Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
#576
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Spias, there is a built in dump area on the bottom of the fuselage where the optional canister muffler goes. That should give you plenty of dump area for cooling. I think it was G-Pete who used the louvered cooling vent plates form Vally View RC to cover that area. I liked his idea and am going to use them myself. I'll post a pic here since I don't know where that post was way back there.
You'll have to fill in the opening just a bit with some triangle stock or whatever's handy. Little primer and paint to match and you are set. These come 4 to a set and looks like it will take 2-1/2 of them to fill the void..
You'll have to fill in the opening just a bit with some triangle stock or whatever's handy. Little primer and paint to match and you are set. These come 4 to a set and looks like it will take 2-1/2 of them to fill the void..
#578
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Spias, if you close down the amount of area in the intake side, the underside hole should be enough area to dump. In other words, add some baffles in front of the engine and just let the air come thru to the cooling fins only, a few inches in width. Believe it or not, this works. Several guys at the field who are experienced scale contest pilots do this and it does indeed work. I don't have any pics, but hope you get the idea.
#579
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
So I'm closing in on getting tom's Hellcat up and ready. I had opted to put a DLE55 in her since thats what tom had, and way make extra work if you don't have too Anyway, I was a little unhappy with how the weights came out. I have the long cowl with two 2300mah A123 batteries on the engine box and she came out pretty tailheavy still. As you can see there is a Power Extended Pro and receiver mounted behind CG and I still have to add a pilot. I am also adding a dummy cowl that should offset that. Anyway, I left the two original batteries to run the Power Extender and added a third 2300mah A123 on top of the engine box for the ignition. As you can see in the pic she balances level with exactly 7oz sitting on top of the horizontal stab right at it's high point. It still has a hint of tail heavy and I think I am going to add a couple more ounces to the engine box, at least for first flights.
I also have the short cowl I'd like to use, but afraid I would have to add about a pound of weight if I move that motor back the 2" it would take. We'll see.
I also have the short cowl I'd like to use, but afraid I would have to add about a pound of weight if I move that motor back the 2" it would take. We'll see.
#581
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Don't be afraid of the balance, we put extra weight on the nose of both proto types just for peace of mind, We took it off little by little as we got more familar with the plane.
Your description sounds right. I put 3ea 2300 mah A123 packs in the tunnel. Plus 4.8 vdc pack on the motor box.
Jds
Your description sounds right. I put 3ea 2300 mah A123 packs in the tunnel. Plus 4.8 vdc pack on the motor box.
Jds
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Don't know I just pulled mine out and they are tight. They are not Grumman gear so tight is relevant.
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Guys,
Tom posted some new information on his Wild Hare RC home page http://www.wildharerc.com/. He mentions the Hellcat and the new Spitfire that he is working on.
Thanks
Johnny Snead
Webmaster NDRCC
Wildhare Runny Babbit
Tom posted some new information on his Wild Hare RC home page http://www.wildharerc.com/. He mentions the Hellcat and the new Spitfire that he is working on.
Thanks
Johnny Snead
Webmaster NDRCC
Wildhare Runny Babbit
#587
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Hey guys, has anyone tried the Robart aluminum hub wheels with this kit?, and if so, did they have any problems with them fitting the retracts axles?
#590
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Well, after much delay in both weather and learning the new Futaba 8FGs I finally gotten the Hellcat's "new" maiden flights in this morning. For an old beat up test warbird of Tom's she was absolutely gorgeous and flew flawlessly. the brand new DLE55 was a jewel and will fly this bird on a 3-blade like a dream when finally broke in. The very first flight was completely uneventful and the air retract system maintained pressure through two flights. I had installed a Tamjet gear failsafe and tested it several times, a great little safety device, but appears I'm not going to need it unless an unknown leak develops. The retracts were rock solid. I had to stop after two flights because the new engine needs retuning, I lost a cowl screw and my dummy engine came loose. But I am soooo happy with how it performed. Now I'm going to have to complete some of the other scale stuff like gear doors .
I do have one question: the plane rolls left very easy and light; but it feels farely heavy rolling to the right. Only thing I can think of off hand is the huge amount of torque this engine puts out, don't know.
I do have one question: the plane rolls left very easy and light; but it feels farely heavy rolling to the right. Only thing I can think of off hand is the huge amount of torque this engine puts out, don't know.
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Congratulations !!
Check the trims, the rudder is powerfull if there is any off center the plane will follow the rudder. Sounds like you got a keeper.
JDS
Check the trims, the rudder is powerfull if there is any off center the plane will follow the rudder. Sounds like you got a keeper.
JDS
#592
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
I wonder if anyone else had the same findings on the Wild Hare retract air valve as I did. I hooked all the retracts up, no kinks, no other visible problems. The valve just wouldn't make the MLG work correctly. They would try to work, but just wouldn't do the job. I determined that the only problem possible was with the air valve. I bought a Robart air valve, installed it, and viola, all worked as advertised. I went back to look at the WH valve and think I discovered the problem. The small air release holes in the adjustment stems had not been drilled. The Robart has these and that's how the air escapes the up side to allow the down side to work. I guess they just forgot to drill them on this particular valve. Anyway, it was a good copy of the Robart and I expected it to work.
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
ORIGINAL: Lifer
There's a lot to be said for the sellers reputation. Tom, how many people need to commit to your Spitfire for you to go ahead with the order? You have a good name in the industry and I would be willing to commit with a deposit.
There's a lot to be said for the sellers reputation. Tom, how many people need to commit to your Spitfire for you to go ahead with the order? You have a good name in the industry and I would be willing to commit with a deposit.
Developing and selling one of these warbirds requires a whole lot of time and a good deal of money. The builder's want to build a minimum of 50 planes and even then they complain and drag their feet. Plus shipping from China adds significantly to the cost unless we buy a large container full, and with a plane like the F6F or the Spitfire that will be about 200-250 airplanes. Generally figure the cost of a container of planes is $60,000, give or take.
So, for a little mom and pop company like Wild Hare how long do you thing that many planes will last? A long time, that's how long. Long enough that we start wondering if the remaining inventory will ever sell at a profit. Often it does not and we have to discount old inventory and lose money on it. Any profit doesn't happen until about the last third of the batch, so if we don't sell a batch out quickly we don't make a profit. And as much fun as this is, we have to make a profit to be able to continue. The slow economy pushes this equation past the tipping point.
On the up side'...
I plan to maiden the Spitfire soon. It's a nice plane, very light, with servo-driven retracts. I think it's going to fly even better than the Hellcat, it has more wing area and is laid out a lot like an aerobatic plane, except it has flaps. But it has large ailerons and elevators, lots of wing area, and I'm hoping to get the price down where I can sell a pretty good quantity of them.
TF
#594
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
A couple more comments on my Hellcat. The plane has no pitch tendencies at all, even with full flaps deployed. But it does fly exceedingly slow, for a slick warbird, with the flaps down. It's one of the best mannered warbirds I've flown in landing mode and that includes owning 50-100cc P-51, 109 and corsair. This Hellcat flies easier than all of them. It is quit beautiful in the air doing slow rolls and basic aircraft aerobatics.
Tamjet/Robart Gear Failsafe. Thought I would never need or use this little device. Well how wrong I was. Right in the middle of a nice long low pass - wam the gear comes down - WT*! So for once in my life I did the right thing and did not try to raise the gear, but flew around and landed. Low and behold there was zero air pressure in the system. The Failsafe had done just what it was suppose to do and saved my plane from really serious wheelsup landing damage. Later I found I had put a little nick in an air line when drilling a couple of holes to route the line better. Live and learn.
Tamjet/Robart Gear Failsafe. Thought I would never need or use this little device. Well how wrong I was. Right in the middle of a nice long low pass - wam the gear comes down - WT*! So for once in my life I did the right thing and did not try to raise the gear, but flew around and landed. Low and behold there was zero air pressure in the system. The Failsafe had done just what it was suppose to do and saved my plane from really serious wheelsup landing damage. Later I found I had put a little nick in an air line when drilling a couple of holes to route the line better. Live and learn.
#596
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
RC Tom,
Always been curious about the whole she-bang on getting an ARF going.
What is the approx time from "I want it" till you get them delivered? Do you have to make a trip over to the manufacturer's site to view the details and complete the deal or can you do it from your office? Any pics of the manufacturer's workplace? Do you get any "spare parts" from them as part of the deal or do you have to pay for those or just pull them from other kits? Can you get just about any design you want put into an ARF package? Why do the big outlets like Hangar 9 always go with another P-51? haha. I guess I know the answer to the last one - because the P-51 sells.
This subject would make a good "How It's Made" episode. Thanks, LBJ
Always been curious about the whole she-bang on getting an ARF going.
What is the approx time from "I want it" till you get them delivered? Do you have to make a trip over to the manufacturer's site to view the details and complete the deal or can you do it from your office? Any pics of the manufacturer's workplace? Do you get any "spare parts" from them as part of the deal or do you have to pay for those or just pull them from other kits? Can you get just about any design you want put into an ARF package? Why do the big outlets like Hangar 9 always go with another P-51? haha. I guess I know the answer to the last one - because the P-51 sells.
This subject would make a good "How It's Made" episode. Thanks, LBJ
#597
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Retract Maintenance:
So my plane has had a good bit of slop in the retracts since I got it. I realize it probably had many test flights that loosened things up. The sloppyness also doesn't seem to bother it's ground handling all that much, but a couple of notes.
I had rotational slop in the strut and side to side slop in the main support bracket at the top of the strut. when I was looking at it I noticed a little white plastic ball with a pin through it that controlled rotation. That pin slids in and out of the plastic ball as the gear rotates. Well that little pin was coming unscrewed and that was causing a lot of the rotational slop. You have to be careful to not mar the pin, but I loosened it with a pair of pliers, lock tited the threads and screwed it back in. Took away a lot of that rotational slop.
Regarding the other slop, I'm not sure. The support bracket has a flush allen head screw on each side. On my gear only one of the four screws will tighten. The other three just turn and turn. I suspect there is an internal nut or something, but can't tell without completely dismantling the gear. If anyone has played with this and can comment, would be appreciated.
I have three or four flights on the Hellcat now with the Xoar WWII 20x10x3 prop and am rarely over 1/2 throttle even on up lines. I believe the 22x10x3 will be the perfect prop after full break-in and look gorgeous - of course the chance of a prop strike on that long $100 prop is giving me pause.
So my plane has had a good bit of slop in the retracts since I got it. I realize it probably had many test flights that loosened things up. The sloppyness also doesn't seem to bother it's ground handling all that much, but a couple of notes.
I had rotational slop in the strut and side to side slop in the main support bracket at the top of the strut. when I was looking at it I noticed a little white plastic ball with a pin through it that controlled rotation. That pin slids in and out of the plastic ball as the gear rotates. Well that little pin was coming unscrewed and that was causing a lot of the rotational slop. You have to be careful to not mar the pin, but I loosened it with a pair of pliers, lock tited the threads and screwed it back in. Took away a lot of that rotational slop.
Regarding the other slop, I'm not sure. The support bracket has a flush allen head screw on each side. On my gear only one of the four screws will tighten. The other three just turn and turn. I suspect there is an internal nut or something, but can't tell without completely dismantling the gear. If anyone has played with this and can comment, would be appreciated.
I have three or four flights on the Hellcat now with the Xoar WWII 20x10x3 prop and am rarely over 1/2 throttle even on up lines. I believe the 22x10x3 will be the perfect prop after full break-in and look gorgeous - of course the chance of a prop strike on that long $100 prop is giving me pause.
#598
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Bring it on over to the One Eighth Air Force fly-in at the end of this month Splais. Love to see the Hellcat and put a face with your name.
#599
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
Got a bit of throttle work done today. Dropped the whole servo on a plate next to the gas tank. Plenty of room for it there. Direct into the throttle arm with no muss no fuss. Choke will come out the front on a manual pull rod like most use on the DLE-55
#600
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RE: Hellcat F6F Wild Hare RC - G-Pete's build and review
I have had the gear apart and the flush screws on the sides go into a round brass fitting in the side of the gear leg. Some of mine just won't tighten up either so I have a little side slop also. I will look at the rotaional pin though - might help. Will see you all at the 1/8th AF fly-in.