Question210: "Hi. I have just bought the new 120' Corsair from Don and i want to make functional folding wings on it. I cant find anyone that have done that on the net, except i found a video on youtube. Do you know anywhere on the net i can find how to build that function. Thanks Thomas"
Jeff: "Hi Thomas, this may get you started:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/tm.htm#6521590
Jeff
Back To List
Question211: "I am planning a build of the F4U Corsair. I would like to know if a way to duplicate the sound it made to earn it the "Whistling Death" nickname was found. I noticed there was a similar question on this board, but I have not been able to locate it. Thanks, Ron"
Jeff: "Hi Ron, My experience is that nothing can duplicate it, and even if you do, you will likely not hear it over the engine noise. The whistle was created by air flow in to the oil coolers as I understand it. I'm afraid I am not much help on this one. Jeff"
Back To List
Question212: "Dear Jeff, I am about to begin the construction of a Me 163 Komet (105" wingspan) using the Joe Saitta kit. I am planning to use an MDS 1.48 for power. I have few questions about my plans for the build.
1) The fuse. is epoxy resin- in shipping it received a few dents - what is the best way to repair/strengthen those areas?
2) The fuse formers are plywood - for the firewall should I put the plywood on the outside and make another one 1/4' thick to put on the inside, sandwiching the fglass material?
3) I would like to run a smoke system out the tail pipe. I have never done a smoke system. Is it possible to run a header, then the smoke muffler and then a long extension to the tail and have the smoke system work? Any brands you would recommend?
4) I would like to make the wings removable. Is there a wing tube system you would recommend? Female in wings or vice versa? If the tube is inside the wing should I block it up to the level of the wing surface to have a firm surface for the attaching screws? Thanks for you time. Bill"
Jeff: "Hi Bill, I'll try to answer in series:
1. Double check to make sure it is epxoy and not polyester. I have seen a few fuses from Joe, and they appeared to be polyester from the amber color, but I have never verified.. The easiest way to tell is to scuff it with 60 or 80 grit sand paper and smell it. You will then know by the epoxy or polyester smell. To repair, just lay up a piece of 6 oz. cloth on hte inside over the damaged area, and apply some resin to the outside of the damage to fill any small craks. Then just fill with lightweight bondo, etc.
2. I would just use some Aeropoxy from BVM and apply the plywood former on the inside. You can put one on th outside, but I don't think you need to.
3. I do not have much experience with smkoke systems. I have never used one. I would recommend contacting Dick Bennet at www.bennettbuilt.com He is a good source. You can use mechanical or battery operated electrical pumps. Talk with Dick.
4. If you want to run a wing tube, contact TNT Landing Gear for a tube and phenolic sleeve. I would install a plywood former on the inside of the fuse and run the wing tube thru the fuse and mount the wings on the tube on either side. You can bolt the wing from the inside of the fuse, thru the plywood rib in the fuse, and in to the first plywood rib on the wing panel.
A bolt in the front and back of the root rib will work well. Mark and drill the ribs in line with the fuse hole. Oversize the wing ribs a bit and lock in with a plywood donut. You should ba able to frame the wing up per the plans and set it all up before you sheet the wing. Good Luck Jeff"
Back To List
Question213: "Could you give the normal location for the c/g on a Byron AT-6.It is set up with a 3W-75 and currently has about 3 pounds of lead in the cowl. Plane has never flown, and builder is no longer with us….John"
Jeff: "John, I would contact Iron Bay Models and get the actual from them, as I do not know it off hand (www.ironbaymodels.com) However, I can assure you that if you strike a virtual line straight across the leading edge of the center wing section (to remove the front edge of the wheel well pan, and take 22-25 percent of that chord distance, you will be fine. I'm sure Iron BAy will tell you the actual measurement. Jeff"
Back To List
Question214: "I'm building a TF P-47 (GS) and would like to position the retracts so they retract into the proper position. It seems the best answer is a foam wing, thus eliminating the spar cutting problem, but I also know the P-47 elliptical wing requires 4 pieces. Do you know a source for a cut foam core? Thanks, Dennis"
Jeff: "Dennis, by far the best contact is Brian Burcar at www.dbalsa.com. He cuts several foam cores for a kit. Not sure if he does a P-47, but you can ask him to trackle. Another option is to get a copy of Ziroli's 70 inch P-47 plans and enlarge the wing plans to fit the TF fuse, or just as a reference to cut new ribs for the TF wing. Good Luck. Jeff:
Back To List
Question215: "I am looking at having to paint the 5" spinner that will go on my Top Flite GS P51, and all I can find out there are real nice Aluminum Spinners. I'm really not wanting to pay out that kind of money when it will have to be painted....or is that just the way it is? Do you have any input as to other folks out there that make a fiberglass or composite spinner that I can still paint?....Mike"
Jeff: "Hi Mike, I feel your pain. These aluminum spinners cna get a bit expensive. You best bet is to pick up a Dave Bron P-51 style spinner. These come fairly cheap...about $32 bucks. http://www.dbproducts.com/store/vortpara.htm Another option would be a Zinger Spinner, again, about $32:
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=zinger+spinners&um=1&ie=UTF-8 Jeff"
Back To List
Question216: "Jeff I have a 5 cylinder Saito radial that I would like to put in a corsair. Can you recommend a manufacturer(Arf or Kit)of a corsair that this engine will work in? The engine is the Saito 325R5D Glow engine. It 3.25 ci or 53cc.Sorry I do not know the HP or static thrust output. It has a 10" diameter. Not gas converted strictly glow only. The engine weighs 84 oz. Thanks again hope to hear from you soon J DThanks J D"
Jeff: "James, given the power output of that engine, you will likely be limited to an airplane around 80 inch span, weighing in at 15-20 pounds. You could probably be good up to 25 pounds, but at that point, I think it will begine to become sluggish. For reference, a Ziroli Corsair with a Saito 450 radial is a good fit, but not a power house. You may check in to a Brian Taylor, or similar, but I am not sure if the engine will fit in the cowl. Jeff"
Back To List
Question217: "Hi Jeff; I am presently building up a 1/4 scale "Warbird" hangar. Will consist of Hawker Hurricane, FW 190 A5 and DeHavilland Mosquito. Was wondering if you could advise of a source to get 1/4 scale Hurricane plans. Didn't want to enlarge unless I have to. I am aware of Vailly Aviation re the enlargement if I go that route. I am aware of Richard Rawle from the UK but have given up hope, he doesn't answer his e-mails or follow up on his telephone conversations. Hope you can assist. Regards Randy Curts Canada"
Jeff: "Hi Randy, I am not aware of any 1/4 scale plans for a Hurricane. Thus you may have to enlarge a set. However, John Clark (of Clark Industries), of Canada, used to offer a 1/4 scale Hurricane with a glass fuse and built up flying surfaces: http://www.clarkindustries.on.ca/spits.html I had his 1/4 scale Spitfire, and it was a nice flyer. Good Luck. Jeff"
Back To List
Question218: "Hi Jeff, I am into warbirds for 5 years now, I had built top flite giant p47
and corsair.I am now searching for a P51 ( B version ). I can't find any manufacturer or plans for a P51B. I like more a razorback style warbird than a bubble canopy. Do you know who makes a P51B model ( kit ). Thanks, Serge."
Jeff: "Hi Serge, As far as I know only VQ Warbirds and Sig Manufacturing offer a P-51B ARF kit. http://www.vqwarbirds.com
http://www.sigmfg.com Jeff"
Back To List
Question219: "Hi Jeff, My name is Steve Silverthorn. I live in Sidney Ohio. I have a Byron F6F Hellcat that I perchance from Iron-Bay a couple of years ago. I been working on in now in the past,during winter months. But I had a problem getting all the parts from them. I'm Missing the pcs for finishing the horizontal tail inside the fiberglass shell. Its the former that ties into the landing gear former and the rudder plugs into. Is there a way you can get me a print and/or drawings on this so I can fabricate one? Any help would be appreciated.. Thanks, Steve"
Jeff: "Hi Steve, Have you tried contacting Iron Bay to ask for the prints? They may be willing to send you them. If not, post on RCU. I am sure someone will be willing to make you a photo copy of the template so you can cut one out. I know it is 1/8 aircraft ply. I'm afraid I do not know of a resident Byrin Hellcat in my area. Jeff"
Back To List
Question220: "Hi Jeff, I really enjoy this website and just now getting into scale building albeit on a somewhat smaller scale, please excuse the pun. I'm building an RBC FW-190 and at the point where the top wing sheeting needs to be applied. What would be a good technique for this? Should I start at the L.E. and work rearward? The sheeting is a very light 1/16th" balsa. I also plan to glass the wing and tail surfaces with .56 oz. glass cloth. I have put this off for some time as I had problems building a Ryan P-47 kit and could not get the top sheeting on so it wouldn't have ripples. Maybe it was because of the very thin wing sheeting. Thanks for your help. John Z."
Jeff: "Hi John, I find that the best way to sheet a wing especially with such thin wood is to pre-joint the wing sheeting to form a larger sheet. This is a good technique if the wing is not too wide. Also with wood this thin try and stay away from CA and use instead carpenters white glue, it takes longer to dry but is sands much easier. Lastly I would use a slightly heavier glass material such as 3/4oz. I think you will find it much easier to work with as it does not bunch or snag as much as .56 oz. You'll also get a little stronger wing. Jeff"
Back To List
Question221: "Hi Jeff, I noticed you used Likes retracts on your big Corsair. I haven't been able to find much feedback on them on the internet. I bought plans for a 1/4 scale plane that is designed around Likes retracts so I was hoping you could answer some questions. Why did you chose them over pneumatic retracts? How did they hold up as far as durability and reliability? Are there any disadvantages to electric retracts?
I appreciate any feedback you can provide. Thanks Shawn"
Jeff: "Hi Shawn, there is a long story behind the gear on my 13 foot Corsair. Let me start by saying that I did initially have Likes electric gear, but switched to pneumatic.
I bought a 13 foot Corsair partially framed up. This plane came with these Likes electric gear. The plane was worthless as built, so I sent the plane thru the fire pit, and built my own from scratch. I
installed the Likes gear, but they were not up to the challenge. Immediately, the battery pack for the gear shorted out, so I knew the maiden would not see retracted gear. The gear pivoted on 3/16 or 1/4 inch music wire (I can't remember exactly), but the weight of the plane bent the pivot rod immediately. So, now I take off with gear splayed back. This was presenting a problem on landing, but only resulted in a slow and easy tip-up on the cowl. From there, I had issues with the micro-switches (you ahve to set them up perfectly).
Personally, I am not a fan of electric gear. From my experience, there are too many issues with batteries, switches, limit sitches, worm gears and u-joints on electric gear that can and DO go wrong. Of
all the electric gear I have seen, only one person has had success.
The rest of us have sworn them off. I have had 3 sets and had no luck with any of them.
I will always recommend pneumatic where possible. I find them (pneumatic gear) to be less "obnoxious" and more reliable. About the only time they do not work is if you have an air leak, and you can usually find and fix that cheaply and easily.
In the end, on my 13 foot Corsair, I used the struts that came with my Likes gear, but Darrell Tenney from Sierra Giant Sclare retracts made a new retract units which were pneumatically operated and they only failed to come down once in 62 flights, and that was from me hitting a big rut at Muncie and bending a pin. Jeff"
Back To List
Question222: "What servos should I use for my Ziroli Corsair. Will use one for each aileron, one for flap-joining with a bellcrank and one each for rudder and elevator. This is my first warbird build. Have built many 40% Cardens and have used only JR8611's. I don't think these are needed on this plane???? Thanks Jerry"
Jeff: "If you go bellcrank on the flaps, use a 1/4 scale and set it up so that the control arm on the servo is as near paralell to the wing span as possible in the deployed position. This will take the load off the gears. I have typically used a Futaba 134 or Hitec 705MG 1/4 scale for this.
For Rudder, a servo with a torque rating in the 70-80 oz./in. is fine, unless you couple the tailwheel steering to this servo, then use a good 1/4 scale servo. Or, use a 70-80 oz./in. for each the rudder and the tail wheel if you go seperate servos.
For elevator, i like to use two 70-80 oz./in. servos coupled with a B&B servo doubler for redundancy, or you can use one of these servos for each half. If you go with one servo, a good 1/4 scale is plenty good.
With these warbirds, they are not getting ripped up thru the sky. The control deflections are short and small, so you do not need a ton of torque or holding power."
Back To List
Question223: Hi Jeff,
I recently acquired a Curtiss P-1B built from W.E. Tech plans. The top wing is 96.75 inches and the bottom is 75.5 inches. What would be the best as far as control rods go? It had nyrod in a push pull configuration which I promptly removed due to their age. The elevators operate independent of one another and I' like to do a pull/pull setup on it unless you have a better idea. I also plan on doing a pull/pull setup on the rudder. Now to my last two question. What servo torque should I be looking for? It had ancient Apollo 5's in it on all surfaces(approx 45 oz/in) that I also removed. I currently have an old Quadra 50 on it, which I plan to update to a 52 with the kit from B&B. I don't have the plans and need a rough estimate on where it should balance if you don't mind.
Thanks,
Tim
Jeff: "Hi Tim, Personally, if you run pull/pull, I like to use 45 pound test, nylon coated fishing line. Then I swage on a Du-Bro terminal end with a clevis. With the elevators being independent, I would be comfortable with a servo of 70 oz. in. per elevator. The rudder would be good also at 70 oz. in. unless you are driving a tail wheel, then I would go to around 100 oz. in. Typically, to balance a biplane, take the center line chord of the top and bottom wing and measure the depth, as if they were lain out in the same planform (as super-imposed, one on top of the other), and take 25 percent of that, and you should be OK.
Back To List
Question224:
Jeff:
Back To List
Question225:
Jeff:
Back To List
Question226:
Jeff:
Back To List
Question227:
Jeff:
Back To List
Question228:
Jeff:
Back To List
Question229:
Jeff:
Back To List
|
