More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Well after a two-month hiatus, I'm back on the Bates Dauntless again. After a week or so of new work, I'm now pretty much done with the fuse, and ready to start the wing soon. Here's a pick of it's current status, just waiting for the dummy radial now.

Retracts are here, so I'll start the wing any day. For more pics of the construction process, especially my most recent updates, visit my SBD construction site at:

http://www.renderwurx.com/rc/SBD

C-ya!

Neo

Wow!
 

Neo, that is some project. Your web site should be referenced by Jerry himself as a building guide. It's just superb. I got a real kick out of the Hangar 37 (make sure your speakers are on).

A pal of mine and I are both building Jerry's F8F Bearcats and I'm using a RCU thread as a building log. I do agree that the plans for scale leave little room for function in some areas and may be addressed in later updates, but that's the fun of building "scale" from plans! If you're interested in seeing another "Jerry Bates" design, our thread is at:

Bates F8F Bearcat project

Keep up the great work!!

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Dave,

Thanks for the kudos... I've been following your thread too! Wow, that makes my head hurt just looking at that fuse buildup! Keep the pics coming, it's helpful to see other techniques and just "plane" fun to watch!

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Neo,

Looking good. I also got a little sidetracked from my Dauntless to fix and get ready my old planes for the flying season. I'll post some new picrures of mine when I get a chance.

Checked your website for the new pics. Love those fake exhaust stubs! and that shiny new engine! $$$!

Jim

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Tmoth,

Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing new pics of your SBD! Yeah, I've been a little sidetracked with getting some planes up in the air again too. We've had a handful of good flying days lately. When the weather's good, ya fly... when it's not, ya build!

I ordered a color chip book and dummy radial from Frank Tiano last week, hope to see 'em soon so I can get the dummy in, baffles built, and figure out my kill switch. I've got the plans for the wing all spread out... antimidating. I'll bite the bullet and start any day. Not used to building a wing in 3 sections, adding retracts, flaps, dive brakes, piano hinges, mailbox slots, bomb drops... whew! All new to me.

I'm dying to get the main construction done so I can start on all the scale detail, interior, painting, weathering, etc. That's the FUN part! Are you going to have a working bomb drop on your SBD? I've still got to figure out how I'm going to do it "in scale" (trapeze).

I just found a couple broken links on my SBD site (DOH!)... I'll have to fix 'em tonight. Once I get the dummy done, I'll throw those pics up too.

Power to the "Slow But Deadly" ;-)

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

I'm definitely having a bomb drop. I have an old Dauntless (now retired) that I had a bomb drop on and it really work neat. The sound of the wind whistling through the flap holes during the dive was something else. I didn't have a functional trapeze on it. I dropped the bomb as I pulled out so it always cleared the prop. I can send you a diagram of my release mechanism if you're interested. It worked well.

The retired Dauntless is built from the old Herb Hall plans and they were terrible. Scale outline was way off, bad parts fit, and way too much hardwood. I had to do a lot of re-engineering to even get it built but it flew well. It never looked "right" to me so I'm finally replacing it with the Ziroli one.

Dauntless
 

Neo, Very nice job on that SBD so far! Im impressed with the webpage too! I wish mine was that nice. I will be following the construction with intrest.
Evan Q.

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Tmoth,

I'd love to see your bomb drop mechanism/diagram!

FW,

Thanks, what's the latest on your buildin' board these days?

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Great looking building, and also, great looking web site, top notch work.

Mill

building board
 

Neo, Currently Im building a PCM models Me109 in 1/4 scale. Pics of the construction are on my webpage.
Evan Q.
http://www.homestead.com/evoshangar/me109.html

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

FW,

The ME is looking awesome! The scale detail is really adding life to that bird. Where did you get the acetate you used to make the scale wingtip light lenses?

TMoth,

Got my dummy radial in from FTiano yesterday... pretty cool, but not overly impressed with the quality. The cylinders were kind of "warped" and not all the exact same size. The cooling fins on the cylinders are all plugged up with excess resin flash... I'll have to spend a lot of time cleaning them out. Also, the prop shaft hole was cutout substantially off center.

I didn't weigh it before starting to work on it, but they claim it's 12 ounces. I cut a good 3/8 inch off the perimiter to make it fit. Then I hollowed it out as much as I could since it's filled solid with poly resing & microballoons. Then I had to cut a substantial groove/notch out of it to allow for my electronic ignition timing sensor on the prop shaft. After all that was done, it still weighs 9.5 ounces. I still have to add a ply backplate, mounting brackets and scale detail, so it will probably go back up over 12 ounces when done. Oh well, I guess I've got a good chunk of my nose weight covered! I'd rather add weight in the form of scale detail than dead lead on the firewall. I just hope that weight doesn't put excessive stress on my glass cowl.

Neo

supplies
 

Neo, The clear acetate was purchased at my local hobby shop. Most shops should carry it in different thicknesses. I believe its mostly used to make winshields and canopies. It is very moldable when heated with a heat gun.
Evan Q.

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Gotcha! Thanks for the tip.

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

NEO,

Here is the diagram I promised for my homemade bomb drop mechanism. The proportions are kind of off but I think you'll get the idea. It was pretty easy to make and it always worked. You have to adjust things so that the pin part of the cable pulls free of the tab on the bomb.

Jim

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Thanks, that gives me some great ideas. Is that the only support that the bomb has when being carried? No "slop" or rattling around when under load of airflow in flight?

Thanks,

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

I forgot to mention, I made a couple of cradles to stabilize it. Just a couple pieces of ply with a curve cut out. they don't have to stick out too far.

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Gotcha, that makes a little more sense. I'm gonna try to tackle the trapeze setup I think... that may help in stabilizing mine.

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

I'm going to do the trapeze too but I don't know if I want it to actually swing down. There'd have to be some sort of spring to keep it from hanging down after release. Also, I'll be fabricating my own. I can't see spending $75 for a Robart unit.

Jim

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

That's a good point. I may end up doing the same. I might have a detailed static 1000 lb bomb hooked up to the trapeze for display, and then do a working 500 lb bomb drop for in-flight use without connecting to the trapeze. The spring loading might not be worth the hassle and detract from the appearance.

PS: Pulling my hair out now trying to figure out how to mount the Frank Tiano dummy radial so that it's removable and aligns to the prop shaft!

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Maybe you could epoxy some plywood tabs inside the cowl and screw the dummy engine to those. I have one of those vacuum formed ones that I picked up at the Toledo show.

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

That's what I'm trying to do. It's just that you have to know EXACTLY where to glue the tabs in so that when you screw the dummy to them, it's perfectly aligned "on center" around the prop shaft, in correct position "front to back" and perfectly levelt to the front of the cowl.

Also, I've got very little room between the perimiter of the dummy and the inside of the cowl. I tried little hardwood blocks last night but they were so small that they split out when I tried to screw into them. I'm going to try ply tabs (like you said) today and see if that's any better. Still have to get them glued into perfect position and alignment though. You only get one shot, since you can't change them once you've epoxied them to the cowl and find the cowl to be misaligned.

That's one of the disadvantages of the Tiano cowl. It's made of solid molded poly resin & microballoons, so it's very heavy (12 ounces). This means you need some pretty heavy duty mounting tabs/hardware to deal with the vibration of a big gasser. You can get away with a much lighter mounting scenario with the vaccuum formed dummies.

Neo

Dummy Radial.
 

Neo, I would suggest that before you do any thint permenant you make a card stock mock up first.. Cut the card stock and place your cowl over it.. trace the outline where the engine goes..
cut and fit the card stock so that it fits as you want it to inside your cowl.. Once you have determined that... glue your blocks on to the cowl to mate to the back side of the card stock.. you can then make a plywood plate to mount your dummy radial on using the outline of the cardstock.. Hope this helps. BobH.

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

Bob,

In theory, yes I can see how that would help and may try it. However the card stock is a flat plane and the dummy is 3-D (over an inch thick in some places). That wouldn't really verify my front to back position, or compensate for any "sag" on the front end of the cowl from the 12+ ounces of dummy.

I have literally NO play in this setup. The cylinders will be butted right up to the inside lip of the cowl, and the backside of the dummy is only 1/2 inch from the live engine and muffler. Not to mention the 1/16 of clearance around the prop shaft to the shaft cutout in the dummy.

Neo

More progress on my Bates SBD!
 

NEO,

Ziroli has the vacuum formed dummies in a couple of sizes. Look under "engines and accessories". Maybe it'll give you a little more breathing room.

Bates SBD
 

Neo, I have the same issues with my YelloeP-47 and the engine for it.. I bought mine from Aerotech and its a lot nicer from what I can tell. Its case and very clean.. My engine will sit right infront of the Taurus 3.2 I am using and right behind the chin block at the bottom of the cowl.. Needless to say.. I have nearly no room to spare either lol.. Just get the plate for the Dummy engine as close to your engine as you can and dont be afraid to open the front of the crank case of the dummy engine with your dremel.. If you feel better with a little more clearence.. go for it. its not a biggie.. Regards. BobH.