Danny Fenton Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Looking good, SLEC will cut you some 2mm Colin I find it is a nice weight bit stiffer and some sanding meat as opposed to 1/16. (1.6mm) Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 looking great colin. looking forward to seeing the build progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 Thanks Danny, your advice is appreciated. I hope you had a nice holiday. Cheers Tony, it's moving now, although I mean to get a bit more done on the Seafang tomorrow evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 I think this is about as far as I can go without sorting out the power train and servo positions, so I'm going to buy the set-up for the Nihuis 72" Lancaster and draw up the details of the engine nacelles and where everything will fit in the fuselage, access hatches etc. I've already got the Eflite retracts. It's an interesting build and looks right, I'm optimistic but there's a lot to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 I've bitten the bullet and ordered the complete set from 4Max, motors, ESCs, BEC, Lipo and props. George is always quick, so I expect they'll arrive very soon. The only reservation I've got is the props, 2xleft hand and 2xright hand GWS 7x3 three bladers. The point has already been made in the forum that these flatten out at high rpm under load and lose their pitch, so there might be a problem. If anyone reading this thread has any further thoughts on it I'd be very interested to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 No shed time today but stayed inside and managed to do a bit of work on the cabin window detail and gun turrets design. Drawings are limited and show some variation in cabin and fuselage windows. Based on photos of the completed prototype fuselage I think this is about right. 3 side windows shown on drawings and on a Supermarine model are not evident on the prototype, so I'm not including them. The gun turrets aren't completely clear either, but this seems to be close enough. Eric Morgan says that these were Supermarine's design working with Thompson and Nash and were designed to give the gunner a completely clear field of view, with the guns at knee level. He also says that there could be 2 or 4 guns and that front and rear were going to be interchangeable. I haven't tried to take this into account, what I have drawn here is a reasonable compromise based on the small scale drawings we do have. He also describes a retractable ventral turret which sounds like another unique design with a small diameter and a very high rate of rotation. I can't see any sign of this on available illustrations so won't make provision for it. There does appear to be a flat bomb-aimer's panel beneath the nose and I will show that. At this stage I probably won't go for transparent glazing, but will use black paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Reynolds LaserCraft Services Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Now that makes my bits look a bit more realistic, looking very good Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 looks great sir. wish i had thought of drawing round the shack fuselage before i finished it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Thank you Dylan. There's a lot of detail to sort out so I need to begin drawing it in. How do I set up twin rudders with a steerable tail-wheel for instance? I'm thinking 3x9g servos, 1 in each fin and 1 on the tailwheel connected to the Rx through Y-leads? Tony, I'm on the slow side so it's very unusual for me to have a good idea in advance, but this is definitely useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 The 72" Lancaster power set-up arrived quickly and well packed from 4 Max. The 4S 5000mah Lipo fits nicely into the designated space for it, although I have to think carefully about access for it, which will need to be from the right hand side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 looking good sir. cant wait to see this finished and flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Price 2 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Thats looking so good Colin. I second Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 Thank you chaps, we'll crack on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Price 2 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Signing in Colin. Yet another masterpiece on the way!1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Not so sure about that Andrew, I'm in the perpetual amateur and codger category, the brains behind the structural design is Dylan. It's at the stage where I've got to make decisions about where everything goes inside it, servo positions, snakes/push-rods, access hatches etc. so work needs to be done on that before I can complete the fuselage structure. The tailplane and twin fin set-up need to be co-ordinated with that. I've got a bit more time this week, so the hope is to do a bit more on it as well as get some of the Chipmunk build sorted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2W Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Like others, I am keen to follow this project, but I'm concerned that your enthusiasm for it seems to have drained away? Have you solved the servo etc. layout problems? WW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Not in the least 2W. It's just that I agreed to join in the Chipmunk build and they're running side by side. In that project I'm testing some ideas on a composite build, mixing Depron with balsa where it's appropriate and particularly to replace balsa for the sheeting and planking. I found with the Barnstormer build that Depron skinned with 17gm glass cloth and Ezekote was at least as good, if not better, than doing the same with balsa. Therefore I'm now testing it on a bigger scale with the Chipmunk and if it continues to look good, that's what I'm going to do with the 317. I'm keen to get on with this and time is always a problem, but hopefully I'll be able to report more before too long. Thanks for your interest, I hope to justify it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Ron Evans enquired about this one. It's not dead, just waiting in the wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron evans Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Thanks Colin, I'll be watching with interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2W Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 As a Mitchell fan, I'm keen to prick you conscience! How's it going, or is it totally and permanently stalled? William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 Hi William. It’s definitely not dead. I wanted to get some varied build practice in, particularly experimenting with Depron to reduce weight in appropriate places and also with electrics. The Chipmunk turned out to be far more time consuming than I expected and I allowed myself to be diverted along the way with other interesting things, such as contra-props in the XB42 and Depron converted Super Marauder, both successful. Time has been a major factor because I still haven’t fulfilled my intention to properly retire and I’ve been away from home for seven weeks this year! Although Dylan produced drawings for the 317 and a kit of laser cut ply parts, there’s still a bit of design work to be done, as you will recall from earlier posts the fuselage is half built and doing that clarified some of the issues needing to be resolved. My motivation remains and I intend to get it right. As soon as I can clear the decks I’ll get on with it, so don’t give up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2W Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Good luck Colin! You've got 12 months until the Fury build starts..... Sounds as though you had better stop working and concentrate on the things that matter in life!! William Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 William, can’t argue with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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