1)Thanks Lou!

2) [link=http://cgi.ebay.com/Copper-Clad-Laminate-FR-4-062-Thk-50-pcs-2-oz_W0QQitemZ7574968537QQcategoryZ4660QQcmdZViewIte m]Click Here For PC Board![/link]

For 50 sheets that's a really good price! Keep in mind that some sheets have metal on just one side. I use the PC board with no metal on parts that do not need to be soldered. On the Hellcat tail wheel that is the levers.

Dion

CJ retracts made for the .60 size Corsair will not fit this Hellcat. Corsair retracts have short struts due to the inverted gull wing. Hellcat retracts have long struts due to the mid wing design.

I know Richard, CJ will modify gear for you though. I want my struts to be 5 1/2" long from the front of the unit to the axle when retracted.

Yes, CJ can modify the struts to any length you wish.

niiiice stuff. I added a very lightweight Robart retract tailwheel to mine. Like yours muuuch better. Anyway, with the retract tailwheel installed and the 1.20 4-stroke motor mounted at the recommended distance from the firewall, my plane still balances by mearly moving the radio battery. I did mount the throttle servo forward of the firewall though.

Thaaanks iiiat! I think I saw a picture of your tail wheel set up on here, nice work. Anything beats having the tail wheel come off the rudder in my opinion, even if you just make it non-retractable in the scale location. I'm not to worried about the CG on this plane, I know that the nose has been lengthened quite a bit and I'm not going to mess with that, good idea to mount the throttle servo up front. So you didn't even have to have the battery under the engine? I think I'm going to use my trusty Dave Brown feather weight wheels, scaled out of course! I'm adding a full cockpit, but it's very light weight.

I've been working on the wing mostly, did finish construction on the rudder, need to cut into the fin and get the hinge line right.

Marked out the ailerons and cut those out, this is going to be fun because I'm using scale hinging on them. No servo in the wingtips, I'm upgrading to bell-cranks so everything will be hidden. For the flaps they will be hinged with giant robart hinge points on the bottom. The length of the flaps are all wrong, but I just want them to work good and slow the plane down.

You can see that the true size of the elevator is actually bigger than the ones supplied, just have to take an inch off the tip of the stab. I'm using scale hinging on the elevators with a hidden control rod, this is easy to do with PC board material for hinges. I'll post more pictures as I get all this done.

Dion

Look at those Hellcat aileron hinges (full scale), they were cool. Big and bulky, stuck right out in the wind, looked like the rest of the fighter.

I cut the hinges and drilled the appropriate holes. The small hinge part that is attached to the aileron is then tapped out so that a 2.56 bolt can be used to hold the ailerons on.

I used ply hinge guides to make sure I had perfect alignment of the hinges in the aileron while the glue dried. Then you can attach the other end of the hinge and use it to Dremel out the other slot. I glued the ailerons to the wing earlier and sanded them for a perfect fit. Remove them after the hinges are installed.

The hinges are now installed and work great, both form and function, now that’s cool! The pushrod will be attached to the top of the aileron and then a small 1/64� ply strip will be used as a gap filler on the top of the wing.

Anyone have a cool paint scheme they could share? I want to go with the white, intermediate and dark on top.

Dion

Luke the PC board material you use, is it basically G10
with the copper platting on it?

nice Hellcat ARF bash [sm=thumbup.gif]

one not so obviuos question . I think you have the same Hellacat as me -is this the CMP knockoff ? If so now that you have the covering all off and your operating can you tell what you think of the basic structure , any area of concern , from the pics its looks like it was built solid
Thanks
Lou

Yes, this is G10 epoxy with about 2oz coper plating. Very strong stuff! Fun to work with too, you can make and do so many things with it. Glad you like my bash!


Yea Lou, I have the knockoff. I am generally very happy with the internal structure and choice of wood, I am concerned about the glue used though-out and the huge engines that people are using on this thing that is basically a .60 size bird. The sheeting was coming off most ribs or it would pop off very easily and when I pulled the sheeting up off the main spar it was not even glued to it. I'm glad that I stripped the sheeting off and opened up the aileron area because I was able to completely re-glue every rib and all of the main spar. Let's put it this way, I'm only happy with mine because I could re-build it, I would not be comfortable with it otherwise. If you take it easy with the plane and throttle back it will probably fly for a long time, who knows though? Everyone of these is probably different, some more glue some less, I really can't say just looking at one plane.

Dion

I have seen several references to a CMP knockoff here. What brand name is it sold under? Where do you get it? Is it the same or inferior? Is it a "counterfeit" CMP product? I have the Hellcat in the CMP box with the CMP instruction manual, etc. Do I have the real deal or the knockoff?

Thanks Dion , great info !!
Sailr- I got mine on ebay knowing full well of the following (do a search on e-bat under -Nitro/gas powered RC planes - you will see this hellcat on sale , some bids have two days left . There are many sellers including grandebuy-or as we all know them Raidentech
1)It was a knock-off
2)would probably bash it and reinforce everything but who cares , I do that anyway
3)I did not want to pay more then $130 because i can get a CMP for about $170
4)E-bay seller had mixed review
I won the bid for $68 , plus $55 shiiping $3. insurance . these planes cost about $25 to ship , but I figure most e-bay guys build in the differance so they can help buffer the low ball bids .
I was totally happy with the kit . I paid $279 for a 73" CMP P40 , the wrapping and internal protection look exactly the same to me . My guess is that its a private lable knock off so that the CMP would not be breaking its exclusive distribution aggreements with the 5 or 6 guys in the USA .
Remember if you buy this plane on e-bay and its not a CMP be happy with the sheel like Dion has pointed out and be willing to twek the plane and you will have a great model for a good value

Thanks for the info LDM! I did get mine on ebay but quite some time ago. It does say CMP all over it. I paid close to $200 delivered. I am just now going to start the kit and I'm putting electric in it. It will be a test bed for one of my outrunner motors that I manufacture. I'll do a build thread on R/C Scalebuilder. I have two more authentic CMP kits that were sent to me from the factory in China to do an electric conversion online. This is a partnership between CMP and us.

Thanks!
Jim Slaughter
CEO
Hurricane Flight Systems
www.FlyHurricane.com

Another question! For those of you who haven't installed retracts, will the stock wire landing gear hold up? I also have a CMP Focke Wulf and the gear is pretty weak. Any thoughts on this?

The wire gear provided in my kit look plenty stong enough, they look like kind chrome steel and are 13/64" diameter. The plane is only supposed to weight about 9 lbs, not sure what the electric would be though.


Your welcome Lou, like I said if you plan to bash it I think it's great. Excellent quality wood and construction, just bad glue.

do you suse this stuff Luke because its cheaper than G10? what is the advantage
if any because of the copper platting? can you soilder to it?

This one dude on ebay is giving it away, not sure why. The stuff I bought was 100 sheets for $50. It is all epoxy, you can see the weave of the cloth like look in it and it's strong. You are talking about the same stuff, FR4 = G10.


I use the non-plated board for stuff that does not need solder, like the servo arm on my retract tailwheel. Yes it takes solder very well and it holds too, it's really amazing. I could have used the non-plated stuff on my hinges but I only have a limited amount of that and I'm saving it for another project.

Dion

Just ordered my hellcat from raidentech a yesterday,hopefully i wont have problems like some of you guys had with shipping,ive collected everything to build the plane except the retracts and also was wondering if you guys are spraying out of a can?and if so what are you using?Navy blue??i have a sprayer but not sure if its worth the hassle for this plane.

It depends on whether you want to do the early tri-color scheme or the late overall glossy sea blue. There is no Navy Blue on the Hellcat.

Im gonna do the later glossy sea blue(after 1943)i dont know of any cans i can match up to this color does anybody?Guess im gonna have to place a order with nelson hobbies.Thanks Richard.

I have been investigating the available color matches.

I believe that this is the blue that you want:
Testors 3 oz. Spray Dark Sea Blue 15042 (F.S. 15042)

Tower Hobbies Link: [link]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHG69&P=7[/link]

regards.

Terry

Rustoleum has a nice dark, almost, insignia blue.

Insignia Blue is slightly lighter and too blue. Dark Sea Blue has a tint of green/gray in it.

Will this plane fly with a 91 4 stroke and robart gear , I have an extra set of Robarts because I prefer CJ so I figured I would try to use them

bossman, try ak-models.com for your zero. alix has all the c m p kits on hand, and prices are good. mike