P40 Warhawk flies again

Finally test flew the P40 the other day. All she needed was some down trim and she was trimmed (although I might improve the roll rate). Had 3 flights so far and very pleased with the way it flies. I need to put the cowl on but the engine is cutting out on me so I need to resolve that first.

Kyosho P40 Kittyhawk (Warhawk)

I have acquired a second hand one of these models. I've put an ASP 46 up front and changed the servos connections. They use quick links which have a screw which tightens on the pushrod but I don't trust these on a 40 size model so I had to push the servo mounts back about 6 mm and bend the pushrod. This should make a more secure connection. Note I have retained a quick link with the throttle servo as it is under little pressure. I have yet to test fly. Its been too windy!!!

Well I haven't done much to the AT-6 but time to get it finished and in the air. The photo shows the center wing section with a support for the 2 wing bolts (near the trailing edge) made out of 3mm plywood. You need to add this as the balsa will quickly crush under the pressure of the wing bolts.

Control line flying at Trentham

The photo is of my Sig control liner flying at the club flying site. The flying site doesn't see many control liners so it was good to do a few circles.

Curare 40

I purchased this in an auction and it was built by one of the better builders in the club. I've powered it with a Magnum XL 40 engine (twin ball race) (a .46 wouldn't fit). I've fitted an OS carb off a OS 32 helicopter engine. Test flew it today and it flys well. Impressed with the engine, given that its either a Chinese or Taiwanese in origin.

Have had a couple more flights. She lands faster than I would like (I don't want to stall it at the vital moment).

AM 0.049 Glow engine

Got this the other day. Have decided to pass it on to a collector.

Should I fly electric?

As you can see, I like model aircraft internal combustion engines... noisy, smelly, oily... unlike electric motors.

I do have a small electric foamy but I have to charge 4 batteries for a flying session. Its just not the same...

GMS 2000 47

Well I purchased another GMS 2000 engine, the 0.47 cubic inch size, quite a performer apparently. It needed a new carby so the guy sold it and was buying a new one (?). I fitted a carb out of a OS 32FX helicopter engine which was the correct size and no doubt a better carb than the original. The GMS is a budget engine so we will have to see how it performs.

It did amuse me when I emailed a guy that sells GMS engines online about buying a carb for the GMS and he said the same thing, i.e. buy a new engine. Mind you they are cheap but it would seem a waste to scrap a perfectly good engine because it needs a new part.

OS 50SX piston

This is the piston from my OS 50SX which I purchased second hand (?). Bit of a carbon build up which I am removing. Note the small circle in the gap in the piston ring. This is where the piston ring meets and aligns with no ports on the liner. The front on the piston has the circular cut away.

Super Tigre G21/46 Stunt engine

Finally I have freed up this engine so that I can mount it in my Magnum. I may need to get a stunt venturi made to save a bit of weight. The piston and liner appear to have little use which is great.

GMS2000 120 Glow Motor

Well I just purchased one of these, what a big piece of metal. Arguably I got it a bit cheaper but then the muffler I suspect is for a .60 (and shoehorned on!!) but then the engine does not come with a muffler. The spinner looked good in the photo but the backplate is broken. Hopefully it will be ok running it like that.

Fournier RF4 model

To the right is my model Fournier RF4, around 80 inches in wingspan and powered by a OS 25FP. It flys well although it won't fly itself. Been sitting in the garage for 10 years but she now flys again. Engine was totally gummed up but after heat and some TLC, engine runs again fine. I didn't build it myself. When I remember the guys name I will give him credit.

Will Hobby AT-6 Texan - Wing servo pushrod

I have just connected up the wing servos to the ailerons. Straight forward except 1. The pushrods need to be cut to length and bent. 2. Don't forget the fuel tube "keepers" to stop the clevis disconnecting from the aileron horn.

Will Hobby AT-6 Harvard - The front end

I feel that the front end where the firewall is glued to the fuselage is not up to it for a long term model. I have added 1/2" balsa in front of the firewall (see picture) to give it more strength. Then I have fuel proofed it.

Assembling the Will Hobby AT-6 - Joining the wings

Almost time to join the wings together. Pictured is the wing joiner (one for each side). Its pretty sloppy in the slots in the wings so I am going to face it with 1/6" ply to get a better fit before I glue it together. Note that the inner side is longer than the outer side.

Will Hobby AT-6 - Adding the transfers

Well time to add the transfers. Now I wasn't sure whether you soak them in water before applying them but I can assure you, you do not (I could not find anything in the instructions!!). Just cut them out, remove the backing and apply carefully. It turns out they will take the same amount of heat that the covering takes to shrink it, so you can seal the edges so that they should stay on longer. Best to apply them before you assemble the aircraft. Then fuel proof the areas around the front were fuel seepage can occur (unless its electric powered of course). Mine will have an ASP 46 up front. Not sure how the muffler will be routed but I will find out very soon (who said put a four stroke in it!!).

Will Hobby AT-6 - Tailplane

The completed tailplane ready to glue to the fuselage. Cut away the covering where the tailplane is glued to the fuselage to get a good strong joint. I used the supplied horn as it should be up to the task.

Will Hobby AT-6 Harvard installing the cables for the servos

I wondered how easy it would be threading the servos cables through the holes in the center wing section but it turns out it is not too difficult. Once they are through, tape them in position so they stay in there while you continue assembly.

Assembling the Will Hobby AT-6 - Wing Servos

Here is another view of the wing servos ready to be mounted.

Will Hobby AT-6 - installing the servos in the wings

Unless I have misinterpreted the instructions (pictures only, no narrative at all), the servos are retained in the wing by screwing them to balsa. I don't think this will last very long at all so I glued a ply facing on the balsa mounts and will screw the servos to the ply.

Assembling the Will Hobby AT-6

I read a suggestion on the internet to replace the supplied hinges with "proper" hinges which I have done. The replacement ones have a metal hinge and also have holes so that the glue can pool in them and help get a better bond.

Will Hobby AT-6 Harvard for 0.46 engines

Well I purchased one of these off a certain New Zealand on-line auction site. Its probably the cheapest ATF one the market for what it is. See here for the details http://www.willhobby.com/product/plane/na1.asp. Its reasonably well made but the accessories are cheap (they had to save money some where) and will need to be replaced. I will post the assembly here.

Actually I should mention that the instructions which come with the model are just drawings only so I have documented my assembly of the model to help anyone else would might run into issues assembling it as the instructions could be better. Note that I don't consider myself an expert modeller; I have seen vastly better constructed models than mine, I have built models over 40 years (oh!!) so was around before RTF models caught on.

Control Line Classic Models - the Peacemaker

The Peacemaker was designed by George Aldrich, a very well known control line flyer. It is for a 2.5 - 3.5 cc engine (mine has a OS 20). It will fly most manoeuvres although I haven't flown a full schedule with it. It is very distinctive with its single wheel undercarriage and lines. Its fun to fly and I recommend it.

Control line flying in Wellington, New Zealand

Well I made a self launcher and as I had got my Peacemaker ready for flight, I went down to test run the OS 20 on the model. Turns out the muffler came lose but I did manage to get one flight in. These days control line is generally only flown by a few keen modellers. One great thing about it is you don't need a large area to fly in. As long as you have a quiet model and are away from the general public, you can have some fun.