RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Ah, Timothy,

how is it that you call working on another model "taking a break" from the model you are working on now?

Taking a break for me is watching TV with my wife or riding my motorcycle! [sm=50_50.gif]

Well, anyway, keep up the good work! :)

Tim

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I see what you mean about reversing the axle to eliminate the need for a collar. I now have that option although I have already ground a collar which has worked out fine. The cap now fits. Thanks.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

because airplanes are my life. next to my family! I work to feed and take care of them then airplanes. We dont go anywhere my wife is disabled so I can afford this hobby. I dont own snowmobiles 4 wheelers and just an airplane van. I dont mean to make it sound im glad shes disabled im not. Id trade all of it for her to be healthy!!! But ive got to stay sane . Every plane I build is like a history lesson. You learn about construction. Did you know a p-47s wing was held on by 4 pins on each side and that is all!

is my lady decal on its way

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

what do you do about the lady decal, the color is so light that it fades onto the colors of the plane, or is that the way it should be? I thought it owuld be brighter.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

tim said they sent the wrong decal sheet with no white background hes sending me a new decal. it looks faded doesnt it

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I call TF about the decal and they are sending me a new set also.

I also ordered the set from Horizon for the Hanger-9 25 "Mitch The Witch".

Don

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

i got a new set and still no girl pm krproton hell make sure you get what you want

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Thanks Tim. I'll give him a scream.

Don

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

You make it sound like the electric motors will never fail. You will have a very rude awakening someday. Nothing is 100% guranteed not to fail. I have seen twin electrics go down just like planes with nitro engines. At least the nitro engines have a great sound to them. This plane just isn't right flying quiet. Were they quiet in the war?

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

They were times when they probably wish the heck they had quite engines!!!!

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

this isnt turning into a flame war you do what you want and ill do my thing. I like the fact there is no mess and scale detailing is much better. yes ive lost a motor on my 310 last year a wire came loose. i dead sticked her in. The problem is fly the plane and not panic or overcontrol. electric is the future like it or not and the chance of a nichrome plug element going out is greater than an e problem esp. if you take care of the batts and the system.


have you heard the new sound systems that work on throttle settings very real. screaming glow engines dont sound right either. they record the sound of the exact plane you are working on. i am running opto escs so i have a seperate rx batt to run the servos if i lose the motors i dead stick in. not difficult if you know what your doing. take off is the one time any twin would go in if you lost power unless you got the nose down and went straight ahead

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Mike,
I have a pair of almost new Saito 72s. My aircraft will have the Robart retracts and not much else added. I 'thought' that since the prototype flew on the OS 70s that I would be just about the same with the Saitos. Do you have any thoughts?

I notice the scale spinners on some of the pictures. Where and what part are these?

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hi there Tim!

In point of fact, a lot of airplanes have only four bolts holding their wings on. A lot of general aviation. For example, I helped out with a rebuild of a Piper 140 and discovered that fact.

As for the B-25, I am surprise that I didn't even think to check the ARF forum until now for a TF B-25 thread. I've been checking the Twin and Warbird forums for anything on the TF B-25. Bombay, cockpit, etc details all look great. Keep up the great work. My B-25 still sits in its box taking up the couch in the living room (one of the benefits of being a bachlor and able to use yoru entire house as a workshop).

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Have fun trying to clean the oil off this plane, escpecially inside the wheel wells!

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Cleaning off oily exhaust residue isn't TOO big of a deal--I'm running O.S. .70 Surpases and the only parts that get oil are the gear doors and part of the nacelles on the exhaust side--the other doors and the rest ot the nacelles don't get much oil on them. And I don't get any oil inside the nacelles. However, if flying (or taxiing) over grass, the propeller will deposit lots of grass fragments on the sides of the fuse and on the inside of the nose gear door.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I fly on a polo field where they cut the grass like every day. I always have little mounds of grass in my car from the clippings that fall out of my wheel pants. I know I am going to have to use my compressor to blow the grass out!
By the way Tim, nice article in Sport Flyer on the electric VenusII. I just submitted an article to them about a Hirobo CH-47 Chinook I converted to electric power.
Mike

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I'm not getting involved in this glow vs e-power thing!!! I am just not getting involved because my opinion is only favorable to glow engine.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Different strokes for different folks!

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

That is right Mike, In my case it is 2 strokes or 4 strokes! One thing I know we all like this hobby... al lot.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I had a feeling you would say something like that. That's what makes this such a great hobby. We all have the same interest in aviation right down to a particular aircraft, but there are many different ways of constructing and powering our models. In the end we will all be standing with a transmitter in our hands watching our B-25s fly with big smiles on our faces!

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

thats right but the way he said it wasnt really nice. ive been glow my entire rc career and had to endure the mess and the finger cuts ect! with e power just plug in the batts and fly . The sound generated by the prop tips is impressive. I started my engines witha smaller pack and had the bookshelf about to blow over.that was 3s imaging fully charged 6s 2P thats 10,000mah id blow a wall down.
Hey you can find a wife like mine that lets me use the entire house as a workshop. She says she knows where im at and even helps me hold the mag lite so i can see. Wait till she has to rivit the thing (she doesnt know this yet) She has no interest in flying but lets me do my thing. Go back a few pages and i posted her pic and my daughter and her hubby who just got a promotion from the army. They will be up here on the 24th

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

You are a lucky man Tim! By the way I'm with you on the electric thing. Once you go to electric theres no going back, but I can understand that some people like their glow engines. Someone has to keep Saito and OS in business.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Tim,

I have decided to put a modified bomb bay in mine so I have 2 questions.

Did your front cut for the bomb bay hit the location of the nose wheel servo?

Second, In your post #134, picture #2 (view of rear fuslage after cut)
Can you give me the dimension from the center at the bottom to the top of your cut ( the area you removed)
Trying to find out how DEEP a peice has to be removed.

Thanks
Don

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

god i just tore out the servo holder and put a new one in thru the cockpit i have some pics here for you. the radio is the one i got for 100 cause the man died. i still feel bad its a futaba FP-7UAF SUPER can anyone tell me how old this is and where i can get a programming manual.
forst pic is my scale radio stack second shows servos the first up by the bulkhead operates the bay the second is the nose steering. DO NOT USE THAT BRAIDED CABLE GET SOME DIAL CORD FROM A OLD RADIO REPAIR SHOP AS IT WONT HANG UP ON RETRACTION

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

ok i looked at the pic. what i did was measure the area of the bomb bay and surround that in 3 layers of blue masking tape, the end cuts were made using a zona saw and the long side cuts were with a SHARP 11 blade. Now a used a smaller saw to cut through the formers and it fell out just like that. I didnt modify that pic. Use a torpedo level and find out where you need to shim for a flat floor ill pm you my number call me and ill talk you through this

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I FOUND THE RADIO MANUAL ON A PDF FILE AND HAVE IT. I WOULD STILL LIKE TO KNOW THE YEAR OF MANUFACTURE

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Tim, You can download the manual from Futabas website. later Jon

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

what pipe did you use for the muffler.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

no muffler e power

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Tim - beat098 was asking normandouellette about the muffler not you. We know e power uses no muffler. That's why e-power doesn't sound as nice as a couple of good 4 strokes on a great bird like this;):)

krproton - when is Top Flite coming out with their ARC version of this plane like they did with the Giant Mustang? I want to do some kitbashing without taking the time to remove all that covering and paint.

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hello Beat098,

The pipes I used are the 30 degree angle pipes that comes stock with the engine and cut it 1/4 inch out of the cowl in a 45 to follow the round of the cowl. If you do that you have to install the fuel pump. The VP30's only will work. Use the crankcase vent to activate the pump and make a t to drain the crankcase. Ask me some more if you need guidance on how to do this. You may look in previous postings around page 20 or so...Sorry just landed here. You may see how I set up the pumps and the pipe. It makes a neat job (messy when it works but the clean up is all worthed)

Normand

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hi "ifly."

ARC version of the B-25? Hey, I hear ya. I wish we would do one, but right now, I don't know of any plans to do so. What may help is if the company felt there would be enough demand for it. You need to contact Top Flite and let your feelings be known. You could write a letter, send an email, tell them in-person at a trade show or flying event, etc. If they heard from enough people that might do the trick.

I don't know, maybe you could start a thread with one of those polls asking how many would be interested in an ARC B-25.

I think some of the resistance comes from the additional spare parts we would have to carry in our inventory--first you have all the spares for the ARF version, then you have to double it for the ARC version. Seems like you (we) could do a one-time run where it's announced that no ARC spare parts would be available--if you had a crash and needed an outer wing panel or a horizontal stab for your ARC, you would have to buy the ARF one with the olive and gray MonoKote.

I can make that suggestion, but don't hold your breath.

But hey, we can try!

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

I have already emailed them about this and called. They told me the same thing you did that there were no plans for an ARC version [&o]. I was hoping you would have more current information and say "Yes, they are coming out with an ARC version of this plane!". Well, maybe they'll change their minds. I wouldn't be getting it for six months anyway because I have other projects in the works. But I was hoping ...

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hi all,

I just received mine today ! Very nice for christmas !
But I would like to have more info about the recommanded retracts at Tower Hobbies.
What is the diameter of the legs ? 3/16 ? More ?
I saw in the thread that someone break to leading retract. Does it happen to someone else ?

I think, 3/16 is good for 5 kilogram aicraft. But for a heavier one, it should be more.
Does anyone tried the Eurokit retracts ? One can ask them to drill the holes of the retracts for any diameter.

In my club, the runway is path of grass.

Thanks for any advice.
ML

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

have you heard outrunners with prop noise. sounds great also dont forget digital sound systems. Glow is messy and cranky. I should know i had all glow and when axis came out I converted all over to e . Only gas planes are my large zenoahs as they start every time and a stearman and lancair with saitos that run ok. I have a p-47 with a saito 80 and it takes forever to start . Once it does it runs very well at all power setting. But think of going to a field and just plugging a batt. NO cowl holes or ugly mufflers.

rc ken stated in the beginning this wasnt going to be a debate lets keep it that way. To each his own

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hi again "ifly."
When I get back to work after the first of the year I promise to contact the product manager and plead with him to do a one-time run of ARCs. I don't have much more influence than you, the customer, because it all comes down to what they think the demand will be. But hey, I'll try!

I think high-end warbirds like these warrant ARC versions because "high-end" modelers such as your self prefer their own finish and variety.

We'll see...

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

krproton -Mike,

You missed this so I am posting it again: I have a pair of almost new Saito 72s. My aircraft will have the Robart retracts and will have no additions to the stock plane.

Since the prototype flew on the OS 70s, would I get about the same performance with the Saito 72s or do I need something more?
_____________________________

Cheers,
Craig

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hi Craig!
Sorry I missed your previous post.

I don't know anything about those Satos, except for their reputation, which I think is pretty darn good! If I'm correct, those Saitos will fly your B-25 wonderfully--just as do the O.S. .70s. Read up on my earlier posts in this thread. I also posted in another, much earlier B-25 thread started by someone else, about how my B-25 flies with the O.S. .70s. I don't see why it would fly any differently with your Saitos. I would suggest starting with 2-blade props though. I think they will provide a tad more thrust. When you get complete confidence in your engines and know how the plane handles, you could sacrifice a bit of flight performance for a much better appearance on the ground, when the engines are not running, with 3-blade propellers.

I didn't break in my O.S.'s on a stand--just ran a few tanks on the plane with the cowls off so I could easily make all adjustments. Then another tank with the cowls on. After you have complete confidence in the engines and get them tuned the way you like, you should be good-to-go. Some will probably recommend breaking in on a stand. Can't argue against that either.

Keep us updated!

Tim

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

Hello Skubacb

Here is some information that can help you. (tech data published)

OS 70 surpass 1.1 hp best prop 13 x 7 apc 2 blade. 12 x 6 to 8 pitch MAS for 8500rpm
Saito FA72 1.4 hp, best prop 13 x 7 apc 2 blade. 12 x 6 to 8 pitch MAS for 9000rpm
Saito FA82 1.6 HP best prop 13 x8 apc 2 blade. 12 x 8 pitch MAS for 9500rpm

I ly this plane with Saito 82's and it is very well powered, not overpowered but knocking at the overpower door. The saito 72 is most certainly a good choice, if you have them. My Opinion with Saito is why don't you get the most power out of a mold? In the small cylinder engine you have the 72 and 82 are the exact same dimensions, why not get the best out of it? Same with the 91, 100 and 125. Why would you settle for 1.6 hp with the 91 while you can get 2.2hp from the 125 for the same size. Again with the 56 and 62, get the 62!

The 72's will power this plane perfectly. I would fly it with a pair of 12 x 8 APC props 2 blades and later do like Krproton says when you are familiar with the plane you go with 12 x 6 MAS 3 blade for no more then 10000 rpm or 12 x 8 MAS 3 blades if you exceed 10000 rpm with 12 x 6 MAS 3e blades.

You will likely exceed the performance from an OS 70 surpass.

This plane is great for engine choices and if i rebuild it , I'm going with the OS 70 Surpass with pump / Saito Fa100T (twin cylinter flat0

RE: Top Flite B-25 ARF (Tecnical, tips, suggestions)
 

All,

Perhaps my last post was missed.
So nobody else have issue with the retracts. The 3/16 wire is strong enough ? The broken one I saw in this thread is the only one ?

Is it possible on the Robart retracts to drill a bigger hole if necessary ?

Thanks.
Best regards
ML