Daryl_y

I am eying Skysharks Hellcat as my first warbird project for several reasons:

It looks Cool, plus John Wayne flew in in the Flying Leather Necks

Everybody says Skyshark kits are top notch so I am figuring the building should not go much slower than a regular old sport plane.

Its small size 501 sq in wing area will fit easily in my car and should also make it competive in the silver class warbird racing ( smallest wing area allowed in silver class is 500 sq in. Just to keep it simple (and light) I am tempted not to install retracts. If I choose not to compete with this plane I will prob power it with a ST 51
The Silver class rules allow me to go up to a .90 (because its a radial cowled plane) but I would think a .60 would be good enough

My main concern is who well this model flies is short fat body stuby semi-gull shaped wings will prob make for tough take-offs and bad stall habits.

Hellcat716

My Feedback: (2)

The airplane flies great. Just be easy on the throttle on takeoff. Right rudder is a must.

Daryl_y

nicely done, what size engine are you using and what is your airplane finished with? (appears to be monokote )

Hellcat716

My Feedback: (2)

Supertiger 61 and finished in monokote.

Helcat

Daryl_y,
The SkyShark Hellcat was a fun build and it fly’s great. You can see the video of the maiden flight on my web site as well as other photos of the plane. http://www.pencenaround.com/rc/f6f/f6f_hc.cfm

Covering:
The whole plane was sealed with Zinsser Bulls Eye Seal Coat ( sanding sealer). I covered it with Sig Silkspan medium weight tissue and used 2 coats of Minwax water base Poly-C. Sanding it between coats.
Paint:
I put two coats of primer (plasti-kote spot filler & primer). Both coats were sanded off where just the low spots were left. I had 1/72 scale drawings from the F6F Hellcat in detail & scale book and enlarged them to the correct size and used them as a guide for the panel lines. I used a soft lead drawing pencil to draw the panel lines on the plane, then I applied 1/64� chart tape over the pencil lines. I then applied two more coats of primer. Once the primer was almost dry, I removed the tape. Then I lightly wet sanded it with 600 grit sandpaper. I used Glidden Endurance Exterior Latex Satin House Paint. I had the paint custom mixed for the three colors. I used a detailed air gun for the large areas and then used an air brush to feather the colors together. I then sprayed two coats of Nelson Flat clear to fuel proof it.
Engine:
The plane flies great with the Saito 72. At half throttle it is very scale flying, more than enough power. The engine fits totally inside the cowl including the stock muffler. I had to cut the threaded shaft that goes into the engine and muffler about in half to get the muffler to fit with out touching the inside of the cowl. Because I used a Saito 72, I had to add about 10 ounces of lead to the engine mount to help balance it. The Saito is lighter than OS and Magnum engines. I also had to place the battery against the inside of the firewall. War birds don’t have a lot of fuse in front of the wing so they are somewhat tail heavy.
Retracts:
I used Robart rotating 615’s per SkyShark’s recommendation. SkyShark said that the Robart’s were the only pneumatic retracts that would work. I don’t like the Robart’s 615 retract. They changed the lift levers to a lighter weight material and if you come in with a hard landing, they will collapse. The replacements for these are $12.50 a pair. I also have the Robart Robo Struts. They seem to help on those not so smooth landings without bending the lift leavers.
Mine came out at 8 lbs 5 oz. Still a bit heavy for this size plane but I like the way it handles on the ground and in the air. It flies like it is on rails.
Modifications I did:
I made access panels for the remote fueler, power switch and air connector for the air retracts. I also changed the rudder and elevator control rod connections. Instead of having them exit out the sides (It doesn’t look very scale) I have them inside the fuse. I used a wheel collar on the elevator connecting rod with a 4-40 threaded rod about ½� long. I used a single tabbed connector to connect the control rod. I did the same with the rudder. The ABS cone that they supply wasn’t very good so I took a block of balsa wood and carved my own cone. I had to hollow out the inside so the connectors wouldn’t interfere when they moved. This sounds complicated, but it was easy to do and you don’t see the control rods. I have an access panel so I can get in there to make any adjustments. Also the cone is held in place with four screws.
I know that this is a long explanation but, it might help.
If you need any more (or less) information, let me know. I’d be happy to help.

Mike

w0mbat

My Feedback: (1)

Just a note of interest - the new Sierra Preceision retracts drop right into the Hellcat without modification. They are really heavy duty, good quality retracts that operate flawlessly.

Mike Grey
Skyshark R/C

Chevelle

My Feedback: (2)

Hiya Mike. I was wondering if you were going to show up to answer this post!

Chevelle (Bob)

Daryl_y

Mike beautiful Hellcat on the first picture on the left your hellcat is indistinguishable from the full-scale. You also have a very informative website that I am sure will be a great help to me when I start this project hopefully in about a month or so. I have a plane that I just stated on ( a lanier shrike 40 ) that I need to finish since I lack the space and memory required to work on more than one plane at a time. Unfortunately since I relatively new to the hobby I currently lack the tools to do any kind of real paint work. So I will likely use some from of Iron on covering prob monokote because of the flat scale like colors. I was planning on this being great practice for a future all-out scale effort. Nice videos on your website all of your maiden flights are not that good are they??

Helcat

Chevelle,
Good to hear from ya!
You missed a good Freeze-In. The turn out was about the same as the open house. Several Heli and planes showed up. Weather was a bit nippy (32 degrees) and the wind was brisk ( 10 -15/20) but... The flying was good as well as the hot chili.

Sorry you had to deal with that 60 degree day down there. LOL

Any updates on your build???

Helcat

Daryl_y,
Glad the info was of some help.
Most of my maiden flights are good. I had one not so good one with my Giles 202. Take off went well, triming it out went well, landing... that didn't go so well. The landing gear ripped off on landing. Not much damage to the plane but a lesson well learned. Always, always tighten and use lock tite on the screws that hold the gear on the fuse! LOL

Chevelle

My Feedback: (2)

I've made progress but haven't had the time to do much posting. I will in a few days. Give my best to the rest of the gang.