Looks good Joe. I am building another Round Tail Guardian as a backup to last years airplane. Hope to have it ready for Brodaks.
Wayne

Well, the old DOC is trying/thinking of starting something.   Have an engine that was bought for TR, but it has a carburator.   It is in the cabinet waiting for me to pull it down and fire it up.   Thinking it might be a good engine for the Class I Mustang I have plans for.  Still need to get the bugs out of the Skyray and fix  the throttle on the Bearcat.   

Joe, I did get the videos from Tim. Great learning tool. I would recomend them.
Wayne

Been selling, buying and working on vehicles but right now I'm in the middle of a software project that I should have wrapped up by the first of January. Then I should be able to get back to airplanes.

On the Carrier front I need to finish up the kit I bought from Joe, one of the other club members was kind enough to build and finish it I just need to install an engine and hardware. Just about ready to order the first sets of laser parts for the new FJ4-36 profile. Two of us Gluedobbers will be building the first two prototypes and if that goes well I'll finalize the design.

I really want to have a reverse rotation Saito 62 in the Latency for stunt contests next year, that's going to be a project in itself. Also need to finish the T-Rex ARC I started two years ago..

Going to be a busy winter..

I'll sell you a House of Balsa A-7 kit for $60.00 plus shipping. Send a PM if interested. I've never looked at the Dumas A-7 kit, but check out my thread about the F-8 Crusader from last winter if you haven't seen it yet.

Bill Bischoff

Cool project, even if it isn't for carrier. 

Both of those were built by Terry Kirby. The Seafire was from an Airkill (?) 1/12 scale RC combat kit, and the Tigercat was an original design.

Bill

Bill, looks GREAT!  Also very close to my prototypes of the Hellcat that may be next years short run of novice Carrier kits.  I havn't made up my mind (what's left after all the blows to my head over the years) but we will see.  If I can get my balsa supplier to ship 26 or 27" length body material I just may do it. My personal thaks go out to your efforts to get people interested in giving Carrier a try.  Our new .40 Profile Sport event in the NW is gaining much interest all over, not just up here.  Mike Potter sure came up with a winning idea with that event.
Joe

Bill, Great to hear from you!  Being a suvivor I know a little about your condition.  Keep the Faith, keep laughing when ever you can, and concentrate on living evry day to your best ability.
Joe

Well Big Bear you keep doing what the doctor says and get well.   Joe, I built these for 2011 and never got them in the air except one flight on the SkyRay.   So I am going to try my best to get them in the air more in 2012.   MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here's a few detail pic's on the line slider and leadout guide on the new Hellcat. This one will serve as both a primary and advanced carrier trainer for the club. If a person wanted to, he could build the wing with the slider mounts and release cable, but not actually install the slider until some later date. The wire slider frame is installed after the wing is covered and painted. The necessary openings are cut through the covering, and the slider frame is epoxied in place.
Even after the slider is installed, the bolt-on fixed line guide can still be used. the dimensions and details are not terribly critical. The AMA rules describe how far aft the slider can be, and the high speed line position should be about 7/8" behind the CG. As always, feel free to steal ideas or ask questions.

Well did it pass inspection?   I have little Sandy that lets me know if I do something wrong or doesn't meet her  requirements.

My cat didn't bite or step on the airplane, so I guess she approved. The new Hellcat is ready for primer. The wing is SLC over silkspan over foam, and the wood parts have one brushed-on coat of finish cure epoxy thinned with methanol. The airplane will get one or two sprayed coats of Superpoxy primer, then dark blue Klass Kote.

By the way, Klass Kote has lots of military and Federal Standard color formulas, and some Monokote matching formulas on their web site. For a nominal charge, they will even mix them for you. I am using Monokote matching insignia blue, and Terry Kirby ordered some FS colors for the new Wildcat he is building.

More XTB3F-2S pics.
Wayne

I like the tank install, nice option!

I like it. Can you show a picture of the control installation under the inboard wing? And could you post the 3 view shown in the first picture?

XTB#F-2S three view.
Thanks
Wayne

That hook release makes dropping the hook much easier as I just snap the down line quickly with my finger and down goes the hook. Much more positive as the hook is better supported and positive. I lost an airplane at Brodak's 2010 because of using the handle to drop the hook. This is much safer. Thanks for the help Pete.
Wayne

Thanks John, so am I. I would like to have a better year at Brodak.
Wayne

Airbonita, one of my favorites.
Wayne

Wayne, very nice photos, best I have ever seen.

Here's the after. 

Thanks Wayne, it's actully been flown a few times while finished in clear dope. I entered it in Joe's postal carrier contest and it flew at the 2010 Albuquerque contest. Color paint job is new. Power for now is an OS-32, flaps and auto aileron per the plans. Control are external with a fabricated music wire line slider. Hook release is the spring loaded release device that was written up in the Control Line World magazine. High speed is FAST but it does tend to balloon in slow flight due to a thick wing with lots of lift. Here's the other side.  

Here's the SECOND paint job on the new Hellcat. The flash picture makes the color look lighter than it really is. It's Klasskote epoxy, but I mixed the color to look like Brodak Piper blue to match my other Hellcat. I got in too much of a hurry removing the masks before, and pulled off some paint in a few spots. I've been waiting almost two weeks for it to be warm enough to paint outside. It wasn't really warm enough today either, but I did it anyway and seemed to get away with it.

I have no complaints about Klasskote whatsoever. If you are used to K&B Superpoxy, Klasskote is as good if not better.
This is the third pane I have used their colors on. I spray with an 8 oz touch up gun @35psi. I thin slightly more than 1 part thinner/ 1 part paint/ 1 part catalyst. On my most recent paint job I used 40 cc's each of paint and catalyst, and 50 cc's of thinner. This flowed out nicely, without any runs or orange peel. Be sure to follow the recommended 30-45 min "induction period" before thinning or spraying.

They have good customer service, and will mix custom colors. I will continue to use and recommend Klasskote.

On the Hellcat, the wood parts got one brushed coat of 20 minute finish cure epoxy, thinned 150% with methanol. The foam wings were covered with silkspan, then SLC covering. The airplane was sanded and sprayed with Superpoxy primer. I mixed up one 8 oz cup of primer, and sprayed until the cup was empty. On the wings, I only primed the fillets, tips, and covering seams. Then, I applied one good coat of color. After I screwed that up, I sanded the finish and gave it one more coat, just enough to cover. It took less than 4 oz of color. Rather than risk another mishap, I will apply stick-on vinyl trim, then clear coat everything. This was meant to be a "utility" finish, so I didn't care about completely filling the grain, just sealing everything. It turned out better than I was expecting, no doubt in part due to the extra coat of color.

On last year's Zeros, the wood parts were glassed with 3/4 oz cloth and finish cure, and the built up wings were polyspan applied and sealed with nitrate. They were also primed with Superpoxy primer and painted with Klasskote color. The glass cloth gave a better finish, but it was quite a bit more work.

For now I still have a decent stash of Superpoxy primer, but if and when I use it up, I will try Klasskote's primer. If it's as good as Superpoxy primer, I will be a happy camper!

Got the clear shot this afternoon. I found some Superpoxy clear that was still clear, and some catalyst that wasn't amber. Since I've recently been using Klasskote, I got a chance to compare and contrast. Both paints sprayed the same, but the Superpoxy was dry to the touch much faster than Klasskote. I would normally think faster is better, but perhaps the slower cure allows the Klasskote more time to flow out. At any rate, both worked fine and slower hasn't been a problem. Just an observation...

 

Looks good Bill, thanks for the detail on the linkage, gave me some ideas for the next one. 

Thanks, guys. Yes, it's an OS 4BK carb, with a dab of JB weld on the throttle arm to keep it from getting sloppy. And Pete, there's a closer look at the pared down Evolution for you.

Pilot report: It flew, it hung, the bellcrank is bindy and needs work or replacement. I fiddled with it until I ran out of patience and ideas, then we went out to eat. I hope I get to try again next week.

I agree, the old ones were better. This one feels smooth until you put line tension on it. The fits are actually too sloppy, not too tight. When you put tension on it, everything "cocks" toward the lines then it binds. It's nice when everything works right off the board, but I'm sure I'll get it sorted out. Good to know I'm not alone.

As someone stated, I just use small files, sandpaper and rubbing compound to get them to work smooth.   

I'd be happier to buy them in pieces and assemble them myself. I wonder if they'd sell them that way.

I'm  forward to getting back to building and get the Crusader finished (needs recovering and repainting) and the Joe Just F4F built!

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

The biggest thing is, on American aircraft with a star, the star always has the single point aimed forward or up,

Well, here's the truth.  Because it is rather hard for me to bend over (too many blindsides in my youth) I often place a plane on the top of my big flight box which in turn sits on a desk.  Normally I would face the place away from me and work on the right wing panel to apply markings etc. This time I placed the plane facing me and set the insignia backwards by mistake.  Funny thing until now nobody has noticed the mistake. Neither did I for that matter.
Joe

No umbridge taken Mark.  I did get to wondering though....What if I entered this plane in AMA Profile Carrier, would I still get the 10 scale points all else being up to snuff?

Here's my 2012 project for Profile Carrier. XTB3F-2S in prototype colors same as prototype Bur Aer #90505. It's basically same as last years airplane but not blue. It's equiped with an Irvine 36 ABC F1 and an O S 4BK carb. I took some pictures of details for those that are interested. I am not good with Monokote so it's a 5 foot standoff airplane but I am working on functionality. This is a duplicate of last years airplane so when spring breaks I can take a couple of tuneup flights with last years and start working sooner on the new one so it's ready for Brodak's.
Thanks
Wayne

Well it flew today wind and all. Needs a couple of ajustments but everything looks like its going to work. Bad weather until next week so I have time for some tweeking.
Wayne

50 Ft standoff.
Wayne