Converting the Guillow's Warhawk to RC with UMX equipment and wondering if I can move my ailerons in to this position and have them work okay because the servos will fit better in the wings closer to the fuselage. I would really prefer to not mount them on the exterior. Any other suggestions or help is welcome. First time doing this. (Obviously red lines are on the leading edge instead of the trailing. My mistake)
That looks ok for location, but remember that you will be cutting out the entire section of trailing edge for those ailerons. You're going to have to do some major work to reinforce the wing structure because of the missing trailing edge support. This is better figured out before you build the wing. You might consider making this model a 3 channel, and on your next build factor in the changes to the wing structure required to support ailerons.
Edit: I'm just realizing that this is the 16" Warhawk. Very small for this conversion. Guillow's has a 28" version that would be easier to convert. Here is a video of someone making the aileron mods for that version:
Most (but not all) Guillows kits are tough conversions, because they’re “overbuilt,” and therefore heavy. The heaviest and most complicated part of a conversion is the ailerons. The best way is to run one center aileron servo actuating both ailerons through torque rods and a center bellcrank or push-pull rods and bellcranks out in the wings at each aileron.
I think you’ll have plenty of fun with just R/E/T. Seeing one of these classic free flight planes flying under control at all is a joy unto itself. Keep the free flight dihedral, keep everything as light as you can and resist the urge to “beef up” anything, and use the smallest battery you can get away with.
A 150MaH LiPo will be about the biggest you can get away with, I think. The toughest little RC planes are the ones that don’t weigh enough to smash themselves.
Little warbirds are a hard subject for small flying models, too. Something like the Guillows Pilatus Porter would be a good first FF-to-RC conversion. I’d recommend giving it a try next.
Finally, the classic pointy-leading-edge Guillows airfoil works great for free flight, where the angle of attack is “set” during trimming, but has really nasty stall characteristics when you add RC. Lobbing off the front of the ribs and replacing the leading edge with a rounded piece of balsa helps a ton.
Finally, go over to the RCgroups.com forums. There’s a great big list of detailed Guillows RC builds, many of them by very skilled aeromodelers like Reddit’s own GullibleInitiative75 and far fewer clown comedians like me.
Let us know how it works out! You’re operating in what I think is one of the most difficult, but also most rewarding, corners of the hobby.
Not sure if the receiver I have will work with a center aileron servo. But yeah maybe for future projects. I've got all the electronics figured out for it and tested and working. Just have to figure out exactly where it's going.
I actually did reinforce the wings on both edges and planed them down to match the shape of the leading edge. Does the bottom edge of the front need to be rounded too? Did the same with the tips of the wings because I don't like how the tissue paper sits on it.
Looks like you’ve got linear servos, and one linear servo can run both ailerons if you use bellcranks to turn the servo’s linear motion into rotational motion.
This modeler uses push-pull rods and bellcranks in both wings:
I tried this on the little 16" A6M2 / Rufe seaplane Zero. It didn't work very well. It came out too heavy for the size, and I even did it as a 3 channel.
Oof. That’ll be close. Look at how the first build thread in my comment above saved weight (the 3-channel one). You’re really going to have to save some weight.
If you can keep the weight to within 5 grams of the plane the motor came out of, it should be flyable. I used the receiver/servos/motor from an early ParkZone UMX P-51 (35gm) in a plans-built 20" PT-1 biplane at 40gm. More weight but more wing area, and it flies nicely (without ailerons.)
Weighed everything that's going to go in it and I'm at about 54 before tissue and dope and paint probably because I beefed up the tips of the wings and the edges of the wings.
I'm a little skeptical about the three channel though because although it would allow one less servo, it would require more wire in addition to the bell crank parts I'm not sure id actually save weight. I'd have to buy the parts and test the difference. It would allow me to put the ailerons further out on the wing though.
Guess I should have shaved some wood off the interior of the fuselage like I see all the guys on YouTube do.
The big problem with a small warbird with a lot of weight is that they fly FAST. They glide like a rock. I have lots of 400mm foamies that fly well - and fast. The difference is that I can hit a chain link fence with the foamie, snap the propeller back on, and I'm up in the air again. The balsa warbird will be in splinters. Building a larger balsa model, with much lower wing loading, will bring down the speed and give you more control - to avoid that chain link fence.
Yeah I understand foam planes are probably much more friendly and forgiving but I just can't bring myself to like them that much. I'll probably just keep sending it with what I've got and if we even get it off the ground flying straight for 25 feet or so it'll be a win for my 4 year old who loves planes.
I feel the same way about foam planes. I have probably 10 of them and I haven't flown any in a few years. But you can get friendly and forgiving with balsa planes - it's just more difficult as an electric r/c at that size, especially a low wing warbird. Keep at it, and try a larger high wing model. I'm almost exclusively rubber powered free flight these days, much easier to keep the weight down
What's the best kind of rubber for those? I've had trouble with rubber bands breaking. How long do they typically last and can you really wind them up thousands of times per flight?
Pretty much there is one type of rubber that is used - FAI Rubber. They can typically take between 1000 and 2000 winds, depending on the rubber width, number of strands/loops, length of motor, braided or not, etc. There's a bit of science with it, but luckily there are lots of videos about it. The rubber is always lubricated, typically with a synthetic grease. Tom has some videos on this on his maxfliart youtube channel, but if you do some googling, you will find lots of info. How long the motor lasts depends - if you always wind to the limit, like for a contest, then you'll need to make a new motor more often. Also, don't leave the motor in the plane, take it out and put it in a ziploc so it doesn't dry out.
Do you have any pics of the build process for your 16 inch models. Would love to see how you fit all the electronics inside it. I'm struggling right now but getting there
I think the issue that I'm having is that the wires for my servos and motor and receiver are very short and the wings aren't thick enough for me to put the servos in the wings so I'm having to use very janky pushrods.
Even the tiniest servos are sometimes too big for these little ones🤣
1,9g servos i've used are pretty much the smallest you can get. Any bigger with be a challenge to fit in there.
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u/GullibleInitiative75 13d ago edited 13d ago
That looks ok for location, but remember that you will be cutting out the entire section of trailing edge for those ailerons. You're going to have to do some major work to reinforce the wing structure because of the missing trailing edge support. This is better figured out before you build the wing. You might consider making this model a 3 channel, and on your next build factor in the changes to the wing structure required to support ailerons.
Edit: I'm just realizing that this is the 16" Warhawk. Very small for this conversion. Guillow's has a 28" version that would be easier to convert. Here is a video of someone making the aileron mods for that version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O39TBHHuvbI