PeterC

I recently came into posession of an old Mr. Gee's Grumman Widgeon Kit. [8D] It is very much like the G&P Widgeon. Span is just over 80". I have been thinking of putting a pair of old OS 61 four strokes on it inverted. Do you think these will have enough power? Has any one any experience with this kit, trimming, desired weight etc.? It has a moulded fibreglass hull and a foam core wing which comes in three pieces, what would be the best method to join the wing sections? Any other hints? This inquiry is probably for some of the old timers because I don't think this kit has been on the market for at least 20 years. As soon as I figure how to transfer pictures from my Kodak shareware to this forum I'll post some progress pictures.
Peter

PeterC

I guess no one has heard of the Mr. G's kit. How about anyone with experience with the G&P 1/6 Widgeon?
It's comming along quite nicely now. This last week I got the horizontal tail surfaces skinned, a spar put in, the tips on as well as cutting the hole in the fin for the stab to slide through. I'll join it up this weekend and then get busy on the wing. Is Spray 77 OK for attaching skins? I usually use Epoxy but this wing is pretty big and I figure the contact cement would be quicker and less trouble. I'm contemplating dual servos (HS81's) for the throttles and burying them in the wing at the rear part of the nacells. Any comments?
Peter

tonyc

My Feedback: (4)

I thought I would give you some kind of a reply on your post.
I have never built the Widgeon, but I have built a G&P Kit. It was the SeaBee. I used the 3M 77 to skin my wings and it worked just fine.
Two old 60's will be more than enough power. You will need to tune both motors to run the same based on the one that has the lower RPM. In other words don't lean the weaker motor to keep up with the stronger motor, richen the stronger motor to run with the weaker motor. I would also suggest a 3 blade prop to give yourself a smaller diameter on the blade. Water spray in the prop is a real pain.

What you should do, is order the video. G&P sells the video for building and flying all of his models. It shows you how to build his plane from start all the way to test flying. Worth the money in my opinion.

tonyc

PeterC

Thanks Tony C. I appreciate the confirmation on skinning the wing. I was concerned about the contact cement eating the foam. I will try it on some scrap first. I am quite familiar with the operation of twin engine planes as last summer I was flying a twin 25 powered home design patterned after the Herr Aqua Star. A 1.5X increase in scale lets you use a Eagle 63 wing knock off. Some extra sheeting to stiffen it up and voila; It flew great.
The 60's I am planning on using are four strokes so I think an 8 oz. tank should be enough. If I can I will try to squeeze in 10 oz. tanks.
The engines will be inverted so I hope that dosen't lead to any trouble hauling the anticipated 16 to 17 lbs of plane. So far I am amazed at how well it is going.
Peter

JimCasey

My Feedback: (1)

3m77 was reformulated within the last year or 2 and will attack foam if you glom it on too thickly. 3m78 is, I believe, foam friendly. Regardless, test on scrap.

Dave Brown's sorghum works very well, as does Gorilla Glue (polyurethane).
The Gorilla glue is, unlike the others, not a contact adhesive. There's a different technique. Squeegee a thin coat on your wing skins and core, assemble the shucks/skin/ core/ skin/ shuck, and pile on a bunch of books. The old "World Books" in the attic come in handy here. It's a real advantage they have over Microsoft Encarta on CD Rom. :-)

PeterC

Jiom,
Thanks for the heads up on 3m77 and also the new 3m78. I'll see if my local shop has the 78.
I have used polyurethane glue already on the Widgeon when I attached the spray rails to the fuselage. I think it is stronger than epoxy. Time will tell. I'm going to run a Bondo fillet between the spray rails and the fuselage to blend it.
Peter