Swappable T-28 Trojan

by Phoenix1962 | December 19, 2014 | (17) Posted in Projects

Some time ago I received a request for a  T-28 Trojan from Jose Valentin. Unfortunately due to  a medical emergency it has taken quite some time to complete. As with most of my designs it was quite a challenge, and a learning experience. I've never designed by request before so after getting as much information from Jose  about what he wanted I began the initial layout. We had decided on a wing span of 44” and trying to keep as close to scale as I could the fuselage came out to 33.5”  and weight somewhere around 2.5 Lbs. It takes 5 sheets of Adams foam board to buld, and I'm using my Turnigy D2836/11 750 Kv for the test model  swinging a 11 / 5.5 prop. I recommend using a motor in about this range that is rated at about 280 Watts at least. I'm going by the recommendation of 90 Watts per pound. With the model now complete and the first copy safely in Jose's hands. I'm ready to bring this design to you.

 

Let's take a look at the build!

 

Due to the fact that the Trojan has a radial cowl and placement of the nose gear and actuating servo. I chose to modify the power pod to mount the battery pack within it. Since I chose to do this. I provided a secure mounting box for either a 2200 MaH or a 1300 MaH battery.

 

Shown is the power pod for the 2200 MaH battery

The fuselage is designed similar to the FW-190 using bulkheads and stringers secured to the box frame to support the skin.

 

I've also provided an air intake for ECS and battery cooling. Notice the cut out just aft of F-1

 

 F-2A and the intake completed and ready for mounting.

 

 F-2A and the intake is mounted. The flat plate just aft of F-2A is the canopy mounting plate.

 

At the suggestion of Jose I used the Dynam T28 Canopy w/ Cowl Insert Catalog # T28-05 from Grayson Hobby. The entire canopy section is removable and held on with magnets for easy access to the rudder and elevator servos.

 

Test fitting the canopy.

The dash is simply a poster board frame that is glued in place over the hole you see at the front of the cockpit.

 

Fits quite nicely!

The nose gear is also the same gear bearing used for the “Ruptured Duck” The Du-Bro 1/2A steerable nose gear catalog # 234

 

Notice the servo is mounted slightly below the surface of the fuselage frame.

This is necessary to allow the power pod and battery box room to pass through the frame.

 

The tail section is standard to most designs using tab and slot to maintain alignment.

 

Notice the control rods are supported by coffee straws at F-5 and F-6

 

The wing is also the standard design using 1/8” plywood gear mounts and also have the option for the use of flaps.

 

 As usual, I provide the Dihedral support guide in the plans.

Notice the dihedral brace is 1/8” plywood also.

This is becoming the norm in my designs.

 

The flap being readied for insertion.

Notice the cutout next to the main gear slot.

The designs provide for a 9G servo to be used for flap actuation,

but you can also modify it for sub micros.

 

 

 Flap servo ready for insertion.

 

The wing is then inserted into the fuselage and centered like most designs. Gluing only the bottom of the wing to the frame and then cutting it free from the fuselage

 

Gluing the wing in after centering.

Notice F-4C  is in place , but not glued at this point.

It must be removed to cut the wing free. The same is true for F-3C

 

The next step is to apply the skin. The cowling is done in two halves. The paper is removed from the inner surface and the part is curled over a piece of 1” PVC pipe. The exhaust port is also created by cutting three sides of the port and creasing the forth. Pushing the port inwards and supporting it with a piece of paper on the inside.

 

 Removing the paper from the cowl half.

Notice the slot and the cut out for the bottom of the nose gear servo.

All the sheeting is slotted to fit the tabs at the bottom of the fuselage frame to aid with alignment.

 

 Curling the cowl half.

 

It takes the form pretty well.

 

 The exhaust port is then cut and pressed inward.

 

 A paper tab is then glued in place to support it.

 

 It works quite well.

 

Aligning the slot and the gear door at the front with the tab on the gear mounting plate. I first glued along the bottom of the fuselage and worked my way up.

 

Placing the tab on the fuselage into the slot in the sheet ensures alignment.

 

Once the cowling is glued all the way up to the intake side. You can then align the top surface of the side plate with the canopy plate back to F-5. Before applying the other side. Run a BBQ sewer through the holes in the fuselage frame for the front wing hold down rod, and punch it through the skin. Do the same after applying the other side. This ensures proper alignment of the holes.

 

Cowling applied and ready for trimming.

 

Trimming the excess skin from the nose.

Note: The nose ring will be glued to this surface so sand smooth after trimming.

 

The tail skin is done in much the same manor. The tabs and slots have proven to be great for helping with alignment. There are even slots in the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer to help.

 

The tail sheet is one piece and I was surprised how well it worked.

 

The sheeting being removed. Notice the triangular section in the center.

The paper remains in this section.

 

 Curling the sheet as in the earlier step.

 

The end of the tail requires a sharp crease. This is done with a steel rule.

 

 This is the result.

 

Align and glue the sheet at the bottom as shown using the tabs for alignment.

 

Inserting the push rods before closing it up.

 

Control horns are connected.

Notice the bend just aft of where the sheeting will end.

 

 Gluing the left side first. Notice the tab on the right side.

This is glued down over the top edge of the left side, closing the surface.

 

As with the cowling.

Make the hole for the rear wing hold down rod before gluing the other side of the sheet.

The tail sheeting after it has been closed up.

Note: Trim the paper overhang at the rear of the canopy section.

Main gear is then bent to shape and glued in place similar to the FT P-51 gear.

 

Note the center of the wing also has tabs for the bilge sheeting.

 

 Removing the paper from the bilge sheeting to be curled.

 

 The sheeting in place.

 

 The wing saddle requires a little sanding for proper alignment of the wings at this point.

 

 The nose ring is cut from 1” Pink Foamular.

Notice the notch cut in the top for the intake.

 

 I found a pilot bust from an old canopy set and cut it down to use.

 

Fit pretty good.

 

Looks even better painted.

 

The nose ring has been mounted and puttied and sanded.

Decals have been printed out and ready to apply.

 Ready for a test flight.

 

This is my son Who is in the Navy Serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln. He just got promoted to Petty Officer 3rd Class. Seams only fitting that he be in this pic.

He just can't separate work from pleasure! LOL

So far this has been a really satisfying build. The initial glide test went extremely well. I used the first build to accomplish this. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised! I wasn't sure if it would even fly strait because I didn't pay that much attention to how true the flight surfaces were. I was just making sure of the parts fit. I had my son to help me, and he paced off about 30 feet and I gave it a good toss. With the CG set at 30% of MAC, It flew strait and level and only lost about a foot in altitude by the time it reached him. I'm hoping for some decent weather this weekend so I can get a test flight in. I just loaded it and checked the CG and with the 2200 on board it was a little nose heavy, but with the 1300 it was right on. the plans are now posted to my web page and ready for download! Use the link below to get yours now!  I am also starting the build module on my Facebook page so yo can have a visual reference along with the instruction packet I provide.  Thank you to Jose Valentin for the inspiration for this build and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Visit my site at:   Flyin Foam RC

Visit my FB page at: Flyin Foam RC on Facebook 

Update: 01-10-2015

 

 Finaly got some descent weather to fly today and my son had the day off, so we headed to the park I was hoping to get some good flight time in. She preforms really well, and I'm sure you will all enjoy building and flying the Trojan as much as I have. 

Enjoy


Randy Floyds maiden of his Trojan Was a bit windy but he couldn't wait any longer!

Nice work Randy!

 


 


 

 

 



COMMENTS

91shadowrider on December 21, 2014
Beautiful Job!!! You took foam board to the next level. I want one bad and I don't usually like scale planes. You should package this as a kit.
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Phoenix1962 on December 22, 2014
LOL Thank you, and I wish I could package my designs as kits. It would make them easier for the builders. :-) Cutting the parts is the most tedious part of the build.
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808aerosquadron on December 22, 2014
Very nice. Good job on the cowling and other round bits.
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Phoenix1962 on December 22, 2014
Thank you,
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Amdaylight on December 22, 2014
One word WOW, what a nice looking plane !

Thanks
Andre
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Phoenix1962 on December 23, 2014
Thank you very much
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Blackbeltrrf on January 6, 2015
Once again a great design Tim. I have the fuselage well on it way. Can't wait to fly this bird. How did your maiden go?
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jamboree1 on December 22, 2014
Incredible build, very scale looking. Only question I have is will the skins be part of the build printout? I ask this because i have done a former style plane before that did not have those templates and i found this to be 3/4 of the build having to make my own templates.
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Phoenix1962 on December 22, 2014
Oh yes! All of the parts are in the plans. Even the dihedral support brace for getting the wings at the right angle. The sheeting even has slots in it that line up with tabs in the bottom of the fuselage. This lines them all up, and makes the build easier. All my plans come in Tiled PDF and full size PDF format
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Nathan_116 on December 22, 2014
What is your website, as I would like to visit it and get plans for these amazing designs.
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Phoenix1962 on December 22, 2014
I'm sorry Nathan, My website is beyondthewheelrc.com and I have a FB page under the same name. I try to post build module for each of my designs there. I didn't expect this article to publish this soon, and I haven't actually posted the Trojan on the site yet. I'm still finalizing the upload file. I hope to have that done by the end of the week. I'm also going to provide a link to it in the article for both sites. Thank you for the compliment also, and have a merry Christmas!
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Phoenix1962 on January 7, 2015
That's great Randy, and thank you! I've been trying to get out to the park with it, but the weather,and my sons schedule won't seem to coordinate. It seems to rain quite a bit here, at least every other day. It looks like we will get the chance Thursday. I was able to throw another Excelsior together for him to try out, and I hope to get video of that also. Got the fuselage of the Texan framed up finally. :-) I'll send you some pics. At least the rain can't stop me from building. LOL
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LordVader on December 22, 2014
Another out of this world build. Can't wait for the final plans. I already looked for'em. Great work. Love to see the Texan too.
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Phoenix1962 on December 23, 2014
Thank you Kieth. I just got the plans uploaded, and added a link in this article. Getting ready to start the build module on my FB page.
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LordVader on December 30, 2014
Great job Tim, working on this beauty right now. hope to have some pics before long for you.

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Phoenix1962 on December 31, 2014
Wow that's great Kieth! So far all I've gotten to do is taxi it up and down the road here. LOL My son has 24 Hr duty every three days because of the holiday season, and when he's off it's raining here. I let him taxi it and now I think he's finally hooked. I had a hard time getting my transmitter back. LOL He's a gamer so it was like second nature to him. Anyway We're gonna re visit the Excelsior and get him trained. Happy flying!
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scottie on December 21, 2014
Again a highly detailed build :)
very nice indeed.
Our build techniques are very similar,nice to see some one else pushing the limits of FB :)
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Phoenix1962 on December 21, 2014
Thank you Scottie, I really like your designs also. I'm getting the files prepped and ready for upload to my website. Jose also requested a T-6 which I'm working on right now. so I've got my work cut out for me. :-)
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scottie on December 21, 2014
And thank you :)
I know the feeling ,I'm at the mercy of the weather just now,I am waiting to maiden my Piper so I can release the final plans....
A designers work is never done mate is it :)
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Phoenix1962 on December 22, 2014
Oh never! I've got at least three designs going at any given time in different stages of development. LOL Jose actually asked or two different designs. The Trojan, and the Texan. The T-6 is about complete as a drawing, and ready for a test build, and I'm still waiting for good weather for this maiden. :)
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udo789 on December 22, 2014
Love that curled skin and the use of an off-the-shelf canopy.
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Phoenix1962 on December 23, 2014
Thank you
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Balsa to Foam on December 21, 2014
Holy #@!$ that's an incredible looking plane. Awesome job!!!!
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Phoenix1962 on December 22, 2014
Thank you!
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nerdnic on December 24, 2014
Very impressive work! Great job on this one.
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Phoenix1962 on December 25, 2014
Tank you!
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rcrc on December 30, 2014
Yes!! Finally!!! Some one made a good looking scratch build t28 trojan!! I am so going to build this!!
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Phoenix1962 on December 31, 2014
That's great RCRC, I love it when I hear someone has already been wanting something I created. That really makes all this worth it. :-) Thanks
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FliteGreg on January 18, 2015
Great work. You clearly invested a lot of time in that one. Using that commercial canopy is brilliant. Makes all the difference in the world. I never wanted the PZ trojan, but I want yours!
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Phoenix1962 on January 19, 2015
Well thank you FliteGreg. I love detail, and working with DTF is usually crude at best. It's a great material to use though because of it's properties and it's cheep! you don't even need a garage full of expensive tools to work with it. I really just enjoy finding ways to use it and I'm not done yet. LOL. I'm just now finishing the second request from Jose Valentin. The 55" Swappable AT-6 Texan. Should have the article up soon!
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FliteGreg on February 2, 2015
I suggest you adapt your design (maybe as an option during the build?) to support the very affordable retracts from the Durafly Trojan. That would be awesome! Keep up the good work. [g]
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Phoenix1962 on February 2, 2015
Wow thank you FG! :-) I'll check that out Fielded a Q on retracts for the Texan on my website this morning. Great big help! Thanks!
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Phoenix1962 on February 2, 2015
Ok cool I just looked it up, and so far they look like they will work. Dimensions on the nose gear is just about right. Main gear are somewhat questionable, but the wing could be easily modified. Hobby King has the parts for $30 total! :-) Thanks Have any ideas for the Texan?
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rubens on October 13, 2015
boa noite ,tudo bom gostei muito desse projeto gostaria muito de ter o plano free desse modelo
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Cee on July 2, 2020
I know this is old, but the website listed no longer works. wondered if there was a way to still get the plans for this.
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Swappable T-28 Trojan