I am restoring a Cox ME-109. It is not perfect and it is going to be flown. This is an early hollow wing version. I had one when they first came out and I flew it many times until it fell apart. I have a fuse in very good condition. I have a set of new wings in in very good condition. The original canopy is cracked so I am replacing it with a new one from Cox International. I do not have the plastic wingtips but since it is not perfect and it will be flown I will just make a set out of balsa. I would like to know the exact leadout position if someone can provide that? I will most likely extend it just a little and add a few holes so I can adjust them a little. How much tip weight would be a good starting point? I might make the outboard tip removable so i can adjust the tip weight. I bent a new landing gear and added lightweight foam wheels. I have a new spinner on the way. Is there anyplace that I can get scans of original stickers/decals for this plane? I would love original stickers if I knew where to get them. If not I will just print similar decals and use those. I have some files but they are not exact. I added a few strips of packing tap to the insides of the wings but I'm wondering if it is worth adding a spar to the inside of the wing for added strength? I can use carbon fiber or balsa  or even depron turned on edge. I will post 2 pictures for now.

I remember that plane very well.

Our local hobby shop owner GAVE me one to demo in an airshow.  It flew great in practice.

On the day of the show it was too windy for BOTH models and real planes.  The owner/doner told me to fly because the people had nothing else to watch.

It flew great in the wind until the plastic bellcrank broke in half.  Then the people got to see a full speed crash.

Mr. Paul,
Didn't you post a thread maybe 14-16 months ago relating flying this and another model for a "show and tell" function? I seem to remember something like "flying from concrete, between two buildings" and being watched by the crowd...oh, and something about a dumpster.

Mr. William,
This may help you:
https://www.coxengineforum.com/t13966-cox-me-109-super-stunter-balsa-replica-build-v2-2020?highlight=Super+stunter

Quote from: 944_Jim on May 19, 2023, 09:48:12 AM
Mr. Paul,
Didn't you post a thread maybe 14-16 months ago relating flying this and another model for a "show and tell" function? I seem to remember something like "flying from concrete, between two buildings" and being watched by the crowd...oh, and something about a dumpster.

Mr. William,
This may help you:
https://www.coxengineforum.com/t13966-cox-me-109-super-stunter-balsa-replica-build-v2-2020?highlight=Super+stunter

Thanks Jim, that is very helpful. I will hopefully come up with a scan of the decals. If not ,I will figure out something good. I can get the leadouts close enough from pictures I have found of the ME 109 and the Chipmunk. I will post more pictures as I progress.

And another homage to Cox foam wings and balsa repops:
https://www.coxengineforum.com/t16555-cox-fw190-balsa-build

And more on the earlier one from CEF, and posted on RCG. This link has an overhead view of the balsa re-pop wing with leadouts marked. Look at post #8:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3591245-COX-Me-109-Super-Stunter-Balsa-replica-build

Thanks Jim
That helps I will be able to get the leadouts close enough. I have a Focke wolf that I built about 30 years ago with the blue foam wings. I only flew it a few times last fall and again about a month ago. I was not happy with it so i moved the leadouts back almost one inch and the plane came alive. I was able to fly all the manuvers in the pattern(not pretty) on about 50' of 10 pound spectra. My foward leadout is where the rear leadout used to be on the plans. It is nothing special to look at as ityts gotten beat up from storage over the years, but I will get a picure or two of it up as soon as i can take some. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the tips made for the ME-109 too.

Good for you, Mr. William. I'm looking forward to seeing a 1/2A relic...especially in action. I also want to see how you handled moving the lines...well, how you positioned the leadout guides.

I just measured mine.  The leadout guides on the plastic tips are 2" from the LE for the forward line and 2 3/8" from the LE for the rear leadout:





Mark

Thanks Mark,
I was able to get some wingtips shaped today.I am going to add a depron spar to stregthen the wings. I gave a leadout guide made. I am thinking about making the outboard tip removable so that I can add and subtract tip weight. That is the one place I am not worried about adding some weight. I will post a few pictures below. I will also post a picture of where I moved the leadouts too on the Focke Wolfe but it is really pretty crude as the plane is about 30 years old and beat up so i pretty much just hacked it up.

I finally got around to doing some work on this and taking pictures. I ended up with an adjustable tip weight box in the outer tip. I was never able to get original decals or files so I got creative and made close reproductions from Monokote trim and from some decal files I had on hand from WW2 German aircraft. I took a few liberties while doing that but I think I kept it close enough. Upon further examination of the fuse I had I realized that it was virtually brand new and definitely never flown. I believe it might have had fuel in it one time but never run. I have a brand new plane with a little anger rash from 40 plus years of storage. I am not going to run fuel through it so I converted it to electric to keep it clean and new looking. I altered nothing. I fitted the original cox backplate to an electric motor and ran the wiring out the top where the needle valve would sit I put the start button where the fuel tank fill tube went(perfect fit). The speed control and timer sit in the top of the fuse and the battery fits where the tank used to sit. The lower cowl locks it all in place perfectly. The motor fit a little loose but one piece of tape around the backplate fixed that. I will post some pictures. I may have to continue it in a second post due to the size of the photos.

Here are a few pictures of the powerplant. The wings are attached with crystal clear gorilla tape and I think this is better and stronger than the original scotch tape method.

I suppose I'd be a little angry and rash if I was put on the shelf for 40 years. 

Nice conversion, even if it is somewhat heretical.

Mark

Quote from: Mark Mc on June 14, 2023, 10:30:25 AM
I suppose I'd be a little angry and rash if I was put on the shelf for 40 years. 

Nice conversion, even if it is somewhat heretical.

Mark

That was suposed to be"hanger rash" but anger rash works in this case too. Spell check got me on that one. This is a drop in conversion. It can be reversed. Nothing original was altered. I want to keep it clean though and cannot see myself running fuel through it. I will fly it, most likely after the Nats, as I am getting things ready at this point.

Will,

Looks fun, sign me up for a flight  .

James

I'm impressed, Mr. William. Can you provide details re: motor, battery, and controller?

The motor is a Tempest 1704 1480kv motor avalaible from RC Dude. The timer is a Hubin FM9 with remote available from Will Hubin. The battery is a Gforce 500mah 3 cell available from Value hobby, or a Thunderpower 3 cell 500 mah. The speedcontrol is a Castle creations Phoenix 10 which is discontinued but still avalable from many places around the internet including ebay for reasonable prices. This is set in Control line mode. At least for me this is a pretty simple set up . I am looking foward to flying this plane in a week or 2 wgen I return home from the Nats. Thre are a few aditional photos in the ALL AMPED Up section.

Did this ever fly?

Yes it did but only once about a year ago. Yes it works. Best part was steady and reliable power. Hopefully I get to fly it again soon

What does it weigh? Originally was 10.5 ounces. 🤠

It weighs 10.2 ounces without battery and 11.5 with the battery. This is the original hollow wing version. I suspect that the later solid wing version would weigh more

The bubble foam wing is about an ounce heavier, but you can cut "rib" holes and slc cover the wing to get the weight back down. Leave a spar line at the high point and a line of strapping tape (or, better, carbon fiber) top and bottom, that will make it tougher than the stock wing.

On the folded foam wings, a full depth spar will keep the wing from collapsing over time. Thin balsa or sheet foam will do the job.

If you want to go for broke, use a dremel burr to lighten up the fuselage inside. We were limited on how thin we could mold the plastic, not the strength limit. You should be able to get 1/2 ounce improvement. On a 1/2A that matters big time.

🤠

Will and Larry, are you happy with the power setup?  Doing it over would you change anything?

A Killer Bee engine would boost power over the stock engine for a slime power vesion. I never tried an electric conversion.

🤠

i only flew it once so it is hard to say. I have flown similar set ups on other half-A sized planes and they certainly exceeded the power of any fuel powered 049 sized motors I ever owned. I think the biggest limiting factor is the size of the battery. With a 500mah or so battery I am only good for around 3- 3.5 minutes of flight time. I would love to find a way to stuff an 800mah battery in without butchering up the lower cowling. Remember the one thing that makes this special in my eyes at least is that it is a "drop in conversion" I altered nothing off the original plane and I can drop the stock 049 and tank right back in and go fly. Maybe I should look for another lower cowling and if I can get one remove the fuel tank braces in it which would then allow the use of a larger battery?

Thanks, Will.  I recently acquired a Cox Chipmunk stunter (thanks, Doc), still in the original box including the shrink wrap plastic.  I haven't opened it yet...no hurry. 

But I'm thinking...paint instead of stick on decals, electric instead of glow...