Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Just purchased a Fly Models Hellcat 120 from AK Models (70" wingspan). Has anyone built or flown one of these yet? It looks identical to the CMP Hellcat but I am not sure? Thanks!

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

is the same plane,

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Are you putting retracts on it or fixed gear? What engine will you use? I think I'm bitten by the bug on this one! Have to get one.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

yes,i was put sierra retracts on my plane,and a magnum 4 strokes

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

There is a very long build on RCU called the CMP hellcat .The author Dino ...ect is building this plane not the CMP . the post was a major bash and total scale project .
If you see early in the read he will say he bid on ebay and won the plane cheap .
Same with the other guy in the post who joins the build .
There is a slight differance in quality vs CMP but not much , if your willing to tweek some things the value is great

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Hi Jim,

I decided to go with fixed gear. The fixed gear gets the plane higher off the ground. I thought this would be best since I fly from grass and will be swinging a 16 inch prop on my Magnum 120.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Thanks LDM! I agree with your comments. I am about 40% done and have had to tweak a number of things but for the money, I am satisfied so far. I decided to go with the supplied covering. Not sure how it will hold up. It is some kind of clear plastic that was painted. I sprayed 2 cans of Top Flight Clear Luster Coat on top which worked well. I hope it doesn't wrinkle to baldly when I get it out in the sun.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Good luck , keep us posted , I think there a new ARF section of modelers ,
WEBCTTEEK -Yes that is the new name , "we buy cheap to tweek"
I am club pres !!!!:D

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

No.

I have both.

But they are fairly close.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

I have fly model hellcat and I don't like the way it flies.
And it's also very weak and paint chippping out all the time.
Cowl cracks just by engine vibration.
It was $130 shipped and I think "You get what u pay for".
I'll never buy cheap arf again.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Out of curiosity, what does it do wrong and what engine do you have in it.

I was sent one in error, which I got to keep, and yeah it has a bad paint chip problem, so I was going to refinish it.... but now I wonder if this is worth the effort.

I can deal with reinforcements, but what is wrong with it in flight?

Thanks.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

I have saito 120 in it and the power is enough for scale flight.
First I would put saito 150 in it.

My hellcat need lots of down elevator to fly straight which means NOT efficient.
If I give that much down elevator in other name brand arf, it'd do a big loop.

And another problem is, same as another CMP arf I had,
the plane want to go up for throttle up and down when throttle a bit down.
I had to maintain 80% throttle to fly straight all the time.

Please notice that when people talk about cheap ARF, they only talk about
1. price
2. decent workmanship relative to the price
3. how good it looks,
BUT, they don't much talk about how well it flies.

Just my 2 cents..

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

It sounds like this could be easily cured with far more down thrust on the engine.


Good to know.... although not really related to how cheap the plane is.

More related to trimming out the plane properly.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Well, best lesson for you is to experience it.
Go ahead and try the cheap plane and you'll know what I mean.
BTW, my engine thrust line is properly installed.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

No one said it wasn't correct....

It sounds as if the default thrust line is incorrect for the plane, given what you are saying. That it needs far more.

This is good info, given what you said I'm going to add 2 more degrees of downthrust to see if this helps cure the problem.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

That may be true. May be this arf needs far more down thrust than other name-brand arf.
And, This is just one of all issues that this kinda ARF has.
You need lots of experiment to make it fly equivalent as name brand ARFs.
You're basically doing a Quality Assurance and Experiment for them, unlike
name brand ARF companies have their strong R&D team to fix this kinda issues.
The old sayings are ALWAYS right, "You get what you pay for".

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

jrotor, thanks for your description of the plane's flying characteristics. Probably a little more downthrust will help, but basically, this apparantly flies like a scale plane, and full scale planes are trimmed to a particular throttle setting. When the throttle is changed, a new trim is required. I am interested in your experience, as I am interested in this model, also. I appreciate your input.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

IMHO the CMP version is a bit better than the Fly Models plane.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

I've flown and helped build my cousins CMP Hellcat 70" and we followed the CG Specifications as was indicated in the manual. We found the plane to be very tail heavy so we moved everything in the fuse a few centimeters to make her more nose heavy. Took her up and was still tail heavy but was more managable. We added a few oz's of lead onto the firewall and she perked right up.

We used a saito 120 as well.

Good plane for the money.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

jrotor, I have a question about the cowl cracking: is it around the cowl mount screws or elsewhere?

Thanks.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

I have CMP and copies , yes the price is good but if you dont own an incidence meter and you simply trust the way the tail lines up or the main wing then its not in the plane or the price but its in the experience . I read the great post on the $700 skyshark P40 and that builder is experinced to know that in the front wing there should be hard wood for the wing mounts and there is not . So if he did not take the time to install hardwood blocks the wings would tear out .
Unless the plane has major warps , major weight issues ect , the flying is going to come down to the physics involved in the critical elements of incidence , balance , wing loading , lateral balance ect . If you take the time to make sure the critical elements are correct any plane build from a kit or ARF will fly better .

My VQ P40 incertion points in the tail would make the elevator on one side tilt upward , not noticeable to the naked eye but seen with the correct tools .
Current build on the wills hobby seafury has the tail tilting upward when it should be at zero , all corrected with tools . Yes I like a bargain like any other guy but $320 for a Saito 120 , $260 for retracts and the safety of modelers next to me is worth the time to make sure the plane is assembled correctly .

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

LDM do you know what the incidences should be for the CMP Hellcat and the Flymodels/Nitroplanes clone?

Thanks.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

OPJOSE ,I have the flymodles version but did not build it yet , however let me tell you what I do .
First I look for the closest kit of this plane . Skyshark is the only one that I know of(Royal/Byron would be difficult to access ) .Then I look at the manuals and online builds for that plane and see what the suggested elements are and if they have relavace to my plane .
On the willshobby seafury it was easy , the Top Flight Gold edition seafury has the same specs as the wills hobby and the plans can be downloaded on line for free .
IN the case of the hellcat , do a search on Hellcats built on RCU and you will find great info .
hope this helps
Lou

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

I am building the Flymodels Hellcat and just recently mounted my engine (Magnum 120). I am actually concerned that there is to much downthrust. The engine mounting instructions are horrible. They do not comment regarding down or right thrust settings. They also provide the wrong dimension from firewall to engine thrust washer. They tell you 160mm - I set mine at 145mm.

The throttle arm location on the Magnum 120 does not allow you to use the stock throttle servo hole. The throttle arm on the engine puts the throttle pushrod between the top of the tank and just below one of the dowel pin holes in the fuse. Not an ideal location. Any ideas?

I agree regarding the covering. I sprayed mine with two coats of Crystal Clear Luster Kote which helps somewhat but it really does need to be recovered if you want it to look nice.

For me it's a low budget engineering project.

RE: Fly Models Hellcat 120 / AK Models
 

Dubro makes a small inexpensive throttle linkage kit for four strokes (also suitable for 2 strokes) that helps get around obstacles.

The arms are affixed to the engine mount and the throttle is then controlled indirectly via the linkage.

I just installed one on an O.S. 1.20 powered plane to overcome a similiar problem. Works great.