Author Topic: Mr. Mulligan Build (Read 5587 times)

Dennis Saydak · « **on:** November 18, 2013, 03:03:57 PM »

I've been thinking about building my first C/L scale model for several years. Building a Mr. Mulligan will be my major project for this winter. Getting a RCV 60SP engine was finally the motivating factor to start this project. I have several other projects on the go right now but they will take a back seat to MM. I made some good progress over the past few days cutting out parts, and there are a lot of parts. I will have to build a fuselage jig for proper bulkhead placement. My regular jig isn't adjustable longitudinally. Here's the start of this project:

Will Hinton · « **Reply #1 on:** November 18, 2013, 05:07:03 PM »

I'm already excited about this build when I look at the craftsmanship demonstrated in your parts!! Veerrrrrry nice!!!

Avaiojet · « **Reply #2 on:** November 18, 2013, 06:37:03 PM »

Quote from: Will Hinton on November 18, 2013, 05:07:03 PM

I'm already excited about this build when I look at the craftsmanship demonstrated in your parts!! Veerrrrrry nice!!!

"Good" Will Hinton,

I noticed that also.

Charles

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #3 on:** November 19, 2013, 01:09:12 PM »

Got the fuselage jig made today from 1/2" plywood. I have a few more parts to cut out and then actual construction can begin.

I have the photo pack of the replica MM that shows up at Oshkosh occasionally. However, it doesn't show much of the cockpit detail. Does anyone have cockpit interior pictures of this aircraft?

Avaiojet · « **Reply #4 on:** November 19, 2013, 01:28:14 PM »

Dennis,

I would try some of the R/C scale websites or RCU. There's a few Mulligan build threads there.

Also, most of the Mulligans that are built for R/C are 108" in span. Great size for a detailed cockpit, so, you might just get lucky.

You have good looking parts there!

Charles

Trostle · « **Reply #5 on:** November 19, 2013, 02:15:39 PM »

Quote from: Dennis Saydak on November 19, 2013, 01:09:12 PM

Does anyone have cockpit interior pictures of this aircraft?

Mr Mulligan was a one-of-a-kind aircraft built by Howard, designated the DGA-6.

Bob Banka of Bob's Aircraft Documentation at

http://www.bobsairdoc.com

phone is (714) 978-8058, in Costa Mesa, CA.

He has several different 3-views listed and four different photo-packs, some that show gear, surface detail, interior and instruments. Most of these are quality photos and well worth the price.

You will find that Bob is very helpful with what you are looking for.

Bob has probably the largest 3-view collection in the world and extensive photo collections. You are doing yourself a disservice if you do not check out his material if you are looking for documentation on ANY aircraft.

Keith

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #6 on:** November 19, 2013, 03:44:25 PM »

Hi Keith; I'm very familiar with Bob Banka's excellent documentation service and I do have one of his MM replica photo packs as well as several for other aircraft. I've provided a comprehensive series of DH Otter on floats pictures to Bob, which are now in his catalog. All I need to complete my documentation is a picture or two showing the seat area of that aircraft. I do have a good shot of the instrument panel. It is very different from the original MM.

I've been the test pilot for several R/C Bud Nosen 1/4 scale" Mulligan models over the years and I loved flying them. I have one of the Nosen kits as well. So, I have a soft spot in my heart for the design. I just love the looks of the aircraft. Unfortunately one day when we were flying one of the models it was shot down because of a frequency accident. Fortunately it was rebuildable and did fly again.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #7 on:** November 21, 2013, 04:21:57 PM »

Here's a little progress on this project:

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #8 on:** November 26, 2013, 05:15:43 PM »

Building a scale model from plans is a lot of work. Here's a little more progress.

Mike Lauerman · « **Reply #9 on:** November 26, 2013, 07:04:02 PM »

Hi, Dennis. Great project, I have a MM plan (60" span, traced by Joe DeMarco) I want to build one of these days.

Your jig is excellent: available 1/2" ply, all stations located. I'm impressed with your stringer-notched bulkheads. (Lotta work)

Did you draw up this plan, or was it existent?

Also: What is the wingspan?

Thanks...Following this closely, one of my favorite planes.

Kudos for the flying of the Nosen 1/4 scalers!

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #10 on:** November 26, 2013, 09:13:15 PM »

Mike, the construction article for the version I'm building was published in Model Aviation, Oct 1984. I've had the plan for years and only recently got motivated to build a scale model. I've always considered scale building too time consuming but I'm now retired so time isn't really an issue anymore (regarding available building time that is LOL). I just measured the wingspan at 58". My plan also says traced by Joe Demarco, it's likely the same plan as yours. The fuselage jig is shown on the plan and also pictured in the construction article. It prevents building a banana fuselage.

PS, I wonder if this Joe Demarco is the same guy that Dr. Phil uses to perform lie detector tests?

Mike Lauerman · « **Reply #11 on:** November 27, 2013, 09:28:47 AM »

PS, I wonder if this Joe Demarco is the same guy that Dr. Phil uses to perform lie detector tests?

LOL

Some trivia drivel:

The original Mr. Mulligan, as you know, was crashed; a group of gents later recovered the wreckage, but little was useable...they built a mostly new airframe, and Mr. Mulligan flew again. Alas, another crash totaled the airplane, killing the owner/pilot and his wife: This occurred in Mohave, on a 2-way speed dash.

A TV special aired on the project(s), hosted by John Maloney...("Ghost planes") and he covered the stories of both.
In closing, he showed some shots of still another 'clone', being built at that time. (around 1990) Fuselage was up on gear, engine installed.
Plans guru John Pond was acquainted with the builders, and made a trip back there (Arizona? Can't remember) to see it firsthand.
He was surprised to see the fairings at the wing struts, on examination they were 2" X 3" pine blocks!

John reported that the rest of the construction was excellent, but kept musing about those "un-fairings"!

The plan I have is the same, Model Aviation, 1984. Thanks.

Avaiojet · « **Reply #12 on:** November 27, 2013, 09:54:47 AM »

Dennis,

You don't even have frayed edges on the paper templates!

I guess your plans are for CL by the looks of the airfoil?

Nice work.

Charles

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #13 on:** November 27, 2013, 03:21:10 PM »

Quote from: Avaiojet on November 27, 2013, 09:54:47 AM

You don't even have frayed edges on the paper templates!

I guess your plans are for CL by the looks of the airfoil?

Thanks Charles. A fine-toothed band saw blade doesn't leave any frayed edges when cutting out the parts. Yes, this model was designed specifically for C/L. I've discovered a few minor errors in the plan that are easy to fix. Anyway, here's the roughed out nose block set up for my RCV .60. The firewall is 1/4" plywood, which is epoxied to three layers of 3/8" hard balsa. It need to be final sanded and blended in once it is attached to the fuselage.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #14 on:** November 30, 2013, 04:40:58 PM »

Got the legs on it today although it wasn't really much fun. Bending 5/32" wire accurately is a royal PITA.

I ruined a couple of pieces of wire in the process.
I've decided to go the 2 channel 2.4 Ghz route for the controls.

Tim Wescott · « **Reply #15 on:** November 30, 2013, 04:48:43 PM »

Dennis:

Keep the pictures coming! I've always loved the Mister Mulligan, but any time I've thought of building one I've been put off by all those stringers. At this rate you should have one cool airplane.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #16 on:** November 30, 2013, 05:41:03 PM »

Tim, get hold of Dave Platt's Black art scale series of VHS videos. Perhaps they are available on Cds by now? Scale detailing can be a simple matter of illusion to give the appearance of scale structure. That's how master builder Platt does it. I hope to get the wing all framed up and the control system installed by Christmas time. Then it's on to the time consuming detailing phase. Although, I know December will be a busy month for me.

The 2.4 Ghz option allows me to place the battery and other components (eg. throttle servo) on the firewall, which minimizes any additional nose weight necessary to balance this model and simplifies things in general. This option eliminates a draggy 3rd control line or thick insulated lines is a bonus IMHO.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #17 on:** December 02, 2013, 03:58:48 PM »

I did a little work today making the wing L.E & T.E. They are big chunks of balsa that need to be notched for the ribs. To do this accurately I pin the two parts together for notching and clamp a spacer board on my jig saw. This results in perfectly aligned notches of perfect depth.

Avaiojet · « **Reply #18 on:** December 02, 2013, 04:53:53 PM »

Quote from: Dennis Saydak on November 26, 2013, 09:13:15 PM

Mike, the construction article for the version I'm building was published in Model Aviation, Oct 1984. I've had the plan for years and only recently got motivated to build a scale model. I've always considered scale building too time consuming but I'm now retired so time isn't really an issue anymore (regarding available building time that is LOL). I just measured the wingspan at 58". My plan also says traced by Joe Demarco, it's likely the same plan as yours. The fuselage jig is shown on the plan and also pictured in the construction article. It prevents building a banana fuselage.

PS, I wonder if this Joe Demarco is the same guy that Dr. Phil uses to perform lie detector tests?

Dennis,

I did think your project looked farmiliar. So I dug deep for that 1984 magazine and found it.

Yes a surprise. Nice article, plans and a bunch of great photos.

You're making progress!

Charles

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #19 on:** December 03, 2013, 09:08:34 PM »

I got the wing pretty much framed up today. It is built upside down on the bench as the top is perfectly straight along the spar. The tip sections curve upwards. The wing will eventually be sheeted with 1/64" plywood. I have to order the control system as the internals have to be installed before more serious work can proceed. I do have more Mulligan parts to cut out though.

In the meantime I will get back to another project that has been sitting on the back burner for awhile. It is a profile P-38 stunter designed by Don Hutcheson. I'll post an update on this project over on Stuka Stunt as I have previous posting there.

MarcusCordeiro · « **Reply #20 on:** December 05, 2013, 02:57:39 PM »

Nice frame. Cool model.

Marcus

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #21 on:** January 01, 2014, 12:43:40 PM »

Although the Christmas season has been very busy I've managed to shape the L.E & T.E of the wing. I also ordered and received one of Ralph Saxton's modified control sytems for C/L. Dealing with Ralph has been a pleasure and he went the extra mile for me. Thanks again Ralph.

Now that I have the control system I can get back to working on the Mulligan, that is as soon as I can shake a miserable cold. The airborne components are certainly small enough to be installed on the firewall if I choose to do it that way.

wwwarbird · « **Reply #22 on:** January 15, 2014, 08:57:18 PM »

Shake that cold yet Dennis?

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #23 on:** January 16, 2014, 10:51:12 AM »

Quote from: wwwarbird on January 15, 2014, 08:57:18 PM

Shake that cold yet Dennis?

Yes and I managed to shake it onto my wife (lol), and that's the truth. My cold was followed by a bout of Cabin Fever, which I have almost recovered from. Not much progress in the shop to report. The horrible weather and severe cold temps have prevented my building partner and I from getting together since New Years day. We've had several blizzards, icy road conditions and I live in the country making traveling difficult. We are having another blizzard today where school is cancelled and highways are closed. Hopefully this will be the end of all that (one can hope). I plan to be in the shop again this Saturday. Right now I'm thinking about clearing my 250 ft driveway for the umpteenth time this winter.

John Rist · « **Reply #24 on:** January 17, 2014, 08:52:12 AM »

Quote from: Dennis Saydak on January 16, 2014, 10:51:12 AM

Yes and I managed to shake it onto my wife (lol), and that's the truth. My cold was followed by a bout of Cabin Fever, which I have almost recovered from. Not much progress in the shop to report. The horrible weather and severe cold temps have prevented my building partner and I from getting together since New Years day. We've had several blizzards, icy road conditions and I live in the country making traveling difficult. We are having another blizzard today where school is cancelled and highways are closed. Hopefully this will be the end of all that (one can hope). I plan to be in the shop again this Saturday. Right now I'm thinking about clearing my 250 ft driveway for the umpteenth time this winter.

You Just explained why I live in Alabama!

Mike Lauerman · « **Reply #25 on:** January 21, 2014, 02:35:25 PM »

Allen...

The leading & trailing edge notching was ingenious. Great solution to an age old problem. I have shamelessly stolen it...

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #26 on:** January 22, 2014, 09:03:18 AM »

A little more progress to show:
1) The nose block has been attached to the fuselage and faired into the windshield area. The lower part of the nose block can't be faired into the fuselage until the side sheeting and bottom planking has been completed.
2) The bellcrank has been mounted. It needed to be raised slightly so the leads and pushrod dont interfere with the L.G. wire and j-bolts.
3) I've cut out the cockpit floor, which will eventually hide the L.G & bellckrank under it. Unfortunately the floor doesn't fit through the windshield opening so I'll have to slice it in half and istall each 1/2 separately.

The next task is to mount the throttle servo and I haven't figured that out yet.

MarcusCordeiro · « **Reply #27 on:** January 24, 2014, 01:05:18 PM »

Looking good!!

Marcus

Mike Lauerman · « **Reply #28 on:** January 30, 2014, 02:35:55 PM »

Beautiful work, Dennis. (inspiring!)

As for the cockpit floor, it looks like it would have fit through the windshield space diagonally, prior to the installation of the nose piece...

You're truly doing justice to this plan.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #29 on:** January 30, 2014, 05:12:26 PM »

Thanks for the nice words Mike. It wouldn't matter if the nose block wasn't attached as the Full size cockpit floor still wouldn't fit through the windshield. Currently the nose block is removable. it is only attached with 4 screws. It will eventually get epoxied to the first plywood former which is essentially the same size as the nose block. I got the floor fitted today but I can't glue it in permanently until the stabilizer, push rod & lead out wires are installed. I'm going to use Robart hinge points on the stab and I won't get the Robart drill jig for the hinges until this coming Sunday at our club meeting (weather permitting).

I recently got the wheels for the Mulligan and ran into an unexpected snag. I didn't leave the tail wheel axle long enough so I had to remove the tail strut mount, bend a new wire and reinstall the assembly. It will be finished tonight.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #30 on:** February 04, 2014, 01:59:29 PM »

As I mentioned previously, I will use Robart hinge points for elevator hinges. I live in the country and had a friend pick up a Robart drill jig from the Hobby Shop in town. Unfortunately it wasn't useable since the center hole in the jig was not threaded for the guide inserts. Although I exchanged the jig today for one that works I remembered that I already had a home made jig on hand that works better IMHO than the Robart jig. Mine allows for perfect alignment whereas it is difficult to line up the Robart jig on the exact hole center lines. I'm back to work on the Mulligan.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #31 on:** February 09, 2014, 04:35:57 PM »

Here's my first attempt at drilling the holes for Robart hingepoints. It worked out very well except one hole was slightly misaligned. I just filled it in with a small dowel and redrilled it. The area around the center pin of each hinge is rectangular so the holes will have to be opened up a little to a depth of approximately 1/16" to fully seat the hinges. This is just a dry run as the elevators will be pained before permanently installing them.

Bill Little · « **Reply #32 on:** February 18, 2014, 08:43:27 PM »

Hi Dennis,

Looks like you are going to have a gorgeous airplane when you are finished! Have you decided what you will do for Graphics?

Looks really nice!
Bill

wwwarbird · « **Reply #33 on:** February 18, 2014, 09:13:31 PM »

Quote from: Bill Little on February 18, 2014, 08:43:27 PM

Hi Dennis,

Looks like you are going to have a gorgeous airplane when you are finished! Have you decided what you will do for Graphics?

Looks really nice!
Bill

I'm guessing the primarily white racer, but here's an idea...

Jim Fruit · « **Reply #34 on:** February 19, 2014, 07:47:23 AM »

Wayne:

That is a beautiful ship, but the color scheme would not be scale for a Mr. Mulligan. That one is actually a modified Monocoupe. Notice the three stylized teals (representing the letter "M") just behind the rear window. That is the original monicker for the Monocoupe. The modifications to this Monocoupe appear to be clipped wings, a larger smoother cowl (no doubt to cover a larger engine), and the three blade prop with a spinner. My own biased opinion, but there is not much prettier that a Monocoupe.

Jim Fruit

Mike Lauerman · « **Reply #35 on:** February 19, 2014, 01:30:15 PM »

Yes, that Monocoupe fooled me for a second...(only a second!) as the fuse is gracefully 'guppy-shaped'.

Benny Howard himself said the Mr. Mulligan was a 'copy' of a Monocoupe...only bigger. I could never see it, that fuse difference really stands out!

But the similarity is evident.

Dennis Saydak · « **Reply #36 on:** February 19, 2014, 02:54:29 PM »

Quote from: Bill Little on February 18, 2014, 08:43:27 PM

Hi Dennis,

Looks like you are going to have a gorgeous airplane when you are finished! Have you decided what you will do for Graphics?

Looks really nice!
Bill

Thanks Bill. Avaiojet says he has graphics for the white Mr. Mulligan available. I'll order them once I have more work on the model completed. I've been working on a club building project for this Sundays meeting but I now have the stabilizer sanded and ready to install on the fuselage. I plan to have the push rod installed and cockpit floor in this weekend.

wwwarbird · « **Reply #37 on:** February 19, 2014, 11:28:08 PM »

Quote from: Jim Fruit on February 19, 2014, 07:47:23 AM

Wayne:

That is a beautiful ship, but the color scheme would not be scale for a Mr. Mulligan. That one is actually a modified Monocoupe.

Jim Fruit

Yep, I knew that Jim but I just tossed it in for some "food" on the scheme idea. It's definitely a one-off Super Bad A$$ Hot Rod version of the Monocoupe. It's an awesome example and it was displayed at the IAC headquarters at Oshkosh. I don't recall the specs, but it's a wild one.