DVM100

sure mate, I have replied to your PM

MerlinFan

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I have a big honkin AXI F3A motor and a Spit with the stripes and one piece stab. I also have a Benedini sound system, still not sure if i will put it in that or my 72" KMP Hurricane. Still have my first with an OS120 4stroke.



Off topic... The electric pc9 must sound realistic, I went to a Jet fly and there was a Raven with a Wren turboprop and it sounded just like a big outrunner. Electric is cheap compared to a turbine.

DVM100

wanted to upload a video of my Spit taken at the field today but can't...RCU site full.

but maybe... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSTip4v1QKs

...and... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhfmIVvS-Q

wingco

Hello all,

I have a 72" YT Mk 14 spit and had a small (ish) fire in the workshop which chomped through the rudder and elevator of the spit. Luckily the fuse was saved without a mark on the tail fin or stab. I managed to get hold of a new rudder but YT (UK) tell em that they have no spare elevators until the autumn. Does anyone out there haver spares? Happy to pay top wedge for them and shipping etc.
Regards
Neil

aviation421

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Hi everyone,

I balanced my Spitfire at 112mm with a touch nose heavy, new robarts retracts and robostruts, I was able to take off 4.5 oz of lead off the front...and it is flying beautifully.

H.Dale

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I am working on an ESM 73" Spitfire. The new version has a different looking tailwheel setup than shown in the instruction manual. Does anyone have a picture of how they installed one?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hal

JRgraham

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Hey guys,
Yeah, old thread I dug up here, but I have just come across a KMP Spitfire MK XIV brand new in the box. Its somewhat difficult to read through all 50+ pages here, with a lot of other topics being discussed..
It seems they are great flyers, but I am wondering if anyone might be willing to shed some light on this thing.. I take it they are no longer produced.. is this thing something I should jsut build up and fly the crap out of, or is it something special that I should consider doing extra effort with? Maybe I should leave it in the box as it might be valuable now?? Everything is still sealed in the packages.

I was thinking about building it with a DLE 20, or something similar.. is there anything I should be aware of while building? What was the retail price on this kit? It has the retracts included.

Thanks! This kit is really impressive, at least compared to a lot of today's ARF's out there I suppose.

DVM100

mate, I would defiitely build this and spend a bit of extra time putting some scale touches to her. I added scale pilo, scale exhaust stacks, scales wheels and oleos etc. the Spitfire is so iconic I reckon they deserve that extra touch. I also put a Benedini sound system in mine so I could get that Griffin sound, along with machine guns and cannons.

I originally had a 1.20 RCV FS in mine, then put a 28cc petrol in her, then went electric. I'm not sure a DLE 20 would be enough but could be wrong. Cheers! Dave
l

tevans55

JRGraham-
I have had 2 of these planes. The first one hit a bird and was a total loss. The DLE 20 is what I am using and is plenty for this plane. I am using a JTec wrap around muffler on a side exhaust engine. Now you can get the rear exhaust. I also have Century Jet landing gear that I have used on both planes. They are rugged and are the prototypes developed specifically for this plane. They come in electric or air now. I'm not sure that you will want to use the KMP gear as they had a lot of issues. I lined the under wing radiators with fiberglass as they are very fragile. Let us know if you have specific questions. Here are some photos of DLE setup. You need some room to get the heat out.

JRgraham

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Very nice, Thanks a lot!
I got this thing from a member of the club that passed, and never built it. I only just opened the box last night, and was surprised at the quality. Actual fiberglass rather than plastic, etc.
I do have Robart retracts I could substitute, but was not sure about the angle.. mine are just a standard 90*, I think I read that the KMP retracts were spring air type? I was never really fond of those myself anyways.

The more I go over this thing, the more I am falling in love with it!
Thanks for the replies guys, Im sure I will have more questions as I get into it. Hard telling how soon I will put it together, because I was not really prepared to start another build just yet, with several others on the bench as it is.. But this one is hard to put aside!

alanc

Which version is it? the original has decals that you put on your self, great model, but the retracts need shimming forward a tad, the 2nd version was composite fuselage, with decals already applied, this version had pushrods to the elevators, the retract postition was altered third version has a pull pull elevator horn, and separate tailplabne halves, with tube joiner, the first version, over here at least, has found favour with kit collectors, for me? get it built, i have one with a badly damaged retract bay, way past repair, so, its going to be a slope glider!!!!

JRgraham

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Finally finished skimming over this whole thread.. wow, kind of numb now..

Well, I would think from your descriptions, I have the first version. It has the large sticker/decal sheet, the fuselage and cowl is fiberglass, one piece horizontal stab. Not certain about the retracts, if they are air up/down, or the air up spring down without testing.. Im not a big fan of spring air, but they are somewhat more fail safe.. but with restrictors they should be alright.

As I said though, everything is still in the sealed packages, in fact the packages were still hot glued to the box. One wing panel was open, so I have removed that panel and did a quick look.

Are there things that I should be aware of when building, like weak areas etc?
Thanks for the response alanc

JRgraham

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When I find my phone I will take some photo's of the parts and pieces, and post them.

w1nd6urfa

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Hi all,
Since this fine thread was recently resurrected, I will post my build here

I got a v3 second-hand with damage on the port wing from a rough landing - not all that bad as only the bottom spar was broken taking along the leading edge, sheeting, wheel well and covering.

The previous owner had built the kit right from the manual - hadn't done any reinforcement in the LG area

w1nd6urfa

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More:

w1nd6urfa

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Top wing is cracked

w1nd6urfa

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Lifted the sheeting to inspect the damage, the wood is typical ESM: dry brittle balsa and ply that is marginally stronger than compressed paper

The spar was doubled with carbon fiber, glued with cyano and Gorilla glue

w1nd6urfa

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Similarly added a CF rod tucked between the LE balsa and the wing ribs

w1nd6urfa

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As you can see in the above pic (right side), there is something strange with this kit: the ribs outward of the wheel well have a notch for a secondary spar, but there IS NO such spar!

Since the patient is on the operating table, let's fix these too

w1nd6urfa

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As you can see in previous pic I ripped out the retract mounts and replaced with proper ply, other than that the kit already had enough triangle stock on the rib attachment points, added Gorilla glue and didn't glass

w1nd6urfa

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Re-sheeting

w1nd6urfa

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I will not use the plastic wheel well, will build from FliteSkin.
Started by lining the well rim from the inside with 0.3mm FS

w1nd6urfa

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Covered with Solartex

w1nd6urfa

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Moving on to the fuse, it is intact on the outside but internally I discovered that the ply behind the firewall was soaked in oil ... it all had to be replaced

This took a while as the fuse is narrow and tapering down in the firewall area.

w1nd6urfa

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Used the very latest high-tech tools for this