John in Boston

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Chad Veich

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Thanks for the compliments John and it is good to hear from you again! Any progress on that TF Texan? I finally managed to get paint on my Midwest T-6 (after 3 years) and, with any luck, will have it and the Hellcat ready to fy by the end of the summer. Too bloody hot to fly now so this is building season in my neck of the woods!

Chad Veich

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A quick update on the fuselage progress. I've begun applying the vinyl raised rivets to the aft fuselage as well as the dzus fasteners up front. My original intention was to put a drop of glue on each vinyl rivet to simulate a raised (dome shaped) rivet but I may forego the glue process. I have made my rivets somewhat larger than scale and I'm afraid they will be too pronounced at this scale if I do the glue drops. I think just the vinyl by itself will raised enough and, although it will not have the dome shape, I think it will suffice at this small scale. I don't want the airplane to look like it was made up from boiler plates! I will run a few test samples before making a final decision.

I've also made up the plugs to vacuum form the cockpit tub and armor plate/headrest as can be seen in the photos. There will be just a bit of the seat and seat frame visible as well. These items as well as the instrument panel and a gun sight will make up the partial cockpit kit that I will offer for those interested. Slow but sure!

p 40

[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]
Chad beautiful, like having made rivets? have used glue.
Hello and congratulations
Your Italian friend
Gianluca[X(][X(]

Charles, AC6WU

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Chad,

Received my fiberglass cowl this morning, it looks great!

Many thanks,
Charles, AC6WU

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the heads up Charles and I'm glad you are satisfied with the cowl. Hope you, and all the other Hellcat builders out there, are making some progress. I'm getting close to putting paint on my prototype and can't wait to get some color on it.

grumman-cats

I got the opportunity to sit in the airzoo's hellcat this last spring. They are a big airplane.

Chad Veich

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Nice picture Jim, thanks for sharing. The P-47 is generally though of as being the "biggest" single engine fighter of WW2 but it really depends on how you define biggest. The P-47 has a longer fuse and is a tad bit heavier but the Hellcat has a larger wing span, more wing area, and stands quite a bit taller. In terms of volume the Hellcat is a bigger airplane and this is particularly evident when they are seen side by side.

grumman-cats

Ya, I got to sit in there thunderbolt two years ago. That airplane was definately made for the larger pilots. you've got room for days inside that beast. visability I think is better as well. I've also been in the P-39 and you can keep that one. Not quite as bad as the 109 but it's still a tight fit for anyone 6 foot tall. I've been in all the grumman cats and there great as far as comfort. The wildcat is a little tight, most likely becouse of the landing gear situation but that is just on the legs. everything else is good. Oh and the corsair, just don't drop anything, there's no floor in it. Speaking of which My son got an offer to ride in a corsair at the local airport while the owner pulled it with a tug over to the parking area for the Eaa flyin and he said no thankyou. He looks at me and said, "it's not like I've never been in one". Here's the picture of it. I did a walk around that I"m gonna send to mike chilson if interested.

scale dail

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Great job on everything Chad! I'll use all this info on my Bob Hollman Hellcat kit. Looking forward to seeing you and your Hellcat at the fall OEAF meet!

Chad Veich

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Thanks dail, looking forward to having the finished Hellcat at the OEAF fly-in as well as my Midwest Texan which is very close to finished.

Stay tuned Hellcat builders for pics of the finished cockpit detail coming very soon!

Chad Veich

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Sorry for the lack of progress gents. I'm currently in the process of moving and between packing up shop and the 110 degree heat it's been very difficult to find the time and energy to work on the Hellcat. I have managed to get my cockpit done and installed. Next order of business will be to get the canopy glued on so that I can make the fillet around the front windscreen and also simulate the sliding mechanism for the hood.

Since I wanted enough depth to the cockpit to accept the full instrument panel it became necessary to extend the pilot bust a bit to get him high enough in the cockpit. This was accomplished but carving a balsa plug from which a silicone mold was made and then the finished piece (as seen in the pics) was hollow cast from urethane. For anyone using the Pete's Pilot bust I can provide you with the casting so you can do the same to your pilot. Glue it on, a bit of bondo or spot putty to fill the seems, and viola!




Here he is all painted up and installed in the finished cockpit. I am not particularly fond of painting pilot busts but hopefully he doesn't look like a shiny plastic toy at least! He actually looks better in person than in the pics. Everything you see here will be included in the cockpit kit and I am also going to provide a gun sight as well. (My airplane will be finished as a drone and does not have a gun site or guns) As soon as I have this semi-cockpit kit ready I will work to finish up the kit for the full cockpit.

uncljoe

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Chad
I know what you mean with the HEAT(Its a DRY HEAT) & the next few days the forecast is to exceed 116 [X(], For the past few weeks I've haven't touched the Corsair . Its Just TOO Hot to work in the garage. Just might have to install a A/C unit in the wall , Where are you relocating ?
Joe
You did a pretty good job on painting the pilot.

John in Boston

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Hellcat builders, if by chance you're looking for small but high-quality plastic model kit as a scale reference:

http://www.hyperscale.com/2010/revie...reviewbg_2.htm

The subject is just the F6F-3 variant, but most what's there will apply to the F6F-5.

Chad Veich

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Joe, we are going to stay here on the far west side. The majority of both my wife's family as well as my own is right here so we are not going too far!

John, how are you man? Thanks for the link, good discussion of the cowl shape on the Hellcat. Interesting just how different they are coming from four different manufacturers all trying to create the same shape.

raptureboy

Where did everybody go??? I mean I know it's flyin season and all but nothing for 3 wks? I need some more great inspiration!

cold_reboot

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I was kinda hoping Chad was drawing up the plans for the 80+" P40 or Dora myself. No Chad, I haven't forgotten and I'm pretty sure others haven't as well. [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

Chad Veich

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Sorry guys, have had to take a few weeks off in order to move. Getting settled into the new place and actually worked a bit on the Hellcat tonight. Should be back to work on it steady starting this coming week. Stay tuned!

JohnMcGowan

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I hope you are doing well after your move Chad, I know moving can be a real pain, but maybe things will settle down for you soon bud.
Take care,
John

uncljoe

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Few shots before it got TOO HOT at SVF .
Joe

Chad Veich

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Thanks for posting those Joe, great shots. I've still not seen the "Super Hellcat" in action myself but I'm glad to see Robert is getting the bugs worked out. Does it look like it will be a contender?

uncljoe

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Chad
His F6 is a ROCKETSHIP believe he was running 70 % nitro .It was almost as fast as the turbine F86 that it shared the air with. Looking forward to seeing yours airborne.BTW his F6F is a HIGH Gloss black finish and you can see the reflection of the clouds .
joe

Chad Veich

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Robert wanted a scale finish but was looking for a racing-esque type paint job rather than military. There are a VERY limited number of options when it comes to civilian painted Hellcats. This one was chosen for two reasons: visibility, and because the full size happened to have a spinner as well. Very unusual for a Hellcat but it sure makes starting the big YS 1.20 a whole bunch easier! The real deal was owned by JR Sandberg way back in the '60s. This is now the Hellcat owned by the CAF and is still flying out of Camarillo, Ca. Of course, nowadays it carries a dark blue Navy scheme.

PS - As you can see, Robert still has some more red trim to add to the finish.

Chad Veich

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Stopped by Robert's to have a look at the nearly finished Hellcat. Just an N-number to add to the fuselage sides and that will wrap it up. I will try and get some pics of the assembled airplane when he flies it again in a couple of weeks but, until then, here is a sneak peak of the fuselage. Pictures really don't do it justice. Robert has provided me with a very nice write up on building and flying the Hellcat which I will post here as well as add to the web site in the very near future.

Racinrc14

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Very nice. Is that a scale pilot?!!?