I've had my eye on a couple different VQ planes. So, my question is that - How are VQ Models as far as ease of building, quality of contents, etc. ? What are the pros and cons of VQ Models ? Thanks.

TF96

I have the VQ Zero. It's a pretty good looking plane except that it has the long 'strip' ailerons instead of scale ones. It is quite well made for an ARF. It has plastic parts like the wing fairings and wheel wells. These will start to crack and come apart after a year or so, depending on how much use and abuse they get. But you can order new parts to replace them, and almost all ARFs have plastic parts like that.

Where it really shines is how it flies! It is built light and is very easy (for a warbird) to take off and land. I have an Magnum .61 two stroke in mine and it goes like a bat out of heck! I really think it would fly great with a .46, which is what they recommend. Here is a new picture of mine, although I have replaced the wing fairings with balsa ones I built up.

Very Nice ! I was actually considering getting one of their warbirds as my "First Warbird". I've heard about the printed covering they use, some people say it fades really quick, and others say it wrinkles easily, others just don't like VQ at all. What are the pros and cons of the covering ? Thanks.


TF96

The covering is probably the worst feature of the VQ warbirds. Short time in the sun and it will wrinkle, however it does tighten again when out of the sun.

The build quality is not bad for the price and as ho2zoo says, they fly well. Had a zero with a Saito 62 which was a good combination to fly in a scalish kind of manner. Retracts worked OK too once I got them set up.

Crashed the Zero due to what seemed to be a radio problem (honestly!), now have a VQ FW190 ready to go.

Terry

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping to get the Mig-3 as an X-Mas gift. The field I fly off of is grass and is somewhat bumpy and rough, Would you recommend going w/ a fixed gear or retracts ? And does the plane require Standard or High Torque Servos ? The main reason why I like these so much is because I can save some money because I already have several servos, engine, etc. from another plane that would fit in this plane. Thanks Again.


TF96

Flying off grass is tough on any kind of retracts. I would use fixed gear with a little larger wheels if I had to fly from grass. All the VQ .46 sized birds can use standard servos. That what I have in mine. From looking at the pictures on their website it looks like the Mig-3 has the exact same wing as the Zero. It should fly well!

Thanks. Thats the thing with our field, our field isn't the best but, its not the worst. Currently, Al is recruiting members in help to find and fill in some of the holes. Take - Offs are nice and smooth but, if you overshoot on landing you could end up stuck in a hole to the far side of the field. My dad had a Spitfire (he crashed it, and now gave it to me, but I have to do some minor repairs) and the retracts were not damaged and were not the cause of the crash (nose heavy). The retracts worked great on previous flights ; I might keep them down for the first few flights, if I decide to use retracts. Now, that I think about it, the Mig-3 wouldn't be my 1st warbird ; I have the Spitfire and I recently got a L-4 Grasshopper that a fellow modeler plans built before he passed away.

TF96

I fly the VQ Macchi with a 70 4 stroke. I had to replace the retracts when one of them broke. It is a pretty easy plane to fly. Take-offs are straight forward, just make sure it has plenty of speed before you break ground. Landings are nice. Except for the covering, I would recommend it as a first warbird. I use standard servos throughout. I also fly from a grass field, so increase the size of your wheels. There is a good thread here on the VQ Macchi.

I did a RCU search and found numerous VQ warbird threads. I'm starting to like the look of them Macchi's, but, theirs something about a "Red Star" I love. BTW, I know this is a little of topic but do you know of anybody that makes a Polikarpov I-16 ? Thanks.

TF96

Just to let you know, the Mig and the Macchi use the same wing, just different covering.