Canopy "painting" day..

I had prematurely clicked the "send" button when writing.. Here's the missing model-photos.. (all self-designed)

My Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat Rare-Bear self-designed for the 1st (2014) CEF U-Control 1/2A  Proto-Speed contest. (model not flown yet..)




My Lockheed Tee-33-Dee.. Shooting-Star.. self-designed for the 2nd (2015) CEF U-Control 1/2A Proto-Speed contest;  The T33 model was originally designed to utilize a take-off dolly... but the dolly's design stalled the entire project.
 



My tiny "Flying-Blind" airplane; self-designed for the 4th (2018) CEF U-Control speed contest.




My self-designed 1/2A (1/2" scale) U-Control Lockheed P-38 Lightning model..

Wow roddie. Those all look great, and the color is great for canopies. If I had not seen it on a plane, I would very easily pass it by thinking it would not look that good.

Roddie,

They all look super!

I gotta ask...How do you hold the cowl on Rare Bear? Screws? What size, how many?

My Scientific P-40 cowl has been cut to fit around the AP .061 Wasp on it. In the past I glued the cowls on, but have
destroyed one trying to remove it for engine maintenance.

I haven't come up with a good method that allows for removal.

Thanks in advance!

944_Jim wrote:Roddie,

They all look super!

I gotta ask...How do you hold the cowl on Rare Bear? Screws? What size, how many?

My Scientific P-40 cowl has been cut to fit around the AP .061 Wasp on it. In the past I glued the cowls on, but  have
destroyed  one  trying to remove it for  engine maintenance.

I haven't come up with a good method that allows for removal.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Jim, "Thanks"!! (also thanks to Ken and Chancey) Since the Rare Bear hasn't flown yet.. I don't really know how well the cowl will hold-up.. but it's more "what I used" for a cowl.. in combination with the firewall-design, which assists in the mounting. There are only two small (#3 x 3/8"L.) wood-screws used.. but there are four radial "tabs" protruding from the firewall which fit just inside the cowl and against a "shoulder". The cowl is a cap from an air-freshener refill cartridge. That shoulder inside the cap, acts as a "stop" when it's on the aerosol-can.

The model's profile-fuse "nose" was designed to use that cowl/cap from the start.. by sizing it to fit just inside the cap.



The top and bottom of the fuse have 1/4" sq. hardwood-rails extending from the nose; well-rearward. This provided for the two cowl-screws.. and also to strengthen the entire fuse.



Then the firewall was designed to utilize the four "tabs".




This model (as most of my other designs..) uses 3/8" sq. hardwood blocks epoxied vertically behind a plywood firewall-plate, to rigidly mount the engine. The "tabs" are then measured.. and attached/glued to the tops/bottoms of the blocks.

I enjoy this aspect of designing/building.. although many would see it as a PIA. At some point I decided to orient the engine-cylinder horizontally.. rather than the original vertical/upright position.

Jim.. give my cowl-attachment method a second or even third look. The toughest part of fitting a "scratch-built" engine-cowling is in the measuring. Once I calculated a couple of coordinates for a Cox .049 "product-engine"..  I used a 1" hole-saw to cut the cylinder and crankshaft-reliefs in the cap/cowl. These measurements came straight-off the firewall in relation to the engine.. and transferred to the cowling; forward of the "shoulder" which locates it against the nose.



Designing/building the airplane's nose to "spec." really simplifies this task.

Hi Roddie,

Thanks for the details! I appreciate the effort spent documenting your method. I'll come back and study the pics in depth over the next few days...that's for sure!
I see what looks like hardwood dowels for engine block screws, and your hardwood blocks.
I think I can "borrow" some of this for the Profile P40. The kit's cowl comes amost 1/4" behind the firewall, and fits the firewall pretty snugly. I'm considering sheet metal tabs or wooden blocks behind the firewall, or sinking a few small dowels into the firewall for small screws ( I will look into this option closely). While I want the cowl on the plane, it really doesn't need to be permanent/hard fixed. It does need to be there for at least one photo op, especially in flight.
Again, thanks a bunch. I like your builds!