Official FlightLine F4U-1A Corsair 1600mm (63") Wingspan

[Elbee]

Tom, Looking forward to seeing your design. It is/was on my list of "To Do" for this aircraft. Best, Steve

[shinck]

Just received the Corsair and have it ready to go. Totally stock, admiral 6000 battery, all 6 balance weights needed. Have the robart 3.5 wheels, but will add later. I have cast some lead weights to balance the new wheels. Lead are 1.1 oz and steel .7 oz. Small problem—I can’t get the steel weights out. Any ideas w/o getting a new cowl?

[OV10]

Just received the Corsair and have it ready to go. Totally stock, admiral 6000 battery, all 6 balance weights needed. Have the robart 2.75 wheels, but will add later. I have cast some lead weights to balance the new wheels. Lead are 1.1 oz and steel .7 oz. Small problem—I can’t get the steel weights out. Any ideas w/o getting a new cowl?

Welcome to the Squawk...………...just wanted to comment that your Robart wheel choice is undersized by better than 1/2 inch of the stock wheels which are 85mm (3.35" or 3-5/16th).
The scale of the FL Corsair is approx 1/8 whereas a truly scale looking wheel would be 4 inches.
The full size Corsair had a 32 inch diameter wheel and was also used on the F6F Hellcat

[shinck]

Typo; have edited post to correct wheel size. Should really check specs before typing.

the actual question was: how to get stuck balance weights out of cowl?

[themudduck]

Typo; have edited post to correct wheel size.

the actual question was: how to get stuck balance weights out of cowl?

I have not dealt with this problem, but I have two ideas how you might deal with it.

1) Hold a big soldering iron against the surface of the weight, and heat it up aa bit. When it gets to the point where the plastic starts to soften, turn it over and let the weight slide out.
Right into your crotch. AAAAAAAAaaaagggh)

This will probably deform the plastic pocket a bit. But no one will see it and if you ever want to reinstall the weight you can do this in reverse, or use some glue.

2) Alternate idea: drill a starter hole in the weight using a small drill bit (make sure you use cutting oil). Then get a small screw started in the hole, and when it sticks, you can use a tool (pliers) to pull on the screw and get the entire weight out. Taa daa.


And a 2-cent comment from the peanut gallery: the recommended CG in all RC planes is invariably nose-heavy. It's like that for a reason, first flights tend to be less "adventurous". Point is, you don't need to be laser-focused on making it as nose-heavy as the original recommendation. It will be fine moved back a bit according to your own preference. I didn't add any additional weight to my Corsair (I left the stock 4 weights installed) and use an Admiral 5000 all the way forward.

[RichJ53]

I have not dealt with this problem, but I have two ideas how you might deal with it.

1) Hold a big soldering iron against the surface of the weight, and heat it up aa bit. When it gets to the point where the plastic starts to soften, turn it over and let the weight slide out.
Right into your crotch. AAAAAAAAaaaagggh)

This will probably deform the plastic pocket a bit. But no one will see it and if you ever want to reinstall the weight you can do this in reverse, or use some glue.

2) Alternate idea: drill a starter hole in the weight using a small drill bit (make sure you use cutting oil). Then get a small screw started in the hole, and when it sticks, you can use a tool (pliers) to pull on the screw and get the entire weight out. Taa daa.


And a 2-cent comment from the peanut gallery: the recommended CG in all RC planes is invariably nose-heavy. It's like that for a reason, first flights tend to be less "adventurous". Point is, you don't need to be laser-focused on making it as nose-heavy as the original recommendation. It will be fine moved back a bit according to your own preference. I didn't add any additional weight to my Corsair (I left the stock 4 weights installed) and use an Admiral 5000 all the way forward.

Great ideas, I was thinking the exact same things.... soldering iron for heat or drilling to get a good grip :)

Also, my Corsair flew very nicely with stock wheels, stock 4 weights in the nose and 5000 pack. I preordered my plane and received it from the first batch. I don't know if later versions have changed or some of these kits are more tail heavy due to manufacturing differences?

Best warbird ever :)
Rich

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

[QUOTE=

the actual question was: how to get stuck balance weights out of cowl?[/QUOTE]

I'd put the entire front ring in the freezer. The steel weights just may contract enough to just fall out. Nothing to lose if you try.

Tom

[shinck]

I'd put the entire front ring in the freezer. The steel weights just may contract enough to just fall out. Nothing to lose if you try.

Tom

Tried that. Found out later that there was a spot of glue on the 4 original weights. The final solution follows.

Scott

[shinck]

Corsair balance weights

themudduck: Thanks for the tip. I got the stuck steel weights out by drilling a 1/16" hole in the end of each, then tightening a Allen head servo mounting screw in the hole, and carefully working it out with pliers.

The stock Corsair is ready to fly (top photo). It weighs 152 oz/9.5 lbs when balanced upside down at 100mm and gear retracted. Battery is an Admiral 6000. All six steel balance weights were needed. I have no problem with a little aft CG, so I will experiment with that after the first flights. The color scheme is from the only Korean war F4U that shot down a Mig15 jet, and is a Marine Corsair, which my father was trained to arm in WWII.

As I will also be putting Robart wheels on it after the initial flights, I decided I needed more weights.

So I drilled ½" dia. x 7/8" holes in some maple with a brad point bit, melted some lead shot in a can with a Bernzomatic torch, and did some casting. I found that after cooling, the lead shrank, and I could just turn the maple over, tap it on the edge of a workbench, and the weights fell out.

The steel weights are about .72 oz each. The lead weights are about 1.10 oz each. So 4 lead weights (right photo, 4.4 oz) weigh about the same as 6 steel weights (4.32 oz). That means I will have more holes left, if needed, to balance out the Robart wheels. I also have 4, half ounce lead weights and the 6 , .7 oz steel for finer adjustments. Using all lead weights, I can put up to 8.8 oz in the cowl balance holes.

(next time I will figure out how to get photos below the text)

[themudduck]

(next time I will figure out how to get photos below the text)

Hey that's a sharp-looking bird you got right there, nice job! Good for you, getting those weights out.

To place the photos where you want them:

first write your post...
then upload the photos (don't insert them yet)...
Then click on your post so that the cursor is where you want the photos to sit (for example, after the last line click and hit <enter>)
Then insert the photo (pick the size) and it will go where you last had the cursor. Then you can do the same thing with the next photo.

[shinck]

Hey that's a sharp-looking bird you got right there, nice job! Good for you, getting those weights out.

To place the photos where you want them:

first write your post...
then upload the photos (don't insert them yet)...
Then click on your post so that the cursor is where you want the photos to sit (for example, after the last line click and hit <enter>)
Then insert the photo (pick the size) and it will go where you last had the cursor. Then you can do the same thing with the next photo.

Thanks again for the help.
I have attached hundreds of photos in RC Groups, but this forum does not have quite as much control, or it is just different enough that I went with the flow after 6 tries. Practice, then practice more...

[OV10]

Thanks again for the help.
I have attached hundreds of photos in RC Groups, but this forum does not have quite as much control, or it is just different enough that I went with the flow after 6 tries. Practice, then practice more...

It actually has as much or more control regarding photo import/placement as the other forum.
Just play around and you'll soon catch on and don't be bashful about asking for assistance, somebody always knows something about most anything

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

So, been trying to simulate the cowl flaps of the real F4U-1D. This pic shows what I came up with. I still need to print and test fit it.

Tom

[RichJ53]

The steel weights are about .72 oz each. The lead weights are about 1.10 oz each. So 4 lead weights (right photo, 4.4 oz) weigh about the same as 6 steel weights (4.32 oz). That means I will have more holes left, if needed, to balance out the Robart wheels. I also have 4, half ounce lead weights and the 6 , .7 oz steel for finer adjustments. Using all lead weights, I can put up to 8.8 oz in the cowl balance holes.[/FONT]

(next time I will figure out how to get photos below the text)

Nice work Great looking plane!
Thanks for sharing your progress with us.
Rich

[Aros]

So, been trying to simulate the cowl flaps of the real F4U-1D. This pic shows what I came up with. I still need to print and test fit it.

Are you talking functional?

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

Are you talking functional?

Would love to but no. That's above my skill level.

Tom

[Aros]

Same here...There's YT videos out there of a guy who created functional cowl flaps for his giant scale Corsair and it was both fabulous and terrifying to me. That level of manufacturing and engineering is way beyond me.

[Elbee]

Aros, et al, I have watched the yatub vids and he did a resectable job and his process is solid. Much can be gleaned from his work. I had thought when I do the Corsair build, I'd design something for functional cowl flaps and 'y' the servos to the throttle. However, that build comes after the F-18C, probably March or April. It's doable, I think. The key is a workable design of the 'open/close' wire attach points and a suitable hinge incorporated into each flap to mate to the cowling itself. If anyone starts a design, I would be willing to assist as there is no sense in reinventing the wheel here, and I know when we're in building mode, no one wants to wait. LOL Best, LB

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

Aros and LB. I've seen it done on large Corsairs. The complicated part is the fact that the FL Corsair is in fact foam not built up. It probably could be done (functional cowl flaps).but not by me, at least not now.

Tom

[Elbee]

Aros and LB. I've seen it done on large Corsairs. The complicated part is the fact that the FL Corsair is in fact foam not built up. It probably could be done (functional cowl flaps).but not by me, at least not now.

Tom

Tom, I understand completely. A daunting task at best. My thought is to remove the 'flap assembly' from the cowl where the 'new' assembly would be attached to the fuselage rather than the cowl. I haven't 'cracked' the shipping box on my Corsair, so I might be talking through my hat here, but I think it can be done from what I remember from other members' builds. Best, Steve