Seagull Hurricane

[Steveflys]

Has anybody assembled and flown the Seagull Hurricane.

I've just finished mine, using a DLE35ra. I would be interested how you got on with the c of g. Mine appears to be quite tail heavy and I'm reluctant to add so much weight before hearing from others.

Thanks

[Jon H]

Add the weight. Its a warbird and they always need it.

I assume its the 80 inch job? if so with the engine you have it will fly fine up to about 18lbs so just have at it with the beef. go easy on the elevator rates as well.

While I have no direct experience with that model I have plenty of similar ones and its always the same story. And for what its worth, the full size Hurricane has hunks of lead strapped to the engine mount so its perfectly scale!

[Steveflys]

Thanks for that Jon. Yes it's the 80" model. I'm taking it to our club night tomorrow night (Chesham) so I'll get Richard Ginger to check it out with me, as you well know he's got lots of experience with warbirds like yourself.

[Jon H]

oh yea I know Richard well, I'm sure he will sort it out....and then chastise you for not fitting a 4 stroke

I'm sure it will fly well, I would be interested to see it actually as I have been asked about it by customers and its always good to keep up with new stuff

[neil martin 1]

Have you maidened the Seagull Hurricane yet? I have one with a Roto 35 (needed the weight!). Id be interested to know how it went, what to look out for, were the retracts sufficient? Thanks.

[Steveflys]

Hi Neil,

No I haven't maidened yet. Have added a church roof to get the balance point right. I felt that the measurement given for the c of g 140mm was a bit far back, I've gone for 120mm, I'd rather be a bit nose heavy for the first flight.

I've just got to set up the engine which won't take long. I've got several DLE35's and they all run virtually out of the box!

I don't envisage any problems with the retracts as I spent ages setting them up (famous last words) but we'll see. I'll add a post when it's flown, probably in the next few weeks. Hopefully you'll do the same.

Steve

[Denis Watkins]

Checking with you Steve, with your 20 mm decision, that you did the C of G with the retracts up, as most of the flying is done that way

.

Edited By Denis Watkins on 16/03/2017 15:32:30

[Steveflys]

Yes, retracts up and plane inverted. The 20mm decision was made as it was approx. 25% of the chord.

[Denis Watkins]

This is only my opinion Steve, to support your massive investment in time and effort too, in your build.

I suspect the suggested 140 mm C of G is right smack bang on the middle of the ally tube wing joiner, and in my view 120 mm is just too far forward,

And that 130 mm would be a better compromise, if you have to compromise away from 140mm

The whole weight of the model, will be pivoted further away from the wing support, if that makes sense

This is my viewpoint from similar warbirds flown, and non scientific

Edited By Denis Watkins on 16/03/2017 16:38:39

[Steveflys]

Thanks Dennis for your input. The 120mm was suggested by a club mate who is a prolific warbird builder. I think I'm going to go with your suggestion and start at 130mm, which is the best compromise. I haven't fixed the weights yet so I'll have another at setting the c of g.

[Jon H]

I am leaning towards agreeing with Denis under the assumption that the rates set on the model are set quite low. As i said before warbird instructions often set the rates much too high which is usually more of a problem than a slightly out of place c/g and one is often mistaken for the other.

I would balance slightly nose heavy at the recommended location, and set my low rate 10 or 15% below the movement suggested as the low rate in the kit and my high rate 10 or 15% above the low rate recommended in the kit depending on how it looks when set. I would then takeoff on high (to keep the tail down) and flick to low as soon as i can if the model feels sensitive on the climbout.

[neil martin 1]

Look forward to seeing the results Steve. Think you'll be the first one, i've not seen any other Seagull Hurricane maidens online!

All the best

[Martin McIntosh]

My now quite old Vailley Aviation 96" one has the cg in the recommended position. Would you believe that I had to cast 1kg of lead into the spinner? A delicate task but it works well. Probably better to put it right behind the nose ring if you can. Good luck, they are very easy to fly.

[Steveflys]

Took the Hurricane to the field on Sunday to run and set up the engine.

Whilst pulling the plane to the pit area one of the bolts on the oleo's fell out, the one that stops the bottom half falling out, it's in the slot below the spring. I have now replaced it with a cap head 3mm bolt with plenty of Loctite. I've removed the other side one and done the same. I'd recommend that they all should be checked.

Fuelled up and used a starter to draw the fuel through. It fired almost instantly, I let it warm up before stopping it. I then restarted by hand firing after the first flick, it ran beautifully with smooth transition from tick over to full revs. I didn't have to touch a single needle!

We made a temporary fix on the oleo so that I could try taxiing around the patch which proved to be no problem. I had left the cowl at home so didn't want to fly it without it.

Next post will be after the maiden flight which will probably be next week sometime.

[Jon H]

I had a similar experience on my little 63 inch Hurricane. Sadly it happened to me about 2mph short of takeoff speed

[neil martin 1]

How did the maiden go Steve? Did the retracts hold up after the mod? Is it fairly easy to fly, any bad habits?

[Steveflys]

Neil, The maiden flight was a mixed bag, take off needed some elevator to stop nosing over. The C of G seemed ok and circuits were reasonably ok but unfortunately the engine stopped. I kept the undercarriage up and belly landed but unfortunately the prop caught some long grass and nosed over.

Due to having 2lbs of weight mounted on the stand-offs the firewall got ripped out, although no other damage was sustained. I haven't repaired it yet as I lost interest in it temporarily.

The mods to the retracts worked very well. Just never managed to try them out for landing.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

The Hurricanes I've flown have always been a fine balancing act between nosing over and a reasonable C of G. I think it's just the nature of the beast...it's certainly not that unusual to see a full size Hurri with its tail in the air in photos, modern or period.

[neil martin 1]

Sorry to hear of your damage Steve, Im sure it will fix up fine. I previously had a 60 sized mustang that nosed over regularly so am pretty much used to taxiing and ground handling using elevator.

Did you have the CoG as per the instructions or the 130mm you suggested? Did you deploy flaps in the air, how effective are they?

[Tim Flyer]

I recently purchased a Seagull Hurricane and will add my assembly notes and photos here. Hopefully it might be of help to others as Steve’ s plane seems to be in The Hangar. I am powering mine with a Laser 180 30cc as I love their sound and ease of use. I am having to do a few modifications to lower the tank and plenty of reinforcements to the plane . Photos will follow. It’s a bit hot to get much done at the moment though!

[Tim Flyer]

Last nights job was removing the 3mm thick fibreglass sheet on the outside of the front firewall. I used a covering iron to heat it then it was easy to remove. I also took the star nuts off using a soldering iron to loosen them. I often do that On ARTFs as the star nuts are in the way when I fibreglass the back of the firewall. I will either put new star nuts in or use threaded inserts to mount the engine. I think Seagull put the sheet on to strengthen the surface for those using stand off mounts(which Seagull supply in the kit) for Petrol engines. I am using a laser with standard beam mounts, so I have laminated some ply onto the firewall and will build up two beams for the engine mount. This will also be far stronger than stand off mounting. I will also add a layer of ply to the sides and floor of the engine mounting box.

[Jon H]

Sounds good Tim. Im looking forward to seeing this one in the air

[neil martin 1]

Hi Tim, look forward to seeing your project make headway. Mine is almost complete just waiting for a replacement cowl as I screwed mine up. So next month should be maiden time. I have made a number of mods to mine be good to share ideas with you. Not many of these flying in UK so good to have found a fellow owner!

[Tim Flyer]

Cheers Jon and Neil.. Agreed it’s really great to swap notes on these. Hopefully it won’t take that long to finish..as long as my workshop cools down a bit ! The cowl does look a bit delicate so I will try to reinforce it later. What made me go for this Hurricane wasn’t really the looks(it’s not bad in my opinion...and most deficiencies can easily be cured) but the reasonable price, plus my last Seagull model (P47) flies so well and is very good quality. King’s Lynn model shop were very helpful and made buying it easy. With Jons advice on Warbird set up I have had a lot of fun with the P47 and my Spitfire so hopefully this should be just as good. I didn’t have time for a full kit build. I’m using HK electric retracts with 170mm oleos that I had spare . They seem like they will go in nicely. Anyway I’m starting by putting the engine in and reinforcement , then I will work on the fuel tank. I’m going to need too cut a small section from the top of the Centre Wing section to achieve perfect tank position for my 14oz Dubro tank I’m using. That should be quite easy . I will start posting a few photos tonight

[Tim Flyer]

With the hot workshop j haven’t got that much done so far but now the tank and engine are in. Next job is control surfaces I will add fibreglass and epoxy reinforcement when the weather cools. Here are some photos I promised.