Hello from Muirkirk Ontario . Alp At6 obsession gone to far : )

[Airdude]

Hello all pilots and co pilots. My names Edward lonnee. I'm a 30 year old male who enjoys building with foamboard and various other materials. Dont we all? Over the years though of building this and that model I found myself always going back to the at6 texan. My father and I used to watch our local t6 flying out of windsor when I lived there. We would run to the truck and drive to windsor airport in hopes to at least get to see him land. I was always amazed by how powerful they sounded. And of course that prop noise!!!!!! Nothing else sounds like it. Well 10 years later , my father passed and his life long wish was to ride in one or a similar warbird. I ended up meeting (yes guys this story has a point lol) my wife long story short I wound up in muirkirk ontario...... I was unpacking all our stuff and I litterally dropped everything I had in my hand when I heard that familiar prop noise but much louder this time because its in the country without noise restraints. I look up and see a bright yellow trainer with the markings kh 918. My jaw dropped. It was pete spence of the 4 man harvard team. And his flaps and gear was down. All I thought was noway....... he lives around here.... again long story short that was one of my fathers and I heros. We watched his team perform at many different airshow around ontario. SOOO........for a surprise my wife paid for a flight in the at6 with pete spence as a birthday gift and ever since I'm harvard/texan crazy. Ill include a few pics, in my case the flight was a memorial flight for dad so i did not record but i did record first start up of the pratt and whitney roaring to life.
That night i was looking through different blueprints and found alps AT6 . So out came the paper and foamboard and away we went. painted it like petes . Looked amazing, then i added same detail, and a few more and by the time i was done i was so shocked it was foamboard even i was fooled a few times. I then a few months after found its faults and decided i wanted to make a 2.0. i extended the skin of the wing to incase the servo for protection and to help stiffen the wing tips(harvards are known for nasty ground loops, the redbull t6 met its fate that way). I also moved the servos further forward therefor it wont take as much weight to balance. Main wing is now shaped instead of having lines running along it. ect...... Anyways on to the fun stuff. one night i was bored so i supersized his blueprint to at least quarter scale. Made up all the blue prints and they hung on the wall for at least a month while i sourced some free coroplast, yes thats right folks, supersized 50cc s.p.a.d (simple plastic airplane design). So now i have fully built up fuse minus the skin, they sell a single wall style of plastic without the corrugated materal and probably will use that. I Had to make alot of design changes to the plans to make it work, triple layer rudder with a symmetrical horizotal now instead of flat sheets. Alps original blue prints did not include the wheel arches for retracts. But again that is something i can even vacuum form landing gear tubs for inside the wing and arches at leading edge. This is going to be a very slow and heavy build because as in todays world money is tight and hobbies suffer. So please add your two cents, comment , suggest things, im starting back fresh into the gas planes after going electric for so long, have to start over and get everything again including a decent engine, dle 55 should give her the grunt she needs.

i love this hobby and its even more fun to build your own beast and watch them take flight like the real thing. Anyways guys heres all the pics enjoy. More pictures to come as the build progresses and funds arise. Happy flying

 

[Merv]

Welcome to the forums.
Great looking plane.

 

[Airdude]

Thank you for the kind words. I've always watched these forums just never had the guts to post lol Today's project is gooping all the ribs and seams for a strong tight vibration resistant bond. Then its skin time. Ill take pictures of the the oversize skins when I finish them tonight. So far so good, my test peice is already strong to the point it requires pliers to pull it apart. I ended up using a clear sheet if plastic 0.3mm thick. Not sure what type of plastic but it's used for baby proofing railings with rungs. Sands nice. Takes paint well , medium ca sticks good but not perfect. Adding the goop(e6000 same stuff) gives each piece a little movement without fear of cracking a glue joint and adds shock absorption. Even if the ca let go , the goop will not. Ca is basicly to tack everything in place and straighten things as you go. Call it the modelers second chance glue when it comes to spads ...... ask me how I know lol anyone else ever have a wing fly open in mid flight because the glue let go. Not fun. Although it did the weirdest roll I ever seen kinda like a maple key seed. Anyways here is some pics of a test sample to show proper bonding . Last picture shows the clear material broke before the joint. Prep is everything! Outside of each panel is smooth and glossy. Hit that quick with a light abrasive and it takes paint well. All scratching is on inside for better bite on the ribs. My next tests are going to be sunlight exposure to see if this plastic can hold up to some heat. Painted black to test it at its extreme.

 

[Draftman1]

Very nice, Have you seen the squadron 13 version? It’s more of a master type

13TH SQUADRON

Welcome to the 13th Squadron's website, where you’ll find flight footage, build plans, and descriptions for all our foam board designs. We are a father and son team who work together to create...

www.13thsquadron.com

 

[Airdude]

Yes I have and its a beautiful bird. But also a nightmare to scale up( not to tech oriented lol) I like taking already great designs and improving upon them. I also looked at Vincent's at6 . Only reason I didn't build that one was because it didn't have its true three piece wing look. I like this one because it has the look of the mark 1 harvard with the large round nose but tail of the mark 2 which we are all used to seeing at almost every airshow( not complaining lol)

 

[Airdude]

Good evening all progress has been slow due to a family emergency that has kept me away from the giant build. So far I've installed a tail wheel, (tape holding down pieces while they glue. Scratch built shaped and sanded pieces to keep cost low. Decided to go for a pull pull with springs on the tail. Servo tray has been installed minus cut outs.( not sure exact locations yet) , and that's about it besides strengthening the fuse in a couple places its been slow. Hopefully this week will change things though. Skins are still on my to do. Test piece has passed with flying colors( no pun intended lol ) serious time though to all you experts out there . This will have an 86 inch wingspan. What size engine do you think it will need to have proper punch for scale loops and barrel rolls? Im way off with the 55. 30cc maybe? Let me know what you think. Let's get this bird in the air with grace and style.

 

[Airdude]

Those of you thinking this is where it stops. Think again!!! Lol its been a while but another of work has been done. Motor, fuel tank. Some ribbing (much better ways to do it but this is cheap using bamboo). My skin idea didn't work well with gasoline so had to scrap that idea and go with a simple heat shrink covering. I'll let the pictures show the work done. All controls are hooked up and just need servos . Scrapped the old mag and flywheel and am gonna use an electronic ignition to increase power as much as possible and will help with balancing when time comes. She's getting there. Please ignore the mess .

 

[Mr Man]

Those of you thinking this is where it stops. Think again!!! Lol its been a while but another of work has been done. Motor, fuel tank. Some ribbing (much better ways to do it but this is cheap using bamboo). My skin idea didn't work well with gasoline so had to scrap that idea and go with a simple heat shrink covering. I'll let the pictures show the work done. All controls are hooked up and just need servos . Scrapped the old mag and flywheel and am gonna use an electronic ignition to increase power as much as possible and will help with balancing when time comes. She's getting there. Please ignore the mess .

Just Curious as I am going to do a similar gas plane. How did you mount your engine? Thanks.


-Man.