K&W Model Airplanes Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter Assembly Manual

Brand: K&W Model Airplanes

Model: Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter

Category: Remote controlled toys

Type: Assembly Manual

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

Assembly Manual

for ARF stand-off scale model in 1:5 scale.

Historical data and presentation.

Model design and construction drawing

by Göran Kalderén ©

Revised 2000-09-05

Bristol F2-B

1917 Fighter

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

The aircraft was armed with a single syn-

chronized .303 Vickers machine gun with 963

rounds of ammunition in the nose for the pilot

and a .303 Lewis machine gun for the observer

with seven 97 round ammunition drums. Some

aircraft were upgunned in the field with an addi-

tional Lewis gun mounted over the wing to aug-

ment the forward firepower and twin Lewis guns

in the rear cockpit mounted on a Scarff ring.

The increased production rate at Bristol’s

for the F2B resulted in a shortage of engines

since Rolls-Royce was unable to keep pace with

the demand for Falcon engines As a result, al-

ternative engines were examined and tested;

including the Siddeley Puma, Hispano-Suiza 200

hp. Hispano-Suiza 300 hp and the 200 hp Sun-

beam Arab. The Sunbeam Arab being finally

chosen, although others continued to be tested

since the Arab equipped variants proved

to be somewhat under-powered. The installa-

tion of the Arab engine altered the nose contours

and exhaust stack arrangement.

Before the end of the First World War,

the Bristol fighter was to see service in various

theaters of war, including with No 139 in Italy and

No 67 (Australian) Squadron in the Middle East

Nos. 33, 36, 39, 76 and 141 Squadrons used

Bristol Fighters for home defense duties.

F2Bs used by home defense units as night fight-

ers were modified in a number of ways. Some

were fitted with navigation lights on the lower

wing tips and rudders, Holt flare brackets be-

neath each lower wing tip and illuminated gun

sights. Other night fighters were fitted with addi-

tional forward firing machine guns. One aircraft

of No 39 Home Defense Squadron had two Lewis

guns fitted over the wing in addition to its normal

single Vickers gun and twin Lewis guns for the

observer.

By November of 1918 over 5,500 Bristol

fighters, mainly F2Bs, had been ordered and, of

these, 3,101 had been taken into the RFC and

RAF. Although the Armistice led to cancellation

of some orders, the “Biff” as it was known to

wartime airmen, continued to be manufactured

until September of 1919, with a total of 4,747

being produced.

Documentation is available in Bristol Fighter

in Action, Aircraft # 137 by Squadron/signal Pub-

lications Inc., 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrolltown,

Texas 75011-5010, USA, ISBN-0-89747-301-9.

Bristol Fighter by JM Bruce, Albatros Produc-

tions Ltd., 10 Long view, Berkhamsted, Herford-

shire, HP4 1BY, Great Britain. ISBN -0-948414-85-5.

Bristol Fighter F2B

For the British aircommand it became

in 1916 obvious that a replacement for the slow

and vulnerable BE2 series of aircraft was badly

needed. Bristol at this time had designed a 2

seater airplane of girder box design. To over-

come the restricted forward view for the pilot the

upper wing was placed only 1 foot above the

fuselage. The pilot’s line of sight was obstructed

only by the mere airfoil section thus rendering

good visibility forward/upward and forward down-

ward. The necessary distance between wing

planes was obtained by moving the lower wing

downward under the fuselage. The first produc-

tion aircraft were designated F2A but when put

in service as a reconnaissance aircraft, the old

tactics were used and the plane became easy

prey for the opponents.

A revised model F2B fighter/recon-

naissance with improved 275 hp. Rolls-Royce

Falcon engine and fighter tactics applied, be-

came a tremendous success. This engine is liq-

uid cooled and the radiator first deployed as side

mounted, soon was changed and located up

front giving the nose a characteristic outline.

The armament was a Vickers .303 machine gun

mounted under the hood and shooting synchro-

nized to fire through the propeller arc through a

round outlet in the upper part of the radiator. For

the observer there was a Lewis machine gun

mounted on a Scarff ring mount.

As production increased during 1917 it

became difficult for Roll-Royce to keep up with

demand and other engine alternatives were tried

and employed.

That this was a very successful aircraft

type shows in that more than 4700 aircraft were

produced and that that production continued long

after the war had ended. The aircraft saw action

in many foreign countries and was used by the

British in their overseas operations.

As production of the F2B increased in

speed during the mid-Summer of 1917, addi-

tional Royal Flying Corps squadrons were

formed or re-equipped with the new Bristol

fighter. The production F2B featured a reduced

chord tail plane with longer span elevators. These

were later changed to use the elevators of the

F2A with the tail plane of the F2B and this arran-

gement was retained for all wartime F2Bs.

The F2B benefited from the lessons

learned from the first combat use of the F2A

variants. When introduced in combat they were

flown in action using single seat fighter tactics,

which immediately proved successful.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

Bristol F2B

Fighter

1917

Specification:

Wingspan, 39' 3" (11,96 m.)

Length, 25' 10" (7,87 m.)

Heigth, 9' 9" (2,97 m.)

Engine, 275 hp Rolls Royce Falcon III

liquid cooled.

Armament, 1 Vickers .303

forward firing syncronized

machine gun, 1 Lewis on

Scarf ring mount in rear

cockpit

Speed, 113 mph., (182 kph)

Service ceiling, 20,000 feet

Crew, 2

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

Bristol F2B Fighter and Canadian pilots

The Canadian Air Force only ever held two ”Brisfits”

or ”Bifs” on strength from 6 August, 1920 to 7 Feb-

ruary, 1922 as part of an Imperial Gift of 114 varied

aircraft, however Canadian airmen flew the two-seat

fighters in the service of the Royal Flying Corps as

well as the CAF during the First World War. Cana-

dian Air Service pilot Lt. A.E. McKeever of No. 11

Squadron soon began to be regarded as an ace

among Bristol Fighter exponents, and between him-

self and his regular observer, Sgt. (later Lt.) L.F.

Powell accounted for 28 aircraft from the time of

their first victory on 26 June, 1917 and the end of

the year. With the formation of No. 1 Squadron,

Canadian Air Force, McKeever was appointed its

commanding officer and he adopted the Bristol

Fighter as his personal aircraft. This machine later

went with him when he returned to Canada after the

Armistice and was later registered on the Canadian

Civil Registry as G-CYBC.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

Our model depicts the Bristol F2b D8084, No.139

Sqn RAF Villaverla Aerodrome in September 1918.

Originally formed in March 1918 as ’Z’ Flight and

attached to No.34 Sqn in Italy for long range recon-

naissance duties. By July 1918 a second flight had

arrived and the combined unit was known as No.139

Sqn RAF. The original marking of two vertical white

bands soon gave way to four white and three black

bands and ultimately expanded to the 12 and 11

depicted on D8084 as it is presently painted. This

aircraft also carried a spanwise w/b/w stripe between

the upperwing. The pictures on this page are the

Bristol F2b Fighter of the Shuttlewort Collection in

the air above Old Warden Aerodrome, England.

Below the same aircraft on the ground at Old War-

den, Biggleswade.The paintwork shown is the post

war service, and prior to 1981 when the aircraft was

rendered the original camouflage and markings.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

The Bristol F2B Fighter, that we have modeled, is

the aircraft that is kept in flying condition by the

Shuttleworth Collection in England. These pictures

show details of the aircraft as it looks today. The

front cowling plates have been removed for service

and reveal the powerful 12 cylinder Rolls Royce en-

gine as well as the areas adjacent to the cockpit.

The paint scheme was changed in 1981, when the

aircraft was completely overhauled, and is now rel-

evant to the period at the end of the war. The serial

number has been placed on the fin and the aft sec-

tion has white stripes across the sides and upper

surface of the fuselage. The all over paint color is PC10

(we use olive drab which is like sun bleached PC10)

on all upper surfaces and natural linen off white on the

under surfaces. Above the large identification letter

”S” is a instruction and warning not to fly without gun-

ner/observer or equivalent weight in the rear cockpit.

The model that we have depicted in this manual has

since been repainted and shows now the accurate

scheme.

All pictures on this pages, courtesy of Shuttle-

worth Collection, Old Warden Aerodrome,

Biggleswade, Befordshire SG18 9EP, England.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

The impressive Rolls Royce Falcon III 275 Hp 12

cylinder liquid cooled V-engine.

The picture below shows also the spent cartridge

chute and the rear part of the Vickers machine gun.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

The Model

We have chosen the scale of 1:5 that

gives a model with the wingspan of almost 8 feet.

This in turn is a rather large aircraft but the han-

dling in the air is very satisfactory.

For transport to and from the flying field,

both wing panel groups can be removed, rigged

and complete, with only the disconnection of a

few rigging wires 4 locking screws and the servo

connectors. All the settings and trims are pre-

served. As per prototype, the elevator can be

trimmed for angle of incidence. All the rigging

wires are functional and aid to the stability of the

airplane. As additional feature, you can have a

functional exhaust manifold, connected to your

4 stroke engine and displacing the exhaust in a

scale manner.

There is ample room for radio equipment,

servos and extras that you would want to add.

For ease of ground handling, the tailskid is

stearable and coupled to the rudder bar with

wires. The documentation refers to the aircraft,

still today in flyable condition in the Shuttlewort

Collection in England. The scale propeller deliv-

ered with the model is 2-bladed but a 4-bladed

can be supplied as extra item on request.

The finished model is painted in 1918 livery

and further detailing can be made as per

documentation.

Specification

Wingspan 94" (239 cm)

Length 62" (157 cm)

Wing area 243 sq. inch 157(dm²)

Weight 18 lb. (7900g)

Wing Load (50 g/dm²)

Engine .90 - 1.20 (15 - 20cc) 4-stroke

Covering and finish

The model is covered and painted on the

outside from the factory. You should cover the

engine compartment with fuel proof paint after

adjustments and installation of the engine. We

use Solartex Antique and Olive drab covering

material and matching Dutch Boy Enamel paints.

Installation of engine.

We recommend that you don’t overpower

this model. It will fly happily with a 1.20 4-stroke

engine. Our prototype was tried with a OS 1.20

4- stroke, which gave ample thrust. The engine

mounts have been installed for this size of

engine. The access to the glow plug is difficult

so we recommend an extension and you can

place the connector in the hole on the left side of

the cowling.

1. Adjust the width of the engine mounts if

necessary, and drill the holes for the engine.

Insert blind nuts to take the engine bolts.

2. Install the 16 Oz tank on the right side in

the engine compartment. Connect the required

silicon tubing.

3. Install the engine and connect the throttle

servo.

Installation of servos, tank, battery and

receiver.

The aileron servos are installed in the

wing root of the lower wing panels. A Y-cable

leads up to the receiver. We recommend Dubro

# 121 E/Z connector for these servos.

The throttle servo is installed upright in

the servo tray.

The elevator servo and the rudder servo

are installed inverted in the tray.

Battery pack and receiver are positioned

in the upper tray.

The switch is mounted on or under the in-

strument panel.

To access the servo tray and receiver tray

for installation of the servos receiver and battery

pack you will have to remove the upper and lower

center wing sections. Beginning with the lower

wing section you will have to remove the landing

gear. Release the cross bracing wires for the

landing gear and pull the legs straight out.

Remove the 4 pcs 6-32 Allen screws and lift out

the lower wing section. Open and remove the

hatch by removing the #2 sheet metal screws.

The upper tray is accessible by removing

Typical servo installation

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

30 mm.

1.5 mm.

Complete "turnbuckle" assembly

Typical fashion

of lacing bungee

rubber cord.

the upper center section (4 Allen 6-32 screws.

Either one of the 2 aluminum panels can now

be removed by unscrewing the sheet metal

screws. Note that different length of screws

have been used for the various locations. The

rubber coaming can be removed and later

replaced without using glue. The center section

is held down by the windscreen , which can after

removing one screw be swung to the side

releasing the panel.

1. Attach a clevis or ball link head to joy-

stick and rudder bar in the appropriate holes. You

may have to enlarge the holes to take the screw

from the ball link (Dubro #189 set of 2).

2. Install the servos for rudder and elevator

and connect the servo arms to the clevices or

ball links. Deflection for elevator is 20° up and

down and for rudder 30° right and left.

3. Install and connect the throttle servo in

the fashion you prefer.

4. Install the tank in the available space at

the right side of the engine compartment.

5. Install the aileron servos in the wing root.

The hatch cover is secured with 4 #2 sheet metal

screws. The aileron connecting rods attaches

to the servo arm. Differential throw on the aileron

is recommended Deflection of the ailerons

should be 25° up and 15°down.

6. Install the switch on the instrument panel.

7. Place the receiver and the battery pack

in the upper part of the tray, wrapped in foam

rubber and secure with rubber bands.

Assembly of the Bristol F2B Fighter

All parts have been assembled at the

factory and only disassembled for transportation.

Rudder and elevator wires are factory

adjusted but may need some tensioning

adjustment after a while. Ailerons are adjustable

with the clevises to the connecting rod and to

the aileron horn.

Assembly of the tail unit

1. Secure the top and the bottom fins with

the brackets using #2 sheet metal screws. The

rudder is permanently attached to the fins.

2. Push the stabilizer with elevators on the

brass tubes in the fuselage. Connect the sup-

porting wires with clips in their respective

positions. See rigging sketch.

3. Connect the elevator wires. Note that

these wires are crossed.

4. Connect the rudder wires. The wires for

the stearable tailskid are installed from the

factory.

Assembly of wing panels

Flying- and drag-wires are 90 lb. breaking

strength, all other wires are 40 lb. breaking

strength.

1. Push the lower wing halves into the holes

in the lower wing center section and connect the

servo leads to the Y-cable.

2. Push the upper wing halves into the

holes in the upper wing center section. Connect

the flying wires and the landing wires. Start with

the landing wires that are attached to the upper

wing cabanes. Insert the inner pair of the

interplane struts (the forward is shorter).

3. Now connect the flying wires to this

interplane strut pair. Proceed with the next bay

repeating the procedure.

4. When all struts have been installed, you

can connect the X-bracing for the interplane

struts.

5. Last the drag wire are attached to the

fuselage at the fitting behind the radiator.

6. When both wings sets have been

assembled you will have to connect the ailerons

with the interconnecting rod. This has clevises

in both ends to ease assembly. Check that the

distance is correct and adjust if necessary. The

ailerons must be parallel on both wing halves.

7. Lock the wing halves in position with the

four #2 sheet metal screws. The tabs are affixed

to the wing sections.

8. Check the dihedral. It should be 2.5" /6,5

cm measured at each tip of the lover wings. If

necessary you can adjust the dihedral by tight-

ening and loosening the flying- and landing wires.

You need not touch the interplane crossbracing.

Disconnect the wires and start adjustment with

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

The MQ version with full detailing

Our prototype in flight

Cockpit details with optional

instrument panel installed

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

12 8

3310

12 5

10 11

13 14

These are the rigging wires:

1. Rudder control wires

2. Elevator control wires

3. Front flying wires

4. Rear flying wires.

5. Front landing wires

6. Rear landing wires.

7. Landing gear cross bracing wires

8. Upper wing cabane cross bracing wires

9. Lower wing cabane cross bracing wires

10. Fin/stabilizer front support wires

11. Fin/stabilizer rear support wires

12. Drag wires.

13. Interplane strut cross bracing wire

14. Aileron connecting rod

For clarity only one typical wire type

is indicated. The airplane has 4 front,

4 rear flying wires, 4 front and 4 rear

landing wires.

The 4 interplane strutt sections all

have X-bracing wires.

the inner bay section of each wing pair. When

corect dihedral is obtained continue with the

outer bay section. When completed, lock the

clevices in position with the locking nuts. The

dragwires may also have to be adjusted when

you have changed the dihedral.

Should you need to replace a wire, use the

attachment method indicated in the picture.

When crimping the cerulet (sleeve) use a flat

pliers, press firmly and don’t cut through the wire.

Landing gear

1. Push the landing gear into the holes in

the fuselage. The rear landing gear struts pass

through the lower center wing section. Connect

the wire cross-bracing to hold the landing gear

in place.

2. Install the wheels on the shaft and secure

with the stoppers.

3. Lace rubber bands in the fashion shown

in the sketch. This is a very efficient shock

absorber.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

Stabilizer fits

in here

Fixed screw

supports

Adjustment screw

Fixed screw

supports

Adjustable

leading edge

support

Balancing

Check the C/G and make adjustments if

necessary. C/G should be within the range of 9

cm - 12 cm (3.6" - 4.8") measured from the

leading edge on the upper wing. The further

forward you put the C/G the more "groovy" the

model behaves. This model has a relatively long

nose moment and depending on what engine

you are using, wheight may be moved towards

the rear of the plane. The original aircraft had to

have observer or balance weight in the rear

cockpit or else it was nose heavy and dangerous

to flyStabilizer trim

In the bottom of the fuselage at the position

of the stabilizer leading edge there are two 3 mm

screws. Initial setting should be 2° positive

related to the thrust line (approx. 3 mm down

from the top end position). By turning these

screws, the leading edge of the stabilizer can

be moved up or down (clockwise = down). To

change the setting, remove the clevises for the

support wires at the leading edge of the stabilizer.

Turn both adjustment screws the same number

of full turns. Turn the wire holder in the fins

accordingly, same number of full turns. If you

move the leading edge up, the upper and lower

wire attachment points are moved upwards. Clip

the clevises back into positions. If you find that

your elevator trim requires a changed stabilizer

setting, execute this trim and move your trans-

mitter trim tab to neutral for the next flight.

Flying

The prototype was flown with a 1.20

(20cc) OS FS 4-stroke engine. We used a

custom built muffler allowing the exhaust to be

emitted through the scale manifold.

Flying characteristics are very forgiving

and will fly happily on half trottle. During the initial

take off run you have to compensate for the

torque with right rudder but as the speed builds

up the rudder is returned to neutral. This model

should fly of the ground and not be pulled. Once

airborne the aircraft is limited aerobatic like all

biplanes from WW I. Turns must be coordinated

rudder/elevator/aileron in prototype fashion.

The landing approach can be rather

steep as per prototype but the flare out needs

almost full up elevator. Get the tail down to

maintain directional stability.

If your enginge quits midair, remember to

get the nose down to maintain flying speed. The

drag from the wires and struts is considerable!

Happy landings!

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

Cockpit interior including instrument panel is an

additional option.

For adjustment of the stabilizer incidence it is

recommended to set the stabilizer approx 3mm

from the upper end position. Adjust after intitial

flight to suite your taste.

The servo Y-leads from the receiver can be

routed along the rear wing support to the centre

section of the lower wing and then connected to

the servos in the wings. It will be necessary to

make a hole tin the root rib and in the rib of the

centre section for the servo leads.

The wings can be removed as a "package"

leaving only the wires to the fuselage unhooked

and the servo connector disconnected.

The tailskid is steerable and connected with

wires to the rudder bar. This means a heavy load

on the rudder servo and should be observed

when choosing the servo.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

The engine installation is related to the type of

engine that you have chosen. We like to show

how we installed the OS 1.20 engine and

including a "scale" type functional manifold.

To ensure an unrestricted air inflow we removed

three panels of the screen above the propeller

shaft.

We also installed deflection ducts made of 0,5

mm alu sheet to force the air close to the

cylindre.

To prevent the air from stalling, we opened two

1" holes in the fire wall into the open cockpit.

This with the additional outlet created by the

functional manifold gave a satisfactory air flow.

We also installed a remote connector for the

glow-plug as well as an on-board glow battery

that is engaged at idle.

The tank has been installed diagonally in the

engine com-partment to allow the use of a

standard available typ.

For this aircraft there are some additional items

available separately (allow for 3 months delivery):

ACC-401, Cockpit interior kit, consisting of in-

strument panel with all instruments, valves and

switches installed, pilots seat (vicker chair),

throttle/mixture levers and rear section of Vickers

machine gun located in the hole in the instrument

panel and visable in cockpit. Gunners seat and

6 spare ammo magazines for the gunners

cockpit.

ACC-248, 4-bladed scale propeller.

ACC-251, Scale functional manifold and exhaust

system for 1.20 4-cycle engine.

ACC-850, Full body,1/5th scale British pilot / gun-

ner.

Optional items

The throttle servo is

located in the servo

tray and has a straight

link to the throttle arm.

The type of manifold

installed in our

prototype differs from

our standard

manufactured type in

that the inlet tube is

connected to the rear

interconnecting tube

and is of 10 - 15 mm

diam alternately.

Custom made to

specific engines.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF

What is in the box:

The ARF and RNF kits contains the parts shown in the

picture All the parts are covered and painted. All the rigging

1. Fuselage with upper and lower wing cabanes

2. Landing gear with wheel shaft

3. Scale wheels

4. Scale propeller

5. Tail skid assy., mounted

6. Fin with rudder

7. Stabilizer with elevator (right and left halves)

8. Upper wing panels

9. Lower wing panels

10. Interplane struts, (4 short front, 4 longer rear)

11. Aileron interconnecting rods (2)

12. Scarff ring mount with Lewis machine gun

13. Wires, turnbuckles fitted at locations and

hardware for assembly (not shown)

ModelModel

Airplanes Inc.Airplanes Inc.

P.O.Box 1229, Cebu City Centrl. Postoffice

Cebu City 6000, Philippines

Visiting address:

3343 Gun-Ob, Kinalumsan,

Lapu-Lapu City 6015, PHILIPPINES

Phone +63 32-340 7147, Cellular +63 917-3200 985

Telefax +63 32-340 7131, E-mail: [email protected]

89 11

wires are supplied in the correct lengths and attached

to their fixed positions. Wings, interplanestruts, Fin/

rudder and Stabilizer/elevator are separated at delivery.

The delivered model has a revised paintscheme

corresponding to the present status of the original aircraft

K&W Model Airplanes Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter Assembly Manual

Brand: K&W Model Airplanes

Model: Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter

Category: Remote controlled toys

Type: Assembly Manual

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K&W Model Airplanes Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter Assembly Manual

K&W Model Airplanes Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter Assembly Manual

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