Nick Somerville Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Martin McIntosh said: Nick, I believe that you have done yours in a gloss finish. I have yet to apply the final gloss coat. At present it is a satin finish. Satin is better for the markings to be sprayed on but they need fuel proofing, hence the choice of a final coat of clear Klasskote with a gloss catalyst. Here is a picture of the full size which is clearly very shiny, unsurprising since it is a modern day renovation. with various bits of fettling I have some colour touch ups still to do, so it’s been good to hold off the final gloss. However with the current warm weather it might be a good time to get on to it. Btw WJ321 at Yeovilton Air Museum certainly has a glossy finish too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 Following advice from Jon at Laser Engines I have made up a brace for the extra long exhaust extensions. 3mm threaded rod with nuts, pinches up the clamps to firmly tie the two exhausts. A pair of 3mm rods from said brace are bolted to a small brass plate affixed to lower crankcase bolt making a triangle. The idea is to only have fixings to the engine and not the firewall so that any torque induced movement is isolated from the airframe and hopefully no stress on the exhausts where they exit the cylinders. With everything now in place up front. mounting the cowl takes some patience to ensure each obstacle is cleared and the little needle extensions find there way through the small holes in the top. It won’t be a field job; more of a long term interim maintenance task. I should be ready to run the engine up soon without the cowl to give the airframe and everything a good shake down. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 well done Nick looks excellent. What's the crimped wire I can see running into the fus? Some sort of remote choke arrangement? Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 Thanks Danny. Yes its the fishing trace wire from the remote choke. Looks like it goes into the fuselage but actually it will exit the bottom of the cowl with a little grip of some sort at the end. Something else to fiddle with along with the crankcase drain pipe when fitting the cowl ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 On my slightly smaller version I could cut a hole for finger choking the carb which is fairly close to the cowl side but instead, for now, I have (don`t read this Jon) installed a pressure fitting to the silencer so a finger over the exhaust will choke it. May be helpful since the tank will now not be in the ideal position. Post on my Sea Fury 77 inch thread when I can take more pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 Martin, the choke really is a last resort addition as my spinner is carbon fibre and came with a provisor not to use an electric starter. Realistically the plan is no choke but run the engine up on the starter until fuel gets through and gets going. If I use the choke for any reason then hand starting will be needed at least until she runs for a few seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 Also posted on ‘Readers New Models’. So after 10 months of happy modelling I have completed my Sea Fury. The Bates plan proved fairly straightforward with any fiddly bits being ironed out courtesy of other builders comments on their build blogs. Thanks to the many useful comments and advice along the way. Special thanks to Jon at Laser for the engine and installation advice. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Looking rather splendid Nick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Fantastic Nick. A great aeroplane 1st class build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 That does look good?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Cracking model well done! Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies 3 Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 That looks fabulous Nick. Good luck with the maiden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 One thing I have a worry about is the left aileron. Somehow the washout didn’t match the wingtip so when the aileron is central at the root the tip is in a slightly lowered position. Now I am sure I built both ailerons with the correct washout as I made a jig to hold it in place when gluing the second skin. However I did have an issue with the wingtips, as I had not extended the cord sufficiently at the tip, so cut them away and modified them before re adhering them. Potentially its the wingtip that is wrong but maybe my jig didn’t work. Guess I will just have to fly it and test the stall at altitude ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 My Dennis Bryant Chippy ended up in a similar way, it was the wingtip that was wrong. I shaped it un be knowingly with some aileron deflection ? flies fine, but there again it does only ever go around and around..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 My SF wing is far from perfect too with one aileron tip a little out. I built it as per plan rather than what my instinct was telling me. I really do not see it being a problem in the air though, perhaps a few clicks of trim. Pretty sure that it is the aileron at fault. I once had to build an F3A model pronto in time for the Nats (11 days!). I had two wing cores but donated the straight one to a mate, leaving me with a badly warped one. A quick test flight the evening before in near darkness showed that one outboard aileron had to be dropped 1/2" but without any further trimming I still got second place somehow so it goes to show that almost anything will fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Ran the Laser 360V up today. Boy that engine is smooth as silk. Had some issues with my glow plug set up. The expensive RCATS glow driver I purchased from the states wouldn’t drive both glow plugs so ended up using it and a normal stick driver directly in the plugs and then it fired up fine. I obviously need to rethink how best to get sufficient power from the remote connector through my parallel wire set up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 ooo it sounds pretty quiet with those long boi extensions fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Jon says to give a new engine a fast, hot run to harden the alloy valve seats. I still have a couple of South Herts Models twin glow drivers which I shall probably never use again if you are interested. They can be powered from cells in the model and externally and will keep the plugs glowing when they cool. The motor can be started on them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 22 minutes ago, Jon - Laser Engines said: ooo it sounds pretty quiet with those long boi extensions fitted. Yes it’s surprising how a few extra cms on the extensions change the sound. Definitely quieter than my 180’s with the standard extensions but to me a lovely whine as it comes up to full power; guess thats what you get with the twins. I suspect it will sound incredible on a full power fly by after coming in from a good dive/decent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 2 hours ago, Nick Somerville said: The expensive RCATS glow driver I purchased from the states wouldn’t drive both glow plugs Very surprised at that. I use mine on my 160vs and 240v and it works fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Are your plugs wired parallel or series ron? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Parallel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 So I am pretty sure I have finally sorted my dual glow set up, albeit still need to put the model together tomorrow to test it for real. Seems despite rubbing back the anodising around the radial mount, where I had connected one side of the circuit, power just wasn’t getting through. You may think it odd for a modeller, but I didn’t have a multimeter, so had been fiddling in the dark so to speak. A trip down to Screwfix and a few minutes working out how to use one was quite revealing. I had the voltage at the plugs but no current. So I cut the wire from the mount connection and routed it with twin wires terminating at each rocker cover. Result a decent glow with both plugs and 5 amps showing on the driver. The multimeter shows 1.5 v and 2.5 amps per plug. The driver has some soft start circuitry and a 3.7 v 5200ma Liion battery, so it will be interesting to see how it holds out in real use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 Where did you get the plug connectors to fit a Laser? I have found the recess too deep for the ones I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 JPerkins remote glow. Its quite a squeeze getting them on but they hold fine. Have the same on my Stampe and P47 180’s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.