Wave King CG?
 

Anyone happen to know the correct CG for the Wave King seaplane?

RE: Wave King CG?
 

Did you get an answer to your inquiry yet on the C/G location for your Wave King?

RE: Wave King CG?
 

I have a Wave King (60 sized) partially built in my collection of aircraft. Construction came to a grinding halt when the fuselage fell over in the shop and the plastic bottom split open about 3" long just behind the step.
Does yours still have the plastic fuselage or did you find a fiberglass one somewhere? C/G is about 3"- 3-1/2" rear of the leading edge. It's not too critical with such a long fuselage. I was thinking of scratch building a new fuselage along the lines of the Drake.
Peter

RE: Wave King CG?
 

Peter - good to hear from you.

I only very recently acquired my Wave King - in fact, I thought it was a Ken Willard designed Wavemaster until I got the "plans" for what I actually have. I see you found out where the C/G is supposed to be......

Yes, mine still has the original plastic fuselage, BUT, when I flex the central join, there are ominous crunchy noises at various places, particularly near the tailplane. Makes me just a bit nervous. My fuselage is joined with what looks like fiberglass matting (?) and what I assume is epoxy, but of course don't know what the resin is for sure.

I was sorta considering making a fiberglass mold from the fuselage before I started working with it, but that's a lot of $$ and work if I only make 1 fuselage from the mold. Also, my fuselage has quite a wow in it on top, behind the wing saddle. I'd want to straighten out a few things first, and also try to incorporate some sort of spray rails into the chines. You could, of course, always build a wooden fuselage, but that's a ton of work too.....

The previous owner has coated all of the balsa surfaces with what looks like the old red oxide automotive primer. That would have to come off, and quite a bit of work done in trying to neaten up and flatten the balsa surfaces. It's not too bad, but I am also a little suspect as to what adhesive was used to glue the balsa skins to the foam cores, and also the cores seem awfully soft, even for expanded bead foam... The wing center joint and pylon are not 'glass reinforced either - lots of details have been overlooked, and the overall work on my kit is not up to acceptable levels for my workmanship. I'd also want to redo the wing floats - mine don't look right at all... The "plans" / instructions leave much to be desired. I guess the assumption was that only highly experienced modelers would be purchasing the Wave King.

I was considering covering the entire model (except the fuselage) with light 'glass cloth, and maybe try using water-borne urethane as binder / adhesive. What are you using for final finish?

If I was to make a fuselage mold, it would not be for a long time - I simply don't have the room where I am living now.

I'd like to learn the following:
- when was the Wave King offered for sale
- where was the kit made, and by whom
- how much power can the model handle - the .60 (especially the older, loop-scavenged engines) seems rather too small
- any other information, history, flying and handling experiences and tips..........
Cheers
Rudy

RE: Wave King CG?
 

Hi Rudy,
Yours sounds just like mine, ripples in the aft fuselage and all. I have not yet covered the wing as I was going to make a twin out of it using a pair of 40's. As I said, mine is on hold for now so time will tell. I have become a fan of using Ultracoat for finishing balsa. A couple of applications of balsarite and a light sanding. This seals the wood and helps adhere the covering. The fuselage was just going to be painted, probably with Lustrecoat.
As you probably know the kit came out of Quebec Canada. I forget the name of the company but it is of no matter as the plane and instructions were pretty bad. I agree with you on the tip floats and I was going to re-engineer mine. I think a good 60 would pull her along pretty well. A OS 61 FX comes to mind.
I hope too be on the island this summer, keep in touch.
Peter

RE: Wave King CG?
 

Hello, I'm looking for a Ken Willard designed Wavemaster kit and noticed this thread. The Wave King sounds interesting. Rudy thought his Wave King was a Wavemaster so they must look very similar. Also interesting they both have a plastic fuselage. Please post a picture of the Wave King. I'll post a couple pictures of the Wavemaster. Mike

RE: Wave King CG?
 

I have an old catalog from Horizon Models in Nova Scotia that was selling the Wave King kit. My buddy & I have long suspected it was a copy of Ken Willards Wavemaster. It would be nice if someone could get a Wavemaster and draw up a balsa hull so the design could be resurrected. It is way to nice a plane to let fade away.

RE: Wave King CG?
 

I agree. This Ken Willard design should be resurrected. It's a beauty.

RE: Wave King CG?
 

I realize this is a very old post, but just today have found it again.

My Wave King is still just sitting in the corner, being patient and awaiting my attentions. Drawing out an outline of the fuselage without engineering internal structure would be easy enough, if anyone is up to designing their own internal structure. Also tracing out the wing and tailplane airfoils is easy enough. Why, you could even design your own built-up wing structure....

There is what appears to me a serious weakness in the tailplane, in that the horizontal stab is simply glued into the unreinforced saddle, and the vertical fin simply butt-glued onto the top of the stab. As the rudder is completely above the stab, there is no rudder post to tie things together. I think this area calls for a redesign.

Then there's the wing-mounted tip floats. Ken Willard's design had them gum-banded in place; the Wave King version is similar. There has to be a better way here too.

Needless to say, the wing needs bolts - gum bands are out here too.

If I knew there was sufficient interest in this design to make creating a fibreglass fuselage mould worthwhile, I'd be tempted to get going on such an endeavour. Any input on that?

I'll try to stay current on this discussion.

Cheers!

I've never flown a seaplane but is on my list of fun airplanes to build. I've seen several kits similar to the Wave King. The Sea Bird 600 by Du-Bro. The Wavemaster by King's RC Distributors and the Harpoon by J. L. Modelcraft. These all had a plastic fuselage except for Harpoon with fiberglass fuse.

I found some pictures of a Wave King. It's not a copy of the Wavemaster but maybe a copy of the Sea Bird 600. The Wavemaster is more streamlined. The windshield has a more laid back angle and the engine pod is thinner and longer.

I especially like the Wavemaster and have been searching many years for a kit. I was lucky enough to find the plan along with a few plastic parts for the motor pod and tip floats. The plan isn't full size but could be enlarged for scratch building. I like your idea of making a fiberglass fuselage. I might do the same.

Attached some pictures I found of these kits. Please post a picture of your Wave King.

I will post pics when I get back home. That will be late this month.

I think the Waveking by Willard is a more esthetically pleasing design. If I eventually do make a fiberglass fuselage mould, I intend to make it more like the Willard design. I prefer the engine mount on a firewall, so would modify the engine pod accordingly.

To make a fuselage mould less financially daunting, producing a number for sale would make sense. Wonder how many buyers might be interested??

All good stuff for future consideration. Right now I need to get back to completing the finishing woodwork on my "vacation" house.

Cheers for now!

I'm thinking about scratch building my fuselage from balsa or a foam/balsa combination but I'm sure you could sell a few fiberglass fuselages. Maybe make a short kit with foam wing cores.

I look forward to seeing pictures of your Wave King.