P-40 Warhawk (oz12075)

About this Plan

P-40 Warhawk. Radio control profile scale model WWII fighter, for .25 to .30 engines.

Quote: "Are you one of those people who is tired of the box fuselages, stringers, twisted formers, banana fuselages, and expensive building? Fancy something that looks like a fighter plane but has simple building with an affordable price, and a performance to meet any sports aerobatic flyer's repertoire? Then, you will find it difficult to go wrong with this one as far as the construction goes as the fuselage is made from 1/2 in sheet balsa and a few bits of ply. I dare you to make this one bend!

Why choose the P40 Warhawk? Well, I have always fancied the fierce looking teeth and the American training colour scheme of blue and yellow, with the American Star insignia on the wings. Having chosen the actual model shape I then wanted the wings altered in order to house the nicad, receiver and one servo. This then required a thick wing section which is fully symmetrical with no tip washout and zero incidence.

General construction: The total cost of the completed model, ready to fly, was less than £30. The wing is attached to the fuselage using a locating tube attached to the centre rib in the wing. This then slots into a housing tube of slightly larger diameter in the fuselage. The original tube was of aluminium. This helps to provide the vertical stability as well as the 1/16 in sheet ply which is located at 90° on the fuselage and acts as the radio compartment cover as well. The other three remaining servos recess into the fuselage which then only needs to be covered on one side.

Fuselage: The fuselage is made from 1/2 in sheet, depinding on stock available. You will need to join the pieces together unless you can find a sheet wider than 4 in - I could not. Having cut the fuselage to shape, you then cut the engine area to suit your particular motor size. Spruce engine bearers are then added using epoxy to hold them in place. I/16in ply sheet doublers are placed on both sides, with one inch cut out to allow the engine to fit. I glued these using contact adhesive. Next, the servos must be positioned on the fuselage; carefully draw around them as these will require a good tight fit. The servo arm will then stick out on one side of the fuselage only. Once all three servos are positioned you may now attach the bowden cables for the rudder and elevator in place. The throttle servo cable runs from one side of the fuselage diagonally through the sheet and out the other side to the engine. I did it this way so as to prevent fuel contamination in the servo area. A miniature servo was used for throttle on the original and was kept on the surface so as not to interfere with the aluminium locating tubes. If an ordinary servo is used, then this must be positioned accordingly so as not to affect the tubing. Next comes the locating tube. Drill a hole down the edge of the sheet making sure the hole is straight and true. Into this will slide the aluminium tube. Epoxy this in place. You may use any tubing that is available as long as one section slides firmly into the other.

Wings: The wings are straightforward to make and should cause no difficulty; build one half at a time. All the ribs apart from W1, W2 and W4, which are 1/8 balsa are made from 1/16 sheet with 1/4 in square leading edge. 1/4 in square to form upper and lower spars. The trailing edge is made from 1/16 sheet top and bottom with 3/16 and 3/8 square to form the outer trailing edge..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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