Thank you, Jim. I might order a set just to have them, 'in case' and give the factory units a try initially. Thanks again for the information.

Tom

The Factory units are not good in my view and a pain to set up. I junked mine!

Thanks Giz. That's just more reason to consider replacing them before trying the factory units. I have some experience with servo driven retracts and it was not good. That was many moons ago and I'd hoped they had improved by now but apparently not. Thanks again.

Tom

Tom the HD servo less retracts from hobby king work great with this plane and you can even use the struts that come with the Phoenix Spitfire with them. Mine have been working great and I fly off of a grass field.:)

Watch the video on post#14 and you can see how well the Hobby King HD servoless retract work with the Phoenix struts that come with the plane. Since the video was taken I have work on the mounting of the retracts and now they fully close into the wheel well. Good Luck with yours :)

My Spitfire arrived yesterday and I've been going through the box and checking everything. As with my Ryan STA I'm impressed with the construction of this plane. Also like the Ryan the packing was good with each part carefully wrapped in foam sheets and the covering looks good and will require little shrinking. I experimented with using a wet 3-M abrasive pad to see if I could remove some of the gloss from the covering material and was pleased with the results. The pad takes little effort to rough up the shine and leaves a nice uniform mat finish. WWII warbirds aren't supposed to be shiny.

I don't intend to do a build thread on this plane but for the benefit of other builders or for those thinking about buying this plane I'll touch on the high points of assembly as I progress. It might also help to share with those who have already been through the process and compare our experiences. So far I'm optimistic that it will produce in a nice semi-scale sport plane that will look good but also fly well.


Tom

Could you go into a little more detail on your use of the wet abrasive?

Thanks in advance!

Sure. These are the pads I use > https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...%2BMaintenance

I use them for other things too but they have worked well for removing the shine from iron-on, heat-shrink covering material like Monokote or others. The trick is to not press too hard especially over open areas such as between wing ribs. Too much pressure and you'll get an uneven look at the edges where there is a structure under the covering.

A fellow club member and friend uses rattle can Krylon or Rustoleum, flat clear to get the same results. He says they both stand up to nitromethane fuel as well as gasoline. I've never tried his method however.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Tom

What did you do to get the retracts to close flush? If you alter the mounting angle, it will change the deployed angle...

I just added a small shim under the retract. That aloud it to travel farather into the wheel well.

I know this is an older thread, but I am starting my Phoenix Spit 30CC and I have found the incidences to be: The stab is zero, the wing is at +1.8 and the engine is at -1.8. what do you guys who flew it think?
Did you set the CG per plans? what were the final surface deflections you arrived at?
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.... Cheers!

Ever find out about the spitfire stab/wing incidences ?????????

Old thread i know but not much else out there i can find.
Anyway Im not a gas engine guy so want to use glow power. Anyone with experience with this plane think a OS 1.60 FX will fly this plane decently?
Thanks!!

just getting back into this hobby after 10 years. this Spitfire looks very good! I definitely want a Spitfire (never had one) Thanks for the thread!

Mine is almost finished... I had a couple of 20cc engines hanging around and am looking at downsizing my fleet from the large scale birds to something a bit easier to haul around and put together etc.. getting old here! Losing the excitement of flying the large birds.. this looked perfect, .60 glow size is too small and this Spit looked great. I bought those HK retracts! Love them ... plane is about ready... everything went together pretty well thanks to all the comments here on this thread.. Big thanks!
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...1b01be90be.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...ce43adab1b.jpg

Looking real good. I have the same HK retracts and they work great. Good luck on your maiden flight. Mine is a good flyer and I agree with you on the size if the plane.

Yes, that looks REALLY good!

I have an OS 1.60FX in my Phoenix Corsir 120, 16x10 prop, and flying at 3700' ASL. Pulls it around well. Looks like the listed wingspan and weight are about the same for the Phoenix Corsiar 120 and this Spitfire. I put a larger fuel tank (24 ounce) in the Corsair. Might be difficult to get the larger tank in the Spitfire.
Brian
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...55c4ac515a.jpg

Does anyone know where I could find some under wing radiators for the Phoenix Spit or similar size Spit?
Phoenix doesn't supply them