3rd 400 series FW190 rc

[Bill Gaylord]

A few more fuse stringers need to be installed and the fuse will be ready to sheet. The cowl appears to be a bit small, even without 1/32" sheeting added, so the front fuse was inset planked to allow for sanding latitude.

[T_om]

Very nice build.

What tailwheel retract unit are you using?

Tom

[Bill Gaylord]

Very nice build.

What tailwheel retract unit are you using?

Tom

Thanks. It's hand fabricated from aluminum tubing and wire. The details on it are a few posts ago. As far as I know, they don't make retracting tailwheel assemblies this small for 190's, although there are ones available for much larger scales.

[davidchoate]

I went to order more of those servos, and they're out of stock. I knew i should've got more. Yes that was a typo. Its a 1200 kv 159 motor in my Aeronca

[davidchoate]

You must have bought all the is300 servos cause they are out of stock. Thanx for all the photos. It will help My build . I really lke the tailwheel retract. Those is300's are perfect for these RC conversions. I am going to buy a dozen or so, when they get more in stock.

[Bill Gaylord]

You must have bought all the is300 servos cause they are out of stock. Thanx for all the photos. It will help My build . I really lke the tailwheel retract. Those is300's are perfect for these RC conversions. I am going to buy a dozen or so, when they get more in stock.

I probably should have got more myself. Same goes with the 12A Dynam ESCs with switching BEC from Hobbypartz. I don't trust the weak linear BECs that other small ESCs have. I'll be using a larger than needed in the cowl bottom, since I'll need the weight anyway.

I figured after all the retract work, that it wouldn't look right without the engine cooling fan cut out and running from the motor. First all the spaces between the blades were notched with a small knife but not cut way, then the overall fan was cut out. The spaces between the blades were only partially notched, so that the fan would be strong enough to spin on a drill and mill down a bit, using a sanding block with fine paper. Next the spaces between the blades were cut open, and a precision washer that fits the prop shaft was centered and glued on the fan. The fan has about 1mm clearance to the inner cowling, making the motor mounting another precision job, as well as working out the prop-cowl clearance and fan depth, with the motor set for about 1 degree right thrust. A very thin shim was added to the top of the motor mounting plate also, to remove what appeared to be a slight amount of up-thrust.

The cowl is centered on the fuse with dowel pins, which were located after a slight reshaping to the cowl backing plate, done to match the fuse profile. The plate was first drilled through, then held against the firewall, using a drill bit turned by hand to drill through the balsa firewall. The firewall holes were finally CA hardened to keep them from enlarging. The cowl is secured with a magnet at the top and bottom which is glued flush in the cowl backing plate. Mating washers are glued flush in the fuse firewall.

[Bill Gaylord]

Fuse half sheeted with 1/32" light sheeting. A single 6"x36" sheet will cover the fuse, with 1/2 sheet used per side, which fully sheets a side. The spinner was also notched to fit the 3-blade prop to spin true on center. Another tedious task out of the way.

[Bill Gaylord]

Wing pin and rear hold down are installed using a CF rod for the pin, and a #2-56 blind nut and allen head bolt for the hold down. Both the front and rear of the wing have some reinforcement in the mounting areas to ensure that the parts are robust and do not tear out. The rear hold down plate is made from light ply.

[Bill Gaylord]

Did a quick mock up of the bare bones structure and piled everything on the scale. Conservatively I should be able to end up with an AUW of 14oz, which is the weight of my previous Guillows FW190 build which flies well.

[davidchoate]

Nice work. What size moor and batt/ ESC combo? When I sheet the Le of wings I usually cut out the 1/16" spars along the wing, and add cap strips. I believe it gives a better appearance. I never sheeted a whole fuse, but like I said, I got the 400 FW190, and will consider it.

[Bill Gaylord]

Nice work. What size moor and batt/ ESC combo? When I sheet the Le of wings I usually cut out the 1/16" spars along the wing, and add cap strips. I believe it gives a better appearance. I never sheeted a whole fuse, but like I said, I got the 400 FW190, and will consider it.

Thanks. The wing has 1/32" sheet balsa cap strips behind the sheeting added to the formers, which were tapered down to the stringers. They can be seen in the past few photos. Definitely don't want a step in the covering.

The battery will be around the size of the newer TP 3s-480. Different manufacturers rate them all over the place which makes the ratings confusing, but I have a few different lipos of that package size that will fit the enclosure. The older TP 3s-800 is around the same size. I'm using a large Dynam 18A with 2A switching BEC, since I'll need the weight anyway, and it's not wise to run 5 servos with retracts on the 1-1.5A liner BECs. The ESC will fit in the cowl bottom. The idea is to get all the weight up as far forward as possible. My last 190 uses an older TP3s-800 in the same place, but it's a pain to install, since it had to be installed with the wing removed.

As for sheeting, this is one of the easiest fuse sheeting jobs I've done in a while. It needed no relief cuts, and just a small spot of filler in a few places. Most everything else could be sanded out, without sanding the sheeting too thin. Where it does get thin, I brush the back of it with a layer of thick CA which really stiffens it up. It's is the same glue I use for the sheeting. Sheeting with thick CA is one of those things that takes a bit of practice, but isn't bad after you get onto it. It's much faster than any other method I know of, especially inset planking. I rapidly coat a few stringers at a time, and gradually work the sheeting down. A bottle of activator really helps. You learn as much as you can about how the fuse takes the sheeting from sheeting the first side, since you can get in from the inside and glue down difficult areas, before the second side is applied. Even when sheeting the second side, you can still get in there and coat areas with glue if you have to, up until you finally close down the final seam. I've used the "drop bomb" method at times when I had to, being careful not to glue the pushronds or other linkage. I darn near had an unintended drop of glue fall, and almost hit the tailwheel retract mechanism. I would have been really ticked if that had happened, but I got lucky and it just missed it.

[davidchoate]

Thanks for the many photos. I am intrested in your AWeight done, and yor prop and motor choice.

[Bill Gaylord]

Thanks for the many photos. I am intrested in your AWeight done, and yor prop and motor choice.

You're welcome. I'd post more, if the limit was larger. The weight will be somewhere around 14oz, similar to my last one. The motor is linked in one of the first few posts. The Hobbypartz Exceed "300" class motor is not exactly the most powerful in it's class, but should have ample power. It's the same motor I have in the Stearman. I did have to press the shaft in the opposite direction, and it was really tight, being lucky to not break bell parts in the vise when doing so. Something like a Park 370 is more powerful, where the added power isn't a bad thing for a relatively heavy plane this size, and the weight is needed anyway. The prop is a GWS 7035 3-blade. Using larger props on a model this size tends to call for an unsightly right thrust angle, due to the torque issue. I've learned not to go over 8" (2-blade) or 7" (3-blade) on the 400 series kits. My Spitfire had a scale 9" 3-blade prop, and has a heavy right thrust angle to offset the p-factor.

[Mitch]

Very nice build, Bill. I know the real FW has a cooling fan behind the prop. Does yours rotate with the prop, or is it fixed? I also like the way you used the kit spinner! The work that goes into this model is impressive... Makes my rubber power planes look very simple indeed.

Mitch

[Bill Gaylord]

Very nice build, Bill. I know the real FW has a cooling fan behind the prop. Does yours rotate with the prop, or is it fixed? I also like the way you used the kit spinner! The work that goes into this model is impressive... Makes my rubber power planes look very simple indeed.

Mitch

Thanks, it rotates with the prop. It also forced me to mount the motor so the prop sits dead center in the cowling unlike my last one, which looks a lot better.

I sawed the head off of one of my WalMart action figures last night, for a pilot. Actually could have used the entire pilot which would have looked good, but that solid plastic really weighs, and the body joints look about as human as Robocop. I thought about trying to drill into his head from the neck to reduce some weight. Even using feather light balsa for the torso, the tiny pilot bust weighs 2.5gms, which I think is about the same as the Williams Brothers 1/12 scale pilots, with the torso base cut away for weight savings. The Williams Brothers 1/12 scale pilot actually wouldn't look bad at all in the model, but for people familiar with the 1/16 scale of the FW190 model, the pilot would look like Andre the Giant.