80 inch PBY Catilina

mudman1959

Active member
80 inch PBY Catilina... Update 03/05/14

It is made from Dollar Tree foamboard with some balsa and lite ply mixed in for good measure and it is all handcut. It will be all electric with full flight controls... Mudman1959 100_0125.JPG
 
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mudman1959

Active member
Thanks for the comments! Yes I do plan on making the wing tip floats extend and retract. Still working out the mechanics using a servo to do it. Someday I plan on adding retractable gear and have added wood supports in the nose and main fuselage areas for them. For now though it will be a water bird... Mudman1959
 

Johan

Senior Member
Yes I do plan on making the wing tip floats extend and retract. Still working out the mechanics using a servo to do it. Someday I plan on adding retractable gear and have added wood supports in the nose and main fuselage areas for them. Mudman1959

Wow, that is quite awesome! I remember it from a (plastic, non flying) scale model I build when I was young. One of my favorite planes, love the curves. They look good on the latest pictures you've posted, it is not the easiest fuselage!

Thanks for sharing
 

mudman1959

Active member
Johan... I did a lot of rolling of the foam into tight circles to make the curves. I found that for the tighter curves if you take the foam and soak it in warm water for a bit and then form it I could get smaller bends. I decided to do the covering in sections as it was easier to glue them on. Most of this model is built with hot glue so you have to have a hot gun and be quick. I have built several planes out of foam board and enjoy it more now than building with balsa and when its "Landed with style" I am not loosing a lot of dollars when it get turned into toothpicks. You have to think out the build as the foam tends to be a bit weaker than balsa but the cost savings out weighs that and with a few mods and some well placed carbon fiber they can withstand G force loads and high speeds as good as any balsa model. Check out my blog on RCGroups.com to see my other craziness... Mudman1959
 

Johan

Senior Member
Johan... I did a lot of rolling of the foam into tight circles to make the curves. I found that for the tighter curves if you take the foam and soak it in warm water for a bit and then form it I could get smaller bends. I decided to do the covering in sections as it was easier to glue them on. Most of this model is built with hot glue so you have to have a hot gun and be quick. .............
Check out my blog on RCGroups.com to see my other craziness... Mudman1959

Thanks, great technique, I will check out your blog
 

mudman1959

Active member
Still in the works... Just been busy with work and stuff around the house getting ready for winter. I just recently cut the plywood for the ailerons and will be back to building soon. I also had a friend from work mill me two rods from aluminum for the wing joints. Lots of "on the fly" planning and testing to see if it works or not on this build as the plans I have are limited on information and were meant for a balsa build. So I have to re-think it for foam... More to come soon.
Mudman1959
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
Thanks for the update! I've been wondering what happened to this one. Even as far as trying to give credit to the wrong builder! My apologies for that. I believe in giving credit where credit is due.
 

mudman1959

Active member
Wing Panel securing...

I figured out a great way to secure my wing panels on securely without having to have a access panel. I was at work and saw a Draw Type Latch on a hot water container lid from a aircraft I was working on and it hit me... This would work great for the wing panels. After a short trip to Lowes I found some 2 inch latches. They latch tight and do not come undone and hold the wing panels on tightly. I plan on putting a O-ring around the connector to keep the water out of the connection and the latch pulls the wing panels just enough to make this possible... I also started sheeting the outboard wing panels... More to come!

Mudman1959
 

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Flat4

Senior Member
Great Idea for that clip, I've also been trying to figure out something to secure my two wings have for a build I'm working on. This is much cleaner than anything that I came up with. Great build also, looking forward to seeing more.