Dan Sadler Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Hi Everyone, It has been a while since Danny and Herri did their Spitfire builds (thanks very much to both of them for providing such a fantastic amount of detail on their build threads by the way - I have a feeling I will be making a lot of use of those!) and since I have just started to build one myself I figured I would start a new thread. I'm going to start out by saying that I am very new to building, so I fully expect there will be plenty of stupid question, and probably some mistakes, so thanks in advance to anyone that decides to help out as I move forwards! I haven't made any decisions on engine yet, however I do know that I want it to be petrol powered. If anyone has some thoughts on good engines on this basis then feel free to let me know! I started to cut out the wing ribs and realised when I got part way through that the two sheets of wing ribs were made from different wood, the second being much harder than the first. A quick email to Tony had a replacement set on the way to me from Slec, however I made a start on the Fuselage whilst I was waiting. It also let me put off a decision on which retracts to go for! Speaking of which - other than the obvious difference that the air retracts seem to be about twice the price of the mechanical retracts, what are the differences in actual use? Is there a good reason to pay the premium for the air retracts, or will the mechanical ones suffice? I've included a few photos of the fuselage side so far. I think I am on the right track, although I have found that I had to cut in to the 25mm triangular section in order to get it to follow the bottom line of the fuselage at the start. Did anyone else have this problem? Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 I've been giving some more thought to the engine and I am considering an OS GT33. Has anyone got any thought on this engine, or it's appropriateness for this model? I've made some more progress with the build and will post some pictures shortly. I'm a little concerned that F1 seems to stick out about 3mm past the end of the fuselage side on the right hand side currently, but can't see that I have done anything wrong here. I've dropped Tony a note in the hope that he can reassure me, or point me in the right direction. Looking at other build photos it's hard to tell if this is normal or not, but it feels wrong. Will post some pictures later, but everything is currently weighed down under a series of books so not much to see Edited By Dan Sadler on 07/08/2014 11:31:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concorde Speedbird Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 The 33cc engine may be a little large in my opinion. It would be good for the centre of gravity but it may stick out of the cowl a lot. My opinion is keep it light and around a 25cc engine will do, preferably a compact one. It is looking great. The reason it may stick past could be for side thrust- do not glue it on with it sticking out! Ask someone who has built one what to do, Danny or Herri are great and very talented builders so they can advise you. CS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks for getting back to me. Ok - looks like a little more engine research is needed. Re my other problem - Tony got back to me over night and solved the mystery. I hadn't spotted that the two forward doublers were slightly different sizes (one is 3mm wider on the cut part). I think you can guess the rest . Looks like I need to cut a 3mm strip and stick it on to the other side and try and take 3mm off the right hand side... Nothing like causing yourself extra work is there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herri Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Hi Dan, I fitted a 26cc RCGF I bought from Als. After I got to grips with it ( my first petrol) it ran very well and was more than enough for the spitfire. I had a few issues with my Unitracts retracts. First I had a leak in one of the main cylinders, so the unit had to be returned. The a/c flew very well and really looked the part. Unfortunately the linkage from the u/c servo came off on my last flight and I had to belly land. I was too slow and caught a wing tip on touchdown. This damaged the wing and rear fus. I need to repair it but other projects like my Pitts took over. I do intend to repair it as it is a great model. It needed a lot of lead at the front but it didn't spoil the flying. Have fun with your build. Herri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Hi Herri, Thanks for that. Yes I saw you had used that in your build, but I had never heard of them before so wasn't sure what they were like. It's great to hear that it worked well in your spitfire. Now I know that I will give it another look. Sorry to hear that you had a problem with yours. It looks fantastic so I hope you manage to get it repaired ok. I've been cracking on with building the wing and have got most of the ribs in place now except for W1. I don't understand how you make sure that it is at the right angle for the dihedral. I saw your photos with the rulers which were very helpful but I think I am still missing something. Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Decision made on the engine. Found a new 26cc RCGF on ebay for £120 delivered. Since I know that combination fits and works I figured why not. At that price it seems a bargain as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herri Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I'm not sure about W1. I saw on the photos that the 3 inches at W11 was correct, so i assume I glued W1 after fixing the dihedral. If you have problems you can PM me. It was 4 years ago and my memory is going . pleased you have your engine sorted, in the end I fixed my lead to the engine mounts and that worked well. Herri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eflightray Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 26cc ? Would you believe an electric version of TN's 72" Spit, not only that but in Depron foam, and flying at 7Lb - 2oz, (including batteries). A brilliant plane, love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Wow that's some diet to get it down to that weight . Looks great though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 Ok so after a few days of not posting anything I thought I should send some updates. Firstly I fixed my fuselage side issue and now all appears to be well there. Secondly I've carried on with the wing. I've been battling because a large number of the wing ribs are bent so I have been trying to straighten them out my pinning them in place and then by wetting and clamping them down for w1. After 3 attempts at this it still isn't straight as you can see from the pictures below: I have dry fitted it for now, having seen a photos on Tony's build blog. Any thoughts on if this is correct or not would be appreciated. Here's a couple more of the wing as well: I've ordered the retracts from Tony at Unitracts. I went for the air ones in the end as they look like they will be easier to fit since that's what Tony's plan were based on. I figured after I saved money on the engine I could justify spending a bit extra on the retracts . Finally the engine arrived yesterday which looks great. I think I might head over to the Nats in a couple of weeks time and see if I can pick up fuel tanks and servo's etc so that I have the bits I need ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herri Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Keep up the good work Dan. You have inspire me to get the damaged Spit out of the garage and into my workshop. I shall be evaluating the damage in the next few days. Herri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concorde Speedbird Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 I would not use that wing rib if it is curved. Make a new one using it as a template. Personally I would make them all out of balsa like Danny Fenton did to save weight, but the lite ply ones will be fine. Keep up the excellent work! CS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herri Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I think you will find once it is glued, it will be and remain straight. Herri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 14, 2014 Author Share Posted August 14, 2014 Great news Herri - hopefully the damage isn't too bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Hi Dan, sorry I have been abroad on various trips and missed the thread. Thanks for the kind words on my version of Tony's Spit. Like herri i can't remember all the details, slept since then I get the feeling lite ply is used because it is cheaper to cut and source than balsa, so as CS says I would use balsa for the ribs, there only function (apart from around U/C area) is to hold the wing skins apart, so they do not need to be ply. The weight saved by using balsa was equivalent to ALL the servos in the wing! The first step of my build was to draw in my new bulkhead positions. These are then used to set the angles. In this instance I made the sidethrust the same as Tony has intended. The plan view is used to set the bulkhead angles. Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 Hi Danny, No problems - thanks for getting involved. Your build blog has been a brilliant help to me so far. Between yours and Herri's photos things have become much clearer. I just read your article on covering with fibreglass in RCME as well. I think that will come in very useful before too long! It's a bit late for me to make new ribs now but thanks for sharing that info - I'll definitely remember it for the future. I figured they must be part of the wings strength. I guess I know now! I've made a good bit more progress with the first half of the wing. I will post some photos tomorrow. I'm about to start the second half of the wing... Herri - how's the damage looking? Have you made any progress? Cheers Dan Edited By Dan Sadler on 20/08/2014 20:24:17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herri Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I have completed the repairs and primed the damaged areas. I intend to fly first and then do the painting. I have to take the 8 channel receiver out of my ASK17 and weather permitting, I'll be ready to go. By the way, I needed over a kilo of nose weight , so dont worry too much about weight in front of the c of g. I would advise taking this into account when you get to the cowl/engine fitting stage as it (lead) needs to be as close to the nose as possible and it'll be quite a lump. Cheers Herri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 Hi Herri, Great news . Wow that's some amount of weight. I'll remember that when I finally get there! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 So I have now attached the inner leading edge, trailing edge and the remaining spars. I have also had an initial go over it with a razor plane / sanding block to start to get everything shaped properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 So I've carried on building the other half of the wing and I have now pretty much got that to the same point as the first half. I've gone back to looking at the fuselage and after re-looking at Dannys posts and the plan I have made up a template to hold F1 at the right angle. It certainly looks right anyway.... The only thing is that doing this does leave some small gaps round the edges as you can see in the photos below. Should I be sanding the edges of F1 down to try and reduce / remove the gaps? I'm just conscious that of all places on the plane this one is likely to get a lot of vibration. On another note how do you go about choosing the right servos? I know that on the plan Tony has said 6KG std size servos but they seem to vary hugely in price! I also notice on his build photos he is actually using Futaba S3003's for a number of his which aren't 6KG from what I can see and one S3010. I also like the look of the RDS setup Danny did - does that need different aileron servo's again? Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 If it is of any help you could try running epoxy into the gaps, maybe with the aid of a heat gun. A triangular balsa fillet on each side of the firewall will ensure that it will stay put. I used Bluebird cheapo 6kg digi mg`s but the gears tend to wear quickly and am now switching to HS 5485HB`s which are digi with carbonite gears and at £15 each represent good value and the accuracy is more than adequate. Other than the flaps maybe the servo loading on this model is quite low. Having said that I am actually only using HS 82MG`s on flaps on a couple of smaller, faster models with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herri Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Everyone has his/her own opinion about servos. I personally use Futaba/Hitec and have bought some Diamond ones from a company in German for my AT6, as they had a good writeup. I know people who use cheap ones from China: I don't but do realise some of mine are probably made there. In my Spitfire I have 3150's on the ailerons, a 3050 on the elevator. These are digital and have metal gears. On the other functions I have FS100's on the flaps as they are only used in slow flight and on the spit aren't that big. Also mine only come down about 60 degrees. Then I have 3001's for the throttle and rudder. For RDS, you need the same servos as for "normal" connections (IMHO). I use epoxy and micro balloons to fill gaps. I find this works well and doesn't add too much weight. Hope this helps. I am off to fly mine this evening. Fingers x'd. Cheers Herri Edited By Herri on 27/08/2014 15:32:02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sadler Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Ok guys thanks - epoxy it is . Thanks Herri. I guess when you spend the amount of time, effort and money on building one of these it's worth spending more on the servo's as insurance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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