My Hellcat, built for one purpose...

[Mitch]

Okay, so I photocopied the decals. The white 'stars and bars' and numerals came out a bit grey. So with a new blade in my x-acto knife. I placed 2 sheets of bond paper under the photo copy and cut out 3 all at once. I will use the bottom 2 from the bond paper.

On later models of the Hellcat, the blue field is not on the plane as it is the same color as the plane. My blue might be a bit lighter, so w/o using the blue field from the decal I will simulate the 'one color'

Also, as I said before I have a minimal amount of dope on the model and I do not think decals will adhere too well.

So here is the first 'star and bars'

I used the longron under the bars to help me with alignment. I used a glue stick to cover the paper. I used the purple glue so I could see I had good coverage.

Now for the rest of the stars and numerals.

Mitch

PS The rear peg will be above the star and to the left. Plans show it to be above and to the right.

[Mitch]

UPDATE... after just 1 hour I have the markings on.

Here is a picture of the prototype:


Here is my model:


I plan to use the small '13' decal for the cowling. But before I do that I need to make sure the paint is very smooth. The blue paint on there now is a primer and it is rough. It may not seem rough, but that paint is specifically designed to be a primer and to be rough to hold the finish water colors. I will instead paint another coat of 'gloss' finish over that. The decals will stick much better to a gloss paint. It should also match the glossy finish of the doped model. When I have another dry day I will put a final coat of dope over the model and all the 'bond paper' markings. That should really seal them on.

Mitch

NOTE: As I said before my model is a F6F-5 not a 3. The main difference is no small window behind the canopy. I trimmed my canopy smaller and extended part A2 (top keel) and made a new B6B which was slightly larger and was placed forward of B6 in the proper position. The pilots head rest was added to that.

Now I need to make the "Front End" and the adjustable thrust!

[Mitch]

Okay... For all you A&E mechanics out there... Now that the A (Airframe) is done it is time to work on E (Engine):

Here is what I did. I carefully removed the plastic engine from the cowling. I then trimmed the engine and sanded the cowling so the engine will fit in easily w/o rubbing.

Using Milwaukee hole saw sizes 2-3/8" and 1-1/2" I cut out discs from 1/4" balsa and 1/8" Plywood.



Wood parts need to be sanded. Balsa disc will have holes cut out after being glued so they will stand up to the cut. The two plywood rings and the balsa will all be glued together and glued to B1 of the model. The plywood disc will be the front face-plate, but for this model it will be covered by the plastic engine.

When assembled it will look like this:


All the engine parts with 4 screws weigh in at 19 grams. I will still add prop (say about 6 grams) so I should be about 125 grams w/o rubber. Lets say about 35 grams of rubber means AUW at 160. Maybe a bit more with more dope. So with a wing area of almost 200 sq in. (Let's say 200) that will give me a wing loading of .8g per square inch! Well, we need to see as we are not done yet...

Mitch... with some good weather hope to have some test glides soon!

UPDATE:

Did a little sanding and the 2 plywood rings are being glued and clamped. I like these colorful little clamps almost as much as the blue bar clamps. When the glue is dry I will glue and clamp the balsa discs. When they are dry I will glue all 4 together. When that is all dry I will cut out the holes in the balsa and glue the whole assembly to B1. Then finish the face-plate with alignment and adjustment screw and she will be ready to go.



to be continued...

[davidchoate]

Lookin good Mitch. I get the whole wing loading formula idea sort of now, but am struggling on how to figure out the stall speed, or the speed at which the air over the wings produces more lift than the weight of the plane. Do you know? I'm thinking on this because I believe alot of My flying failures may be due to My launch technique. I seem to always get perfect test glides, but under a wound up motor, I lose "the feel" for how hard to push it into the air.

[Steve Blanchard]

David,

As long as you are not throwing it, it will be fine. You should use the same basic release you use on the test glide for a power launch. Point it slightly down and gently release it towards a point about 20 feet ahead of you into the wind. The good thing is that you are getting a good glide with the CG at the proper location. After that you need deal with line of thrust to overcome power stalls. Also rubber and prop combination plays a huge roll in flight performance. The main idea is to spend time making one small change at a time and taking note of the reaction the plane has. Be sure to wind the rubber the exact same amount each time you fly it after a change so you don't unintentionally change the amount of power you are using.

Steve

[Mitch]

All,

Ditto to what Steve said. Moreover what I do is let the prop go a full 1 second before launching the plane. This is for that initial burst of power and torque to be released and not transfer to the model. On a mass launch... It's 1, 2 (Let the prop go), 3, then toss the airplane (at it's flying speed) towards a point 50 feet ahead. If everything is set properly, let the prop and rubber do the work. The airplane should go though 3 distinct flight stages. That is 1,climb; 2,cruise; and 3 is the glide. This is why very good pilots will have DT's (De-Thermilizers) set for 2 minutes. When the plane is up high enough and catches a thermal you might loose your plane!

Okay, on to the morning report:

I was planning on installing the engine (nose block) this morning but after sanding and gluing the parts they ended up a bit short in my fit check:


The prop (not the flying prop) is very close to touching the cowl, and with thrust adjustment I am concerned there will be a problem. So I test fitted a 1/8 inch plywood and a 1/4 inch balsa spacer.



I will go with the 1/8 inch plywood ring. So I need to glue this up and clamp. After a day of dry time I will install the engine (nose block) in the model tonight.

Mitch

PS: I sent in an order to EasyBuiltModels for props and other stuff. Also for more kits as I hope to enter EVERY contest at WESTFAC V!

UPDATE: Since the engine was getting it's final adjustment, I thought it a good time to put the 4th and final coat of dope on the model:

I started with a light coat, and each coat after a bit heavier.

[Mitch]

End of the day report:

The engine with all the screws is installed:


With that last coat of dope she is really starting to shine:


The model as you see her here weighs 125 grams and seems to be close to balance:


I have props ordered but I can add a pencil (simulate the weight) and install rubber (wound to keep pencil tight) and to some test glides.

I left off almost every detail. Only the front plastic louvers are in. I think I should work on a Guillow Pilot in USN uniform for a photo shoot.

Mitch

Flying weather looks good for the next 2 days...

[Mitch]

Happy Veteran's Day...


I put a coat of Model Master 'Blue Angle Blue' from a rattle can on the cowl. It is as close as I am going to get. I applied the paint a bit heavy, so I will do a light sand and another coat and then the decals '13'.

The prop is held on with a 1/4 inch bolt, 1-1/2 inch long with a nut, then a lump of clay in the spinner and then that was pressed together. This is just for the photo shoot. Although it is sunny today, it is very windy and NOT flying weather.

I just need to finish the cowl, paint the pilot, install the motor and balance... She is VERY near completion.

Here is a close up:


Mitch

I do not know when I can test fly... I will work on the pilot, and the flying props are ordered.

Looks like I need to paint the balsa behind the engine black as I can see some bare wood!

[Mitch]

Okay, did some glide tests today.

First I added a little ballast and tried the plane. It was still tail heavy, did a little stall and hit the front end. It did not take much to crack the cowl in the exact same manner as my Focke-Wulf. But then I realized the cowl was not glued on so it was removed for further flight tests. That made things much easier to add ballast. I ended up using all the clay I had. That was 2 pieces from 2 400 series kits, a total of 30 grams of clay. The final weight of the balanced glide tested model is 140 grams.

Here is the damage to the cowl... and the repair to the FW cowl.

It will be repaired the same way the FW repair was done. After that it will recieve another coat of paint as the paint on there now is a shade too dark for the Hellcat.

Here is a picture of how far she glided.

The best glide I had was 23 paces, that's about 70 feet! Although she is heavy, she NEEDS to be in balance and with those big beautiful blue wings (32 inch ws), she glided like a big bluebird. I am encouraged she will fly well. I hope to be getting my winding stooge soon. I will give a product review on that when I get it.

For test glides do as per instructions, once I was confident she was trimmed I did an over hand toss, the best method I found was to walk at flight speed then give a little toss pointing the airplane in a down attitude to a point 50 feet ahead. Her best flight she swooped down and gained speed then when a few feet off the ground she rose up again, turning a little to port. Next I plan to do lightly powered tests flights and work out the trim and slowly increase the power.

Mitch

PS: I will be going to a different field for powered test flights!

[Mitch]

Well I believe this model was an outstanding success story for me. Built right from the box and flew with a 12 inch prop. It flew at WEST FAC 5 successfully and made it to the second round in the WW2 Mass launch of Military Fighter Aircraft.



She only suffered one small hole in the fuselage paper. She was trimmed out with test glides at my local school. I made NO powered flights before I went to Arizona.

I made 2 identical motors, the Night before the competition. This model only flew 5 times under power. I had 3 test flights with moderate to strong power just before the Mass Launch. I was confident she would fly to some degree. I made some adjustments to the model (Weight in nose, and Thrust Angle) I installed an identical but new motor for the contest. I had a very helpful Mechanic who held the model as I wound the motor, timmed my flights and gave me feedback as to winding and launching the model.

I believe these 1000 series will make GREAT rubber power models when built light for rubber power. I plan to rebuild the entire tail from contest wood and make it thicker as my horizontal and vertical looked like potato chips and I was steaming them the night before and still bending them to get them straight before each flight. Of course when I made it though the first round I am not allowed to make repairs or adjustments... The only thing different for the second round was I put in more winds to the motor.

Mitch

[heywooood]

Wow - amazing. Both the Hellcat and the Zero are extremely high quality builds. And the detail in your descriptive build thread is comprehensive and very helpful. Thank you for sharing your workmanship in this manner.

[woundedbear]

On BB-61 they won't let me do anything like that.

Wasn't the Iowa decommisioned and turned into a museum?

It is. Sort of. It is maintained in San Pedro California

I saw a photograph of the U.S.S Iowa. It looked like she had been striped all the way to the hull, no superstructure, no turants, no 16 inch guns. Really sad sight to see, the hull looked like an old steel hulled square rigger.

[Mitch]

Well, I am in the Merchant Marine, not the Navy. I am a Deck Officer and have my private room. My desk is made of steel and is over 6 feet long. I can do as I please when I am not on duty. My room is about 14 feet x 20 feet with Lazy Boy chair and I have my own head and shower. My standard duty is 4 on and 8 off, and anytime I work outside those hours or in excess of 40 hours per week or Holidays is all overtime. I know the Navy does not know what that is...

I do not:

1. Use Aircraft Dope in my Room
2. Use Spray Paints in my Room
3. No Alcohol is allowed on the Ship

Other than that I can do as I please... I plan to bring my dance shoes and practice in the lounge...no one uses that anymore since everyone has a TV in there room... I do not use that.

Next Build..."Whistling Death" the F4U-4 Corsair! This one will be painted so the plastic parts and paper will match perfectly!

Mitch

[p40qmilj]

mitch if u can scale yer drawings, once u have built the original and learned from it, scale your models to fit into a 20 to 24 ich wing span. i do this all the time and with light woo. (8 to 10 # density ) you will get great flyers. ps build yer noses out of BALSA not plastic. the balsa nose helps solve ballast problems by reducing the need for ugly external blobs of lay and has greater impact resistance to trees, walls, etc that yer model will find when flying. also keep yer tail feathers light.

jim

btw my dad was in the merchant navy. went thru WW2 on a troopship from 1939 TO 1945. where are yer normal routes and what type of vessel do you work on.

[Mitch]

HI all...reported to ship today...home for dinner and pick up a few things...

1. It is easier to tell you where I have not been: Australia and New Zealand. I have been sailing now for 36 years.
2. I currently only work domestic route to Alaska, aboard Container ships... I have an unlimited Master's License.
3. I build with plastic as I am trying to perfect the best flying Guillow Scale model...not making a contest winner.

My next WW2 build will be the Corsair... painted with some plastic... There is room inside the cowl for the clay...nothing outside the model.

and of course...powered by a rubber motor!

gotta go... Mitch