RE: PICA Spitfire 1/5 Please Help
Spitty
I think you will be hard pressed to get this bird in at around 20lbs or less, especially if you plan to glass it and detail it. I'm not familiar with the engines you posted but I am running a Sach's 3.1 and a G-62 in my other one. Shindin retracts are a good bet just make sure the struts are long enough. Make sure you tell him what size you need becasue the struts for the Taylor are too short. Anything you can do to lighten the tail will help minimize balast in the nose. The later kits should have lighting holes in the stab and elevator. I have 3lbs of lead in the nose and my CG is 4.5 inches from the LE at the dowel. I moved the gear (Robart) up toward the LE to minimize nose overs and beefed up the ribs with light ply. I also used maple blocks for gear mounts.
The Pica Spit is fun scale, It would take alot of work to get it true. The wheels would have to be 5" not 4 or 4.5 and the wing tips and stab are way too thick. The fuse is off as well, so in my opinion, this would not make a good scale project. Just fly it and have fun, they fly well and look good enough in the air. Good Luck, ole Chap and beware of the Hun in the sun.