New Top Flight Corsair
Devo: Your new Corsair looks great and you should be very proud of it. Having the best scale airplane out there is not the way to get into Warbirds but rather build one and make it nice and learn to fly it and once you get the hang of the heavy metal then decide on your next step. The 120 will make this thing a real performer but that can be a two edge sword. With this being your first Warbird I hope you don't make the same mistake I did and have it last about ten seconds into the first flight. You are going to have to really manage the throttle with that big fourstroke and know that it takes a lot of right rudder on a nice straight takeoff run. Your plane will jump into the air if you let it and it will do so far before you have built up enough airspeed to fly with reasonable control. If this happens the plane will start a slow roll to the left and go right in on the wing and cowl and the situation is unrecoverable. You won't save it with power or opposite aileron because the panic application of right aileron just makes the stall worse and you know the rest of the story. I did exactly what I'm describing with my brand new Top Flight Corsair the first time it went to the field. I took it home in a trash bag and after thinking of every excuse I could condure up I realized it was the pilot not the plane that caused the demise of my beautiful new Corsair. That was about twelve years ago and I tell every new Corsair driver that I meet the same thing in an attempt so save them the aggrivation of destroying a new airplane that took many hours to build. Manage the throttle with slow steady applications of power and realize that you will never become a good Warbird pilot until you master the rudder. You will never see a real full scale Warbird take off in just a few feet and your model shouldn't do that either. Let your plane build up a good deal of airspeed before you let it fly. Make a good long run down the runway up on the main gear and it will lift off with just the slightest hint of up elevator when it has built up sufficient airspeed to really fly. Climb slowly and do not attempt to turn until you are a good fifty feet up in the air and don't worry about the gear until you are safely flying. Learn the plane and leave the more agressive maneuvers to later flights and just learn to know your new airplane. You won't regret that. There will be plenty of time to wring it out once you become comfortable with it in the air. Taking a good deep breath every now and then will help a lot too. Corsairs are wonderful airplanes that are very exciting to fly and you will get hours of enjoyment out of yours if you do it right. Take a few minutes and check out the "Technique Section on the RCWarbirds.com website. There is some valuable information there. Good luck Devo and keep us all posted on how your new Warbird flys.
Jack Devine