Warbirds Replicas Hawker Tempest V -Mass Build 2024(part two) .

[RICHARD WILLS]

Following the success of the Mass build Fw190 , we obviously need to balance the books with an equivalent allied fighter . 

We are hoping to produce something as friendly and robust as the 190 but with a totally different look . 

Not super scale but as believable as possible given the simple construction . The aim would be produce something approaching the picture shown . 

 

[Wihtgar]

Hi Richard,

What servos are you planning to use?

 

Nigel

[RICHARD WILLS]

I am well into the build of the prototype but of course I must ensure that things fit and that its flying qualities are as good as the 190 . 

With the 80th anniversary of D Day this year , what better subject than the Tempest ? It arrived in squadron service in April 1944 and it was quickly realised that this was a very fast and potent machine below 20,000ft . Since the Royal Air Force would be tasked with supporting the invasion fleet and ground troops this was definitely the right tool for the job . 

The Tempest was immediately employed as doodle bug chaser , a role it excelled at , being able to sustain very high speeds at low level whilst packing a significant punch with its four 20mm cannons . On June the 6th the Tempest wing went on beach head patrol and then as part of the Tactical Air Force assumed the role of air superiority fighter . 

It will never be as famous as the Spitfire , but the Spitfire served for six years of war .For the period the Tempest  served , it excelled in almost all areas . 

When the 262 pilots were asked which Allied fighter frightened them the most , it was the Tempest . 

The Tempest is a great match for our other Mass Build model , the Fw190 . They both represent the peak of propeller driven technology . 

 

 

[RICHARD WILLS]

Lets have look at the challenges of this particular subject . 

It is a trickier subject than the teutonic Fw190 , with its very clean straight lines . 

Typical of British designs , they have lots of ornate shapes and curves which must have made mass production a challenge . The wings are similar to a clipped wing Spitfire although slightly less elliptical  . The dihedral is more like a Hurricane in that the outer panels crank up . 

Wing fairings are too large to be ignored and we must consider the option of fitting a retractable undercarriage at a later date . 

For strength , simplicity and cost , the core of the wings will be foam veneer as the 190 . However a well thought out and fool proof method of adding balsa leading and trailing edges must produce the distinctive elliptical wing shape . 

As with the 190 , the battery must be as far forward as possible to avoid ballast and to gain maximum nose weight , be canted to near vertical . 

There will definitely be more wood so the cost may increase by a few pounds. 

On the plus side , I have built two similar versions back in 1998 and 2000 . Both were very popular and flew really nicely . 

The wide stance and nice tail areas bode rather well and the long dorsal fin fillet always endows them with great directional stability . 

Even though the extra wood will mean a little more weight , this will be offset by the larger wing area afforded by the elliptical wing . 

I will be using a standard off the peg 3" spinner and will keep a stock of red and yellow options . 

There will also be a stock of 4250 motors and decal sets including the "sky " fuselage band and squadron codes which can be difficult to replicate . 

I think you will enjoy the build , especially as if you have already completed the 190 . The extra challenges are dealt with in a novel way that is rather satisfying to carry out and might even inspire one or two of you to try a design of your own . 

[RICHARD WILLS]

27 minutes ago, Wihtgar said:

Hi Richard,

What servos are you planning to use?

 

Nigel

Nigel ,I use this analogue version although any small servo will do . Its 12g and metal gear ,about £6 .

Im sure some of the other lads will give some more options when we get to that stage . 

[Ron Gray]

Great stuff Richard, looking forward to getting my hands on one!

[mightypeesh]

Great stuff Richard, looking forwards to seeing it progress!

[gillyg1]

Looking good Richard, very much tempted, would have to be an i/c version for me which will aid with the nose weight, plus retracts of course. 👍

[RICHARD WILLS]

Ive taken a comparison picture of the 190 and the Tempest wing .

The Tempest has a larger wingspan of 55" compared to 52" of the 190 . 

Interestingly this compares very closely with the two full sized versions. 

The Fw190 had a much higher wing loading which meant that a high speed stall was always possible if too much G force was initiated.

Just waiting for my new cowling to turn up before (its in the post ) before I start the build log . 

You will all have to bear with this build as my model may have some small mods along the way in order that you have a smoother build sequence . 

[RICHARD WILLS]

Thanks to Paul Johnson's excellent graphics , we can see where we are going with the fuselage from the out set .

The cowl will slide over the first former and butt up against the second . The other side of that former will be a removeable part of the front deck held on with magnets and when lifted off you will see the top of the "Chute " which will be the mouth of the battery box. The battery is  pitched at quite a steep angle to keep all of the weight in an area well forward .The top of the rear fuselage will have 3/32" balsa sides which run from the tail to the front of the cockpit . A soft but deep balsa spine sits on top and can be rounded to shape .  An appearance of underside rounding to the lower fuselage will be created by internal triangular section , enabling us to sand a gentle curve along the bottom rail , giving the illusion of an oval section . 

The meaty fuselage doublers take all of the landing loads back to the rear of the plane as long as the front formers are properly anchored to them . We will use some local strengthening to those joints bay adding small fillets to the right angle butt joints . 

The projection under the chin doubles up as a battery box support and also will reach to lowest and most forward part of the cowl in order to reinforce that area from impact by uneven ground . 

 

Below you can see the old Tempest from the year 2000. It was very attractive , but the nose was too long so we will improve its looks considerably . Never the less , it was a fine looking model and very popular at the time . This one should be even better.

[RICHARD WILLS]

Apart from the nose length and the white squadron codes (which should be sky colour) , it is not far off the mark . 

I want to include details like the cannon blisters , but at the same time I want to keep it a practical flyer , not a fussy prima donna .

[Eric Robson]

Cannon blisters on my Cml Spitfire  no added weight,  oil pastels 

[Wihtgar]

Thanks for the heads up on the servos Richard, I already have two of those. Run up the power train in my test jig (without prop) to check the esc and motor rotation direction. Still to turn the esc brake on. I have set up the model in companion, need to upload the TX, bind to SXR Rx and perform initial Rx calibration and all being well check stabilisation works as intended. Hopefully, working power and control systems should be ready to be fitted as the build progresses.

Nigel

[DaveB1]

Oh my goodness, that's going to be superb Richard. If it's not too late to add to the batch build, please add one for me -  I would like to build a stablemate to the FW190

[RICHARD WILLS]

The new version canopy and cowl arrived today so we can commence with the build . 

Here are some pictures of what you get in the box . The spinners are pretty close to the right shape and readily available from Slec . 

To be honest it would be better for you if I put a spinner in each kit and added a the few quid they cost as it will save you all postage . 

I will stock red and yellow , so you can decide . 

The new canopy has come out well and seems to sit quite nicely in a Tempest sort of way !

 

 

[RICHARD WILLS]

6 minutes ago, DaveB1 said:

Oh my goodness, that's going to be superb Richard. If it's not too late to add to the batch build, please add one for me -  I would like to build a stablemate to the FW190

 I would be disappointed if you were not having one Dave ! 

These are going to be great and what a year to be flying the "Kick Ass " Tempest .

We are behind schedule so anyone on the original list that has found something else to build is fair enough . 

I am going to do similar numbers to the 190 but anyone can jump on . We will have count up later in the build as I dont need to tell Phill how many to cut yet . 

I'm pretty certain they will all be out the door in a flash as per the 190 . 

[Paul Johnson 4]

Can I get my sock now ......?

[RICHARD WILLS]

Get back in the corner Dobby . 

You've got some cannon blisters to be getting on with haven't you ?

Honestly , the bloody staff 😬

Muppets and House Elves.

[mightypeesh]

Kits looking great - very tempting! 😃

[Alan Hilton]

Hi Richard I’m still up for one

[RICHARD WILLS]

Im going to jump about a bit on this build . 

Well , not actually jump about , (although I am very light on my feet ) that would make things a whole lot harder . 

What I mean is , I will do a bit on the fuselage and a bit on the wing . You will see why as we go . 

As usual we are going to start off by creating a mirror pair of fuselage sides with ply doublers .  I am using PVA to glue the doublers on with plenty of clamps till they dry . You can also see Ive added a few formers to the central crutch as a trail fit . 

Just as well , because the one by the pencil is 2mm too wide . Yours wont be !  ( see what I have to put up with ?) 

Edited March 9, 2024 by RICHARD WILLS

[Paul Johnson 4]

Try putting weight on it, you'll break it if you jump on it.... cruelty to balsa that is..

[RICHARD WILLS]

These clamps are cheap as chips but to some extent clothes pegs are easier to use as they dont ping off so much . 

[RICHARD WILLS]

Ive fitted some of the lower formers now and am offering them up to see how they fit . 

Very nicely as it happens . Note that I'm not putting the front formers in yet . 

It all only fits one way so it doesnt really matter how you do this bit . Both , sides , one side first etc makes no odds . Just make sure that the two fuselage sides meet at exactly the same length at the rear , then all will remain square . There are a few more formers than the Fw190 . 

Thats the Brits for you . Why use one former when you could use three ?

 

 

Edited March 9, 2024 by RICHARD WILLS

[RICHARD WILLS]

You can see I've employed the blue clamps again to hold the central crutch to the right fuselage side while it dries . 

In the plastic bag full of miscellaneous parts , you will find some ply pieces . 

Two will support the cowl later on . The one we need now is the wing retaining plate as this must be added as the second fuselage side goes on .

I have already added the blind nut and before fitting, will press the claws into the ply in my vice . The star shape is uppermost when installed . 

By the way . I normally use white Gorilla glue as the PVA of choice . I dont like this evo stik wood glue as much . Ive paid for it now though ......

Lot of holes aren't there ? They don't come cheap you know . No expense spared here . 

Edited March 9, 2024 by RICHARD WILLS