zrooster

Roger! I had a hard landing on my maiden, and used it extensively in the repairs, including using it as a sort of resin for the fiberglass I used for reinforcement. I've since had 3 flights and it is holding quite well!

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Are you running gas or electrons?

zrooster

Gas...running an EME 35.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Did you need any nose weight?

zrooster

4 pounds of lead fishing weights (hammered flat), 2 pounds of which are epoxied (JB Weld) inside the front of the cowling. Granted I may be a touch nose heavy, but she flies very nice like that. I'm ballancing around 120mm...I balanced at 130mm for the maiden, and that was tail heavy. My hard landing resulted from a combination of it being tail heavy, and the engine quitting after about 2 mins.

Recommend that you pay close attention to engine cooling. My failure was due to overheat, and others have had the same problem.

zrooster

By the way, has anyone else noticed a Dutch roll tendency coming out of turns?

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Thanks for the head's up concerning the weight....I removed 1.25 lbs of lead from the front of the "electric" box (that now has been cut off) so I guess some lead shot is in order

zrooster

Yeah, depends on size of engine you're using and what it weighs, but you'll need something. The tail gear assembly I have is a bit heavier than stock, and the tailwheel I used is a bit lighter. Overall, I think I ended up heavier back there, so you may not need as much weight to balance.

zrooster

Here's flight number 5. Cell phone vid, and also my very first upload to YouTube sorry for the quality:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=rA92aooKatA

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Nice clear video.

zrooster

Here are flights number 6 and 9. 9 is just a takeoff as I had some gear problems (one didn't come all the way up...when I went to put them down, the other wouldn't come out of the well...eventually got both down and locked)...my camera man stopped filming to help with the gear problem.

Photos are before flight 9 (plane only), and after (plane, and a very relieved me). 4 blade is a Biela 17x8. Performance was good. You'll see that I climbed out a bit slow at first. That was poor technique on my part...I normally allow the tail to come up, then the plane to accelerate before lifting off (see flight 6 video)...in the case of flight 9, I kept the tail down all the way to liftoff (i.e. too much up elevator, in my opinion). The plane performed nicely with the 4 blade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYNdTBZ2TxA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Mbp5VtezY

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

I had to add about 4.5 lbs up front with a DLE 35RA.....grrrrrrrr

zrooster

Sounds about right, but it handles the weight well! My all up weight (no fuel) is 24 lb.

ForcesR

tailskid; are you going to install a heat shield between the muffler and carburetor to prevent vapor lock?

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

NForcesR, I used some copper-laced muffler "stuff", but haven't thought about that.....should I?

ForcesR

Yes, especially with a rear exhaust where the muffler is directly below the carburetor and since you have a Spitfire with a narrow cowl it's a must. Without a heat shield you will be lucky to get 6 minutes of flight before the engine will stop due to vapor lock and a dead stick landing is a given. The heat shield is easy and inexpensive to do. I use 1/8 inch plywood covered with self adhesive aluminum tape, the heat shield is attached to two of the standoffs with 4 tie wraps. You may also need to install an air dam to assist in removing hot air out of the cowl, I had to add the air dam on my H9 Spitfire.

See the attached photos of my TF P-51 with DLE 55RA & heat shield and H9 Spitfire with air dam.

Roger

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Thank you for the heads up! I will have to look into doing that....especially since we fly in 100 degree (F) temperatures!

Prekin

My Feedback: (19)

Zrooster, are those exhaust stacks in the cowl from me?

zrooster

I wish! I just weathered it using the actual exhaust grime from the real exhaust. Would LOVE to make functional exhaust stacks in the cowling.

zrooster

I think this is sound advice. I managed to get adequate cooling by just cutting a lot of the cowl off. 7-8 min flights are no problem, but if I had it to do over, I'd go back and use baffels and heat shielding.

Prekin

My Feedback: (19)

Could you post some detail shot of the exhaust you have in the cowl now please?

zrooster

I'll see if I have anything with me that'll help. I just went out of town...if I don't find anything, I'll take a pic when I get home.

larryg1959

Dude, nice flying..excellent landing on flight 6...she sounds rich on the low end..you might consider leaning the low end out some to get rid of that gurgling..wouldn't want her to shut down on you

larryg1959

Strange...I had to add 2lbs...I have the same motor..DLE 35RA

zrooster

Good ear! She was...caught it running up for the next flight!