Jetjockey_3

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I am in the process of completing my 1/6 Mosquito Mk VI.

I enlarged Brian Taylor's 72" Mosquito by 150%. The wingspan is 108" and the length is 81". I have a couple of Zenoah G38's for power and I will be swinging 19 x 10 Carbon props. The original plans called for a one-piece wing. That wouldn't be feasible at 9ft. I made the wing a three-piece wing. The outer panels plug-in just out-board of the nacelles. The whole wing bolts into the fuse as per Brian's plans (also the full-size was attached at the same spot). The center section will usually stay attached to the fuse for transport. That means that in order to put it together at the field all I do is plug the wings in.The plan is to have all the lights functioning, including the two landing lights that are under the wing. I also have a functioning bomb bay and scale landing gear. I had to make the mains and tail wheel retract since they aren't available to buy.

ALL control linkages are internal! There are no push rods or servo arms sticking out. The full-size had the aileron linkage attached at the top of the leading edge and I have also connected my linkage in the same location. The Port aileron has a functioning counter-balancing trim tab, per the full size. When I deflect the aileron up the tab deflects down and vice versa. The elevator servo sits under the rudder. The tail wheel is PULL ONLY! It can swivel in both directions, but when I need right rudder the linkage pulls the wheel to give me right steering. This is needed because the two 38's up front will produce a lot of torque steer to the left.

I am also building a fully detailed cockpit with a couple of BBI British pilots. The canopy has to be custom made. I know Don Smith has a canopy and cowl for sale, but I wanted to make mine out of brass tubes and plates. I will be molding the 'glass' myself to fit in the frame. The color scheme will be "Black Rufe" TH*M, of the Canadian 418 City of Edmonton Squadron. Here are a few pictures. The plane is glassed and I just need to finish off a few bits then it will be ready for primer.

I have place a Metre stick (39") on the wing to give you an idea of the size.

Kmot

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Jetjockey_3

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One more to show what the finished color scheme will look like.

Baldeagle

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Cary nice project, Keep us posted. Rich

Canuck1

Cary;
Looks real nice. I am considering the Don Smith, 109in Mosquito for my next project. Yours is almost identical in size. The largest I have built is 90in, so the 109 incher seems very big.
Obviously you have cut all your components, and parts. I was leaning towards a kit being cut, but I am unsure of it is worth the money. Just would be a great time saver.
Keep the pics and info coming. I will follow this thread with great interest. What are you going to use for retracts?

Craig.

Jetjockey_3

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Thanks for your kind comments.

Craig, I can't comment on the Don Smith since I haven't seen his plans nor have I seen one of his Mosquitos in person. I find it interesting that his wing span is 109". The full size Mossie had a 54ft wing span, and 1/6th equals 9ft (108"). The extra inch can only help with the flying characteristics. At this size you couldn't tell the difference unless you measured.

The only retracts that I found that were 'scale' are for the 1/5 mossie. They are too big. I had a couple of Century Jet retract sets kicking around (P47 and Mustang) so I took them apart and made up my own units. I basically followed Brian Taylor's plans, but incorporated the shock absorbtion. I took the lower part of the retracts including the scissors and threw them in my tool box. I replaced the lower portion with 3/8 bolts. Yes, bolts. I ground down the head to fit inside the upper strut leg and silver soldered the brass collar back in. The springs are very stiff, which is what I wanted. They don't compress when the plane is sitting on them, but will compress for landings. Brian Taylor's plans call for mechanically retracts with sring assist. I am using mechanical also, but have air assist. I replaced the springs for Robart air cylinders. The idea is that even if I lose the air pressure (yes I know that NEVER happens) the landing gear will come down and lock. Belly landings are not an option. I made the frames that are on the struts above and in front of the main wheels out of brass tubing and bent them to shape.

The tail wheel uses the CJM mustang tail wheel. I shortened the arm and added a second arm to make the fork similar to the full size. I even grooved the tail wheel.

Here are some pics of the tail wheel and the frames mentioned above.

Cary

BWooster

Jet Jockey:

The local air museum has a Mossie in 418 colours. Do you want photos?

If so, I'll get some and post them!

I'm scratching a 1/12" mossie for twin 15's. I'll take some shots and post them too.

Lou

Canuck1

Cary;
Nice work. She is going to be a beauty when it is all done. The retracts are definately a concern that's for sure. When you get a chance, can you post a few pics. That would make your description a little clearer for me.
Snitch; Nice to see another Edmontonian on the same thread

Craig.

Jetjockey_3

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Lou,

Thanks for the offer. If you are taking pics I would appreciate a copy. Do you know if they used the original FS numbers for the colours (colors, US spelling)? Good luck with you Mossie. The Mossie was an amazing airplane that hasn't been matched.

Craig,

I haven't completed the mains yet. I will post pics when it all works[&:]. Here is a picture of the plans from the 72" set. As I mentioned in my earlier thread that I replaced the main landing gear wire with functioning strut legs and the spring with an air cylinder.

BTW, I met my ex-wife when I lived in Edmonton in the mid 80's. So I have a special love for Edmonton and Alberta.

BWooster

I have been looking for an excuse to go to the museum and take whack of Mossie photos. I'll see what I can get you. I don't know about the markings, and I'm not sure about what you mean by FS numbers. I am not a scale modeler (yet!).

Also, have you looked at the extensive Mossie photo library at the Canadian National Aviation Museum? Lots of shots from the construction phase. Fascinating. The way a Mossie was built, it is a natural for modelling.

Here is my own modest effort. Early bomber command colours. Fun scale.

Lou

William Robison

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Snitch:

FS numbers, "Federal Stock" or "Federal Standard" are the colors used on American military aircraft.

Your Mosquito looks nice.

Bill.

BWooster

Thanks Bill!

Jetjockey_3

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Snitch,

Your Mossie looks good. What is the wing span? 1/12 should be around 54".

I have tons of documentation to work from. The issue is choosing. I have had to stick to one set of three view drawings due to variations between different published versions. The differences were minor, but ....

I am hoping to have the Mossie ready for Toledo at the beginning of April. I am about a weekend away from priming the exterior. I will spend another week on the cockpit. I picked up the 'Pilot's Handbook' from an aviation bookstore here in Toronto. It has very good documentation of the entire cockpit and the location of all the equipment in there. With that large canopy it is hard to hide anything. Then the detail work starts. Nice thing about the Mossie is that there aren't many rivets

Cary

BWooster

54" exactly. I bought a 1/72" model, and multiplied every dimension by 6. I also had a poor 3 view.

You can see my departures from scale: the engines are more inboard, the tail moment is about 1" longer, and the fuselage profiles are approximated only. I did not get the rear of the nacelles right. It'll have have to wait for Mk II!

I hope you're going to post most pictures as you go. It looks impressive.

Maybe we should start a Mossie-only forum!

Jetjockey_3

My Feedback: (8)

Snitch,

Your Mossie look good. The idea is to fly it, right? Those minor changes you made help if you should have to fly on one engine. Do you have a gyro in it. They are well worth the $50 of insurance. If this is your first twin I would suggest that you dust of your trainer and fly it around without banking at all. Just use the rudder to fly around and use the ailerons to keep the wings level the entire time. Flying figure 8's in both directions is very good practice.

I have a twin trainer that I used to set up so that I could always cut one engine. I would come in low as if I was landing and then cut the engine and do a go around. It sure taught me how to work the rudder and also how to manage the airspeed and patience. Patience was the most important. In an engine out situation trying to force the issue is never good. Be patient and keep the airspeed up. Turn if you have the altitude. You have to keep the nose down at all times. Some people say to cut the other engine. Some say don't. I have found that there is no hard rule. different plane react differently and it depends on which engine you have lost. Accept that fact that you are going to crash. The only questions are where, how fast and will it be on the wheel on the runway or not?

Having two reliable engines is the most critical fact about a twin. I can't remember the elevation of Edmonton, but I know Calgary is about 3,500' ASL. At that altitude you will need stronger engines than at the altitude here (~500' ASL).

I will post more pics as major mile-stones are reached. I am doing all the little details that you won't really see unless you are looking at the documentation at the same time. Things like fairings over the Flap hinges, spent cartridge chutes for the cannons, vents under the exhaust covers, ....

BWooster

Cary,

Good advice -- I have been thinking about the engine out scenario quite a bit. I use rudder by habit. I fly a Tiger Moth a lot, and I use a lot of rudder with that. So my left thumb is pretty good. Now, engine out is a a whole new level, so we'll see if that's enough! So I'll practice some more like you suggest. Thanks.

For motors, I'm using Norvels. I have lots of hours on their .061, and .25. The .15's run really nice. After about 10 runs, they are very steady engines. The most likely source of difficulty will be the fuel system, so I'm going to be extra careful about that. The first several flights will be very safe, lots of altitude, very simple circuits. (I hope for several anyway )

I just don't know about the gyro though. At this size, weight is really important. I'm pretty much on track to be below 4.75 lbs, which yields pretty good wing loading. (I reduced the taper too -- deeper chord at the tip -- for more wing area) If I lose a motor, it should be pretty safe to glide by chopping the throttle, getting the nose down, and compensating with rudder. Of course with the big ones, like yours, that kind of maneuver is much more hazardous. Edmonton is about 650 m asl (2100 ft)

Of course, this is what keeps me interested in this hobby: you never know!

I'm planning to go to the museum tomorrow (Saturday). Is there any detail you want close up shot of?

Lou

Jetjockey_3

My Feedback: (8)

Hi Lou,

The one thing I would like to see it the stenciling on the Mossie. The documentation I have is pretty good, but it doesn't show it on the plane. It has copies of the stencils and I want to see the font and thickness of the lines and lettering.

Thanks in advance,

Cary

BWooster

You bet.

Assuming I get clearance from the tower (!) to go, I should be posting tomorrow night.

BWooster

Cary,

Here they are. I have a few more too.

The staff tell me that the restoration was very careful, and the colours should be correct. The squadron historian apparently was consulted extensively.

BWooster

(I'm an idiot.)

here they really are:

BWooster

A few more

Jetjockey_3

My Feedback: (8)

Lou,

Those are great pics. They are a great help. The shot of the Squadron emblem on the door is perfect. It helps me to position my emblem.

The Mossie that they have isn't a Mk VI. It looks like the nacelles belong to a Mk 35 series. However, the stenciling is fantastic.

Cary

BWooster

Cary,

I have finished painting the Mossie. I weighed it all together, and it's below 4.75 lbs -- .

I'll give it a month to cure, then fuel proofing.

Lou

Canuck1

Lou
What kind of paint did you use on your Mossy? What are you planning on using for a clearcoat.

Craig.

BWooster

Craig,

The undercoat is silkspan and nitrate dope. Followed by one coat of butyrate with talc. Then Benjamin Moore Acrylic Latex, then BM Acrylic Latex Urethane for a first clear coat.

For fuel proofing, I'm going to try a light coat of lacquer, or maybe even dope. I'll try a small area first. Probably a nacelle hatch.

If you go to Day's Paint, they have 2 oz jars of Latex for $4. Go crazy!

I wonder how Cary's Mossie is going? I don't want to hijack the thread.

Lou