kenair18

HI, I posting the reply I received from Peter Denison on the questions I had for him on his CM plans Swordfish build. Peter also sent these photos. So the ailerons work fine . I glassed the front sheeted Balsa part of the fuse and used Solartex for the rest then painted . 8. Any improvements you would suggest? Yes cutting back on the dihedral as helped as it’s not a glider is it ! It’s a bit overweight but it flies as slow as i want it to with no problems ,though I don’t fly it if the wind get up , as I have other models for that 🙂 It’s an interesting model to make am sure you will enjoy it . Keep in touch Ken if you have any other questions no problem , I will send over some building photo's. Kind Regards Pete .

I should have said .......I think I will do what you plan to do with the engine mounting, move F1 back to suit the engine length, reshape F1, and make a sub cowl from F1 to the mail cowl. I will use a gas engine, something like a DLE 20cc to a DLE 30cc. My 72" wingspan Great Planes Waco arf has a DLE 30cc in it and I only use 1/2 throttle at cruise, so I may go to a 20cc or 25cc and this model has lots of wing area for lift.

Hi Martin, I got your message and the photos, thank-you. Stu thank-you for your post, the big Swordfish looks magnificent. Martin - I think I will do what you plan to do with the engine mounting, mount the engine to former frame F2 and make a sub cowl from F1 to F2. I will use a gas engine, something like a DLE 20cc to a DLE 30cc. My 72" wingspan Great Planes Waco arf has a DLE 30cc in it and I only use 1/2 throttle at cruise, so I may go to a 20cc or 25cc and this model has lots of wing area for lift. Did you solder or braze the top wing steel hold down plate to the wire cabanes and do then fasten the top wing to the metal plate with bolts - if post a pic or two on this that would be great. Last week I felt like doing a small project, so I decided to make the Swordfish cowl from 1/32 ply with a balsa lip and then I glassed it with three layers of 0.75 oz cloth and Z poxy. I will not start the main fuselage or wing build until the fall.

. Thank-you for sharing the photos of the 120" Swordfish, any idea how much it weighs, what engine is used? cheers - ken

I found another 72" Swordfish build on RCME at

Hi Mike, Have you flown your Swordfish? I have the same plans and will start my build in the fall. cheers - ken kalynuk

Any progress on your Swordfish. I'm sharing a link to a 72" wingspan Swordfish build, apparently the 72" plans are an enlargement of the Complete a Pac plans.

This afternoon, I was looking at my Swordfish files I had saved from last years Swordfish search and found this post by Cliff McIlwee on his Swordfish. Apparently Cliff M used a "Complete-A-Pac" plan as the base for his Swordfish. The post is at https://www.rcscalebuilder.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8018&KW=swordfish from Jim Walton " I am starting a Fairy Swordfish kit purchased a couple of years ago while in London. This is a "Complete-A-Pac" kit by A. M. Products. I am hoping that someone reading this thread has built one sometime in the past. I am a fairly competent builder but am having problems with the supplied plans and instructions. The designer leaves much to be engineered by the builder. There are essentially no instructions provided. I would appreciate hearing from anyone out there that might help. Jim Walton" From Cliff M "Hi Jim, I built one from the same plan only it was enlarged to 72" span...flew very well on a 90 f/stroke...what you plan powering the smaller one with? be very careful about not warping the fuse at a very early stage of the build....get most of the nose area built first...then build from there rearwards. No digital pics I"m afraid, the plan was blew up to 72" on the advice of the then editor of the now defunct RCS International magazine. I built it for a review, and traplet now sells the 72" plan separately as well. I still have it!...and just needs a little maintanence to get flying again...all the servos are still in there, I re-painted it in Eugine esmond"s aircraft colours..as I took it over to RAF Manston in 2002, for the "Channel Dash" memorial day. met a few of the survivors too...was a fantastic trip. tell you what, tomorrow, I'll get a few pics of her and post them up..should give you a god idea of the build, and internal structure...I used push- pull on both elevator / rudder with an access hatch on the bottom.....the pics will show better when I get them up for you. Cliff" Jim, The 120 would be ideal for an 80" version, the 90 flies this 72" with ease, I"ve got her down and dusted, so, will keep her on the bench and fly her again this summer, funny how a thread can re-interest you in a model!! - Cliff Cliff

I did get a hold of Peter D. Peter is on a vacation cruise with his wife, I said I'll get back to him in a couple pf weeks with questions. Peter has flown his Swordfish. His initial comments are "yes I finished the model took over a year , she looks great and flies really well on the positive side but god it was hard work understanding the drawing . I am a retired sheet metal tradesman 50 years working on the bench ending up with my own sheet metal business so can read plans , so don’t knock yourself."

Yes it has swing wings - these are some of Peter Denison's photos I pulled off the Hibiscus Coast Radio Fliers newsletters. Still trying to contact Peter D.

Flying you lucky guy, we have a weather alert for freezing rain, 200km further west of me the area has a blizzard warning. I did find a CM Swordfish build by Peter Denison out of the Hibiscus Coast Flyers in Auckland NZ, his last entry was that his CM Swordfish is at this stage back in 2022 or so. I've sent Peter a message to see if he has flown his swordfish. cheers - ken

Thanks Martin for the pics, that is what I figured. I'm transferring the plan templates to stiff poster type paper to make templates then I'll cut a kit of parts for next winters build. BTW I found this pic of Cliff McIlwee on Facebook with his Swordfish from way back when? I've messaged Cliff M but have not heard back. I'm in the middle of a Hawker Tempest build from Sepp Uiberlacher plans - 83" wingspan - I'm running out of steam as I want to be out flying but it's still winter for at least a month. cheers - ken

Hi Martin, I got the Clifford McIlwee Swordfish plans today and I'm trying to figure out if there is a template or outline for the fuselage "plywood" sides. I've looked and looked but cannot seem to see a line on the fuselage plan that indicates the outline of the plywood side. I've put an arrow on the photo to show what part I'm talking about. How did you figure this part out? Cheers - ken kalynuk

Hi Martin, thank-you for your latest post, it was very helpful so I've ordered the plans, mine will be for sport flying with a sport scale appearance and use a small gas engine. I second your thoughts about biplane assembly, my late RCAF flying pal used to quip that it took 3 men and a small boy to assemble a truly scale biplane though this photo from our field only had two men and a large boy doing the assembly on a Tiger Moth. I'm unsure of which colour scheme I will use, either a Bismarck attack Swordfish or a Royal Canadian Navy scheme, maybe I'll decide when the model is covered. I'll start cutting out the parts this spring, make a kit so to speak and start the Swordfish build in the winter of 2024-2025. I don't rush a building anymore so it may be a 2 winter build.

Hi Martin, how is the Swordfish build moving along, what stage are you at and what weight is the model at now. Cheers - ken