Dave Cunnington Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Mike, have you thought of cutting a hole in the underside cowl ply, say an inch and a half square. This gives access to tighten the engine mounting bolts from below and also a way to add the "church roof" well forward as required. Worked for me, and a small ply piece stuck on when job done hardly notices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 Robin, That evening with the Badgers was most amusing as my son Robert and I were standing next to them and throwing peanuts for them. It's a bit off topic so will not elaborate further only to say I just threw two slices of bread for a Badger in the garden only minutes ago. Dave, not a bad idea cutting a hatch in the cowling, the Flair SE5A I have has slots in the bottom of the cowling which enable engine bolts to be tightened. If I can't find any suitable bolts with slotted heads I might well cut a hatch as you suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Having looked through all my storage boxes I could find plenty of nuts and bolts. However the size I needed was M3 or the BA equivalent , I had plenty of M4 slotted head bolts and 4BA bolts which were just too large in diameter for the Enya 40SS engine. So I contacted a well known model shop but they could not help me as they had not got bolts with slotted heads. I then contacted an equally well known electrical supplier who had the bolts of the right size and length but in larger quantities than I needed. Out of frustration I ordered the nuts and bolts and realised afterwards that with the postal costs the price was about the same as the model plane in the first place! Whilst sorting through my model plane storage boxes I found a second Enya 40SS which I had quite forgotten about. I must have bought it on E-bay and had I have known that the fixing bolt holes on the mounting lugs had been slotted (butchered) I would not have bought it in the first place. However it turns over OK but is minus a silencer. I spent so much time on searching for the nuts and bolts, the only progress on the plane was the C/G test which is passed with flying colours and was spot on with all the gear loosely installed in and on the plane including servos and flight battery engine prop, spinner and silencer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Doc, if you look at the detail shown on the plans of the Cub it does show a similar arrangement to the one you describe but somehow on this Cub the engine bearers are spaced to suit fixing engines directly to them. When I rebuilt the fuselage on my Super 60, I arranged mounting plates fixed to the wide spaced bearers for both the the Enya 40SS and a PAW 29RC. and I have to agree it's the best way to fix engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Looks good Doc, and much the same arrangement as I have on the Super 60 except I used ply wood as opposed to metal. My very old 'Easy Rider' has an Enya 45 fixed to a mounting plate made of Bakelite which is just as well as following a crash the Bakelite broke up and the engine was undamaged. I repaired the plane with a new Bakelite mounting plate as below. Unfortunately the Cub and the bearer arrangement does not lend itself to a bearer plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Posted by Mike Etheridge 1 on 08/11/2020 13:32:36: Doc, if you look at the detail shown on the plans of the Cub it does show a similar arrangement to the one you describe but somehow on this Cub the engine bearers are spaced to suit fixing engines directly to them. When I rebuilt the fuselage on my Super 60, I arranged mounting plates fixed to the wide spaced bearers for both the the Enya 40SS and a PAW 29RC. and I have to agree it's the best way to fix engines. Engine mounting on a plate is probably a Flair feature. The SE5a I'm currently refurbishing used a simnilar technique though IIRC the plate was supposed to be plywood (I have the drawing, I know where it is but I can't face digging through the pile to get it out). I opted for a Paxolin plate with 4BA captive nuts soldered to a piece of PC board and then glued underneath the plate. It made for easy engine removal/replacement. In my restoration I find the Paxolin had cracked (it IS 20+ years since I built it) but I'm replacing it with 3mm ply to make an electric motor mount. The easily removable flat plate makes the engine compartment very adaptable either to fit a different engine or,as in my case, to make a motor/battery mount. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 I understand that Doc and your plane complies with the Cub plans I have. As I mentioned though, I don't know why but my plane as far as the engine bearers are concerned does not match the plans. I would much prefer to have your engine mounting which gives a degree of flexibility and enables engine fixing and removal much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 OK Doc, I have to accept the bearer positions are the same as detailed in the plans that I have dug out this morning. It does show on the plans that a bearer plate is necessary for a smaller engine than a 40 that I am using. The only materials I have for a bearer plate are ply wood or Bakerlite and if I add them then the thrust line of the engine will change. I am fairly confident that when my M3 nuts and bolts arrive I will be able to resolve the motor issues and would still agree that the bearer plate engine mount is the best solution but generally with the bearers spaced wide apart. Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 09/11/2020 09:20:25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 OK Doc, I have had another look at the feasibility of using a bearer plate and agree it could be a solution to the problem. It would mean a bit more cutting away of the cowling and the use of some Bakelite that will only raise the thrust line a small amount. I will of course need some shorter countersunk M3 bolts apart from countersunk screws that I already have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 The good news is that my 100 M3 bolts have arrived, the bad news is they are Philips Head screws and not the slotted head screws I ordered. On the company's website the stock number indicates slotted head screws. The same stock number appears on the Philips head screws they have sent me. Following my phone call to the company something may happen in a couple of days? My plan was to solder piano wire plus tin plate across two pairs of bolt heads to fix the engine. This worked on my Junior 60 I built when I was 15 some 58 years ago, and those same bolts have fixed the original ED Racer an Enya 19 and OS 20 all of which have the same engine lug / bolt hole spacing. Perhaps I will concentrate on the other necessary items including finishing off the fuselage , the cockpit screen, the new fuel tank piping , the fixing of the rudder and elevator servos , the connections and installation of the 2.4 GH receiver, a new switch, new control horns and clevices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 It did cross my mind Doc to cut a slot into the stainless steel bolts but having contacted the company (RS) I am hopeful of getting the right bolts and may have to return the originals. I remain patient but irritated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 It looks like they would have been a better bet especially as they sell smaller packets of 10. It's a shame model shops are closed and disappearing as I would always tend to buy from local shops in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 Well spotted Doc, best deal so far, I should have taken more time to look on E-bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 Well the slotted head bolts arrived so I now have 200 M3 bolts a 100 of which are cross head bolts. So I now need about 50 new planes to fit them in. Today I have carried out the fixing of the two pairs of bolts through the tin plate so that they could be introduced beneath the engine bearers to fix the engine. The tin plate which I cut with special scissors was from the lid of Waitrose Apricots, and this proved a very easy exercise as was the drilling of the tin plate for the bolts. Instead of soldering pins across the slotted heads I used 5 minute 'Z- Poxy' glue to fix them and the bolts to the tin plate. Once complete I did struggle to fit the bolt arrangements through the underside of the bearers but eventually found that using long nosed pliers and securing one bolt at a time it was possible to thread the bolts / tin plates through. I have for now secured the bolts with nuts and have trial fitted the engine which could do with bit of cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.