1/7th F-14D Scratch build thread

[Boomhauer]

Good to see some action on this again. Keep up the great work.

[Thomas_W]

Got some work done today... FINALLY

So first off, was getting the tail section completed. The rudders have been done for a LONG time, but the vertical/horizontal stabs have been waiting for some of the larger and more complex parts to get figured out. Instead of doing the large leading edges in 2 pieces of litho, i took some body filler and filled the leading edge instead. Then sanded it down to the airfoil. The stabs are essentially complete except for a little filling on the root of the stabs where they meet the fuselage and making the antenna's that go on them. The Vertical stab fairings were done the same way as well.
The Fuselage flanges for the over-wing fairing hatch's were also covered in body filler and sanded smooth, so were the back sides of the upper spill-way door's, and the nose cone flange.

The Goal is to have all of the plugs (except for the fuselage) complete by the end of next week. I've got 5 gallons of mold making supplies on order and if they arrive by next weekend, i should be able to start making a few molds... anyways, here's a few pictures:

[Thomas_W]

More work getting done. I went ahead and made up the fairings for the horizontal stab antenna's, put them into place and then filled the inside of the 2 halves with body filler. Once this cures, I'll sand the antenna's flush with the trailing of the stab just like the full-scale. I have one more of these antenna's to make for one of the vertical stabs, and a little bit more filling to do to the root edges of the horizontals to get the fit perfect to the fuse and then the tail section will be 100% complete, other than a coat of paint on the filled parts.

I have also got 2 you-tube video's uploading so far.. i'm planning to have a few more as well later today

[Thomas_W]

Video #1 and #2 for the day:

‪7 16 2011 pt 1‬‏ -...

‪7 16 2011 pt 2‬‏ -...

[Thomas_W]

Some more work.. the horizontal stab antenna's are done.. The Antenna on the left hand vertical stab was formed and completed. The last bit of filling on the vertical stabs was done, they just need a little bit of sanding a coat of primer to make sure their are no pinholes (as well as the stabs). And the large panels on the top of the wing were started to be installed. Once the 3rd video from today has finished uploading, i'll post that as well.

[Thomas_W]

Last video for today:

‪How to build an F-14D Tomcat...

[wesryman]

You go boy! Looks great.

[Thomas_W]

Thanks Wes. The goal is to have the prototype ready for next years Jumbo

[Thomas_W]

Not F-14 related.. but for those of you guys wondering what i've been up to over the past year or so (instead of working on the F-14) here is a little run down of what i've been doing...

Great news from the soap box today!

First flight of the day with the prop trimmed to 22"... better than the maiden voyage, but not by much. The gear also failed to go up, due to the valve being stuck.

Second flight of the day, and another 1/2" trimmed off each blade. Rpm was up to 5800rpm fully leaned, and 5600rpm for flight.

IT FLIES FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It required absolutely no aileron of rudder trim and tracks straight as an arrow. It is a bit nose heavy, as it required about 10 clicks of up elevator trim. Once the rack and pilot are installed, it should be perfect.

Prop rpm is still a little low, so im going to look for a 20x12 or 14 prop to get the rpm up another 400 rpm or so, then the performance should be fine.

I then flew it a 3rd time after going over the ailerons (i thought i saw flutter, but no one else saw it, heard it, or anything). This flight was just as good as the previous flight. It takes about 1/2 a lap around the field to get the airplane "up on step" but after that, it flies fantastic. It handles beautifully and is by far the easiest warbird i have ever flown.

Here is the video from the first flight from today, i'll post the video of the 3rd flight when its done uploading:

‪1/5 FW-190 Flight #2‬‏ -...

[Thomas_W]

Flight #3 from today and #4 for the airplane.

‪1/5 FW-190 flight #4... the first 2nd...

[Thomas_W]

I made 4 panels yesterday, and another 3 today. Then installed all of them. The wings are now about 60% complete. I've got about 5 panels per wing panel to make and install, and then they are done. Mold making supplies are also on the way and should be here thursday or Friday of this week. So the goal, finish the horizontals and verticals tomorrow. Then the wing panels on thur/friday. The canopy and windscreen will be the first things to get molded, that way I can finish detailing the fuselage while the molds for the other items cure. Mean-while i have a bunch of materials to pickup for the parting planes.




Wing bottoms:


Wing Top and Bottom:

[Thomas_W]

A little bit of work today, but not much. I have had to work late the past few days, so progress hasn't gone as fast as i was hoping. A few gallons of mold making supplies arrived, along w/ the wax and PVA. I also got started workign on the final fitting of the horizontal stabs to the fuselage. They need a bit of final sanding, but otherwise are fit. Once the last of the sanding is done, i'll shoot a shot of primer, fill any imperfections, then a coat of color and clear and they will be 100% complete and ready to mold.







Another video as well. I've got a 2nd one uploading as well that i will post when it is complete.

‪How to build an F-14D Tomcat...

[Thomas_W]

Video #2 for the night:

‪How to build an F-14D Tomcat...

[Thomas_W]

Some updates from this past weekend and friday..

Some goodies showed up for making some of the molds. I'll be getting started with the Windscreen, Canopy, stabs, rudder, flaps and then wings first. Afterwards, i'll get the fuselage done.




Got the stab to fuselage fit perfect so when you put about a .030-.040" gap, the stab clears and their is a nice even gap the length of the stab:





I also made up a mold for my FW-190 spinner. Then did 2 different test layup's using different weight cloth's. They both ended up working just as well, so i can use pretty much any of the glass cloth i have on hand, i just need to get some more 2oz cloth.




Overall, everything is working out perfect. I need to get the material for the parting planes and get those built, then i can start making molds of the actual F-14 parts. I also need a few more supplies for making those molds which i'll be ordering today anyways.

[Thomas_W]

Didn't really do much today but play around with the gear mock-up Paul (aka . sharp pencil aka. ps2727) sent me. Also popped the FW190 plug out of the mold and cleaned them up.

Gear Mockup:



and a wing sweep system he sent me to look at possibly up-sizing to use with the Big cat. I believe it may be possible



YouTube video #18:

‪How to build an F-14D Tomcat...