Twistang

Hi All,

I have a Twister kit that nobody seems to want, so I'm going to make a P51D Twistang out of it. The fuselage shape is vey easy to achive simply by adding the scoop on the underside and a dorsal fin, plus alter the size and shape of the fin.

I'm also considering moving the wing lower in the fuselage by about 3/4" (25mm). Can anyone see any problems with this?

If I get really keen and can do it easily I will also mount the landing gear on the wings just behind the LE.

The engine will most likely be a Saito 30 or possibly a Fox 35.

Any comments or suggestions?

Regards,
Warren Leadbeatter
Port Stephens, NSW
Australia
Ph: 0439-754-474
MAAA: AUS-14782

Moving the wing lowwer in the fuse is not a problem with one exception you will need to introduce the same amount of dihedral into the wing as you are moving the wing down. IOW if you move the wing down 3/4" then you need 3/4" dihedral in the tips. All this does is to put the leadouts in the proper position with respect to the vertical CG.

As mentioned, there is a vertical CG that must be reackoned with as well as the front to rear CG. So if you lower the wing, you will need to add dihedral. The basic principle is that if you were to hang the plane by the leadouts and look at it straight on, it should hang without any tilt one way or the other. I like to hang a plumb bob in front of it as a reference point when doing this.

As to the wing mounted gear, you need to make sure the wing is strong enough when you do this. It obviously wasn't designed for such a gear, although that doesn't mean that you can't make it work. If you fly off of hard surfaces and are always making soft landings, then this is less critical than if flying off of grass or sometimes "plunking" it in. Matt has a sort of looks like a Stuka Stunter (not intended to be semi-scale) that he puts the gear in the fuselage for this very reason. His practice field is grass, and not always well mowed (he mows the landing area). The only time he flies on a hard surface is at a contest, so the gear gets a lot of rough use. He thus sticks with a removeable fuselage mounted gear.

Sounds like you might like to sell this kit Warren. Would you consider parting with it? No one seems to stock C/L kits any more here in Melbourne. I,m presently gathering the materials to build a shark 402 after a 35 year break from C/L flying. The twister might make an appropriate second project.

regards
RJT

Hi RJT

I tried to sell it twice on eBay and even listed it here on SSW. I guess I must have been asking too much for it. So now I have decided to build the Twistang and have already started work on it. Sorry.

If you want one, you can get it for the same price I did from SIG Manufacturing. www.sigmfg.com The price is $42.99USD plus about $40USD for delivery.

Or try your luck on evilBay. [photo not recovered: devil.gif]

Cheers
Warren Leadbeatter
Port Stephens, NSW
Australia
Ph: 0439-754-474
MAAA: AUS-14782

Thanks for the quick reply Warren. I'm not too disappointed as I still need to get started on the shark 402 and get back into the air after a far too long break from C/L. Do you have any ideas as to where I might pick up a 3 oz tank here in Australia or do I have to get the soldering out?

Russell

There's a guy named Bill Swan, who owns Bristunt Products in Sydney who are an agent for Brodak. He sells most items in the Brodak catalogue (www.brodak.com) including tanks, wheels, props, canopies, hardware and some kits. His email is [email protected] If you email him he will send you a price list. His prices are fairly average.

I buy most of my stuff from www.sshobbies.com who sell, SIG, RSM, Brodak and others. Their prices are VERY good but obviously I lose a bit in postage. I also buy a lot from eBay.

For tanks I usually make my own now but I do like the plastic 3oz Hayes Clunk tank available from sshobbies and www.towerhobbies.com

Since you are what some would call a "re-tread", (welcome back by the way) you might be interested in checking out some of my models and useful links at
http://users.tpg.com.au/adslfk4u/myplanes.html to bring yourself up to speed.

Cheers
Warren Leadbeatter
Port Stephens, NSW
Australia
Ph: 0439-754-474
MAAA: AUS-14782

>Hi All,
>
>I have a Twister kit that nobody seems to want, so I'm going
>to make a P51D Twistang out of it. The fuselage shape is vey
>easy to achive simply by adding the scoop on the underside and
>a dorsal fin, plus alter the size and shape of the fin.
>
>I'm also considering moving the wing lower in the fuselage by
>about 3/4" (25mm). Can anyone see any problems with
>this?
>
>If I get really keen and can do it easily I will also mount
>the landing gear on the wings just behind the LE.
>
>The engine will most likely be a Saito 30 or possibly a Fox
>35.

Warren;

Tom McClain did a profile Mustang that was a Fancher Twister (Sig Twister with some recommended mods from Ted Fancher) that you might want to reference. It was published earlier this year in Stunt News. You might want to contact Tom and exchange notes.

A couple of things from my notes with the Twister:

- Use of half ribs really helps reduce covering sagging between ribs.
- Vertical grain 1/32" of 1/16" balsa webbing in the trailing edge helps reduce compression or crushing.
- Diagonal bracing along the spars between ribs really stiffens up the wing and helps reduce warps, as do building blocks for jigging the wing during construction.
- Adding two inches to the tail end of the fuselage and moving the stab/elevator assembly back really makes the Twister come alive. It turns much better.

One of the tricky things with a profile and wing mounted gear are the stress risers inherent to a profile fuselage. You might want to consider fiberglassing the center section sheeting as a means of distributing that load. On my last Fancher Twister, I used a bellcrank mounting system I shamelessly scabbed from Al Rabe that also strengthened the center section of the wing. You might also want to look at the Windy Urtnowski LG system - which seems to be pretty bullet proof.

At any rate, consider emailing Tom McClain and glean some of the lessons learned from his Mustang.

V/r

Bob

Hi Bob,

Yes I am aware of the Fancherized Twister and have a copy of the article. I also own a Strega and a Pathfinder which both have wing mounted gear so I am aware of how to build wing mounted gear properly.

I don't think I've seen Tom's Mustang yet so hopefully he'll see this thread and post a pic.

I have also seen rootbeard's (Paul Taylor's) Twistang which is of a P51B and looks really nice. I wonder if Paul extended the fuselage length as suggested by Ted Fancher?

I can see how the extended fuse would make the Twister fly better because my current Twister turns like a combat model.

Cheers

Warren Leadbeatter
Port Stephens, NSW
Australia
Ph: 0439-754-474
MAAA: AUS-14782

Hey Warren,
Thanks for the complement.
My TwistStang had Ted’s modifications. At first I did the half ribs in the wing with silk span. After I did a figure nine, I had to rebuild the wing and sheeted the leading and trailing edge and used cap strips on the ribs and monokote.
It is a bit of a pig now, but still fly’s better then I can. Mine is powered with a LA .40, muffler pressure on a clunk tank.
If you build a F-Twister you may need a little more engine? But then I build heavy. I am sure yours will come out better.

Here are a few pics of mine. Before and after the crash.

Paul Taylor

~I wish I knew everything you have forgotten about C/L.

Check out my Blog@
http://rootbeard.rcuniverse.com
A link to a slide show of a fun day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-_sR0ZydSQ

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Say hey Root Beard. Dump the .40 LA and go to an OS .46 LA-S. Big difference. Of course the P-40 event may not allow it, but many are just going to Profile events, no engine size limits.

>Say hey Root Beard. Dump the .40 LA and go to an OS .46 LA-S.
> Big difference. Of course the P-40 event may not allow it,
>but many are just going to Profile events, no engine size
>limits.

Hey Ty,
Even with this porker of a plane the OS LA .40 seems to have enough power to pull this pig right over the top with no problem. I know the 46 is lighter with more power, but they are very hard to find now.

You will see me fly my TwistStang this fall at the Memphis Stunt Classic?

Paul Taylor

~I wish I knew everything you have forgotten about C/L.

Check out my Blog@
http://rootbeard.rcuniverse.com
A link to a slide show of a fun day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-_sR0ZydSQ

Hey Root, Tower has the LAS 46 natural in stock but limited quantities # 13411

Since this is a profile model and the only reason to put dihedral in the wings is to get the leadouts at the right place on the wing tip, how about trying this. Mount the bellcrank external on the top of the wing, looks like heck but should work the same.

don Burke
Menifee, CA
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, WOO HOO, What a Ride!