Hi Xterarc,

The biggest cause of errors is because the 3 view drawings used are not accurate. There are plenty of sites that have 3 views, but many of them are not accurate. It helps to use good "museum quality" 3 views to create your outlines and cross-sections. We used an old "out of circulation" P-47 Thunderbolt book that Mark had in his collection and compared that to another 3 view drawing we got from Scale Aviation Modeller International magazine (volume 10 Issue 2). We think the outlines and cross sections of the plans for this p-47 are pretty accurate.

Keep in mind that in my first post I said:

The size of the Thunderbolt will be a little smaller than 1/10th Scale. It will not be an exact scale replica, but a fun scale flyer.

So, it will look really scale from maybe 10 feet, but at a closer look, I am sure you could find many things to point out as "not scale" :-)

This is all new to me. I like the philosophy that Mark takes in his design and build process. His goal is for a scale looking plane that flies great using simplified, inexpensive building techniques and materials. This seems to be a common thread in many of Marks projects found here at RCGroups and in the articles he has had published in some of the magazines.

Which plans are they cut from?

Coop,

the templates were cut from plans Mark drew up. I glued the different templates to heavy card stock (see post #2 for the exact material) and cut out with scissors. The heavy card stock is great and holds up to the hotwire pretty good.

Yes, I agree. I am glad Mike found this material. It cuts quick and easy, and with a light sanding it produces a smooth foamcutting edge.
These fuselage template are not perfect. they are about 5% oversized from the actual size desired to allow for sanding. So, as long as they are CLOSE, we are golden. After sanding and glassing, we'll have a sharp looking bird that is both light and strong.
IF there is a lot of demend, I could make the plans available, but they wouldnt be comlplete plans, just the computer drawn roughs that Mike and I are working from.
Yes, Mike is right, this is a FAT bird! I can get my entire arm in that fuselage!

Mark

Oh so this is a collaborative build. The guru mrrittinger did the plans!!!This should be a good bird then. Would think a smaller ws of this model would be cool to have. Maybe 33" or so. I am following this with interest.

There is always Kinkos. Jim Ryan's S400 bird is the size you are looking for Coop.
Mikes idea is a bit bigger than many of the Jug's on the market. Most are under 40", ours will be about 48".
Mark

Got it. I was just curious. I think Jim finally sold out of the 47's. I got lucky and got a Hellcat from him. Still in the box though. Afraid to screw it up LOL.

You can get the Jug plans from Jim or the magazine I believe. It was in Model Aviation or Model Airplane News.

Mark

This build is looking very good. I love the Razorback Jug. Just looks mean.

Tony

Originally Posted by mrittinger

Ft Sill huh? Spent my basic and AIT there.....hope to not see that place again! 13B20R

a cannon cocker, huh...my condolences.

nice looking plane.
i wonder why there aren't more war birds this size. i'm moving up from "park flyer" to .40 size planes and it's tough to find scale WWII planes that are electric.

Yeah, I was 8" guns in usaeur, and and at Aberdeen/Edgewood for a while before going over in ODS.
Jug is progressing, one side is on the keel.
Mark

The pictures of the fuselage shown in previous posts was a quick mock-up held together with some painters tape. It is now time to adhere the cut foam pieces to the Keel. The Keel pictured below is basically the spine of the fuselage. It provides strength and rigidity.

Using 3/16" balsa, Mark cut the keel using the outline of the side view from the plans. It was then glued together and laid out to dry. A cross brace near the front of the fuselage was added to keep the fuselage in the correct placment during the gluing process.

Once the Keel was ready to receive the foam, we laid out wax paper onto a very flat board so the fuselage would be nice and straight. The board looked like a ceiling tile but is was dense/heavy. Pins could be stuck into the board to hold the Keel and foam into place.

I'll wager that the keel is actually overkill, but definitely worth trying. I've got a feeling that the foam with a light fiberglas covering will provide more that adequate strength. IMHO. Looks great and I am definitely watching with great interest.

Tony

The wager would be that the plane doesn't need a keel to fly or crash? It might work fine without one, but based on my history with warbirds, the stronger the better for my flying skill..... lol

Actually, I am not that bad of a pilot, but it seems like the stupid unexpected things happen. My last crash occured because I took my eye off of my plane for a split second because I thought I was going to get hit by another guys plane. I happened to be in a low bank and when I got my eye back on the plane, it was in a death spin. That was my e-flite p-47. Man did that thing fly nice..... I still have it, but it needs repairs.

Sgtdirt, I agree. Looking out on the market for a .40 size P-47 will quickly show there is not much there. Most are either under 40 inches or over 60 inches. The weight of the bigger planes is amazing. 8 lbs for a 66" plane!

Anyway, the disappointment of the looks, materials and weight of the p-47's out there caused me to want to build my own.