djay

I flew my series two again, but as I accelerated down the runway, a huge gust of wind flicked it over just as it lifted off.
It tore of the L/H wingtip. At first glance it seemed OK, but then I saw that all the fuselage joints had split open, all the cowling joints had split open, the wing was split and cracked.
So enough is enough, and it has found a new home, in the bin.

I fitted the scale gear to the series one, which in my opinion is a much nicer aircraft, and I am having no trouble with this one at all. It flies nice and does not have a single split, crack or mark on it.
After adding some lead to the nose it does fly much better, so hopefully onto a winner here.

The difference between the series one and two is not just the painted parts, the series two has a two piece horizontal stab, the series one has a one piece.
I am thinking of getting the new YT/KMP Hurricane, but this spitfire has left a bad taste in my mouth for their products, so will have to think about it.
Darryl

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Darryl, there are 3 series of the Spit

1- no invasion stripes / one piece stab
2- invasion stripes / one piece stab
3- invasion stripes / two piece stab

so when you refer to your Spit it's the latest with 2 piece stab?

I hope you have the version 3 because I have the 2nd version with strpes & one piece stab still in the box []

MerlinFan

My Feedback: (27)

I pulled my new Spit out to check if it has one or two piece stab and it has a one piece. So I guess it is a V2, it has invasion stripes. The glass feels as thick as my V1 Spit. So lucky for me. I feel bad for those with the 2 piece stab.

tevans55

I want to give Andrew Kondor a huge thank you for getting me two new radiators for my Spitfire. Mine cracked before I even got them out of the plastic. I was able to repair the cracks but they don't look very good on a new plane. I happened to see Andrew last month in Toledo and mentioned to him what happened. Without missing a beat he said give me your name and address and I will send you new ones. I just received the new ones in the mail. I am very impressed by great service these days and I want to say thank you again for great service Andrew!

WarbirdPilots

My Feedback: (209)

Since we are talking about the different versions of the plane, I have a quick question.  Will a version 2 or 3 wing fit on a version 1 fuselage?  I am asking because the gear has been canted further forward in the 2nd and 3rd version fixing the nose over issue.  And maybe I would like to upgrade my wing.

Thank you in advance,

Adam

tevans55

Well I maidened my Spitfire last week and it flew very well and ata very scale speed. I have an OS120 AX in mine turning a 15x6 MA prop. Century Jet retracts looked and worked well from both a paved runway and grass. Grass looks better to me and the plane slows down faster.

I have my flaps set for about 30 and 45 degrees. On the first flight I used the 30 degree flap and it landed very well and gently set the tail down. On the second flight I used the 45 degree flap setting and as the wheels made contact with the ground there was an obvious tendancy for the plane to want to nose over...in fact I almost lost it to a nose over. With the 45 degree flap setting it seemed as though there may be some tendancy for the plane to trap air since the flap is so close to the ground. The third flight I went back to the 30 degree flap and the palne again landed great and set the tail down with no help from the elevator. Only when the plane stopped did I apply elevator to hold the tail down while I taxied back. Subsequent flights confirmed to me that there is some kind of "ground affect lift" from my lower flap setting. I would be interested if anyone else has experimented with this, particularly those of you who are experiencing frequent nose overs.

Pit-Viper 1

My Feedback: (12)

tevans55,

I have noticed that on my CMP Spit 120. Catches you off guard the first time don't it? What I did was set my max travel to about 30% as it is on a dial. If you have yours on a switch I would go to 15 & 30. 15 is good for takeoffs and landing with a slight breeze when full flaps aren't  necessary.

The last time I flew I mine it was coming in and went into ground effects, rouse about 2ft then dropped like a stone onto the runway, didn't even tip stall just dropped flat onto both gear. Tore them both out of the wing. lol Needless to say the wing is in the process of getting glassed and rebuilding the retract mounts.


Shane

Flying Canuk

Tevans55 congrats on the maiden. We need pic's, also what version do you have, 1,2,3? I believe the full scale flap deflection is around 85* more of a brake than lifting flap.

tevans55

Flying Canuk-
Yikes! 85 degrees of flaps on the full scale? I just want to slow it down not back up!!! I have version 3 withone piece stab and invasion stripes. The gear blocks are canted forward and I used Century Jet retracts and I canted the rear gear block an additional 1/4 inch forward. These were prototype gear for Century Jet and we spent a good long time getting the angles as close to scale as possible. These gear are rock solid...I am very pleased with results in looks and operation. I think getting these set properly helps significantly with nose over problems. I did not get any photos of the plane in the air but photos of my plane are on page 43 post # 1072. So far those are all I have.

Pit-Viper-

Thanks for the suggested settings...those sound like they will work nicely for my plane also. I am glad to see someone else had this situation and has made the adjustments. Thisis my third warbird and I have glassed the inside of my gear wells and mounting blocks in all of them and I have not had any gear problems despite my constant attempts rip them out while I learn to land each new plane. My other two warbirds are the Hanger 9 Corsair and B-25. Credit also to Century Jet...I really like their gear.

Pit-Viper 1

My Feedback: (12)

I have the H9 Corsair as well and I love the way it flies. Landing can be a little tricky at times. Wish I would've glassed the wheel wells when I got it too, would still be flying it now.

Shane

WarbirdPilots

My Feedback: (209)

Who makes a similar retract to the one pictured. I ask because I tore the left retract and retract rails out the the wing today. I am going to be spending some time rebuilding the rails for both retracts and would like to upgrade the retract. I only want to replace the retract, not the struts. I have robart 670 struts and want to keep them. The retracts that came with the plane were very sloppy to begin with. So I am looking for retracts that are heavy duty, spring down, and are designed to accept the 670's 1/4" rod.

Thanks in advance,

Adam

tevans55

TwinTurboZ-
This is not exactly what you asked for but these are the prototype retracts for this plane from Century Jet. They are rock solid and look very good. I glassed my mounts and the gear wells and they are working great.

WarbirdPilots

My Feedback: (209)

Hi Tevans55,

I have been looking at the century jet retracts. I just not sure I want to spend 250-300 for all new retracts and struts. I like the robart struts I have and am hoping to just get new retracts. Are the century jet retracts designed to accept a 3/16" to 1/4" rod, or are they designed to accept the full thickness of the strut?

Thanks,

Adam

tevans55

TwinTurboZ-
Great questions...had not thought about using their retract with a wire or strut from another manufacturer. One of the nice things about CJ retracts is that after you get the toe-in adjusted so that it is tracking correctly you JB Weld the strut on to the retract unit. Unfortunately I have already done this or Iwould take it apart and measure everything for you. The strut is designed to accept the strut which fits over a post on the retract unit...I'm just not sure of the size. The other nice thing about the JB Weld is that if you do need a repair you can hit it with a torch for a few seconds and it comes right apart. I know these guys really well and they would enjoy helping you. Call Bruce (owner) at 502-266-9234. Tell him you were talking to Tim Evans on RCU about using an existing strut you already have. I will call him Monday and give him a heads-up that you may be callling and relate our conversation.

Shihtzutan

WarbirdPilots

My Feedback: (209)

All that time and energy ripping this plane apart to make it the mostscale spitfire you could. All the attention to every little detail with sheer critical and precise determination, BUT ALL FOR NOT. As you like to say, you "screwed the pooch" on this one. You forgot the most critical detail of any warbird. This most critical detail that seperates the weekend warriors from the wanna bee master champions.
YOU FORGOT THEGEAR DOORS!!!
I am sorry sir but your master champion status has been revoked. You may pick up your weekend warrior sign at the receptionist's desk. Don't let the "GEAR" door hit you in the ass on the way out. LOL!!!!

I am just kidding. Beautiful plane, look forward to hearing how it fly's.

tevans55

Shihtzutan-
Your plane is beautiful! Quite the ARFbash you've got there. I love how you "plumbed" the exhaust. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I am mine.

hapirock

My Feedback: (5)

Hi guys I've got a mk 1 spit from KMP that hasn't ever flown and I think I want to sell it , it's all built with robart gear and carbon rods all round any one interested ?

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Nice job Shihtzutan!

I love your paint scheme. BTW if you want a better fitting spinner the Dave Brown parabolic (P-51) fits the part quite nicely.

Good luck with the maiden!

Shihtzutan

Thanks for the complements gentlemen. Love the size of the plane, but I'm not fond of the kit. I owe most of what I did to my Spit to the ideas I got from reading this thread.During the (re)build, there were many disappointments however, so there will be no more bouts with KMP.The scheme is a combination of schemes because this particular aircrafthas differing schemes depending on the available documentation. Sometimes it's shown with a blue spinner, sometimes brown and green camo, sometimes white strips on the wings, sometimes clipped wings, etc. The way I see it is that it all started with standardpaint for the Mk XIV,then I figure as is was acclimated into the squadron, additional markings were added piece-meal, so maybe this scheme eventually existed, who knows.The white bands on the wings will aide visibility during flight.

Thanks for the heads up on the spinner vasek, I remember reading that the Dave Brown spinner was pretty close match, we’ll see how well she flies before investing any additional dollars into her. Spinners are actually pretty easy to make if you know how.Maybe I’ll do a posting of it when the time comes. As TwinTurboz so eloquently pointed out, but unknown to him at the time, I did not forget my gear doors, I simply haven’t added them yet because technically my Spit is not quite finished. These pictures were taken prior to weathering and I’ve yet to add the squad marking to the left cowel panel.I let is sit outside in the sun to thoroughly dry the paint which was very fresh at the time.My Spit is the 1^st generation Spit for those of you who care to know.I also mixed all the colors a’la Dave Platt style using only the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, with white or black to lighten or darken, his Black Art video’s are pretty good by the way. The paint is KlassKote, good stuff by the way.If I maiden her this weekend I’ll try and get some in-flight pictures and post them to wrap up my two cents about this particular kit.

bucho

My Feedback: (6)

sorry for the question, I made a fast track in the tread and didn`t find a verey clear answer for ti ....so here I go.

A SAITO 125 WILL DO THE JOB ? THE BOX SAY 150 4T,,,,,,,

I have a saito 125 ready for somthing and this spit really looks nice...

bucho

My Feedback: (6)

sorry for the question, I made a fast track in the tread and didn`t find a verey clear answer for ti ....so here I go.

A SAITO 125 WILL DO THE JOB ? THE BOX SAY 150 4T,,,,,,,

I have a saito 125 ready for somthing and this spit really looks nice...

kinverflyer

The Saito 125 will power it OK, however as with most Spitfires ballast will be needed and the Saito 125 is a very light engine, I flew one of the first ESM Spits on an RCV91CD.

tevans55

Shihtzutan-
This plane did exist in this paint scheme. Before I purchased this plane Ihad looked at the markings several times. When I was in Muncie last summer I visited the AMA library and one of the Spitfire books they have there has a side view picture of this plane with the same paint and markings. I did not find any actual photos though.

Shihtzutan

Time for an update my friends. Well, my Spit is undergoing some minor repairs. The Satio 1.25has a tough time overcoming the drag of a grass field.In my humble opinion, the ballast in the nose combined with the narrow tires designed to fit into a relatively thin wing makes the Satio 1.25 only marginal. I was running out of runway and had a decision to make, too fast to stop and not quite ready to pull back on stick. All my experiences with Satio’s have been very good, typically they plenty powerful. My decision was to try lifting it and hope I had the power for the climb out. Mt finger was poised on the rudder. As predicted the left wing dropped about 3 feet off the ground and I hit hard right rudder. The rudder on this thing was very responsive, the right wing caught some tall grass and for a moment I thought I had it, but alas the airspeed was slow enough to yaw it in. Tall grass cushioned it but it took a deciently hard hit. The damage was relativelyminor but the extent of the spidery cracks on the fuselage was a surprise. The fuselage has beenrepaired and I’ve upgraded to aSatio 1.50 to give it more authority. I fit right in, but theheader pipe on the 1.50 is located differently than with the Satio 1.25 so all my scale exhaust plumbing just went out the window. By the way, scale exhaust makes quite a mess! I’m considering using the supplied muffler becasue itcan be cocked in such a way that it barely shows.