PWS-10 Polish Fighter Project
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by Greg West
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Free plans courtesy of Michael Heinrich
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While
discussing a recent flying wing scale project I
was building Michael Heinrich suggested something
equally unusual in appearance but easier to fly:
The PWS-10, A Polish high wing monoplane fighter.
It was from the same era as my previous effort;
a 1937 Russian BOK 5 flying wing.
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This is my Six year old son Jasper in a WWII flight
helmet identical to the one used by C Chenault.
Size small of course! We’re on our way out
for another flying session with The PWS-10! |
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Michael’s plan arrived soon after in my email,
and it looked great - very clear and beautifully
drawn. The big bulbous engine cowlings and the lovely
curved wing were really attractive to me, and I
was immediately hooked. By the way, this plan originally
appeared in the FAC newsletter a couple of years
ago.
The plane’s structure didn't present any difficulty
as the plans were very clear and provided plenty
of detail for construction. Michael was careful
to add plenty of little notes on the plan to explain
complex areas.
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As directed , the outline of all empennage parts
and wingtips are laminated. I used basswood strips
for this. The laminating process is sometimes scary
to builders not familiar with it, but once you do
it a couple of times it’s quite easy. I bought
model railroad scale lumber and popped a few pieces
in a ziploc bag full of water to soak, meanwhile
making a 1/8" thick laminating form. To create
the form I traced the outline onto tracing paper,
glued it to the 1/8" stock, and then trimmed
and sanded to shape. Next I rubbed a candle along
the edge to "glue proof" it. By then the
strips had soaked for maybe an hour at most, so
I had some coffee to give them more time!
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When the basswood strips were well soaked, I tore
off a number of tape strips and stuck them on the
edge of my desk in preparation for use. Next I applied
Titebond II to one strip, then stuck the strip to
another and rubbed them back and forth to spread
the glue. One end of the lamination got taped to
the form and I worked it around the form with my
index finger, pressing tightly and taping as I went.
Then I left it overnight to set. It’s so easy
I often make several pieces as backups.
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One area that was approached with some apprehension
was the nose. I made the engine covers with laminated
balsa sheets, shaped mostly with rough sandpaper
then finished with "wet-dry". I tried
filling the balsa with lightweight spackle but wasn’t
able to get it really smooth... something I’ll
have to figure out for the next one! |
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To get the engine covers to fit more easily to
the fuselage I hollowed them out with an x-acto
knife and a dremel. This reduced the area in contact
with the plane so sanding to fit was easier.
Next was the wire structures. The wing is supported
by a clever wire cabane strut system, and required
some careful wire bending. I sandwiched all wire
struts between pieces of 1/32" balsa, using
a little "V" gouge to make a recess
for the wire. I made the non-structural parts
of the landing gear from balsa, but Michael suggested
paper over taught thread, which may be lighter
and more shock resistant.
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To attach the wing to the struts I wanted to try
something I’d heard a lot about - Neodymium
magnets. I envisioned them as a way to hold the
wing on snugly while also allowing me to fiddle
with the wing incidence for flight trimming. Well
the shear strength isn't so good with these magnets
and the wing pops off too easily when landing, requiring
a reset everytime. In hindsight I should have keyed
the wing location with pins or notches.
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