Nick Somerville

Some progress today on the sliding canopy. I glued up the front and rear frames yesterday and let them set thoroughly overnight. First up I found a flat surface hinge in the odds n ends box and attached it to the top of the front frame with panel pins and cyano. Next a razor saw cut through the top of the frame from the inside up to the hinge with a slight V to allow for the pivot as the canopy slides back. Next up a track was fabricated to hold the rear of the canopy frame in place and this has a release hole at the rear (side tails have release holes at the front of their tracks). The idea is that the canopy can be removed if required but front and back won’t release at the same time. The top deck behind the pilot has a .5mm plasticard top layer sprayed silver and a luggage hatch with fake hinge and clasps added along with a few rivets. The plasticard can be embossed with simple details on the reverse before gluing in place. The final colour will be RLM Luftwaffe grey but the silver gives something to weather back to.

Finally satisfied that there was no more to add or do to the fuselage prior to glassing and so got on with what I always find a bit tricky, compared to the ease of glassing wings. While the resin fully cures I have made a start on the canopy frame that incorporates the headrest. The headrest is connected to the side frame with articulated parts to allow for the change in width as it slides back. 3mm G10 for the rear former and connector. Carbon sq with balsa for the side and light ply with a plastic sheet front for the armoured headrest. The forward canopy frames have also been fretted out from G10, but its very much a work in progress.

Hi Garry, re the fillets: For my Fw 190 and P47 ,that both have a central dihedral I sand back the fuselage outer skin a little more than shown on the plan. I then glue the wing saddle ply plate to the inside (fus box) only and then mount the wing to the fuselage. With everything measured and checked twice I then pack the small gap with thin strips of scrap balsa and add several triangular 1/4” soft balsa supports to hold the saddle tight to the wing. After sanding the triangles with coarse sandpaper wrapped around an appropriate round object its infill/sheeting time. You do need to have finalised the wing fixings first.

After a little head scratching I have made and fitted a pair of canopy rails. Brass tube slotted with an angle grinder (eek) and sandwiched between a split square section carbon tube. There is a round opening in each at the forward end into which a ball link fits in. This should mean I can remove the whole canopy if needed. I have offset the rails a little to minimise the taper but the top forward part of the canopy will still require splitting and a hinge fitting, as per the full size to allow for the rest of the taper as it is slid back. I do like shaping wing fairings and although a little fiddly on this model, due to the pair of panel hinges and various steps in the shape, it has worked out ok. As per the cowl the hinges are simulated. The rear portion is thin steamed balsa sheet and the front balsa infill with a final top coat of Fat Boy lightweight car body filler (lovely stuff to shape). The red blotches are 3m cellulose putty. Good stuff but messy as. A thin litho panel has been formed for the upper area above the vents but won’t be adhered until after glassing the fuselage. Here with the cowl in place. Not easy to see from this angle but that a a fair sized gap where the 4 simulated exhausts will go. Along with the other exhaust exit at the lower back of the cowl and the venting through the cooling flaps I have no concerns of an overheating engine.

Great to see you back on the BT building, Garry. I echo Ace’s comment.

Having never previously had an RC petrol engine I don’t know if regular tuning of the engine is required once set up. However, I would be surprised if a small adjustment to the needles wasn’t needed to allow for changes in atmospheric pressure on any given day. With the carburettor buried deep in the model I have had to be creative to find an access point to the two needles and idle screw. After a rummage in the bit n bobs drawer I found a lone gear door hinge that I removed the side that had the pivot pins. Mounted on a length of piano wire between the forward bulkheads, it swings a curved g10 hatch down and provides an easy view and access to the adjustment screws. I am painting the area inside white for maximum contrast and light. The area directly adjacent to the hatch is yet to be finalised as it forms part of the wing fairing at the leading edge. I suspect some of that fairing will overlap onto part of the hatch. A pair of 5mm neodymium magnets keeps it shut.

So, onto the cowl fitting, which I have been procrastinating over as I knew the engine was a little tight across it’s width. The right hand cylinder head rocker cover sits a little further forward than the left side and was a few mm tight. Firstly I made some rims for the cowl to sit accurately against at the top. These have inset neodymium magnets and matching parts to glue into the cowl when ready. These will firmly hold the cowl in alignment prior to tightening the fixing bolts. Fortunately with this model all four bolts will be easily accessible. Two under the gun cover and the lower pair can be done up with a hex driver inserted through the wing dowel holes (wing will have to be off for cowl removal though). First I removed the area that was making contact with the rocker cover. Then epoxied a G10 patch from the outside allowing the epoxy raise it slightly from the outer surface of the cowl. Also a piano hinge glued in place at the same time. Next some car body filler to blend it all in. I fitted a hinge on the other side and blended that in but no hole was required for the rocker cover as it sits further back where the cowl is a little wider. So now I have marginally asymmetric cowl blisters, but once painted I doubt anyone will notice. Inside I now have 2mm clearance at both sides of the engine so a great relief.

Radials are round!

I don’t know about ‘electricary’ powered models, but for IC it is generally not worth going to three blades unless your engine is more than 100cc. Nothing to stop anyone fitting an appropriately sized three blade prop, but it won’t be as efficient as a two blade one.

On her legs for the first time whilst finalising the wing dowels and fixing bolts. A crucial stage for any build and in this instance required several hours of measuring, fine fettling and more measurements before I was satisfied. Also used the opportunity to fit the wing saddle ply fillet bases.

I have a lightly used Ar620 I am taking out of my Acrowot XL that I will be selling; due to gradually changing radio systems on my models. As mentioned above they are compact and have built in bind button and aerial. I have used them in three of my models and they have been faultless. Message me if you are interested in a second hand one.

And here’s the instrument panel. Sprayed it silver first to help weather back through the grey.

Thanks Ron but I only had to assemble and paint the parts as supplied in kit form by Aerocockpit. Bit of a tweezer job better suited to 1/48th plastic modellers. Who btw have my greatest admiration for their ability to work with such small parts. I just don’t know how they do it.

Made a start on the cockpit interior. Here are the made up side panels.

I have used J Tape to mask the edge between colours when you need a soft transition and are spraying. It’s a soft foam tape in a rounded section. It does come in smaller quantities than the box shown. Phil at Fighter Aces recommended it to me.

Anyone from North Somerset/Bristol area thinking of going to The LMA Gaydon Exhibition this coming Sunday. I would be interested in lift sharing for ‘eco’ reasons.

Rummaging in the scrap drawer I found some sundry parts to fabricate a retractable pilot’s step. A simple cassette with magnets for the open and close position and a non scale tiny screw as grip to pull it out.

I have had an enforced break from the workshop for some weeks but have been back on the build for a couple of days. Half the time has been spent re-hingeing the flaps. My painstakingly made hinges that I had epoxied into the flaps all had the hinge pivot points set too low; resulting in the lower leading edge snagging the t/e. The only option was to take a razor saw and cut them off and make a jig so I could drill through the studs and fit Robart type hinges. Annoying but if I had left them in it would have necessitated a wider non scale gap. Having cleared up that mess I used some thin aluminium sheet to simulate the hinges as seen from below. The gun hood has been hinged with a pair of Robard hinges and these, where the pivots extend above the deck, will be disguised within the front canopy frame at the scale position. Magnets have been used at the lower rear corner of the hood to keep it snug against the fuselage. A locking mechanism will be made utilising the protruding machine guns. The area at the front of the canopy needed some adjustment, so some balsa infill was added inside and then a some coarse sandpaper taped to a large can was used to achieve the correct form. This will be skinned with lithoplate extending further into the cockpit once I am ready to finalise the instrument placing. I am awaiting delivery of both a pilot and some cockpit parts that will allow progress in this area. I have also ‘flow coated’ the wing after a good rub back and when this is cured and thoroughly levelled I can start to add some detail to the wing. There is quite a bit to simulate so it should keep me busy for a while.

Thanks Jon for reply regards my rpm on the 180. Weather has been very kind this week so have managed 3 outings with the 180 engined P47 and have used half a gallon of the new Optimax fuel with plenty of needle tweaking. I fitted the Falcon 18 x 8, as the APC prop looks rubbish, and today registered 7980 rpm so pretty happy.

Can you explain the operation of the retracts and the mounting of them, Craig. Such seemingly small surface area and just one hole on each side of the mounts. Wings looking great btw.

Actually meant an 18 x 8

What rpm on the ground should I expect from my 180 turning a 18 x 6 APC wide? I have been doing some general maintenance on my P47 and ran the engine up in the garden yesterday. I recently got around to putting a battery in my tacho so was able to take a reading for once. I couldn’t achieve more than 6950rpm. TBH I haven’t really felt this particular engine has been giving its full potential, so interested to know what rpm others are getting. I have a new Falcon 18 X 6 that I shall fit and try today, perhaps that will improve things.

There is a brand new Laser 180 on BMFA today, which as mentioned is a perfect choice. I have one in mine but made a scale UC which mitigated the fuel tank position problem associated with the stock UC wire positioning. As much as I love Lasers, I do have a pumped OS 120 mk ll and it is a superb engine with a lot of power. Runs like a swiss watch. If you build light them it will be fine, albeit not the same unique sound as the Laser

I had some of the last white solartex when covering mine. 6m and Just a few tiny scraps left over when the covering was complete and the sheeted area of my fus was glass clothed not tex. so 8m should be about right for the whole airframe. It’s going to cost more to cover with Oratex than a new kit I shouldn’t wonder. The old fashion nylon and dope would be much cheaper.

With more changeable weather afoot I thought it wise to get the wing sealed. A careful final sand all over and then 48grm glass cloth wetted out with Easy Composites EL2 resin with the slow cure hardener. Gives plenty of time to work the resin in with a bit of scrap sponge and any excess softly scraped away with a potter’s rubber kidney. The kidney is the perfect tool for this as it is fairly soft and has no sharp corners. 65ml of mixed resin needed to wet out the underside and another 30-40ml will be applied on top for the flow coat. The 48grm cloth has a nice tight weave and uses no more resin than when using 28grm cloth. I purchase this off Ebay from a company called Sewglass Products at a very reasonable price. There is a lot of detail to add to the underside of the wing, particularly in the central area, but this can be applied on top of the cloth.