Giant Scale Corsair weight Top FLite
 

I am finishing up a Giant scale Corsair. A friend framed it up for me and my cuz fiberglassed it. (I am lazy). I have it just about ready but I am concerned about the auw. Right now it stands at 21 lbs. I did a rough balance and I need another 6 lbs weight in the nose to balance her out.

1st Q; Will this bird fly at this weight (I am about 4200 ft above sea level) I have a 53cc twin cylinder engine which is broken in and has flown a similar weight plane with authority

2nd Q: What is the best way to add this much weight to the plane? I have seen a couple of ideas by building a sort of platform alongside the engine and adding the weight there.


Any thoughts?

Thanks!

ALhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1982072http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1982073

Look at using two old transformers or ballasts. Dimensionally they seem to fit and have holes already in them to mount to the firewall.

Nice looking BTW. I just finished its little cousin and like yours, it is a little on the chunky side due to glass and a bunch of scale details. Just make sure it is BALANCED!

Good looking plane! Same color scheme as a club member of ours has. Need 6 lbs? Ouch ! That's almost the weight of a 12v gel cell Hate to say but,being that elevated needs more HP than 53 cc can deliver to fly a 27 lb plane satisfactorily. Dead weight will kill the HP. I recommend at least a 4.2 Sachs or a Zenoah GT80. Maybe a Moki 150. Might as well use the weight of the bigger engine. The picture is a Comp ARF Corsair 110in ws with a Moki 250 radial. 53 lbs.Paul

On the weight I would see about melting down fishing weights and pouring into the cowling and then glassing the weight in place. This will also require strong mounting system for the cowl as it now weighs 7 pounds or so. Maybe with the weight that far foward may require a little less to ballance. I remember having 5 pounds that way on one I did a while back

Thanks for the suggestions, yeah I was wondering if the weight would be an issue for this engine... the only other engine I have is a G62. That weighs more than the other engine, that could help out some

Instead of melting down lead weights, Go by yourself a ten pound bag of small shot from your local outdoors store and then you can pour that into the front lip of the cowl. Then you take and mix up some thirty minute epoxy in a cup and heat it with you heat gun and pour that over top of the shot and that will hold it in place for ever. With using the shot it should take less weight with it being that far out in the cowl.

Try lead shot in the front of the cowl with resin. That will put the weight as far fwd as possible which will reduce how much weight is needed.
Mine comes in at around 25lbs and flies at 2200ft ASL on a DLE 55RA and 22x10 prop. The performance is good. I used duck decoy lead strip weights and closed in the area just in front of the firewall below the engine. It makes a pocket easily. I put the ignition pack and box above the engine firewall box.
We get Alt Density changes in weather here that can be equivalent to 4000-6000ft so I know what you mean.

Good luck!

Awesome, I can do that. Thanks for the ideas. There is a gun shop just down the street. I am encouraged. I was running around the garage trying to figure out how to do this.

Nice corsair, and I don't see why a 53cc engine wouldn't fly the corsair

Thanks, I am going to go with it. This engine is a powerhouse with a 22X10 prop.

What's the manufacturer?

Looks like a Top Flite to me. Am I right AL? Make sure it is a bit nose heavy for the first flight.

I had a Byron Corsair, same size as the TF, which required 6 pounds in the nose to balance. All up weight was 31 pounds and it flew great on a G62. I would have been tickled pink if mine would have been "only" 27 pounds! I think your bird will fly fine and the 53cc twin will certainly fly it although it may be marginal on a warm day at 4200" ASL. My .02 cents anyway, good luck with it.

I have a TF Giant Scale Corsair, it weighs in at about 29 pounds and flies great with a Quadra 52. I had epoxied lead shot in the cowl to balance it. This was a mistake as the cowl would vibrate loose because of this weight. Cowls are not made to carry a lot of weight. I have been removing the lead in the cowl an ounce at a time and the Corsair even flies better now. Try to balance the Corsair with weight attached to the firewall in some way, also I use a six ounce prop bolt that looks scale.

Some modelers build a shelf over the engine in which to epoxy lead which extends the weight forward of the firewall.

The engine is an XYZ 53cc twin. I have been flying the engine in the ESM FW190 D9 for awhile. The engine is almost too much power. At least the motor is broken in and smoooooth. Is it the twin cylinders that smooths this thing out maybe ?


Yup she is a top flight that has changed hands 3 times just as kit until I got it and sat on it for a bit then felt the urge to buy a new plane but heard the corsair whispering my name.

The TF Corsair is a popular plane on the other side of the hills. I don't think I've seen any here that are under 27lbs. Mine is just over 31 but I'm using a 3w75 w/24x10 Xoar. Fast, predictable and lands like a sweetheart. I don't think I've seen any with less than a g62. I believe your twin will fly it but you will always be tail-end-charlie! By the way, I use diving weights. You can get them in different sizes and just bolt them to the firewall.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1982198

I have one that I bought 2nd hand and it comes in at 32 pounds with a G-62 engine. I am not sure how it will fly or even to try it. As a comparison, I have a P-47 with a quadra 100 and it is only 29.2 pound. I balanced it with usable power instead of lead. I am thinking the corsair could use more horses and less lead.

Mines 28lb, flys well on ZENOAH 62, but it hasnt got anywhere near 6lb of church roof up front, i machined up a mild steel engine mount, this was a great help, plus a stainless steel prop nut, and a high tensile prop bolt(lathe work is my job) this is as far foward as you can get any weight, makes no differance to the motor performance, no additional ballast is used, found in the past that too much weight in cowls ends up with the cowl shaking loose, you can, put SOME in, but not all of it, how do folk manage without access to an engineering shop in this game?

I'm just finishing up a TF F4U. I weighed the plane and came up with 23lbs. I still have to balance it. If one has to add weight I would use steel powder mix it with 30 min epoxy and poor it around the lip of the cowl. For Power I'm using a Tarus 55 cc engine. I used Supermonokote covering. John T.

I want a TF GS Corsair :( with a DLE 55 lol

A friend of mine had a TF GS Corsair that was kit built. Weighted in at 28# and it flew with a CRRC pro 50cc motor. I thought it would never get off the ground, but it did and flew great. We fly at 7000ft here in Colorado Springs, So Al, your plane will do just fine.

If your total weight is 27 lbs, You'll be fine. If you can, try to mount everything forward as much as possible. ( batteries, servos, etc.) I personally would not put any weight in the cowl. That's just asking for trouble. Try to make or mount steel, lead plates or make a mold of lead or steel shot mixed with epoxy to the fire wall, engine mount, what ever set up you got there. I fly mine with a G-62 and seldom fly it past half throttle.

You should contact Gary - RAM3500-RCU at his Corsair Build Thread - he is a Master builder of Corsairs and can help with questions plus he sells Steel Powder, which I also use, it is powdered steel - heavy and you mix it with Epoxy - then you can mold it, cut it, shape it, drill and tap it, etc. I am using it on my 82" P-40 and will make a mold and pour it into the mold. Then I will bolt it to the engine mount. I will use different sizes so that I can start off nose heavy then if needed, can easily remove some of the weight to fine tune the balance.

Gary is great about helping so just post on his site and he will get back to you.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-w...hread-105.html

Good luck

Keith

Putting the weight in the cowl can be a good thing, But with the std T/F mounts and normal vibriation the cowl will only last about 2 flights, as the screws will eat out the holes, even a FGS cowl.

So the ansure is to do a much more solid mounting of the cowl, add the weight to the engine box and a minimum in the cowl. I have done both. lead is durty even when mixed with epoxy best thing I have found is steel powder, or steel shot the smaller the better.

Cheers Bob T
AMA13377 Corsair Brotherhood #6