Originally Posted by
jester_s1
That all depends on what model you are talking about and how you want it to fly. Yes, models are much more powered per weight than full scale planes, but it's not because modelers just want crazy amounts of horsepower. It's because airfoils become less efficient as they get smaller, therefore more power is needed to make the planes fly. So don't worry about that. If your plane is a warbird that is going to be heavily loaded anyway, you won't like it overweight and under powered. If it's a 4 Star or Ugly Stick, it will tolerate some extra weight. Just don't expect it to pull through big loops and such. If it's a trainer, extra weight won't hurt its flying characteristics, but underpowering it will make it more of a challenge to fly on windy days.
So what model are you building and what engines are you considering? And what are you planning to do that will add extra weight?
The model is the F4U Corsair by Top Flite
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHU80&P=ML
We are using the engine size suggested by the manual and they say it has plenty of power. However, on the towerhobbies website it says in the specs that it should weigh between 7 and 9.5 pounds. We are looking the model over and we know we did about one thing like use a heaver battery pack then perhaps they did, But other then that we have stayed as close to the manual as possible and can not figure out how even without the retracts they suggest that you could come anywhere close to 7 pounds. Currently our model is weighing about 10 pounds. We don't have it covered yet but we weighed everything and the covering that will go on or in the model.