CONSTRUCTION ADVISOR

Joe is on hold and will not be accepting questions at this time.

Joe Huntley
 
 
Page 2 Questions 25-48, click links or browse page.
Question 25 Glassing with polyurethane lighter? Question 37 Getting started in professional building?
Question 26 Power for Macchi MC.200 Saetta ? Question 38 Ziroli Stuka questions ?
Question 27 Getting started in this hobby? Question 39 Giant Scale Planes Hellcat ?
Question 28 Best glue for sheeting? Question 40 Glassing open structure ?
Question 29 Small scale P-51D recommendations? Question 41 Plans for a 1/6 scale Spitfire ?
Question 30 Nosen P-51 retract door hinging? Question 42 What is sport scale ?
Question 31 1/6 scale Hurricane plans or kit? Question 43 Top Flite Spitfire retract fit ?
Question 32 Monocote covering method? Question 44 Enlarging Palmer plans C 130 H ?
Question 33 Are CA hinges good or bad ? Question 45 Orion PC-3 plans ?
Question 34 Sheeting tips ? Question 46 Plans preferences ?
Question 35 How to rivet effect a glassed surface ? Question 47 Engine mounting on Kyosho P-51 ?
Question 36 Warbird suggestions for a Quadra 50 ? Question 48 Glassing a Top Flite P-51 ?
 

Question 25: "Joe, I read your article "How to glass with Polyurethane" on your website. If you don't mind, can I ask you a few questions? Some people on the internet claim that their fiberglass covering technique is as light as monokote. His procedure is to use epoxy thinned with denatured alcohol for the first layer, water based polyurethane for the next 2 or 3 layers, and then microballons mixed in water based polyurethane for the last 2 or 3 layers. I do not know if the weight of primer and paint is taken into account when he makes this claim. Your method is very similar, except you use lacquer based polyurethane from first coat to last coat. Actually, because you don't use epoxy, it seems that your method may be even lighter (but that's only a guess). After primer and paint, would you also be able to make the claim that this fiberglass covering technique is as light as monokote? Most modelers, including myself, know that a fiberglass finish weighs much more than a monokote. It's ingrained in your minds that way. =) Then someone starts saying that this isn't so anymore. I'm still kind of skeptical until I can find other people, like you, who can back up his claim. Better yet, just to prove it to myself, I will be doing weight comparisons of the different methods in the near future.
You are a very knowledgeable and respected member of all the internet forums. Your opinions, tips and comments are very valuable to us all. Regards, Joshua Salvador"

Joe: "Hi Joshua, The old method of glassing was heavy as people were new to it and not used to the epoxy. The epoxy first method for using water based polyurethane is to keep the water stuff from swelling and warping the wood. By thinning the epoxy they are almost thinning like water and brushing on. So by doing this it is super thin thus not adding weight. The water in the poly will dry up and evaporate thus you lose the weight of the polyurethane by 80%. microballons takes a bag the size of a 20 lb dogfood bag and will only weigh a couple lbs thus less weight there. As for it compared to monocote by the time you wetsand and paint then sand the part the paint is only a micrometer thick. I have done tests but using lacquer based and I only had like less that an ounce different. Does this make a difference? to me no unless you are working with a plane with engine size under a .40 it is not worth worrying about. Just be sure to put thin layers on. I don't like the epoxy for the reasons I stated on my site about it needing mixed and thinned just right and being soft. Basically what I am saying is that the weight difference in my opinion is negligible I hope this helps Joe"

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Question 26: "Joe I am looking at Model Airplane New's plan for a Macchi MC.200 Saetta. The specs on the plane are as follows. Wingspan 80 in. Weight 13 lbs. Scale 1/5.2 Recommended power 1.08 2-stroke. I am interested in powering this plane with a gas engine. I already have a 25cc Homelite conversion engine. Assuming the engine will fit in the cowl will it have enough power to fly an airplane like this. To be on the safe side lets say the plane finishes out at 15-16 lbs. Thanks "

Joe: "Hi Shawn I don't see why it shouldn't work. 1.08 CI = 17.69 CC so you will have about 5 cc's more. Now I don't know much on conversions as to actual power they have compared to an RC engine but the math works out and I would assume they would in reality be about even. Also if your plane is a normal tail heavy warbird then the conversion engine will probably be heavier and help balance out the plane without adding a ton of nose weight. Your plane will always fly better with an engine for the nose weight than by adding weight to the nose because you are turning the weight into power rather than dead weight. I hope this helps. Joe "

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Question 27: "What would you recommend to a person just starting out in this hobby? I am currently putting together a Guillows 30" Corsair. I doubt that I will ever fly it or even put a motor in it but I thought it would be a good practice run. My ultimate goal is to put together a Top Flite P-51 mustang Gold Edition and fly it or a plane similar to that one. Obviously, before I can do that, I need to learn a great deal in this hobby. I plan on buying a simulator this spring and a trainer in the summer or fall. I was hoping to put the P-51 together next winter and ready to fly by Summer 2004. Do you think this is realistic for a novice to put together the Top Flite P-51 Mustang? Or should I start with something simpler. Are there any magazines or clubs that you recommend I join? Thanks for any information you can offer. Damon Fraser"

Joe: "It doesn't sound too unrealistic. I would start by building a couple kits first maybe a trainer then something a little more challenging. A good place to start is the Top-Flight website http://www.top-flite.com/ If you are wanting to build their P-51 maybe build a couple of their easier planes first to get used to their construction. I would goto their website and on the left in the menu click on parts listing, plans and manuals and download all their manuals and read through them getting familiar with their construction methods. One of the plans you might think of is their stinson reliant, or their mentor or their contender as one of your two planes. I don't know what all they have as trainers but the reliant would be a good high wing as a second plane and something to get you into a little more challenging plane. Joe"

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Question 28: "A flying buddy and I have been having a friendly disagreement about which glue is better for sheeting. He likes Elmer's TiteBond I like Thin CA. What do you prefer???? Don't worry. Your not gonna hurt anyone's feelings. Just
want another opinion.
Thanks, Mike Chilson (MikeC)
"

Joe: "I use 3 kinds of glue. On sections I can get to from the opposite side I use thin CA. When butting joints I use Elmers Probond. And for adhesion to stringers and formers thick CA when I cant get it from the other side. For Example if I am running planks I put a bead of ProBond on the edge to be butted and I use thick CA on stringers and formers. The reason I use probond is I do not like to waste time cutting bevels in my planking or coming back later filling the gaps. Because it sands as easily as the balsa I use it to join the sheets and Fill any Gaps and as you may know Probond expands slightly therefore it always fills my gaps. Thus I use 3 kinds of glue when sheeting Elmers Probond, Thin CA, and either thick or medium CA depending on the amount of time I need for placement. Joe "

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Question 29: "Joe, I haven't built a model in a long time, but I think I'd like to build a scale (fairly small, not giant) P51D. Can you recommend a balsa kit & plans. I don't mind doing a little cutting of my own, but I don't want to cut the whole thing. Also, I don't care if it takes a year to build. Ed"

Joe: "Hi Ed I would consider the Top Flight P-51D they have 2 sizes but since you didn't want giant scale theirs is 84" so instead I would recommend their smaller scale.

Here are the Particulars:
SPECIFICATIONS
Stock Number: TOPA0110
Wingspan: 65 in (1651mm)
Wing Area: 734 sq in (47.4 dm2)
Weight: 8-10 lb (3629-4540g)
Fuselage Length: 56.6 in (1438 mm)
Engine Required: 2-stroke .61-.90 cu in (10-15 cc) or 4-stroke .91-1.20 cu in (15-20 cc)
Radio Required: 4-6 channel w/4-7 servos

You can find it on their website at http://www.bestrc.com/topflite/airplanes/topa0110.html you might also want to go here http://www.bestrc.com/topflite/manuals/index.html and download the manual for it which is in PDF format and look it over to see if it is what you are looking for. That is the only smaller scale I know of that is fairly decent looking and flying. Joe"

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Question 30: "I am in the process of building a nosen p51 I have likes line retracts installed, now having trouble trying to figure a neat way to hinge and open and close the doors. Would like to have the retracts do the work. Any help or a place to go for help Thanks Jim Barnes"

Joe: "Hi Jim, Well for the hinges I would use Piano Hinges. They will look scale and are easy to work with. I get mine from Nelson Hobbies along with my paints and several other nice items http://www.nelsonhobby.com/

For the retracts the main door will be mounted to the strut so that's no biggy. The smaller door there is a couple ways to do that. One way is simple, easy to do, but can have problems and that is to attach a wire to the small door so that when the wheel goes up into the well it hits the wire pulling the door up with it. I cannot give you much info on this as I have never done it myself. Another way to do it would be Pneumatic. Randy Linderman has a great Photo OP on his website where he did this with his B-25 http://flyinglindy.homestead.com/b25motors_electronics.html He has a lot of good pictures and info showing his system. Now Excuse me but I am not up on the P-51 as it just done so much I haven't wanted to do one so haven't researched it. The reason I mention this is because I do not know if that little door sequences up into the wing after the landing gear are down and then opens again before the retract. If it does do this you can goto most of the Jet guys websites and can probably get a sequencer for the doors which will allow it to work in a scale manner. I hope this helps you I think Randy's site will explain and show it better than I can here. Joe "

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Question 31: "Hi Joe I am looking for a set of plans to build a 1/6 scale Hurricane, and I thought if any one knows where to look you probably will. Thanks Robert
p.s also can you possibly recommend a scale kit of the same plane, thanks again"

Joe: "Hi Robert you just priced a question I can answer easily since I am getting ready to start one now. 1/6th scale is almost impossible to find as the most common IA 1/5, or 1/4 scale on single engines. I would suggest the Vailly Hurricane at 1/5 th scale is really nice and he has all the scale parts and goodies for it. http://vaillyaviation.com/ it has a 92" ws , 74" length and takes a Quadra Q-42 or Q-50. I feel a g-38 should run it fine also as it is a light plane considering the rear half is fabric covered rather than sheeted and glassed.
Also Since I just did all the vectoring for mine I know Jesse at http://www.lazer-works.com has a shortkit for it (short kit is all the parts you would normally cut out minus sheeting, stringers, spars) I would also bet that precision kits www.Precisioncutkits.com and all-american kit cutters www.aero-sports.com/aakc also sells them or full kits. I am just partial to jesse due to the working relationship we have and because I do all the computer work for the cutting of his parts so I know what I am getting. But the other guys are good too. Joe"

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Question 32: "Hi Joe! I know my Top Flite Cessna 182 is not a warbird, but maybe you can help me out. I have carefully carved a couple of horner wingtips on its wing but now I'm no really sure of how to cover them and get a good finish. I'm planning to use monokote for the task. I know there's a way to do it right, but I don't know how"

Joe: "Hi Federico, I am not a monocote guy at all as I paint everything, but going from what I have read and my past experiences here is how I would do it.
1: I would def cut a lot larger than needed so I could hold onto edges and pull slightly as I cover. I would start with the inside of the curved tip first. I would use either the tip of my iron, or I have one of those small irons they use for radiuses etc use that. Then I would tack in the center of the radius first then the front and rear of the center tack them in place. When satisfied iron down the centerline.
2: Grab the section that will be put to the bottom of the wing and laying the iron on it slightly to heat it up some, lay it in place and iron it down pulling slightly on the edges as you go to take out any wrinkles.
3: do the same for the bottom half and work it around the radiuses and trim it just past the centerline.
4: for the outside I would do it the same way: Tack down the center then work the top half then work the bottom half then trim it past the centerline so it overlaps each other. That is how I would do it start with the inside radius then do the outside radius so that the overlap edge is on the downside. Joe"

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Question 33: "Joe, Can I use the scale large Bennett CA hinges on my Ziroli Zero? I have done some tests and I can not pull them apart. If I should not use them, what would be the best hinge to use. Thanks. John "

Joe: "Hi John, Heres the scoop on CA inges in my view. Yes they will work I have used them before with good results HOWEVER, the problem with most people is that they cut the slots too big for them, dont pin them, and dont check them often and put a drop or two of ca just to be sure thus they fail on them. I like using the giant scale Robart Hingepoints with the metal pins in them for most of my models. Also usually Nick has scale hinge system built into most of his planes. Now the Zero he is using the Du Bro heavy duty hinges which are also good to use and like the CA hinges should also be pinned for more safety. Basically what I am getting at is to use what you feel comfortable with as I have even seen monocoat hinges on giant scale planes though that would scare me on one of mine I think as long as you cut some pins short and pin the CA hinge in as a backup you wont have any problems. Check them regularly as you would with any control surface and every once in a while put a drop or two of ca on them to reinforce from any wear you might get over time. Joe "

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Question 34: "Hi Joe, I'm back with another question about the P-39 that I am building. Right now I am putting the sheeting on the rear section of the fuse and I have noticed after doing one side the fuse has a slight bow to it. Is this normal, I didn't want to put the other half on until I found out. This is the first plane that I've built that has been fully sheeted like this and I really want it to come looking good. Do you have any tips on doing the sheeting. Thanks again for all the help that you have already given me and your web site has been a big help!"

Joe: "If the sheeting bowed remove it and start over. If the fuse bowed it can usually be fixed. When sheeting a fuse you need to alternate sides as you sheet. What happens is as the sheeting is glued in place and dries it wants to pull. A lot of this has to do with the curing of the glue or the grain of the wood. One way to solve this if it isn't too bad is to glue the top of the opposite side sheeting in place, then use some slow curing glue on the stringers so you have time to work. I then would twist the fuse back in to the proper alignment and CA the bottom of the sheeting in place. Then stand back and look at the fuse from a bunch of different angles to see if you took the twist or bow out. If this works you are doing good. If it doesn't well lets just say you will be doing some wood removal and starting over. I know the P-39 has patterns for the sheeting of some areas. Wet the backside of the sheeting first with a spray bottle with warm water in it. What this does is relaxes the grain and will remove some of the tension it places on the part you are sheeting. Some people like to do this first before glueing and it really does help. Say you are doing a real round part or tight curve of the fuse, Spray your sheet with the water and use tape or string or rubberbands and put it in place over the fuse. Let it dry overnight then the next day come back and glue it to the fuse. This will relieve the stress also when you glue it as it is formed to shape and wont pull on the part. I hope this helps. If you can use your hands and pull the bow or twist out easily you can sheet it out. If you have to really try hard to get it out, take off the sheeting and resheet it using the method I just described with wetting. Joe "

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Question 35: "Joe, great site, great articles. I read the 'Rivet How To' in which you gave advice on using a pen to draw lines and rivets onto a smaller than 80" span plane. But can you give me a how to for rivets on a plane that's glassed? Thanks! LIAM"

Joe: "Hi Liam I am assuming you needing flush rivets? The Following is borrowed from my friend Seans Site Http://www.strictlyscale.com its an awesome site might wanna visit it.

What’s needed is a small soldering iron, of the type with replaceable bits in various sizes. I used my Antex Model C. 15 watt iron (many years old, but serviceable). Take the largest size of soldering bit and piece of brass tube of the diameter of the required ‘rivet’. Drill a hole in the flat surface of the bit of a size to accept the brass tubing. Fit the tubing and lightly crimp the area next to the bit to hold it in place. Voila, one riveting tool! Notice that by fitting the tube into the flat face of the bit, the instrument can be operated rather like a pen. (**Strictly Scale note: I used a very cheap ‘pen’ style soldering iron with the brass tube inserted into the holder for the removable tips and had very good success. The iron had a screw in the tip to hold the tubing in. Changing sizes of tube were very easy this way. Contact me if you’d like more details.)

The Method

The idea is to mark the rivet into the paint surface. It therefore follows that the model should be complete up to the stage where the primer has been applied and panel lines scribed or otherwise represented. The primer is the paint surface we will use and there is no need to apply anything other than a normal surface coat. No thick or heavy layers needed.

Start on the unobtrusive area or even on a separate test piece is you wish to test the process before using it in anger. Switch the iron on and allow it to come up to temperature. Now, carefully touch the heated tube onto the paint surface and remove immediately. There may be a brief hiss and whiff of burnt paint and then, before your eyes will be a small ring in the primer. Do not press the tool onto the surface with any force of you will get a deep rivet and possibly mark the wood underneath. A few minutes of practice will perfect the technique and you are ready to mother your latest creation with millions of rivet heads. Once you get the hang of it, ‘riveting’ can be very fast because it becomes a continuous process and unlike PVA rivets, you do not have to wait for things to dry. I completed the task on a 72" wingspan model in two evenings.

Hints & Tips

If the rivet has no ‘center’, then the tube is blocked up with soft paint – clean it out and continue. Also, stop and clean the tip occasionally for best results.

Rivet heads reproduced can vary in depth and completeness depending upon how you apply the tool. For example, if the tube is applied at an angle, the complete circumference may not be revealed. Fortunately, real aircraft also have deviations in rivet detail, some being obvious and some being almost invisible, so the effect should be realistic. Use a straight edge as a guide (not plastic!) for perfect alignment of the rivets. Unfortunately, not all real aircraft might be so neatly done, so check your documentation and vary the pacing if it seems appropriate. When a significant area has been ‘riveted’, lightly sand with a wet and dry paper; used dry and remove any dust. This reduces the height of the rivet edges, makes them less obvious and blends the occasional less-than-perfect ones into the others.

Remember, rivets on the real aircraft do not just go round panel edges, but also across panels to fix them to the substructure. Check against your scale documentation as necessary. An aircraft may have more than one size rivet and indeed, may use a mixture of domed headed and flush types in some areas. Now you can decide just how far you wish to go.

When riveting is complete, paint the model the usual way (light coat of paint) and dirty up to reveal those rivets. The effect is astonishing. Joe"

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Question 36: "Dear Joe, I would like your suggestions on finding a warbird (F4U, P47, P51 etc.) for my Quadra 50. Seems as though the Ziroli plans are more geared for the G-62 and the Bates plans are more ST-3250. I'm sorta caught in the middle. I suspect that the Topflite 85" size kits would be just about right. I am planning to upgrade my 50 to a 52 (3.2 ci) Any of the Ziroli kits build lighter than others? Your ideas would be greatly appreciated. David Pearson"

Joe: "Hi Dave, for the Q-50 you want to find a plane in the 28-35 lb range for it to be a great flier. I can think of two people that design planes in that size range. 1st Roy Vaillencourt http://vaillyaviation.com/Intro.html almost all his planes will fly well on a Q-50. I am doing his enlarged hurricane now and it calls for a Q-50 92" WS 22-26 lbs. His Focke Wulf 190A is also made for a Q-50. All his other planes will fall into that weight range but he has G-62 engine sizes on them but if you build them they will fly. 2nd is Jerry Bates http://www.scaleaero.com/jerrybates.htm he usually has 1/6th and 1/7th scale planes so any of his would work. Both are easy designers to build from. If you have built any Top Flight kits I would say go with Jerry as his kits build the same as Top Flight does. If you have built several kits Nicks planes are great too and easy to build. It is just how comfortable you feel building. As for suggesting a plane I wont do that as there is one factor I cant know and that is what your favorite plane or type of plane is. Personally I am sick of all the P-47 and P-51's out there they aren't anything special anymore because everyone has one. If I was to suggest I would suggest the Jerry Bates 1/4 scale Russian Yak 3 it has a 90" ws and is 24-30 lbs. He calls for a G-62 but the Q50 will fly it fine. My Favorite of his (and I got plans for it coming) would be his 1/6 scale helldiver at 28 lbs be a perfect plane for it. So Just look for anything within that weight range and you will be fine. Let me know what ya get!! Joe "

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Question 37: "Hi Joe, Is there any way I can build kits / repairs from home, or work for someone or company? any ideas would be appreciated. I've done my homework for around here and none. So searching outbound now. Thanks, Ed"

Joe: "Hi Ed yes you can do work from home and repairs I did it for a long time but it is hard to do until you get known. Here is the best way to get started. First post an add in your local clubs newsletter stating you will do builds and repairs for people at reasonable rate. Usually club members know each other and so shouldnt have a problem. Second is to build some planes at home and sell them this gets your name out. I went to the forums wanted ads and looked to see what was the most requested planes and built them as I knew they would sell. Also post on a forum you do building if someone needs something done. However they are going to want to have references as no one is usually going to Shell out 1500 to 2500 to someone for building their prize new plane without having references to verify your ligit. That is why I suggest building several planes and selling them on e-bay or the forums as this will get your name out and the buyers can testify to your craftsmanship. Good Luck Joe "

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Question 38: "Greetings I'm in the process of constructing my very first Ziroli Warbird. I chosen the Stuka because of the simple fact that it caught my eye. My only concern (not that worried) is that I hope I'm not getting over my head in terms to constructing the Stuka. I see it has a challenge that I'm sure will keep me on my toes. I'm very new to the RC field and have only had one aircraft before taking on this project. My first plane was from Hangar 9. It was the Extra (RTF) easy. Therefore, as you can see I very new to all of this. I would appreciate any assistance that's provided.

Q1. What type of hinges ( rudders and elevators) did you use for your aircraft. Were they purchased from Ziroli.

Q2. In relation to servos. Did you use high torque servos for the elevators and rudder. Was there a separate servo for each.

Q3. In relation to the tail-wheel. Did you purchase from Ziroli. Was it servo operated or air operated.

Q4. What procedure is involved in constructing hinge slots for the flaps and ailerons. I know you can purchase slotting devices from suppliers. Great Planes has such a device.

Q5. What I read some have used up to 10 servos. How many did you use on your aircraft. One fella utilized a high torque servo to operated all 4 flaps. Can 2 separate servos be used. This is my count ( Ailerons 1, Flaps 2, Rudder 1, Elevator 1, Throttle 1, Dive brakes 1, Tail-wheel 1) That's 8 so far. More if other options added ( bomb drop, lights, siren, etc).

Q6. Most have used a light fiber-glassed covering for the aircraft. Did you cover the Stuka with fiberglass. Ziroli recommended Super Coverite. One individual informed that fiberglass was easier to use that Coverite or Monocote. Any suggestions.

Anyway, I apologize if I sound premature in terms to the amount of questions I have asked you. Thanks for the pictures detailing construction of the Stuka. I checked other sites in relation to construction. Regards, Wayne"

Joe: "AQ1: I haven't gotten that far on mine but I will probably use robart metal pinned hingepoints. They are a little more work to put in as besides just drilling a hole you have to make a little notch around the Barrel. They have the instructions on the package. But I may also go with Dubro Giant scale pinned hinges.

AQ2: For all my planes I use FMA Metal Gear Ball Bearing Servos of at least 100 oz torque. My most common servo is PS905MBB it is 110oz at 4.8v or 135 oz at 6 v and they run about 34 bucks a piece. https://www.fmadirect.com/site/Detail.htm?item=1444&section=8 For the rudder and elevator I will use 1 for each as the stuka is a bomber and not an aerobat or fighter thus I wont be doing high G maneuvers (except for the occasional bomb run) that I will need a ton of torque for. (I will be using a 6 v system)

AQ3: the tailwheel I haven't decided on. More than likely I will make my own gear as it is a fixed gear and will be hidden inside the wheel pants. As for how operated it was not a retractable tailwheel so would not need anything. What I will do is run a pushrod to a long horn attached to the tailwheel and run a pushrod from the tailwheel horn to the rudder. I will also use a balljoint system on it but not those cheap nylon ones that snap on.

AQ4:I use a hinge slotting tool I think goldberg put it out. Basically it is plastic and it auto centers on the trailing edge. Unlike I think it is dubro that is metal and only has a circle this one you can put on wither a tool for slotting or one for hingepoints. It also comes with 3 sized slots and blades for different sized hinges along with a tool to cleat out the slot. It runs about 4 bucks or so. I keep 2 around and they really nice to have.

AQ5: I would use 1 for each aileron(2), 1 for each wing half of the flaps(2), mini servo or reg servo for throttle(1),1 Elevator(1),1 stab(1), and 1 for dive brakes(1) for total of 6 channels and 8 servos. As noted above does not have retract tailwheel.

AQ6: I will be glassing mine with .5 oz cloth and painting it. Joe"

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Question 39: "Hello I am interested in the f6f hellcat that giantscale planes has. Do you know anything about this plane. I fly a topflight T-6 now. Do you know how the hellcat would compare to the T-6? Also what about the construction of the plane? I haven't talked to anyone that has had one of this company's arf's. thankyou harley "

Joe: "Hi Harley I have not had any experiences with this company. if it is an arf it shouldnt be to hard to put together. as for flying ability a lot of it depends on the kit design and how they have the airfoil but generally the T-6 and the hellcat should be similar in the rc world so if you flown the T-6 you should have no problem with the hellcat. Joe "

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Question 40: "Hi Joe, Interesting article on glassing. The only thing I can see having a problem with is when it came to the control surfaces (rudder-ailerons-elevators. They are open surfaces, just ribs. What do you do in this area. Look forward to your answer. I'm 90% finished building the top flite " Gold Edition Spitfire Mk.1X ". Regards Brian R"

Joe: "Hi Brian For control surfaces on my warbirds I use Solartex you can get it from Balsa USA. Almost every warbird has fabric covered control surfaces thus I fabric cover mine. I dont worry about glassing them as it wouldnt give me a realistc appearance. Also I am not sure where coating the cloth with "resins" of any kind it wouldnt crack due to stress on the cloth so I dont even chance it.Joe"

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Question 41: "Dear Joe Please I search drawings to build a Spitfire MKIX at 1/6 scale, where can I find it? Jean Michel"

Joe: "Hi Jean Michel I have a few sites that might help you. I use a program called WebFerret to search for stuff on the web. you can get it at http://www.ferretsoft.com it is a free search engine you download (real small file) and it is better than any of the online engines as it searches the entire web. When I do a search for a plane I will get up to 500 hits or more where most of my hits are usually exactly what i wanted to search for unlike the online search engines
Sites:
http://www.mousematsystems.com/modelling/model_site/walkarounds/spitixdetail/spitixcockpit_engine.html
http://www.museumofflight.org/collections/champlindisplay.html?ID=128
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/walk-props.htm ( this is a great walkaround site)
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2001/12/stuff_eng_detail_spitfire_ix.htm (spit mk IX in detail)

There ya go they should give ya a good start. I would get webferret like I said and type in spitfire MK IX and there are a lot of links for the mk IX on there. Joe "

Don Chapton adds: Joe, Tell Jean Michel he can get !/6 Spitfire plans from Mick Reeves. He also has a short kit, fiberglass fuselage, retracts and a bunch of other scale details. I have a short kit with Fiberglass fuse and everything except the crummy plywood he makes his parts out of looks good. Don

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Question 42: "Dear Joe, I just rec'd an e-mail from Meister about gear doors for their 100" bird. They said they consider it a "sport scale", so this brings me to my 2 questions.1) What is the difference between sport and otherwise, and how would I go about fitting gear doors to this plane. Thanks for your time, pal. Karl Allen"

Joe: "Hi Karl lets start with the scale issue. We all know what fun files are well sport scale/standoff scale means that the plane has the general appearance and outlines of a subject plane but it is not scale. Most of the time it is off in enlarged tail or modified wings etc made to make it fly easier for the average pilot. It basically means if you stand a ways away from the plane (miles sometimes haha) that it will appear to be the plane it was modeled after. Some Sport scale planes come real close to the actual scale outline and some don't. meisters come pretty close to scale. Scale on the other hand means that the plane remains true to the original with no more than a 10% deviation in outlines etc from the original plane.

As for Question #2 I am not all that familiar with the Corsair yet but shortly expecting a set of plans then I will research it, but from what I remember the gear doors basically just consisted of a coverplate that was attached to the front of the landing gear. In normal circumstances I would say to make some metal straps to go around the Gear legs and screw them to the gear covers. But the corsair wheels retract Replace Retract with Rotate (sorry) as they go back so that might affect how they mount. that's just a couple things to think about on the gear legs I would suggest ya write that part of the question to Jeff the Big Bird advisor as he is building a corsair at the moment and is a lot more knowledgeable about that plane than me.....Joe "

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Question 43: "I am building the Top Flite Spitfire and I am throwing as much scale stuff as possible in it. I am installing the Century Jet Retracts for it because I had good success with their P-40 rotators. My question is the way the retracts are placed in the wing recesses them a bit therefore taking away quite a bit of wheel well space. I am having troubles with getting the retracts to sit in the wells all the way. Part of the strut sticks out and I want to put gear doors on it. I suppose I could cut away the rest of the rib but I don't want to have to compromise the structure like that. I am using Sullivan Sky Lit wheels. I figure if I can find a 3 1/2 in. wheel
that is somewhat scale and less than an inch thick I might be alright. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch!!!"

Joe: "Hi Ian. I am not familiar with century as I always used robarts and am now switching over to Sierra Precision http://www.sierraprecision.com/products.html Darrell does a nice job on them. But what I would do from what you described would be to cutaway that rib and reinforce the structure around it. I have built a wall around the retract well and then glassed the inside of it. it will add a lot of strength. other than that I wouldnt know unless you can maybe lower the retract mounts themselves. Joe"

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Question 44: "I would like to modify some plans I got from Palmer. Could you recommend a computer program to help accomplish this task. I want to increase the size of the 132 inch C-130H to the around the size of Carl Bachhuber's Lancaster. The Warbird I want to build is the C-130 SPECTER Gunship of the Air Forces Special Operation Wing. Its a magnificent bird. I was in The US Army Special Forces and use to call them in for air support when we need to get our buts out of trouble. Any advice you have I would greatly appreciate. Mike"

Joe: "Hi Mike I got the Palmer 130" ws C-130 and I am using Corel Draw 11 to do all my vectoring. it is easy to use and not near as complicated or as expensive as Autocad. It will do everything autocad can do without the headaches. I myself will be doing it in the AC-130 Spectre scheme as it is an awesome plane just like the AC-47 was. One thing you will notice on the Palmer plans is that the straight lines arent straight and the plans dont seem to line up when you try to join them (at least mine didn't). I will be raising the WS of mine to 179" as myself and Glenn of Skunkworks out of missouri want to do this size. here is a walkaround site and another picture site for your project just in case you need some more reference.

http://members.tripod.com/~a26invader/ac130u .htm or http://www.specwarnet.net/vehicles/spectre.htm http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/8758/ac-47or html http://c130.robins.af.mil/Graphics/graphics.htm

if you need any more help feel free to ask but I would definately find a copy of Corel to import your plans and do what you want to with them....... Joe "

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Question 45: " was curious if you have ever seen plans for an R/C P-3C? Possibly could make one out of a Lockheed Electra. Thanks"

Joe: "Hi Mike I have heard of 1 P-3C Orion but could not find who it was. You might try RCM or MAN Plans they might have something. The P-3c Orion is in itself just a modified L-188 Super Electra. What at first threw me off was when you mentioned electra I got thinking the the electra and super electra of the Lockheed Hudson in WWII era. If you can find plans of an L-188 then you would be fine as it is the same plane as the P-3C but I haven't been able to find anything other than plastic but I have heard of one being built somewhere just cant remember where I read about it. sorry I couldn't be of any more help........Joe "

Update: "Thanks to Charlie "Bear Builder" one of our RCWarbirds readers he directed me to 2 threads on RC Universe with someone doing Plans for the P-3 Here Are the Links; http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84608&forumid=220&highlight=P3 and http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84049&forumid=58&highlight=P3

Thanks Charlie for the Info. BTW my friend Charlie is about to start the Don Smith Russian Bear Everyone visit his construction site when he posts it to show our support. Joe"

Question 46: "Hey Joe, I don’t have your other address with me now but I wanted to get your opinion of Hostetler plans. You indicated a while back that Palmer plans were not as nice as Ziroli and I wanted to know about Hostetler. Do the plans accommodate a crutch for ease of building etc.? Thanks, Brian Graves."

Joe: "Hi Brian I have built Hostettlers 1/3 scale cessna 150/151 and put floats on it. That plane didn't use a crutch but 2 ply slabs for fuse sides that you connected with square wood and added some shaped sections on basically like a box construction. I personally like them better than palmers plans but like several other designers out there everything is on as few sheets as possible making the plans hard to read and had a hard time finding the shapes of all the parts I needed to cut. But that is only 1 plane. I have heard from others that enjoyed building other planes of his and didn't have the trouble I did. I think the cessna is one of his earlier planes so that may be the reason and he got better than that. I would however like to give a go at his 27% Cessna 421C though as I hear it is a very nice flying plane. Also Just like to let you know that his plans are are designed for advanced scratch builders. Joe "

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Question 47: "I am building a Kyosho P51 D Mustang ARF that I have purchased a O.S. .52 Surpass 4 stroke engine for. My question is, when setting the engine mounts to the firewall, what is the best way to do this to ensure that the engine will be mounted exactly center and straight? I have been flying for a little less than a year and this is my third plane so I want to make sure that I am doing everything the best that I can. Thanks for any advise!!! Eric"

Joe: "Hi Eric they passed this one off to me so lets see if I can live up to my reputation. First I do nit know the shape of your firewall so I will give you a couple options here.

1: If the firewall has straight vertical sides or close to it pick a spot high up the wall and measure across the firewall and find the center and make a mark. Next do the same thing towards the bottom of the firewall. Then all you need to do is draw a line using your two marks as a centerline guide. Next follow the instructions with your kit and measure down however far then using a drafting triangle use the centerline as the edge to square the triangle up to and draw your line this will mark your position for your engine then you can use these 2 lines to make all your measurements from.

2: if you have a flat bottom to your firewall you can measure across the bottom to get your center then just square your triangle up with the bottom and draw your centerline then use the steps above to get your horizontal line. You then have lines to measure off of to make sure your engine brackets are mounted the same. One thing I do when placing the brackets for mounting is to bolt the engine to the brackets so you know they fit to the engine and then set it in place and draw around the brackets you can then take off the engine set brackets in place and drill any mounting holes. Joe "

Eric replies: "Joe, Thanks for the great idea! It sems in this hobbie that the more questions that you ask the better you are off. Thanks again for the ideas, I will put them to work. Eric"

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Question 48: "Joe, Finished building my tf P-51b and ready for glassing, is it something I can do myself or do I need some help, had a friend going to help but he had to leave town. Is there a website that describes the process step be step. Tell what you think
Daryl"

Joe: "Hi Daryl yes you can glass yourself without any problems if you goto my site here http://home.mchsi.com/~jahuntley/help.html There is an article on how to glass with lacquer based Polyurethane. That's what I use to glass and a lot of other people with more and more going to this method. You will need to do it outside of the house like a shop garage or just outside in the yard due to the smell but it dries very fast and is strong and most of all is lighter than the epoxy method. Joe "

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