RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Here are a couple pictures Itook of my CMP 109 which has undergonea bit of a face-lift. I took the pictures in the setting sun and the colors are a little washed out, but you can get the idea. I will send more pictures if requested. Basically, I stripped the covering, filled in the balsa and glassed the wing. I converted this to Erich Hartmann's second G-6 which involved adding humps to the wings and fuselage and painted the bird in authentic RLM 74/75/76 color scheme after adding panel lines. I made the "spoiler" radiator flap fixed and have the flaps all linked with bellcranks and activated with one servo. I drilled out the exhausts for scale appearance and weight and added a more scale tail wheel. I used Shindin retracts moved to a more scale position and raked foreward with William Bro wheels. I have a working canopy with instruments and bullet-proof glass head rest. I use a Saito 180 with Dave Platt spinner. (I had bad experience with stock spinner). The final weight is between 13.5-14 lbs dry which surprised me, but I am please. I haven't flow the plane yee, but still have to add mast and other details and let Poly-U finish cure well. Thanks you all for many good suggestions that I found invaluable during this build.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

The Hartman version is awesome, nice job!

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Absolutely great work Dornhoffer. Im a big fan of Hartmann's. I did his 1961 F-86 (the silver version). I dont think i could do as good work as you did on your planeon my ME-109.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

dornhoffer

Now thats a nice touch. Glassing the wing is a good idea if one wants to keep a good finish for awhile.

Steve<input type="hidden" id="gwProxy"><!Session data></input><input type="hidden" id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" /><div id="refHTML"></div>

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

What landing gear did you go with as that is obviously not the short little stock gear?

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

<font color="#00265e" size="2">dornhoffer</font>
&lt;script type="text/javascript">titleAndStar(4,100,0,false,"","")</script&gt;
That is a great looking airplane! How did you mange to drill out the exhausts without breaking them? Iconsidered doing that at one point but I became concerned with the part splitting or cracking on me and then not being able to get e replacement. Ihave been trying to get the wheel wells replaced for mine (they came cracked) and have had no luck.

What tail wheel did you use and is it retractable? Did you leave the steering mechanism stock, or changed it? I am making my rudder a pull-pull and am considering setting up steering in the same manner.

I would also like to know how you solved the problem of the spinner adapter? Were you able to purchase one off the shelf, or did you have to have one made up custom?

Regards,

Cesar

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Great Job Dornhoffer!!!!

Exactly what i was planning to do with my Me-109 but a differnt colour scheme.... I cracked the kit out the other day to show my dad and a flying buddy and they were both really impressed with it straigh out of the box, but what you have done with yours is really taking it to a new level.

well done mate!

yeah, come on, post some more pic's!!!!http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

Thanks

dave

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

I made my own adaptor for the Platt spinner. Used a stand off and a bolt. The stand off is machined so it fits right into the two part nut that came with the OS 1.60. It turns true and has given me no problems. My tailwheel is from Hobby King for about $6. It's a bit stiff as I mounted it but works fine. I could have used some tail weight, so a retractable tail wheel would not have been too bad, I just didn't want to mess with it.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

They are back in stock at Nitro Planes...

http://www.nitroplanes.com/mebf10.html



Beautiful work dornhoffer, make sure someone takes some vids, I would love to see it in action on you tube!!!

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the compliments, especially since I used many of your ideas for the changes. First of all for the tail wheel, I did just as Hot Rod Todd did with a very similar steering mechanism, using clevis control over the ball link. I ordered the 120 size Dubro tail wheel from Tower, but it looks to be the same. For control rods I made one for the elevator that is internal just as described by Steve (Scale craft), but I am using 4-40 pushrod systems for both the rudder and elevator. I run the plastic tubes nicely through the holes in the bulkheads in the fuselage which places them on the side so that I had room for a cockpit. I was concerned about this at first but because that are secured by each bulkhead, there is not slop at all and very little binding if you make sure you line up the holes in the bulkhead precisely.
For the spinner adapter, I ordered a Vortech xx-long adapter from Dave Brown Products and it fits perfectly( $8.95). He has them in nearly every thread imaginable.
For retracts, I got the Shindin Machine ones for the KMP 109. The quality is great and Lenny is easy to work with. I used these so that I could move them inboard rake them foreward. I am spinning an 18 inch prop and even with these longer retracts,I get only 3-4 cm of ground clearance. I use the technique discribed by scalecraft for the location and rake, but I mounded the retracts on a 3/8 " plywood u-shaped plate that mounts to the repositioned beams inderneath. In the event of a bad landing, it will usually break between the plate and the beam and save the wing. This is easy to repair. The well wells are 1/64" ply which bends pretty easlity around corners.
I cut out the air intake and added a screen and for the exhausts I used a dremmel with an olive shaped burr and carefully drilled these. I did crack one and just used a little epoxy and microballons for a quick, sandable repair.
I think the quality of this bird is crazy for the price. The covering really was pretty good and held tighlty when I tried to strip it. The balsa of the wings was maybe a little soft compared to what I would have used, but not that bad. The spinner is a bit dangerous (I bought two and had one backfire and literally explode) The canopy is not the prettiest clear plastic, but it held together when I cut it up to make a functional canopy. I wish I could get a Galland hood to make Hartmann's G-14, but I am not so good making canopies. I built the Platt 109 in the past and this looks as good and is lighter which I can't believe. I flew that baby at 15 pounds with a 90 back then!
I added a couple more pictures, but I will take some more in the shop. That was my son's camera and it does poory in bright sun. Thanks to all you guys who have given me these ideas.
John

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Its great to see modelers take steps to raise the "bar". Too often its lowered these days. These types of modifications is what keeps me interested to tweek these for the better.

Again, nice work,

Steve<input type="hidden" id="gwProxy"><!Session data></input><input type="hidden" id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" /><div id="refHTML"></div>

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Well said!

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Thanks guys,
I have enjoyed this site very much, learned very much, and realize there are some really clever modelers out there. What ismost curious for me, as a warbird modelersince the 70's, is the comraderiethat we canhave over the net. My wife thinks the insignia is "pretty"and most of my buddies at the fieldlook at this plane and wonder if it can hover or do3-D, but I have the feeling that most of the folks in this forum are like me and are more interested in a low passatfull speed on thedeck. It is nice to have people who can appreciate a109.
Ineed a figure for this plane to finish out the cockpit below. I have a Dragon figure Erich Hartmann, but I really need a flight helmet for this. Blue box used to make a Luftwaffe pilot with nice gear but I can't find it any more. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
John

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

go here quickly http://cgi.ebay.com/bi59-1-6-bbi-LUF...3A1%7C294%3A50

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Dorn , excellant work , you did the name well" Gary Dornhoffer was a great Ice Hockey player for the Flyers here in Phila -(just a side note )
Any way , excellant work , makes me want to get started on mine !!! , I love the single flap idea for function and weight savings

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Hey Manfred,
That is perfect for the helmet. I also might get the para harness. And yes, LDM, my family imgrated to Penn initially and one groups stayed in the area and the other families went to the middle of the country. If you have seen Gary body check somebody, I can promise you that I am nicer than that! He was a mean player. He still does some radio work for the Flyers in Phily is the last I heard.

Anyway, I hope to get the plane in the air in the next couple of weeks. A lot of rain in the area has made the field a swamp and with the narrow wheels,I don't want to chance it until I know how it behaves on takeoff/landings. Plus, I want to put a couple tanks through the Saito 180 in the plane and check screws. I love that engine inverted, but it vibrates a bit.
John

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Check you balance on prop and spinner, make sure your mounting scres on the motor are tight, these are the usual vibration demons.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

What pilot do you guys put in your 109?
I bought a German pilot from KMP , its nice but seems way too small.
What scale is the CMP 109?
Can anyone recommend where can I get a pilot for it?

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Motoadve,

I bought this pilot from Aces of Iron. I highly recommended them. Their web site includes tips on how to paint your pilot:

http://www.acesofiron.com/

Here's a link to an earlier post of my pilot (with photos).

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8630276

Bert

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

A 1/6 scale pilot seems to be about right. I used a cheap $6 version from hobbyking and painted it with some german uniform colors. Turned out to be a good fit.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

I put mine on the scales and it looks like I’m looking at 18.5# dry? 20# wet!

Joe

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

I'm a sucker for 109's and especially the F and early G models which is why I'm thinking about buying the CMP 109. The problem is the most experience I have building aircraft is from some light repairs I've done on one of my planes because I've had other people build them for me.

The main thing I'd like to do on the 109 when I get it is customise the gear so it's placed in the correct spot instead of kind of halfway down the wing but that's where it gets tricky because I have no idea how to go about doing that or what I'll need to do the job. Could somebody give me any hints or tips on what to do so I don't end up destroying the wings? [:o]

I live in the UK if that helps.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Paladin, what did you do to add all the weight to your plane? 18.5 lbs is awful heavy for the wing area it has. It will fly, but it won't fly slow. You'll have to come in fast and allow plenty of time to build speed on takeoff.

Sethorion, I would not think that moving the gear would be worth the effort. It will make the plane ground handle worse, and you would have to completely change the wing structure to get the gear mounted farther inboard. The gear is not halfway down the wing, but it is a bit farther out than the real thing. Getting the gear long enough and the wheels big enough will also be hard. I think the gear looks pretty good at the field, and I haven't had any comments about the stance being too wide.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

Okay, that should make building the plane a lot simpler.

Something that does worry me though is I'm going to be flying it off a grass strip and I'm thinking about buying some larger wheels for the gear but I'm not sure if the slots that are in the wing for the gear will allow me to do so.

RE: CMP BF109F BUILDING THREAD
 

This is one of the things I don´t understand on many ARF and CMP is special here ;)
Why they are doing all those planes with small wheels and incorrect retracts location?
This makes huge difference