Brian Taylor FW 190 build

octagon · March 31, 2019, 06:00:33 PM

I purchased a short kit for a Brian Taylor designed FW 190. When I was a kid, my dad built a control line version of this plane. He was the builder and I was the pilot, but before I ever flew it he sold or traded it for something. I have always loved the kind of pugnacious look if the 190, especially the radial engined ones. I was going to make it my next winter project but the CL415 is pretty much finished and I thought I would take a bit of a break and maybe build just the wings of the 190. Those who were at the build class last Wednesday saw the framed up left wing. Because I like to save the original plans I usually have a copy made at Staples and then work off the copy. As it turns out, this can be a bad plan. The way you build this plane is first the left wing, then the right and then join them. So with the left finished to the point of sheeting I started on the right. I realized when I unrolled them that the copy of the plan for the right wing was kind off, with some lines that did not line up, sort of like when you go to photocopy something and the paper gets stuck. I wanted to build the wing so I used the original plan instead of the copy. It was finished to the point the ribs and spars were all in place. I unpinned it to start the leading and trailing edge and compared it to the finished left wing. The left was 4 inches longer than the right. You know when you discover something unexpected and you keep saying to yourself "what am I missing?"? It took me 10 minutes or so before it became apparent why the left wing was wrong. I think what happened was that when Staples copied the original plan, it must have jammed a bit and so the copied plan made the wing longer than it should have been. When I looked back I should have sensed something when from the 5th to the 12th rib the shear webs were different sizes from each other. I felt really stupid about it. I called Sarik in England and they said they could just sell me the ribs and plywood parts in needed, but that it would take at least 3 weeks and did not know how much it would cost, but would get back to me. Lucky for me I was talking to Glenn Nikolato and he suggested a way to salvage the ribs. Basically I had to cut through all the spars close to the face of the ribs and then dig the little pieces of spar out of them. From the root to the 5th rib was ok so I just had to go from there. It has taken me all weekend to do that and rebuild the wing the correct size this time. Because I used CA for the first build, and I seem to think that after CA is used on a joint, if you try and reglue the joint it does not penetrate, I used carpenters glue. You have to say something for the stuff, because it allows you to take your time clamping and so on. Anyway, next time if I get a copy of the plans, I will get it done by a professional firm like Reprodux. For anyone who wants to build, these Sarik short kits have excellent lasar cut parts, highly recommended.

sihinch · April 01, 2019, 02:02:50 PM

Tough story Rob! Amazing how trivial the cause of the problem seems!

You could just change the build to a TA-152?

octagon · April 01, 2019, 05:18:57 PM

except I already had the right wing framed 4 inches shorter than the right. I thought of just cutting the 4 inches off but it is a tapered wing and the tapers would be different. All fixed now and I got some nice long oleos from HK today. Going to instal the plates for the bellcranks for the flaps and join the wing maybe later tonight.

piker · April 01, 2019, 05:41:27 PM

Hey Rob,

It's very good of you to share your unfortunate story with the rest of us so we can all watch out for that copy problem.

I tend to keep my F-up's more quiet

It's going to be an AWESOME plane!

Robert

Frank v B · April 01, 2019, 06:01:06 PM

Just build it symmetrically.
A clipped wing FW 190!

A long wing high altitude FW 190

A conversation starter. You could drive an aviation historian nuts.

Keep going. Makes me feel better about the building mistakes I have made over the years.

Frank

octagon · April 01, 2019, 07:38:11 PM

So the plane is coming along. I really like the plans and the laser cutting of the wood. There are no instructions, but that is ok, because it kind of makes you think and plan and I like that. Going to use bell cranks for the flaps and a servo each for the ailerons. Like the separate channels on the aileron option. Also received the oleos from HK today. 169 mm long. The real plane had extremely long landing gear struts, so I was very happy to find these. DHL got them here in 5 days!

octagon · April 02, 2019, 07:07:33 PM

Got a bit more work done tonight. Wing halves are ready to join, but I need to install the landing gear rails and bell cranks for the flaps before I actually join them. Just easier to work on a half wing than a whole wing. I am going to use one servo for the flaps but 1 servo each for the ailerons. Should be able to get gear rails in and wing joined tomorrow. Then servo pockets and sheeting.

octagon · April 03, 2019, 06:44:45 PM

Got a chance to work on the wing this afternoon. In order to get the retract servo to fit in the wing I had to cut away a lot of the rib that the rails are attached to. Vadim and I carved out what was needed. Rob Pike suggested I add braces to the top of the ribs to try and re-enforce them. I cut slots in the top of the ribs and used 3/32 basswood to act as spars. I will then cover them with 1/64th ply and then glass over the whole thing with about 5 oz cloth and Zpoxy. The spars are glued in with JB Weld, which is the strongest glue I know of, and although it takes a while to set up, it does not run much. I installed the bell cranks for the flaps. I have only joined the wings at the main spar to this point. I will install the rest of the root ribs and all, once the main spar had cured.

octagon · April 24, 2019, 08:37:40 AM

After putting the finishing touches on the 415, I am back at the FW 190. The wing top surface has been sheeted, the flaps are built but not installed as the ribs have tabs on the bottom to assure the wing is built with the correct washout. When the wing is sheeted these are removed and then the flaps can be installed. I want to get that done because I am using bell cranks and the length of the linkages needs to be worked out before the bottom of the wing is sheeted. I have been using this Hobbylite filler and like it a great deal. I usually use light weight spackling, but this stuff sands even easier.

bweaver · April 24, 2019, 08:41:04 AM

I thought you weren't retired until the end of the week!

octagon · January 07, 2020, 05:19:13 PM

Got tired of sanding the Beech 18 and so I thought I would put some time on the FW 190 A by Brian Taylor. His plans are good but there is a lot left to a builders discretion and the Sarik short kit is not well marked, not the worst I have built, but far from the best. Anyway, got some work done on the fuse, and may have some time tomorrow. The wing is about 1/2 done so I may go back to that tomorrow and try and get the flaps working and maybe ailerons built.