Evidently copies are popping up everywhere of CMP's stuff (and many other popular ARFs from other companies). The F6F copycat is found at http://www.fly-model.com. I am not sure of all that was modified in the copycat, but feel some "corners" were definitely cut if someone can buy it for 80 bucks.....

randy

the two planes are so close to being the same, I find it hard to believe some other company has a mold identical to the CMP hellcat to get in on their "action". On ebay, the helcat pictured on the grass is not the CMP but the one with a "studio" picture and a shot of the rear stab with no covering is the real deal. They are so close that I have to believe that they are made in the same factory and distributed by two different companies.
The only difference I see is the deck of cards sticker missing from one of the arfs. I have been wanting one for a while now and I bought the CMP version from ebay and it went a bit higher than the other brand (I think I paid 125 for mine) but I honestly dont see the difference.

I could be wrong though.
I love hellcats, always have. cant wait to fly this one.

Bossman I think your correct , I do cleary remember an E-Bay seller who had the hellcats . When I checked his profile there were numerouse complaints . One was on the Hellcat and the problem was that there was a wing rib that ran directly thru the wheel well . Cutting the rib to allow the wheels to retract would dangerously weeken the wing .
The seller was not responding or replaceing the wing .

As for me I am close enought to drive to GSP , I bought the real CMP P40 (still in box ) but the quality and value are outstanding . The people in the store were great , bunch of kids that would open all the boxes for a look see . I almost bought the spit because its hanging in the store and it looks great .

Thanks for the advice gehr2box. My flaps are even, but I do notice a bit of slop. And I don't think the factory supplied CA hinges are all that great either. I might replace all hinges. I did not use an incedence meter on the tail surfaces other than formerly reliable "Eyeball". I'll use one now. All other flight controls are solid as a rock. I didn't see any vibration whatsoever of any flight surface, including flaps, during lengthy engine break-in procedures, but that's a lot different than flight conditions.

mine is the # 83 CMP model with nice graphics on the box etc.

When I put mine together I noted that there was a bit of room for error in the horz stab alignment and your description of the maiden flight sounded like there was something seriously wrong somewhere. My flaps had a bit of slop due to the hole for the torque rod being too large. I had to inject some polyurathane glue into mine to get them tight, the hinges seem OK. I'd also check for flaps binding on the ailerons. Coupled with the loose torque rods you could get some unexpected flap movement.

I don't think those things would cause the plane to be slow though. I'm thinking the CG was too far back, and the plane was plowing through the air. I've had this happen and it can be a scary flight to say the least. As long as the stab matches the profile of the fuse I would think it would be close enough to fly decent. Sure, quite a bit of trim might be needed if it's off, but I don't think it would fly as described. I have mine in the front of the range, and I think it could go forward a bit more. If it were in the middle of the range it could be a handful. A poorly matched prop choice just makes everything worse. I'm betting that moving the CG forward and a prop change will do wonders.

My money is also on the CG and an engine related problem, but as out of wack as the described behavior it wouldn't hurt to check all of it out before the next flight.

while we are on this topic, does anyone know the CG value for this plane? Also, the control throws would be appreciated too. My manual does not list these.

From the manual...

CG range:

120-135mm from leading edge as measured at the root.


Control throws:

Aileron 15-20mm each way
Elevator 15-20mm each way
Rudder 25-30mm each way
Flaps 20-35mm

I used maximum control throws. Mine will climb in a knife edge with the rudder at max. Some elevator is needed to keep it straight in the KE. Rolls with max aileron are Ok, but nothing really fast. Elevator seems about perfect. Very little down needed in inverted flight. Mine flys well with the CG at 127mm. Flaps are very effective at 35mm and do not require any significant elevator mixing when the throttle is at about 1/4. Abrupt full elevator input with the CG where I have it will cause a snap. Recovery takes a little less then an one turn.

Yes Hot Rod Todd, I think you're right too. It'll be a while. Next weekend here is supposed to be lousy weather. When I do get the chance to try again, I'll post all changes and the result.... good or bad. Thanks for all your advice gentlemen.

I just received my F6F ARF and it has some wrinkles in the wing covering. For monokote I would use a hair dryer but this is a different covering and painted. Can anyone give me a good method of eliminating these wrinkles?

Thank You for your ideas.
Craig

The covering is just Solartex. You can use an iron set on low to medium heat.

Richard L.

Thank you for the information on the covering.

Craig

Hey guy's. I'm thinking about getting this Hellcat, however the place I fly has a noise limmit of 90bd at 9 feet. What engine do you think will fly this plane and still be that quiet? Any help would be great.
Thanks. Eric.

Four stroke 1.20 with a large prop.

I'm running a magnum 1.20 with a 16x6 and it's pretty quiet. When the mixture is tweaked just right I get some added noise when the prop unloads in the air, but richening the mixture slightly quiets it down with minimal performance impact.

So any 4 stroke will do? I like O.S but have been thinking of a Y.S. Which is quiter. Any idea?

I have a cmp hellcat New in the box , would anyone like to make me an offer for it. Changed my mind about the plane
Lawrence
817-284-5537
[email protected]

Hellcat56, I sent you a pm. Thanks! John

Hi all. I flew the plane 3 more times last weekend with slightly improved results. I move the CG forward of the forward limit by about 1cm. The biggest difference is that I flew with the throttle nearly wide open for most of the flight. Max speed made the plane somewhat stable. Still, even at full speed, the plane was a handful. My ASP 1.20 with a 16 x 6 prop would barely pull the plane over the top of a loop even after a diving entrance. Again, my plane weighs under 12 lbs. Motor RPM's etc. seem perfect. Anyway, I think next I'll install a dummy radial to see if that makes the front end any more aerodynamic. I think I have a big parachute up front? Might be able to fly it again this weekend. Still had some wind last weekend, but only 5-10mph. I have thrust angles set at factory default whatever those angles might be. What should they be? Looking at photos of the plane sitting on the flight line, it visually seems to have an awful lot of down thrust.

Oh yes... one more thing. I'm making my final approach with nearly 50% power (flaps extended). This plane has a lot of drag and really slows down. RichardL, I may use your idea for a dummy engine.

Hey Guys,

I just bought a GSP Hellcat from my LHS. The other night I was trying to figure out what retracts to use, and noticed that there was no mention of a manufacturer on the box or the instruction sheet. How can I tell if this is a GSP kit or one of the knock offs? I would also like to know what Sierra retracts to order for this plane. I have e-mailed Darrell but have not recieved an answer. Could not find the gear listed on his site.

Thanks for any help,
Ron

Don't know what you will get from other motors. The Magnum price is low and the performance is about middle of the road. YS will work, but I would imagine that unless you want unlimited vertical it will be more power then is needed.

Question for anyone that is using the OS91FX in this plane: Does the entire engine fit inside cowl with it mounted sideways?

The September 2003 issue of Model Airplane News put that engine in one in thier test, and I believe it all fit in with no problem. I don't have the issue here with me at work to look at the photos.

I think I have that issue laying around somewhere. I will have to dig it out. Thanks.