K&W Model Airplanes Bristol F2-B 1917 Fighter User manual

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
1
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
2
Theaircraftwasarmedwithasinglesyn-
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-
menttheforwardfirepowerand twin Lewis guns
in the rear cockpit mounted on a Scarff ring.
TheincreasedproductionrateatBristol’s
for the F2B resulted in a shortage of engines
sinceRolls-Roycewasunableto keep pace with
the demand for Falcon engines As a result, al-
ternative engines were examined and tested;
includingtheSiddeleyPuma,Hispano-Suiza200
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-
tionoftheArabenginealteredthenosecontours
andexhaust stackarrangement.
Before the end of the First World War,
the Bristol fighter was to see service in various
theatersofwar,including with No 139inItaly and
No67 (Australian) Squadron in the Middle East
Nos. 33, 36, 39, 76 and 141 Squadrons used
Bristol Fighters for home defense duties.
F2Bsusedbyhomedefenseunits 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.Othernight fighters werefitted with addi-
tional forward firing machine guns. One aircraft
ofNo39HomeDefenseSquadronhadtwoLewis
gunsfitted over thewing in addition to itsnormal
single Vickers gun and twin Lewis guns for the
observer.
ByNovember of1918 over5,500 Bristol
fighters,mainly F2Bs, had been orderedand, 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
beingproduced.
Documentation is available in Bristol Fighter
inAction,Aircraft#137bySquadron/signalPub-
lications Inc., 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrolltown,
Texas75011-5010,USA,ISBN-0-89747-301-9.
Bristol Fighter by JM Bruce, Albatros Produc-
tionsLtd.,10 Long view,Berkhamsted, Herford-
shire,HP41BY,GreatBritain.ISBN-0-948414-85-5.
Bristol Fighter F2B
For the British aircommand it became
in1916 obvious thata replacement forthe slow
andvulnerable BE2 series of aircraft was badly
needed. Bristol at this time had designed a 2
seater airplane of girder box design. To over-
comethe restricted forwardview for thepilot the
upper wing was placed only 1 foot above the
fuselage.The pilot’s line of sightwas obstructed
only by the mere airfoil section thus rendering
goodvisibility forward/upwardandforwarddown-
ward. The necessary distance between wing
planes was obtained by moving the lower wing
downwardunder 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
preyfortheopponents.
A revised model F2B fighter/recon-
naissance with improved 275 hp. Rolls-Royce
Falcon engine and fighter tactics applied, be-
cameatremendous success. Thisengine is liq-
uidcooledandtheradiatorfirst deployed as side
mounted, soon was changed and located up
front giving the nose a characteristic outline.
Thearmament was a Vickers .303machine gun
mountedunder the hoodand shooting synchro-
nized to fire through the propeller arc through a
roundoutlet in theupper 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
demandandotherengine alternatives were tried
andemployed.
That this was a very successful aircraft
type shows in that more than 4700 aircraft were
producedandthatthatproductioncontinuedlong
afterthewar had ended. Theaircraftsaw 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
chordtailplanewithlongerspanelevators.These
were later changed to use the elevators of the
F2Awiththe tail plane ofthe F2B and thisarran-
gement was retained for all wartime F2Bs.
The F2B benefited from the lessons
learned from the first combat use of the F2A
variants.When introducedin combatthey were
flown in action using single seat fighter tactics,
which immediately proved successful.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
3
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
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Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
5
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 airmenflew 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
amongBristolFighter 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
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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
arrivedandthe combined unit was knownas 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
aircraftalsocarried a spanwise w/b/wstripe 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
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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
surfaceofthefuselage.The alloverpaintcolorisPC10
(we use olive drab which is like sun bleached PC10)
onall uppersurfaces andnaturallinen offwhite onthe
under surfaces. Above the large identification letter
”S”isa instruction and warning notto fly without gun-
ner/observerorequivalent weight in therear 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
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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
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The Model
We have chosen the scale of 1:5 that
givesa modelwiththewingspanofalmost8feet.
This in turn is a rather large aircraft but the han-
dling in the air is very satisfactory.
Fortransport to and from theflying field,
bothwingpanelgroupscan be removed, rigged
and complete, with only the disconnection of a
fewriggingwires4lockingscrews 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
wiresare functional andaid to the stability ofthe
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.
Thereisampleroom for radioequipment,
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. Thedocumentation referstotheaircraft,
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.
Thefinishedmodelispainted 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
materialandmatchingDutchBoyEnamelpaints.
Installation of engine.
We recommend that you don’t overpower
thismodel. Itwill flyhappily witha 1.204-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
placetheconnector in the holeon the left sideof
the cowling.
1. Adjust the width of the engine mounts if
necessary, and drill the holes for the engine.
Insertblindnuts to takethe engine bolts.
2.Install the 16 Oz tank on the right side in
the engine compartment. Connect the required
silicon tubing.
3.Installtheengine and connectthethrottle
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
leadsup to the receiver. Werecommend 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
areinstalled inverted in the tray.
Battery pack and receiver are positioned
intheuppertray.
The switch is mounted on or under the in-
strument panel.
To access the servo tray and receiver tray
forinstallationofthe servos receiverandbattery
packyou willhavetoremovetheupperandlower
center wing sections. Beginning with the lower
wingsection you willhave to removethe landing
gear. Release the cross bracing wires for the
landing gear and pull the legs straight out.
Removethe 4pcs 6-32Allen screwsand liftout
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
10
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
replacedwithout using glue.The center section
ishelddown by thewindscreen , whichcan after
removing one screw be swung to the side
releasing the panel.
1. Attach a clevis or ball link head to joy-
stickandrudderbarintheappropriateholes.You
mayhaveto enlarge theholes to takethe screw
from the ball link (Dubro #189 set of 2).
2.Installtheservosfor rudder and elevator
and connect the servo arms to the clevices or
ball links. Deflection for elevator is 20° up and
downand for rudder 30° right and left.
3. Install and connect the throttle servo in
thefashionyouprefer.
4. Install the tank in the available space at
the right side of the engine compartment.
5.Installtheaileronservosin the wing root.
Thehatchcoveris secured with4#2sheetmetal
screws. The aileron connecting rods attaches
totheservoarm. Differential throwontheaileron
is recommended Deflection of the ailerons
shouldbe 25° up and 15°down.
6.Installtheswitchon 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
factoryand onlydisassembledfortransportation.
Rudder and elevator wires are factory
adjusted but may need some tensioning
adjustmentafterawhile.Aileronsareadjustable
with the clevises to the connecting rod and to
theaileron 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. Pushthestabilizer with elevators onthe
brass tubes in the fuselage. Connect the sup-
porting wires with clips in their respective
positions.See riggingsketch.
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.Pushthelowerwinghalvesintotheholes
inthelower wing center sectionandconnect the
servo leads to the Y-cable.
2. Push the upper wing halves into the
holesinthe upper wingcenter section. Connect
theflyingwiresandthelanding wires. Start with
thelanding wires thatare attached tothe 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.Whenallstrutshavebeeninstalled, 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
assembledyouwillhaveto 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#2sheetmetalscrews.Thetabsareaffixed
to the wing sections.
8.Checkthedihedral.Itshould be 2.5" /6,5
cm measured at each tip of the lover wings. If
necessary you can adjust the dihedral by tight-
eningandlooseningtheflying-andlandingwires.
Youneednottouchtheinterplanecrossbracing.
Disconnect the wires and start adjustment with

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
11
The MQ version with full detailing
Ourprototype inflight
Cockpit details with optional
instrument panel installed

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
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3310
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These are the rigging wires:
1.Rudder controlwires
2.Elevatorcontrolwires
3.Front flyingwires
4.Rear flyingwires.
5.Frontlandingwires
6.Rearlandingwires.
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 connectingrod
For clarity only one typical wire type
isindicated.The airplanehas4front,
4rear flying wires,4 frontand 4 rear
landingwires.
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
youhavechangedthedihedral.
Should you need to replace a wire, use the
attachment method indicated in the picture.
When crimping the cerulet (sleeve) use a flat
pliers,pressfirmlyanddon’tcutthroughthewire.
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.Installthewheels on theshaftandsecure
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
13
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
modelbehaves.Thismodelhas a relatively long
nose moment and depending on what engine
you are using, wheight may be moved towards
therear ofthe plane.The originalaircraft hadto
have observer or balance weight in the rear
cockpitorelseit was noseheavyanddangerous
to flyStabilizer trim
Inthebottomofthefuselage at the position
ofthestabilizerleading edge therearetwo3mm
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
supportwiresattheleadingedgeofthestabilizer.
Turnboth adjustmentscrews thesame 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
wireattachmentpointsaremovedupwards.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
emittedthrough the scalemanifold.
Flying characteristics are very forgiving
and willfly happilyonhalftrottle. Duringtheinitial
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
shouldflyofthe ground and notbepulled. Once
airborne the aircraft is limited aerobatic like all
biplanes from WW I. Turns must be coordinated
rudder/elevator/aileroninprototypefashion.
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
getthe nose downto maintain flyingspeed. The
drag from the wires and struts is considerable!
Happy landings!

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
14
Cockpitinterior includinginstrument panelis an
additionaloption.
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
sectionof 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"
leavingonlythe wires tothe fuselage unhooked
and the servo connector disconnected.
The tailskid is steerable and connected with
wirestotherudder bar. This meansaheavy load
on the rudder servo and should be observed
when choosing the servo.

Bristol F2B Fighter ARF
15
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.
Toensureanunrestricted air inflowweremoved
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
functionalmanifold gavea satisfactoryair 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
standardavailabletyp.
Forthis aircraft there are someadditional items
availableseparately(allowfor3monthsdelivery):
ACC-401, Cockpit interior kit, consisting of in-
strument panel with all instruments, valves and
switches installed, pilots seat (vicker chair),
throttle/mixtureleversandrearsectionofVickers
machinegunlocatedintheholeintheinstrument
panel and visable in cockpit. Gunners seat and
6 spare ammo magazines for the gunners
cockpit.
ACC-248,4-bladedscalepropeller.
ACC-251,Scale functionalmanifoldandexhaust
system for 1.20 4-cycle engine.
ACC-850,Fullbody,1/5thscale British pilot/gun-
ner.
Optional items
The throttle servo is
located in the servo
trayandhasastraight
linkto the throttlearm.
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
16
What is in the box:
The ARF and RNF kits contains the parts shown in the
pictureAllthepartsarecoveredandpainted.Alltherigging
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)
KK && WW
ModelModel
AirplanesInc.AirplanesInc.
P.O.Box 1229, Cebu City Centrl. Postoffice
Cebu City 6000, Philippines
Visiting address:
3343 Gun-Ob, Kinalumsan,
Lapu-Lapu City 6015, PHILIPPINES
Phone [phone], Cellular [phone]
Telefax [phone], E-mail: [email protected]
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wires are supplied in the correct lengths and attached
to their fixed positions. Wings, interplanestruts, Fin/
rudderandStabilizer/elevatorareseparatedatdelivery.
The delivered model has a revised paintscheme
correspondingtothepresentstatusoftheoriginalaircraft