spiral_72

I'm looking at a Hanger 9 F4U Corsair. The fuselage is glassed. ARF costs $260..... ~60" wingspan.

If I were to build a comparable Corsair from scratch, what do you think the cost would be in wood/glass/covering alone. I'll have to purchase the cowl, canopy and retracts seperate obviously. I don't have plans, but before I go to all the trouble.... It'd be nice to know if it was worth it.

I appreciate any opinions. It'd be a fun build I think and don't mind the time if the savings is worth it.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

You can buy the Top Flite kit for $150 from Tower.

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

kits or scratch builds are not cheaper than arf's....
not these days......

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

Agreed, they are not cheaper, BUT, what about the quality ????

When I build a kit or scratch, I KNOW there is epoxy holding the firewall and LG blocks in place, not hot glue. I KNOW the firewall is made of regular plywood and not lite ply.

ARFs are cheaper, but is it cheaper if the plane falls apart on you ?

aerowoof

it would depend on if you cut the parts yourself or have them lasercut.bob holman used to have a brian taylor corsair around 82" with a glass fuse.for a knock around corsair wing has one to try your hand at but price depends on options wing corsair 200-300 bucks,top flite 300-600 and taylor 600-900

Dorsal

My Feedback: (17)

I have not seen an ARF kit yet that didn't require quite a bit of rework / repair / redesign to get the plane up to reasonable standards for flight. The only reason I buy ARFs is from sheer laziness to build the entire airframe myself, but for the models I really want to show off and fly properly, I will either buy a good kit or scratch build the entire thing myself.
I guess it all depends on each person's personal standards of quality.

Insanemoondoggie

I should finish myTop Flight Corsair ready to fly for about $1000.00 to $1200.00 dollars. minus radio.

firstplaceaviator

My Feedback: (27)

Another thing to consider is scale outline. Are you satisfied with sport scale? Or, do you want an accurate scale outline. Neither the Hanger 9 or the Top Flight have very accurate outlines. If you want a true to scale Corsair, your best options are to scratch build or find an old Royal kit. If I were to build a Top Flite, I would tweek the outline to a more scale appearance. That would also require fabricating a new cowl, as the one in the kit just isn't quite right. The Hanger 9 is a great ARF. They fly beautifully and look great from 10 feet away. However, Monokote on a warbird makes me want to vomit... WWII birds really should glassed and painted. It is the only way to make them look right!
Doug