www.wmmodels.nl - P47 building

Building the Republic P47 Thunderbolt

Here you can follow the build of a new P47 Thunderbolt.

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Canopies

Wing Cores

Step 1.

Each part of the fuselage exists of two seperate parts melted together during production.
Carefully split the nose parts.

Step 2.

Carefully split the the mid section of the fuselage.

Step 3.

Carefully split the the tail section of the fuselage.

Step 4.

Glue the two parts of the fuselage tail together.
Make sure this is done in a straight line.
Let this dry over night

Step 5.

Glue the two parts of the fuselage mid section together.
Make sure this is done in a straight line.
Let this dry over night.

Step 6.

Use the drawing as template for making the wood parts.
Make the stab and fin from 5mm hard balsa.
Make the two elevators from 5mm hard balsa.
Make the two wingsaddle reinforcement from 0.8mm ply.
Make the two ailerons from 8mm balsa.
Make the firewall from 4mm ply.

Building the P47 fuselage.

Use PU glue or epoxy for building the fuselage together.
Don't throw any parts in the garbage until the plane is completed.
Building the plane this way, is how i do it. You are free to solve things in your own way.

Building the P47 wings.

There are 2 ways to make the wings, Covering with 1,5mm balsa or glue in two spars on the top and bottom side of the wing.
I always use the second option, it's simple and has more then enough strength.

Step 1.

Here you see the wing cores without the cut out space for the wooden spars.
Keep in the wingcores in there shells as much as possible then the end result will be the best.

Step 2.

Here you see the wing cores with the cut out space for the wooden spars.
This is done at the bottom and top site of the wing.
The spars are 3 * 6 mm

Step 3.

Use PU glue to put a thin line of glue in the bottom of the holes for the spars.
Use masking tape over the spars to prevent gluing the wing cores to the shells
Do this for both sides.

Step 4.

Put the wingcores in the shells and let them dry under pressure.
Don't work on the wings until the glue is dry.

Step 5.

From 10mm balsa make the leading edge.
Glue the leading edge in place.

Step 6.

From 8mm balsa make the trailing edge.
Glue the trailing edge in place.

Step 7.

Sand the leading edge and trailing edge into shape.
Keep the trailing edge as thick as possible.

Step 7.

Draw a line at the bottom side of the mid section from the nose of the wing cut-out.

Step 8.

Use a sharp knife or saw to cut of the belly.
Do not throw this part away, it will be used under the wing later.

Step 9.

Test fit the midsection and tail section of the fuselage. Adjust if necessary.
Glue the two parts of the fuselage together in a straight line.
Let this dry under pressure over night.

Holes for enginemount and fuel/gas cable

Step 10.

Now we will start mounting the engine.
These parts will be necessary.
The engine mount i use is a Robbe 2,5cc engine mount.

Step 11.

Mount the engine on the enigine mount.
Mount the muffler and test how to place the engine on the firewall.
Rotating the engine 30 degrees to the left will keep the muffler close to the fuselage.
Mark the mounting holes.
You can choose any other mounting method.

Step 12.

Drill the holes for the nuts and bolts.
Also make the holes for the gas lines and throttle line.

Step 13.

Place the nuts and test fit the enginemount on the firewall.

Step 14.

Use a bit of epoxy to glue the nuts in place.
This way you can remove the engine without losing the nuts.

Step 15.

Epoxy the firewall on the fuselage.
Leave an even amount of space on top and at the bottom.
I know the engine mount is to small, this is by design ;-)

Step 16.

Remount the engine on the fuselage.

Step 17.

Remove all loose parts of the engine, muffler e.d.
Measure the right place to create a hole for the cylinderhead to come out.
For the nicest end result the hole should not be to large.

Step 18.

If all fits well around the engine glue the two nose parts together.

Mark foam for removal for front wing mount

Step 19.

Glue the nose to the firewall.

Step 20.

Mark a line at the front bottom of the fuselage 4mm wide.
This part needs to be removed for the front wingmount construction.

Step 21.

Remove the 4mm thick piece of foam.

Step 22.

Use the fuselage as sjabloon for creating the front wing mount.
From 4 mm ply make the front wing mount and glue it in place.
Drill a hole approx. 1,5 cm from the bottom of the fuse.

Step 23.

Use a sharp hobby knife to trim the nose into shape.
Use sandpaper (grain 100) and carefully sand the fuselage into it's shape.
This is a slow process, if you use to much pressure you create holes in the foam!

Step 24.

Slightly sand the inside of the fuselage where the wingsaddle reinforcements will be glued.
Test fit the wingsaddle reinforcements and glue them in place with 5 minute epoxy.
Do not twist the fuselage while glueing the wingsaddle reinforcements.

Step 25.

Enlarge the inside of the nose section to allow the entrance of the enginemount with engine through the nose.
If this is possible depends on your engine setup.

Step 26.

After bolting thge engine in to place create a small test hole for the exhaust exit.

Step 27.

If the hole is right you can enlarge it until the exhaust can be fitted without touching the fuselage.

Step 28.

Use a hot iron wire to create the holes for the exhaust bolds.
Don't use to much heat but just enough to create large enough holes.

Step 29.

Mount the exhaust into place.
Create a hole for the gas needle, make sure it doesn't touch the fuselage when in place.

enlarged hole behind the engine for fuel lines

Step 30.

Enlarge the space behind the engine for better airflow and to allow the fuellines to come out.

Step 31.

Remove the exhaust and the engine with enginemount.
With epoxy reinforce the small part between the engine and exhaust.
You can epoxy the complete inside of the nosesection too or use fuel resistant paint on the inside.
The foam does not react with the fuel but will absorb it!

So far the fuselage is ready. If you haven't done already you can start with the wings.

Step 8.

Use the drawing to make a template for the wing tip.
Draw the wingtip.

Step 9.

Use a sharp knife or saw to cut the wingtip into shape.

Step 10.

Now we need the aileron and wing trailing edge we made earlier.
sand the aileron and trailing edge into shape.
the thickest side is around 8mm and the thinnest part around 1,5mm

Step 11.

Use a sandbar to make a v-form on the front of the aileron.

Step 12.

Use a dremel tool make room for the aileron linkage.

Step 13.

These are the pieces needed for the aileron linkage.

Step 14.

Test fit the aileron linkage in the space created.

Step 15.

Bend the rod into shape.
Do not forget the outer tube before bending!!

Step 16.

After doing this for the left and right side the result should look like this.
Use a bit of oil to make between the rod and tube.
This will prevent glueing the rod to the tube.

Step 17.

Glue the trailing edge to the wingcore.

Step 18.

Mark the aileron linkage on the aileron and drill a hole.

Step 19.

Cut off the last 2 cm of the tip of the aileron.
Do this in the same angle as the other side of the aileron.

Step 20.

Use a sharp knife to fit the hinges.
Use three per aileron.

Step 21.

Test fit the ailerons.

Step 22.

Measure the space between the fuselage.
Adjust the trailing edge middle section to fit between the fuselage.
Make sure this is done in a curve following the curve of the aileron.

Step 23.

Use a piece of scrap balsa to make the tip of the aileron on the wingtip.

Step 24.

Use a saw to make a cut about 7cm long in both wings.
Make sure that the cuts line-up perfectly.

Step 25.

From 1mm ply make a form that will connect both wings.

Step 26.

Adjust the angle of both wings.
With one wing on the table the other tip should be about 7cm above the table.

Step 27.

Test fit the ply and both wings if all fits well.
Glue the wings and ply together with epoxy.

Step 28.

Remove all the ply sticking out of the wing.
Glue the belly under the wing.

Step 29.

At the front of the wing draw a line 4mm from the front.

Step 30.

Use a sharp knife to remove this piecel.

Step 31.

From 4mm ply make a front of the belly.
Glue the piece in place.

Step 32.

In the back of the wing make room to fill this with 2 layers of hard 10mm balsa.
This is to reinforce the back wing mounting.

Step 33.

Glue the two layers of balsa into place.
The balsa is approx. 5cm into the wing.

Step 34.

Testfit the wng onto the fuselage.
Normally the only part that needs modification is under the red line.

Step 35.

Drill a hole into the front wing plate approx. 1.4mm from the bottom of the wing.
From 10mm round wood make a 7cm long piece for the front wing mounting.
Glue the round piece of wood into place.

So far the wing is ready. Now we will start putting the plane together

Building the plane together.

With the fuselage and wing finished so far it's time to put it all together.

Step 1.

Glue a piece of 10mm thick balsa between the wing reinforcement.
Install the wing and drill a 6mm hole through the belly and through the balsa.
Enlarge the hole in the balsa, fix a blind nut behind the balsa and glue it in place.

Step 2.

Test fit the wing mounting again. Use a 6mm nylon bold to fix the wing in place.

Step 3.

Shape the belly to allign with the fuselage.
Use a sharp knife to remove the biggest parts and sand the belly into shape.

Step 4.

Test fit the stab.Make adjustments if necessary.
Allign the stab with the wing and double check all dimensions.
Do not glue the stab yet!!!

Step 5.

Use a piece of really hard wood to connect the two elevators.

Step 6.

Sand the front of the elevators so it can move up and down.
The hinge point will be made op the covering material.

Step 7.

Glue the two pieces of the fin together.

Step 8.

Now we have to make room for the fin.

Step 9.

Also make a bit of room in the back end of the fuselage.
This will give the connection with the fin more strength.

Step 10.

Make room for the elevator connection to move free.

Step 11.

Test fit the complete tail section.
Make any adjustments if necessary.

Step 12.

OK, and this is what it should look like all together.
Fill any dents and sand all parts carefully.
round off the tips of the wings.
Your plane is now ready to cover.

Some final tips.

You can first cover the fuselage and then glue in the stab and fin or do it the other way around.
After covering adjust the canopy and glue it in place, don't forget the pilot!! Canopy starts at 21cm from the front of the plane.
Use your equipment to get the CG at the right spot. (5.7mm from the front of the leading edge)
Start settings for up/down and left/right is 7mm up and 7mm down for all. (this can be adjusted when you get to know your plane ;-)
Next thing todo is practise and then join a Aircombat contest near you and have lots of fun!!