Yak-3 scratch built - inspired by 500 series Guillows

[Slavs]

I've been following this board for about 12 years, but this is my first post. As a kid I built the Guillows 500 series Me-109 and FW-190. They looked OK as static models with heavy coats of paint and some wrinkles etc. I didn't know anything about trimming and balancing for flying. Fast forward 35 years to 2010 and I got the bug to build them again after visiting a hobby shop and hanging out with the guys from the local free flight club. I was really impressed by their skills at building and flying these models and knowledge of basic aeronautical engineering.

After building 5 models I set them aside. I never flew them under power, although I learned to balance them for successful test glides. That was 13 years ago. Now, I got interested again and removed them from their make-shift hangers (Marie Calender's turkey boxes). The Me-109, FW-190 and two Peck Polymers peanut scale planes, the Zero and Piper Cub, appear to be in just about the same condition as when I stored them. But, the model I built last and in which I invested the most time has broken tissue. It's as if though a moth ate some of it. Would you guys have any idea as to what actually happened to my tissue ? I haven't seen the local free flight guys in 13 years. And, I'm sure they may have the answer.

I applied many of the things I learned here and at the model airplane club as I scratch built this Yak-3. The Yak-3 is one of my favorite WWII fighter planes. It was the best fighter plane the Soviet Union produced and probably one of the best fighter planes of the war. Below 15,000 ft. it outperformed the FW-190 and Me-109 as it climbed faster and turned better. The Yak-3 was also one of the lightest and smallest fighter planes produced during the war with a top speed of just over 400mph. So, I thought I'd pay homage to this fine fighter plane as Soviet planes are under-represented in the hobby. There are so many P-51s and Me-109s. Where are the Yaks ? I borrowed ideas from some of the available plans as I put together my own plans and built this model. But, now, I'm pretty disappointed to find the tissue in such bad shape.As far as the wings, they are the larger Yak-1 profile, vs. the slightly smaller Yak-3 wings. I was trying to maximize wing area.

I ordered good quality balsa for the model, but I used the heaviest balsa I can find from a Guillows 500 kit for the wing spars. I used small magnets to make a removable wing and nose piece. The prop is 6", and I made the spinner from foam. The tissue is domestic. I glued it on with a glue stick and applied one coat of thinned Dope, 50/50. I printed the decals and built a frame for the canopy which I made from three pieces of very thin plastic sheet material I ordered from a hobby supplier. I put a lot of time in building the tail which has an airfoil shape. This Yak has a 16" wingspan and weighs 23g with no rubber. I feel the prop may be too big for the model. And, I have no clue as to what size rubber to use. I ordered hobby grade tan rubber in different sizes. But, I never flew the model, although I did some test glides with it inside my house where it flew well. My skill level in flying these models has not gone beyond the balancing and test gliding phase.

[Scott]

Very nice looking Yak-3.Those tissue holes do look like
a moth may have damaged it.

[Slavs]

Very nice looking Yak-3.Those tissue holes do look like
a moth may have damaged it.

Thanks for the input.

It seems the solution is to put a lot of moth balls alongside the models which are in the card board boxes or to find new plastic storage boxes with tight lids. I do have problems with moths. but I never thought they would eat tissue paper which has been treated with dope, albeit diluted dope, but still dope.

Have any of you experienced this ?

Recovering this model will be a long and tedious process as I will need to remove the canopy, detach the engine exhaust, if possible, and remove the filler cards between the fuselage and wing.They are glued to the tissue on the fuselage. I don't think I will be able to remove the canopy without damaging the frame, which will most likely have to be rebuilt. And, last, I need to reprint and re-attach some of the decals. This will be quite an overhaul, especially as I have lost my touch a little after a 12 year hiatus from the hobby.

[kittyfritters]

My problem is not moths but opossums that come into the garage through the kitty door. They can be incredibly destructive to models. I discovered that a single moth ball in two corners of the garage keeps them out and the small amount of moth crystal does not seem to bother the cats who sleep at the opposite end of the garage on cold nights.

KF

[Scott]

Slavs,

Check your message inbox,I sent you a PM,
Scott