De Havilland Hornet Build

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Ed Kettler
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De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

Here's the next plane in the development plan for Texas Flugwerks: the De Havilland Hornet. Looking at the pile of foam Scott delivered, I immediately decided that this plane was big. The nose and nacelles are still being cut, but here's a look at the major components:

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The wing root is a whopping 16.75" and 2" thick.
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The tail group is laser cut from hard balsa, and slots together. The rudder is separate in case someone wants to make it a sport plane. The area below the horizontal stab is sandwhiched between the two fuselage halves to strengthen the tail assembly.
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I got the wing glued up tonight, and the fuselage sections are drying as well. The next step will be the installation of the fiberglass rods. I haven't decided on how we are going to install the motor mounts, but once the nacelle blanks arrive I can quickly address it ... I have to see it first. My concern is that the spinners are ahead of the nose and that a dirtnap will cause major damage.

Power system will be the same as the Me-110: Turnigy 3536-1400 motors, Turnigy Plush 40a ESC, a BEC driven off a single 4s5000 mah battery.
Ed Kettler
RCCA 533/AMA 3739
Ft Worth, TX
Former target tug for the best RC Combat Pilots in the World!
Lee Liddle
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Lee Liddle »

Awesome!! Do you guys need a Beta builder? Give me a call.
TEXAS ROCKS COMBAT HARD!!!

Lee Liddle
RCCA #628

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Ed Kettler
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

Here's what she looks like framed up after gluing. Note the tailess Me-110 sitting dejectedly in the background :cry: after it was so brutally maimed by David Ebers at LSN 2010 :D The wing will be going to Scott Stockwell and it will fly again! :D :D
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The temporarily assembled tail group in place. A scrap foam tail cone will clean up the gap between the elevators.
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Here's a shot of the fuselage internal cross section. The pentagonal section lets us have a flat bottom for the battery and a lot of free airflow area for cooling. The rods will extend forward into the nose section to support the battery and the wing attachments.
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Here is the pile of foam that I mentioned in the first post. This does not include the nacelles or nose cone. The taped on sections are parts of the belly pan that will be glued to the wing bottom
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This right side shot shows off the clean lines very nicely. The building surface is the desk that used to be in the kitchen, and it was going to be thrown out, so it was re-purposed in my shop as new work space with drawers. Who else has an oak work table? :)
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The tail group needs to have relief cuts made into the foam tail cone to fit properly. Here I am using the vertical tail as a marking template
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With the template removed, it is easy to see how much foam will be removed. You can also see the rod pockets that extend to the end of the tail cone that will integrated the tail group into the fuselage as one strong assembly.
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Ed Kettler
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Former target tug for the best RC Combat Pilots in the World!
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

Lee Liddle wrote:Awesome!! Do you guys need a Beta builder? Give me a call.
I'm not sure if it is legal for you to have this plane, Lee :D You might dominate 2548/2948 and it wouldn't be fair :) :D Besides that, I like having a plane that I can easily determine is mine!!!

All joking aside, you will get one to play with. I need to build the first one to get the detailed engineering done so I can write up instructions. Do you still have the 410? I'd like to look at how you did your engine pod attachments.

Ed
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Dane McGee
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Dane McGee »

Well what do ya know, I'm buildin one too :D

..........progress so far. Look familiar? :mrgreen:


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Dane "Mad Max" McGee
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draftman1
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by draftman1 »

nice going guys. its gona be a cool plane!
Andy Erwin
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Ed Kettler
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

Dane has been pinging me to see what scheme I will use for my plane. There seems to be three basic schemes with variations based on service and time period. There are three pages of Hornets on Wings Palette to choose from.

Overall aluminum, some "plain Jane" others pretty jazzy
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Green and grey over Sky
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Fleet Air Arm Sea Hornets: Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky
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I'm leaning towards the grey/green/sky because it is easy to airbrush or even use rattle cans. Having flown aluminum covered P-51s, they tend to "disappear" in poor lighting, so I am planning to avoid that unless I can have some wild scheme like the one shown easily duplicated (I will leave that one to Dane!)

Ed
Ed Kettler
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Lee Liddle
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Lee Liddle »

So Dane already has a kit!!!!! :evil:

This is war! No nacelle attachment secrets until I get my kit!!
TEXAS ROCKS COMBAT HARD!!!

Lee Liddle
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Ed Kettler
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Re: de Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

As part of this build I have identified some minor engineering changes that will show up in the next test version of the plane, the pre-production round. So a little patience and cooperation will pay off for you Lee :lol:

I got a little work done last night on the fuselage, including some "design on the fly". In the following picture, I have CA'd a piece of basswood to spread the load of the aft wing attach dowel, and pre-drilled the holes using a sharpened 1/4" brass tube. The plan is to have a wing attach setup like my ME-110 with ply "tongues" sticking out ahead of and behind the wings and then held on with vertical rubber bands, instead of trying to stretch them almost 18". The high humidity really made the PU foam :shock:
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I used a utility knife to relieve the areas for the tail group. A fresh blade made this a quick job, and a lot less messy than using a router. I used a Sharpie to make the cut lines a little easier to see.
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In this photo, I have attached the vertical fin assembly to the left fuselage side with foam safe CA. This makes it easier to glue the fuselage halves together.
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All trussed up like a Christmas goose, here is the fuselage after gluing the halves together with PU. The rods will go into the nose section.
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Next step will be to install the servos in the wing and fuselage, and then see about finding a decent canopy (I hope I don't have to make a plug). I need to make up a wiring harness and check to see if I need servo extensions, etc.
Ed Kettler
RCCA 533/AMA 3739
Ft Worth, TX
Former target tug for the best RC Combat Pilots in the World!
The End
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by The End »

This is looking exceptional...in a very good way too!

A nice canopy and other fittings will really make this a nice plane.
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Ed Kettler
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Re: de Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

The End wrote:This is looking exceptional...in a very good way too!

A nice canopy and other fittings will really make this a nice plane.
Thanks Terry. I think we will end up with two versions: a combat version with basic components, and an upgraded version for general flying (sheeted wings, fiberglass nacelles, retracts, radiators). Comparing this to the Me-110, it has a lot more wing area so it should be a great flier and very competitive.

How's the router working for you? Making the plugs for the nacelles and canopy on the router would be a big help in getting a professional looking model.
Ed Kettler
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o1moregil
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by o1moregil »

I Like The Way Scott Cnc's Them Fuses, Awesome Job Dude!

Shes looking Good Ed! :wink:
The End
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by The End »

Scott definately has the foam cutter down to a science..I wonder if he'd like to put up a "how to"?

I am working on the router and other equipment all week as everything has been down since last July or so..it's been rough.

If you guys get a good 3D model of what you want, one great option is to get on CNCZONE.com and locate a hobbyist in your area to make the plugs for you. I don't know how soon I will be up and running, besides, it is nice to be able to drive over and see what is being made.
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Ed Kettler
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by Ed Kettler »

A little more progress on the build. The wing has the trailing edge applied and the ailerons are slotted and ready to go. The slots for the wiring has been done and the preliminary layour of all of the extensions, Ys, power, ESCs, BEC and receiver has been done. With the exception of the battery and the elevator servo, all of the electronics are in the wing.

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Ed Kettler
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cosmo64
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Re: De Havilland Hornet Build

Post by cosmo64 »

Beautiful airplane! nice build report and I really appreciate the work the goes into the kit...but man I would hate to put that finished product up to get torn up...Here is my only negative...Once again 2548 rule is questionable to me..this is not a WWII airplane, didn't enter service until after the war and only saw very limited service...If this is in, then the DO335 should be as well...at least that was produced during the WWII years.

A very nice airplane Ed...Hope it flies and competes as well as it looks
Glen Kratz #917
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