!

well I didn't get to the hatches yet, but I did remove one of the ailerons,using the lines I had traces using pins through the sheeting, and cut out the area for my retract bodies and wheel locations.
I didn't cut the space for the gear legs since I am doing a gear well, I will wait untill I am ready for that section then cut the skin out of the way.

for the ailerons the kit has you setting the hinges into the leading edge but there door style and since I am using robart hinge points there wasn't enough wood for me to feel comfortable glueing them into a 1/4 balsa stock L.E.,since I located blocks in the wing, I did the same for the ailerons, with some hard balsa they should be plenty secure.

I skinned the one aileron, after sanding a aprox.30deg angle into the aileron ribs and hinge blocks ,I then glued the balsa solid piece in place sanding the bevel illistrated in the plan side view and cleaned up the aileron well in the wing.

after I do the other side I will fit the hinges and glue the wing tip blocks,and aileron blocks I made from 3/8" sheeting glued together to form the 3/4" pieces,most of which will end up on my floor as shavings,but I just went for reproducing the kit parts as best I could.

7aso

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Excellent work!

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

thanks 7aso,
between Olympic events I have finished the other aileron and mounted them on the wing with the Robart hinge points.

a little trick I use when lining up the hinges with the surfaces without a jig is to drill the holes into the moving surface first, then with the surface,this being the aileron in place I take a fine sharpie and mark the center og the hinge closest to the pivot point on the 3 hinges, I then extend the hinge and mark the tip.

if there is any deviation from a perfect strait line it will show up when I connect the dots, not to worry I just follow that line as a general guide for drilling the holes,and in this instance the wing
I try to keep a consistant angle, entering the mounting blocks vertically,from top to bottom also, but this is not as critical as the side to side entry,if the points are off from one side to another they tend to have a bit of a binding effect which will buzz a servo almost every time.

another process I started was the wheel wells I took a little scrap wing sheeting and soaked it in a 50/50% alcohol and water solution to create the round well area,a tape roll works for holding the balsa into the right sized shape while the wet wood drys.
after it drys to a general round shape I will cut it into thinner strips for each well and then soak it again to remove any lumps and bumps to make a smooth curved wheel well,its not totally scale but the thin wing skin needs some strength in the gear area and it also keeps fuel out of the wing,since the wheels are so far forward near the leading edge.

7aso

My Feedback: (27)

I've been debating on how to make my wheel wells. I was thinking about making them out of paper cups or what you did.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

its surprising how spongy and flexable the 1/16 balsa gets when you soak it in the 50/50%solution, the denatured alcohol also helps dry the water out of the wood,the pieces I did last night are fully dry now.

its prety easy to do the balsa style wells the ones I did on my spitfire they were a chalenge being slightly eliptical in shape the round type are much easyer.

the Olympics havent started yet but I plan on doing some more work tonight while there on TV. quite entertaining so far.

bigtim

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a small but important section is my wing access hatches, a simple plywood plate for my flap horns,I want a close to seamless joint there, since its really only there if something goes wrong.

I cut 2 plates out of my 1/16 ply and then carefully fit them into each hole so the fit is so tight I needed a exacto blade to pop them out,they will be permanently secured with 4 screws each,after I fit the flap control rods.

for the aileron servo mounts, I fit them much the same way as the blank plate for the flap access, slowly trimming and sanding for a nice tight fit.

I then projected the proper pushrod angle to the potential servo location using a small spring clamp to hold it in place,I CA'd the servo mounting rails in place with a small amount of glue.

I then removed the servo carefully from the mount and again used med.CA.around the base of the rails to insure they were plenty sturdy.

after a Olympic breakto watch Mr. Phelps, and allow the glue to dry,I placed the servo back into position and marked the slot for the horn to stick out of,making sure to allow for the rubber gromets on the servos.

then I marked the lines for the servo horn to extend through the ply hatch, I drilled holes in each end of the slot and used my dremmel cut off wheel to slice the slot cleanly.

the hole I made is quite a bit smaller than the final one I need for the servo arm to travel fully, but I like to take it slow only removing the last bit after I have secured the servo in the mount and fitted the pushrod to the aileron keeping the hole in the wing as small as possable.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

well those Olympics were mighty entertaining but now that there over its back to the FW190.

as I left off with servo hatches,I will continue there.
I mounted the aileron servos into the hatches and from prior experience doing this, I have needed longer servo horns for the aileron servo,so Iwent to the LHS and got some dubro HD servo arms for Futaba, they come in handy and fit the job I will be needing them for the longer arm fits through the hatch and clears the slot so theres more room for the pushrod connection.

I have also glued the wing leading edge, and wing tip logs to the wing, the pieces are pretty large and just doing the rough in sanding generated a whole lotta dust the pics show the rough in on the wing, and the tip blocks on the aileron that still needs to have some carving and sanding done.

this is slogging work and does take some care to get the tips done right, so they have a nice even taper and smooth contour its easy to get excited about sanding and over do it,when the light is right tomorrow I will do the final touch ups .

I have also installed plywood hard points into the ailerons for the Dubro horns I plan on using just a little extra to screw too other than balsa a couple more steps and some sanding and this wing will be done.
sanding will be at a premium me thinks[:'(] but thats the deal with these kits.

thats all for now but more to come soon

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

well after some sanding and select carving I have a good fit of the aileron and wing tips quite a large chunk of wood on the wing tip area to remove for shaping but its looking like a proper wing.

another thing I am working on is the gun hood
I have made a plaster mould for making a fiberglass gun cover , this I will make my gun hood from laying resin and glass into it to build my hatch,its drying tonight and needs 24hrs to set up for use.

this is more of a experiment to see what works well for making parts that are flat, for my cowl I will most likely make a 2 part splitable mould since it will have some bumps and curves there is a great tutorial on fabricating parts here http://www.cstsales.com/tutorials.html it looks like a good and trusted method making cowls and more involved parts

bigtim

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its been a while work and the usuall stuff, but still working on the FW 190 here's what I have gotten done so far,I decided to go with a professionaly produced gun hood the one I used is from stans fiber tech http://www.stansfibertech.com/ after ordering some parts for my Top Flight FW190D9, I compared the parts and it looked so good that I went ahead and got one for the A8.
a small amount of adjustment trimming and its a go, the hood looks better than the pics show and I am pleased with the general outline.
I will trim the forward section off and incorporate it into my cowl plug once I have sheeted the fuse.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

next is the servo mounting the plans and instructions don't give you much help in this department,I mounted the on/off switch under the gun hood(pic in previous post).

I then glued some mounting rails to the fuse supports,I used some extra landing gear stock from my TF kit,it has a notch allready in it so I simply razor sawed it in half and used the notch as a glue point,it gives a sturdy mount for my servo tray I made from light ply.

as for the servo tray, I made a full size piece that fits from rail to rail with a hole to allow the servos to fit in it, then sandwiched a piece that fits in between the rails for a snug fit to stiffen the tray,and give it some thickness for the servo screws.

the forward section will hold the fuel tank and battery,I will then make another tray for the gear valve and its servo the forward tray will help hold the tank/battey securing foam in place as well.

bigtim

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so I have glued the forward servo hatch rails in and will be making the air valve and servo mount for the tray today but I thought I would post this shot of my wing mount I made from 1/4 ply,the Royal kit has you glueing in small blocks in the corners and I just felt it wasn't enough strength so I cut this bracket out and used some triangle stock to beef up the mount to the rear wing mount former.

I also made a cockpit floor out of some 3/32 sheeting and will use the area for attaching my pushrod guide another goal for this afternoon,its raining in the bay area and our club still doesn't have a field to fly at yet so I am a comitted builder,and sim flyer for now,more progress,and photos later today.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

while the first round of football games were going on a progress report Igot the forward servo mount area put together for the air valve and mini servo to sit into it fits right in there and clears the wing no problem.

this is a area where the Royal kit really leaves you hanging radio and accessory installation,again I referenced my Top Flight kit methods for finishing some of these little details I guess thats why they call these builders kits,the 2 clear tubes ending at the servo tray are for the pull/pull on my retractable tail wheel,more on them later.

next is my air bottle installation and location.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

when I was sorting out the retract air bottle supply I wasn't sure if I could mount it in the wing or not after getting the air kit from Tower the decision was made for me the bottle was just too big.
good thing its larger, I have the CJet bottle and I get about 5 cycles before it needs more air,I have a retractable tail wheel in my P-47,and I might install a larger bottle in that model I would rather have a few extra cycles to spare..

any way, what I did was make a forward crutch by tracing the bottle for the cradle,and glue it to the former under the cockpit,if I had thought this out better I would have just incorporated it into the former but this worked out and the small piece of light ply doesn't weigh much.

since the rear mount is unsupported by a former I decided I would fabricate a former and it would double as a push rod brace,using my handy scroll saw and after some trial fitting the rear crutch was ready for installation I am petty happy with the fit it sits low in the bottom of the fuse out of the way of all the pushrods and other stuff I need to cram into the space provided.

some progress photos

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

nice job Tim its really coming along , I will keeping up with the post , its great motavation to keep bashing my Fw190 ARF .

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

thanks Lou I took some time off the build but work is slowing down so I should be making more progress at a better pace now.

so I was going through my assembled parts and realized I had not hinged my elevator or made the joiner,I had the brass rod stock I just hadn't bent the U joiner,so to the mini vice I go a little heat and some hammer strikes later my joiner was bent.

I am using Robart hinge points so I needed to draw a center line on the H-stab and elevator,after drilling the holes in the stab I enlarged the opening with a slightly larger drill bit so the hinge would sit tightly to the trailing edge of the stab.

next came the elevator halves after the initial holes were drilled, I reamed the holes with a phillips screwdriver to slightly open the holes,I have found this works well with the Robart hinge points since they have a slightly flared hinge area.

after this I cut small slices on each side of the hinges so they allow the elevator to rotate, and pivot on a axis rather than swing up and down.

when I built the H-stab I let the sheeting hang off the trailing edge a solid 1/16" at the hinge line to create a channell that I sanded with a rolled up piece of 80 grit it fills the hinge line and covers up the gap,I just sanded the exess untill I was satisfied with the elevator travel.

I did the same thing on my P-47 but added the wood after the fact, this way was much easyer.

I will do the rudder tomorrow its quite a bit larger so I will have to do some additions to the hinge line to cover the gap I need to look at my scale docs for ideas.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

I did not do my elevator yet , so I glad you posted your process , I want to rebuild mine from scratch . I almost finsihed the wings , I routed my flaps inside (scale ) so they activated from the inside trailing edge , now I am working on narrowing the hold needed for the connection so I can advoid flutter when you push on the flap .
All my wing servos are ahead of the CG and main spar . I will post some pics later in the CMP section ,
Thanks for the updates Tim
Lou

7aso

My Feedback: (27)

Looking good as always. I haven't touched my 109 since late Spring. I knew I would of been too busy in the Summer so I'm waiting until it gets cold out and make it my Winter project.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

little progress on the rudder I will post some pics when I get it to a level where I am happy with it,I did get the hinges in place and the rudder rotating on a axis.

I did do some work on the mechanics of the fuse,first securing the servo trays to the mounting rails with some #4 screws, 4 for the main servo tray with rudder,elevator,and throttle.
the tray with the air valve, in case I need to access the battery and tank area I felt the 2 screws were fine.
I also cut a small hole in the valve tray so I can run the air lines out of the way space is at a premium in the forward area of the fuse and I didnt want a bunch of hoses tangled all over the fuse,more on the routing of air lines later.

next came the retracting tail wheel piston,I wanted this to be close to the CG but there was little room to move it forward of the position I have it in, a simple bulkhead to screw it in position was all it took glued to the former slightly elevated off the cockpit floor so I can run the air lines below the servo tray.
I have used a 1/2 throw air piston, since the retract is only partially tucked into the fuse,the wheel extends out fully and then tucks into the fuse with the wheel slightly exposed

before I could install the pushrod I had to mount the air tank it was going to be tough to glue the pushrod tube in place and get the air tank in, some Goop adhesive on the cradles and tank was stuck down securely,a rubber band to hold it in position for a little bit works like a charm.
I like the goop, it has good tack, and can withstand alot of vibration,I just squirt some out on a piece of paper and use a balsa scrap to apply it to the cradles.

I used a 256 push rod for actuation in a plastic tube it slides nice and smooth,I did add a brace about mid fuse behind the air bottle for some stability and might goop the pushrod to the air tank if there is any noticable flex, from my observations when I did it last night everthing was working perfectly,I want to get all the air lines and details worked out before I sheet the fuse since there's such limited access when its going to be closed up.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

some progress on the air lines I did the retractable tail wheel without the ext.for the mains to check for any leaks in the primary system looks to hold air fine with no leakss I will T off the lines I have run for the TW for the mains later.
the 1/2"throw air cylinder works perfect for the FW and tucks the tail wheel right where it needs to be,a lesson I learned from my first TW project the cylinder is burried in the fuse I hope there isnt any problems with that one.

looks like some major surgery is coming up on the forward former so my fuel tank will sit into the engine mount box,I didn't think that through in detail so I will have to improvise.
I am using a adjustable nylon mount,instead of the hardwood rails that come with the origonal and will incorporate a bit of R.thrust in it as well.
I will build a mounting box large enough to allow the tank to clear the former,I test fit the OS 91 surpass and it looks to be a good fit, I also have a OS 61 2st that could work as well there looks to be plenty of room for the engine to sit upright in the engine compartment.
still a few more details to go and I can button up the fuse with sheeting and start the cowl process.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

so I worked out the engine mount box it was a fairly simple process I had some 1/4" ply for the firewall which I cut to fit between the 2 fuse rails.

I then traced the firewall onto the main fuse former I needed to cut,the large block of wood for the wing mount will serve as the anchor point on the bottom, and with my handy dremmel cut off wheel I made short work of the job cutting inside of the lines for a little extra wood to glue to.

after placing the firewall in its location, I use some plywood pieces to fill in the sides,using CA to tack them in place when I was satisfied with the fit I used a liberal amount 30 min. epoxy to secure the firewall clamping it in position.

after it was set I used some poplar tri stock that I had in my shop again used epoxy to secure the box firmly to the former, I really am not to worried about a little extra weight in this area since I will need some for ballance anyway.

I am leaving the fuse stringers in place for now so that I can use them for the cowl shaping after that process is done I will cut them off flush with the engine mount box.

I am still trying to decide weather or not to mount my engine inverted or not whatever way conceals the engine best will win the penciled in marks are for a upright installation part of the reason I wanted to use a fiberglass cowl was to provide more room in the engine compartment,the wooden built up front fuse was a bit constricting.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

installed the push rod tubes after using a round file to create smooth angled holes through the fuse,at the tail wheel bulkhead, I glued the tubes with a mixture of epoxy and micro balloons to strengthen the exit holes.

I cut the pushrod guides at a angle,then sanded them flush to the fuse after the epoxy was hard,then checked for smooth travel they worked perfect just as they should.

next came the pull/pull cables, I used 30lb plastic coated steel fishing leader for the cables,with a crimp at the tail wheel and EZ connector on the servo arm they work perfectly.
the crimps and leader was just a few $$ at the local bait shop and I have more cable than I need,the little metal crimps are really strong once there squeezed flat they don't let go.

I found the first time using these retractable tail wheels that the regular EZ connectors dont crimp down on the thin wire,and need a half flattened 256 wire, used as a key, so the screw would tighten down enough, it was a pain to use them there tiny and always falling out.

I scavanged the ones I am using from my Hangar-9 P-40 gear, that were not being used any more, they worked out great very easy to adjust and they tighten down fully with the hex screw they come with.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

so just a few minor fuse details.

tonight I decided to get the wing mounting screws in place.
after aligning the wing in the fuse I marked the locations for the blind nuts I would use I actually prefer to use the"tap the hardwood method"hardening the threads with thin CA, but I went with the easy way and got some 1/4-20 blind nuts to use for my plywood mounting plate.

after marking the hole locations and drilling the holes I set the screws using a screw gun to burry the blind nuts in the wood much quicker than by hand.

when drilling the holes in the wing I was a little off but I plan on adding a ply doubler at the screw hole, so I went ahead and enlarged the holes so the wing is set properly.
I also used what I call my beater screws to temp mount the wing, using metal 1/4-20 screws allows me to not have to be so carefull with the screws, I will use nylon wing bolts for the final install.

with the wing mounted I did a visual inspection and was not too pleased with what I saw the tail section is a bit off and has a bit of a twist in it.
it will require some tweeking to straiten the rear of the fuse not alot but enough for concern,when its perfect I can install the rudder and elevator,then I will sheet the rest of the fuse.
more on that when I get to it,one area that top flight kits has a advantage building there fuselage in upper and lower sections, and the wings with there buid jig tabs.

this build is a definate learning expierence if I do another Royal project,I have a Me109E kit I will cut the fuse formers in half,using vertical reference lines to insure a strait fuse build.

7aso

My Feedback: (27)

It's finally starting to look like a 190!

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

just starting to LOL.
I decided to work on the wing saddles tonight after working out some of the bugs with the tail not as bad as I had origonally thought it was going to be.

what I had thought would be a good method was to incorporate the basic Top Flight wing saddle, using some 1/16 ply to form a saddle and perch for my balsa and filler wing gusset this also provides a good seat for the wing.

it took a bit of meassuring to figure out the actual dimentions of the saddles in the origonal design there is a large chunk of balsa wood that works as a fillet and a key to lock in the wing, but I have other plans for this part of the build.

after working out the general shape and drawing that out on a piece of ply, I cut the shape out with a stanley knife,the regular exacto is a bit weak for the job and the sharp sturdy blade of the stanley makes short work of the job.

with a bit of fitting,not much, I was satisfied with the general seating of the plywood into the existing wing contour on the fuse,so placing the saddles in there locations, making sure they were as close to the final locations that I could place them, I mounted the wing into the fuse.

with a couple of minor adjustments,after I was satisfied with the placement of the saddles I tacked them in place with Med.CA to hold them.

I also installed some balsa blocks in the forward area to provide a solid base for the saddle to seat once the CA is dry I will remove the wing place some wax paper between the wing and fuse and apply some epoxy and micro ballon mixture to some of the high stress contact areas more on that later.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

more on wing mounting and saddles.
this kit has a wing locking system where a strip of wood keys into the forward block of wood at the fuse.

it also uses the forward fairing to control sideways movement I am still on the fence as to weather or not to install a extra dowl pin into the leading edge for extra strength but for now it seems as though its pretty strong.

having the wing in its proper place I glued in the final piece of sheeting at the wing saddle, after checking the plans for placement the fuse half of the fairing was installed F-41.
once this was done I could glue in the cresent shaped pieces on the wing, I had to laminate together, to achieve there thickness several weeks ago, when I was preping and copying the parts from the kit.

after all these little blocks were fitted and glued in place making sure not to glue the wing as well, I rough sanded the bottom to get some of the wood to resemble its final shape the chunk of lumber in the wing connection at the L.E. is pretty substantial and is going to take some sanding I am sure glad I have pared down some of the carving that the origonal model has.