FRANK'S 1/2A F4U CORSAIR BUILD

[Frank v B]

Just did the hatch.

Photo 16- shows the hatch in place.  The wood was cut to size over the removable hatch.  The hatch frame was pinned in the correct orientation and height.  Waxed paper was slipped into the hatch ends (front and back) so glue would not get onto the fixed fuselage parts, just the hatch structure.  The wood was soaked with water to make it bendable and 5 minute epoxy applied, more pins to hold it in place.

Photo 17- Shows the top of the turtle deck detail.  The sheeting was supposed to go over the top and meet flat at a seam on top of the small stringer.  I glued the 1/4" square piece on top, cut the fuse sides so they meet the sides of the stringer and glued them in place.  The balsa sticks out on top of the sheeting but it will be made level when sanded and nicely rounded.  This is the part I referred to in photo 15.  You can also see in this photo why I did this.  The starboard side sheeting (left side in the photo) split and had to be glued.  That's when... and why... I added the 1/4" square piece on top.

[octagon]

Rob,

re:"Port and Starboard wing sadles, LOL!"

Left and right is a direction.  Port and Starboard is an orientation... relative to the pointy end of a boat or an airplane.

Sorry to be picky and detailed.  Heck, Andy must be starting to rub off on me.  Oh no!

Frank

Now I am confused. aren't most planes pointy on both ends?

[Frank v B]

Rob,

re: "Now I am confused. aren't most planes pointy on both ends? "

I know you sometimes fly backwards when you crash.  Do you also walk backwards?   You clearly have orientation issues.  Everything has a leading edge and a trailing edge.
Start walking backwards faster!

Your buddy,

Frank

[Frank v B]

Keep working Frank!!

Photo 18- Popped the battery hatch.  Only one corner was stuck and had to cut it free but everything else was protected by the waxed paper.

Photo 19- what the hatch looks like when it is closed.

Photo 20- Attached the bottom sheeting.  Like the top, I glued one edge first and let it dry, then later I will wet the balsa to make it curl, then trim and glue it.

Photo 21- Looking down the belly*.  I glued a wider stick onto the bottom (keel) so the sheeting can be cut up to it and then sanded.  It will stop the splitting problem.

Frank

* no Rob, not an official term but refers to "the belly of the beast".

[electroflyer]

     Wow, that is coming very nicely. Interesting construction with the skeleton being constructed first and then sheeted. As I will show on the Mosquito build, Half crutches are constructed, sheeted then joined together and hopefully straight.
  Looking good!

[Frank v B]

Thanks Glenn.

The fuse in this kit can best be described as a Guillow's Rubber Band Kit which is then sheeted.  The fuse is only 23" long but takes as much time as a .60 size airplane.  The nicest part of a small plane is that balsa filler can cover up bigger mistakes.  Will still need half a truckload of the stuff.

Frank

[Michael]

Nice work, Frank!

[Frank v B]

Thanks Michael,

I think I will shrink the size of the photographs as the project progresses... so you can't see all the gaps and mistakes.  50/50 rule applies*.  Will need the half truckload of filler.

Frank

* 50/50 rule- if you can't see it at 50 mph at 50', don't worry about it.

[Frank v B]

Last touches on the fuse:

Photo 22- side view of fuse with aluminum cowl slipped in place.  First sanding of filler, tail piece added and shaped.

Photo 23- Top view of fuse.  Looks cool!

Now to set the fuse aside and build the wing.

[BJROB]

Wow Frank
that look so good
nice job...

[Frank v B]

Now Ve start da Ving.

Weird construction technique.  The main spar is one piece of slotted plywood from gull wing to gull wing.  Then glued 3x3 mil upper and lower wing spar on this plywood main spar.  Then slip in the ribs.  Impossible to pin this wing down in any way.

Photo 24- one half of the wing.  The colourful rubber bands were to hold the spars in place while the 5 minute epoxy dried.

Photo 25- the whole wing.  The ribs are just fitted in place (no glue) to determine how to build a straight wing without a building board. 


A head scratcher.

Frank

[Polecat]

Hey Frank
Your build looks great, get it finished and bring it to Orangeville for the May/June race.
I saw another Corsair listed for sale on RC Canada, it had a 35" wing span and was kitted by Sterling. It might be a control line model, you could pick it and fly control line with Rick and Cory. The Brantford guys fly some control line at their club.
See you at Kitchener Swap Meet.

Ken

[electroflyer]

   Very interesting wing construction. I built a Topflite Corsair years ago and I believe it had tabs on ribs to allow it to be built on a board. It was still a bear to construct.
  Yours is looking great!

[Frank v B]

After a day sick in bed.... and silence for all Temac members, it is back to building a model airplane

Photo 26-  Right side (starboard) of the wing Slowly pulling everything together. None of the ribs have been glued on the main spar yet.  Started out with gluing the leading and trailing edge against the two outer ribs of each section then once the 5 minute epoxy dried, glued the rest of the ribs to the leading edge, let that dry, then the trailing edge let that dry and then do it over again on the second half.

Back to my old rule of thumb "build one half of the wings and then make exactly the same mistakes on the second half (chord, span, etc.) and it will fly fine."

Photo 27- the whole wing.  The second half is slowly catching up to the decisions/mistakes made on the first half.

It looks like very little was done but this was about a dozen separate mixes of 5 minute epoxy.

[Frank v B]

Today's topic:
How to straighten a crooked wing
How to make symmetrical mistakes.. but not those ones!


Took out all the pins from the leading and trailing edges and guess what? a Crooked wing.... about 1/2" of wash-in.  Dangerous, unflyable.

Pinned the root of the wingtip section to the building board via a rubber band.  Used scrap trailing edge balsa to prop up the leading and trailing edge so root is at zero/zero.  Then propped up the trailing edge at the wing tip with a scrap piece of trailing edge balsa to give it about 1/4" wash-out (trailing edge higher than leading edge).  A total shift of about 3/4".  Cut and trimmed the top leading edge sheeting and glued it in place.  Held by the two rubber bands at the ends and pins in the middle.  When this dries, the wing should at least be straight.  Then I will install the bottom leading edge sheeting and pin it to the board again while it dries.

Whatever the result of this wing straightening, I will duplicate it on the other wing half.  At the covering stage I will be able to give it some more was-out by twisting the wing while it cools.

Sorry Bruce.  No "T" pins.  Note how I cut back on the pretty pink pins