Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

Warbirds take some getting used to because they have to be flown more like the real planes, with smooth control inputs. You have to let the wings do the flying, not rely on raw horsepower to get you out of trouble and you can't slam the sticks around like you would a sport model. I did my share of crashing when I first started with warbirds until I got the hang of it, but now I fly the heck out of them right along with the other trainers and sport models at our field, and I rarely have any "accidents".

A Mustang might not be a good if it's your second plane. You need to work your way into something like that with a high performance low-wing sport model, I think.

Jim

Warbirdz01

My Feedback: (1)

Flying "Warbirds" is surely a new dimension in flying.......for all kinds of reasons....but once "Hooked" by them....its an unforgiving illness............we could discuss all the ins/outs of warbird flying but ....realistically ...its a learning curve just like any other type of aircraft.............its probably most easiest to get a "seasoned" warbird pilot..(Yea...thats one with a few crashes under his belt)..........to help along with the transition....my first warbird was a Midwest AT-6 with a G-38.....probably not the best one to start....but over 300 flts when I sold it and plenty of minor accidents for sure........so...really ...if I wreck a warbird?..........just figure out what I'm gonna build next......I've lost my share of warbirds.....some were my fault....some were not.............crashed warbirds include a "Z" B-25.....already a new one built..........Don S......Seafury........."Z" P-47.......and the first AT-6 that I built...........I, like most everyone else would prefer not to wreck'em.......but .....I love to fly......so it goes with the territory........most of these models have expiration dates on them anyway.......unless they just stay in the hangar......otherwise.....get used to it........Build-crash-build-crash-build-crash..........you get the idea.......so I'm building a "Z" Bearcat to replace my "Expired" "Z" P-47........now back to sanding......Regards..Bill.......

jcflysrc

My Feedback: (50)

Indeed...I was at both events and you speak the truth. When at the Pro Bro fun fly, I witnessed a plane impale itself on the fence pole of one of the pilot box. Nearly hit the guy standing there. Didn't see anything like that at Bomber field. In fact all the mishaps were away from the crowd and pilots. And there was a LARGE crowd there. Overall with as many flights made, over the weekend, I would say not too many planes crashed at all. I saw quite a few dorked profiles at Scobee...who knows is right?

Merlin65

Come on Jose, your Spitfire must be one of the true warbird survivors after so many flights and I for one would be interested to hear about your flying techniques for this aircraft. Love the new paint job, much more scale now
You may also be interested to know Pete Brothers flew a ME 108 last week. Still got the touch after so many years!
--
Merlin65

SBR_RV

you try flying a warbird compared to a profile.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

being failrly new I will tell you what I did . I got the graet plane G2 simulator and played with the settings .Take offs are to easy on the sim soyou have to add torqe so the need for right rudder can be practice. In addition I played with every option on landings from med throtle, med flaps to slow throttle all flaps to see when and if the stall . It is very interesting and very cheap vs the real deal . I practiced turning at low speed to create stalls , practice fast landings with no flaps ect. I woudl ask a experienced modeler how to set your G2 for the most realistic flight perofomance on warbirds . Out of the box its just to easy , the plane will take off themsleves . However overall its the best way to learn . I learned how to fly 100% on a sim , nevr joined a club and went flying with family at the local high school . They were amazed at my skill change from the first time duro plane smash and crash flying to wow , you never crash !

Last thing - I have seen many warbirds pilots that are so good that the only reason they crash is they love to push the envelope , and that is ok as long as you can afford to re-build . Many will fly very close formations with other warbirds , its simply awesome unless they crash . When they do you have to wait for there expression , its either -wow , that was !!! Or damm , I cant believe I did that !

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

opps forgot , now I have flown the H9 corsair , the Top Flight p40 , prop driven F14 ect . You can do it , dont be sacred off from warbirds they are awesome. However if you want to really elarn fast get a g2 or comparable sim and try it all .

Texan

My Feedback: (10)

Comparing the flight characteristics between a model warbird and a profile is like comparing a full scale Pitts to a full scale P51. They don't operate in the same flight envelope! However, both types require skilled pilots to bring out the best that their respective aircraft can provide. It's all about developing the appropriate skill set and properly applying it to the aircraft's specific flight envelope.

TX

Veltro

My Feedback: (1)

Q: Why do so many warbird pilots crash so often?

A: Pilot incompetence, shoddy construction, cheap components, or "Value Jet" maintenance.

Mustang51

My Feedback: (25)

Ahh, what ever happened to proper punctuation?
What is with the"........"?
Why do guys over use the "..."?

-Mustang51

Mustang51

My Feedback: (25)

You made me laugh.

You're right though. I think it's mostly pilot over confidance. A lot of guys think that because they can do a snap roll, they can fly a warbird.
[:@]
Definately NOT SO.
Their arrogance will prove other.

-Mustang51

SBR_RV

texan in my case they are easier to land than warbirds.

Mustang51

My Feedback: (25)

The Texan is a warbird.

-Mustang51

JGrc

My Feedback: (29)

Merlin, my PB SPit flies by itself!!!!
As of this today it has about 130 flights and I reckon it has a lot to do with Brian Taylor design. I use 50% in elevator and ailerons and that alone can keep you out of trouble! Also I use the rudder, ALL the time, not just when taxi.
Where did you learn about P. B. fying the 109? He must be 80 years by now....
By the way, my friend Vic's Fw190D9 must have about 400 flights by now (vicrc.com)
Jose G.

Merlin65

Jose, methinks you're way too modest!
I never tire of seeing MD188. Time to post a movie or two? Would be good to see how it sounds with the Moki.
Pete flew the ME 108 (2 seater). Not long ago he also did a barrel roll in ML407, Carolyn Grace's 2 seat Spitfire. He did fly a captured 109 during the war but didn't have a high opinion of it for the usual reasons.
--
Merlin

avops

I agree with the simulator strategy. I have not been flying RC planes for too long, but I think the simulator contributed to my being able to solo after 3 flights on a "buddy box". I actually got into planes after I crashed my helicopter and was looking for something to fly while waiting for parts. LDM mentioned that the physics on the G2 needed to be changed to be more realistic. I have the G3 and the P-40 on it performs just like my H9 P-40. All I did was change the engine to match the engine that I actually had in it and the performance was very close, even to the point of it wanting to nose over on the ground if you don't use the elevator to keep the tail down. You also have to use rudder to counteract the torque on takeoffs. I recommend using your own radio with the G3 and not the one that comes with it, that way you will have the same feel at the controls. Good luck!!

samparfitt

My Feedback: (43)

http://www.rcwarbirds.com/techniguespage.htm#t1

larry@coyotenet

My Feedback: (21)

Warbirds are like any other airplane, some are easy to fly, some are hard. If your flying has been done mostly on profile planes you have been flying low wing loaded, high power airplanes. Excuse the comment but you can get away with murder with that type of plane. If you build a typical Top Flite 60 size warbird expect it to come out with a wing loading about double your profiles and power loading about one half. Take it off the same way as your profiles and you will get your wish about rebuilding.
Having built and flown warbirds since the early 70's, starting with a Top Flite origional P-40 I have seen lots of planes come and go.
The standing joke used to be that the builder of a scale plane was probably the last person who should try to fly it. It's not so bad now but I still see a lot of fliers who have little business flying their masterpieces for the first time. The local warbirds group I belong too tries to help new warbird fliers when they first bring their planes to the field with a couple pieces of advice.
1. The most important stick on your radio is the one on the left! Throttle and Rudder. I have seen more scale planes bite the dust on takeoff than at any other time. We try to drum into pilots heads that if your scale plane is headed to the edge of the runway !!!Do Not!!!
yank it off. Cut the throttle and try again with more right rudder.
2. The guy who said don't "Yank and Bank" was right on target. Warbirds like to be flown nice and smooth.
The difference between sport and warbirds is like the difference between playing a harmonica and a Stradivarius. Your both musicians and
you have to be good to get the best out of each, but you sure can't compare them.
One thing which is counter intuitive to most sport fliers is that as the scale planes get bigger they get easier to fly. My giant p-47 flies much easier and better than my 60 size topflite p-47. Even though the wing loading is much higher the scale effect for the bigger airplane more than makes up for it. One thing, though, the takeoffs become much more dangerous. You really have to keep on your toes.
Those of us who fly warbirds are constantly getting your question asked by the sport fliers at the fields where we fly.
I think what most sport fliers don't recognize is why anyone would want to fly planes which are so challenging when you can fly something like a sportster without any worry or fear. There is something about having your heart pound and your knees knock and your senses heightend that we find very enjoyable. It's hard to explain.

Larry

kenair

My Feedback: (10)

I've crashed my share or warbirds.
1st, I jumped in too soon and my piloting skills were not up to snuff.

2nd - we start out on trainers and advanced trainers that are designed to be forgiving flyers, a warbird is a scale model of a warbird and may come with small wing area and small tail.

3rd - my first warbirds had every scale dodad know, to man on them, they looked great but boy they they add weight, can we see snap spin coming on.

4th - I was able to attend Oskhosh for 5 years in a row and got an ide how the real ones flew and that improved my piloting skills.

so far I've gone 2 years with no crashed - thouch wood!
cheers and merry xmas, - ken

ps - it all depends what you goal is with your warbird, in the photo below do you see the scale detail or does the postion of the model relative to the ground come to your mind first?

Flak

My Feedback: (1)

You can really not appreciate your own question until you master the flying of a Warbird yourself. Every aircraft has its own personality. However, low wing tail draggers all share one consistancy: They naturally want to follow the engine torque on take off. This means you must use some right rudder input and not allow the aircraft to depart the ground until flying speed is achieved. A lot of people seem to have some difficulty with this, but it is not hard to overcome. Your high wing, flat bottom wing, tri-cycle gear trainer is made for lift and ease of flight. A Warbird has a higher wing loading. In fact, the more scale the Warbird, the higher the wing loading. Personally, I prefer to fly Warbirds over anything else. I recommend you buy and build, (that's right BUILD...Don'y be lazy) a Great Planes P-51 Mustang. Building makes you appreciate your aircraft more and you actually learn how to do something. This kit is easy to build. This is a great flying airplane. Put a good .61 2 stroke in it. This P-51 looks great and is a great flyer. Remember, takeoffs straight down the runway at a gradual rate of ascent once flying speed is achieved. Landings are easy and she doesn't need flaps. Good luck.

"Keep 'Em Flying!"
Flak

famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

There are a handful of reasons all touched on here..

1> Skill Level - most new pilots rush into warbirds before they have become proficient pilots (don't ask me how I know this...)
2> High wing loading
3> Low power : weight ratio
4> complexity (flaps, retracts, etc) - surprised how many incidents I have seen simply with setup / radio issues, wrong button pushes, etc.
5> Scale appearance not always easy to see up/down - easy to get disoriented in flight !
6> SNAPs on up elevator are very common... not what you want at low speed... avoid snaps by putting weight forward then you get nose overs.. can't win.
7> Design... not all kits and arfs fly alike... some are inherently poor flyers, others are great.

Flying a warbird is not especially tricky, it just requires instincts that need to be developed over a good period of time with other planes first. The guys who fly warbirds in scale meets, etc fly them very well and rarely have issues. The weekend warrior, old timer who rarely flies, or newbie who just solo'd his Hobbico Trainer are pretty much gauranteed to rekit on any given day... and those are the ones I see put them in time after time. We have a few good scale guys at our field and I have not seen as much as a dead stick with any of them...

DP

gary9648

My Feedback: (1)

Actually torque has little to do with the plane pulling left on initial take off. It is do to "P" factor of the prop. Due to the conventional gear(tail dragger) the prop is at a high angle of attack to the relative wind, or line of travel. This caused the descending blade on the right side, (looking from the pilot's seat) to travel forward into the wind causing more lift than the ascending blade on the left, which is going toward the rear of the aircraft creating less lift. Thus the pull to the left. This is why with a small tail control surface you need to advance the throttle slowly to allow enough air speed over the tail surfaces so that they can over come the "P" factor. "P" factor is present when you pull up from level flight in a sharp climb also. This is why you need right rudder in a steep climb to keep it going straight up in the climb. Try it the next time you are flying. The Mustang has the front of the vertical fin cocked to the left also to counteract this effect in real life.
Gary

prop wash

Kenair,that is an "OUTSTANDING"pic of your P51.I just can't seem to get a good pic of my P51.My wife can never find the plane in the view finder.I let her try while flying my CG Ultimate and I almost got sea sick looking at the video.So one of these days I'll get one [hopefully] like yours.Boy, thats really a good one .Tom

bmustang

My Feedback: (4)

I second the motion for the Great Planes 40 Mustang. It is an EXCELLENT flyer. I had one with a Super Tigre 45 and one with an O.S. 70 4 stroke. The 4 stroke had a metal engine mount and needed a little tail weight. Both were beautiful flyers. If you are comfortable with fast airplanes, the 60 two stroke will give you that. I like my warbirds to fly in a reasonably scale-like fashion. They still had plenty of vertical performance for a stall-turn or a vertical roll with the engines I used.

It's a little hard to put into words just what it is that makes this model so nice to fly - somehow, when you do a loop or a roll, say, it exits the maneuver very well. When you stop, it stops - right now, no overrotation, no nonsense. A subtlety that makes the pilot look VERY proficient. If your model is in good trim and the air is smooth and you make a straight pass, high or low, it stays DEAD straight. Perfectly steady. Other models I have had fly well too and I would have to describe them in almost the same terms but somehow, the GP 40 P51 does this better than all of them. Maybe it's the Ultra-Sport airfoil, but whatever, this is a special little airplane.

Prop Nut

My Feedback: (3)

I have to agree with wing loading being the biggest culprit. The reason (IMHO) wing loading is such a killer is that warbird builders are scale builders, and scale builders want to put every possible detail on thier plane. Details add wieght, weight builds up wing loading (Ok, you all know these basic facts). If the plane is light with enough wing area it will usually fly pretty good. With a very heavy airplane (but I gotta have all those rivets!! Oh Oh and I need the working access panels on all over this baby to really give it the cool factor......hey, how about those solid brass machine gun muzzles huh? ok, sorry just a little satire there, I love all those details myself) if you get that wing angled to much to the ground without rocket assist to keep up the speed, you are looking for a garbage bag to take your nifty plane home it.