smurfjet

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Well it seems the flying season is finally here again. I'll start another thread as in the past and try to remember to bring my camera every week this summer to chronicle our warbird flying. Winter was long which made for some great building time. There will be a dozen or so "first flights" to be done on aircraft that were built or bought over the winter and I'll try to get pics of each plane on their first flight.

The first Tuesday of the year was somewhat a "bust" due to the very high winds and some teething problems with the planes. Nothing made it up with the winds gusting to 30 and a crosswind to boot.

I brought out my new Meister FW190a8. It was built by Rich Eggleston in MI and really is the nicest Meister I have ever seen. Rich is an outstanding builder and this plane really shows his talent off. He modified the wing to accept Sierra retracts and Glennis wheels. The plane did not fly because I noticed the ignition box broke loose from it's mount and I didn't want it flapping around in the cowl and possibly causing interference. The winds would have kept it grounded anyway for a first flight.......Taxi tests were done and it has more than enough power with the 3w-75 engine. Weight is 31 pounds RTF. Very light for a 100+ inch wing.

Cal Branton brought out his newly built Sist-Modell Fw-190. As you can see, he did a terrific job at building and painting it. It's powered by a G62 and also uses Sierra gear. The soft mounting of the engine caused the functional fan to very slightly contact the cowl when full power was applied. A little more in the shop time and it should be ready to fly soon.

Jeff Q. had his trusty old Yellow spitfire out. Zenoah G-45 at 25 pounds RTF.

Dave Kobilka brought his new RCShowcase 1/3 scale WACO bipe that he built over the winter. It's powered by a zdz 160 twin. (I forgot to get a picture of it).

Flak

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SmurfJet,
Great photos of beautiful Warbirds as usual. Thanks for sharing your exploits. Good luck and Happy Landings.

"Keep 'Em Flying!"
Flak

jetster

Hey smurfjet,thanks for the kind words. glad you caught that loose box! Rich

smurfjet

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We seem to have lost a few posts about my interesting first flight on the 190 last Saturday.......

Another Tuesday and some good flying with no damage. Wind was a light 90 degree crosswind out of the north. I'm surprised that with the nice weather, there wasn't more people flying tonight.

I put a few more flights on the FW-190 and all is well. She's all dialed in with the new radio and I really like the way it is flying. I was worried about the long legs of the FW on landings but they are a non-issue as it floats in. She's all ready to make the trip out to Denver over the second weekend of June.

Jeff brought his 110 inch enlarged Vailly Fw-190 out. It's flying on a 3w-120 and it really moves. Now that he's got the bugs all worked out, time to get that nicely painted spinner on

Dave Kobilka again with his RCShowcase 120 inch WACO. ZDZ-160 twin for power. It leaps off the ground in probably 30 feet. He's got it set up with a very nice smoke system as well.

Kind of a repeat of last week due to the high winds. I'm planning on test flying a new yellow spitfire next week and Jeff should have the Turkey out. Stay tuned.......

Dave

smurfjet

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I took a "spy shot" when I was sneaking a peak at Jeff's new Seafury. It's enlarged (as most of his stuff is) from Vailliancourt plans. It has a 111 inch span and will run with a 3w-140 out front. Should be flying about the second week of May. Will have flight pics then.

Dave

F4u5

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I should have kept that Waco kit.....that is a fantastic looking and flying airplane!

GENESIS

Very nice job Dave with my Waco kit! Very original paint scheme and fun to look at!

I may do my new 40% Waco / RCS 400cc in that scheme. Shure is different!

Dany
Team Genesis
www.genesis-rc.com

smurfjet

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Another Tuesday's in the books. Some rain early turning to calm winds and a sunny 70 degrees. All in all, a very nice evening.

Jeff and I were flying our Yellow Spitfires. Mine was a first flight as I just finished setting it up. This is the fourth one I've owned. I just sold my "panther" spitfire to help fund a turbine. This new one was built and painted by a "Top Gunner" by the name of Gary Allen. He and his brother-in-law Dorin Luck, fly in Team Scale. I bought it from Dorin last year and just now set it up to fly. Power is a G-62 and it weighs 25.5 pounds RTF. A little heavier than my last one but fly's just as easy. I put three flights on it tonight and it fly's just like my last one. These are hands down the best flying spitfire out there. You just can't beat them if you are looking for a late mark spit.

Jeff's flying his yellow Spit again - 24.5 pounds RTF with a G-45. Great flyer as usual.

Dave Kobilka had his newly refinished Don Smith Mustang out. He refinished it over the winter in an aluminum finish. It's mostly covered with a self adhesive silver mylar material (don't remember what it is) and some Flight Metal. It's flying on a quadra 100 with a 22/16 propeller. That 16 pitch really makes it move.

Cal Branton put a first flight on his Byron P-40. It has a G-62 for power. You just don't see many of these around and I'm told that's for a reason. I guess most of these P-40's didn't survive their maiden flights due to incorrect cg and some problem with the incidence. Someone told me tonight that they just didn't fly very well at all. This one flew extremely well. I was actually surprised how well it was flying.......

Here's a few pictures -

Dave

smurfjet

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A few more pictures from tonight -

I did say Cal's P-40 was flying extremely well. That was true but only for about 2 minutes. He took off to the west, came by for a high pass heading east. Made one turn back to the west and something let loose in the engine. The engine was still running but not making any power. The plane snapped and spun in while trying to get back to the runway. The Blue Box pilot had previous P-40 experience in a Yellow P-40 that crashed last year. This crash took his legs off at the knees. If he's able to get his medical back, he's going to be relegated to flying only trainers.......

Speaking of trainers, Larry had his nice Ziroli T6 out tonight. G-62 for power and something like 168 flights on it.

Tom had his "beater" Ziroli Bearcat out. It's done up in a drone scheme with a G62. Really a nice flyer but not the prettiest of Bears out there.

Kirk Hall had his old yellow Jug out. Hasn't flown in at least two years. He's planning on refinishing it in an all silver scheme from the SEAC (South East Asia Campaign). Should be repainted in a month or so. Had a G-45 and is now re-engined with a G-62. Great flyer as always.

After Cal's P-40 went in, he and I put up the MIG's. I painted the tail on mine red so we could keep them apart easier. These things really move.......

Dave

F4u5

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Fire your camera up Dave.......taking the new Fury up next Tuesday for the maiden.........could be the first and last[&:]...you didn;t get a pic of my little Spit

MinnFlyer

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Smurfjet, Where in Mpls do you fly?

F4u5

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MinnFlyer: We all fly at Tri-Valley in Rosemount....head on up some Tuesday.

smurfjet

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Made it over to Jeff's this morning to help him balance the new Seafury. It took less than a half a pound to balance with the gear up. Not bad for a 111 inch span plane that's nearly 50 pounds RTF. Nice building buddy.....

She will fly (weather permitting) on Tuesday.

Dave

smurfjet

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Well the weather forecast was for T-storms throughout the afternoon and into the evening. This kept everyone away from the field yesterday except a few of us. Only 4 planes came out.

Kirk put some flights on his old Yellow Jug and I brought out the spitfire. Jeff flew his new Seafury and Dave K. had his 120 inch WACO.

Kirks flights were uneventful. I rotated on the first flight with the spit, got about 10 feet in the air and the engine died. I set it right back down on the runway which was a non event. When I got it back to the pitts, I couldn't get it to run right after that. The problem was found after I took the plane apart and pulled the tank. Fuel delivery problem caused by me and the set up of the tank. I'll get that re-plumed today and probably have it out again next week. Jeff flew the big Seafury for the first time. Three flights on it. The first two were very uneventful other than he said it's a tad tail heavy. On the third flight, the engine seized up. He was dead stick, coming down hot, and wouldn't you know it downwind. He overshot the field and went into the tall grass. The plane flipped over and cracked the vertical tail along with a nick in the rudder. He got it home last night, pulled the engine, and repaired the tail. Now just waiting to touch up the tail with some fresh paint and it'll be good as new.

Some shots -

Dave

F4u5

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hurt the ego more than anything......[&o]

smurfjet

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Another Tuesday with high wind and rain for the better part of the day. After the front went through we all put a few flights on our planes though. The wind calmed down and the sun came out for a few hours.

Someone forgot to tell Jeff it was "WARBIRD Tuesday's" and he accidentally showed up with a 100 inch super cub. G-26 power and flew "like a cub". He said it's the first cub he's ever owned.......and I say probably be the last too.

Dave K. had his 120 inch span Mr. Mulligan. ZDZ-160 for power. It's really faster than you would believe.

Cal put a first flight on his Sist-190. It flew very well on the maiden with the gear down but had a not so smooth landing. As Jim would say "she stubbed her toe". It just bent the down-link between the leg and the upper unit. Cal will replace it and it'll be as good as new. No matter how much you get ready, there's alway's something on a "first" flight isn't there?

He put the 190 away and flew his new Ziroli Corsair. Perfect flight on it. FPE 4.2 up front, and weighs 29 pounds. Jeff Q. bought this from Brian O'Meara two years ago after Frank Tiano had a little gear mishap with it. I picked it up from Jeff, rebuilt the wing and stripped it down for a total repaint. I ended up trading a local guy for another plane and Cal recently bought it from him. It's a really nice flyer and will literally land at a crawl with full flaps.

Kirk brought out his Mig-3 that was from built from Romin Research plans. It's 102 inch span and probably 40 pounds. Has a 3w in-line 80 for power and it really moves. He didn't fly it though, just did some taxi tests.

I put three more flight's on the little spitfire. I think i'll put it away and save it for Denver now that it's dialed in. Time to get out the big Fiberclassics Spitfire and see what kind of damage I can do to it.

Tom had his Ziroli Bearcat out but I neglected to get a shot of it.

That's all for this week....

Dave

Rob Schaffer

Thanks for posting the photos each week, I look forward to seeing them.

You know you have a big plane when you have a lift winch to get it out of the truck! Great photo!

Love the shot of the plane on the wet tarmac,...

Happy Flying,
Rob

TLH101

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Hey Jeff,
You coming to Bomber Field in the fall?

F4u5

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Yes, Dave is correct.....my last cub. I need that adreneline shot of wondering if all the bells and whistles will work on my warbird. Will I get it back in one piece. Will the flaps work, will the gear go up....worse yet, will they come down? Will the engine seize again. Ooops, if I turn that hard again, it may snap. I hope the spinner doesn't dislodge. Will the canopy blow off. Is the pilot sleeping up there? Whoa....coming in to hot and too high, that's a go-around...hope the enging doesn't sneeze or cough when I pour the coals to it. If I break this new prop, I am out $60.....Whew got her back with a pretty descent landing....I gotta do that again. It all was lacking with the cub. Cal experienced all of that with his SisT FW190......lucky guy having all that fun last night [sm=greedy.gif].

If all goes well, look for a 138 inch Lancaster in about a month.

Hi Terry....no plans to come to bomber. Just too expensive and far with a 14 foot trailer....and nobody else up this way is really interested in traveling that far......unless Mr. Smurfjet is game. I'd definitely like to come back. Oh Davey Jr...........?

smurfjet

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Well, it wasn't a Tuesday but Jeff, Cal and myself went out yesterday to fly a few more planes.

Jeff brought out his old Grumman Avenger. 124 inch span, Sierra Precision gear and an in-line 105 cc engine. It was built from 60 sized plans that were blown up. I think it was Walter Otzell or something like that. He really fly's it nice and I know it's a handful to fly. This is one plane you just can't let go of the sticks and let it fly itself. You have to stay on top of it the whole time.....

I brought out my Fiberclassics Spitfire. I re-engined it with a quadra 100 in lieu of the 3w in-line 80 due to cooling issue's with the 80. I had a new hub made over the winter and on the first start attempt, pulled the threads out of the hub. I'll try to get it drilled and tapped today and bring it out again tomorrow to fly.

Cal had his Fiberclassics Mustang out for the first time. It was built a while ago by Dave Schwantz but has not flown yet. It has the 3w in-line 80 up front and no cooling issues at all. WABO retracts and glennis wheels. Cal was ready to fly yesterday but we noticed some play in the stab while running up the engine. To be safe, a former will be installed in the tail or some expansion foam laid in there to stiffen it up before it's first flight. Hopefully in a week or so it will maiden.

Here's a few pics.

Dave

F4u5

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Sadly to FW190 in post #4 is damaged. I believe the wing spar braces failed (broke) in flight. Both aileron servos were stripped and I barely got her back to the field Wing is broke in half, but repairable(gear are not harmed)-and the spinner is crunched. Fuse does not have a scratch on it. I plan on selling the carcass with the gear...or if not, she will get fixed someday. She was a good flyer, but high maintenance.

smurfjet

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We can't seem to get a Tuesday without winds gusting to 20 plus. It was extremely windy early on and then it tapered off some, becoming almost perfect as the sun went down.

As Jeff mentioned he lost the FW. He did an excellent job just getting it back to the field. I know I wouldn't have been able to get it back in the condition it was in. He was flying with rudder and elevator only after the wing let go. The fuselage was untouched and the wing can probably be put back together. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one back flying in a year or so. It would be rebuilt sooner if Jeff didn't have a dozen or so "Projects" waiting to get done

I launched the Fiberclassics Spitfire for the first time this year. Not a bad flight considering the gusty winds. I definitely need to get more flights on this one to get it dialed in like my yellow spits. I just don't have the 100 percent "comfort" factor that you have after flying something all the time. I think this was the 7th flight I've put on it. I went with a two blade 24/12 and it lept off the runway in about 50 feet. WAY sooner than I was expecting and not bad for a 40 pound plane. I prefer the 3 blade Mejzlik 24/10. It slows it down a bit and still has good pull. It's a fast plane and looks good in the air. You just don't see a lot of early Mark Spits flying.

Tom had my old yellow spitfire out. This was my first "large" warbird that I ever built. To say this one is a "good" flyer is an understatement to say the least. I'll probably never own a better flyer and more reliable plane than this one. I really do regret selling it, but maybe I'll change my mind when I get the turbine Ziroli Panther flying (sold it to help fund the turbine).

Cal brought out his Ziroli Bearcat and his new Avonds F-15. The Bearcat was built 23 years ago by our good friend Jim Greenly. You'll see some of Jim's masterpieces later in the summer with Jeff at the sticks. He's got a 110 inch Bearcat, 120 inch Dauntless and a 120 inch JUG. He's one of the best builders I've seen. It's amazing that this old Bear is still around today. This plane has alway's been a flyer, not a hanger queen, so it has some wear and tear on it but you'd never guess it's 23 years old. The only major change to the plane was a new wing was built some years ago with the addition of flaps. Quadra 100 for power and a working scale exhaust. This was the second airplane Jim had ever built. Looks and fly's great!

The F-15 was built by one of our local jet "guru's" Kevin Barr. He is a top notch builder in the jet community and it shows in this one. Avond's kit with a JetCat P-120. I've seen Kevin fly this over the last few years and it's hands down a great plane. I think it's about 8 years old. It seems to be as reliable and as good a flyer as my old yellow spit. Cal will have some fun with it I'm sure.

Here's a few pics -

F4u5

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Dave, you forgot to mention that I hit a tree on the way down.....don;t know how it kept flying.[sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif] I like that last shot of Cal's F-15 with the clouds and setting sun.

smurfjet

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It's been quite a while since I've posted in this thread. We have been flying every week but I can't remember to bring my camera with. I managed to crash my yellow spitfire last week. I was running two Airtronics 94161 servo's on each elevator half. Instead of mixing in my transmitter, I used a miracle Y to reverse one servo. Well, the miracle Y gave out and rendered the elevator useless. I nursed it back to the field but at about 10 feet, she took a nose dive. The fuselage was undamaged, other than loosening up the firewall but the wing is "shot" so to speak. It may be repairable with monkey glue and some spars added from underneath but I'll probably buy a wing kit and build another for it. I'll try to post a few pics before the accident from last week.

We had a pretty nice day today with a straight crosswind from the north but only about 10-15 mph. I ended up trading for my old Ziroli Corsair and brought it out today. FPE 4.2 and alway's a good flyer.

Jeff brought the Seafury out and finally has the bugs worked out. He went with a smaller diameter spinner to aid in cooling and doesn't have any problems any more. 110 inch with a 3w-140. Really one of the best looking planes out there.

Dave K. brought out his old 115 inch Corsair. Fiberglass fuselage by someone in California that used to lay them up in his basement. Air Hobbies 8.4 twin. He built this one in 1993 and it's still going strong.

Cal brought out his new FW-190. Look familiar? That's the one I bought from Rich Eggelston a while back. Meister kit, Sierra gear, Glennis wheels and a 3w-75i up front.

Tom S. had his Yellow Jug with a DA-50.

Mark P. was flying a Byron Corsair with a quadra 52.

Next Tuesday's the 4th so I'll be up at the cabin. We'll try to keep this thread going the following week.

Dave

kenair

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Hi, I'm enjoying this tread and photos very much hope to meet some of you at the Northern Alliance Military Fly-in, > Owatonna, MN

Would you be able to contact or forward this message to Dave Kobilka, (had his newly refinished Don Smith Mustang out. He refinished it over the winter in an aluminum finish. It's mostly covered with a self adhesive silver mylar material (don't remember what it is) and some Flight Metal).

I would like more specifices on that self adhesive mylar. (brand, type, where to buy, covering techniques, etc)
thanks - ken