cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

I'm looking at this plane. Can anyone lend some advice on likes/dislikes. How are the stock retracts? How does it land? Thinking about a 91FS for power.

Thanks,

George E.

My Feedback: (16)

I bought one when it was on sale for $190, worth every penny.

Flys GREAT. No bad habbits at all. Floats in like a trainer. Stalls are very predictable and slow. Point rolls are crisp. Even holds a knife edge.

A .91 is enough but not overkill, I ahve a .91 2C

Retracts work but are typical ARF retracts. I have no plans on changing them. I usually grease in the landings on the mains (that's the plan at least ) so I haven't had to bend the struts back into shape yet. I taxi on them as little as possible too.

Only complaints:

Wheels are too small for grass fields so the plane likes to nose over if you are not quick on the elevator. I takeoff and land on high rate elevator. Since there are wheel cups in the wings there is no easy fix unless you make your own cups that will accept larger wheels.

Wing fairings weren't easy to get right and dig into the covering when the wing is on, a better builder might get it right.

Elevator pushrods didn't work too well so I put two mini servos inside the tail but it was not necessary to do this.


Overall:

A GREAT deal at $230 even sweeter at $190
Looks and flys GREAT. I get lots of compliments at the field.
I fly mostly 3D planes but this was a great way to get into warbirds, order one

cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

Sounds good, thanks for the response. Are you able to post or send me a pic? That would be great.

Cyclic Hardover

My Feedback: (3)

I have one also. OS 1.08 inverted and runs great. Retracts work fine but I fly off asphalt. Darn thing surprised me and came out tail heavy. Flys very well. Good plane. Go for it.

George E.

My Feedback: (16)

I'm not sure where the directions call for the CG but mine balances perfectly with two mini servos in the tail and a .91 2C up front with a pitts muffler. Takes a slight push to hold level flight when inverted.

Don't have any pics, next time I have it out I'll take some with the dig camera.

autopilot

I like mine. I have a Magnum 91-4 up front.

George E.

My Feedback: (16)

Are you using the landing gear doors with the retracts??

If so, did you just attach them to the struts??

autopilot

Yes, I am using the doors with the retracts. It takes some dremel chopping to make it all work, but I didn't think it looked right with the bare struts. I bought some little metal pieces from the hardware store to bolt the doors on because the plastic ones that came with the plane cracked while I was tightening them down.

George E.

My Feedback: (16)

Thanks, I'll have to put my doors on. I agree, the plane doesn't look right without them.

RLDIII

My Feedback: (1)

Can anyone tell me how similar this ARF is to the Top Flight Kit of the same bird? I built the kit a few years back, and based on the pictures of this model, and the descriptions everyone has given, it sure sounds very similar.

George E.

My Feedback: (16)

Dont' know anything about the kit but I assume they are two different planes on the inside eventhough they are both P-47's. The ARF is pretty light for a plane of it's size, less than 9 lbs, and had a low wing loading. Floats like a trainer and has no bad habbits.

cchabert

My Feedback: (2)

Can I use OS 1.20 4 cycle on this bird??

yard-dart

My Feedback: (35)

Yes, I have an OS 1.20 four stroke in mine. The plane flies great.

John

dan4466

My Feedback: (68)

Heres mine. Recovered it with Worldtex fabric. OS .91 Surpass.

Dan

ptgarcia

My Feedback: (36)

yard-dart,

Did you replace the retracts with Spring Airs or Robarts and use larger tires?

I think I'll be getting this plane at Christmas and if I do I want to upgrade the legs and wheels. I also plan on running an RCV 90 or 120 SP or maybe an MVVS 1.6 gasser.

yard-dart

My Feedback: (35)

Yes, I replaced the retracts with some stronger mechanicals, ones that will hold up a .60 sized airframe. The ones that come with the plane are for .40 sized aircraft. Why the manufacturer does this is beyond me. Instead of giving the customer included retracts that work. they end up making themselves look bad by sending us crap that doesn't work. Anyway, I replaced the smaller wheels with larger ones. I had to cut out the wheel wells to accomodate the larger wheels. I built cups out of paper thin plywood and glued them in place.

Overall, I think this plane is OK. I like the way it flies, and the build of the airframe seems to be top notch. I do think that the covering is crap, along with the retracts. I probably wouldn't buy another.

ptgarcia

My Feedback: (36)

Thanks yard-dart. Your right about the retracts. I have the Model Tech 40-size P-51 and the retracts are a bummer. The retract mechanism works great, but the wire is way too soft. I plan on using this plane as a stepping stone into scale warbirds. I'm going to install a set of Robart pneumatic retracts with larger wheels (3" at least). I may also instal the Top-Flite cockpit kit for their 1/7 scale Jug. I will probably remove the covering and recover in a scale finish.

gnirwin

My Feedback: (25)

I bought this plane last winter when it was on sale and I am just now finishing the assembly up. Some things I have noticed about mine. The covering job itself is OK but the material is not very good. I keep trying to iron out the wrinkles only to see new ones arise a couple days later. The retracts appear to be weak, since I have not flown the plane yet and I have no other plane with retracts to compare it to I can not say they won't work but I am concerned because of the grass field I fly from. The fuselage and wings appear to be built strong and the plane does look rather nice. I plan to fly the plane this coming summer "as is" and if the plane is still in one piece come next winter I will replace the retracts and recover the plane.

ptgarcia

My Feedback: (36)

A friend of mine has the P-47 and I have the P-51, and they both use the same gear. The problem is with the wire, not the retract itself. The retract works great, and is much better than the ones Hangar 9 provide. After each flight with my P-51 I have to bend the wire back to shape, no matter how well the landing was greased. My proposed fix is installing a set of Robart Robo Struts. All you do is clip of the wire, leaving a short length still intact to slip the robo strut over, which is held on with grub screws. Looks a lot better also. The draw back is they cost about $100.

cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

Gezzz, I really like this plane, but now a bit afraid to take the plunge.

sloppy flier

My Feedback: (1)

I've had a one a while. We had a pretty good thread on it about 6 months ago or so, so do a search. It may be in the warbird section, I can't remember. I have really enjoyed mine. I have a TT91fs in mine. A .90 makes for pretty good power and a 1.20 would be great. The retract issue is the same with most arfs. I put Robart 609hd mechanicals in mine. It took a little dremel work and reinforcing because they are wider than the stock retracts. I also cut out the wheel cups and put 3 inch wheels in. This made it a lot better on grass. The covering looks good, but it is also like most arfs. I have really enjoyed plane and it really looks good in the air.
It really lends itself to modifying.

ptgarcia

My Feedback: (36)

sloppy flier,

Did you have to remove any of the ribs to fit the 3" wheels? I'm hoping only the sheeting needs to be removed to fit larger wheels.

I plan on using the 550RS (90 degree) or 551RS (85 degree), whichever works best with the wing dyhedral, with #662 RoboStrut. I would really like to use a 3-1/2" wheel, but a 3" will do.

George E.

My Feedback: (16)

I bought the plane to buzz around with the other warbirds at the field. I fly mostly 3D and didn't want to invest a lot into a warbird so I bought the Modeltec P-47 on sale for $190 and I'm flying it totally stock (except I relocated the elevator servo to the tail) with a Magnum .91 2C.

Flys awesome with no bad habbits and the .91 is adequate. The stock gear works great and I never have to bend the struts back into shape. Yes, they're not Robarts but they work fine.

The only thing I'd change it to use larger wheels. The stock wheels are too small and since I fly from grass I have to takeoff and land on high rate elevator to prevent the plane from tipping forward, but it's not really a problem. If I was building new I'd forget the wheel cups so I could use larger wheels.

Great Value.

cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

Autopilot, with your Mag 91FS up front, how much weight did you have to add if any to achieve the correct balance?

autopilot

Hi, just got back from Christmas with the parents. . . The plane is downstairs, but it seems to me it was 8 oz. tacked on to the firewall. I'll check again tomorrow.