hey guys,

im wanting to get into scale, and am looking for a world war 2 fighter kit/plans (eg. spitfire, mustang) that is powered by .60 - 1.20 two stroke. any of you guys have any sites?

cheers

gosk8ing,

I would suggest a P-47 Thunderbolt for your first warbird. They fly very well regardless of scale and with the wide-track landing gear the ground handling is also very good. Another advantage of the Jug is the wide variety of color schemes and unit markings available. They were used in several theaters during WWII by the Allies and, as a result, has quite a bit of history behind it.

I had a Top Flite P-47 in .60 size and it was the easiest-to-fly scale plane I have ever owned. Particularly impressive was the slow-speed flight...........this thing would fly at a walk and still maintain full controlability. You may build the flaps for the "wow effect" but it really doesn't need them as it has plenty of wing area and a super efficient airfoil as it is. I used a YS .91AC in mine and it was way too much power. I took off and flew most maneuvers between 1/3 to 3/4 throttle. The large cowl made hiding the engine easy to do, too..........always a good thing!

Hope this helps.

Al

Check out the Top Flite and Skyshark .60 size kits. They all fly well.

Ditto guys

I have a Topflite Jug as well that is massively over weight at almost 14 lbs [sm=eek.gif](my first attempt and glassing a few years back) powered by a 1.20 four stroke it still flies beautifully and low speed stability is amazing. Top flite kits are almost fool proof and easy to build and fly.......i would howver suggest you get some low wing experience under you belt first.

Here's a shot of it in a low slow pass - gear down
Let me know where in Melbourne you are happy for you to give me a call to discuss.


cheers

Alan

hey guys,
thanks for your replys. i have plenty of electric experience including flying a mini katana. i wanted to get into scale, but is too hard to do with electric, so i will have to go to petrol.
the p-47 thunderbolt would prob be the best choice because it is easy to fly, but i dont like the look of it. i wouldnt mind getting the P-40E warhawk, or the spitfire MkIX but dont know how they fly - about to read up on them now. ive heard the spitfire is harder to build, but that should not be much trouble because i have alot of building experience (but only electric and gliders). i would prob need help on the finishing because ive never glassed or spray painted before.
im from narre warren south.

thanks for you help!!!

I don't think you want to get the P-40E next because it's one of the harder warbirds to fly and land. You might want to take a look at the Spit, FW190, and P-51D

Thanks for the info,

Dont know wat model to get so far. i wanted the p-40, but richard said its hard to fly, and the retracts would be hard to make if i custom made them. the best one for flight handling is thunderbolt, but im not a big fan of them.

I wouldnt mind getting the spitfire but i have heard some bad things in reviews. it is very tail heavy, even though the builder built the tail end light. some builders have had to put up to 1lb in the nose to get the right CoG. If you use robart retracts, ive heard that they always collapse, but i have heard that happens with alot of retracts

Any advice on how to keep the plane light, including the tail? I was going to do retracts, flaps and glassing and want to keep it as light as possible, because many viewers said they did all the options, and weighed 11lbs. Ill also prob throw a 91 4 stoke in the front to help with the nose weight.

Cheers

Also another thing guys,

Heres a queston for any spitfire builder out there. The spitfire has a water-cooled engine, so there are no air scoops. How do you get enough cooling for the engine, without ruining the scale effect?

cheers

Sure there are air scoops on the Spit. Your car has a water-cooled engine, yet you still need a big opening in front of the radiator.

You can have a small opening in the front underside of the cowl on the spit.. This is to let air in.. then you need an outlet. I made a duct thru the firewall and then the fuse behinh the cylinder. This duct exits the fuse at the wing leading edge where the oil cooler is located.

You should probably wait to try a warbird and start with a cub or something first to break in your building and finishing skills. Evan if you have built balsa planes before, getting a good scale finish is a lot harder that puting monokote on a sport model where (for me at least) looks arn't a big concern. If you do go with a TF kit DON'T use monokote, I've treid and trust me you won't be happy with it, fiberglass it and paint with automotive paint useing a airbrush or paint gun for the top coat and details, Its a lot more work and it adds weight but the results are well worth it.

You don't like the looks of a Jug??!! Hey, it may not be a beauty queen but this is one great looking hunk of metal! I mean, how can you not like 2,000 horsepower in a seven-ton airframe with eight .50 caliber Brownings that could soak up axis lead like a sponge and still bring its pilot home? It may not have been a pretty ballerina in pink tights but it was definitely the fat lady who sang at many an axis flyers funeral! Read Robert S. Johnson's book, "Thunderbolt", and be prepared to be impressed.

Take one more look at this bird and tell me this isn't beauty on the wing. (Pictures lower down.)

Now, having said all that, I'm a die hard Spitfire lover in every Mark made. A Spitfire is a great flying airplane in both RC and full scale but they both have a tendency to nose-over on the ground. This can be dealt with by tweeking the gear forward a bit and by careful management of the controls. Like the P-47, it has a generous wing area that allows excellent slow-speed flight controllability.

Cooling of the engine is easy enough with some careful ducting of the cool in-coming air and the hot exiting air. Your main problem will be hiding the muffler. This gets easier to do with the larger scales but with a .60-size bird, something is going to hang out somewhere.

Anyway, that's my dos centavos. Just remember that your trainer was butt ugly and you knew that when you bought it. However, after it gave you a little confidence and the thrill of your first loop, it looked a whole lot better, right?

Al

hey,

i agree with you that the thunderbolt does look alright, but only from the side. i dont like the fat fuselage with the short stubby wings look.
The advantages that i see with the thunderbolt are: 1) easier to fly. 2) bigger fuselage for radio gear ect. 3) wide undercarriage base
The only thing thats stoppin me from buying the spitfire is, less engine cooling, more chance to flip, and tail heavy.

This is prob a stupid question, but is it possible to use the oil cooler ram air scoops to run ram air into the engine bay?

I think i should have no problems with building the kit because i have scratch built about 5 electric planes. I think if i take my time, it will show in my final product. Im looking at taking about 1 year to build this, while i get experience in petrol.

cheers

gosk8ing,

Your idea of using the under wing radiators to cool the engine has been done to good effect. However, like the muffler issue, this is more easily acheived on a large scale plane. With a .60-size Spit, you'll be pressed for room as it is for the radio gear and fuel tank.

CJM offered ducting as an option with their 1/5th scale Spit so that one under wing radiator brought cool air to the engine while the other radiator was ducted to remove the hot air from the engine compartment. With the 1/5th scale bird, there was ample room for all this stuff.

There are other ways of cooling your engine but the simplest and most effective means of accomplishing this is to have an opening below the inverted cylinderhead which will be just about flush with the lower cowl anyway. The engine will be easy to service, the glow plug is accessible and your engine will be very happy. The opening won't be as visible as you might think while it is in flight. Besides, hiding your muffler will make this task seem effortless.

Al

Hi All

For a first warbird, one thing I would consider is getting a cheap one , such as a Chinese arf like CMP. This would give you the advantage of not investing a ton of time and money in a ki,t in case you don't like it or crash it. The anxiety factor crashes alot of planes

Also I noticed you mentioned a spitfire model that had 1lb of nose wieght to get CGed. Thats ok, as long as the total weight is not extreme. Its way better than having a light, tail heavy model that may snap on landing.

Just a thought.

Steve

Gosk8ing,
How about the F4U Corsair? With flaps it's an awesome Warbird. No real big difficulties. Top Flite offers a nice one in 60 size and in 1/5th size.

If you want a good looking easy to build Spitfire Mk IX, I suggest that you look at Hacker products example. I have one, it's a 70" span model with a glass fuselage and abachi covered foam wings with the most accurate tip thickness I have seen. My Spit is powered by a Laser 150 four stroke that is totally enclosed within the cowl. The cooling is solved with a hinged hatch just below the spinner, that I can close when the model is static judged. I have made a alu-plate that fits around the cylinder to guide the air to the outlet that is situated below the scale air intake. The outlet is also covered by a spring loaded hatch. I have also fitted my Spit with flaps ( not in the kit). The model tips the scales at 5,2 Kg. I had to put 200 grams of lead in the nose to get the right c of g ( 28% of the root cord). It flies like a dream, with the only problem being the landing. If I don't put her down slowly she gets all over the place due to the narrow landing gear. I include a picture of her.