Great video of your efforts. You might want to join the Flying Aces Club. Its a group of folks who promote the hobby of free flight, rubber band powered scale models included. With a little more knowledge your Wildcat will he able to take on the best of them. Keep at it.
@MissileMist Thanks, I have since moved on to RC. The wilcat was inherantly tail heavy and suffered greatly when noseweight was added to correct this, I was young and foolish ;)
Good effort. I think you would be surprised that a little weight in the nose will level it out. These little models have high lift airfoils and positive wing incidences to climb under power and glide after. Hope you keep after it as it is a nice looking model and would be rewarding once trimmed out. BTW - I was wondering what you had been up to. -M
The last flight I did I bent the wings up about 10-20 degrees and it started to fly pretty straight until the wing root snapped. I may well just make some more wings and give it another go.
I is back... :) Sons surgey (13/10) went very well, and he is now walking (of sorts) on crutches, being quite mobile.. He also likes to whizz around in the wheelchair!! Chemotherapy will restart next week.. I hope to be back popsting videos once I have worked out how.. In the meantime I will try and catch up on some of the videos I have missed, but my time on YT is still limited! Sadly we have lost Barney during my break from YouTube, he has gone back to the rescue, as he was turning..
..very unreliable and bit my father-in-law so badly he had to go to hospital.. we had no option but to return him to the rescue, concidering the situation at home! He may be re-homed with an elderly gentleman who has a firm hand with troublesome dogs, we have been told.. I surely hope so, as Barney deserves only the best! There's not a day without me missing him.. :P
However, back to the (gerbil)essentials, this was an interesting video, as always.. Good luck with your foam projects..
If your model is not a good glider first then it won't fly well under power. Trim the model for a nice straight glide, adding nose weight or tail weight as needed. Mark the CG on the wing and then add your rubber and propeller and test the CG again. add clay if the CG is wrong and then steer the model with thrust settings..
I got the centre of gravity dead centre of the wing by adding blue tac to the nose, but I think the model was just too heavy. Too much glue, and the green tissue on the tail was weight where I didn't need it! Just making foam stuff at the moment - will post some vids when complete.
Not to sound like a prude but the CG should start at 33% of the main chord. Half way is to far back. A lot of planes need tonnes of noseweight, I have made most of them. Very few don't. Try the model with more nose weight and at the new balance point and it should glide well..
Fat and round, with a lot of armour! Although the FM-2 version had a bit more engine power. A useful fighter for small aircraft carriers throughout the war.
Of particular excitement to scale modellers is the undercarriage (which I did not attempt to replicate!).
Try getting the balance by putting a finger under each tip of the wings and add weight as necessary. Also remove the motor and it should glide well. Release from a height if you can.
Yup, thats what I did. To get it to balance on the centre of the wing chord took A LOT of blu tack on the nose. The tail was over built and used heavy tissue, to my shame ;) I think perhaps indoors, with some trimming and glueing the tail surfaces at correct angles it may have flown.
As it happens I broke the wings and have begun another, better project.
I knew it was tail heavy, glue heavy and had floppy wings before I flew it. the project taught me a lot about what not to do with balsa. It was also scratch built more or less from some dodgy french plans, my first ever rubber plane.
I'm quite a scale warbird freak, the wings and all have to be correct size ;)
To be honest I'm amazed this junk got off the ground.
aww man that sucks oh well when u getting a new plane?
MrDragonslayer81 2 months ago
is it possible to have it rubbered powered
MrDragonslayer81 2 months ago
@MrDragonslayer81 It was rubber powered, but very tail heavy so it didn't fly :P
GerbilEssences 2 months ago
R/C is the easy way out of flight "trimming"
f4udhorn 2 months ago
Many folks come back to this from R/C. We'll keep a candle in the window for you.
MissileMist 1 year ago
@MissileMist Hehe.
GerbilEssences 1 year ago
Great video of your efforts. You might want to join the Flying Aces Club. Its a group of folks who promote the hobby of free flight, rubber band powered scale models included. With a little more knowledge your Wildcat will he able to take on the best of them. Keep at it.
MissileMist 1 year ago
@MissileMist Thanks, I have since moved on to RC. The wilcat was inherantly tail heavy and suffered greatly when noseweight was added to correct this, I was young and foolish ;)
GerbilEssences 1 year ago
Outstanding job!! I love it. One helpfull suggestion. Your prop is on backwards. The inside cup side goes to the back.
OldFalcon2 1 year ago
@OldFalcon2 Thanks. Looking back I realise how obviously tail heavy this plane was, despite the tonnes of blue tack on the front end ;)
You live and learn.
Oh and yes I had very little understanding of props and sanded off the nice corkscrew thing that allows the prop to freewheel DOH!
GerbilEssences 1 year ago
I have thousands of plans for rubber models if you would like one? Scale and Sport. Send my a message and I will email them too you.
mattnsim 1 year ago
Good effort. I think you would be surprised that a little weight in the nose will level it out. These little models have high lift airfoils and positive wing incidences to climb under power and glide after. Hope you keep after it as it is a nice looking model and would be rewarding once trimmed out. BTW - I was wondering what you had been up to. -M
milesperpound 2 years ago
The last flight I did I bent the wings up about 10-20 degrees and it started to fly pretty straight until the wing root snapped. I may well just make some more wings and give it another go.
Thanks,
Dave.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
did u paint it because if u did then that changes the balance of the plan
THEMRJISHERE 2 years ago
No, I used printed silver tissue, green tissue and chalked yellow tissue. There were a few painted decals I made but thats all.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
I is back... :) Sons surgey (13/10) went very well, and he is now walking (of sorts) on crutches, being quite mobile.. He also likes to whizz around in the wheelchair!! Chemotherapy will restart next week.. I hope to be back popsting videos once I have worked out how.. In the meantime I will try and catch up on some of the videos I have missed, but my time on YT is still limited! Sadly we have lost Barney during my break from YouTube, he has gone back to the rescue, as he was turning..
BasicModelling 2 years ago
..very unreliable and bit my father-in-law so badly he had to go to hospital.. we had no option but to return him to the rescue, concidering the situation at home! He may be re-homed with an elderly gentleman who has a firm hand with troublesome dogs, we have been told.. I surely hope so, as Barney deserves only the best! There's not a day without me missing him.. :P
However, back to the (gerbil)essentials, this was an interesting video, as always.. Good luck with your foam projects..
BasicModelling 2 years ago
If your model is not a good glider first then it won't fly well under power. Trim the model for a nice straight glide, adding nose weight or tail weight as needed. Mark the CG on the wing and then add your rubber and propeller and test the CG again. add clay if the CG is wrong and then steer the model with thrust settings..
mattnsim 2 years ago
I got the centre of gravity dead centre of the wing by adding blue tac to the nose, but I think the model was just too heavy. Too much glue, and the green tissue on the tail was weight where I didn't need it! Just making foam stuff at the moment - will post some vids when complete.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
Thanks for the interest.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
Not to sound like a prude but the CG should start at 33% of the main chord. Half way is to far back. A lot of planes need tonnes of noseweight, I have made most of them. Very few don't. Try the model with more nose weight and at the new balance point and it should glide well..
mattnsim 2 years ago
I would love to give that a go, if i hand't broken the wings. Still thanks for the info.
I'm making a foamy PZL11c right now, very light!
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
Nice!
It's more sturdy than it looks!
LGorrit 2 years ago
Cheers, the stretched tissue adds a lot of strength.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
Excellent work for a scale model!... its a wonder the real Wildcats did fly^^..
BaronKrolok 2 years ago
Fat and round, with a lot of armour! Although the FM-2 version had a bit more engine power. A useful fighter for small aircraft carriers throughout the war.
Of particular excitement to scale modellers is the undercarriage (which I did not attempt to replicate!).
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
Try getting the balance by putting a finger under each tip of the wings and add weight as necessary. Also remove the motor and it should glide well. Release from a height if you can.
amanecs 2 years ago
Yup, thats what I did. To get it to balance on the centre of the wing chord took A LOT of blu tack on the nose. The tail was over built and used heavy tissue, to my shame ;) I think perhaps indoors, with some trimming and glueing the tail surfaces at correct angles it may have flown.
As it happens I broke the wings and have begun another, better project.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago
Get and make a 'Glider' Kit above 2 feet WS - much more fun :))
amanecs 2 years ago
I knew it was tail heavy, glue heavy and had floppy wings before I flew it. the project taught me a lot about what not to do with balsa. It was also scratch built more or less from some dodgy french plans, my first ever rubber plane.
I'm quite a scale warbird freak, the wings and all have to be correct size ;)
To be honest I'm amazed this junk got off the ground.
GerbilEssences 2 years ago