Topic: Warbirds hurricane build review

I am building a Warbirds Hurricane. The plan shows the aileron torque rod installed at approx 15 degrees to the hinge line which my mind says will cause a geometric lock.

Has anyone built one of these and did this cause any problems with binding at the start or later on with controls becoming sloppy?

Slipstream,

Any chance of sharing your experiences with building / flying this particular model.
I've got this one down as my next "must have" model, so I'd be very interested in how you get on.

Sorry I can't answer your question though!

Dave

I am building a Warbirds Hurricane. The plan shows the aileron torque rod installed at approx 15 degrees to the hinge line which my mind says will cause a geometric lock.

Has anyone built one of these and did this cause any problems with binding at the start or later on with controls becoming sloppy?

...not built one, but it sounds to me like a balls up on the designers part.....needs to be parallel in my book !

phil

I think I'll give Richard a call re the ailerons.

If people are interested I can do a sort of build review with photo's but my building can be a bit sporadic due to work commitments - i.e. I have a job....

The first impressions were good although a few of the wooden bits were badly warped.  The first thing I would say is that the instructions are very brief and at least half a dozen builds under your belt would be a good starting point.  I was asked what experience I had when ordering as Richard states these are not for beginners. If you know what you are doing the build would be easy, very easy !

Steve

I would agree with Phil sound like a mistake on his behalf. Build it as you would normally....you can't be wrong that way.

Slipstream -  I would cetainly be interested in a build review as I am currently working on this Hurricane (just started on the fuse). I fall into the inexperienced category that Richard warns about but have access to help.

Here's the fuselage so far. When I started the ply doublers were badly warped and had to be heated and bent the other way to straighten  them. The top plate was pinned down to prevent any warping while the sides were glued on.  Section K-K was the wrong size and needed trimming to accept the 1/2 sq longerons and the stern post post  didn't fit. The rest of the build to date has been OK but the instructions could be a bit better.

Another shot of the fuselage. I am adding a piece of 1/4" ply at the rear to mount the tailwheel as the method on the plans doesn't allow access for repair in the event of damage.

Just got the decking taped in place and trying to align the canopy ready to mark up for the cockpit sides.

Here's the drawing showing the aileron torque rod layout. Ordered the engine today, an ASP 0.61 fs. When that arrives I can fit the firewall which can be positioned to suit the engine length.  

More soon.

This is a great help Slipstream. I have got as far as your first photo in my build and have puzzled over exactly the same problems that you have encountered. These are a bit daunting for a novice, so the rest of your reveiw is going to be invaluable. Many thanks and keep it coming.

Re - Aileron linkage. I chickened out and fitted two servos, using the slots cut for the torque rods for the leads.

Stuart

I am thinking along similar lines, two servos. I think this problem came about because it's possible that if the torque rod were aligned to the hinge line they would exit below the lower wing surface due to the dihedral.

Now that Xmas is over I can carry on without swmbo detonating in my ears.

I have inserted a piece of 1/4" ply to mount the tail wheel such that it can be removed if requied.

The cockpit sides are sheeted. They will be trimmed to suit the canopy later. I have a slight problem with the canopy/decking in that the rear decking seems about 1/4" too high which means the canopy top is not parallel with the decking, I will have to ponder this one awhile!

Lower view of the fuselage, I am carving the radiator at the moment. I am going to add a 1/16" ply plate to  reinforce the wing/radiator base around the fixing screw.

The fin/rudder/elevator with rib detail fitted. I sanded the rudder /elevator to a taper first, then added 1/16" sheeting to the LE of the fin/tailplane. I then used 1/8" square  balsa cyano'd into place for the ribs and sanded it all to the correct profile.

The fuselage so far, ready to have the engine mounting plate, side and lower nose sheeting fitted.

Had a major hassle today trying to fit the cowling. When I fitted the 1/2" sheet to the lower nose as per the drawing the cowl wouldn't consider going on. I have had to sand away the 1/2" sheet to 3/16", take away the corners of the box and add reinforcements inside.

Started the radiator while I wait for glue to dry. The instructions state the sides are made of 2 x 1/4" balsa laminated together - this is now a single 1/2" piece. The lower part is a piece of 1/32" ply. The piece I was given was cut to the wrong size and was no good. The plastic intake was no use either being too wide and deformed and I'm not sure it would have lasted long anyway. I will fabricate one myself, same goes for the exhaust stacks.

The front sans intake moulding.

I have had the same problems,plus more.  Hope you are telling the kit manufacturer.

Stuart

I have had the same problems,plus more.  Hope you are telling the kit manufacturer.

Stuart

Yes, I will write a constructive letter when I have finished, I have also promised to send him photo's of the finished item. None of the problems I have come across were insurmountable. I believe that the basics are fine and with a better set of instructions would make an easy build for a beginner.

I can't fathom out how the wing root fairings should be done at the rear. I have decided to carve from balsa and harden the edges with cyano. I have made two blocks using the lite ply base as a template.

Here they are before carving.

And partly carved. I will add the trianglular balsa fillet and then sand to a concave shape.

The engine is now mounted with 2 degrees side thrust.

Ready for the cowling to be fitted.

Cowling screwed into place. Holes for the exhaust will be cut later along with air outlet holes.

Its starting to look good Slip........one thing thats starting to look worring to me is the centre section.

Will the retracts units fit into the CS as per full size,...or will they need to run into the wing section?

If you can see what I mean.

The actual retract unit would sit in the centre section. However, the ply mount would sit partly in the outer section. I am hoping to tackle this job starting tomorrow so I'll stick a few pictures on. I have had to wait a few days as I  was sent the wrong retracts - rated at 6.5lb. These were replaced without quibble I have to say.

I have now cut out the foam for the undercarriage. I am going to make slightly larger mounting plates which will extend into the outer wing by 15mm and will be angled forward by 5 degrees to bring the wheels a bit further forward of the CoG. They will be well epoxied into place and have 1/4" doublers on the back to give the screws more purchase. I will also use the wheel wells to route the aileron servo leads through the centre section.

Oh bugger..... It looks as if the retracts need to move out by 15mm and thus into the outer wing panel.  I hade taken the cylinder/piston/lock  off the retract unit to allow me to move it about. When I fitted it back the Tyre fouls the cyclinder.

Need to move the brackets out and use a longer leg. :(

To get the leg into the correct position, i.e. almost on the join line, I have fitted the unit partly into the outer panel. This should give approx the correct leg length to scale. Although looking at my scale drawings we require a 3 1/2"wheel. I tried this, but it did not look correct, so am sticking with the 3".
Be careful of the alignment, retract unit to wheel well as when retracted the axle will angle forward. I started off with a straight line - unit to centre of well, this did not work as the wells are quite tight on the wheels.

Stuart

Here are the outer wing panels. One tip to sand and slots for the joint braces to cut. Then part off the ailerons and face with balsa. When the wing is joined I will be able to see more clearly where to cut to move the retracts outwards.

The old adage "measure twice, cut once" applies here as when marking out for the ailerons I got one wrong. Measured it all again before cutting and found the mistake!

Now I've joined the wing panels and fitted the retract units. I had to move them out a further 12mm in the end to allow the tyre to clear the air line. They now sit on the joint line. I have made some dummy legs to get the length right before cutting the sprung ones.

looking good Steve.....looking good.

This is the first time I've slotted all the bits together to get a general picture - everything seems to line up OK.

The next step will be to fit the radio gear and retract valve/cylinder into the fuselage. Need to give it some thought about CoG and keeping the weight forward. When that's done I can fit the radiator, blend in the cowl, modify the decking to fit the canopy and fit the stringers.

Starting to look like a Hurricane.....

looking good slip. Why not mount the air tank for the retracts on the wing to save making more connections when assembling the model? Of couse it depends how much room you have in the fuze. Cheers  Ringo

I did think about mounting the u/c stuff onto the wing but decided against it - risk of transit damage etc.

After fiddling about decided on the layout below. I didn't want the cylinder rattling around so I made some brackets which hold 2 servos as well.




Just the charge valve to go in, will have to make a bracket for this. The battery will go under the tank and the switch will go inside as well.





Next is to connect all the control runs.