Posts: 279
Joined: 8/22/2002 From: Plymouth,
MN, USA Status: offline
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 scaleWACO bipe that he built over the winter. It's powered by a zdz 160 twin. (I forgot to get a picture of it).
< Message edited by smurfjet -- 5/3/2006 4:32:53 AM >
Posts: 279
Joined: 8/22/2002 From: Plymouth,
MN, USA Status: offline
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
< Message edited by smurfjet -- 4/26/2006 4:59:26 AM >
Posts: 279
Joined: 8/22/2002 From: Plymouth,
MN, USA Status: offline
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.
Posts: 279
Joined: 8/22/2002 From: Plymouth,
MN, USA Status: offline
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.......
Posts: 279
Joined: 8/22/2002 From: Plymouth,
MN, USA Status: offline
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.......
Posts: 1853
Joined: 1/19/2002 From: Apple Valley, MN, USA Status: offline
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
< Message edited by F4u5 -- 5/4/2006 10:03:04 PM >
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Warbirds and Warplanes >> Warbird Tuesday's in Minneapolis-2006 (picture thread) 
Warbird Tuesday's in Minneapolis-2006 (picture thread) - 
...you didn;t get a pic of my little Spit 
