Well, got my gear back, so I am back on the Corsair. Here are some more pics for you. Here is the center section with the Likes gear installed. The tires are 9 inch compressor utility tires

OK...I have the entire center section sheeted on the top side. The areas you see left open are to get clamps in when I clamp/glue the outer panels to the center section. I have left the sheeting overhanging to glue across the top of the outer panels out to rib 9. I will do the same on the bottom. This will add a little more strength to the joint. Very tedious work to fit and sand and shape these sheets to fit. When you bend the sheets thru the gull, you loose your straight edge on the balsa sheet, and you must hand sand and fit every sheet. Ziroli does give you patterns for the front 3 sheets of the center section, and they fit nicely. However, that only accounts for about 2/5th's of the total center section sheeting, which leaves a lot for you to do. I have about 6-8 hours in just sheeting this section. Also, you cannot pre-join the sheets, and must sheet one at a time, which leaves it looking a bit rough, which is why you see all the filler. I have placed a standard 93 inch Ziroli fuse in front of the center section for a size comparison. I am now in the process of sheeting the outer panels. I have to remotivate after a nice vacation.

I am nearing completion on building this monster. I have the center section sheeted on top. I have one outer panel fully sheeted and the other panel 1/2 sheeted. I expect to join the wings next weekend. This is a shot of the 1/8 balsa leading edge sheeting going on. The can of paint is to hold the wing down on the jig strip. You can see the spar braces poking out the end. These are of 1/2 by 5/8 maple that will be glued and gusseted to the center section. I have 2x2 pine triangle stock holding them gusseted to the wing panel, top and bottom

Here, the wing panel has been completely sheeted. I left the inner bat open to get clamps on for when I glue the panels to the center section. I will sheet this area after wings are joined. The bottom side was all planked with 1/8 balsa. On the top side, the area boxed in red was covered with 3/32 balsa. the outer perimeter (leading edge, wingtip, and aileron) was covered with 1/8 balsa. I will show you why in a second. The outer flap was also sheeted with 3/32 balsa. Fully sheeted wing panel weighed in a 5.5 pounds. Pretty light for a wing panel that is a 31.5 inch chord and 52 inches in length

The F4U-1A had a fabric covered outer wing panel, with the exception of the aluminum skinned leading edge and gun bay covers/area. The outer flap was also fabric covered. Now, I want a fabric wing, but I did not want that big open bay. I did not want to worry about a wing warping with all that structure open. So, by sheeting the leading edge and gun bay area with 1/8 sheeted, and the ribbed area with 3/32 balsa, I would have a fully sheeted structure that would not twist. By adding 1/32 hard balsa strips in the rib locations, They will taper in flush with the 1/8 sheeting. I will get the effect of a fabric covered wing, without the worries. I will glass the 1/8 balsa areas and fabric cover the open bay area, and apply scale pinking tape. The F4U-1A also had a wooden skinned aileron that was fabric covered, so I will fabric cover this as well. Almost done gluing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...here is where things slow down a bit. I have moved the project out to the garage for final assembly. It outgrew my garage. I am fitting the center section to the fuse prior to fitting the outer panels on. I figure much easier to work with a 54 inch center section than a 152 inch wing. I have the wing fit. Took some sanding of the wing saddle to get a good fit. I have the wing square within 3/16 trailing edge, left to right. Anymore fiddling, and the wing is bounced off level with the wing saddle due to the odd shape of the saddle. I figure 3/16 spread out over 13 feet is pretty darn close. Pappy will never notice. You can get an idea of the size of this bird. This picture shows the center section on the fuse. That is a 48 inch level in the picture. Sorry for the poor quality of the pic, but this is a cheap digital and it was dark out. I will drill the bolt holes tomorrow. Then...time to assemble the wing.

Here is the fabric that has been applied to the outer panel. I zapped the edges with some thin CA to lock it in place. I will glass around the fabric. After glassing, I will dress the joint up by applying some pinking tape a-la full scale. Glassing is next.

Here is a pic of my ugly mug standing behind the 155 inch Corsair wing.

OK...I just got my cowl. Bob Seamy. of Quality Fiberglass, built the cowl for me (I did pay him). The cowl is superb quality. It has 3 layers of 6 oz. cloth, topped with a final coat of 4 oz. cloth. It measures 20.5 inch diameter in the back and tapers to 16 7/8 inch diameter in the front, with a length of 15 3/4 inch. I can't thank Bob enough for making this for me, and saving me the hassle. My daughter decided to try it on as a new shirt.

OK...finally got the digital working again. Plane is all first primer coat. Here is the pilot guy (Pappy) in his new mount. Partial cockpit includes dash, seat, headrest, throttle quadrant, control stick and seat belts....slim pickings.