60" 43% Increased FliteTest Spitfire

[Art Lane]

Wing Work

The wing cord will be troublesome.
You'll have to make the wing with a few pieces of foam.

I cheated on mine

The motor mount/plate thing was so I could uses the shaft of the motor.
Wanted to run that nice spinner.

Wood was 1/2" dowels which I used to make the Tricopter.

Double up where you can.
My first crash it cracked right behind the wood structure where the double wall ended.

And you will want to carry that on beyond the wing section just to keep it all strong.

Cut away and have fun.
I did like the plane but she was beast to transport.

Andre.

Hi Andre
Well, hopefully the wing will come out as per instructions.... As you can see, I used a larger sheet of foam board and traced the whole wing as I did the small Spit... Both halves... Hopefully, I won't have any problem with building this... You might also notice the slots for the wing braces has been modified... With the enlargement, of course the spars are bigger and on checking the original plan I found the mounting area to be just behind the first crease/bend... the original spots on the plan didnt match that so I modified so they would..... hope i'm right!
As for the fuse doubling, I figured on carrying this back roughly two inches past the TE of the wing, again, hopefully to add more strength to that area.... Found it cracked on the 42" spit...
So, on with tracing and then..................... get cutting..
Art.

 

[Andre]

Nice where did you get the larger sheets from?

 

[Art Lane]

Large foamboard

Hi Andre
Got the sheets from an Art/Craft store here in London.. 32" X 40" at a cost of $3.50 per sheet.. Same thickness as the dollar store sheets but has a better covering of paper, a little heavier.. (Currys Art Store, London)
You might check your Art supplies stores there in Ottawa for these...
Apparently, these sheets are used for sign work and they have larger, 40" X 48" but the smaller ones are doing the job for me for the 55" Spit...
In a Quandry re using the Min Wax.... It's a big area to cover and I don't, definitly don't want to get too much on as it might pull the paper off....
For the 40" spit I used a clear satin spray paint, again from Micheals crafts store... It seemed to work but you have to be careful as to how much you put on... it warps the sheets if you get too much.... Found that spraying the other side brought the sheet back flat tho.... Ya, heavier!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, patterns are all traced now on the FB and cutting begins today..... Sure aint a day for flying, not with temps in the low 40's...... Good indoor building time...
So, get yerself new larger sheets and start that ME 109, ha ha...
Art.

 

[Art Lane]

Finally got back to the 55" Spit.... Weather has been too nice the last two weeks to go out flyin so, buildin kinda got side tracked... I'm in a quandry about the cuts for the fuse bends.... I took the plan and folded it over on each side finding discrepencies in the size... Like one side is larger than the other..... Plan now changed.... The cuts for the bend areas, I'm not sure if I should do the old original way, slice part way through, bend over, and cut 45 degree angles, or............ like FT did on later models, cut a strip out, the width of the foam board thickness, which I did on the FT Racer, or, go the angle way... I've found the fitting of folds only relies on the paper making the area not a strong...
What do you suggest?????????????
Good thing I have all winter to build it.....
Some smart looking models on the other forum, have you seen the latest??????????
A.

 

[Andre]

Art I did a A fold and then added a 2nd layer sitting on top of the base.

Now I was hand measuring all of this doing the math from the scale planes.

I agree on the weather. Been flying my new plane a lot this week.

Andre.

 

[Art Lane]

Hi Andre
Well, looks like our summer/fall flying is pretty well over now so, back to the building table.... My wings are cut out, (everything looks good so far), servos tested, and the fuse has been started.. Will be starting to assemble the wings today.. One thing I noticed, on the original plan for the 40" one, the inboard line is tapered from the second fold back.... I think this is the reason why the space between wing panels when assembly comes along, so, gonna leave this on till I start fitting them together and then if any material needs removal, I'll do it then... (Oh, as I said in a previous post, I purchased a large sheet of foam board hence, the wing panels are all out of one sheet, no pcs. to be added... )
Before I glue the two halves together, I'm wondering if I should use a pc of CF flat strip at the joing area??, this seems to be a weak spot altho no problems have occured with my small Spit and FTmodified Racer, but.............. just in case and being larger, I don't want a weak spot to ruin a building spree...
Motor?? I have a Thrust 20 that I think will do the job on the 60"er, with an 11/6 APC prop.... 36 Amp ESC, 3 cell, 2700mah, lipo...
Painting?? I originally used an airbrush with craft red paint, thinned with Windex. Came out pretty good and I lightly sprayed it after with a clear coating from Micheals.... So far, so good, even on landings on our damp field int the mornings..... I would like to use something in the clear paints to make the biggie look better, without the warping I had on the small one, of which I corrected by spraying the inside, or otherside of the foam board before assembly... Yes, these sheets do warp when one side is sprayed, but spraying the otherside brings the foamboard back flat....
Anyway, pics to take and then send this to yas all...
Happy building time fellows!
A.

 

[Andre]

Art I've been bad...

Honestly they followed me home one day.

 

[marc60]

Mens-room; projectionscreen and full of planes
That can't be bad Andre.

The Spit is looking good Art. Will it fly before the snow?

 

[Andre]

We don't talk about snow.

 

[marc60]

That's OK. But if you get some of that white stuff who's name you should not mention, feel free to send some my way. Would be nice to have a real winter again here

 

[Art Lane]

Hi guys, did someone mention that four letter word................ SNOW? ha, what makes you think we get that?? Well, it is that time of year, and that means "Buildin Time"...
Andre.... I would have liked to see more FT models, but you must have a magnet to attrack all those others, ha ha....
And Marc, are you still sailin or has that come to a stop? Hey, as Andre says, "We don't mention that word around here in Canada, that's just a standard for that time of year..... ha....
No, my big Spit won't see maidens this year, it's a build that I'm doing for next spring.... Have to have everything fitting "Perfectly" before I make any rash flights, ha ha...
So, get with the buildin guys, lets see a Lancaster out of foam, huh????
Take care, life is too short, I just lost a good buddy, 56 years old, Cancer..... A real kick in the A.....
Off to my clubs coffee club, for more building questons...
A.

 

[Andre]

Sorry to hear about your Friend Art. 2014 has seen a few loses to other friend's love ones as well.

Well I have a few FT birds still but yeah all of a sudden in Sept 3 foamies showed up.
2 from my wife. The UMX Radian and the SkyMule. And the Sukhoi was a gift from everyone else for my birthday.

To be honest the family love this hobby. Specially my wife compared to my vintage racing.

I still have my big ol cargo plane in the back room, the Spectre as well. I passed the Blender to my dad who was down a plane for a bit.

The cargo plane will remain the fleet to drop bombs and paratroopers for James and I can have fun.
That is unless I figure out how to make my own Lancaster

So the scratch builds will be coming back on stream soon.

It is as you said a winter thing. When the SNOW starts.

Marc never wish for snow.

 

[Art Lane]

Well, it...................... SNOW.............. is around our area, nothing yet to speak of in London tho...
Marc, don't wish for any, we have a long enough winter ahead of us yet.....
What's new with you guys? Any specials???
Art.

 

[Andre]

Cold in Ottawa Art.

Been messing with FPV

 

[Art Lane]

Well, I've been watchin and watchin this forum, and aint seen no new buildings going on...... I know winter is here now, and there should be lots going on, but, where the heck are all you guys...
My 60" has the wings finished, and am contemplating attaching a landing gear, ala a fellow on the FT Spitfire build forum...
My fuse is in the starting mode, some mods still need to be done before glueing....
I am also working on a newbe........... Polaris, water/grass flyer, an offshoot of a Laddie McDonald build..... Plan in the modifying mode now, similar to the FT build.... Will add pics as I go along..
So guys, get with it and lets get this forum on the go again.....
Winter builder....
A.

 

[Andre]

Sorry Art been busy with other projects.

Have not been doing a lot of building lately.

 

[Andre]

Well Art. Your wish has been granted.

My Dad had me order him up a new motor for his FT Spitfire. Something with a 4mm shaft with a little more kick.
He was joking with me. Now my FT Racer will be no match.

I have the motor from the 60" Spit still sitting waiting for something to fly in.

I'm thinking 48" Winged Spitfire with the 3536-1050kv on 4S?
Maybe even do an AXIS warbird? What do we think?

 

[marc60]

I've just started cutting foam and glueing on a curtiss P40 today. Sofar glued the basic fuselage structure with a plywood firewall. And fiberglassed the horizontal and vertical stab.
No hobbying this evening, going to the movies with wife and kids. Tomorrow chopping wood for the stove and visiting a friend for making music.
I'll start a thread next week with pictures
grtz Marc

 

[Andre]

Nice Marc. I was also thinking P40 then I could use my big wheels and bomb drop kit

But with my challenge being thrown down I need speed vs lifting power