Teaming up with "Mr. Gee Bee," Henry Haffke

[Gerryy]

I got a call recently from my good friend Henry Haffke, the same guy who has designed, built and flown more Gee Bee type scale models than anyone else. He has a great book about the Gee Bees and at one point, Henry became an honorary family member of the famous Granvilles, who built the full-size Gee Bee racers. Henry was often referred to as the "5th Granville Brother".

Anyway, Henry and I have worked together on several of his construction articles and have flown together on more than one occasion.
To make a long story short, our new joint project is going to be a 1/3-scale DGA-5 Howard Ike racer from the 1930s. Wing span will be a little over 80 inches and the airframe will be built around a modified Zenoah G-26 gas engine. As you read this, Henry is busy bashing balsa and I am in the process of getting all the required hardware and radio gear. We will be using one of the new 2.4GHz radios (most likely the 9303) and several JR servos. The model will be covered and finished with 21st Century Coverite and will be well detailed inside and out.

Our plan is to enter Team Scale at one or more of the Northeast US Scale Masters Qualifiers and then go to several local and regional scale fly ins. Henry misses the excitement and wanted to do one more "serious" scale project. I am pleased and honored that he asked me to be the pilot for his newest baby!

I will be posting some project photos here as things develop and in the end, we plan to include the Howard Ike as a construction article in a future issue of Model Airplane News. Included are some photos Henry sent me.
Stay tuned!
GY

[Gerryy]

This photo shows the Howard DGA-5 "Ike" in Miss Chevrolet" markings with pilot Howard Neumann taken in Miami, FL. it is this version we will be repliacating.

Henry built a smaller 40-size "Ike" several years ago, and has one of the best scale documentation packages I have ever seen for a model. In the paperwork is a letter signed by Mr. Neumann, declaring that Henry's color and markings material was dead-on scale.

We will be developing new 1/3-scale markings for our new model and will be using his original decals and templates for reference.
Cool stuff on the way!
GY

[Kmot]

This aircraft has always been one of my favorites. I look forward to the build.

Seems this would be a prime candidate for that new OS IL-300 Dia Star engine. ;)

[Gerryy]

Oh yes, I agree, that big O.S. inline 4-cylinder 4-stroke would be a great choice! Too bad it cost so much.

I just spoke with Henry on the phone. If anyone wants to see Henry and listen to him talk about his history with the Gee Bee models and the Granville Brothers, he will be at the WRAM show this February 23 - 25.

He recently sent me a building jig for the landing gear. I will be bending it out of 1/4-inch diameter music wire and wrapping and solding it old-school. Nothing fancy.

Also we are going to use internal carbon fiber torque tubes that will go through the wing and plug into the ailerons so there won't be any exposed control horns or servo arms. The ailerons will be supported by the rod inboard, and with a short rod outboard that will plug into a socket at the wingtip rib. Twin servos will be in the wing center. The CF tube will run through the ribs with aluminum sleeves for a smooth action. Basically a fancy strip aileron control setup.
GY

[Gerryy]

I met up with Henry Haffke at the 2007 WRAM show in White Plains, NY. He brought the model parts he has been working on as well as some photos of his older 40-size "Ike" built for MAN in 1979. We had a great time talking about the project. Henry also spoke at a very well attended seminar all about the Gee Bee aircraft and the famous Granville Brothers.

[Gerryy]

We went out to his car where he showed me the fuselage and the wing! My oh my does Henry build fast! Here henry shows off the 1/3-scale wing of the Howard Ike.

[Gerryy]

The modified G-26 engine fits nicely within the large engine compartment of the Ike fuselage

[Gerryy]

Henry was also awarded a special achievement award by the WRAM club, for all he has done in the hobby and for his efforts in the preservation of aviation heritage.

[Gerryy]

This weekend I wrapped and soldered the main landing gear for the Howard "Ike" project. The main gear, (The struts with the axles,) is 1/4-inch music wire, while the aft struts are 3/16 inch wire. Henry had sent me a jig with the attachment blocks screwed in the correct locations so I could rig the gear wire to fit the model, which of course is in Henry's workshop!

[Gerryy]

The Ike's gear is a bit unique in that the struts on the full-size aircraft meet the top of the wheel pants instead of at the cluster located at the axles. This meant that a vertical section had to be included to drop the axles about 2 3/4 inches below the solder joint binding the front and rear struts. Also, Henry's method of securing the wheel pants to the gear required a horizontal trailing wire, that he straps to a vertical plywood plate built into the pants. The little tail wire can be seen here as well. The cross-piece spreader wire is located at the top of the vertical sections above the axles.

[Gerryy]

The gear are so large that It took two pieces of wire to make each side of the gear. I used brass tubing to join the wire halves. I cut half-moon openings along the tubing so I could flow solder into the full length. Also since there would be considerable landing force transmitted to the center of the tubing, I added two large center attachment tabs for a total of 6 tabs to secure the gear in place. The tabs are made from 0.072 inch brass stock, and the solder I always use is Stay-Brite high-silver content. It has clear liquid flux that is wonderful stuff. It cleans up nicely with little effort after the soldering is done so it does not corrode the wire.

[Kmot]

Nice work on the landing gear Gerry.

[Gerryy]

Thanks, I just heard from Henry today. He is going in for a by-pass operation, so i suspect our project will be on hold for a while as he recuperates. Will post more project info as things develop. I am going to be drawing up the full-size markings for the Ike. When I get them all done, I will be sending them to Callie Graphics for the decals to be made
Stay tuned
GY

[Gerryy]

Great news, Henry came through his bypass with flying colors! Our project is now back on track and Henry is starting the covering process. I will be detailing the engine cowl and do the painting when the basic covering materialhas been applied!

A basic description of the model is all fabric covered, engine cowl and upper deckiing and the cockpit cover will be balsa covered with glass and painted. The cockpit cover will be hinged to show a complete cockpit interior. The decking between the aft edge of the engine cowl and the cockpit cover will be removable for access to the fuel tank and radio gear.

There will be non-functional flying an rigging wires and the rib stitching and pinking tape will all be duplicated!

When I get a chance, (after I come back from Top Gun in May,) I will be heading up to Henry's to take more photos and get the parts I am in charge of finishing!
Stay tuned!
GY

[Gerryy]

Here's the latest with this great team scale project. Henry has built the basic airframe and I now have the model in my workshop. The next step is to install all the radio gear and then install the control linkage.

[Gerryy]

Tail surfaces are roughed in and will be hinged and then covered and glued into place.

[Gerryy]

my formed music wire landing gear has been covered and faired with balsa and balsa blocks to form the scale pants and strut covers.

[Gerryy]

engine cowl has plenty of cooling. The engine section will be glassed and painted. The rest of the model will be covered with 21st Century Fabric. Litho-plate aluminum sheets will be added for detailed surfaces.

[Gerryy]

The landing gear is attached with several screws to the hardwood blocks inside the fuselage and in the bottom of the wing. Cover blocks will hid the screws and attachment tabs

[Gerryy]

Basic wing structure has scale rib spacing and sheeted wing tips

[Gerryy]

The ailerons are hinged with two brass rods at each end and ride in nylon bushings made from large control horns. Smooth and free movement

[Gerryy]

This is the inboard end of the aileron "Hinging" system. After covering the aileron, and the inner surface of the aileron channel in the wing, you install the aileron and then cover the rest of the wing.

The nylon bearing surface can be bolted into place or glued. If you want to remove the aileron later on, you bolt it in place and make a small panel in the bottom of the wing for access to it. We are just going to glue a plywood plate over the bearing and cover the wing. If later we need to remove the aileron, we'll cut open the covering and add a panel then.

[Gerryy]

Finally I got some quality building time in on the Howard Ike Racer. I started on the wings last week and by now, they are ready for covering. All the hard points for scale fittings as well as the aileron servos and aileron control linakages are all done. Sorry I look so grumpy! It was really hot and my daughter snuck in to take this photo. I usually look a lot happier in the workshop!

[Gerryy]

Adding the J&B Panels for the ailerons. These machined plywood panel/servo mounts are simply great! They take a lot of building time out of any project! All I had to do was notch out the bottom of the ribs and lay the panel in place. The panel fits flush into the mount base and is held in place with countersunk screws.

[Gerryy]

some covering has been done! I covered the wing and the rudder recently and Henry made the trip down to add rib tapes to the wing. I also applied the CallieGraphics vinyl markings to the rudder! These decals go on very easily and are very well made. Match exactly to the templates I sent her

[Gerryy]

Here's the rest of the wing graphics all applied and smoothed out. Since the vinyl is going over 21st Century fabric, it seems the small bubbles are slowly dissapaiting with time! nothing to worry about!. Fuselage covering this weekend!
GY

[Gerryy]

Started on the fuselage. I covered the bottom first, then the sides and the turttle deck and finally the head rest fairing / fin in one piece of fabric.

[Gerryy]

Here you see the one piece of fabric being applied to cover the headrest and the vertical fin. I applied both the left and right side fabric before heat shrinking the material smooth. Most of the wrinkles are pulled out before heating.

[Gerryy]

Add some more Caillie Graphics vinyl, and the model is looking more and more like a miniature Howard Ike.

The trick to making the model look neatly covered is to make all the overlapping seams straight and even. I use between a 1/4 and 3/8 inch for overlaps where the cloth is pulled tightly into place.

Callie Graphics
P.O. Box 95138
Albuquerque, NM 87199-5138

505-293-2922
info@callie-graphics.com

For the open space between the fin and stab, I will make a balsa fairing block and then vacuum-form a plastic fairing cover. It will be glued in place and detailed with attachment screws along the edges.

[Gerryy]

A really simple plane that is a classic representation of the Golden Age of Aviation and the Cleveland Air Races. Here's a photo from Henry of the full size Ike and its pilot Howard Neumann. Check out those engine cooling louvers! There are 109 of them...Ouch! Each louver requires two slits cut so there are 218 required. To get them all in line and straight I am going to try drawing out all the panels with CAD and then laser cut them out with all the louver slits cut out before the panels are attached to the model with contact adhesive.
Will start with poster board templated to get the general shape and locations.

[Gerryy]

Starting to install the internals tonight. For the Ike I made a lit ply tray that is removable so I can get to the tank and battery packs through the wing saddle.

[Gerryy]

the front of the tray fits into a long tight fitting slot at the front and two screws at the back. Remove sthe screws and the tray slides out through the wing saddle. There is enough slack in the fuel lines so that the tray can reach about half way out of the saddle. Should the tray need to come out all the way for a tank or battery replacement, the cable ties would have to be snipped off. Velcro tape and velcro straps hold everything snug and secure.

[Gerryy]

The engine is a Zenoah G-26 modified to have electronic ignition by Ralph Cunningham of RC ignitions. It has a helicopter carb, with choke and a modifed throttle arm so that the pushrod is a straight shot. No belcrank or secondary pushrods. The cowl is built up with several rings of 1/2 inch thick balsa, and there is a back and front half of the cowl.

[Gerryy]

The front engine cowl bowl is also made of balsa and built up in layers of rings. Once the engine and thottle linkage and fuel line are all setup, the cowl will be removed and I will seal ith with finishing resin. The outside will be finished with resin and .75 oz. fiberglass cloth.

[Gerryy]

Here some of the fuselage panel templates are being cut to fit. Once they are finalized for shape and position, I will transfer their dimensions to CAD so the finished panels can be laser cut from G-10 Fiberglass sheets. You can see the sheets in the foreground. You can buy these sheets in various thickness from www.Franktiano.com. I am using 0.015 inch thickness.

[Gerryy]

The tail fairing blocks are now in position covering up the open areas between the fin and horizontal stabs. I did these just before I left for vacation, so will get back to the Ike after the 28th. I will add strips of plastic to the top and bottom edges with rivet/screw detail to make them look like access panels that are shown on the 3-views. The bare wood spot shown here was covered before I glued this block into place.

[Gerryy]

As I said before, I had the sheet panels of G-10 Fiberglass laser cut to size by my friend Marc D'Antonio of FX Models. www.fxmodels.com
These are place on the model and taped to hold them in the proper locations. Then I used 000 size screws to hold them on place. I get the screws from Jerry Nelson of Nelson Hobby Products.

[Gerryy]

once all the panels are installed, I will remove them all and then seal the balsa with Zap Finishing resin before reinstalling the panels. Also, since the engine cowl sides have compound curves I will glass the balsa and primer and paint the wood in that section. As you can see in the long thin panel, there are slots cut to accept aluminum louvers. These will be added after the panels are primed but before the final coats of paint. You can also see the gas cap at the top of the fuselage. It is from Slimline and is the actual filler for the fuel system.

[Gerryy]

The servos and radio and ignition switches are located in the cockpit. The pilot seat will hide the servos. The sides will be filled out with cockpit details.

[JohnR]

I expect to see this fly on my next trip to CT.

[Gerryy]

Hi John, thanks for the note. But I fear it will be way too cold during the Air Age Christmas Party! :^)
I was trying to get to the Rhinebeck Jamboree with the model, by that's next weekend! I have to glass the engine cowl and install over a 100 louvers to have it finished. Also the working cockpit fairing still has to be hinged and painted. Maybe I will have it in primer for show and tell! But will keep at it! This is going to be a MAN construction article.
thanks
GY

[Gerryy]

Just started on the engine compartment and the engine cowling details. I use Zap 15 minute epoxy mixed with 25% alcohol to coat the inside of the engine compartment. Later I will sand smooth and paint white. notice the large cutaway for the SlimLine Muffler and for the cooling air to escape out of the bottom of the engine compartment.

[Gerryy]

The sides of the cowling are a compound curved surface so the front few inches of the cowl are made with balsa blocks. These form rings that enclose the engine forward of the firewall. To get a pretty finish, I deal with all the ugly under the fiberglass by filling in the imperfections. I use Zap 15 minute epoxy thickened with K&B Microballoons. I whip it up so it is thick as peanut butter and gob it in to shallow areas and cracks/dents. I let it cure a while and when it is semi cured, I sand with 80 grit paper and a long sanding bar. This removes the high spots and levels the repair. I then fill in minor divets with red spot putty from Bondo brand. this sands very easy and dries quickly.


Here the balsa is now ready for the first layers of fiberglass cloth and resin. (Zap Finishing Resin.)

The front part of the cowling will be removable and is held in place with 4 screws.

[Gerryy]

Here the .75oz. glass is draped over the engine cowl static cling holds it in place. I use Zap finishing resin drizzling it on and spreading with a plastic coated playing card.

[Gerryy]

Even the nose bowl is covered easily with resin and cloth! Use a stiff brush to get it to lay down. After the resin cures, I sand with 80 grit then 220 for a smooth finish and apply a second coat of resin. sand again and then prime.

[Gerryy]

here the first coat of resin has cured.

[Gerryy]

I met up with Henry Haffke at the recent Rhinebeck Jamboree. He had his 30 year old Ike model there all ready to fly again! Nick Ziroli and I helped Henry put 3 more flights on this famous old model and it is now retired from active service. Had a chance to pose both models together on the flight line.
GY

[Gerryy]

here's Henry's original model built in 1977. was published in MAN in 1979

[Gerryy]

The big and the little meet at the Aerodrome.

[Gerryy]

Oops. here's the photo. I figured it would be a great thing to let the magic of Rhinebeck seep into the model before I finished it! Hey its got to fly better for it!

[Gerryy]

got back to the Ike today. I am now sanding and priming my brains out. Started with the nose bowl and added 6 coats of white primer. I hit it with spot putty at the divets and prime again and sand.

[Gerryy]

The same goes for the engine cowl sides. Prime, sand, spot putty, sand, prime again, repeat until nice and smooth.

[Gerryy]

while waiting for the spot putty to dry, I started on the static scale prop for the Ike, this is suppose to be a Lycoming ground adjustable aluminum prop when I get done. I started with two broken Zinger 24 inch props and cut them in half. I then filled out the center back section and sanded the inner sends round so the will fit into the center hub section, which I have made out of PVC pipe.

[PipesCS]

Where does one go to buy two broken 24 inch props?

[PipesCS]

Surley you did not break them yourself.

All kidding aside, I am green with envy that you are getting to do this with Mr. Haffke.

It looks great.

[Gerryy]

Hey pipes, yes, Henry and I go way back to I think, the "Time Flies" Model Airplane News construction article. Maybe before that... I can't remember the time frame, but he and I have been more than friends, he is sort of like an adopted Uncle. He is an amazing guy with a rich aviation knowledge and history. He will again be giving his Gee Bee history Seminar at the 2008 WRAM show in February, very much worth the effort to attend!
GY

[Gerryy]

Oh yea, and the proken props... I did have one broken prop, the other I barrowed form a friend!! :^)
GY

[Gerryy]

Finally am done with all the sanding and priming. I reinstalled all the G-10 fiberglass panels and have started doing the louver detailing.
Basically I use a No.11 hobby blade and cut into the underlying balsa frame, through the laser cut slits in the panels. Then using the panel slits (I have a seperate template,) I mark and bend the aluminum louver pieces and slip them into place. They will be CA'ed into position after lifting the aft edge slightly. The front edge will be filleted in with glue. so when painted it will look pretty convincing.

[Gerryy]

Finally I finished the static display prop. The final silver is Master Modeler's buffing Aluminun. All that's left is to paint the back of the blades with flat black.
to give you an idea of the size of the prop, it has a 27 inch diameter, the sqaures on the table cloth are about 1 inch square

[Gerryy]

To add the aluminum louvers, I first cut through the laser cut slits in the G-10 panels and then insert the louvers one at a time.

[Gerryy]

Once a row is installed and their aft edge is lifted about 3/32 inch, the louvers are glued into place with thin CA. capillary action draws the glue into the the side and front edges.

[Gerryy]

For the areas of the engine cowl that are not covered with G-10 I made a template to cut the louver slits in the correct locations. I taped it in place and then did the same thing as before by cutting the fiberglassed surface of the model with a sharp hobby knife

[Gerryy]

Here's the engine cowl surface after I removed the template.

[Gerryy]

Here the louvers have been added to the engine cowl sides

[Gerryy]

Also since the full-size "IKE" had a two sided engine cowl that was joined at the top with a piano hinge, I added a length of music wire coated with plastic. I cut several notches around the plastic coating to make it look like the small barrels. It is glued in place with thin CA. Before the model is painted, I will mask off two stripes about 1/4 inch wide on either side of the wire to make it look like the hinge ears. This will then be painted over.

[Gerryy]

Here it is ready for the first coat of Feather Coat primer. This material is a great binding agent as it sticks to anything and then the Poly Tone paint sticks like crazy to the Feather Coat. No sanding is needed to provide some "Tooth" for the paint to stick. It is a chemical bond.

[Gerryy]

To complete the fake piano hinge at the top of the engine cowl, requires small screws and thin strips of aluminum tape. I sharpened a length of wire to use instead of a drill bit to form the tiny screw holes.

[Gerryy]

Here the aluminum tape has been applied to each side of the plastic coated hinge wire

[Gerryy]

With the small Nelson Phillips head screws added, the hinge looks pretty good. Now a few coats of Feather Coat and some paint and the cowl is all done.

[Gerryy]

I started on the wheel pants today so I can paint both the engine cowl and wheel pants at the same time. Here you see how the wooded pants are put together. The halves are screwed together as well as being tack glued.

[Gerryy]

I have been using the Squadron WHITE model putty and think it is really good stuff. It dries quickly and sands well. Here you see the dents and seams all puttyed up. you can see the balsa plug covering up the screw head that joins the pants halves.

[Gerryy]

Here it is all sanded smooth waiting for fiberglassing

[Gerryy]

Originally I tried to cover the gear with 21st Century painted fabric and there were just too many seams for the model to look good. I heated it and removed the fabric and decided to cover it with fiberglass and resin instead. With the wheel and tire protected with tape, the first layer of glass was applied in several small sections. Here the resin has been applied and when it dries, the sanding, priming, repeat will get repeated all over again

[Kmot]

This is truly an amazing build! You are doing an awesome job. :)

[Gerryy]

Using 80 grit sand paper and a P2 Sup-R Sander sanding tool with medium tungsten carbide grit (from Midwest products) I sanded all of the gloss and high spots off of the fiberglassed surfaces. Any bare spots or places where I accidentilly saned through the cloth, I added a patch (sometimes two layers to bring the surface back up. Then I smoothed it into the surrounding area after the resin cured. Zap finishing resin cures overnight

[Gerryy]

the second coat of resin goes on and it is thinned again with alcohol. The second coat is then saned again with 80 grit and again bare spot if any are treated.
The third and last layer of resin is then brushed on (no thinning) and then wiped off with paper towels. This fills in the weave and gives the surface a glossy look but adds very little resin. Less than 1/2 ounce for the whole gear. Now when this coat is cured, it will be time for priming and sanding for the last time for the whole model. Hurray!

[Gerryy]

Little update while the snow and ice is flying around outside.
The wheel pants and landing gear struts are now all primed and puttyed and sanded smooth. Will get it and the engine cowl painted in the next few days and then all the little stuff will be next
GY

[Gerryy]

finally got the basement set up so I could start painting. I use a HVLP (high Volume Low Pressure) system from Nelson Hobby Supply. It uses a small air turbine to supply the pressiure through a 1 inch diameter hose to the air gun. The air pressurizes the paint to pump it up to the nozzle.

[Gerryy]

I use blue painters tape for most of my masking. I then use regular 3M tape to add the masking paper. I use old newspaper.

[Gerryy]

The first two coats are done with Scale Stits Feaqther Coat which is both a primer and a chemical binder coat. It sticks to most surfaces and then when dry (about an hour) can be sanded smooth. I use a brillo pad or scotch Brite pad... It is a very heavily pigmented and covers easily.

[Gerryy]

With the final two coats of Poly Tone Insignia White, the engine cowl panels and the top fuselage panels have a nice semi gloss sheen.

[Gerryy]

Here's a shot showing the engine cowls and the landing gear all painted and ready to go.

[Gerryy]

The final major job left is the cockpit detailing and the hinged hatch cover. here's the screws and material I used for the job. All the hardware is from Jerry Nelson of Nelson Hobby Supply.
I started by adding material to the wood hatch cover structure and then sanding it to match the surounding fuselage lines. I added lite ply and plywood to the bottom rails so it would remain stiff and straight.

[Gerryy]

For the interior I will detail the cockpit with an aluminum seat, a control column and an instrument panel. I tried something different this time, by using magnets strips to hold the seat and instrument panel when complete in place. This will make getting to the servos and radio switches much easier. The seat effectively hides the servos and the magnets and framework hold the seat well above the pushrods. I will also be making some seatbelts and shoulder harness straps to finish off the detailoing but not right now.

[Gerryy]

To attach the piano hinge, I first sanded all the filler and made sure the cover fit properly into place. I then taped it to prevent it from moving and began screwing the hinge into place. For it to work properly, it has to be installed straight without any binding.

[Gerryy]

Once the hinge is in place, I fine tuned the hatch cover's fit by sanding the front and back surfaces until it fit nicely without rubbing accessively. The windshield is show in place. This is only a temporary one to check the shape and fit. After the hatch cover is glassed and primed, I will install the final version with all the fairing and screw details I will also use magnetic strips to hold the cockpit cover hatch closed. I was going to install a spring loaded latch pin assembly but time is running out and the magnets work so well in holding things secure while allowing them to be removed easily.

[Gerryy]

While the fiberglass and resin set up. I made these plugs for some vacuum-formed pushrod exit covers. They'll be formed from 0.020 thick plastic, painted and screwed over the pushrod exits on the fuselage and wing to give the model a finished touch.

[Gerryy]

Oops, Here's the photo

[Gerryy]

The finish on the cockpit hatch cover is the same as the engine cowl and the landing gear so I spent the weekend glassing, priming, puttying and sanding. I started with 220 grit paper and finish with 320 all sanding done dry.

[Gerryy]

while the primer is dried I worked on the cockpit details like the cockpit and the throttle quadrant. Since I don't have the documentation for specific detailing, I went ahead and made details that would be typical for 1920's and 30's aircraft. I made the throttle with thin layers of plywood to make the main body with a slot at the top. I then made the plywood handle and covered it with thin aluminum tape. I also covered the selector switch for the fuel system with aluminum tape to give it a metal finish. The fuel selector is seen at the bottom middle of the instrument panel. Of course the sides of the cockpit will be painted white before I install the other details

[Gerryy]

Well, since Henry is the Expert in all things "Golden Age Racing" Mr. Haffke, saw that I was fudging the cockpit of the Howard Ike racer, and he sent me some documentation for the instrument panel. So, here's the new panel I just finished today. The old panel won't go to waste, I am sure it will end up in a vintage RC biplane in my future.

I did not have any 1/3-scale instrument faces (1" diameter) so I went online and typed in: Vintage aircraft instruments...

I found most of the faces I needed but some are modern ones.

[Gerryy]

Also, Henry's documentation pictures showed that the grond adjustable metal prop was indeed a Hamilton Standard, so I got some great looking decal logos from Cal-Grafx Hobby Art. I simple found a photo online, sent it to the company and they send back these great decals. I got both water slide and printed mylar vinyl. Look great

[Gerryy]

Now I am working on the windscreen. Here's the pattern being cut out of 0.015 clear plastic.

[Gerryy]

Started the windshield last night. Here you see the painted cockpit hatch cover and the windscreen made of 0.015 clear plastic. I laid out the basic foot print for the windscreen and made a pattern so I could mark the proper position to glue the wingscreen in place with. This makes it straight and centered side to side.

[Gerryy]

I used only two T-pins to anchor the back edges and used tape to hold the lower edge flat against the surface. I then used a T-pin and applied a fairly thick bead of Pacer Formula560 canopy glue to hold the windscreen in place.

[Gerryy]

Here's another shot to see the glue bead. Once the glue has dried overnight, I will start building up the scale attachment fairing (Boot fairing) around the bottom of the windscreen.

Basically it will be a mixture of 20 minute Epoxy and micro balloons. I will mask off the area where the two surfaces connect and build up the fairing there.

[Gerryy]

I finally got my pushrod exit covers back from Keith Sparks of Parkflyer Plastics. The USPS lost the package and we were ready to make some new ones but they finally delivered them today!

Keith does excellent work with vacuum-forming and can make anything you supply a pattern with! Here are a few pix of the covers.

[Gerryy]

A little cutting and a little sanding with 400 grit paper and the panelos look like this.

[Gerryy]

Right side of the fuselage has the elevator and rudder pushrod covers. As you can see, they still need to be masked off and painted.

[Gerryy]

Left side has only one elevator pushrod but it is a little different that the others as the opening for the pushrod is in the center of the panel. I made these panels because I had to cut fairly large opening to install the pushrods. Henry had made the model with a fuselage former right where the exits needed to be for smooth pushrod movement. I had to make a large 1/2 inch diameter brass cutting tube to cut away the former material from the outside. But as you can see, the end result is worth the effort and it looks pretty scale.

Of course the covers, pushrod, clevises and control horns will also be painted white to match the rest of the model.

[Gerryy]

now that the exit covers are in place, I can start on the attachment fairing for the windscreen. This is one of the easier scale details to reproduce. All you need is tape, flexible vinyl tape, a thick epoxy (I use JB-Weld) and some scrap mixing sticks and a spreader with rounded corner edges. An old cd case makes a good mixing pallet

[Gerryy]

First clean off all the surfaces including the winscreen with either denatured alcohol or even white vinager. This cuts any grease or oil to make a good bond. Then add the flexible vinyl around the to base of the windscreen. After that tape the area further with regular tape to prevent the filler epoxy from getting on unwanted areas.

[Gerryy]

Mix the filler epoxy and then use a spreading stick to apply an even bead around the exposed section between the two strips of vinyl tape. I like using JB-Weld because it is extremely thick so it doesn't sag after the fairing is formed. Also since it is a metal filled epoxy, it makes a very strong support for the windscreen. It won't crack or chip after a lot of wear and tear.

[Gerryy]

After the epoxy has been applied, use the rounded spreader stick to smooth the epoxy and form the fillet. Take your time and get an even, smooth fillet. Once you have the fillet formed, wet your fingers and smooth the filler down so it has a fine edge formed over the tape. Let the epoxy set for about a half hour then carefull peel away the tape. Be careful not to touch the fillet with the tape while removing it. You can clean away any smudges of epoxy now with some alcohol and a paper towel, again being careful not to touch the epoxy.
Now let cure overnight.

[Gerryy]

The next step is to layout the screw locations. This is important as uneven spacing is quickly noticed while even, neat spacing goes unnoticed. I used a simple piece of paper to measure off the spacing with the front screw centered on the hatch cover

[Gerryy]

Once you have the screw positions worked out, use the pin vise to drill all the holes.

[Gerryy]

Here's the finished screw installation. All that's left is to mask off the winscreen and to paint the fairing strip to match the white paint job of the Howard Ike.

[Gerryy]

oops here the photo

[Gerryy]

Get out the tape and start covering everything except the fairing fillet. Since the color is dark, the fairing will first need a white primer added before the white paint can be applied

[Gerryy]

Here the primer has been applied

[Gerryy]

When you remove the tape you have a nicely primed fairing. the next thing is to use alchol and clean off all the tape residure and then tape the windscreen only again, then prepare to coat the entire hatch cover and the fairing strip with one last even coat of white

[Gerryy]

So here it is in place on the Ike. Looks pretty good.

[Gerryy]

Here a shot looking from the top into the cockpit opening toward the instrument panel. This really was a small aircraft and the pilot's head would fill the cockpit opening. Not much to see but the next pylon!

[wired211]

Gerryy, this is some outstanding work, you make it look so easy. I myself need to stop and regroup and look at my ability's form time to time, I sometimes rush things and I need to slow down some. I have learned so much from you by following this thread. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Gerryy]

Wired, thanks for leaving a comment! It has been so long since anyone commented that I wondered if anyone was looking... :^)
I appreciate your kind words. The reason I like doing these build-alongs is to share some techniques that there just isn't room for in the magazines. Once in a while a technique can be photgraphed for a "How To" article, but when you build a scale model, you can't always stop to take studio photos. So these shop pix are the next best thing.

Many of the techniques I use I have learned from other much better scale builders than me. I try to simplify them and use them on my models!

But anyway, thanks again for your comments!
Cheers,
GY

[Gerryy]

Here are some photos of a Replica Howard Ike I found while surfing on the web. Tonight I will be finishing the dummy exhaust pipes and I will post some more pix then. Also, I just got the new clear coat from my Buddy Chip Mull at Scale Stits. This is a high gloss clear that forumlated to work with the rest of the PolyTone paint line so there is no problems with compatibility.

[Gerryy]

more details! Wish I had these a few months ago!

[Gerryy]

I started on the dummy exhaust pipes last night. Basically they are 1/4 inch long sections of a 7/8-inch diamter aluminum tube. I used an old Nova Rossi tuned pipe manifold because it has a rough cast look on the outside surface that will be perfect for dry brushing on the colors of the finished exhaust pipes.
The first thing I did was to measure out the pattern on the side of the engine cowling. I then made a template with my CAD program and printed it out so I could use it as a guide to draw on the 1 inch diameter openings on the cowl. I used a pencil compass.
I then used a small Robart grinding bit to cut away the outer suface of the cowling. (this killed me after sorking so hard to make the cowl smooth and even. After removing most of the material to a dpeth of about 1/8 inch, I swiitched to a sanding drum to smooth the edges of the openings and make them perfectly round.

Later the long cooling tunnel in the bottom of the cowl section will be covered with a cover panel with smaller openings cut into it. It will be screwed into place and painted to match the rest of the cowling.

[Gerryy]

All the exposed wood was then sealed with epoxy resin and allowed to cure. I then applied a thin bead of JB-Weld to the inside edges of each exhaust pipe section and centered it in the opening. I used the handle of an X-Acto knife to smooth the JBW into an even fillet to bond the tube in place. Once the epoxy is smoothed out I hold the sections of tubes in place with some tape until the epoxy cures.
Tonight and during the weekend I will be priming and painting this section of the cowl again and then will add rivet and panel detail as well as painting the pipes black with a little brown and blue thrown in to show the affects of hot exhaust.You can also see that only half of the first exhaust pipe is bonded to the cowling side. The front half of the opening is cut into the nose section of the cowl. It is seperate from the pipe, and the back ground area will simply be painted black

The fine pencil line is where I will form a panel line and add the rivet details

[Gerryy]

Here are the finished installed exhaust pipes. All that I need to do now is to paint them when I add all the other details. So on to the tail wires.

[Gerryy]

To make the tail stiffening wires I use Du-Bro steel landing gear straps and Nelson Hobby Supply scale clevis ends. I used 1/16" welding rod for the wires them selves

[Gerryy]

I used stainless steel 4-40 hex-head bolts to attach the straps and then attached the clevises to the wire with threaded brass couplers soldered to the ends of the wire. One coupler is used and the clevis is soldered directly to the other end of the wire

[Gerryy]

The clevises are attached to the straps with a lock pin and a cotter pin. Here the four wires are in place. Once the rest of the model is ready for details to be painted I will remove the wires and straps and then they will be painted white

[Gerryy]

I spent a little time on the cockpit detailing today. Like I tell most of my friends, the details are not meant to be historically accurate, but it is suppose to have the flavor of the 1920s or 30s. So I looked for some cloth ribbon that would look the part of wide aviation straps and seat belts. I found the Offray brand at the local fabric shop as well as some really nice craft mini-buckles from the scrapbook section. You can check out the ribbon at www.offray.com

[Gerryy]

I looked online for various aircraft buckles and shoulder straps and I made mine to be a loose representation of the older vintage one from WW 2 aircraft. Basically the shoulder straps have wide vertical blades that clipped onto the seatbelt webs. For the buckle blades and the strap ends, I used 1/32 inch plywood covered with aluminum heating duct tape. The same tape I use to represent panels and hinge straps.

[Gerryy]

Attaching the belts and straps to the seat was as easy as taping them in place with Ducted tape. To keep the buckle ends from flopping around, I sed some CA gel glue to hold them in place. As you can see, with the hatch closed, not much is seen. When the model is flying, I will remove the seat and add the pilto figure bust which will basically fill the cockpit opening.

[Gerryy]

Checking another item off the "To Do" list I just completed the propeller hub detailing for the static prop. Basically it is made from these very simple pieces. A channeled hardwood landing gear block, a few brass servo eyelets, 4-40 hexhead bolts and matching lock nuts.
I ran the hardwood block through my bandsaw to reduce it to the size I needed to match the large outer rings on the prop hub. I then used a dremel tool and a sanding drum to shape the base of the blocks to match the rings and then I glued the blocks in place.

[Gerryy]

I thread the eyelets onto the bolts and add the nut and tighten until there is a small space between the ends of the eyelets (in the center.) I then cut the bolts to length and glued them into the channel in the blocks and sanded everthing smooth. Then I glued them to the hub with the bolt head placed on the advancing side of the prop blades. A quick spray of silver buffing aluminum paint and you're done!

Oh yea, I also capped off the center tube of the hub with a plug of thin plywood, finished with thin CA and sanded smooth to give it a cast aluminum look.

[Gerryy]

Leaving the Hamilton Standard prop for a while, I went on to one of my favorite details, the dummy aileron control horn and pull cable and cover. This I think makes such a big difference with a model, whether it is a J3 Cub or a Fokker Triplane.

The technique is very easy. Use a #11 X-Acto blade and cut a slit into a rib capstrip and insert a suitable and thin control arm. For this model I cut up a simple pinned hinge and used a strip about 1/4 inch wide. For cable I use galvanized picture hanging braded cable. The crimp barrel is nothing more than a 1/4 inch long length of head shrink tubing. Bend the cable, insert it into the hole in the horn, slip on the shrink tubing and heat it. Add a drop or two of thin CA glue and you can insert it into the slit in the rib and affix with two or three drops of thin CA.
Cut a slot in the top of the wing covering and slide the front end of the cable to move freely in and out.

[Gerryy]

Adding the vacuum formed cover completes the detail. The screws need to be painted white as does the control horn. I use Testors gloss white

[Gerryy]

Here's the cover and control horn from the other wing. This one had to be painted to match up with the gold and the black of the Aircraft Registration number. Be sure to place the cover so that the cable has room to move without binding during the aileron's complete and maximum travel.

Of course the under-wing horn and pushrod is the RC linkage that drives the ailerons.

[Gerryy]

Here's a bit of good news! Model Airplane News will soon be hosting How To article videos on the www.modelairplanenews.com website. I will be helping this venture along and will be featuring several little how tos that have been used during the construction of the Howard Ike. I just finished off a nice detailed step by step for making the RC aileron linkage for the Ike's wings. As soon as I get some of the photos, I will post them here too. But wait, soon you'll be able to see the technique on the MAN video!
Cool!

[Gerryy]

So here's the aileron linkage that's under the wing. The actual RC stuff. I use a fixture to solder the linkage together instead of doing it on the wing. This way the solder can't drip on the finish and burn it.

[Gerryy]

Here's the fixture and another shot of the aileron linkage

[Gerryy]

Here's the linkage painted white. I do this for a finished look and to help prevent corrosion. As you can see, the clevis attached to the control horn is a RObart unit with a bolt and lock nut. The forward clevis attached to the servo arm is a solder-on unit from GP. I also use a 4-40 jam nut to lock the threaded Robart clevis in place.

[Gerryy]

I added some more detail to the ailerons in the form of the trim tabs. I used 0.030 inch styrene plastic and painted it white. There are three small tabs that fit into small slits cut into the trailing edge and then small drops of thin CA hold them in place.

[Gerryy]

I also added side panel details to the cockpit to cover up the wood grain of the balsa structure.
The basic materials are styrene plastic sheets and plastic tubes, plastic glue and paint. A razor saw makes quick work of cutting the tubes to shape. The ends of the tubes also have to be "fish-mouthed" to fit together to look like weld joints when glued together.

[Gerryy]

Here the side panels have been glued together and painted and are now being glued in place. I use spring clamps to hold them in place while the "Gel" CA glue dries. The small shelf is for the radio system power switch. Did you notice the Aircraft Registration placard on the back shelf? Also where the paint has been scratched away on the side tube is where the throttle quadrant will be glued.

[Gerryy]

here's the finished left side with the seat installed. Yes there is some bare balsa at the top edge that still has to be painted gray

[Gerryy]

Here the right side. I added a Du-Bro mini wheel and painted it to look like a stabilizer trim wheel.

[Gerryy]

Here's something I will start on and hope to finish before the WRAM show! The pilot bust! This one is from great Planes and is a 1/3-scale military type with leather helmet and googles. But this will be done after all the other model details are taken care of! I've already sprayed a coat of white primer on him! I think I'll call him Harold! That was the pilot of "Miss Chevrolet", Harold Newmann.

[Gerryy]

I finished off the flying and landing wires tonight. I use plastic lacing to make the wires themselves and simply glue clevises to the ends. The lacing is flexible and stetches easily so I make all the wires about an inch short, and stretch them to length to keep them taught. Here are the landing wires on the top of the wing.

[Gerryy]

Here's the flying wires under the wing. As you can see, there are six flying wires and only four landing wires. The aircraft being a race plane was stressed for high Gs.

[Gerryy]

The flying wires were attached to the landing gear and this is why there was a solid spreader connecting the two wheel pants. To strengthen the rigging assembly. Here you see the clevises attached to the wheel pants. The heat shrink tubing has yet to be shrunk to shape. I added this for looks only.

[Gerryy]

Where the landing wires attach to the fuselage, they went through small holes in the upper sheeting. Here you see the treatment I used. I simply drilled two holes on each side of the fuselage and fed the wires through. (see the full-size aircraft photo on reply 117.) Inside, the wires are glued to plywood stop blocks. This way, the wires can be easily replaced if needed.
I'll have to keep an eye on this detail while flying the model. It is the only place the wires can be chaffed from engine vibration. If the wires do fray, I will have to enlarge the holes and add som sort of sleeve to smooth the hole lining.

[Gerryy]

I started painting the pilot figure last night. As you can see, he is mostly complete with the acception of spraying on a dull-cear coat and then adding some resin to the googles tomake them look like glazed surfaces.

I used water to blend in the high lights and low lights of the face. See the bridge of the nose and below the lower lip and under the cheek bones. There are three of four shades of flesh blended together to give Howard a nice realistic look.

[Gerryy]

The pilot bust is a GP 1/3-scale (30%) figure that comes molded in a not so scale flesh tone. I painted the model with acrylic craft paints and use water to blend in the highlights and lowlights. The original goggles were kind of comic-book like being bubbled outward, I cut the plastic away and glued in from underneath flat plastic. I have apinted that area with the helmet brown color as well as some rather harsh shadow areas. When the epoxy resin (I will use AnchorBond because it is very clear and thin,) I will prop the pilto in such as way that the resin can setup and form a flat puddle within the goggles frames. Will show the results soon!

[JohnR]

This is looking really nice Gerry, can wait to see the finished aircraft. You have done some great detail work on this bird.

[Gerryy]

Thanks John, I appreciate that coming from you! Hopefully, you'll be able to come out in September and fly the Ike at Rhinebeck during the mock air race on Saturday!
That's why Henry and I teamed up. to have a nice vintage racer for the aerodrome's jamboree!
GY

[Gerryy]

I poured the first lens for Howard last night. Here you can see the setup where I propped the pilot bust up so the right lens frame was positoned level. This way the resin could be dribbled in and it would spread out without running over the raised frame.

[Gerryy]

I used Anchor Bond epoxy resin as it is very thin and only very slightly on the yellow side of color. I had tried Bob Smith Industries 20 and 30-minute epoxy as it is completely clear, but I could not mix it without infusing a lot of bubbles. Even when thinned with alcohol it was unusable for this technique.
Here you can see that there are some micro bubbles but they only showed up under the camera flash. Looking at it in natural light you can barely see them. I think an acrylic casting resin like the stuff used to make jewelery might be the best solution, but I don't have any...
I'll pour the other lens tonight after the Hocket game and then I will take another photo with the pilot in the airplane to see what it finally looks like. As these close up pix show, there's also a bit more fine detailing to do with the paint brush to clean up the separation lines between colors.

[crazy4rc]

Are you going to display this plane at the WRAM show? Hope you are, I'd love to see it in person!

[Gerryy]

Hey Crazy4RC, yes, indeed, I am burning the midnight oil (not to mention missing a fair share of hockey games!) to get the Howard Ike ready for the WRAM show! Depending on the weather, I am trying to get it there and setup on Friday AM.
I will be meeting up with Henry Haffke there as well and it will be the first time since the Rhinebeck Jamboree that's he's seen the model.

Also, FYI, Henry will be doing his presentation again this year on the Gee Bee racers in one of the conference rooms. Well worth the effort to attend.

[crazy4rc]

I can't wait. BTW excellent work:winner:, wish I had the time and skills.

[Gerryy]

Thanks for your words of encouragment. Actually anyone can develop the skills. All you have to do is live long enough to practice. Getting the time, well, that's another story!

Henry first built the bones for the "Ike" and showed them to me at the 2007 WRAM show. In March I then went to his home in upstate, NY and picked up the model from him to "finish and detail". I then worked on it on and off the all the rest of 2007. So really, this project may have taken only 2 or 3 months to "build", but it is going on its first birthday when it shows up at the show this year. I really can't wait to fly this thing!

I will try to get some of the small little How To techniqes from this project into print in MAN if we can find the room. Of course that's why MAN started the forum and the website in the first place, to have space for all the good stuff that doesn't make it into the printed pages.

See ya at the show, I will be in the MAN booth or by the model, as well as in one of the conference rooms on Saturday giving a seminar on "Getting into CAD Modeling"
see ya next week

[tandemairbike]

Hey Gerry,
Is Howard a twin brother to Harold??? LOL

Exemplary work on a fine classic model.

Tandy:wave:

[Gerryy]

Harold... Howard... geesh! Too many Hs... You knew who I meant! Thanks for the kind words!
I just finished the lens tonight.
Tomorrow will finish up the details around the bottom of the engine cowl and then paint the exhaust pipes.

[Gerryy]

Well today I checked off several items on the To Do list. Starting from the tail working forward, I started on the tail skid, installed all the hinges and control surfaces, painted and reinstalled all the pushrod exit covers and then went to the front of the plane.

[Gerryy]

When Henry built the fuselage, he added a large cooling tunnel below and behind the firewall. ILooking back at it now, I should have covered this up with balsa before I glassed the forward fuselage. But since I did not, I made a cover to fill out the cowling shape. I used Litho-plate aluminum I got from the local newspaper print shop. Actually I have a huge supply as they throw the stuff away in a bin to be recycled and I was able to get 20 or 30 20x30 inche sheets.

[Gerryy]

I cut slits in the cover to give the feeling of louvers without actually haveing to make them. The I sanded and cleaned the cover and screwed it into place over the tunnel. I then shot on some feather coat primer and then sprayed three coats onto the cover and surrounding area.

[Gerryy]

While I was up front, I installed the engine and screwed on the static scale prop for the first time! Ummm Um. It sure looks good to me. It is 27 inches in diameter and makes the 18x6 flying prop look down right small

[Gerryy]

I also checked the fit of the landing gear fairing blocks that hide the attachment screws. Henry made these they are finished with dope. I will have to do a test to see if I can over paint them to match the rest of the paint. The color is off just enough to need attention.

So that's it for Saturday night! Tomorrow I will remove the engine and mask the windshield so I can clear coat all the painted panels

[Gerryy]

Well, it is now official! The Ike has its name! That along with its cowl lettering and pilot name, the markings really added a lot to the model's overall appearance.

[Gerryy]

Also the pilot head (Harold) gives the model a real sence of scale. I am also very pleased with the new clear coat from Scale Stits. It went on very easily, flowed out smoothly and really made the white under color really pop!

[Gerryy]

I used rare earth magnets to hold the cockpit hatch closed. I got them from Hobby Lobby and they worked outstanding. As you can see, I have one embedded in the lower hatch rail and one in the lower fuselage rail. I do have to touch up the paint by the hatch magnet, gut hey, its late and I have to break for the night!

[Gerryy]

I also installed the ignition and radio switches. The wires are very noticeable but I am not too concerned as I will wrap them up later so they have a neat appearance. I still have to glue in the attachment point for the control column. I will show that tomorrow

[tandemairbike]

Hi Gerry;
Do you feel that there is enough opening for cooling air to exit?

These old eyes might have missed something in an earlier post, but I can't see enough exit opening with the engine installed.

Tandy:confused:

[Gerryy]

I was planning to take the cover plate off when flying the model. I could also make a cover plate later with more slots or one with wider slots. But thanks for the concern. I also think that there is a fair amount of exit space around the exhaust pipes. It would also be a fairly easy thing to open up the two or three of the dummy exhaust pipes to allow cooling air to exit the engine compartment should it be needed to keep the engine happy. We'll see how it goes in a few months.

[Gerryy]

Well that's it for painting! I finished the dummy exhaust pipes and the tail skid. All that's left is one last bit of cockpit interior detail

[Gerryy]

I made the control column (the stick) to be removable. I will install it to look at when the cockpit hatch is open. When it is time to fly, both the stick and the pilot seat (held in place with magnetic strips,) come out to make room for the pilot bust.
I made a torque tube base with a piece of fiberglass pushrod and a couple of attachment brackets made from lite ply. The base will be glued into the bottom of the cockpit and it is attached to the forward former and the plywood wing hold down plate. That's it! WOW! All done with 4 days left till the WRAM show!

[tandemairbike]

Totaly Cool!!!!

[Gerryy]

Thanks, tandemairbike, I will post a couple photos of the completed model when I get it all set up at the WRAM show in a couple days.
GY

[tandemairbike]

I wish I could attend the WRAMS show this year and see this model in person but, due to a family member's health problems, I will be unable to do so.

I have been there several times since the early seventies and each time seems to be better and better. the WRAMS boys do a magnificent job.

looking forward to the pix.

Tandy

[Gerryy]

You are correct, the WRAM club has been doing a great job with the show! I personally have been going since I was 8 or 9 years old with my father, and never missed a year except for 4 years when I was in the Air Force. 3 days to go!!!

[tandemairbike]

Hi Gerry;

I went back over your earlier posts in this thread and noticed on the unpainted model some telltale orange glue coloring. Does Henry still use Ambroid glue when building or is that some other product?

I always used Ambroid until the CAs came along and most hobby shops stopped stocking Ambroid. I thought perhaps Ambroid went out of business.
I now use Sigment for some bonding situations where I don't mind the longer curing time.

Tandy

[Gerryy]

Hey Tandy, no Ambroids glue as I can tell, but I do know Henry uses a lot of aliphetic resin, Sig or Elmer's Carpenter's glue I am not sure. I too use the yellow stuff. I also know that he used a lot of CA glue and most of the important joints are done with epoxy. For the sections that I did, I use either ZAP or Bob Smith Industries CA and the resin for the glass work is Zap Z-poxy finishing resin. I buy the 3/4 oz fiberglass cloth from Aircraft Spruce & Specilty (full-size aircraft supply co.) very inexpensive. I have a few hundred yards rolled up and hanging in my basement. I bought the supply many years ago and think I will never have to buy anymore for the rest of my life :^)

Take care, am loading the Ike into the family Trooper and will be heading the the WRAM show in a hour or so, I am grabbing supplies and such as we speak.
GY

[Gerryy]

Finally all setup at the WRAM show in White Plains New York! This is the first time I put all the pieces together! Looks pretty good even if I do say so myself! I entered it in Designer Class under Henry and my name.

[Gerryy]

You might notice the dvd player and digital picture frame. I am doing a little multi-media presentation showing construction pictures and am showing a DVD of the Bendix air races from old news reels

[Gerryy]

Here's one last detail I made last night before the show. Actually I made four of the oak dowel wire spreaders. The metal cap ends are just paint and the chrome wire attachment points are made of aluminum heater tape.

[crazy4rc]

I'll see everyone tommorow, almost wrecked my car twice this morning going to work with all the snow. BTW you got my vote!:cool:

[Gerryy]

Yes indeed, the weather was a big issue today. Unfortunately i did get into a car accident on the Saw Mill Parkway this morning on the way to the WRAM show. An SUV tried to pass me and spun out, and bumped into me making me spin out and I bounced off of the center guard rail! Lost the front and rear lights on the right side and need a lot of body work now!
Bummer!

[tandemairbike]

Winter is Mother Nature's huge vacuum cleaner.

It truly sucks.

Tandy

[Gerryy]

Hurray! Henry and I won and shared a 3rd place in Designer Scale with the Ike! Henry took the trophy home along with the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award~ Good going Henry!

[Gerryy]

So ask me what's next on the Personal Project bench! I will have it done in plenty of time for the 2009 WRAM show. Here's a hint! I designed it all by myself and it is also 1/3-scale

Watch for a new Thread to begin in a little while

[crazy4rc]

Congrats to all! Sorry for the quick introduction on Sat, I was meeting a freind and pressed for time. Sorry to hear about your accident on Friday, hope the damage isn't too bad. Let us know when and if your going to maiden it, I'd make the trip to watch. If it was mine I wouldn't risk it, my luck isn't the greatest! Mike!

[Gerryy]

good to meet you at the show crazy4rc. The car accident is not extremely bad but bad enough.
Will post here later on when we get some flight shots after the snow melts!
take care
GY

[tandemairbike]

Gerry;
Congratulations to you and Henry for this excellent accomplishment. With the caliber of scale competition today, this was a momentous achievement.
Congrats also to henry for the McEntee trophy.

What a wonderful hobby this is.:)

Tandy

[Gerryy]

many thanks. Henry did have a good day!
Cheers,
GY

[Gerryy]

Well this isn't the way I wanted to end this string but here goes. Today April 11th we had a perfect day to test the Howard Ike, engine ran perfectly, new 2.4GHz JR receiver and X9303 transmitter worked great! Even the wind cooperated.

So, took off and there was a bit of torque turning the model to the left, and the ailerons were set up so there was a bit of adverse yaw. We were dealing with that and adding more and more rudder to correct.

We were so busy that we neglected to notice that we flew out of the flight box and ended up hitting the power wires at the far end of the field!

The model hit the wires dead on and shattered the prop and the front of the cowling. Of course the model fell from the wires and hit tail first! Breaking the fuselage in half at the cockpit!

Yes, the model is very repairable, the wing is untouched except for a little dirt and mud.

The fuselage will either be spliced together or a new fuselage will be built altogether.

So we'll see what happens, I have too many other projects to rebuilt it now, maybe next winter...

[crazy4rc]

Sorry to hear about your mishap:(

[klausr]

That's a real heartbreaker.

[Gerryy]

yep, sucks big time

[JohnR]

That is too be, sorry Gerry.

[tandemairbike]

Gerry;
I have experienced what you are now feeling more times than I want to divulge.
Goes with the territory I guess.

Tandy

[Gerryy]

Here's the most recent pictures

[PipesCS]

Sorry to hear of the crash.

I am up in DC and managed to scan a couple of photos of the Pete and Ike

Will send them when I get home. Too large to upload here

[Gerryy]

yes, it has been a really bad spring. My good friend Mitch Epstein lost his B-17 (four G-23s power), because of a failed and locked up rudder servo, and my other friend John Kohler lost his AT-6 Texan (G-62 power) 101 inch span, after flying it for more than 10 years. The spark plug loosened and unscrewed and he lost power and the plane strained itself through the trees! So we are all sort of sucking wind! Hope the rest of the year is an improvement
GY

[tandemairbike]

My mother always believed that bad things came in threes.
Cheer up, it's over now.

Tandy

[Gerryy]

Actually I heard from another one of my warbird friends and he just losty a Ziroli Corsair! #4 for the season :^(

[tandemairbike]

Oh well, another steadfast belief down the drain.

[PipesCS]

OK enough procrastination

How are the repairs going?. Its too pretty to just let it lay there.

Go agaid and strip the fuselage and stick it back together.

[Gerryy]

Hi Pipes. I agree, the Ike is too nice a plane to just languish! I have stripped out the engine and radio for other projects. But the wing is intact and the fuselage will be either repaired or a new one built. Landing gear also is in fine shape! All I need is the time!
GY

[PipesCS]

Maybe these will help get you going again. :wave:

When I get the chance I go to Washington DC to the Archives. There I am allowed to scan photos from the photo section. Over the years I have scanned in around two hundred photos of odds and ends.

These are two I found a few months back. I had to shrink them for this site. If you want them full size send me an Email as I have lost your address

One of the things that stood out was the wheel configuration. I have not read all you threads and figure you must have talked about this set up at some point. Can't imagine why you guys didn't go with this set up.

I ment to ask. Does it swing when you bring the tail up. It just looks like it should have been a little on the wild side with that high angle of attack.

[Gerryy]

Yes, the wheel configuration was changed over the history of the Ike! I used Paul Matt 3-views for the detailing and the "Miss Chevrolet" scheme airplane used standard landing gear with only two wheels total. Also in the soldering of the landing gear. I repositioned the axles 1 inch forward of true scale. Ground handeling is great! (was great!)
GY

[Gerryy]

Ah! we finally have the plans from Henry Haffke! Will be sending the 1/3-scale Ike plans to our draftsman to be inked onto mylar soon!
GY

[jitendrakumar]

Hi

Aero planes are my favorite since childhood. There are some nice pictures of old aircraft. I really like them they all are very good. This aircraft has always been one of my favorites. I look forward to the build. There is a photo which shows the Howard DGA-5 "Ike" in Miss Chevrolet" markings with pilot Howard Neumann.

Thanks

Jitendra kumar
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