Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

You're ruthless Craig!

budmo

Ok, cancel the bet.
[/quote]

Nope, we bypassed the fueler and still had the same problem. I think it may be a bad o-ring in the needle valve. I picked up a new one and will give it a try.
[/quote]

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

I'm happy to say that I think I have my motor issues cured. I ran it tonight on the bench and was able to get it operating normally again. I put a new o-ring on the needle valve which may have been the problem but I also found that the low end mixture setting was waaaay out of whack. I bought this motor second hand and had not checked the mixture setting prior to today. The wierd thing is that the motor ran fine for the test flight but got progressively worse thereafter. At any rate, I pulled out the book on the engine and re-set all the needles back to the recommended starting points and re-tuned from there. I'm confident that the problem is fixed and will be getting the engine/tank back in the airplane for, hopefully, some weekend flying.

PS - I guess I forgot to post it but the last time I flew the Hellcat it was with the drop tank attached. I was a bit concerned that the tank might provide enough drag to overcome the magnets holding the belly pan on but, glad to say, the belly pan stayed put. No pictures as my camera man could not make it out that day but I will try again next time I fly. I love the way the airplane looks with the tank on but I probably won't fly with it attached very often. It can't be dropped and a belly landing with the tank on would probably end up very messy! The flight was a rather sedate one due to the saggy engine but I did not notice any serious degradation in performance with the tank on.

Luft-Gangster

Chad
I had one acting weird like that once, and every time you dialed it in it didn't last. Fix was removing the fuel in nipple off the carb and found a fuzz ball there. Removed it and never had that issue again.
Leroy

baldguy

My Feedback: (4)

hhmmmmmmm, fuzzy nipples, that could cause problems.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Leroy, thanks for the tips. The engine and entire fuel system was pulled, flushed, and tested so if there was any issue with any sort of debris it should be gone now.

Craig (baldguy), you behave!

I received a package a few days ago from Firepower R/C with a beautiful set of bombs and pylons which will be going on my next Hellcat. Below are some pics of the items and I can't say enough about the quality. The pylons come just as you see in the pics complete with sway braces and the drop mechanism built right in. If you're in the market for details such as these please check out the Firepower web site. They have lots of other items as well. Thanks Rich!

http://firepowerrc.com/

RCGuy41

Chad,

I have a set of Firepowers racks to include bombs and drops for my TF Corsair.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

And it looks great too Bradley! Have you had it up in the air yet?

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Double post deleted

RCGuy41

Yes, I had maidened her just before fall last year; half way through my flight I had decided to bring her in but when I throttled down my engine died. I missed the field by about 2 feet and ended up in some tall grass, she flipped 180, snapped the tail at the base (repaired) and tweeked one elevator (repaired), the gear needs new cams from Seirra; I don't have the funds to aquire them right now. Weather wise it's been very nice but no time to get her out and flown again, I've had other issues to deal with between my house and vehicles. I didn't have a chance to hold onto my tax return before it all went bye bye. By the way, I have been watching your progress on the Hellcat, you have done an excellent job and the second cat is turning out as good as the first. Are you still having geomatry issues with the flaps? Instead of installing a second sero, what about a bell crank linked directly to the servo to actuate the outer flaps? Just a thought...

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Sorry to hear about the minor mishap Bradley but glad you've got the Corsair back together. I have worked out the issue with the Hellcat flaps (99% sure anyway!) just have not had the time to get them finished so I could post pictures. The fix was to move to a spade type system exactly like what is used on the Corsair. The bell crank idea is an excellent one as well and I may add an addendum to the plan to show that as an option.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

I think I may have finally got a handle on my engine problems! Woohoo! I took the Hellcat out this morning and was able to get three solid flights on it. The engine is still not 100% but at least it is not quitting in flight now. I think a bit more tweaking on the low end needle and slightly less prop will see 100% success. My buddy John West was shooting video so I hope to be able to share his results with you here soon. I continue to be very impressed with the performance of the airplane, particularly on take off and landing. I've been flying my Midwest Harvard quite a bit recently which is something of a handfull on the ground. The Hellcat is MUCH more lady like and really makes the pilot look good. It also continues to impress me with its slow speed characteristics. I ran the Hellcat out of fuel on the last landing of the day and had to stretch the glide a bit to make the runway. The Hellcat took it in stride and the restult was a full stall three point touch down that was smooth as silk with absolutely no hint of wing drop. I am completely satisfied with the airframe at this point and really starting to enjoy flying the Hellcat. Just got to get a bit more confidence in the .91FX and I will be a very happy camper. As soon as John gets the video uploaded I will provide a link so stay tuned.

glazier808

My Feedback: (1)

Very nice Chad! I really wish I had the time for a Hellcat build, yours looks as nice as they come!....I'll wait for your bigger version


Casey

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Here are a few real short video clips. Proof that it does fly! Thanks to John West (buddmo) for the vids, pit help, and moral support today.

Take off 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBv068J2LHQ
Take off 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAIvS_D2J28
Slow roll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feHjKo8wOog
Roll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjDJ7JBBNxA
Low pass 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anZeBIABEr0
Low pass 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8XpfkL449Y
Crosswing landing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdMlXX7ue6w

budmo

Thanks again for letting me fly your Hellcat.. I'm looking forward to having one of my own.

I posted several videos to my youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/j5match

The landing I didnt get was the very nice dead stick 3-point landing. I thought it was going to touch down in the dirt but it skimmed over the end of the runway, touched down and rolled to a stop right in front of us.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

My pleasure John and thanks again for shooting the videos.

Here's a direct link to the first landing of the day before the cross wind picked up. A bit blurry but still good evidence of just how nice the Hellcat lands even at 11 3/4 pounds. No doubt flaps would make it even better at this weight but at 10.5-11 pounds my opinion is that the flaps would be superfluous. (Although fun to play with no doubt!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfHmffx8r5M

Firepower R/C

My Feedback: (10)

Thanks for the plug, guys! I have to say that I admire both of you for your build & design skills... I would LOVE to get on one of these Hellcats, and will as soon as I get a breather from what I have going right now. RC guy, I am sad about your mishap, and if any of the parts I supplied are broken I will replace no charge. I don't know what it is about these Navy fighters... Corsair, Hellcat, Zero... they just seem to be the "in" thing for me right now.

Chad, I am still drooling over the goodies you sent me... I can't wait to show them off!

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Watch this space Casey...



My pleasure Rich and watch your email for a message regarding said "goodies".

RCGuy41

Hey firepower,

The racks I have on my Corsair weren't damaged in any way.

Chad I would love one of your Hellcat kits, that's if you're still cutting them. I would shelve my H-9 Hellcat, strip everything from it and put it's gear into your kit. I have a set of Sierra retracts to include a Saito 1.08 4S engine, a spektrum 2.4 Ghz system and all Futaba servo's.

By the way Chad, from the short videos posted, your Hellcat looked great in the air, just goes to show what a great design and build you have accomplished.

glazier808

My Feedback: (1)

Mmmm.... Veich goodies!

I'm watching!

Casey

lightning 759

[quote]ORIGINAL: Chad Veich

Watch this space Casey...


Here we go again more pocket money i need to ask the wife for

andy

glazier808

My Feedback: (1)

Ok, kinda related to the thread so I'll ask. Firepower, is there any 1/5 scale stuff in the works? The market could stand some great German/British/US bombs ect!

I've worked up a pretty scale ETC 300 drop tank rack for my Fliteskin 109F. It's in its ruff state but I've got all the particulars worked out. I've yet to decide if I'll make a mold or just go for the one off.
A PITA for sure I'd rather have bought one!

Casey

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Bradley,

I'm no longer cutting the kit myself but you can get it through Manzano Laser Works, www.manzanolaser.com. They cut a sample kit for me and I can tell you that their quality is superb. The glass cowl and vac formed accessories can still be obtained through me.

baldguy

My Feedback: (4)

Heh Chad,
Was that the kit I got from you? Manzano does great stuff, got a bunch of their kits. Too many actually, now that the boss reminds me.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

I am still working on the flaps of my #2 prototype and am making good progress. I hope to have them completed and the web site updated in a week or two. I will also provide an addendum to the plans showing the new design of the flap actuators since the original design was a no-go. I apologize if my mistake regarding this has caused issues with anyone's builds.

On another note, my warbird racing buddy Robert Vogel has decided to retire his Hellcat from racing. The airplane was showing good potential and was breaking out of the silver class pretty easily on sport fuel. However, Robert had a near miss with another racer on the course which resulted in a small chunk being taken out of the vertical fin. That was enough to convince him that putting the big Hellcat up in the same sky with a bunch $100 ARF missiles was not worth it! The good news (for me anyway) is that Robert does not do much sport flying and was looking to buy an engine for another racer he's working on which meant the Hellcat was put up for sale. I couldn't pass it up so it has been added to my stable! I love the way my prototype flies and Robert's bird is a good 1.25 pounds lighter so I know it's going to fly even better. The plan right now is to put it back into a more stock appearance, ie, the clipped wings and modified tail tips will be going away. As well I will be putting the main gear doors on it, a partial cockpit, and a few other scale detials. Last but not least it will be getting a brand new RCGF 15cc gasser that I picked up at the OEAF event last weekend. The plan is to make it into a cheap to run and fun to fly sport version. I'll post some pics of the work once I get started but here is what the airplane looks like now.