Phoenix Spitfire 20cc-30cc
 

I have been looking for a build thread on the Phoenix 1/6 scale Spitfire and have not found one so I will start one here. I have a very nice running EME 35 I plan to use for power and the plane weighs in at 14lbs. With 20lbs of thrust I am getting with this engine with a Xoar 20x8 prop it should have plenty of power.:D The plane will be delivered on Friday and with rain coming this weekend I hope to get started with it. I also will replace the manual retracts with electric retracts I have:o.

http://www.gpmd.com/image/p/pmma1780.jpg

I am just finishing up on mine. Not a bad plane but has a few shortcomings. The furnished metal push rods and most bolts are JUNK, very soft low grade. Figure on replacing all of that right off. I went to the Sporting goods store and purchased coated metal braided line to use for the Rudder control cables, 35 lb. rated very easy to work with and I can trust it. Just a few bucks for 35 feet.
I purchased Hitec landing gear Servos but did not enjoy setting up the gear. Had to remove some wood to mount the servos and the furnished push-rods bent right off, replaced those with good stuff. In retrospect I think the Hobby King retracts would have been a better choice, no external servos and cost about the same as the servos I used.
I have a Turnigy 32cc that runs well and put a Pitts muffler on it , still had to remove some from the cowl for the exhaust side but it really is not a problem.
Still have balancing to do.

Thanks for the advice. I will look into everything you mentioned. I have on questions. Can you tell me how long the struts are that come with this kit? I have a set of heavy duty HK retracts I want to use but I need to know the length of the struts.:confused:

Well the Spitfire came in today. I hope to get started on it this weekend. Rain is coming so I won't be at the field flying tomorrow. Here are a couple of pics. The plane was well protected and each peace was individually wrapped.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2206884http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2206885

Don't think you need me to measure struts now:confused: My next job is balance, things are tight inside even for the Life battery's, there is not a lot of room with all the servos. Hopefully I can use the battery's for balance?
The field is now clear of snow so I can get some Stick time.......

I flew mine last week for the first time. Have a AGM 30cc gas engine with 18 - 8 prop, I used the Hitec mini servos for retract that fit the cutouts and they're pretty useless as they don't have the power to pull them both back in. Flew it gear down and plane was no problem and handled really nice. Weak point is the gear which I'm sure will promptly collapse with anything but a feather lite landing. I have the HK heavier electric retracts which I'm sure will be an improvement but haven't put on as I haven't figured out the struts yet. I thought the plane was a pretty quality ARF otherwise and it looks really good when completed.

Good to know, still not balanced yet as the weather has been sucky around here and I need to take it outside . Were you able to get by with only the battery's for balance? My LG servos are plenty strong just a bear to set up......think the HK metal gear is a better choice, keep us posted. The snow is gone off our field so the season has started... a little cool at times but what the heck!

Flap issue
 

Sorry I have not posted here in awhile. Had a death in the family. Got the wing servo's in and came across a problem. My flap servo mounts they are reversed from each other like the aileron servo mounts. They should be the same so when you us the flaps they go in the same direction. Where yours this way? It looks like I will have to mix channels 6 & 7 to get the flaps to work in the right direction to each other.:confused::confused:

I decided to use a reversing Y cable to solve my problem with the flaps. It worked great and saved a channel for future use. I hope to use my HD HK electric retracts. I just hope they fit the cutout in the wings:) I will post a pic if they fit OK..

Where did you get the reversing y-harness?

I picked up my Expert reversing Y cable up at my LHS but you can get one from Horizon Hobby. Here is the link to it. They work great.;)

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...andard-exra320

Thank you!

You are welcome. Do you happen to know if anyone has used electric retracts of this bird. My HD HK retracts look a little large for the cutout so I my have to do some customize of the retracts bay to get them to fit.

The HK HD servoless retracts fit this plane just fine and the struts that come with the Spitfire work on the HK retacts. I have posted some pics and a short video of them working. I also installed a retracts delay switch so the look a little more realistic ;)

Dle 30?
 

I have an EME-35 I am hoping to use on this Spitfire. I know the directions say a DLE20 to 30 can be used. This plane really seems a little small to me for a 30cc gas engine. Has anyone installed a DLE-30 into this plane? If so how do you like it? Seems a lot of power for a War Bird with just a 70" wing span. Did the factory drilled holes in the engine mount line up with a DLE 30?:confused:

eme 35 installation
 

I found the firewall already had 5mm blind nuts installed that fit the EME-35 perfectly. Will also work with a DLE-30. The stand offs for the EME-35 use a 5mm cap screw thru the firewall to the stand-off. I wanted to use the 5mm blind nuts that where already installed so I install 5mm bolts into the stand-offs and cut the head of the bolt off. I then installed them to the firewall and I had to use some 3/8 plywood to extend the engine out to get the 6.5"(165mm) need for the prop hub distance. You can see in the last pic there is down trust configured into the firewall. Here are some pics that show how I did this:)

Jim,
You said you used the HD HK gear, exactly which ones. Had issues with standard servo set up , a real pain........just want to replace that set up and like the idea you went with.


Thanks in advance.

Gizmo,

Here is a link to the HK electric retracts I used. You'll like them much better then the stock gear:) I used the struts that game with the kit and they work just fine except the gear doors do not close all the way. It is because the stock struts are kinda thick and make contact with the retracts base. I do not see that as a bing problem because once airborne you will not notice it.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/servoles...ount-2pcs.html

Good Luck!

Gizmo,

Sorry i gave you the wrong link.:confused: Those servo's my work just fine but here is the link to the one's I used.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/servoles...ount-2pcs.html

Thanks Jim, It's my understanding they need not adjusting just flip the switch and it up or down?

Cowl
 

I have the cowl fitted to the fuselage now. The EME-35 fit in the cowl very easily. Here are a few pics of the cowl :)nd the elevator servo setup.

Attachment 2217955Attachment 2217956Attachment 2217957Attachment 2217958Attachment 2217959I just saw this thread, so apologises for a late reply. I have just finished assembling and flying this Spitfire for a review in our Australian magazine Airborne. It's a nice little war-bird, went together easily and flies perfectly on the DLE 20RA. Like you, I thought that 30cc was too much for it. I used the AM electric retracts which slotted straight in. Very little weight needed in the front and finished flying weight was around 6.2kg.

Very nice looking Spitfire and glad to here is fly's well om a 20cc engine. I just finished mine today and I hope to maiden her next weekend. I did not have a 20cc engine but I did have the EME-35 that is the same weight as the DLE-30 I had to add 4 oz of weigh to the nose the get the plane to balance. I am using a Xoar 18x10 prop that should provided plenty of speed. Here are a few pics:)

Jim, silly question maybe but do these retracts come in pairs or is the price for each? They don't say in the ad.
I just got confirmation on shipping for my Spit. It should be here next week. I'm looking forward to this one. I've ben pleased with my two previous Phoenix planes. They're well built, sturdy and attractive. The Spitfire should be a good addition to my fleet.
Thanks for the retract link.

Tom

These come as a pair so you will get two retracts. They work really well on the Phoenix Spitfire