Cessna 177 Cardinal beta build- Murph's Models

[alblife]

very nice model

[willygoat]

I should be able to get more landing gear done tonight. Might not finish the whole thing, but should be able to knock out the main gear wheels.

I'm still toying with how to do the main gear legs. On many of the other Cessna models I have done, I used a piece of wire that I bent to shape and then slid through the fuselage and down for each gear strut. May have to come up with something similar. I don't think that just gluing the paper struts to the fuselage will be strong enough.

[sparrowhawk]

Hey, this old tin parachute looks really good, if done in the right paint scheme. You definitely whet my appetite for this model.

Cheers, Martin

[willygoat]

Landing gear!!!!! (Minus tires)

Last night I managed to get the main gear struts and wheel cowling built and attached to the plane. I decided to try something different with support from the bent wire I was thinking about originally.

1. One of the main gear parts (cowling, strut, strut fairing, wheel)

2. Gear cowling cut out. Just like the nose gear, I cut off the attached tabs and made new ones from 20# printer paper.

3. Gear strut: It's a a pretty simple piece. Score and fold the glue tab, then roll and curve to an oval shape. As you can see, I put a toothpick through the middle. I also used it to curl the long sides to the proper curve.
The toothpick is cut to length so that just a small part sticks out past the bottom of the strut, and that a slightly longer end with the point goes past the other. The reasons will become clear shortly.

4. Gear strut (before toothpick was glued in) with the fairing to the fuselage attached. Again, notice the teardrop shape of the fairing, and the oval shape of the strut.

5. Wheel parts. I cut the sides off and rolled the tread into a loop. I also have the strip that I cut slightly narrower that the tread. This will be used to reinforce the tread ring.

6. Here you can see the extra strip of paper rolled into the tread ring. It isn't a lot of extra material, but it is enough to make gluing the sides on much easier.

7. Nearly finished wheel cowling with finished wheels

8-9. Gear struts dry fit into the wheel cowling. You can see where the toothpick comes through to the inside of the cowling. I used the mini-vise again to make a nice even hole. As an added bonus, the little bit of toothpick will help hold the wheel in place.

10-12. The landing gear attached (minus wheels).

[MacSongLi]

It looks great. You've done a magnificent job! I look forward to seeing the completed project.

Gary

[elliott]

......what Gary said....

[Don Boose]

Good work and a very useful step-by-step explanation of the undercarriage.

Don

[willygoat]

I have let the plane sit on its own legs for a day and night, and they have held perfectly. I think this technique should work for everyone.

[Falco]

This plane makes for a scary build... I will try to avoid it as long as I can to perfect my skills.

[murphyaa]

It's easier than it looks. I separated the fuselage from the cabin roof, so it's easier to get the shape than the usual method Cessna models go together.