Kawanishi K2 1921 Racing aircraft

[Balsabasher]

Kenji kindly came up with the plans for this interesting rare bird,the 1921 Japanese Kawanishi K2 racer.
Today I cut the fuselage blanks and did a bit of initial carving before joining the two blocks together.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

Progress with shaping the fuselage on the Kawanishi K2,the propeller blank has also been cut and the wings are being cut to size,the unusual tail fin and large tailplane can be clearly seen here,the wing is also high aspect ratio and most unusual for a racing design.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

Though not a solid, Barry, you may be interested to see another recent interpretation of the K2.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal10/9801-9900/gal9886-Kawanishi-Stern/00.shtm

Mark

[Balsabasher]

Thank you for seeking this out Mark,it is always interesting to see how others tackle a particular subject like this one,what a great pity that the aircraft never wore much in the way of an attractive colourscheme instead of just overall silver ? and devoid of any registration letters as well,the write up is also interesting as it clarifies that it did fly originally with standard bracing wires fitted,this one is an historical rare bird indeed.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

The wings were fabricated today and assembled to the fuselage,with no dihedral they give an optical illusion of droopy wings something that even full sized aircraft suffer from,the high aspect ratio does not help matters either.
Barry.

[K_mars]

Barry,

It is wonderful. Your production speed is really fast.

I also cut the fuselage and the main wing.

kenji.

[Balsabasher]

Kenji you provided the fine plans to build this interesting aircraft from,I look forward to seeing your own progress with this design,the recent photographs are proving invalueable.
The one area that is going to require care are the cooling louvres,I have an idea on these and need to make a special tool.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

Made up the undercarriage,radiator assembly,propeller on the Kawanishi K2.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

The exhausts were made for the Kawanishi K2,these are made fom long grain spaghetti that is dampened and curved as required,then carefully heated over a candle flame to lock the shape,finally a lick of clear dope seals them and they are good forever,you have to be resourceful to get the shapes needed.
I tried to simulate the cooling louvres around the engine bay but after making a mandrel and pressing this into printers litho,then metal from a sunday roast tin failed to get what I wanted,the plan was to attach these side panels with the louvres installed,it was not satisfactory so I will need to do some art troumpf in that area.

It seemed a pity to hide the beautiful grain of the wood but it had to be done so a coat of grey primer pulls things together.

The two Avro Avian monoplanes are for comparison of shape but to a smaller scale,the K2 is to 1=18th scale.

Barry.

[lastvautour]

Barry, are the AVRO Avians ready for the Model of the Year post?
The K-2 is really coming together nicely.
Lou

[Balsabasher]

Lou the two Avro Avian's were built some years ago so are not eligible for placing in the model of the year section.
Barry.