realdeal

My Feedback: (45)

I recently acquired a Westbury Hawker Hunter kit and am starting the build. I have done some searching on RCU and come up with a couple of previous build threads but my kit doesn't look like the others. The other kits I saw were bare fiberglass with carbon reinforcement. They had the canopy and hatch pre-cut. The fuselage was a single molded piece. The vertical fin was a separate foam core part.

My kit is gel-coated. The fuselage is molded in two parts with nothing pre-cut. The vertical fin is integral to the tail section mold. I have a few questions I am hoping to get help with:

The kit has two right wings. I need to send a wing out as a template so someone can cut some cores for me. Who do you guys recommend? Is the original Hunter wing carbon reinforced? If so, what type of mat/cloth should I use before I sheet the new foam cores. I'm ordering my composite materials in the next couple of days.

What is the best filler material to use for the front/rear fuselage joint?

What powerplant would you guys recommend? The book shows a JPX T260 which is obviously out. I'm considering the following engines: Jetcat P60, Jetcat P70, Wren 54 SS, Simjet 1200, and PST J600R. Power to weight and suitability for future aircraft are my main concerns. The plane should weigh in the low 20s according to what I have read. I need to decide early in the build as the 16th step in the manual has me mounting the engine.

Here is a pic of where I stand right now. The canopy opening and engine hatch are cut out and some minor filling and sanding is done. I'll post again once I get a couple more steps done.

Thanks!

Keith

JSF-TC

My Feedback: (2)

Keith,

I am also building a Westbury Hunter, and I have a build thread running which you've probably seen
[link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2192636/anchors_2192636/mpage_1/key_westbury%252Chunter/anchor/tm.htm#2192636[/link]

I bought my kit in 2001 from JetLine Models just after they re-introduced it, and it looked exactly like the original kit I saw a few years previously by the original supplier (Ian Stockdale). It is no longer shown on the JetLine web site so I guess they have discontinued it. It does look like they completely revamped the kit between mine and yours though.

The original wings are carboin reinforced, top and bottom skin below the obechi, from the root out to just past the outer cut out for the retracts. I also skinned the outer surface with 2oz carbon and 0.5oz glass and it feels bullet proof. I would suggest using the 2oz carbon underneath the obechi as it seems similar to what is underneath my wings.

My fuselage was in one piece, but when I tried to get it shipped internationally when I bought it, Andy Sheldon from JetLine said it was too long to ship, so maybe that is why yours is in two pieces. I ended up shipping it with me by oversize luggage on American Airlines. If you can get access to the joint from the inside, I would use some heavy 2 or 5oz carbon tape to bridge the joint, then some auto filler to blend the seam.

I am going to fit a JetCat P80 in mine, but anything from a P60 upwards should be ample. The last JPX only put out about 12-14lb and weighed at least 4lb so with a modern engine we should be much better off. I have a Gary Mueller kevlar tank to replace the JPX tank, and I have made my own kevlar tank to sit underneath it to give me a total of about 100oz.

I have just added panel line detail to mine, and one I have cleaned it up and removed all the tape I will post and update to my build thread.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Paul

CJ2002

Keith,

This might be of use to you...

http://homepage.eircom.net/~skycam/Leprechaun_kits/

Look under recent builds and there's a thread on a Westbury Hunter with loads of pics and info.

Cheers,

Dick
England