Scale Aviator International Magazine Issue 3 | Page 20

port and controls the spooler valve and both inner
gear doors. Combining the cowl flaps and canopy to one channel using a three position switch
I programmed the following: Doors closed, canopy closed; Doors open 25%, canopy closed and
Doors open 100%, canopy open. With cooling air
coming in around the dummy radial cylinders and
cowl flaps @ 25% there is excellent cooling.
Balancing the model according to published specs
I ended up needing 3lbs ballast to make it right.
So I epoxied 3lbs of steel and led shot into the very
front of the cowl as far forward as possible. All up
weight is 26lbs dry which is about 5lbs more than
the unmodified ARF typically weighs. This is not
bad considering the amount of ballast required. I
do not bench run engines to break them in. I have
had much better results running a new engine only
long enough to tune it and demonstrate some reliability then flying it. This is exactly what I did here,
after less than 5 minutes of run time I was satisfied with it and bolted the cowl back on. With all
the controls set to the recommended max throws,
I set middle rates at 75% and low 50% and called
it ready to fly.
There are so many little things I did to this ARF
to scale it out that I added a page of photos and
explanations. Probably most would say that is way
too much work, but once I found how well this P47
was built and accurate to outline it was, I decided
it was worth going for it. After many great flights,
I am happy with the decision, and no body at the
fields and events I’ve flown at know it is a Hangar
9 P-47 unless I explain it to them. All those questions are the reason I decided to make it an article
and hopefully if you go this route, there is enough
information here to guide you through the process.
Getting ready for the maiden flight involved the nor-

20

This is the supercharger waste gate and vents. I did a
little extra work here and made these more scale. The
waste gate on the P 47 is often mistaken as the engine
exhaust..

Note the shaft attached to the servo and the servo is
mounted at a right angle to the hinge line. This is the
rotary drive that actuates the ailerons and no control
rod is visible under the wing.