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Thread: Corben Jr Ace

  1. #1

    Corben Jr Ace

    Good afternoon everyone. I just purchased a Corben Jr Ace with a Continental 75. I am excited to get this bird back up in the air but I have some questions that are unanswered.

    As an amateur build the builder deviated from the plans on the width of the cabin and the wing span. It has a 30' wingspan that doesn't correspond with any info I have listed. It also has a wider cockpit. Does anyone know I this was a common modification and if so any and all info would be great. It also has a 12 Gallon tank and everything else I see is much larger.

    I am sure there is a great story behind all of these decisions to deviate but... unfortunately the builder passed away not long after building the plane.

    Any and all help would be appreciated. This is my first experimental. My father built a Commuter II when I was growing up and I knew I would always end up following in his footsteps in some way shape or form!


    Cheers.

    Rick

  2. #2

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    Hi there Rick,
    I've just recently started a build of my own Corben Jr Ace. I'm not an expert by any means, but here's what I know.
    The Corben Jr Ace, also known as the Baby Ace model E, is almost universally considered to be too narrow to be a real 2-seater. Either building it with only one seat, or widening the fuselage seem to be a common modifications.
    The stock tank is approximately 16gal. They may have used a smaller tank for weight/balance reasons, or because it was commercially available, who knows.
    As for your wingspan, that's a new one on me. I believe the earliest aces had a 34' span, so maybe this was some odd compromise?
    A picture or two would be interesting and informative.

  3. #3
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    I think I attached the pic correctly!

  4. #4
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tench745 View Post
    The stock tank is approximately 16gal. They may have used a smaller tank for weight/balance reasons, or because it was commercially available, who knows.
    I believe the 12-gallon tank is a J-3 Cub tank. Lots of Fly Babies with those, as well.

    Ron Wanttaja

  5. #5
    That makes a lot of sense. It has what I believe is j3 landing gear. I was fortunate to also get a set of plans with it. The original builder passed away but the guy who I bought it from was going to build one but bought one built instead.

  6. #6

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    Looks to me like your rudder came off that cub too. I wonder what else the original builder borrowed. Perhaps the wings are modified cub wings with the ace style tip bow?

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Tench745 View Post
    Looks to me like your rudder came off that cub too. I wonder what else the original builder borrowed. Perhaps the wings are modified cub wings with the ace style tip bow?
    That is a possibility. I will have to research it a bit more. It has a 3 hinge aileron and there is different rigging for the control cables than what is in the plans.

  8. #8

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    That's pretty cool.....it looks like it's been "cabinized" as well!

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tench745 View Post
    Looks to me like your rudder came off that cub too. I wonder what else the original builder borrowed.
    Jackscrew trim but I'm kinda curious how that works with the stab braced like that. Bungee cords maybe? (just kidding)

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by outlawbrewingco View Post
    As an amateur build the builder deviated from the plans on the width of the cabin …
    I did the drawings for the original plans for the Pober Junior and Super Aces. Paul Poberezny bought the rights to the Corbin airplanes. We widened the fuselage on the Super (single place) by 7" (to 26" between upper longeron center lines) and the Junior (two place) by 9" (to 39" between upper longeron centerlines). Ironically, I happen to have what remains of the original drawings at my house (on loan from Jim Irwin at Aircraft Spruce who now owns them). I show the wingspan at just shy of 34' on the Junior (and 27'3.5" on the Super).

    Although it looks like you have an in-flight adjustable horizontal stabilizer, it can't be with the double support wires (front and back). My guess is that this is ground adjustable (with washers/spacers) and then the support wires would have to be adjusted too. The Cub horizontal stabilizer is in-flight adjustable, but it only has a single support wire (aft, about the pivot point).

    Good luck with the project; it looks like tons of fun! If you would like anything else, let me know … or email me at solutions@blueontop.com

    Thanks,
    Ron "Just happened to be in the right place at the right time" Blum

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