Robert Caso

The greatest looking ugly plane ever built!

Hey Guys - Ray, I just emailed Mike and thank you for the comments! I noted that I have upgraded the parts for the folding wing and redid the plans. I just sold a kit to a guy in the UK whose father used to fly the Swordfish, so now my personal connection with this airplane and its history is officially complete! BTW - has anyone seen this book? If you like the Swordfish, you're gonna love this - terrific and a must have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fairey-Swordfish-Manual-Haynes-Manuals/dp/0857333623 Rob  

JM - was that the kit I sell? The story was that I soon redesigned it on paper with ailerons but my model just sat. I got mad recently one day and fixed it all. Rob

And now for something completely different: Does anyone here know Richard Crapp and perhaps if he has plans available for the magnificent Swordfish he did a few years ago? I have a design going of a larger one in 1/7 (78" but if I could get my hands on Richard's design I would rather build that. Comments/connections appreciated! Rob

BTW - if any of you guys want to buy the stuff that is available only in the US - the cowl, the pants, the dummy engine, it is probably a lot less for me to ship a collective order than it would be for you guys to do it piece by piece. This is the way I would do it: I will gather the prices plus shipping to me from the recommended vendors that I have noted on the plans. I will then give you the price list plus my "to me" shipping cost and add shipping to UK to ship all this stuff to you together in a single box. You guys then send me money - if paypal plus 5% international fee - and then hope that I don't spend it on Porsche car or BMW motorcycle parts. I will then order the stuff per the price list, pack it up and send it to the guy from the UK who sent me the money. I will not mark anything up, I will just do it because I am a modeler first. Rob

Posted by Tomtom39 on 30/10/2015 17:01:46: Robert. That made me laugh (lots of crying also recently following the demise of two costly models !) However all is not lost . I have decided to go ahead with building (or rather at least getting the component parts of the Bulldog cut out .) I have for a number of months been toying with the idea of buying my own Laser cutter and I'm now being lent one for a few weeks to try out and it comes with a man who knows what to do with it (or rather a fellow modeller who is conversant with programming this beast). I have already started a long list of wood that I need. A trip down to Essex (Balsa Cabin) may be called for next week. I have at least a dozen other plans to cut out so will be undertaking a bit of learning! The Springfield Bulldog is a beautiful model and all credit to you for it. I look forward to seeing a few up next year at the RCME fly -in . Tom - thank you for your comments on the model. This is a terribly unforgiving hobby as is flying in general which is why I strive to perfect at least the stuff I have control over - the design, the weight, the components. It just doesn't pay to skimp on anything we have control over and this is the reason that the cost of the BD is rather high. The parts are intricate and there is almost every type and thickness of wood employed and each of these approaches serve a critical purpose either weight-wise or structure-wise. But all this makes it a nightmare to cut economically. When it comes to the componentry, woe unto thee who cheaps out. For me, it's just not worth the risk and I pay for all my stuff just like everybody else. All this is especially important for me since I have the wild card of being a lousy flier - the weak link in the chain! If you can afford a laser, by all means do it. I could have never designed any of my more recent models without the knowledge that I can laser cut it all. I am a decent, old school "by hand" guy but the laser simply enhances those already learned skills. As an editorial comment, if you want to digitize the plans, by all means be my guest, but I would never spend the time "reinventing the wheel" if the parts already exist. The return will be the speed at which the model can be built - use your skills and develop your learning process on another "must have" model! Rob

Couple of pics in my last post - I will be doing an article for RCME on the process here, but not really hard to do

The cost of the kit is soon forgotten after the wheels leave the ground.

John - appears that you have already aligned the wings - was going to post pic but can't figure out how on here. Key is to get the fuselage level and square on a flat surface - I did this with a temporary mount to the firewall that was flat and level on the bottom and firm foam block aft. Then I propped the wings up with some heavyish scrap wood with the verticals as separate pieces supporting the wings. The base of these were clamped to the table and the verticals clamped to that so you could adjust them to set the dihedral. Rob

I designed and built my1/15 scale, 37” Fairey Swordfish about 10 years ago as a building feature for Backyard Flyer magazine. In the interest of simplicity, I left out the ailerons and this wound up being a major mistake as the model just did not do well with only a rudder. I just recently rebuilt the wings with ailerons and decided also to do folding wings. Nothing looks cooler than a topedoed up Swordfish on a carrier deck. The model now flies great.

John - obviously I haven't been in in awhile but the model looks great. Hope you post some more progress pics. I remember that it was at about this stage of construction when I began to think that this thing would never fly. Hope you're finding the build to be reasonably drama free. You did the LG the easy way. By the time I settled upon the final design, the fuselage was already skinned and it was a pain in the neck to install. Rob Caso

Hey Guys, at the risk of being "really boring" here is a list of what the short kit includes. Now I am presuming that RCME will provide all this stuff but this is at least a list of what I sent them. Note that one line item of what is included could in fact be 4-6 parts due to laminations needed etc. Plus, it comprises every size and type of wood you can imagine. It is a bear to produce, believe me. But it is rather easy to build. Rob Fuselage: Bulkheads Slotted longerons Sprung landing gear mount Landing gear struts box structure Motor mount box and mount for replica engine Nose filler pieces Servo mounts Tail cone mount Battery tray and mount Carburetor intake scoop Wing: Ribs and main spars Gull ribs and spars Gull root fomers Leading edge formers Mounting tongue and box Wing tips Hatch and servo mounts Strut bracing and fairing formers Empennage: Fin and stab built up outlines, pre slotted for hinging Rudder and elevator core outlines, pre slotted for hinging Fin and stab skinning Primary items needed to complete the model: Straight section of 32 x 2 x ¾” plywood 1/8” contest balsa sheet 3/32” contest balsa sheet 1/16” contest balsa sheet 48”x ¼ x 3/16 hard balsa strip (4) Hitec HS65 HB servos Castle 50amp speed control Male and female Deans connector Thunder Power 4s, 3200 mAh lipo battery OS Max 3825-750 motor 12x8 propeller Four channel radio 14” servo leads 9” servo leads 4-40 blind nuts and hex screws Pair 3.5” Dave Brown wheels Great Planes micro hinge points ½” OD x 2” springs Central Hobbies 1/8” carbon pushrods 1/16” and 3/32” wire 48”x .155” OD carbon fiber tube Brass sheet and tube .155 ID aluminum tube Fiberglass Specialties 8x4” cowling Pair Fiberglass Specialties wheel pant #79 10 sq ft of .75 oz fiberglass cloth Sig Koverall covering Minwax Polycrylic Water based vinyl spackle

Erflog - thank you for your comments. If you must know, I actually prefer the UK modelers and feel that RCME is the best mag on the market, followed closely by RC Sport Flyer, for which I write the scale column. You UK guys are friggin serious about your models - look at guys like Richard Crapp, Dave Platt and a host of others I can't even name. My attempts at emulating what these guys do is merely a "glancing blow", but I keep trying! Every model I make has to more difficult than the last and, re the GB, my airplanes usually have guns and dull green paint. The larger Bulldog (first was 33" is somewhat of an anomaly for me, built for the NFARS "race" held at the NEAT fair in NY and agreed to during a beer induced discussion. See the RC Groups post above. Nevertheless people are now looking for me to do an even larger one but this time "almost exact" scale in maybe 1/5. But hard to put that in front of my 130" Lysander that I am currently doing. Re one of the prev ideas of using a large tube - I did think of that but this thing is basically 1/2 of a football and you have the taper to contend with. Plus, I could not have the bulkheads spinning around on a tube. So, the jig has to be square or "X" shaped (as on my prototype) so that things stay reasonably in place as you go. I do agree that there are many ways to go on this model and what I have done is just one. Having a laser has transformed the hobby for me however and, as a result, I am such a "cheater". I have it do everything from cutting the parts you see to paint masks, plastic details, and even the skeletons for the molds I make. I am shameless. You'll be happy to know that I constantly beat on the guys over here to actually build something. And something interesting. And it better be good. So, I pick on everyone equally. Rob

Posted by Mowerman on 18/03/2015 16:11:10: I am another who would like to build this model and may be put off by the cost of the laser kit. However the complexity of the parts makes me think that, without power tools (band saw or scroll saw) to do the cutting out, how long would it take with a hand fretsaw. At my age (75) would I ever get to the end As the old man used to say 'They Don't put pockets in shrouds' Edited By Mowerman on 18/03/2015 16:12:32 Edited By Mowerman on 18/03/2015 16:15:18 Mower - spend your time building and flying, not cutting, unless you like to cut of course. Once you see how well the model flies, you will forget about how much it cost. By the time you cut all the parts out by hand, glue them together and then have to do a finish, you'll be sick of it. Frame the model in a long weekend. Take 2-3 weeks to install, finish and fettle together. In a month you will have a nice model. My prototype took me about 3 months to do, but I was designing and "figgering things out" as I went - especially the landing gear which took me a long time to finalize. You can see all the trials and tribulations here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1740175 Rob Rob

Erflog - I am not at all insulted by this conversation - it's a good "fanatic modeling" exchange among serious modelers. Perfect by me since I like to think of myself as such. Re the complexity of the model, again weight was the primary concern. You can have lightness, strength, or low cost. Pick two. Rob

Posted by alan p on 17/03/2015 12:50:46: Hi Robert Thank you for your reply, with you saying the crutch method is viable. I am considering a I/c version with perhaps 40/50 FS cutting formers myself so was seeing if there could be a simplification . When present build is finished will look into it further. Definitely an interesting subject its got presence Alan p Alan - yes after thinking about it, you could make two more interlocking horizontal longerons and then simply cut the slots in the bulkheads in which these would reside wider to accommodate (2) such longerons. Then cut ea bulkhead in half, at the halfway point in the notch. Since the (4) critical longerons interlock, if you keep everything straight and 90 deg it should work. Not an easy set of parts to cut by hand however. Rob

Posted by alan p on 15/03/2015 11:47:07: Would it nor be possible to give the option of building the fus as a double crutch ala airsail chippy with fus formers reduced to half height.It would reduces wastage/complexity/cutting time and still give a stong light build using a complete front bulkhead to strengthen the front end??? As commented on earlier posts time and material wastage =cost. Alan - If I understand the concept of a double crutch whereupon an upper and lower or a side and side would be joined, yes this is an option. With this method you would have the weight of the additional crutch which, when joined with its mirror image, would not be necessary. Re the 1/2 height formers, these would still need to be circular and while a circle is a very inefficient shape when it comes to laying out a "cut" file, you are correct that many parts could be "nested" (and material saved) since this method would not require the centers of the parts to be present. The resulting framework would be marginally heavier but probably not an issue with this model. Rob C

Posted by David Ashby - RCME on 13/03/2015 18:25:21: Well, a set of parts was in the office today so I took a look. You only have to look at the plans to see that it's a complex model with intricate parts and the plans service people tell me that it takes a lot more time to cut this one than the average set. The parts look very impressive, but, as has been said, they're not the cheapest. I've asked them to look again at pricing. David - I can vouch for the argument that the model takes a long time to cut - it takes me about 3 hrs to cut on my 30 watt CO laser since each part is cut one at a time. And then there is vacuforming, packaging and plan reproduction. When I designed it, I felt that weight was the primary issue with this model, not parts count nor complexity. As a result, what is there is only what needs to be there and the result of that is using only wood types and thicknesses that would do the trick. Anyone can build a bridge to support a car, but can they build a bridge to just support a car? That is the key question. There was a very nice and very scale 1/6 Bulldog built in 1979 by Dick Enos and his model was flown successfully at 8 pounds - with no sprung LG. This one is just over 5 which is why it can be flown by me and by decent flyers everyday. Plus, all the parts on this design interlock which accounts for their detail. Re the amount of wood, sadly, alot of it gets "binned" such as the removable ply centers of the bulkheads since these are there only for initial alignment. A tube is a very sturdy structure so anything inside, after the tube is built, does not need to be there. So, yes, I agree the model is expensive and therefore only those serious enough will want to build one. The return to the modeler is that of not spending endless hours cutting impossible shapes on a jig saw or by hand and the fact that the model can be framed in a weekend if you work hard enough. Plus, there are few if any modelers that I know of that can duplicate the precision and repeatability of CAD driven laser cutting. Rob Caso

Hobbylinc.com has the cheapest Wm Bros full kit of the P&W at $35