AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Airfoil: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Motor: Radio:
Manufacturer:
R/C scale
balsa and ply 55.5 inches 530 sq. in.
fully-symmetrical 47.8 inches
6.75–8.00 pounds 31 oz./sq.ft.
.40–.60 two-stroke
4-channel (5 for retracts) Hangar 9
Dist. by: Horizon Hobby 4105 Fieldstone Road, Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-1913
www.horizonhobby.com
The Hangar 9 P-40B Warhawkhas a rather large parts count and everything included is of top-notch quality. Note the pre-painted canopy. The covering job was literally perfect.
of my ailerons (on the wing side) were not centered and it made the aileron sit 1⁄8 inch above the surface of the wing. Ten seconds and a sharp X-Acto blade fixed this. I was provided with JR DS821 Digital
Sport servos for my build, and my next task was to mount two of them to the aileron ser- vo hatches. The hardwood mounting blocks are not pre-glued to the hatches, so after I aligned them properly I attached them with epoxy. Two 6-inch servo extensions are needed for the ailerons, and once they are fitted the servo hatches are attached with screws. The aileron control horns and link- ages follow. The wing halves are now joined together with a beefy plywood spar and co- pious amounts of 30-minute epoxy. Some masking tape ensures the halves are aligned perfectly while the glue sets. The Hangar 9 P-40B comes with fixed gear (with full instructions for it) but is retract ready. Now your humble scribe strongly ad- heres to the belief that an R/C warbird whose full-scale counterpart had retracts needs re- tracts. I’m pretty sure that even Dante him- self mentions a level of hell dedicated to re- tract-less warbirds. Luckily for me, I was
provided with E-flite 25–46 size 100-degree rotating electric retracts for my Warhawk. Although it is totally worth the effort, fit- ting the retracts for the P-40B requires an above average amount of work. A paper tem- plate of the shape of the wheel well bay is in- cluded which must be positioned and traced onto the underside of the wing. That portion is then cut away. Because you are cutting through the balsa wing sheeting itself a sharp X-Acto blade is crucial for a clean cut. Next the retract units themselves are dropped in place and holes drilled for their mounting screws.
Scale rubber wheels are included with the P-40B, and after they are fixed to the axles they are used to gauge and cut the retract strut wires to the proper length. The includ- ed rubber wheels are rather heavy for a model this size, so if weight is a concern for you foam wheels could be substituted. The P-40’s signature retract wing blisters are then cut and trimmed to allow the retracts to do their thing. Small wood screws are pro- vided to attach them to the wing, but I used canopy glue instead for a cleaner finish. A rotary tool and cutoff wheel make this job
much easier. Plastic wheel wells are includ- ed, but I decided to omit them and paint the exposed inner wing area with flat olive drab to better match the full-scale aircraft. Once everything was completed I cycled
the gear a few times to make sure the gear cleared the wing, which it did. Watching the retracts rotate as they actuate is really cool. The wing is finished off by fitting the belly pan which extends from the leading edge past the trailing edge. Although the manual instructs you to use CyA to adhere it I opt- ed to use canopy glue again instead. The P-40B’s tail feathers are next on the list. None of the covering on the fuse or tails is pre-trimmed, so that gets done first. After slipping the elevator joiner wire into the stab slot, the horizontal tail gets glued into place with epoxy. The elevator halves are then epoxied onto the joiner wire and CyA hinged into place. The vertical stab and rud- der are installed in similar fashion, with the rudder accepting the tail wheel before at- tachment. Everything in these steps fit per- fectly with no sanding necessary for a square fit.
The P-40B comes with instructions and
The aileron servo mounting blocks are epoxied to their hatches (above left) followed by the servos themselves with screws. The aileron servo assemblies are screwed to the wing (above center) followed by the installation of the control
FLYING MODELS
horns and pushrods. The wing halves are joined to the wing spar and each other with epoxy (above right). Tape holds the servo extensions away from a sticky encounter with the epoxy.
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