1/2 scale Tiger Moth

[paul hughes]

Hello John, the Tiggy is looking well, what do you think the finished weight will be? I was shocked to see the one for sale on the forum weighing in at a massive 42Kg (90lb). Hope to see you and the tiggy at wigan, cheers

[John Greenfield]

Dave

I don't think it will make the Belle Vue holiday week this year (10 to 17th June) as there is still a long way to go with the build and there are still some delivery issues with the motor.

Paul
I anticipate that my Tiggy will weight in at about 60 Kg but that is mainly due to the size of the motor I am proposing to use. The motor alone weights in at around 20kg ready to fit. The Tiggy for sale on the forum has a geared King 95 installed which is a much lighter set up than I am proposing but also a lot less powerfull. 60 kg is about right given the wing loading for a model of this size if it is to fly well in most weather conditions.

John

[John Greenfield]

I have been busy working on the Tiger Moth and as usual forgot to take any pictures but the model is all ready for covering apart fron the front section of the fuz. I took this pic a couple of weeks ago when checking the fit of the wings for the first time.

[Seamus O'Donnell]

How is the big tiger moth project coming along, been a while since a post

[Pat Marsden]

Seamus

I am sure John will respond eventually to you enquiry but he is currently away on holiday with his wife and not due back till 28th Feb.

Pat

[John Greenfield]

Seamus

Thanks for asking about the Tiger Moth. As Pat mentioned in his reply to you I have been away on an extended holiday but up to that point the Tiggy was progressing well. I had it at Gaydon in October standing on its U/C and mostly covered and since that time have been making good progress.
One problem with working on such a big model in the winter is the reluctance to take it outside to assemble it for pics but as soon as the weather improves I will assemble it and post up some pics.
I will not make Wigan this year as having just returned from a 6 week hol there is some domestic items to attend to over the next week.

Regards

John

[John Greenfield]

Hello all

As I could not get to wigan to show off the progress on my Tiger Moth I thought I would post up a picture showing progress to date. I took advantage on Sat of the first spell of decent weather for a while to do a quick assembly of the model in the garden.

The model has made steady progress through the winter with everything except the front part of the fuz ready for paint. The front section is almost ready for covering with just a few more internal fittings like silencers and cowling to finish before the diatex covering is applied.

Regards

John

[frederick barlow]

looks good john i am going to use diatex 1000 on my corby starlet same scale as yours, can you give me any advice or tips using it? ive got some and planning to have a practice run on my t240. any help will be apreciated.

[John Greenfield]

Frederick

Give me a call any evening after 7.30 pm on 01923 857009 and I will be happy to talk you through my way of applying Diatex. I have been using it for years on many of my models and am happy to pass on my experiences.

John

[frederick barlow]

Thanks john ill try to get in touch later this week, Will you be going to east kirkby, if so we could have chat there
thanks fred

[John Greenfield]

Frederick

Won't be at East Kirby as I missed the registration date as I was away on holiday. Best to give me a call.

John

[jimlambert]

John.... Lovely work, it should be a honey to fly, have you seen the 1/2 scale Moth on youtube... if not look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugUtASqk1IE

Best Wishes..... Jim

[Seamus O'Donnell]

It looks really good John, going to me really something just love the old tiger moth.

I am building a 1/2 scale Bleriot XII and still hav'nt decided on covering, had been thinking of the solartex Mick Reeves imports is the Diatex a heavy material, what would you advise ?

[John Greenfield]

Seamus

No cpmpetition here, Diatex wins hands down. Not only is it ideal for the larger models it also comes on a roll 60" wide so unlike Solartex you will not have to join it or put it on in strips. I use Diatex 2000 which is available from Skycraft (Spalding). They can also supply the necessary dope etc.
As with any material there are a few tricks to apply it but I would be happy to give you the benifit of my experience in using Diatex for many years on a variety of models. If you want to discuss further give me a call any evening after 7.30pm on 01923 857009 to discuss.

Happy building.

John

[Seamus O'Donnell]

Thanks for the offer to call.

Is Diatex 2000 not very heavy for a model ? why not 1500 or even the 1000

[John Greenfield]

Seamus

Bit of a typo there. You are right it should have read Diatex 1000.

sorry.

John

[John Greenfield]

Well we are almost there with the Tiger Moth. Model is basically complete and painted and only the scale fuel tank to finish before asking for sign off by my Inspector Richard Rawle. I always have problems running the photo resize programme so for some up to date pictures have a look at

http://www.ghostsquadron.co.uk/page25.html

Regards

John

[John Greenfield]

All

After 2 years work the Tiger Moth finally took to the skies last weekend (Briefly). There is still some scale detail work to do in the cockpit and some wheel covers to make but as the model had all of its paperwork and we had a free weekend it was decided to take her out for a first test flight. After all the normal checks and some extended engine running the model was taxied out and lined up into wind. The throttle was pushed open and the model floated into the air. Just a couple of clicks of down trim and she was flying hands off. A turn to downwind, and as I flew past myself ...silence.. The motor had stopped. A quick decision to carry on down wind or attempt a turn back into wind at low speed and height was made. A turn it was and a glide down to a landing.

Not the best way to have a first flight but we all know that is what test flying is all about. The cause of the motor stopping was a dead ignition unit. A bit worrying as it had only run for maybe 15 mins tops and most of that was at low throttle running the motor in. Ignition is off back to Germany for the manufacturers to comment before the next test flight.

Thanks to LMA member Tony Collins you can see the whole (short) flight at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x__460n5j1o

John

[stuart cotgrove]

Congratulation John, that looks so beautiful. Sorry to hear about the ignition unit but well done on a happy ending.

[Mark Partington 2989]

Congrats John on the maiden of a fine looking model, and a very nicely handled engine out landing too (thumbs up).

Will we see her at Gaydon again this year?


Mark