Nihjuis Spitfire 62"

[Trex700e]

you can hide the flap servos in the radiators in the underside of the wing. that is if you make them out of three balsa sides which is what I intent to do purely to keep the weight down.

[Snaba]

Will,

in fact my radiators are built on that cover for flap servos but servos are inside the wing.

[John Laverick]

Thanks for that Snaba,

I'll give it some thought and see what I can come up with. I build most of my models sort of semi scale, more for the flying than the looking, but I think this one deserves to be given a bit more attention.

 

Regards

 

John

[Mac Duberia]

hi again,

 

I know its been a while but has anyone building the 63" spit, got any ideas as to how the cowling is fixed. Looking at photos of Tony's model, theres hardly any gap!.

 

Ideas please.

 

Thanks. 

[Snaba]

Yeah,

it seems these pics are 'Photoshopped' unsharp, the seamless fit seems unbelievable perfect...anyway, I solved my own cowling problem by making one from GFK on a styro template. Very simple, quick and inside the cowl you have all the space you might need for hardware. The cowl is glued on a plywood frame and the whole setup is then screwed to the firewall. This was my first GFK ever and I'm surprised how quick and easy it was!

[Hugh Coleman]

"Looking at photos of Tony's model, theres hardly any gap!"

That'll be because it's all one piece.  If you have a good look at the plans and read the article, you will see that Tony has built the engine into the Fuselage. 

I am doing mine with a removable chin panel (so that I will be able to remove the engine if need be), but the sides and top of the Cowel are part of the main structure.

 

Cheers,

 

Hugh

 

[Mac Duberia]

hi Hugh,

 

I guess thats another detail that was not mentioned in the article but i suppose you need to have built some other scratch built models under your belt to realise.

But anyway im going to build my cowl in the way Snaba describes his.

 

Thanks guys for your input.

[Snaba]

Actually, like Hugh says I think the building description is correct! The cowl c(sh)ould be assembled as described, then glued onto its place with the exception of the lower part of the nose. After covering the seam disappears....tadaa....

Edited By Snaba on 11/04/2010 10:44:07

[Hugh Coleman]

Yep, the Top sheet of the nose, from the cockpit to the spinner is one piece. 

The cowel sides are seperate from the fire wall forward, but faired in to the fuselage sides. 

Then the chin section forward of the firewall is added after the engine has been fitted.

As clearly described in the article.

 

Cheers,

 

Hugh

[Trex700e]

As far as the cowl goes, i didnt want to stick mine in becasue this would mean i could never get to the motor. So I built the cowl by cutting out the sides top and bottom from the plan (traced the out line onto the wood) then sticking them together while on the model with the ply O ring to make sure it was all OK, and it was. I then added the triangular peices and so had (a rather square) cowl. I found the cowl easy to make almost rather too easy for my liking! I then sanded down the end so that it fitter (not perfectly) flush to the firewall. I then drilled into the balsa (NOT the fire wall) and epoxied in 5 3.5mm gold bullet connectors. The male on the firewall and the female ends on the cowl. These have worked a treat and hold the cowl on very firmly but it can be removed so i have total access to the motor.

 

I would advise that every one makes a removable cowl for that one time when you need to ajust the motor etc..

 

I didnt want to install £100 worth of unitract retracts into my first scratchbuilt model becasue 1) the model may not fly so well so that would be £100 busted

                  2) Heavy landings in my biggest and heavist plane so far might just destory them

                  3) i wanted to see If i could make my own struts in a more scale mannor.

 

So I bought the Hanger 9 60 size Mustang retracts. Of course these were set up for a mustang so the actuating rod had to be put on the other side of the retract. I removed the casing and reversed the said part with suprisingly litttle hassel. However, two peices of flat metal fell out and I dont know where they go back in. There is also a lot of slop in the retracts. When it came to installing the systems, they  slipped in nicly with out hassel. I connected them up to the servo (Hitech HS-75BB) and they work perfectly. I strongly suggest using these systems and for £20 they dont break the bank. I bought them from Galaxy models and hobbies in Ipswich. This is a fantastic model shop. They always have what you are looking for and are very helpful!

 

with the retracts working I started on the underside sheeting. I joined the wings together BEFORE each wing was complete. This has worked very well and i think it was a decision well made.

 

 Well I just had to get the spitfire all rigged up and out in the garden for a photo shoot. I would upload some but do not know how to on this site.

 

This model is fantastic. I have had no major problems with it and it comes together like a dream! money well spent!

 

thanks

Will 

[Snaba]

Will,

I agree the cowl should be easy to remove, it always happens: a beautiful flying day, you made the engine test the evening before, and now nothing works. Of course, then you've left the right screw drivers at home....so, you mounted the cowl with gold sockets? I like the idea in compairison to mine which is fixed with 4 hexagon screws. But do you think this will be enough to resist the vibrations of the engine, did you test it already?

[John Laverick]

Snaba,

 

I've just come up with the same problem that you had with the wheels and the oleo's not fitting inside the wheel wells. As it happens I didn't read your post originally and have now only looked back to see if anyone else had the same problem as me.

 

I see your soloution was to use the 3" wheel, is the 3.25" wheel not the same thickness? I haven't bought the wheel yet but it's obvious from where the oleo sits that with the wheel added there's no way it will fit. do you think if I removed the recessed rib above the wheel well it would cause any structual weakness in the wing?

 

regards

 

John

[Snaba]

No, this wheel of 76 mm is only 23 mm thick:

 

http://www.galaxymodels.co.uk/detail.asp?id=25224&rootid=#lift

 

I didn't find 82 mm wheels with this thickness, would have been a better option. Just in case I one day find some I intentionally made the bay wide enough to fit also this size.

 

As for fitting the setup, I bluntly removed as much of the rib under the wheel bay as was needed to make all fit and close nicely and also with some space left for the bay doors: these will be a composite of thin ply and balsa as I want to sand them to the shape of the wing wihtout losing too much strength. I could have strengthened the bottom of the bay with glass fiber, though...but I don' t think this will be an issue as this part is in the middle of the stronger structures absorbing normal shocks from landing. Practice will show how this theory floats.

[Trex700e]

Snaba @ Yes the gold connectors work a dream and today I tested the Turnigy 50-65 350kv Motor with sucess. (but it was only on 3S) the connectors need real force to get them to come off!

[Snaba]

I thought you might be turing brushless...I better mount my cowl with screws to stand the RCV SP60

[John Laverick]

Thanks Snaba,

 

Think I'll just remove the rib, if I fit the bay out with a balsa lining and attach it to the underside skin it will also give it some strength.

 

 

 

Regards

 

John

[Snaba]

John,

this is what I did, I prepared sort of a round box for the wheel bay with balsa bottom and walls. If you want to see I can make some pics...anyway, I put the plane together in my workshop table and it is beautiful!

[John Laverick]

Well i've done a bit of a compromise with the wheels and bought a 3" set and a 3.25" set. by the way these are the Robart diamond wheels and they are both 24mm thick so we'll see how I get on from there.

 

Regards

 

John

[Mac Duberia]

hi Snab,

 

If  you dont mind can we have a look at your pics.

 

Thanks

 

Mac

[Snaba]

So, here you go....

[Snaba]

Will, to add images you just need to create a photo album under your profile, upload images there and then attach them to your posting. Would like to see your progress.

[Trex700e]

thanks Snaba

 

I found out how to do it and i have attached an image

[Mac Duberia]

Hi Guys,

 

Guess wot? I made my first boo boo and that is, i just realised that the wing mounting plate is on the wrong side of the wing, instead of gluing it on the bottom sheet i've gone and done on the top skin, i will now have to glue a plate on the outside of the wing and somehow blend it into the wing. DOH!!!!.

 

Take it easy on me guys

 

Thanks.

[John Laverick]

Mac,

 

been there done that before, can you not remove the balsa sheeting and then fit in the wing mounting plate?

 

does anyone know where I can get 5mm wheel collets from?

 

Regards

 

John

 

Don't worry I've found some

 

John

 

Edited By John Laverick on 20/04/2010 19:55:41

[Mac Duberia]

John,

 

Maybe i could but i think i might weaken the wing where it matters so im going to leave it as it is and just epoxy birch ply on top. What method did you adopt to rectify your mistake?.

 

I've never used 5mm collets so dont know where you can get them, but how about improvising a nut by drilling  a hole and tapping a thread for a grub screw.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Regards

 

Mac