Scale Build-Off- ParkflyerPlastics 95" span P-40

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Seeing the pilot figure like that is making me think - more seriously than I really should - about doing one of these big birds, mainly so I could get a figure of Wild Bill Kelso (John Belushi from the movie 1941) behind the controls. If I ever crashed it I could say I was just trying to be authentic to the movie.

Lucky for me I've got enough projects and this bird is simply too darn big for any place I can fly, and too big to fit inside my Jeep. Otherwise...!

Lol... Fellow Jeeper :cool: I bought a trailer last year so I could play with bigger toys. Actually picked it up 2 weeks before Flite fest and that was the first trip with it.

And I thought hard about doing Wild Bill. The website is a bit ambiguous about celebrity faces. Technically you should have to have permission or a license of some sort. I doubt anyone would give you a hard time about Belushi though. And for what its worth they make the heads any size you want. Even small enough to fit on a lego figure. Build one any size you want!

And don't let having a Jeep keep you from getting the toys you want :)
This is the trailer rig, and my setup at Flite Fest last year :cool:
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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Heck yeah, I've been letting Jeeps mark their territory on my driveway for years now! I sold my first one, a 97 Cherokee to my mechanic after it hit 240,000 miles and he's still driving it today. My current is a 98 Grand which is approaching 235,000 miles, pictured below on one of our last trips. We've driven it out west 3 times now and have another trip planned for June. It just keeps on rolling and I expect to get well over 250,000 out of it.

With seats down I can fit a few planes in for a good day at the field although at times it's like playing Jenga with planes!

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wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Nice rig Joker. I bet you could squeeze a big bird in there. Who needs passengers anyway :D

Still touching up some glass work but I went ahead and got most of the H-stab and elevator halves done. I still need to trim back the gap covers and glass the H-stab. Then I can get it installed and move on the the V-stab and rudder. I had to test fit everything this evening and I can feel it getting closer. I don't think much exciting will get done for the next two weeks. I head to Germany on Thursday to visit the wife so not much building time for a while.
 

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wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Hey all,

Back from a great vacation. Thanks for all the kind words, and I'll be sure to keep Han off the stick ;) Damn shame about the Ryan though. Really cool old bird and from what I've read his was restored and in amazing condition.

Nothing too exciting to report on the build. I did get the struts cut to length and machined the fittings to secure the struts to the retracts. The struts will be retained with 2 set screws each and I still need to grind the flat spots on the retract posts but I'll wait until everything is aligned and working before I do that.

I also trimmed the springs in the struts so they are less loaded. The Robostruts are built to handle MUCH heavier aircraft and I still may have to track down other springs to use, but they feel much softer now and may be OK.

Hope to be back in full swing by mid week. My goal is to have the gear working, wheel wells cut and lined, and the gear blisters installed this week.
 

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Working on the wheels. The landing gear mounts need a bit of adjusting to get everything lined up just right. I want to get them installed just right when deployed, then I'll pull the wheels off of the struts to find the exact center of the wheel wells. Hopefully they won't take TOO much work to get properly aligned. If I had to do this over again I would have done a lot of the tweaking BEFORE I had permanently attached the hardwood blocks for the gear. It would have it a LOT easier to tweak them.

The wheels are 6" Dave Brown treaded wheels. They are foam but are quite ridged and feel solid. These were used on the prototype with success and should be fine.
 

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
It's amusing how those wheels don't look very big, at least to me, probably because I'm used to 2" or so wheels on my planes. But a 6" wheel is HUGE compared to what is on my fleet!
 

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
It's amusing how those wheels don't look very big, at least to me, probably because I'm used to 2" or so wheels on my planes. But a 6" wheel is HUGE compared to what is on my fleet!

It is funny. I've been looking at this build for so long now that it doesn't seem that big... until I look at it next to my other aircraft.

A few shots of the FT Dusty with the P-40, as well as a shot of my smallest RC resting on the wingtip
 

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wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
This is amazing work! What hot-wire setup did you use?

I don't have a lot of hotwire experience, but the small handheld one I used to cut the hatch and to trim the cowl pieces is available here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EOSNE7U...UTF8&colid=SKRP9NE99LFN&coliid=I1VCPDVVJJQSNF

I also used to have a flat bed hot wire similar to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017NS8H6...UTF8&colid=SKRP9NE99LFN&coliid=I1BIQTLNT4NMO5. The one I had was cheaper and worked for a few years but recently failed. I'll probably pick up another one before too long. One day I'll build a hotwire bow for wings, but I haven't needed one yet and have kind of been avoiding it.
 

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Work continues. There are so many "small" tasks that take an hour or two that keep coming up. Yesterday and today was:

  • Glassed the horizontal stab
  • trimmed gear blisters and doors
  • Tail wheel door fabrication
  • Elevator joiner mechanism

The gear doors were made by marking the location, covering the area with wax paper, applying several layers of glass to the area, transferring the lines, pulling the part, and adding some reinforcement. I'll separate the doors later and add the hinges and linkages to open/close.

The elevator joiner had me a bit concerned but I think it will work out fine. CF tube is great in resisting flex, but unless you have the right kind of tube it isn't great resisting torsion. I opted to use a hybrid of aluminum tube over CF tube with CF posts buried into each elevator half. Feel rock solid. I'm debating using a single control horn or one on each half. I have the pushrod guides for both installed if I want to go that route but I'll see how solid it feels when things are more permanently installed.

I also think I've settled on a power system, but I'm going to do some math tomorrow before I pull the trigger.
 

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wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Are the playing cards your method for applying the epoxy?

Yes. I prefer old hotel room keys and spent gift cards as they are a bit firmer, but if you have a large area to glass it is nice to be able to toss away a card when it gets dirty and grab a new one. An old deck will last through several projects.
 

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
More work done this weekend. Horizontal stabilizer installed, vertical stab made and installed, rudder built and rough shaped.
 

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wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Grabbed 2 more shots this morning now that the GG is cured and everything is solid.

Also got the power system ordered. I'm going with a Scorpion S-5535-190KV with the recommended 90A ESC. It looks like I got a good deal on the first gen model now that the SII is out.

This system will handle up to 3800W and will give me a lot of options for battery and prop selection. I'm playing with motocalc to get some good prop options... just have to decide if I'm going to do 10S or 12S.


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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
I assume you're going to cover the elevator and rudder with standard shrink covering to get the detailed look? The combination of balsa and foam is very interesting to me, the best of both worlds!