Jim Walker Firebaby

Bling is good, but ya missed the glow plug.  You can't have a beautiful engine sporting a castor stained glow plug.  How is it ever going to run?   Just like you can't defeat the Germans with dust on your Jump Wings.  Band of Brothers miniseries......

Nice job on the elevator hinge, and you got it on the right way.  I have seen it on the top of the stab/elevator.  

Mothers paste aluminum polish works well too.   Sending you mine to do. 

rsv1cox wrote:Bling is good, but ya missed the glow plug.

LOL!…. But it works good and I’m a little skeered to do anything else to it… ….I think I have an old questionable one we may have to shine up for display

rdw777 wrote:

rsv1cox wrote:Bling is good, but ya missed the glow plug.

LOL!…. But it works good and I’m a little skeered to do anything else to it… ….I think I have an old questionable one we may have to shine up for display

A wire brush on a Dremel works well. Gentle and effective. I check them for continunity before and after.

More trivial rabbits to chase on this project but fun to tinker with….

One thing that’s fiddly on Firebaby’s is bolting the engine on with all the parts flopping around…. So I glued the nuts to the back of the engine mount with JB Weld….Lots easier to mount things… The PO hogged out a piece of the fuse on the bottom to access the nut…



With stab reattached there’s not enough room for elevator to swing free inside
the rudder so a little half round shape sanded in…. I’m sure that’s why the chunk of wood was missing there…



The stamped firewalls are not that flat so made up some paper gaskets to help take up the slack behind the engine…. Plus not scuff up my shiny firewall!!



Interestingly the .039 Cub mounts in the same pattern as a Wasp….

All good stuff Robert and hints for when I begin messing around with mine.

I think your intent is to fly it. I hope so, one of us has to have courage. I'm eager to see how that little .039 does.

Thanks Bob, I thought you might like some of the smaller details, You always include them on your rebuilds and keeps them interesting ….. And yes, I may try and fly the thing… I’m putting it back air worthy, We’ll see

Another detail….The little plastic tubes in the leadout guide were loose so I give them a little fillet of epoxy to hold steady….I re-bent the aluminum on the guide a little to not pinch and put pressure to force the wing out of shape like before…..I positioned it where the instructions show…. Still pretty far inboard but put it where designed…..

Instead of securing it by just pinching on a friction fit I glued the tabs on top with Duco cement …..Rudder and stab also glued with Duco…. The neat thing about Duco is you can pre coat both parts…. Let dry a little…. Get the parts in position thin brush in some acetone to activate it….. Parts can be repositioned or removed by flooding with acetone…. Good if you occasionally break something like me LOL!!!

Looking good Robert, and you could give this fellow advice on how to use Duco.  He just slopped it on the fuselage horz/stab joint of the Speed plane with predictable results.  For the time being I just backed it up with some CA to hold it until I have time to do a proper repair.  Yeah......I got the Enya .09 in for it.



I'm sure that it's Duco.  I have used adhesives of all kinds since the 1950's and it looks Ducoish to me.

Love the old speed plane Bob, Looks fast just sitting there….. From that era had class

I thin Duco with acetone about 50% to begin with…. About the consistency of milk… Use a brush to clean/prime the joint with acetone if it’s a bit dirty…Then brush on the glue on both parts and let dry…. 5 or ten min is enough….A couple of coats if necessary to build up some…. Then put the parts together and brush in some acetone….Brush in some more glue too if possible…. Thinned Duco doesn’t fill gaps very well so the joints need to be fairly tight….. It’s nitrate based so probably not good in areas exposed to fuel….It dries clear so good for discrete repairs like on the inked surfaces I did….. Just make sure it agrees with your finish in a test spot….

I learned about it chasing indoor free flight for awhile…. While I was still working had access to a practice theater and built a few things…. This ornithopter was entirely built with Duco…

Wow, done with Duco!! 6 grams. Takes a light hand, dexterity, and patience. I have none those.

Thanks Bob, One of those that had been on the list for a long time

An old war horse found on the net…

rdw777 wrote:Thanks Bob, One of those that had been on the list for a long time

An old war horse found on the net…

Wow, Workhorse indeed. Yours? Worthpoint? or just random. I didn't see it and I thought I had found them all. I would love to own it. Babe Bee and Crispy.

Bob

I'm still messing around..........

Hi Bob, No, not mine…. Just a screenshot of one I saw a good while ago…. If I see an interesting FB I save it…. That one had a hard life…. Rode hard and put up wet…. Is that a rusty piece of bailing wire on the right wing?… Poor thing…

Hang in there on that canopy… A lot of good advice so far…. You’ll eventually pull it off… …. A little bit of a stretch but, Maybe plexiglass same width as the fuse?..,,Cuts OK with a band saw….. A little on the heavy side but maybe not a deal breaker….

WOW Robert you have put some detail in to the FB Very Nice !

"whole thing will get a thin application of Sig Lite Coat dope in the end…"

Is that what you used? Whatever it was it really restored the color. I have no clear dope but Minwax sanding sealer works well if you brush it on and don't sand it.

I have been meaning to ask. The brown crinkle stuff on the metal wing guide, what is it? Castor? Looks pretty universal in coverage.

Bob, I should probably edit that to me only doping the wing and stab….. The fuse was in pretty good shape for color and finish….From bits and pieces I’ve read here and there the fuse was first color doped then the metal wing/engine mount was added…..After that the whole assembly was dipped in a fuel proofer, Probably clear dope….. The crinkly finish on the metal is part of that last coating …. It’s bonded really well so will just leave it…..On the wood it’s smooth …..

Interesting to note the the fuse was modified from his Interceptor glider that was already in production….. The wing (and probably the stab) also in production was taken from the AJ Pursuit, A rubber powered free flight….. These saved time and production costs to jump onboard the very new 1/2A engine craze quickly….

rdw777 wrote:Hi Bob, No, not mine…. Just a screenshot of one I saw a good while ago…. If I see an interesting FB I save it…. That one had a hard life…. Rode hard and put up wet…. Is that a rusty piece of bailing wire on the right wing?… Poor thing…

Hang in there on that canopy… A lot of good advice so far…. You’ll eventually pull it off… …. A little bit of a stretch but, Maybe plexiglass same width as the fuse?..,,Cuts OK with a band saw….. A little on the heavy side but maybe not a deal breaker….

Yes, looks like twisted bailing wire. Counter weight to the lead-out on the left wing or perhaps just to hold it together.

The one I have coming from the West Coast is a lot less crispy but the seller ignored my request for anything but USPS ground and it wound up in New Jersey instead of Baltimore or Washington DC.. It will bounce around there for awhile before I get it. But in what condition. It will be nice.........for once to have one to mess with that is actually assembled.

Nice Bob!!…. That one will be fun to assess it, take apart, rehab all the bits and pieces, and put it back together again…. Two engines? Cool!…. The one that’s on it a Spitzy?…. I think some of the very first combos from American Junior included a Spitzy or maybe a Spitfire….Nice looking wood prop included too!!….Mine was shipped USPS and made it OK…. Seller did an excellent job of packing it…..

Yes, Spitzy that looks really nice.




Your finding a lot of interesting ads, JW was a promoter!!!

Sellers latest feedback from a buyer.

this poor guy shipped this order but it never arrived, so sad as i really wanted the plane for my grandsons. it is not his fault the shipment came missing, it was clearly shipped and tracked to several locations then it just dissapeared. i will buy form ruby610wolf again, he shipped the item on time, again it was not his fault the item dissapeared during the shipment. then he refunded me promptly, he is a great person to do business with. yes we will order from him again and again.

That’s a great looking Spitzy, Possibly never ran….. Will interesting to compare notes with your FB when it comes in, I can see a few minor differences ….

Your finding a lot of interesting ads, JW was a promoter!!!

I need to finish this up pretty soon, I’m running out of ad’s LOL!!!….. Got a few interesting photos left though  

Got a tank made up for it…. After I finish the plane will run the engine on the test stand some more with the balloon tank and see how that works out…. I also found a Top Flite 5-3 in my prop box, Cleaned up, refinished and balanced for if it gets a chance to fly…

I'm sure your right Rod, and I have both.

Robert and Rod, Got it today. Arrived a couple of days late but intact and without damage. Seller packed it well to travel coast to coast.

And, it is a Baby Spitfire in very nice condtion but held on by just one machine screw. Wood is very dry, I will brighten it up a bit with Howards Feed-N-Wax.




So, this is what it looks like assembled. I have messed around with these for years but I have never held a real one assembled. I attached some pictures to see if you can spot differences. I know that AJ/JW changed things around a bit.

The push rod moved to the top of the elevator , glad you got it w/out problems , Looks good !