Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

William Warburton is building a heavily modified, totally scaled-out Gold Edition Top Flite Corsair, and he has shared some of this aircraft’s special details with us. Check out his aircraft’s RC folding wing mechanics in process!

William writes: I fabricated this from scratch, it is made from aircraft-grade aluminum.Took a few months to get the bugs worked out but works great. The folding and retracting is provided by linear actuators.
Note: On the picture that displays the fasteners; the stainless steel bolt picture @ the right side at the bottom is made from ‘Multiphase’ (MP35N), a nickel-cobalt base alloy which has tensile strength of 150,000 PSI. I use these bolts to fasten the wing folding panels together. Bolts that are manufactured with this material are used by the aircraft industry in full-size jet engines.
Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Model Airplane News - RC Airplane News | Corsair Folding Wing Mechanism

Updated: March 24, 2022 — 2:30 PM

12 Comments

  1. Great workmanship. Please send more pictures when the actuators are installed.

    1. Thank you for your comments. Once the actuators are calibrated and installed
      I will provide more pictures.

  2. Very interesting and well done. I’m curious about the locking mechanism when the wings are spread and how the torsional loads in the wing will be handled in flight. BTW, the tensile strength of the stainless steel bolt is almost irrelevant, as the bolts are loaded primarily in shear and are transferring the loads into a wood structure, where I suspect the bearing streangth of the wood is the critical issue. Still very nice though.

    I love Corsairs!

    1. Thank you for comments and observations, points well taken. Additionally, the stainless steel bolt (MP35N) which unities the wing sections also has a shear strength of 150,000 psi. Within each quadrant of the wing sections (center, left and right) where the spars intersect the ribs I have fabricated triangular reinforcement supports’ made from dense pine which are fastened in place with 3M aviation epoxy along with approximately 1 ounce of 23 gauge pin nail fasteners. Unless I achieve Mach 1, everything should stay together. There may be forthcoming pictures which show these details.

  3. Hate to be a Debbie Downer…but…the fold angle is completely incorrect, in the 1:1 there are two hinges, not just the one, the main one on the primary spar and one at the leading edge. When folded, the leading edge of the outboard sections are essentially vertical with zero gap at the leading edge and a large gap at the trailing edge, the hinge line is parallel to the ground line. In this design, the hinge line looks to be parallel to the wing chord. So from a pure scale perspective, this is a fail.

    1. Points well taken as they relate to a 1:1 platform.
      However, hate to be a ‘Billy Bruiser’. Constructing is a wood 1/5 model airplane – not a 14,000lbs. beast of aluminum & steel akin to its big brother. As such needs to be maintained and operated; safely, operationally and cost effective. All things considered, case in point, 2 hinges in the 1:1 platform would never work in a model (i.e. fabricating, hydraulics, etc.,) airplane causing safety issues, operational issues, simply not cost effective – like trying to add apples and oranges. So the working solution is one hinge (made from aircraft aluminum with avionic fasteners) If you are a 1:1 enthusiast please visit http://www.controller.com (Military Piston Aircraft) there is a beautiful Corsair that can be purchased it will only lighten you wallet for a little under 4 million dollars!

  4. please show the actuators and their hookup yo the wing

    1. Thank you for your comments. Once the actuators are calibrated and installed
      I will provide more pictures.

  5. Beautiful craftsmanship mechanics are incredible great jib

    1. Thank you for your comments.

  6. You got the job done…that’s all that matters.

    1. Thank you for your comments.

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