SE5a CONSTRUCTION BEGINNING TO . . . - Page 67

alan2525 · 16-08-2008

I haven't been on these forums in a little while and I must say it was very nerve racking reading that post about your SE5a!

That's one of the concerns thats always put me off of R/C Aircraft!

And Richard - What were you doing to that poor Joffre tug, atleast the dingy passed it's first sea trials!

Greyhead · 28-08-2008

Well I’ve had the 15x4 prop for a couple of weeks now and have tested it out on the ground; the 1-inch reduction in diameter has resulted in a 16% increase in static revs to 7900, which should help considerably in a “no wind” situation.

I waited before posting this in the hope of being in a position to also give a report on the practical difference to the flying but with the weather being as it is there’s been no chance of that!

I also doubt if I’ll be doing anymore flying before the end of the season because we have just sold our house and are in the process of packing everything into boxes ready for the move. I think Barry will agree that packing the better half’s china is one thing but packing scale models and all the associated modelling tools requires far more care and attention!

Graeme Brumfitt · 14-09-2008

Grahame Hi,
Have started my Peter Rake S.E.5a, chickened out and went for the laser cut parts as it's been a while since i've balsa bashed.
The one I am going to model mine on is a Wolseley Viper power plant C1149 "Schweinhund" No 56 Sqn flown by Captain Duncan Grinnell-Milne . The fuselage is painted matt scarlet so I think she will be a bit different from the norm!

A couple of questions if you don't mind?

1; how many cooling slots under the engine as I have a line drawing showing 8 or 10, were they different for the Wolseley and Hispano and if so what had what?

2;the pictures I have of the foot holes do not appear to be very deep, now is this because they aren't or do they have a flap covering them from the inside?

Greyhead · 14-09-2008

Graeme

To get the easy one out of the way first, the foot holes do have a sprung flap hinged on the inside, which folds down when kicked by the pilot’s foot, as such it shows a lot of wear and tear.

As for the under pan, things aren’t quite as straightforward! I have drawings that show at one extreme 4 full width louvers pressed inwards, at the other extreme, 16 short louvers, 2 rows of 8, pressed outwards. In between these extremes there are 2 versions with 8 vents, 2 rows of 4; one with “race track” shaped holes, the other has rectangular vents apparently made by cutting the 2 short sides and the rear long side and then pressing the resulting flap inwards. I haven't got any with 10 vents.

I have to admit that I haven’t done extensive research about this but the paperwork I have doesn’t give any correlation between the type of venting and any variation in model such as engine used.

As with most of these early aircraft I think that development was rather ad hoc so barring any firm evidence the choice is yours with this and a lot of other things you’ll come across during your build! I chose the “race track” holes as I thought they would be the best at keeping the engine bay cool by providing plenty of air to the exhaust pipe; and they were easy to model.

Sorry I can’t give you any more precise information but I’m afraid definitive information is rather hard to come by for most WW1 aircraft, but at least it’s very unlikely that anyone else has the information so they can’t really say you’ve got it wrong.

Graeme Brumfitt · 14-09-2008

Many thanks for the reply Grahame,

See what you mean about the vents! I think I'll go for the eight, some pics I've not seen so again thanks
No doubt there will be more questions as I go.
Shall post some build pictures when l can, and thanks for the inspiration you have a truly amazing bird there.

Greyhead · 16-09-2008

I have decided that as far as I’m concerned any serious flying is over for this season, even if the weather improves the Redmarshall field is so waterlogged that it won’t be any fun; in fact I think this photo taken from the TMFC Website just about sums up this summer!

So it’s time to think about modifications to the SE5a, there always seem to be a few of things that I’m not too happy about with a new model; the Foster mount for the Lewis gun isn’t steady enough on the top wing centre section, but first I’m going to make new radiator slats.

I made the originals from aluminium glued to thin piano wire rods, with the engine vibration they have become loose and pivot at random so some slats are open while some are closed, which doesn’t look good at all. This time I’m soldering tinplate slats to thin brass rod.

When faced with the task of making numerous identical parts, in this case I need 60 slats, it’s a lot easier if you make some form of jig. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate affair; this is just a 2mm ply box with 2 slots and a removable plug.

The tinplate slat and brass rod are “tinned” then assembled in the jig for soldering.

The wire is trimmed to leave 2mm either end before removing the block and the finished slat.

4 down only another 56 to go!

Graeme Brumfitt · 17-09-2008

Grahame Hi,

Not only are you a most excellent model maker but also a gentleman and a scholar many thanks for the CD.

Cheers Graeme.

Greyhead · 17-09-2008

Graeme

No problem, just hope you find it useful.

Grahame

Greyhead · 3 Weeks Ago

I’d not done any modelling recently with all my modelling paraphernalia being packed away in cardboard boxes ready for moving home, but the credit crunch has reared its ugly head and the buyer has “pulled out” so I’m gradually getting the modelling room back to normal; very frustrating, all that time wasted for nothing!

It didn’t take too long to finish off the other 56 radiator slats and then it was onto making the frames.

The first thing was to bend some tinplate into a thin channel section. When bending tinplate it’s best to hold it in a vice between 2 pieces of metal, then using something like a metal rule produce the bend by “folding” the tinplate. If you try to bend it using your fingers you’ll get a “wavy” bend and if you use a hammer the metal will stretch and the finished bend will end up with a pronounced bow.

I printed out a guide to help me get the 30 holes in the correct places.

The holes were then punched through the channel section using a pin and pin hammer. The holes were punched rather than drilled because it produces a slight “collar”, which gives much more area for the solder joint to the radiator slat pin.

The slats were soldered to one side first using a strip of 0.4mm ply as a spacer to ensure all the slats have the same clearance with the side frame. At this stage things look very “rough” but once the second side is soldered in place the excess solder and brass pins can be “Dremmelled” away and all that’s left is a neat row of pin ends.

Top and bottom frame sections soldered in place complete the job ready for the mounting brackets.

This is much stronger than the original aluminium ones I made; they do of course weigh a bit more but being right at the front of the model it shouldn’t make any noticeable difference.