1/3 scale seafury

[Karl mander]

Hi
A few pictures of the latest creation a 1/3 scale seafury.
The model was started at the end of last year, it has had its first inspection a few weeks ago. I would post the pictures of the internals of the fuselage, however I struggle to post pictures on this site , thus the poor quality of the ones shown.
The engine is a 330cc fuji robin inline twin. It cost me £72 on ebay, it even came with a prop driver.
Im putting a tillotson carb on it., taking off the original twin mikuni carbs. It's pull start which is good on two points. I can start the engine behind the prop and I don't need to use a starter.
The retracts came from a 1/3 scale helldiver purchased from Keith Mitchell.
The engine sits on two 18mm ply spurs that are extensions of the ply wing seat. There is no firewall, all the stress of the engine being teased out along the fuselage.
I need to get some exhausts created and welded up, these will sit in the cowl.
One problem I do have is that the 19mm reach spark plugs are long and poke out the top of the cowl.- any ideas on shorter plugs.
I have a large spinner for it, the back plate is currently under construction with Maitland Baff

[rob ellis]

Wicked..! What span is it Karl.

[Karl mander]

The wingspan is 154", so far the engine and fuselage weight is 37kg.
I'm not concerned about the weight as the firefly is 41 kg and has 2/3 the wing surface area
I'm hoping that the engine will give at least 25hp, it should give 30hp stock, however I'm putting a tillotson carb instead of the twin mikuni carbs and I can't see my home made exhaust system giving max performance

[rob ellis]

cool project,,,what you doing for a canopy karl,,,i might have a ratty 3rd scale p51 bubble which you could cut down if your stuck,,,

[Steve Vodrey]

Speak to Just Engines about the plugs. They did me some smaller ones with the brass inserts for my Zenoah 80. They also provide plug caps with an internal resistor to get rid of some of the interference.

Seafury v Wellington.jpg (37.45 KiB) Viewed 14487 times

To give some idea of the size of this project the above shows the 1/3 scale Seafury next to a 1/6 scale wellington.
Wingspan of both is about the same at 13 feet.

[Karl mander]

Rob

I would be eternally grateful if I could have the canopy from you.
I've sent you a email to your Hotmail address.

Karl
07825618691

[Karl mander]

Work has carried on

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The fury wing is coming together having been initially concerned that I had over engineered the wing spar/hinges and that they'd be to heavy.
The main spar is 1/4 ply sides with 1/2" square spars inside.
The hinges are 6mm by 20mm and 15mm by 5mm stainless steel with 6mm bolts as the hinge point.
I was more than pleased that the wing sections line up, the top skins line up perfectly.

I am pleasantly surprised at the new website, much easier to upload pictures.

[Karl mander]

After burning several gallons of midnight oil the wing top sheeting is complete, more than chuffed with the line up of the outer sections to the centre section.

[Karl mander]

Photo showing the seafury assembled for the first time. It is a big model, the engine doesn't look as big any more.

[Karl mander]

Some pictures of the fury and wing.
Everything lines up and is coming on well.
The retracts, I believe are from a 1/3 scale helldiver. I've had the legs straightened and they appear up to the job.
The wheels are only 8" as opposed to the scale 10", is a detail I will have to live with.

[David Brown]

I got some 10" wheels off ebay, motability scooter I think.

Dave

[David Brown]

Thats looking the business now.

[Karl mander]

Unfortunately the cranked end at the end of the leg is made for a 8" wheel. I suppose if all goes well I can have a bigger one made up.

[Dave Kellett]

Hi Karl,
Love this project it just oozes quality. How are you going to operate the wing folding? or are you just going to operate them manually? I am about to start a 1/4 scale bates, and would really like to have the wings fold like the carf corsair, do you have any idea's?

[Dave Kellett]

Hi Karl,
Love this project it just oozes quality. How are you going to operate the wing folding? or are you just going to operate them manually? I am about to start a 1/4 scale bates, and would really like to have the wings fold like the carf corsair, do you have any idea's?

[Paul Rice]

Hi Karl.
looking awsum mate as usual, made a start on your old Tempest mk5 for my client going to be a static display with his collection covered in Aero foil similar to flight metal to replicate each panel, send pics as its created. feel sad it wont fly again but will look impressive..

[Karl mander]

Dave - thanks for your comments, your cheque is in the post!
Paul- thanks for the update, the tempest was built to test an engine, a weslake twin, thus was a little rough and ready, look forward to seeing you work your magic on it.

In regards to the fury, after having the wings signed off I've been cracking on with the tail feathers.
The plan is to have it detachable, with locating lugs and a ply tongue locking it into place.
Originally the tailplane had a 1"by 1/4" spar running through it, however I had one of my moments and decided that to add confidence I would add another spar.
Thus installed a second spar made up from two 1/2" by 1/4" spars with lite ply webbing, this can be seen as the gash in the top skin of the tailplane. The tailplane is undoubtedly as strong as one of my wings.
I did have grand plans to install a electric locking system for the fury wings, but after spending hours fathing around have gone down the K.I.S.S. route, thus doing everything manually.
The 6mm hinge pins are secured in place by other locking bolts, the wings are raised manually.
There is some great footage on you tube of a 1/4 scale sea fury with an electric locking system, I will try and find and post the details.

[Karl mander]

A few pictures of the tail unit.

You can see the 4 locating lugs and the ply tongue that locks the unit into place, it gives a very secure fit.

the control surfaces are hinged using 5mm carbon and steel rods through 1/2" ply bearers. It has all lined up well, I'm pleased with the way it's looking.

[Rob Crawford]

Very impressed Karl,how many hours are on it?

[Karl mander]

Hi Rob and welcome.

Must say I'm mightily impressed with your spitfire build.
I've watched your you tube video, that engine sounds superb almost as good as my home made inline triple.

In regards to many hours I've put in to the fury build, I couldn't say. I enjoy building and as I build a lot have become efficient in building in a certain style.
My building benefits from the fact that Mrs M regularly banishes me to the shed (I don't think she likes me very much) as she's always studying.