Does anybody know if hanger 9 has fixed some of the problems with the corsair arf? Such as the firewall ripping off, Wing separation, correct C.G. location, retract failure, etc. I would like to put together and fly one of these, but after checking out the thousands of responces in the forums of these problems, I'm kinda sceptical. Most of these situations are a few years old. You would think Hanger 9 would have worked out the bugs by now. I'm not consirned about the supplied retracts, won't even use them.

Warbird Man

I have had two of them and never knew there were any problems with the corsair. This plane is just like any ARF. You have to strengthen certain parts of the model. That is why Hangar 9 will not change anything with the construction. If it is flown and powered with the recommended power plant it will fly really well. You will always hear good and bad comments about ARF's and you have to consider the source.

a far as LG, the problem has been fixed on the P-4O, (similar to the corsair) which works great...
no problem to report on this plane...

Warbird Man, I feel the same way as you. It seems that more then a few fliers have had problems with this plane and there seems to be everything from soup to nuts on how to fix them, which is great to know. I e-mailed Horizon about their Corsair and if they did anything to improve this aircraft and I got no answer from them. I won't buy this plane until I know from Horizon that improvements have been made. I can't see buying an ARF, then rebuilding everything from the firewall to the wings to get a reliable plane to fly. May as well kit build.
Larry

I BOUGHT ONE OF THESE ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, HAD TO DO ALL THE MODS DESCRIBED IN THE FORUM HERE, PAINFUL JOB, BUT IN THE END IT FLEW WELL, NICE FLYING PLANE. I BELIEVE NO CORRECTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THESE KITS AT THE FACTORY SO FAR.

I say buy the plane, a roll of matching covering, set aside some time, and have some fun.

I have loved mine so far, even though I bought the first one the LHS had and put it together. It was one of the first that came out. I spent maybe 50 hours building and rebuilding. I have been flying it for almost two years now. It is definitely worth it. It was a little frustrating at first, but I am very glad I did it.

Horizon will never say that there was a problem with the plane or that it has been fixed or modified due to liability issues. You can imagine all of the people that bought the earlier version wanting a new one. They will not change the CG in later version because it will show that the earlier ones were a bit aft. So asking that type of question to them is a waste of time no matter how sincere you are. There was a second generation in which I believe a few mod's were made.

The one I bought would have probably lasted maybe 10 flights the way it came out of the box (as far as the source goes....this comes from an engineer, who also spent 10 years working at the LHS). This plane was under average as far as quality goes, atleast the one I got was a lemon. You could see light between fuselage sheeting and the firewall, and one wing was so weak near the gear that the gap in the sheeting on the top would open and close about 1/8" just by adding a couple of pounds of force at the tip. Not to mention the landing gear issues........

Like those commercials say......JUST DO IT.

Do the mods in the forums and you will have a fine flier.

BTW, I am a high altitude flier and they do well up here with either the Saito 100 or 120. Just like a real plane, you never have to fly at full throttle. It is nice to have the power when flying at a density altitude of 10,000 feet plus when you need it. The one downside about flying up here is that you can void the warranty of the plane by powering like it would be closer to sea level.

Warbird Man,

You can always find a lot of people dissatisifed with any ARF. I haven't built an ARF yet that I did not have to modify. In terms of warbirds, I currently have the P51, which I recovered in a different WWII scheme and I'm planning on getting either the Corsair or the P-47 for Christmas. I would pin the firewall on every one, glass the wing joint and (for warbirds) replace the gear.


Greg

I guess I was looking for something that came out of the factory that was ready to fly without modifications. About all I fly anymore is warbirds, all kit built. I had a nice Pica Corsair and lost it doing stunts it wasn't suppose to do and it went in so I wanted another Corsair and didn't want to spend time building one so I bought an ARF, not the Hanger 9. When I opened the box to check out my new plane, what a disappointment. All the covering was coming off and in no way could I get it to lay back down. When I did iron the covering, the paint came off. I will say it flew good. As I once said, if you have to go through that much trouble to get a reliable plane, may as just kit build. At least that way you know how it's going together. One thing about the Hanger 9 plane is at least I know what covering to use in case I need to replace some of it. On my other ARF, the covering had panel lines drawn on it and it looked great. It flew until the wing snapped. I had no idea it was that weak.
Yes, Hanger 9 will not admit to any flaws in their product. I found that out. It is good to know from this forum the problems you guys have had and that it seems most ARFs have to be strengthened. What I can't believe is that companys won't listen to us and put out products that are quality built. I hate to put out big money for an ARF that doesn't live up to what it is advertised to do. How hard would it be for Hanger 9 or any company to listen to us and made these improvements to their planes? Firewalls, wings, retracts, etc shouldn't have to be worked on to get a quality product, it should come from the factory that way.
Larry

Simply put , its a great plane , big in size , great value , try to get a Corsiar built plus the kit cost for what you will pay for this plane , its worth it , trust me .

My impression is H9 fixes airplanes as they release new models. They may improve the manufacturing process on older models (such as the Corsair and P-51) but if you want improved landing gear, etc. you should go with one of the new models (P-40 or P-47).

I think this is mainly due to the relatively limited runs they have for each model.

I've heard their 150 size P-47 has really benefited from their experiences with their other warbirds.

I guess the old saying "you get what you pay for" holds true here also. Yes, there is no doubt it will cost close to build as to buy a ARF, maybe more. A lot depends here on what you put into the plane. But look at it this way, you pay big bucks for a ARF, then go and put stronger retracts, etc. into it and you got more money tied up in that plane then if you had built it from a kit. I will agree, most ARFs are a lot better today then they once were but they still need some work. As if you can't tell, I'm a builder, have built all my planes since back in the 60s. Today, I'm retired and have the time to build. I can see the advantage for someone to buy a ARF who doesn't have the time, skill, tools to build. There is no better satisifaction for me then to see a plane I put many hours into fly. If I decide to buy an ARF, I'll probabbly go with the Hanger 9 and do the modifications you people have mentioned. Darn thing about it, I have a bid for an ARF for half the price as the Hanger 9. If I do win at this price, I hate to see what I'll get but it may be worth it.
I do have a question for all ya,,,,does anyone have a instruction booklet for a Jemco Corsair??

Larry

hi Larry , I am a closet builder , just dont (choose ) to have the time because I know how fast my kids are growing up and I need to balance my time ,But being a closet builder I take every ARF and tweek to my satisfaction .
I am on my second H9 Corsiar , I just lined the wells with balsa , added gear doors and adding a full interior !!!
I love this part of the hobby .
For that day when the kids graduate colledge , I have a specail Pica 1/6 P40 waiting to come to life !

Hi LDM,
been there, did that. THANK GOD Many, many years ago, we had a nice flying field at our local state park. We had three families that hung together all the time. Us guys would fly and the wifes and kids would fish at a small pond just behind our field. We use to cook out, fly, fish, swim and sometimes even camp at the field. Seems as time went on, one by one of us lost interest and the field was gone. I do belong to a great club, but in my younger days, it was sure nice when the whole family joined in.
Enjoy those kids while you can, they'll be up and out before you know it. That plane can wait. I have a Pica Corsair also I plan on building, but now I started the Jemco Corsair and without directions, I'll have to take my time.
Larry

Thanks Larry and yes thanks for the good advice , I know they will be gone soon , I have them flying the GWS tiger moth , they love that plane !
Good luck with your biuld

I agree with most of the replies on this subject. I build and fly mostly warbirds myself either scratch or kit built, and once in awhile I'll pick up an ARF but haven't had much luck with them in the past. They are generally of poor quality, built sloppy and fly like rocks. I agree you get what you pay for. But, one day I picked up a H-9 AT-6 for a back up plane and was pretty impressed with it. Of course it's not 100% scale and there is things that could be improved upon, It was built and covered very well. And to get a .60 sized plane that is about a hundred more dollars more than a kit of comparable size built, covered, and with all the accessories, (even with cheep retracts) It's a pretty good buy. Which led my interest to the H-9 Corsair.
I too have the same problem most people have, Just not enough time in a day when you have a wife and kids and have to work for a living. I'm down to building only one kit a year. ( not that I regret the wife and kids) But after reading all the forums on the Corsair I was skeptical. I don't agree that Hanger 9 wouldn't address and fix some of the problems with this airplane. Having the firewall rip off and wing failures are major liability problems and the average person that buys, assembles and flies this bird shouldn't have to make such modifications. I belong to a show team and fly infront of hundreds of people. And the last thing I need is a structural failure that could get some one hurt. I'm glad that I found the forum and the things people had to say about the problems and corrections that need to be made to the H-9 Corsair.
From what people have been saying, the planes flies pretty good. So, I decided to get one despite the problems and do the modifications.

Taking in concideration these arfs are made in China, the quality of the plane can depend on who builds it and their skill level. I guess I got lucky with mine. I found the plane built and covered very well. It seems they did add reinforcement to the firewall and the retracts have been upgraded with heavy duty ball links and the gear wire has a "s" bend in it that allows full retraction. ( probably won't use them anyway) As far as the wing goes, It does look week to me around the gear area and will need alittle reinforcement.
As far as wing failure goes, I haven't heard anyone say specifically where or how this happens.
I'm assuming it's after a hard landing and or over stressing it by flying it in an unscale manner. Anyone got any input about that? Over all I think it's a very nice plane for the money and has alot of potential. Too bad they don't offer it in an "almost ready to cover version. I hate to peel off a nice covering job to make modifcations.

Warbird Man

Great to hear Warbird Man, sure glad they did something positive with the Corsair. Maybe I should have tried a Hanger 9 ARF, but to late now, already started the Jemco Corsair even without a instruction book. As I said earlier, I have the time to build and I enjoy building as much as flying so this will be a challange.
One other thing about building is I like to paint my planes so they don't look like someone elses.
Larry

Like I said before , if your a builder you will love the H9 warbirds because you can have a blast Tweeking them . I will post some pics but I just added my landing gear doors with century jet retracts (working great ) .
My interior is from Zolner models and just finishing that , useing the tri color scheme but I will leave the original blue on the plane because I dont want to add too much weight in detail .
I lined the wheels wells in balsa useing the old "duck tape " measuring/forming method .
The entire plane will get panel lines and a dull coat .
My first H9 Corsair was so much fun in the standard do nothing form that I felt this one was worth the effort .

LDM,
Do you have any pics yet of your mods and of your Corsair ?? I too have Luke's Zollner Models Corsair Interior.. Please show pics... I plan on using a ST 90 2 stroke and I have a Slimline Pitts Muffler to use.. I want to line my wheel wells and use a slightly larger wheel and tire...I have removed the original Graphics and decals and am repainting the cowling to remove the # 416 from it... I am doing Corsair "FF 59" it is all Blue with LARGE LETTERS/NuMbers on the side of fuse FF59 and has two yellow bands around rear of fuse as well as a white accent on the tail/fuse area.. I also plan on adding a Vortac Bomb release to the bellypan and beef it up... I think it will be fun to "bomb" the field!
Thanks
Tomas

Nemesis4u,

Were you able to remove all the graphics without damaging the covering or leaving any residual residue or adhesive from where the original graphics were applied? I realize the graphics are made out of the same covering material and not decals and I would like to do the same thing without having to recover the whole plane. I prefer a WWII scheme instead of the Korean scheme and my graphics on the top wing are crooked anyway.

Warbird Man

WarbirdMan,
Very easy to remove them...Get your fingernail underneath them and pull them off.. If it is an older plane use a low temp blowdryer and then pull them off..Use 70-90% Rubbing alcohol to clean the residue off with... The Cowling you need to repaint...Just wetsand with 400 grit and repaint with Hangar 9 Midnight Blue Paint... Easy to do.... If you need anymore info let me know...
I removed everything that wasnt BLUE!!

Check out the thread here:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3496493/tm.htm [8D]

Nemesis4u,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate the info. I plan on doing the same thing to mine. Now I just need to save up enough cash for a set of Sierra retracts.

Warbird man

I bought the H9 Corsair from my LHS last night, and it was a newly arrived arf. I have been reading up on all the issues before I even opened the box. The 1st thing I did when I started was run medium CA on every piece of wood I could reach. I also believe they have changed the firewall, because mine looks nothing like the pics I see here. It is two sandwiched pieces of 3/16"? ply, and is held in by 4 wood blocks on the inside. I tugged and tweaked on this firewall intensely. There was absolutely no flex or twist at all. I installed the engine, a Mag. 91 4 stroke and ran into my 1st concern, but not a problem. The engine wont go far enough forward to get the 5 5/8 measurment from thrust washer on engine to firewall. I am also installing a mini servo on the firewall to actuate the throttle instead of running a pushrod. I have done this before, and it works so much better. Also, instead of the 4 ply blocks to mount the cowl, I bought a 1ft x1ft sheet of 3/8' ply and scribed the cowl out on it, then cut it out into a ring on my band saw, I glued it to the 4 blocks and then will put about 10 screws thru the ring in the cowl. It comes out looking pretty cool, and has no cowl flex. I will post pics sometime soon. In my opinion, this is one awesomely built arf. With a little tweaking and some ingenuity it will be a real eye catcher.