CONSTRUCTION ADVISOR

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

Joe Huntley
 
 
Page 8 Questions 169-192, click links or browse page.
Question 169 Left wing 1/8 inch too long ? Question 181 Web site for P-40 details ?
Question 170 Making an Avernger wing fold ? Question 182 B-25 pushrods ?
Question 171 Elmers Ultimate Polyurethane glue ? Question 183 Soviet fighter kits ?
Question 172 Radio access in a Ziroli B-25 ? Question 184 Two recievers ?
Question 173 Source for scale wheels ? Question 185 Fowler flap system ?
Question 174 Basic airfoil and incidence from three views ? Question 186 Top Flite P-47 two strok or four stroke ?
Question 175 60 cc radial plane choice ? Question 187 Good kit for first rcwarbird ?
Question 176 Top Flite Corsair covering methods ? Question 188 Scale spinners for Widgeon ?
Question 177 3/4 oz glass cloth in rolls ? Question 189 Nosen P-51 flap/aileron linkage ?
Question 178 Yellow or Ziroli P-38 ? Question 190 Resin bubbles when glassing ?
Question 179 Good kit for a large Mustang ? Question 191 Royal Corsair fuel tank and retract locations ?
Question 180 Servo tray location in Bud Noesen Corsair ? Question 192 Source for scale building tips ?
 

Question 169: "Hi Joe I'm scratch building a plane for the first time and after completing the wing I realized the left side of the wing was 1/8 inch longer than the right side. The wing span is 84 inches and I want to know will this have an effect on flying the plane? If it don't have any effect on flying the plane how much can you be off before it have any effect on flying? Thanks John "

Joe: "John I actually not too sure on the affect as i have not see this before. I doubt that 1/8th inch would be detrimental to the flight of the plane just will look weird. I wouldnt be wanting any more than that 1/8th and I would probably cut loose the short half and rebuild it if it was me but I dont think you will have any problems so wouldnt worry abt it too much Joe"

Back To List

Question 170: "Good day, I have been looking and found nothing on folding wing, only F4u type. I need mine to la along side Avenger type. I have some thing built but held back on the final wing assembly till? Regards, Randy "

Joe: "Hi Randy The Avenger wing is a complicated one to do as it folds and rotates at the same time. The only one that I know of that has been sucessfully done is Nock Ziroli Jr's. I have tried to find out from him before how to do it with no luck. I hear he gave up on it after it failed in flight because of the folding wing so maybe because of that he would rather not tell how to do it because of liability. I would say goto your local college and to the engineering section and hit them up with what you want done and maybe the instructor will make it a class problem solving project. I have found for artwork and other stuff i need for my planes my local college loves to help me out on that stuff as it is a learning experience for their students. Joe"

Update from Jim Harder: "Regarding the Grumman folding wing. The hinge is slanted outboard at 35 degrees and then rotated rearward 30 degrees. Bob Holman used to sell a set of plans for a folding wing Wildcat from England and it operates exactly as in the Avenger. I have built 3 Wildcats with them and they work well. It sure is handy to just pull the locking pins, fold the wings and stick in in the back of the truck. No wing removal. The tricky part is making a locking device at the leading edge of the wing. Jim "

Back To List

Question 171: "Hello Joe. I was unable to find Elmers Probond Polurethane Glue, but found and tried Elmer's Ultimate polyurethane glue. Is this the same thing? I was under the impression this stuff was sandable, but my results where a real pain! Did I do something wrong or are these different glues with different properties. Thanks, Ron"

Joe: "Hi Ron I am not familiar with that particular glue but I know that probond or the other equivelant glue is called gorilla glue sands very easy. as far as I know, all polyurethane glues are foaming expanding glues and should sand easily. some places I find probond are walmart, kmart, lowes, or meynards and ours is not open yet but people say home depot carries it. you shouldnt have any probs with what you got may just be a lottle harder to sand,but when i get glues like that and have some beads to get rid of a razor plane works nice til its flush with the rest of the surface then sand . Joe"

Back To List

Question 172: "Joe, getting ready to start my Ziroli B-25 118" Version. What is your thought on the wing center section? What would be the best for radio access, a center section part of fuselage or removable? Room is not that much of an issue as is bomb bay doors and access to radio compartment and other stuff. the wing tips will come apart either way? Thanks. Chuck."

Joe: "Hi Chuck I would opt for the removeable center as you would have to split the wings outside of the nacelles to keep the strength in the wing and it will make for a wide fuse and center wing to try and move around. My wing when i was working on it was set up to be a 3 piece but you can pretty mich do it as a 1 piece removeable if you have something at least 9 ft long to transport. That is how I would do it."

Back To List

Question 173: "Hello Joe, I am building an FW190 1/5 and was wondering if I built my own landing gear where can I find tires for these retracts. Thanks in advance, Laurence."

Joe: "hello Lawrence the place I use exclusivly now a day is a company calles scale wheels http://www.scalewheels.com they are out of the UK but they are fast service and a lot less expensive than Glennis. they also carry up to 8" tires. For my large Hurrimonster project the 7 1/2" mains and the tailwheel only going to cost me $75 for all 3 together. They also have some nice scale FW tires too. Joseph Huntley, US Scale Masters Midwest Regional Manager"

Back To List

Question 174: "Joe , here I come back at you again. I want to scratch build my first airplane...meaning I want to take a set of 3 views and try my luck. Here are a few questions for you. How do I choose an airfoil for the plane and washout? How do you or would you determine engine size? Determne incidences? And when and where you should deviate from scale? I am looking at doing a German WWII bomber/ twin engine plane and I want to cut it all from foam.... Thanks in advance "

Joe: "Hi Tony heres how I do it first for airfoils you can go here http://www.aae.uiuc.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html it lists the airfoils each aircraft used and theres a huge list of aircraft covered. Just use what the original used and you wont have a problem. the only time the FS airfoil wont work worth a crap is on ws 70" and below because they are too small to get the benefit of them. for warbirds I always use between 2 and 3 degrees washout I come at this over years of building it seems all the designers for warbirds seem to keep in that range and it works so why change it. Incidences I usually put a 2 to 3 degree incidence in the wing and 1 degree in the stab rule of thumb i saw somewhere is you should keep the incidence between the wing and stab with in 1 degree of each other and no more than 2 degrees. as for aeronautical engineering rules and calculations I dont waste my time with them I do what I have seen done on most every plane I have ever built so I will trust whats common and works over what may be mathematically correct. right now I am designing a DC-7 and have 3 deg washout 2 deg wing inc and 1 deg stab also doing an ME 410 and have 3 deg washout 3 deg wing inc and 1 deg stab inc if you have good factory 3 views a lot of them will tell the incidence like the DC7 ones did. When should you deviate from scale? anything under the IMAA legal of 80" will need some deviation anything over you can use FS stuff with no adverse affects and thats usually in airfoil type. Joe"

Back To List

Question 175: "Dear Joe It happened the other way with me: I first obtained the engine, now I need a plan. The engine is a 5 piston 60cc radial. Can you advise me on a suitable plan for a Stearman or other similar plane for which this engine can be used? Thank you Cor "

Joe: "Core Balsa USA has a coupl should work a 1/3 scale sopwith pup http://www.balsausa.com/kits/kit.htp?id=24&shopperid=
or Zirolis 87" Stearman http://www.ziroliplans.com/pt17_choose.html Balsa usa has a couple others like a 1/4 scal neuport or zirolis DR I which take 38cc or larger that should work for ya, Joe"

Back To List

Question 176: "Dear Sir, I’m sure you get this question a lot so I apologize in advance for asking it one more time. I was wondering what your opinion is on the Top Flight Corsair (62” wingspan)? I see on rcwarbirds.com and elsewhere that there are a lot of the giant scale Top Flights but for myself, I think this is a bit much for my first war bird. In addition, I read your article on how to glass with polyurethane and I was wondering, would you recommend this method for covering the Top Flight Corsair in question? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. "

Joe: "Hi Phil I not that familiar with the TF Corsair but with all the TF planes out there you know they are good flyers if not heavy little beastys. and that brings us to question 2 I would use the glassing technique except fot the glass part I would replace the glass with tissue paper to save weight. there are a lot of guys doing smaller planes over in the UK and they been having a lot of sucess with tissue and poly U. Theres a guy building a Skyshark val on this thread http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133&PN=1 that covered it with tissue. Being xmas time you can prob get a nice bunch of tissue from walmart or the such dirt cheap. Joe"

Back To List

Question 177: "Hi Joe, I'm at the point of fiber glassing my TF Giant Corsair and I will be using the West Systems products with 3/4 oz. cloth. My question is were can I find the cloth in rolls. My local hobby shop can only get it in the small bags (1 sq yard).
Thanks, Rob."

Joe: "Rob you might go here https://www.cstsales.com/home.htm to the composites store they usually always have sales going on and a friend of mine just got a 100 yard roll of .73 oz for $120 shipped to his door from Thayercraft Industries thayercraft@earthlink.net He's got from .56oz to 5.53oz at really good prices"

Back To List

Question 178: "Hi Joe, I have a question for you and your pals. I want to build a P-38 for my son and want an opinion on Yellow vs. Ziroli. I like the size of the Ziroli but I also like the completeness of the Yellow kit. I already have 2 scratch projects in the works so I am looking at the fiberglass kit options here. Any opinions on one kit over the other? I really want the Ziroli but I believe I can complete the Yellow quicker and for a few less $. Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated. David "

Joe: "Hi Marvin its really up to you both are good flyers. Working with glass fuses isnt very hard you mainly just have to clean up the seams and glue in the firewall and a couple formers. So take your pic cause they both are nice I would lean more towards theYellow kit if i was making the choice. Joseph Huntley"

Back To List

Question 179: "I am looking for a good kit to build a Large mustang or equivilent. What would you recommend. I am not the greatest builder but I love to fly. I need something that is not overly completcated but can be built by you average Joe. I am not apposed to ARF kits. I just want to fly BIG warbirds Thanks, Jason"

Joe: "Jason I would reccomend for you to go with the Top Flight Giant Mustang. First thing would be to download the construction manual for it and browse through it to see if you can build it you can get it here http://www.top-flite.com/manuals/index.html you shouldnt have any problems as top flight designs their planes as a jumpoff point for building meaning they give you step by step instructions with lots of pictures and also keep the construction simple. Also there are a lot of people out there that build their planes so plenty of help on the web if ya become stuck. Happy Holidays Joseph Huntley"

Back To List

Question 180: "Have you ever built a Bud Nosen Corsair of the plans? My question is where is the best spot to place the servo tray? The plans don't show anything about servos or controll surfaces or tank placement. Thanks Rick"

Joe: "Hi Rick I am not sure on any Nosen planes as i have never even seen a set of his plans but will try to help you here.
First thing is he probably doesnt show any locations as other designers dont either due to the fact everyone has their favorite way to mount. that being said the best way is to locate the servos as close to the controls as possible and use a short wire control rod. you would wqant to mount the servos for the flaps and the ailerons in the wing. the best way to do that is to mount them sideways on a removeable servo tray and use a short metal pushrod maybe 6" or less long direct to the flap or aileron. this gives you the optimal slop free control to the flap or aileron. for the tail feathers you want to keep them as far forward as possible to help keep tailweight down. A good location could be in the fuse just behind the trailing edge of the wing opening that way you can acess them through the opening in the fuse where the wing mounts. the fuel tank iof using a gasser isnt too critical just find a place somewhere in the nose to mount it. if using a glow engine you need to make sure it is in the nose as close to the firewall as possible and centered with the carb. I hope this helps some any more questions on it feel free to email me. Joseph Huntley"

Back To List

Question 181: "Is there a great site for P40 Detail like the one on the corsair that you listed ? "

Joe: "hey lou here ya go aircraft resource center http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/ tons of plane walkarounds and several on the P-40E "

Back To List

Question 182: "Hi Joe, hope you had a nice Christmas, I did but I didn't get any parts for my B-25! ( Didn't expect any either ) Looking for a push rod like dubro or sullivan but stronger. 2 part system 1 rod in a rod. Chuck"

Joe: "Chuck I would go with the carbon fiber pushrod system they ar 2 part and very stiff lot better than the sullivan or dubro
Joseph Huntley "

Back To List

Question 183: "Hi Joe, First of all, "Happy New Year" to all you folks at RCWarbirds, along with my sincere appreciation for a job-well-done...your site HAS TO BE one of the top sites (if not #1) in the whole world on the subject of warbirds. I log on almost every day to see if there are any words of wisdom to be gobbled up... Now then, I got two questions, whereby one may not be in your area of expertise, but perhaps you can kindly pass it on :

1.Do you have any advice to offer on proper painting technique and cure times...meaning to say, once the plane is glassed, sanded and smooth, how to correctly proceed from there. Again, not choice of colors, but HOW to do it, so that it sticks and looks good.

2.Seems that 90% of the scale modellers build either Mustangs, Corsairs, P-47's, with the odd sprinkling of ME-109's and FW's...myself, I'm looking for something a little more exotic and along the lines of the YAK-3 or LAK type model. Do you know of anyone that can provide plans/cut kits for WWII Soviet or Japanese (not Zero) fighter aircraft? (80" or above wingspan) ?
Thanks & best regards, Jim, Hamburg, Germany "

Joe: "Hi Jim thanks for your comments and Safe Happy new year to you also. First let me answer the second question first. If you want some really unusual planes Vance Moshur of Vanguard Vancouver has some really nice stuff and very nice detailed super scale plans http://www.vanvan.us/ you may want to look at his Wyvern now for a little bigger and in Russian and Jap stuff I would look towards Don Smith http://www.donsmithplans.com/

To answer the first question that would require an entire book on it what I would suggest is to order the Higley book "There are no secrets" http://members.aol.com/harryhig/Books3.htm Catalog Number BOK002 ot covers every aspect of painting and finishing your plane. it has several compatability charts, how to thin paints, mixing paints, etc etc etc I think it is less than 20 bucks and would answer all your painting and finishing questions. Joseph Huntley"

Back To List

Question 184: "I would like to now, when is necesary to have more than one receiver in the plane... Thanks"

Joe: "Hi Eduardo fisrt I would like to state that it is not necessary to have 2 recievers in any plane. What the use of 2 recievers in the plane does is builds in redundancy. The most common methoed of this is to hook 1 side of the planes controls up to 1 reciever and the other sides up to the other receiver this will theoretically help give you some overall control of the plane in case of a receiver failure. Another method is if you use multiple servos per control surface say 2 servos per aileron or rudder put 1 servo of the right side aileron on 1 reciever and 1 on the other receiver same with the left side. this basically does the same thing gives you control if you lose a receiver.
My opinion on this personally is that if you check your radio and batteries regularly and replace when necessary 1 receiver is plenty safe enough. I also like to use fiber optic servo extensions on my giant scale planes which you can get here http://www.geocities.com/traviscouch/hightech.html from Roger Forgues as they isolate the servos from noise and other interference and the servos have their own battery and the receiver its own. you can read more abt the tech stuff and their benefits on that site. I feel the use of fiber optics does away with the need for a second receiver. again this is just my own personal view on this. Joseph Huntley "

Back To List

Question 185: "Hi Joe. I am planning to build a Ziroli P-38, and really would love to have working fowler flaps. That seems to me to be one of the really cool things about a P-38, seeing them come in with the fowlers extended. There is an article in the book "Radio Control Airplane How to's, vol. 1" that outlines a method for fowlers using small pneumatic cylinders. The real problem for this size P-38 (1/5 scale, 114" WS) is that the flaps extend about 4 inches from the front of the flap to the extended and dropped position. I talked to a guy at a local hobby shop who is building his own ZP-38, and he has been trying to get that system to work, and says that it is not reliable, and he did not want to use it. He says his don't deploy reliably, as in sometimes one of them will not come down, or one of the cylinders hangs up. This is one of the reasons his is still not finished. The article states how reliable they are, and the author has never had a problem with his. I had already purchased the cylinders (about $150!) before he told me about this, and want to hear someone else's opinion. The design seems sound to me, but I am not an engineer, and want some guidance. This is a long-term project, but I'm committed to getting it done eventually. Thanks for your input, Sonny. "

Joe: "Hi Sonny well there are several ways to do it reliably basically you just need to make slide hinges and to hook the piston up to the flap to drive it forward. I have that book and yes they over complicate it too much. Robart sells fowler flap hinges but they are pricey http://www.robart.com/New%20Pages/Hinge.html if you goto this page though http://www.precisiondesigninc.com/fowler.htm you can see a hinge pattern then in your flaps just need some kind of rod or whatever to ride slop frr in the tract then your pistons mount them to the flap using a ball joint or similar. I know this isnt much but that page will help you tons then just gut you some hinges out of brass plate or something and do a mockup with some flat stock. remember the curved hinge will take care of the down and back part you just need to then tweek it for the travel distance. Joseph Huntley"

Readers Update: "Question 185 from Sonny asked about fowler flaps for the ziroli P-38. The author (Robert Alms) of the article in the book "Radio Control Airplane How to's, vol. 1" has updated his design to use servo operation and has simplified the design. A friend has a P-38 flying using the design and I am working on one. Check out rcstore.com and search for fowler flaps and order the plans #fsp03972 good luck. Ross"

Back To List

Question 186: "So Joe, I'm building my first warbird and its a TF P-47 and now I'm at the point where I need to make a choice about the engine.My choices are from a .60 two stroke to a 1.20 four stroke, my question is which one is better?"

Joe: "I am not up on the small engines as I use gas but I would lean towards the 4 stroke as it will have more power and sound better. On the other hand I have seen people fighting to get their 4 strokes to start and to run properly. now that may be the person and not the engine but feel it is worth pointing out. As for 2 stroikes I have had several of them and never had any problems with them other than all the slime on my plane and cost of fuel. So I would vote for the 4 stroke even with the few people I have seen have problems with them just because of the power and sound but you can never go wrong with the reliable little glows especially if you use onboard glow system Joseph Huntley"

Back To List

Question 187: "I am looking for a first kit that would be good for a first time warbird builder. I have built 4 kits previously although no warbirds. Thanks Bryan"

Joe: "if you want a really nice flying plane and one thats scale and a lot of detail built into the Structure and at a decent Price I would go with one of the skyshark kits. you can get them Here http://www.rcscaleproducts.com/kits.htm whats really nice is that the cockpit is built up scale like with the framing of the fuse. If you want to see a construction article on one you can go here http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133&PN=1 Graham from the UK is doing a Skyshark Val Divebomber and has the entire build posted there it shows you what the plans look like and how it builds remember better informed of decisions helps. Second if you dont like those kits I would go with one of the top flight giant scale warbirds they are ok but a pain to build and tend to come in heavy. Joe"

Back To List

Question 188: "Hey Joe, I first have to complement you all and your magnificent effort to help others to learn, understand, and enjoy scale building. I'm red eyed from reading, and I have learned so much. Thank you all. Now, I'm building a 1/4 scale widgeon with radials engines. It has typical chrome plated spinners which are screwed to the back plate. The prop cutouts are oversize with gussets screwed to the spinner to remove the air gap between original cutout and blade. At the moment, I don't think my True Turn spinners will work for static competition. Do you have any ideas where I might find a more true to scale spinner without the center hold down screw. Thanks again for your help. Jack McGeough "

Joe: "Hi Jack Sorry I dont but maybe one of our readers will see this and reply Joseph Huntley"

Back To List

Question 189: "My friend and i are starting the construction of 2 A&A ind P-51 Nosen kits and the question is this. the plans show using pushrods and bellcranks for the ailerons and flaps. would it be better to have the servos closer to the surfaces they control and housed in the wing or do it via the pushrods. if using pushrods would the cable and sheath style work or not? also what kind of reinforcement will this require to mount annco retracts in the wings. i have bulit a few planes in the past but nothing this big so any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks Craig / Chuck"

Joe: "Hi Craig and Chuck I always try to put my servos in the wing as close to the ailerons or flaps as possible then use stiff music wire for the control rods. The only thing I use them plastic pushrods for is to mount in the wings or fuse to run retract hoses through so I can change them once a year so I know I have reliable hoses with no leaks"

Back To List

Question 190: "Joe, I had followed all the instructions using the Lacquer to seal and finally "glue" the glass onto the parts. When it had dried, there were some "resin" bubbles remaining . Prior to brushing the lacquer onto the glass, I had smoothed out the glass until it was almost a perfect smooth skin to the balsa. i.e. no wrinkles of any sort. Is the resin bubbling normal, or had I inadvertantly erred in my application of the lacquer. Otherwise, the finish is just extraordinary. My second coat should be applied tonight, then primer will be the next process to complete. Your comments please, thanks,"

Joe: "Hi Lewis only thing I can think of caused it is possibly ya shook the can? The poly can't be shook but stirred up slowly. It won't hurt any having a few small bubbles and if the break leaving small pinholes then the second coat should cover them up. Also I use scratch filling primer for my fisrt primer coat and it will fill all those small holes up. Just remember dont shake in case you did. "

Back To List

Question 191: "Hello Joe I read your sight and was wondering where or how I could solve this problem. I bought the old Royal Matuaka Corsair F4U-1A 98"wing span and 80" fuse.the plans are tough as follows; no fuel tank drawing no retracts drawing no flaps drawing no wheel sizes etc. I am not a warbird expert but I built alot of planes. I bought the Robart whole set tail wheel, main tank etc. I even bought another set of plans nothing. Can you help me. thank you for your time
Tony. PS The plane is not hard to build but I would like to do it RIGHT "

Joe: "Hi Tony have only built 1 corsair and that was many moons ago so I dont know what help I can be. For the fuel tank a lot of designers dont show them as it is personal preference where to place it and most the time there is a spot behind the firewall for them to be placed. for the tires it sounds like you have a 5th scale and 5 1/2" tires would be the tire size if you go by what ziroli recommends on his site for 5th scale. as for flaps I could only say Maybe ask Jeff quisenbury and gather all the documentation and pictures you can. for the retracts thats one of them I cant help ya with other than to say the fixed gear position will give you a starting place. "

Back To List

Question 192: "Hi, Joe I have just purchased plans to build a ziroli zero. This is my first large scale plane that I will be attempting to build but. I really want to make this plane as realistic as possible but don't really know how to do the build up to make this happen. I would like to know if you know of any book that give good tips and info on building realistic scale war birds. Thanks for your time. Michael"

Joe: "Hi Michael there are a few books out there with scale how-tos but in my opinion they are about worthless as most show stuff everyone can see in magazines etc and most are for stuff like civilian thing like piper cubs etc. I would suggest joining rc scale builder http://www.rcscalebuilder.com it is a forum dedicated to scale and everyone posts their builds online to help newbies and share their techniques. You will find such prestigious names as Dave Platt, Jerry Bates, Pat Mc Curry, the head of scale Masters
Earl Aune, and our own Darrell Tenny. that would be a great start just start a thread in Ziroli Forum for your Zero and ask for any help on the build and any ref and any scale tips and you will get it. Now thats for as you go help etc. What I would suggest is to visit various websites of people building scale warbirds as there is a lot of tips there I would definately Start with my friend Toms Site
http://www.renderwurx.com/rc/SBD/ he is a former plastic modeller and just completed a Jerry Bates Dauntless and you literally cant tell it is a model!!!! he shows how to do every itty bitty scale item in detail and always willing to answer questions. you will find him on rcscalebuilder also. and if you need help on the fly they have a chat room where pat and jerry and myself and others can be found to help. Most of us run webcams in our workshops where we can litterally show you something if you cant picture it.

here is a few to get you started beginning with my own site:
http://home.mchsi.com/~jahuntley

http://www.strictlyscale.com/

http://www.flyinglindy.homestead.com/b25construction.html

http://www.homestead.com/evoshangar/home.html

http://hoverhans.8m.com/

Joseph Huntley"

Back To List


Notice: Questions or statements regarding product quality and/or usage are solely the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion or recommendation of rcwarbirds.com or rcwarbirds.com owner/webmaster. By asking a question you are giving rcwarbirds.com or rcwarbirds.com owner/webmaster the right to post your question and name on this page. Not all questions are answered or posted. All questions and answers are copyright rcwarbirds.com

BACK to ADVISORS


Join Our Email List
Email:  

Become an RCWarbrids site supporter by making a donation.

$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
 
Google 


The Web
RCWarbirds.com