SIX GUNS

Sonny : is this a epoxy fuse or a polyester fuse ??? and do you know the difference between (robing and matting glass) it will make a difference
on how you use it

Jim

Toprcmodel

It has a scale removable cockpit it is two piece wing, very easy to be built !

Moggy

My Feedback: (9)

Lost my YA Spit last week. Came out of a right bank then flew straight and level when the aircraft started getting squirly, three dips and then no control. Wreckage was a total loss. Batteries were good, switches good, transmitter voltage good, no ignition to go bad, so I'm scratching my head as to why. It's like losing your dog and coming home with an empty collar. This was ot the maiden, a week before it flew all weekend at an event. TX was Futaba 2.4 8TF. It was like the old days when someone would turn on a TX that was on the same channel and shoot you down.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Wow. Sorry to hear that Moggy!

jet22b

Jim;
I Think the fuse is polyester!! The walls have a lot of flex in them!!! I can almost twist the fuse near the tail. Its to bad we don't live close so you can see the fuse. It look just like the fuse that was on the Great Plane Sea Wind float plane. Plus looking inside the fuse, I don't see a lot of loose fiber. The cloth I will be using, come from www.thayercraft.com Light weight at 0.73 0z/Sq yd. Plain weave. The finish is CS-256 Silane. I have done matting before, but, not robing. Looking more at the fuse, I hope I don't have a problem with flexing.
Sonny
aka
jet22b

jet22b

Moggy;
Sorry to hear about your lost. I have now lost 2 model flying 2.4gz and I think there are problem with this system.
Winter time is coming, so you can build for next year!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

jet22b

Jim;
Today I took the fuse to a good friend of mines, who do a lot of glass work and found out it is a epoxy fuse with a thin cloth.
Sonny
aka
jet22b

oldtimer4759

A few more build ideas for the ESM Spitfire,
to get the spinner / cowl / fuselage lined up, I pre fit the cowl to the fuselage, then sit the fuselage on its tail up against a bench, (before you fit the rudder) sit the engine on its mounts in place on the firewall, fit the cowl over it, sit the spinner back plate in place then move the engine around until it lines up, carefully remove the cowl, mark and drill the engine mounting points.

To get the wing dowels lined up, work out where you want them on the fuselage wing saddle side, then I drill a small hole about 1/8 inch right through into the back of the engine bay area, sit the wing in place on the fuselage, mark the leading edge of the wing with a piece of thin wire back through the holes,

if you have the right size drill that is long enough, drill through from the wing saddle side into the engine bay, then fit the wing in place and drill back into the wing from the engine bay area,

re the canopy and wheel wells, dont try and cut them with sissors, they will crack, can be done in hot water, but I have found it is best to use a cutting disc on a Dremmel.
The hinges that come with the kit are not the best, if you can get them use Sig Easy Hinges, or something else.
Oldtimer. Spitfire Brotherhood. 187

jet22b

oldtimer4759,
Thanks so much for the build input and please post more if you have any!!! I am starting the fuse build first and what you have posted will be a big help.
One quick question, did you do any glassing in the and firewall area??
Thanks again!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

tevans55

Sonny
At the least go around the inside edge of the firewall with fiberglass with about an inch on either side of the firewall edge. If you use blind nuts for your engine mounts put a little epoxy around the edges of those also. This plane needs a fair amount of nose weight so go after that firewall with gusto! While you are at it put fiberglass around your gear mounts and the ribs in the wheel well area. You're building a fun plane to fly!
Tim

oldtimer4759

G'day Sonny,
yes I did, from the hole in the middle of the firewall almost back to the first fuselage former, I cut strips of medium weight glass about 1in x 3in, I put the first layer in starting in the middle then the second layer starts just inside the engine mount holes. be sure to check the first fuselage former, mine was loose. I think the incidence of the wing / tail is out a bit as well, if you can mount your tail plane slightly nose up, I had to use a noticeable amount of down trim to fly level, plus quite a bit of left aileron trim was needed, my ESM P-51 is the same. work on a CofG of 95mm back from the wing join. my fuselage looks straight, but with the wing sitting in its place the measurements are not the same, about 15mm from tip of the aileron to the tail.
Oldtimer. Spitfire Brotherhood, #187

tevans55

Sonny-
Something else I just thought of...I mixed up some epoxy and thinned it with alcohol and added a little paint and painted my wheel wells instead of using the plastic inserts. Just my opinion but I think it looks a little more scale and adds overall stiffness to that area of the wing. I used a RAF interior green if I remember correctly. Most of the wheel well is covered up by the gear door in the air anyway.

tevans55

If you look really close you can see I hid my switch in the back of the wheel well on my first ESM Spitfire. I like to hide my switches whenever possible. This spitfire was my best flyer until it was taken out when I hit a bird. I think 2 birds were lost that day. We were both at fault since neither of us had a spotter!

jet22b

oldtimer4759,
Thanks for the answer!! I will glass mines!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

jet22b

Tim;
Thank you for your input. I was in the shop today and had a very good look inside the fuse with a small work light and I did not like what I saw!! A lot of the fuse bulkheads have next to no glue around them. Tomorrow off to the art shop to get some long handle paint brushes and use 30 min epoxy to fill the spaces in!!
Thanks again for the info and what gears system did you install in your Spit??
Sonny
aka
jet22b

tevans55

I have the prototype gear made by Century Jet. They have been very stout for 3 years now. For an additional $79 they will convert them to electric. I may do that in the near future. I also set up my air system on the wing so that I don't have to employ any connectors for the air supply. Hope this helps.

Jim Branaum

My Feedback: (3)

Once in a while I just go to the gun shop and buy 5 pounds of birdshot and use it with epoxy as needed. Lead weighs more than steel.

For a very few applications ( like old-timer's inverted engine ) I build a wooden form and use a torch and tin can to melt lead and pour into the form. That is only used when I need to get a lot of weight very far forward because of a known tail-heavy issue.

Phantom pty

Hi Guys

I am Phantom Pty reporting from Panama y Central America, been away from the field for almost 3 years,
Always fascinated by the Spitfire I have been following this thread for over a year now, finally decided to make a comeback, and what a better way than with a Spitfire to FIRE things up..

Just Received my Durafly Spitfire last Saturday, its a beautiful Electric Kit 1100 mm Wingspan 970 Length for starters, so far I am thrilled with the Level of Scale combined with high quality construction and finish.

Its my first Electric model ever and my first Spitfire so I am really looking forward get it on the air soon.

I would like to be part of the Brotherhood.

Tony Iannucelli

My Feedback: (193)

I lost a plane a few days ago the same way Moggy, but I traced it to a low battery UNDER LOAD. It read 5.1 (four cell) when I took off, 4.3 after a seven minute flight. Went to fail safe on landing.... leveled off, lowered throttle all the way on the downwind leg of final. If I had turned on final it would have landed by itself. I know I didn't charge long enough before flying for the day. BUT, it wasn't my Spitfire!

Moggy

My Feedback: (9)

Thanks guys, I checked the batts after the crash and they were good. Somehow I lost the bind and it was very early in the flight

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

I'm not familiar with an 8TF? It's not listed on the Futaba web site either....did you mean 8FG?

KaP2011

My Feedback: (17)

Not intending to start a debate here but are you using a Spectrum by chance? The reason I ask is that a friend of mine had a problem with his radio losing bind. His was one of the early DX6 radios, turned out that the battery contacts were losing contact in the transmitter.

Moggy

My Feedback: (9)

8FG sorry for the confusion I guess I'm still in shock. What gets me is that I flew the Pee Pee out of it at a meet just a week before. I salvaged the G62, retracts, and servos and receiver (Not that I would ever trust the receiver again) so I will build another over the winter.

jet22b

Up Dates Brothers;
Well I laid some glass today in the nose of the Spitfire. As you can see in the pictures, it look much better in there, but I am not finish.
I will let this cure overnight and do it again tomorrow. Before I put glass in the nose. I mix 30 min epoxy and work it around the firewall and let it dry over night. ( This was done on Monday. ) I put glass just before the C.G
I did work glass around all bulkhead that hold the servo tray and the tank bulkhead, as there is not much glue holding them in place. I got to find so way to do the other bulkhead in the fuse.
Stay tune for more updates to come!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

tevans55

Sonny-
That looks great. You have strengthened the front of the plane substantially.