Cessna 177 Cardinal beta build- Murph's Models

[willygoat]

Originally Posted by murphyaa

BTW, have you calculated the scale yet?

I think it's right about 1/40. The real plane had a span of 35'6". The model span is ju SD this about 17". I'll get a more acurate measurement tomorrow.

[willygoat]

I measured the wings again. They are 16.5" in length. That makes them in the 1/38 -1/39 range. Rounding up to 1/39.

[wag]

This is one I'm really looking forward to. I always thought these were one of the prettiest lightplanes ever, although Cessna never sold as many as they thought they would.
Wayne

[C9B]

Originally Posted by wag

This is one I'm really looking forward to. I always thought these were one of the prettiest lightplanes ever, although Cessna never sold as many as they thought they would.
Wayne

Agree—and this model and build really does it justice.

Cheers

[Richschindler]

Can't wait till it's available. I'll be getting one for certain. I flew one of these, actually a 177rg, retractable gear, many many moons ago. Did I mention many moons ago. It Was the first complex plane I flew. Complex as in, retractable undercarriage and adjustable pitch prop. Nice plane. Nice to see it being designed.
Looks good from what I e seen so far.

[RyanShort]

Originally Posted by murphyaa

Literally. I used your photos to make it as close as I could.

Oh, and I noticed the glaring whiteness under the windshield (it should be red) I fixed it for the final version. Still working on separate tabs for the prop hub (Have I mentioned how tedious separate tabs are to make?)

BTW, have you calculated the scale yet?

Not yet. Still waiting for a chance to buy it since I couldn't do the beta.

[murphyaa]

The scale question was to Willygoat. I always forget to warn people when I change subjects.

[willygoat]

The next step is the landing gear. Due to my daughter getting a double ear infection this weekend, I didn't quite have as much time as I had hoped to finish up the Cardinal.

What I did get done was the nose gear.

1. Nose gear parts: wheel housing/pants, wheel, and strut

2. I cut out the parts and again, cut off the attached tabs and used 20# paper cut from the copy of the parts.

3. Wheel housing mostly done. I left the bottom panel open for fitting the wheel in place.

4. Wheel parts: pretty standard design. I cut the wheel sides off. I then rolled up the tread piece, and then added extra rolled strip of paper the the inside of the tread. This made a reinforced outer ring to better attached the sides.

5-6. Wheel installed in housing. I managed to just fit with the bottom closed off. There isn't an axle to attach the wheel into the housing, so I just put a good glob of glue in the center. It seems to have worked just fine.

7. Landing gear strut. As you can see, I rolled it around a tooth pick. I cut the toothpick to length so that it would reach far enough through the gear strut mounting bar on strip 3 of the nose to anchor securely.

8. I used a mini-vise to drill open the whole in the landing gear mout bar to just barely fit the toothpick.

9. Too pick strut installed.

10-11. Front landing gear installed. I was going to use the mini-vise to make another hole in the top of the housing and the wheel inside, but totally forgot by the time the glue for the wheel in the housing dried. I just made sure the end of the toothpick was flat, and securely glued it to the top of the wheel housing.

[YOAVHOZMI]

this is a very nice model and you are doing very good job

YOAV

[Don Boose]

Your thread is an excellent resource for anyone building this model, and it looks like it will be a popular one.

Don