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All Forums >> Electric Aircraft Universe >> Glow to Electric Conversions >> Top Flite 60" Corsair
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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/26/2003 7:13:30 PM   
Mickey-RCU


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 6/26/2003
From: Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC
Status: offline 		Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has done a conversion of the TF 60" Corsair to electric. I would like to have operating flaps and retracts on it but from what I have heard there are some problems with the retracts.
I love the plane and the kit looks great.
Any suggestions on the setup, mods, power, etc.? What flight times could I expect?
Comments and feedback welcome.
Thank you

Mickey

http://www.top-flite.com/airplanes/topa0101.html

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/26/2003 10:18:28 PM   
CorsairJock



Posts: 1937
Joined: 4/14/2002
From: Parchment, MI, USA
Status: offline 		There's a guy, I think in Canada, who converted a Top Flite P-39 to electric, and it seemed a worthwhile project. He was very happy with the performance. Then again, I think maybe the P-39 is possibly THE best candidate for an electric powered warbird, having a very streamlined fuselage.
Never heard of anyone doing the Corsair tho. If you can find one, a 'red box' fuselage builds lighter than the Gold edition, but it is more labor intensive. You might consider leaving the landing gear off. My expereince with the glow powered Top Flight Corsairs is that they land very nicely with the gear up. I have adopted the practice of making wheels up landings when ever I have an engine failure, and they slide very nicely on the gull portion of the wing. Leaving the gear off would save a lot of weight. You could also use cap strips on the outer wing panels instead of sheeting, could save a few oz.
Just to give comparison, MonoKoted Gold Edition versions with fuel power, retracts, and flaps are weighing between 8 1/2 to 9 lbs. 'Glassed and painted ones typically weigh a couple pounds more. Actually, I would recommend leaving out the flaps option also, the added weight would not cancel out the benefits in an electric version.
Keep me posted on your project. Click on my gallery to see pics on my Saito .72GK powered Gold Edition with retracts and flaps, weighs 8 lbs, 10 oz.

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/27/2003 12:02:16 AM   
Mickey-RCU


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 6/26/2003
From: Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC
Status: offline 		Hey there CorsairJock,

Beautiful, just beautiful looking Corsair you have there! Is this glassed or MonoKoted?
Well, not to have the TF corsair kit built with flaps and retracts, I could not live with that, that's the reason I chose this kit, I want the flaps and retracts. To reduce the weight my idea would be to go with MonoKote, maybe replace some of the heavy ply parts with balsa and generally keep it light as possible. How is the quality of the balsa in these kits? Light or heavy?
And also, I want to bring the kit from the US - I think you can get these around $ 150,- right? Well, here they sell them for CZK 8.600,- which converted to US$ at todays rate is about $ 320,-
But anyway, looks like a 24 cell thing.....but I need to know if it's possible and if I can expect reasonable flight times. I guess I'll wait and see.
Thanks again, I'll keep you posted if I decide to go for it.
Keep the ideas comming folks, need help!
Mickey

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TF Warbirds - 6/27/2003 2:29:24 AM   
Saberjock


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 10/20/2002
From: Winnipeg, MB,
Status: offline 		I have been flying the TF Airacobra P-39 for quite a while now and it never fails to amaze! It has an AF 40G and 22xSR Max 2400 cells. I can float it around for almost 10 mins, but for "airshow"stuff I like to be on the ground in 5 mins. BTW it is 8 lbs RTF.

My TF Sea Fury is 12 lbs with an AF 90 direct drive, 28xCP2400. It's quite a bit draggier than the 'Cobra and appears to fly slower, but it could be perception as it has a lot more volume than the '39.

Both aircraft make people stop and watch, though and they are a joy to fly, very stable and honest in the way they handle and land. I should think that the Corsair would be an ideal candidate for a similar conversion, as it has a wing that is very forgiving to a bit extra weight.

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/27/2003 3:03:51 AM   
CorsairJock



Posts: 1937
Joined: 4/14/2002
From: Parchment, MI, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks, Mickey for the compliments.
Mine is MonoKoted. Actually tho, I now prefer UltraKote. They have a Corsair Blue, which is more accurate than the MonoKote Insignia Blue, PLUS it does go arounf corners better.
And yes, the Gold Edition Corsairs are going for under $150 here in the USA.
And, Welcome to the thread SabreJock. You are the one I was refering to. Did you leave the landing gear off of either of your warbirds? I seem to recall that you did for the P-39.

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Landing Gear - 6/27/2003 4:49:39 AM   
Saberjock


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 10/20/2002
From: Winnipeg, MB,
Status: offline 		Or as the Brits would say, "undercarriage", yes I left it in the bin for both birds. The dolly has worked just great except for a couple of attempts in Chilliwack this May when the humidity and grass sog were both 100%

I know that retracts, flaps full cockpits etc add to the ooh-aah factor, but having flown several (and still do) large aircraft with these extras, I came to realize that the things which stop one from enjoying a weekend fly-in are the same things that give the spectators their jollies. Nobody has ever complained that I can't taxi either of these magnificent looking warbirds!

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Re: TF Warbirds - 6/27/2003 7:22:21 AM   
kdhanson


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 11/23/2002
From: Manchester, NH, USA
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Saberjock
I have been flying the TF Airacobra P-39 for quite a while now and it never fails to amaze! It has an AF 40G and 22xSR Max 2400 cells.. [/QUOTE]

Hi Saberjock,

Did you build the "Gold Edition" P-39 or the older TF kit? I have the GE P-39 and a AF 40G w/ superbox (both still in the box). I'm glad to hear yours flies well. I may decide to build the kit for e-power now. What type of mods did you make to the kit (wood swapping, parts alteration, covering)?

Thanks,

Ken

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/27/2003 7:36:36 AM   
Saberjock


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 10/20/2002
From: Winnipeg, MB,
Status: offline 		Ken: The Airacobra had extensive lightening during construction. Balsa wherever there was hardwood, plywood was "Swiss-cheesed" throughout. Of course, no gear wood and cowl is all balsa rather than the plastic parts.

It's the Gold Edition.

BTW I've used the 40 with Superbox on other projects, and it sure produces the thrust, but with the 18x10 prop you might have clearance problems with a small warbird and gear. Also, the speed might be a bit slower than you'd like to see. My '39 flies with a 12x10 or 14x7 prop and the 1.63 box. The Sea Fury uses a 15x10 direct. For warbirds like these, you need a bit of speed for good effect.

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/27/2003 11:19:14 AM   
Mickey-RCU


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 6/26/2003
From: Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC
Status: offline 		Hey all,

thanks for the comments. I really do have to get one! After that I will decide on if to use the "undercarriage" lol and flaps, or if to leave these out.
Now, is there any dealer in the US I can order from and who is able to ship me direct to the Czech Republic? I could also have this shipped to my friend in the US and he could bring it to me later on as he travels here often and I could save some $ on the shipping. What do you think if these kits selling here at $320,-? If I figure, that they are a dealer for Top Flite in the Czech Rep., they should have some support and wholesale prices and if I add the cost for shipping, taxes, duty and all that crap, check the USD/CZK rate and realize that they ask $320,-....DOH! Thiefs!

Thanks
Mickey

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/27/2003 5:50:10 PM   
kdhanson


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 11/23/2002
From: Manchester, NH, USA
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Saberjock
My '39 flies with a 12x10 or 14x7 prop and the 1.63 box. The Sea Fury uses a 15x10 direct. For warbirds like these, you need a bit of speed for good effect. [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip C.W.!

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/27/2003 6:23:41 PM   
CorsairJock



Posts: 1937
Joined: 4/14/2002
From: Parchment, MI, USA
Status: offline 		Tower Hobbies will ship international. Here is link for more info:
http://www.towerhobbies.com/ordering.html
Their current price is about $150 (plus shipping), but they have discounts/ coupons which should knock about $15 off of that. You could also check out eBay, many being sold there for about $125 plus shipping. 'Red Box' versions have been selling for even less.
In any event, I would really recommend leaving ths flaps non functional. Corsair flaps are very complicated (6 flaps, at different angles, and different dihedrals), and most people use 2 servos for them, meaning you would be adding several ounces and a lot of complexity. I think flight performance would suffer too much, if you are using electric power.
BTW, I have a Ziggs combat Corsair which I plane to E-power some day.

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 6/30/2003 1:01:52 AM   
Mickey-RCU


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 6/26/2003
From: Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC
Status: offline 		Hey,
checked the link and it looks like they won't ship this one international. Any other dealer? If not, I'll have my friend from the US bring one. Is the box big? Can't wait to hear him when he finds out that he'll have to carry a huge box with him on board. Guess I could have much more parts in the kit if he would put it in the luggage department...lol.
Mickey

< Message edited by Mickey-RCU -- Jul 2 2003 2:00PM >

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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 7/27/2003 12:09:55 AM   
SigKavalier


 

Posts: 233
Joined: 9/3/2002
From: Water Valley, MS, USA
Status: offline 		I was just thinking of doing a conversion on a TF Corsair. I was going to lighten it up as much as possible. Mainly by using lightweight gear like smaller heavy duty servo's etc.
Other than that just like glow except using the Big Axi brushless outrunner motor on 16 cells. Probably cp-2400's.
This setup has about the same power as a good .90 4-stroke does.
So weight is the only issue to contend with.
I was also going to paint it, but cover it with pro-skin where possible. Lighter than glassing balsa sheeting, and stronger than monokoted balsa.
The Axi motor weighs in at a little over 8oz's. I think they are around $130 brand new which is cheap compared to a .90 4-stroke. Also no BEC on motor instead was thinking of going with a Li-poly receiver pack.
Just really can't decide which one to do. I like the Skyshark R/C kits as well as the TF Corsair, and T-6.
The Skyshark kits do however build lighter just cost a little more.
Just wherever it says to sheet with balsa I'm going to pro-skin it. Stuff isn't hard to make anyway, and much less sanding, and filling. Plus it's applied with pro-bond which is very light.


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Top Flite 60" Corsair - 7/27/2003 12:28:36 AM   
CorsairJock



Posts: 1937
Joined: 4/14/2002
From: Parchment, MI, USA
Status: offline 		Pro Skin? Never heard of it. Can you tell us more about it and/ or direct us to a web-site?

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Corsair Power - 7/27/2003 2:22:52 AM   
Saberjock


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 10/20/2002
From: Winnipeg, MB,
Status: offline 		SigKavalier: I don't know the output of the