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quote:
ORIGINAL: lfierro1
the stock wheels are 3 1/2 inches tall and 7/8 inch wide and just fit in the wheel wells
THANK YOU, for answering my question. It appears that the only thing wrong with them then, is the 'hubcaps'. If it had spoked hubs (like the Robart wheels), they would be a pretty good wheel for this bird?
quote:
ORIGINAL: lfierro1 one more thing the plane flys great
Thanks for the flight report, really thinking about this one, I'll probably order one before the month (March, 2012) is over.
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Corsair Jock and others: The Hangar 9 wheels for their 50 Corsair are also 3 1/2" with spoked hub caps. I got the Robart wheels cause they don't have Hangar 9 on the side of the tires LOL
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That's good to know about the Hangar 9 wheels, I THOUGHT they looked kinda big, almost scale size (the H 9 Corsair is slightly small, maybe 1/9 scale, so 3 1/2" wheels should be VERY close to scale size for it). They have nice looking hubs also, simlar in appearance to the Robart spoked ones. I could live with the "Hangar 9" on the tires (onless they are RWL), that'll be kinda hard to spot
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That's good to know also, Chad. Most wheels are too wide anyway. Now, if only I could find a place to buy some Hangar 9 Corsair ('50 size) wheels. I see that Horizon does not list them seperately.
Speaking of wheels, I purchased the Top Flite P-40 ARF ('60 size'), and noted that it comes with wheels nearly 4" in diameter! In fact, for all practical purposes, they ARE 4" wheels, and also very narrow to boot. These would make excellent wheels for a '60 size' Corsair, because they are scale size, and that narrow profile means they will be more likely to fit inside of a wing when retracted. Problem is, like the Hangar 9 wheels: they are not available for sale by themselves.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: CorsairJock ...like the Hangar 9 wheels: they are not available for sale by themselves.
Looks like the H9 wheels are available now, $16.99 per pair. I'd love get my hands on a pair of the P-40 wheels as that would be the correct diameter for my Hellcat if they are thin enough to fit in the wheel well.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Chad Veich ................... I'd love get my hands on a pair of the P-40 wheels as that would be the correct diameter for my Hellcat if they are thin enough to fit in the wheel well.................
Specs for Top Flite P-40 ARF main wheels: 3.95 inch diameter, 0.84 inches thick at the hubs, 0.80 inches at the 'tires'. Weight: 47 grams each.
Specs for Robart 4" Scale Wheels: 4.02 inch diameter, 1.15 inches thick tires. Weight: 100 grams each.
Even if fit isn't a problem with the Robart wheels, one should consider this: a pair of them weigh 106 grams (just shy of 4 ounces) more than a pair of Top Flite wheels. And even if you don't normally worry about adding a few ounces, take into consideration that we are talking about retracts which shift the center of gravity to the rear when the gear is retracted. In other words, in comparing Robart wheels to the Top Flight wheels: you are shifting an additional 4 ounces rearward about 5 ~ 6 inches when the wheels come up.
Might I suggest a write in (e-mail) campaign to get Top Flite to offer them? I did so a few days ago (sent an e-mail from thier web-site). They claim at their website that any and all parts are available for each and every model that they (currently) offer. This claim is just not true. They also have lists of spare parts on thier web-site, but some parts (such as wheels for several of the ARFs) are just not listed. The AT-6 wheels ARE listed, and I have purchased a couple of pairs because they are nice for thier size (about 3 1/4").
More wheel specs:
Specs for Stock Wheels: 3.56 inch diameter, 0.89 inches thick. Weight: 31.9 grams each
Specs for Robart 3 1/2" Scale Wheels: 3.46 inch diameter, 1.12 inches thick tires. Weight: 69 grams each.
Specs for Hangar 9 3 1/2" Scale Wheels: 3.55 inch diameter, 1.02 inches thick tires. Weight: 63.5 grams each.
Conclusion (my opinion): The two aftermarket 3 1/2" wheels mentioned above are good choices for this model. They BOTH have very scale looking spoked hubs, are roughly the same weight (Hangar 9 ones are 5.5 grams lighter each). Altho not scale size, they are the best compromise in terms of being able to get them to fit into the wheel wells, and weight. The Hangar 9 ones are indeed slightly more narrow (which is good) AND 'taller' (also good). BUT, they DO have "Hangar 9" molded into the tires, whereas the Robarts have "Goodyear" (or "Continental" on the other side): neither which is easily visible except at very close distance. The hobby shop initially wanted about $20 for the pair of Hangar 9 wheels, which isn't much different than a pair of Robarts. I was able to talk them down to $17 by showing them a copy of the page that I printed from the link that Chad posted.
The stock wheels are considerable lighter (over 2 1/4 ounces lighter per pair than the aftermarket choices listed above), AND more narrow, BUT the included hubs bear no resemblence to any full scall Corsair wheels that I have ever seen, and the tires lack 'thread'.
The hubs on the aftermarket wheels appear to be identical, as if Hangar 9 made exact copies of the Robart hubs (which have been in production for decades). But, the Hangar 9 hubs are slightly different, and slightly larger in diameter.
As far as 'diamond tread' vs. 'ribbed tread': I seem to recall reading some time ago that generally speaking, land based Corsairs had the diamond tread tires, carrier based ones had the ribbed tread. With the Robarts, you have a choice. With the Hangar 9 wheels, they only come in 'ribbed'.
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- 3/15/2012 3:58 PM >
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My kit arrived this afternoon and I'm unpacking it right now. First impression is amazing and I'm hard to impress when it comes to ARFs.
There is a lot of detailing potential. The cockpit kit is a good start and the instrument panel is done quite well and matches my reference for the F4U-1 but with 4 rudder pedals. Need to add a stick and a gun sight and I plan to also add controls. I also might scratchbuild the floor, or lack of a floor, to represent the 1. A pilot will be a must and I might attempt a sliding canopy. The rudder should be easy to modify using CJ's tutorial and the elevator shows ribs so it can be covered in fabric. The covering is nice and tight, however, I plan to strip, glass, and paint mine since I have specific plane in mind. The wing is still pretty thick out to the taper but then again, I'll live with it in order for good flying characteristics. Still pondering what to do about landing gear doors. I am using 615s with Robostruts.
I have to finish remodeling a bedroom this next week then I can start on this project. Looking through the manual, it looks like it will be fun. I will try to post pics of my progress.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: CorsairJock
quote:
ORIGINAL: Chad Veich ................... I'd love get my hands on a pair of the P-40 wheels as that would be the correct diameter for my Hellcat if they are thin enough to fit in the wheel well.................
Specs for Top Flite P-40 ARF main wheels: 3.95 inch diameter, 0.84 inches thick at the hubs, 0.80 inches at the 'tires'.
Might I suggest a write in (e-mail) campaign to get Top Flite to offer them? I did so a few days ago (sent an e-mail from thier web-site). They claim at their website that any and all parts are available for each and every model that they (currently) offer. This claim is just not true. They also have lists of spare parts on thier web-site, but some parts (such as wheels for several of the ARFs) are just not listed. The AT-6 wheels ARE listed, and I have purchased a couple of pairs because they are nice for thier size (about 3 1/4'').
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lfiero1: That's just being cruel coming in here and posting "the plane flies great". How was it's ground handling and slow flying? Did it need much right rudder correction on take off? What engine you using? Were the flaps helpful? I guess I'll have to wait til I get mine to the club field. If the weather looks good on Sunday I'll take it out.
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Thanks Chad: All indications from reading the review and watching the video that it's more a sport plane and less a warbird. That's just great, now everyone will be flying one. No mention of the left wing dropping from torque or any tip staling. As a matter of fact he said it will glide pretty well. Most corsairs I've flown had the glide of a brick. The ARF is rather light for it's size so it's no surprise it will glide well but I will keep some power on to landing just to be safe. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to maiden tomorrow 3-11-12.
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My pleasure Tom. I have not flown the ARF but I have flown four different kit built versions including one built from the original red box kit. That one flew awful but it was very poorly constructed by a beginner builder. The other three were all great flyers from a 9.5 pound sport version on up to a 12 pound scaled out one. The flaps do certainly help by the way and I don't recall any particularly bad wing drop at the stall. I don't recall the glide characteristics but I can assure you that with those big flaps down it will bleed off air speed very quickly. Best of luck with your test flights and I look forward to your pilot report.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: iflircaircraft ...................No mention of the left wing dropping from torque or any tip staling. As a matter of fact he said it will glide pretty well. Most corsairs I've flown had the glide of a brick. ..................Tom
Actually, I've had several kit built Top Flite Corsairs, some (especially my first one) had dead stick landings. I too found out that they glide very nicely, especially if you leave the gear up. BTW: landing with gear up became standard procedure for me in the event of engine out: not only does it have a fairly nice glide, it lands VERY nicely on the gull wing (IF you are landing on grass anyway). Damage was very minimal, just some light scratches on the covering. Landing with the gear down seemed like a recipe for disaster.
Also, the Top Flite Corsairs have about 2 degree of washout built in, which greatly reduces the odds of a wing dropping suddenly.
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- 3/11/2012 4:15 AM >
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Well, I finally 'pushed the button' last nite/ ordered one from Tower. Should arrive by the end of the week (St Patties Day).
Things for certain: It will be model as an F4U-1 (birdcage canopy). Covering will be stripped, it will be glassed and painted. While the covering is off, the wingtips will be altered/ modified to more scale accurate profile. Same goes for rudder. I will make the wings foldable, even if only manually.
I have a rare set of Lado retracts (and I mean RARE). They are the bottom mount type, and accept 3/16" strut wires. Frankly, I had never heard of any of the rotating Lados that were designed for anything bigger than 5/32". But I have 'em. Problem is: I just don't see them working out with this Corsair. They are too tall in front, which will require the strut to be farther back from the leading edge than I would like it to be. Ideally, the struts should be less than an inch from the L.E., so I'm thinking these retracts would be better suited for a P-40 or Skyraider (where the retracts don't have to be completely hidden in the wing). SO, thinking of using one of my Robart 615 sets.
That all said, it won't be done in a week, or a month. I'll shoot for mid June, so I can fly it at the warbird event near Pontiac, Michigan.
ALSO, there WILL be a few items that I won't need, and will have for sale: 1) Cowling (I'll use one from a fit, so that I won't have to remove the paint) 2) Spinner (I believe it won't work on Saito engines?) 3) Motor Mount (I never like using adjustable/ 'one size fits all' ones)
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- 3/12/2012 12:43 PM >
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Well, mine arrived today. Gave it the once over to check for anything wrong with major components, discovered left side flaps would not move on wing center section. At first, I thought maybe some glue leaked into a joint. But eventually, I discovered the root cause: the two hinges on the inboard left flap were not installed correctly. In fact, they are about 90 degrees offset from each other, meaning that any (flap) movement causes binding. Tried to take close up pics, best I could do. Sent email to Tower.
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I had problems with my wings too and had to send them back. Same thing as you although not completely bound up. Also, one of the joiner tabs only stuck out of the flap like 1/8" so it would have pulled out every time. I also had a bad center fiberglass belly pan - formed wrong. Tower took care of everything but I wasn't terribly impressed with the workmanship for a $400 ARF. Seems maybe Top Flite is getting a crash course in dealing with Chinese manufacturing. That could be why this one kept getting delayed at first too.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lifer
I have a set of the .60-size TF P-40 wheels that I would be willing to part with. PM me if interested.
I received these wheels from Lifer today and they are indeed very thin. Now I need to go about making the proper hub so they look correct for the Hellcat/Corsair. Thanks Lifer!
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Like I said: I just recieved mine. Checked it over, and I realize there are some BIG improvements over the kits in this ARF.
PROS:
Biggest improvement: the wing scoops. I cannot overstate how nice I think these are, and I wish I could purchase them seperately so that I could use them on kit built Corsairs (or ANY Corsair this size). The scoops are recessed as per full scale, and have fairly accurate details such as the louvers and the oil cooler. I rate these parts A+, there simply is no batter, and it would be difficult to scratch build such accurately scaled scoops.
Next up: the belly pan. It's much lighter than the built up version from the kits, AND is adds the engine compartment hot air exhaust vent. The built up ones also tend to not be as accurately curved. This is another part I would love to use on a kit built TF Corsair.
The tailwheel cover. This will make it SO much easy to add gear doors, and or have access to the tailwheel mounting and linkage. Another part that I would like to use on kit built Corsairs.
Airfoil Shaped Tail Feathers. This isn't that big of a deal for me, but I know that for some it's nearly everything, and certainly more important than some of my other "PROS". The stab has curvature to it, it is not flat as in the kit. Some claim to able to spot details such as this much more easily, than say: the mis-shaped rudder and/ or wingtips (see "CONS" below).
The Fuselage is Better/ an Improvement of kit built Corsairs. Specifically: it is rounder where it needs to be. There is no sudden transition from flat, upper section to rounded underside aft of the wing. The kit builds as an upper half, and the lower half is added later. That translates to a rounded bottom section which does not properly transition to the flat sides of the upper portion. The ARF utilizes 1 piece formers that alow for the proper Corsair look.
NEUTRAL:
Spinner. That an aluminum spinner is included is nice. I was surprised when I discovered that it will work with my Saito .91 (I thought Saito and O.S. engines used different thread patterns?). A little heavier than the TruTurn spinners I am accustomed to using on my '60 size' Corsairs (about 50 grams for stock, 30 grams for 7/8" TruTurn), but that could be handy if the plane tends to be tail heavy. On the negative side tho: it is also a little too large to be scale representative. The TruTurns that I use are 3/4" ~ 7/8" diameter at the 'barrel', this one is 1.14" diameter all the way thru. This might be a good spinner for the Top Flite P-47 ARF tho.
The included main wheels are a mixed bag: nice size, light weight, but need to be modified to look right. The stock wheels are considerable lighter than many of the aftermarket choices of the same size, AND more narrow, BUT the included hubs bear no resemblence to any full scall Corsair wheels that I have ever seen, and the tires lack 'thread'. Full scale Corsairs have spoked hubs, NOT smooth, flat ones. A+ for size and weight, D- for looks. Specs for Stock Wheels: 3.56 inch diameter, 0.89 inches thick. Weight: 31.9 grams each.
Generally speaking, this is ONE NICE LOOKING CORSAIR right out of the box. BUT, it does NOT have a scale accurate finsh/ scheme. The real '#29/ Ira Kepford' Corsair sported a tri-color paint scheme, with the bottm surfaces being flat white, NOT flat gray.
CONS: However, there are a few other scale discrencies which it shares with the kits:
The Rudder is STILL Wrong. Full scale Corsairs have a rudder which is rounder at the top, The Top Flite kist (including the giant scale) have somewhat squared off rudders, as does this ARF.
The Wingtips are a BIG Improvement, but still not exactly right. Altho a big improvement over the kits because the head on profiles ARE better/ more scale accurate (top of wing should be straight line, underside curves up to meet topside at tips, more curvature as seen from above), they are still a little off/ and like the rudder: too squared. The Hangar 9 Corsairs by contrast actually got it right. If one could install Hangar 9 wingtips on a Top Flite Corsair: one would end up with a VERY accurate wing. Still, if I wasn't going to recover mine: they are enough of an improvement (over the kits) to leave just as they are.
The Cowling STILL lacks Details. It is now a one piece unit, AND made from fiberglass. As such, it is lighter than the kit version. I'm not so fond of many of the OEM fiberglass cowls tho: many, including this one are TOO light/ not robust enough. Since a lot of times, builders have to add weight to the nose to get a model to balance properly: I would rather have a little more strength even if it weighs a little more. But the bottom line of this cowl: it would have been easy enough to mold in some details, such as cowl flap lines, and the (3) 'cowl attachment straps'. When I build the kit versions, I always modify the cowl ring by using a hacksaw to inscibe coal flap lines. I'm thinking it could be more difficult cutting into fiberglass. I'll just use a cowl from the kit on mine
Paint. Lastly, it is my understanding that Top Flite/ LustreKote no longer offers replacement flat paint in the matching colors for this model. In other words, if you damage something that requires re-painting : Good Luck/ You are On Your Own!
CONCLUSION: Overall, this is a pretty nice ARF, ceratinly a BIG improvement over the kit version. I'm glad I got it, it will make a nice addition to my fleet. From what everyone is saying: the completed weight should be around 10 lbs, and from experience with the kit versions: I know that it will fly very well at that weight.
That all said: I intend to remove covering/ finsh from mine, re-shape rudder and wingtips, apply a painted finish to mine, AND add an F4U-1/ birdcage canopy to it. Also leaning towards making the wings foldable, even if only by hand/ manually.
< Message edited by CorsairJock -- 3/26/2012 12:57 AM >
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Warbirds and Warplanes >> RE: I Saw it! TF 60 Size Corsair ARF!!!!! 
RE: I Saw it! TF 60 Size Corsair ARF!!!!! - 
