Cambrian Spitfire Mk22/24

[Trevor 25]

Alan Reynolds kindly gave me an unfinished kit, a Cambrian Spitfire Mk24. This is quite an old kit and was missing a few pieces, the most significant being the canopy which I have managed to replace with one from Traplet meant for a Dennis Bryant plan.

The model is 63" span and has foam veneer covered wings. The fuselage was mostly built by Alan and the wings were started. Some surgery was needed as it had been kept in damp conditions and the veneer had started to come away from the foam core but this was easily fixed with some aliphatic glue.

 

The kit is interesting because nearly all the pieces are already cutout out even the balsa pieces, and very accurately too! The cowl and some of the parts are ABS plastic. The supplied elevators and rudder are plastic but I made them out of balsa as I thought that would look better. Part of the wing fairing is plastic and I might replace that with thin ply.

 

The foam wings are more suited to air retracts and I might fit some of those instead of the mechanical ones that come with the kit.

 

This is how it arrived:

Edited June 5, 2013 by Guest

[Trevor 25]

I have built the tail pieces. They are quite a thick section and sheeted, should look good.

[Trevor 25]

Fin and tailplane fixed to the fuselage

[Trevor 25]

Some more work done on the wings, wheel wells and servo wells lined. Undercarriage is tilted forwards to help prevent nosedives.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Guest

[Trevor 25]

Wings joined and bandaged. The servo leads will run in channels and exit through holes in the top of the wing

Edited September 27, 2012 by Guest

[Jimbo 0]

Looking good Trevor.

Whats the wing-span and what motor are you thinking to put in it?

[Trevor 25]

Wing span 63". engine Saito 91FS that I have from my Hype3D that crashed.

 

This is the scheme I am considering, Syrian Air Force 1954 desert colours. Well, it's different!

Edited July 10, 2012 by Guest

[Jimbo 0]

I like it.

I did a few spits in a brown/green camoflague instead of the more normal gree/grey, and I always liked it.

Not tempted to do a pink ne then?

[Nutz 0]

Not tempted to do a pink ne then?

 

Ali Mcchinski has a pink spit. ......

[Bravedan 106]

Not tempted to do a pink ne then?

 

Ali Mcchinski has a pink spit. ......

 

But only after drinking raspberry juice..................

 

 

 

I like the Syrian Colours, Yes, DO IT!!!

[Gerard 10]

Trevor,

 

Beautiful colour scheme. Gets my vote!

 

[Nutz 0]

Not tempted to do a pink ne then?

 

Ali Mcchinski has a pink spit. ......

 

But only after drinking raspberry juice..................

 

 

 

I like the Syrian Colours, Yes, DO IT!!!

 

http://www.highalpha.org/forum/download ... &mode=view

[Trevor 25]

I can confirm it definitely WON'T be pink. Got my street cred to look after

 

Anyway, come sunset it would be invisible against a pink sky

[Bravedan 106]

Anyway, come sunset it would be invisible against a pink sky

 

Almost like they meant it to...........................

[Trevor 25]

Anyway, come sunset it would be invisible against a pink sky

 

Almost like they meant it to...........................

 

Absolutely! Great for a fighter or a reconnaisance plane, but not so good for a small model!

[Trevor 25]

Glassed the wings using 20gsm glass tissue and epoxy resin

[Trevor 25]

Built up the wing root fairings on the fuselage. This uses 3 pieces of 1/64th ply each side, which is pre-cut to shape in the kit. The front part is finished with lightweight filler. The rear part of the fairing (not shown) is a plastic moulding which will be added later.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Guest

[Jimbo 0]

Nice fillets!

Always a pain getting that compound curve to look good.

[Trevor 25]

It's coming on, slowly due to lack of spare time, but should be ready for the static competition in June. Painting is done, now for the decals. The three part cowl was a nightmare to get aligned with the 4" spinner but it went right in the end.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Guest

[Peter Royall 47]

looking good Trevor, whats a sunset?

 

Peter

[Trevor 25]

Decals painted. Now the cockpit.

[Trevor 25]

Just a few pictures of the finished plane. The pilot looks suitably swarthy with a nice thick moustache.

Hope to maiden it in the near future. The only thing I have doubts about is the undercarriage which seems to want to spread too easily.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Guest

[Trevor 25]

The first attempt at taxiing resulted in a spread undercarriage and a broken u/c linkage. The mechanical retracts as supplied only opened to 80 degrees and with the wing dihedral this resulted in an effective 70 degrees which made it look as if it was doing the splits. When I looked at the retracts I noticed that if one particular part was turned around it would open to 90 degrees instead of 80 degrees. It was probably designed to do this but it wasnt obvious. So I did this and it now sits much better. I also upgraded the u/c linkages to M3 so just waiting for Sunday to try taxiing again.

[Trevor 25]

Finally maidened it. We had a clear day with light winds last Saturday and the Spit flew really well, needing only a few clicks of right aileron to trim. Alan was there to witness it and I hope he was pleased with the result, more than 20 years after he purchased the kit!

[Gerard 10]

Beautiful Trevor, lovely job as always.

 

It must look fantastic in the air.