dugman

Are there any good F6F Hellcat kits out there since Heratige closed shop?
Thanks Doug

US185Damiani

Don't know but the wing Mfg. may still be available thats a decent one.

mselby

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I think Iron Bay who bought the Byron line has a Hellcat. Their site is http://www.ironbaymodelcompany.com/
Ziroli does a nice plan, and there are a number of kit cutters available as well as a fiberglass fuse.
Mike

AirRayInc

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Bob Holman;

Pictured is a kit built by Ron C., from Southern California. I picked it up and flew it for a while, then traded it off to aquire my P-38.

Ray

ps as well as Ralph Saxton too. Same size and scale as pictured, 80" span.

CUB1

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Ray,
What engine did you have in the Holman Hellcat?
Also do you remember the weight of the plane?

How did she fly?

Thanks,

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Holman actually offers two semi kits for the Hellcat. The .60 size Brian Taylor airplane and the 80 inch Don Lien designed bird. The bigger one is foam and fiberglass while the smaller one can be all built up or Bob has an optional glass fuse as well as other accessories. Neither of these is complete kits and you will need a fair amount of experience to tackle either one. Both result in really nice airplanes if care is taken. Good luck, Chad.

CUB1

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Chad,
I`m going with the 80" fiberglass version with the foam wings.
I`m trying to find someone who has one, or had one in their hanger at one time.
I think Ray said he flew one for awhile.
I need to know the all up weight and what size engine would be best for it.

I was thinking of going with a Sachs 2.6
What do you guys think?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

John, I have not had one myself but I remember seeing a couple of them in the not too distant past, one by Diego Lopez and one by Rick Hoskings. Both were detailed to the max and both were at or over the 30 pound mark. If you plan on going all the way I'd say you may want to look into something upwards of 3.5 cubic inches. I don't think the cowling has any problem swallowing up a G-62 size motor. Best of luck, Chad.

Stevant

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This is a 61 in. span Hal Parenti Wing Mfg. plane. Great flying plane.....

CUB1

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Chad,
Thanks for getting back to me.....30lbs. on a 80" wing is getting pretty heavy for me.

Yes, I agree with you when it gets that heavy to step up to a
G-62 or simular size.


Now only if Ray Harris will get back to me, I believe he said he had a 80" version at one time.

Ray!
Where are you??


Thanks again Chad,

AirRayInc

My Feedback: (7)

Regarding the Holman Hellcat.
I flew it with a Moki 1.8. At the time the plane was built, the 2.1 was not available. The all up weight was close to 24lbs on take off, well with in the Moki's power range.

The Hellcat is a great looking plane in the air, I found myself sometime getting caught up in watching and forgetting I needed to fly it, a bad thing with this plane as it has some characteristics, that require you to stay in touch with the plane. As maybe a factor of the weight or just a fine recreation of it full size image, I found that in the corners I really needed to make sure that I co-ordinated the turns. Bank angle, relax, rudder input, hold, back pressure hold. Otherwise you really feel that inside wing losing some lift, and begin to slide and stall.

Landings of the 80incher are pretty straight forward, you get alot of lift from the flaps, and they really put the brakes on. Gotta make sure you dial in some down elevator and run a bit of power on approach.

In looking back, I would love to have flown it with a gas more, nothing less than a Brisson 3.2 or the like. As it took a bit of lead to get the c/g squared away.

Nice available pace with this wingspan and airfoil. Nothing intimidating, but able to get you some good straffing run speed with the right props and powerplants.

Since I love Hitec servos, it had 700 on the elevator, 425 on the couuple of non essentials, 605 and 545 everywhere else. Servo response was never a concern.

1 to 5 stars, I give it a 3.8 over all.
Scale potential it gets a 4.
build ability, you need to have some composite work under your belt before you tackle this one.

sorry took so long to get back
Ray

CUB1

My Feedback: (11)

Thanks for getting back on the details of the flight performance.

Your description of the Hellcat flight charateristics is very informative, and I know exactly what you mean about losing lift in the turns without using rudder to get it around.

You have answered all my ???? and I know what to expect out of this plane.


Thanks again for your knowledge!

Steve Collins

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Marutaka (formerly marketed as Royal) has one that is available from Hobby Barn.

http://www.hobbybarn.com/airplanes_marutaka_kits.htm

luckyb001

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I have to say that the best Hellcat kit out there is the Ziroli. It has a 96" wing. Mine is almost 5 years old and weight is 41LBS. Do not be worried about the weight, this plane will glide on a dead stick for ever. It flies with a Brison 5.8 single and is the fastest warbird at our feild. The aircraft has no bad habits. I have seen Ziroli Hellcats weight from 30lbs to 50! And power from a Zenoa G-62 up to a twin. With 1700 " of wing area you have no worries.

luckyb001

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A couple more shots of the Hellcat. Mike

CUB1

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luckyb001,
Very nice pics of your plane!

MarkShapiro

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I have just completed a Byron Hellcat. 87" wingspan and has to weigh close to 30 lbs! I havn't put it on the scale yet. Five pounds of which is lead balasts in the very front of the cowl. Has a G-62 for power. I just ran up the G-62 last weekend and it feels like it will be plenty of power. I will try to get some pictures posted. Anyway, I have been told by others not to worry about the weight in the nose or the overall weight of the plane, due to its tremendous wing area and wing volume. I hope this is true. Maiden flight to occur soon.

luckyb001

My Feedback: (8)

Mark dont be worried about adding weight to the nose (or lack of one) of your plane. I had to add about 7lbs of lead to my Ziroli to get it properly balanced. The problem with a Hellcat is that the firewall is only 1.5" from the wing leading edge. I was worried about all the weight I added but the plane flew great from the start. In fact after flying it for about a year I added more weight to the nose and it flies even better.

Mark
By the way did you say the 5 lbs is in the cowl? I wouldn"t recommend putting that much weight in a fibreglass cowl. If for some reason you loose the weight or the cowl bolts cannot support the weight of the extra 5 lbs you may be history.
Instead maybe you could mount the majority of the weight on the firewall and put the rest in the cowl. Mike

budcop

My Feedback: (23)

hey Doug, just another idea but check out the hellcat that is offered by American Eagle , they just changed their web add, do a search and it will come up, I have been told by several that they have nice kits...........Bud

MarkShapiro

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Hey Ramtec, not only is the cowl secure, but you'll be out of your mind wanting to get on the sticks with this bad*ss fighter. Should be soon!

dhable

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Sorry, but I'm confused. Your post says Heritage has "closed shop"? They're still around at:

http://www.heritagerc.com/

They have a .60 sized F6F kit.

TRP

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If anyone is in the market for a .60 size kit - WingMfg. makes a great looking kit. (Kit/box pictured below - ignore the mess and SSMKII in the sticks.)

Does anyone know where I can get a fiberglass cowl for the wing mfg kit?


TRP
p.s.
That is the brand new SAITO 4 stroke that will power the F6F. I have all the goodies for the kit (retracts, tanks, motor, etc.) - I am just kind of scared about building the wings, as I have never worked with foam before. Anyone have any pointers?

STUKA BARRY

WHAT IS IT ABOUT HELLCATS AND WEIGHT? WITH A FOX 5.8 OURS WEIGHS 42LBS. I HAVE NEVER BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT WEGHT WITH A WARBIRD BEFORE, BUT WITH A W/S OF ONLY 96" (I CANT BELEIVE I CONSIDER THIS SMALL) 42LBS. IS A LOT OF WEIGHT. IT FLY'S GREAT, AND LANDS SMOOTH, BUT WHAT A PIG. WE TOO HAD TO ADD GOBS OF WEIGHT TO THE NOSE. WE PUT SOME IN THE COWL, BUT MOST ON THE FIREWALL. HAS ANYONE HAD OVERHEATING PROBLEMS? WE CUT OUT THE THREE CHIN SCOOPS AND HAD THE ENGINE SAGGING IN LESS THAN 1/2 A FLIGHT. WE SINCE GLASSED THE SCOOPS BACK CLOSED AND THE OVERHEATING WENT AWAY. WE HAVE A DUMMY ENGINE CUT OUT AND REMOVED THE BOTTOM CYLINDER COMPLETELY. IT LOOKS GOOD AND SEEMS TO ALLOW ENOUGH FRESH AIR TO PASS THRU. ALSO, IS ANYONE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE GEAR TO EXTEND ALL THE WAY INFLIGHT. WE TRIMMED THE SCALE GEARDOORS AND THAT SEEMS TO HELP. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Stevant

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Stan's Fibertech makes one for the Wing Mfg. Hellcat and he is always listed in the AMA magazine. He has a website also......I know he is located in California. He makes a great product!!!

mcrouchman

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I aquired the Zeroli Plans for the 86" spanned Hellcat, and I find them fantastic in detail and very informative in regards to where everything should be placed in the fuse in regards to weight distribution...I am currently just starting to build and to be honest with you guys...I am an amateur builder, but have average knowledge in regards to building as such...I have no pics as of yet, as I am just beginning. I am glad I stumbled on this forum, as I am seeing there are LOTS of educated and experienced builders and "pilots"

I live in Canada, so alot of the places that are spoken of here in this thread, I may net be able to pop in to their store to see the "goods", but I hope that I might be able to find the help I am definately going to need to proceed with this build!

Cheers!