PSJDBF

Going to order a 23X10 prop to get the RPM up over the 7000 RPM on the Zenoah G80.
Continued on the cockpit details today ...made up the right hand ledge fitted up the radio made up the bomb release levers & butter fly fuel selector switches,also fitted up the flare pockets & flares but cant see them in the pics.
Also made up some simple plugs & wiring for the radio sets.
Just the elevator trim wheel to be fitted on the LH side & the piping & paint of the pump on the ledge.
Hope everyones new year went off well, all the best..
Steff.

PSJDBF

earned my beer ration today !! very hot & I just wanted to finish the cowl flaps I had started yesterday.
Should have only taken a couple of hours ..BUT as per the norm when your in a hurry things dont go to plan, so ended up working on all afternoon in the heat.....so the beers arn't even touching the sides !!.
Opened up the cowl flaps to help keep the zenoah GT80 cool in the heat, & it has opened up quite alot of area for the hot air to be drawn out.
Spilt some glue on the fuse when trying to get them level so ended up having to sand back a couple of spots on the fuse & re paint ( the dramas that took the time !![:@]).
Anyway happy with the way they have turned out.. will get some blanking grommets to fill the cowl mounting holes when its on & a little sanding to tidy up the inside, but after fibreglassing the flaps they are very firm & I think look good, but more important should keep the engine nice & cool.
I also opened up the supercharger inlet to allow air to flow over the top cylinder.
I used some carbonfibre sheets glassed inside the cowl to mount the cowl to the fuse then cut the original flaps from the cowl & opened them out fitted some braces made up & glassed, once glassed I then removed most of the braces with a dremel.
Steff.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

bloody good work there mate!

PSJDBF

Hey thanks Peter, esp coming from someone with your experience,....any tips ?.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

LOL I just muddle along! What tip are you after? Work hard and be good to your mother!! hehe

baffle each side of the cycliner head as I have done is about all you need. Maybe open up the bottom of the cowl a little so you have more exist area. Cowl flaps might restrict a little. Just a thought. Run it first and see how it goes.

Cheers
Peter

PSJDBF

Do you think the way the cowl flaps are open may cause more of an issue than actually helping ?.
I'll open up more space around the exhaust exits but maybe a bit tricky for the top unless I open the area around the machine gun barrels more ?.
Cheers.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

in ty of exit area, just had another look at the cowl flaps and there is actually quite a large area there.

PSJDBF

Elevator & rudder trim wheel.....Done !!.

77chickenhawk

and where did you get the knobs and goodies?

PSJDBF

Well the toggle switches on the radio,gauges, throttle handle are from propagteam, the rest has been painstakingly made by myself .
I use some light ply covered in textbook cover material to make the panels etc, I scronge around at home & at work (gets me some strange looks ) to find stuff to use eg relay boxes for radio boxes blanking pins for rotary knobs I also use alot of stripstyrene to make things.
The butterfly switches for the fuel selectors for example are made out of an electrical plug blanking pin with the wing parts made from stripstyrene then when painted makes them look the part.
The trim wheel was one of my sons destroyed cars mag wheel ..cut down then had a timer actuator arm as the rudder trim handle, fishing trace going through a clipsal screw hole plug attached to a cut off section of an old relay..then painted.
All up it would have cost about $1 to make not taking into account the time..and abit of junk.
I guess you would have to love tinkering & sometimes the wife get's pissed when the brain is off in la la land thinking about it.
If you would like some bits PM me as I have stacks of junk in boxes now.
Steff.

77chickenhawk

wow your as bad as me.... outstanding work

PSJDBF

Well today was spent attaching the rest of the canopy & Antenna, then couldn't help putting it all together to see how it's shaping up.
Flap linkages, wheel covers & retract;s plumbed up...Balance & smaller Dia prop & she should be done !.
Posting some pictures of the finished cockpit then some of the assembled plane.

PSJDBF

The assembled plane .Also will be doing a little weathering over the next week.
Steff.

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

Very commendable work!

PSJDBF

Thanks Lifer.
Well today I completed my spark plug mod, changing the original plugs & ignition boots to CM6 sized.
The boot kits were easily fitted to the HT leads following the simple photo instructions, however the thread on the plug adapters hadn't been cut deep enough so had to buy a 14mmx1.25 Die & re cut the thread, then installed the adapters with a small bead of liquid gasket.
Installed plugs & connected ignition system & am pleased to report that I no longer have to cut my cowl up !!.
I now have about 10mm clearance between the plug boot & the cowl..well worth doing if your GT80 doesn't quite fit inside your cowl.
Pictures as ussual.
I also started weathering the fuse using a Silver & red permenant marker & cotton tips, which I'm also happy to report has turned out better than expected.
I have noticed on most picture I have of heavily weathered Zero's that the red primer is quite noticable so wanted to try & get a similar result.
will post some pictures of the weathered fuse when finished.
Cheers Steff.

P.s cant seem to load pictures will try again soon.

PSJDBF

Finally able to upload pictures.
1st two are the original plugs the rest CM6 plugs.
Cheers.

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

Does the ducting muffle the exhaust at all?

PSJDBF

I'm pretty sure it does, there is still a wee bit of a crack to the exhaust note, but it's certainly not as loud as I was expecting.
If you look back to post 670 I have uploaded a vid of the first run ups, you will get an idea.
Should mention that it was under a Patio so there is a fair amount of reveb noise.
Unfortunately I have never heard it run up on the original exhaust so cant comment on a comparision.
Cheers.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

it is reasonable quiet on the original muffers, has a small crackle but overall it is very quiet on my Seafury.

7500rpm on a 21x12 mejanik - brand new motor too!

PSJDBF

Hey Peter, Hopefully I will get mine up over the magic 7000RPM with the new props.
Have been playing around with some weathering ideas the last couple of days using some oil paints & Permenant markers, Plus alot of cotton tips.
The info I have states & shows that when the top coat of paint wears or chips the redish oxidising primer is quite noticable so I have been trying to reproduce the same effect.
However it also states that the quality of the paint & primer used on the Zeros was actually very High & stood up to the demands of combat & difficult Pacific conditions very well ( unfortunately I read that after I started )so will be dirtying up the paint work more & less of the chipped & worn paintwork.
Slowly finding out what works & looks ok & what doesn't (to my eye at least).
Alot more to do though before clear coating.
Cheers Steff.

Peter_OZ

My Feedback: (1)

with weathering if it looks about right then it is too much
SUBTLE is the key

PSJDBF

Hi Peter, yeah going for a more dirty look now,
I have reshaped those horrible wheel pants to a more scale look, & have started dirtying up the wings & fuse.
I'm happy with the look of it & will do less chipping or wear on the paint work & more staining etc.
On another happy note Today I ran up the GT80 with the new plugs & boots & a Hover 22X10 CF prop & got 7400RPM which settled to 7300 when the engine warmed up.
Will need to fine tune it but happy to be over that 7000rpm mark now & the prop seems to produce alot of pull...was bloody loud though !![X(].

PSJDBF

Resealed all the retract cylinders to eliminate the major air leaks.
I may slow down the retracting of the mains but as long as they are going up & down with no major leaks I'm not that fussed on the speed.
Have the weathering to finish & clear coat then the choke linkage & balance before the end of the week as I need to get it up to headland so Brad can certify her.
Wanting to head down to Warbirds over Mundijong at Easter with Brad & time is quickly running out !.
Cheers Steff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjuc7IgfGAE

umitv

My Feedback: (15)

Guys, I'm looking for this plane. Tbm don't sell it anymore. Yt international is far away (shipping issue) Do you know how can I find it?

PSJDBF

Well I have finally completed my Zero, still requires balancing but the paint work is completed & sealed with clear coat.
It's been quite a project & am pleased with my first attempt at a complete new paint scheme for a model.
I tried to come up with a way of keeping everything in the cowl but due to the chokes location & the way it is opened/closed I ended up having to run it outside the cowl however I did manage to make it look as discreet as posible ( first picture ).
Took lots of pictures just in case !! & posted some for your veiwing.
The only thing that I'm not really happy about was after clear coating the gun streaks looked a little darker than I had wanted but that can be fixed in the future.
Thanks all those who have helped, next posting will hopefully be after a successful maiden.
All the best Steff.