RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Talking about paint... Seems like Parkzone fabric can handle just about anything... With Spray paint, the propellant is the dangerous part, just keep a safe distance from plane.[sm=49_49.gif]

paint :) a little paint, a brush and a good imagination, can make any plane YOUR plane[sm=lol.gif]

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

[link=http://myrcsupply.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24438]Replacement Airframe:Spitfire for $64.88[/link]
http://myrcsupply.net/images/PKZ1770.jpg

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

That is a really good deal, $20 cheaper than any other place I've seen

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I happen to have a supercub, :D I like it

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I'm new to planes although I've flown heli's for a little while.

I ordered a PZ Spitfire kit minus the radio gear and should be picking it up tomorrow, I'm planning on a brushless motor and my own radio gear.
I have a Trex 450SE so I'm familiar with the Align brushless motor and figure I'll go with that, I also have lipo's for my heli's that I can use.

Am I being a little ambitious building this as my first fixed wing rc model?
I can fly all models on the sim and do some basic fixed wing 3d but this will be my first 'real' plane.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Typically warbirds are these most difficult to fly and keep your orientation because of the camo colors. No one would suggest to a new pilot to get one. You might get lucky if you have a lot of thumb skill already and practice like crazy on the sim with a Spit. The plane does fly nicely with few bad habits and that might save you. You must learn to fly on shape instead of colors. The brushless motor if more powerful than stock will allow you to fold up the wing if you try some high speed sharp turns, rolls or loops. Keep the speed (if very overpowered) down a bit before doing these moves. Good luck!

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Thanks for the advice.
I do fly heli's and have spent lots of time on the sticks using the fixed wing models on the sim, I can fly the spitfire well on the Phoenix sim.

I can understand why these planes wouldn't be recommended to a beginner, I trashed my heli's plenty before I got used to the sticks, especially getting used to nose in/nose out flying. Now I don't even think about it, it just comes subconsciously while I'm flying. I reckon someone who'd never flown anything would be lucky to last 30 seconds with any of the these models.

I can fly my heli's in basic manouvres and just starting to try 3d and I can fly fixed wing very well on the sim, I just wondered how this will translate to the real thing
Although I know my way around the sticks I'm expecting to crash at some point, then I'll just rebuild and keep trying until I'm crashing a lot less.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I think with the sim, heli experience and the fact that the model is a very docile war plane that you will have a very good chance of flying the plane quite nicely. Keeping the speed on a bit, flying 3 mistakes high and starting out with low winds helps of course. Once you get in more stick time, you can work your way into lower height, more wind etc. YOU can do it! Something different for you to deal with is the amount of space needed and controlling your flightpatch to keep your back to the sun at all times. You need to look around your area and memorize the terrain. Ahead of time, mentally map out the flight path where you want to keep the plane. Always keep the plane up wind, not letting it get behind you or overhead, a level launch into the wind and slow down for a gradual slow landing into the wind. Managing your throttle for airspeed and decent angle for landings depending upon the wind takes some practice, work on this in the sim. This is some basic begginer stuff, but thought I would add these since the real world is different than the sim. Again good luck and please keep us up-to-date on your progress.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I might suggest having an experienced hand launcher throw it the first coupla' flights.
You will have enough to worry about at first.
Just a suggestion.;)

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I was kinda wondering about the hand launch, everyone has an opinion on this and they often differ...

I bought a cheap model just to practise with but there is obviously a problem with it because we've tried every which way to launch it and the best we've done is manage to glide it maybe 20 yards or so, the motor just doesn't seem powerful enough to sustain flight. It does have a wire undercarrige with wheels on but it won't take off from this either, it just runs off down the road for a couple hundred yards on full throttle without lifting even an inch.
It doesn't have ailerons just elevator, rudder and throttle.
We threw it off a hill top with full elevator and it just glided down the hill never even lifting the nose, tried to shift some weight back and it still glided down but a little more slowly.
If I have it WOT while I'm holding it I can just barely feel some forward thrust but its minimal.
The website shows it flying but I'm guessing thats in optimum conditions and they threw it off a tower block, :D
Its a 456mb zero.
I figure maybe the battery is no good.

I went to my lms today but my Spitfire hadn't arrived, I ordered a new Align 430 motor and ESC along with a load of other kit I need for my heli's.
I'm switching my Trex450 to 2.4ghz, too many glitches on 35mhz so I bought a Spektrum Tx today, my Spitfire will get the Hitec Receiver and I'll use the 6ch Hitec Tx.

So the Spit set-up will be

Align 430 brushless
Align 35A ESC
Hitec servo's
Hitec Receiver
Hitec Tx

Unfortunately I work abroad and I'm off to Dubai for 8 weeks tomorrow so this project will be on hold until then, I'm gonna be busy when I get back cos I'm also planning a Hanger 9 Spitfire with 4-stroke engine etc...but thats for another thread.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

You have made a great choice with this Spitfire. I have about 20 hours in the air and I flew the spitfire and found it very docile. No tip stalls and great slow flt characteristic. I fly it on a Apollo 25 A ESC (But 35-40 is better), Align 430L 3550Kv, Spektrum DX6 RX and S75 servos. At max she pulls about 34 Amps but I NEVER use full power. My throttle range is about 25 to 70%. She is a dream.

I am waiting for the next Parkzone Warbird...I hope its from the Pacific! I A6M2/5 Zero would be hot!

Astro

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I thought this plane had great looks but i have flown the 480 drive for awhile and wanted to try something different.I installed a axi outboard from hobbylobby,jetti18amp ESC,twin wing aileron servos and rudder control.In testing different props i ended up with a 9x9 and she flyes very very well.I gained about 5mph over the 480 and aerobatics are very snappy.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Why don't you use full power? Frame can't take it or ESC isn't up to it?

I'm installing the Align package of 430L and ESC that comes together, same as in my Trex450se, so I know the ESC can handle the power - I'm just concerned about the model taking the G's and speed.

I'm not interested in acrobatics for this model, its a warbird not a 3d acrobat. Having said that though I want to be able to pull the odd inside/outside roll and go vert for a few seconds just to keep me interested. I briefly flew a friends Ripmax Spit but he had put a low powered motor in and it wouldn't roll from horizontal flight, it just went vert for a second or two then did a stall turn, and on turns using a lot of aileron it dropped quite worryingly.

I might just have time to nip down and see if its arrived before I fly out today, won't have time to build it but I'm dying to get my hands on it and just have a look.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Personally I think the stock motor with a Li-po battery is plenty of power. ESPECIALLY if you haven't flown one before...
OK so I'm a little leary of overpowering an unfamiliar plane.... but I think caution is a good friend until you learn the planes characteristics

To the rest of you guys,,, [sm=thumbs_up.gif] Good advice you are giving him

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Super cub owners

Just thought I'd throw this in, I took the components out of a crashed spitfire and placed it all in my super cub.. Radio, motor, and li-po connector....:D NOW , you want to talk about a SUPER cub [sm=teeth_smile.gif] this thing will fly straight up at fantastic speeds,,,,, no longer a slow flying trainer [sm=shades_smile.gif] just thought I'd throw this in for guys who like to experiment

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Icarus:

I have this same setup in my Spit. It is very quick and will pull g's like crazy. I would HIGHLY recommend reinforcing the wing with a CF strip. I folded my wing approximately 10 flights into it. The reason you want to limit WOT is due to amp draw. I have seen 35-40 amps at WOT from my watt meter. The numbers will come down in flight a little. What battery do you plan on using? Mine come out hot so I'm planning on going with the TPS extremes. To help lower amps you could also go with an Eflite 10x8 prop. This will also increase overall top speed with lower amps. I tried the stock prop but amp spike was around 44 and I had a bad vibration at WOT. I thought it was out of balance but tried my spare props to no avail. I went with the Eflite and the vibration was gone.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need anymore advice.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I'll be using my ThunderPower 2200mah Lipo's that I use for my Trex.

I think maybe at first I'll fit everything apart from the brushless and just fly it like that for a while to get a feel for it, the brushless can stay in the drawer until I feel ready for it.
I'm also considering a Supercub just to cut my teeth, I don't want to destroy the Spit by trying to run before I can walk...

Thanks for all the advice so far, keep it coming ;)

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Hey there Wild Willie,
I have the Cub too, and am running the 9 Cell's from the Spit and Mustang in it .. also an awsome increase in power! Don't know how long the electronics will last, but all of my 7 Cells made the Cub fly so poorly ... I even put a new motor in it and found it wasn't the motor at fault. .. I figure if I don't fly it for too long on full throttle she'll be fine.
Did the motor slot straight in ?? Why did you use the electronics in the Cub and not put them into a new Spit airframe?
Cheers
Rowdy

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Remember not to fly too close to the SUN!! [X(]
You'll luv the Cub.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

The reason why I don't use full throotle is because there is no need unless you want to fly it straight up vertically. She also, pulls 34-38 Amps which stresses my batteries and ESC. With that wing, high speed and a hard yank on the stick she will fold wings. See AETCBOOM4 post because I agree with him. I'm thinking of buying an Align 3150 KV to lower my Amp range. Anyone try that motor yet?

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Does anyone know or have rumour of what Parkzone will release next???


Is there another page for getting the inside scoop on new releases???

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Hi Rowdy
I just happen to have a complete set of inerds, ( I actually planned the receiver so both planes worked on same radio)
The motors are the same so switching out was no problem, like you, I thought my motor was bad to begin with from lack of power. After changeing it and seeing no difference, I decided to put the receiver & batteries in, it was an interresting experiment.Of course I found Li-Po worked best :D I couldn't quite figure out a good way to put the bigger battery in from Parkzone. and I have a couple of 11.1v 1320 Mah li-po's that fit right in the factory bat.box

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

Icaurus: You mentioned that you are thinking about shelving the align motor for now. How much experience do you have flying low wing aileron planes? With the align motor or any hot setup, you have to think 2 steps ahead of the plane and have instinctive reflexes otherwise it's real easy to lose sight or crash into the ground. I've had situations where my thumbs had to react w/out really thinking about what I was going to do. Not trying to scare you but with this motor you need to be proactive and not reactive especially at WOT.

Astro: Good point on the 3150 motor. What batts are you specifically using? I just got a 2050 extreme off of e-bay. I hope this will be able to handle the amps. Right now I'm only getting 4-6 minutes of aggressive flying from my TPS 2100. I did have a Aon 2815-3000 in the Spit but got bored with it and went to the Align. I'd hate to get another motor as I have 1 extra already.

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

I just ordered the airframe from myrcsupply - the great deal mentioned earlier in the thread.
I am going to initially put the gear from my wrecked mustang into it.
I know, it's the 27 Mhz 5 wire stuff, but I honestly never had a problem with it.
I might even put the motor in, too. It has the nice metal pinion, and it seemed to be just
hitting a real sweet spot in the break in (7 flights). Even the heavy Mustang was launching
perfectly and flying with authority. The wreck was ALL my fault. I flew it square into a flag pole
at the local soccer/baseball* field[X(]. It had been flying beautifully up to that point!
I am looking forward to joining the Spitfire community. While I loved the Mustang and was
having great fun with it, the wreck was a good excuse to get what I really wanted anyway.
If I can keep it in one piece, maybe I'll slowly upgrade the electronics. Wish me luck!
I'll post a pristine photo of my spit before the maiden, which should be in a week or two.
NOT at the local soccer/baseball* field with all the light poles and one mean flag pole!
*football/cricket for you brits in here.:D

RE: Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk11B
 

NZOR:

Welcome to the Spitfire Community. I think you will have better luck with the Spit. I know how you feel. I have had bad luck with my Mustang. Not due to bad flying skills just bad luck.

I think you will enjoy the Spitfire. She flies different than a Mustang. Roll rate is substantially slower but is very easy to land (Floats alot on final). Due to the large elliptical wing the dreaded torque roll on t/o is non existent. When she stalls the nose pretty much just drops.

The refinements that PZ has made since the Mustang are also evident. Solid foam wings, sturdier construction, a hand grip for launching, a battery hatch that doesn't come off on landing and of course from the factory a metal pinion on the brushed motor.

For those of us who have gone BL, the conversion is quite easy. Adding a BL motor, esc and CF to the wings can be done in a weekend.
Any help just let us know.