JS615

I have this arf coming from ak-models in a few days,, i see that you guys dont like the spinner, are these things exploding while at high rpm??? and also what would be a good set of retracts for this plane where i dont have to modify the rails, move them etc, etc,, i just want to drop them in.... i am also using a saito 180.. so what prop size would you guys recommend??

SCALECRAFT

My Feedback: (13)

snappa


Pic of the air retract support equipment. Filler valve on the bottom.

With a massive alum tube in this section of the wing, the wood serves almost no purpose. I have no alum in my other wings and less sheeting in the center section and have never had a failure of the wing.

Retracts. I have two sets of wings. I am using Century Jets that would drop right in with a bit of dremel grinding, but I have changed the mount locations. And Spring Airs in a Factory CMP wing with a little Dremel grinding due to the rails being to tight on the retract frame.

Any standard retract will work if you have a bit of history on retract installation.




Steve

kahloq

If you dont want to modify/move the rails, then the best set for the job is the Sierra Giant gear made specifically for this plane. I ahve them and they fit just right.

For a prop for the 180, well, for a 2 blade, a 17x8 should work well.

NoFlaps

My Feedback: (131)

Scalecraft...Is that the VQ .60 hurricane with an RCV 90 on it ?
How do you rate that plane ?

Hot Rod Todd

My Feedback: (1)

I have a VQ .60 size Hurricane. It flies fine and is a pretty nice plane. I stuck some Robart mechanical retracts on mine. Legs are a bit close together. Not as good a deal as the CMP 109 though.

NoFlaps

My Feedback: (131)

Excellent pics! I'm not trying to bust up the CMP 109 thread...but I couldn't resist when I saw the urricane in the pic.
I've ordered my 109....
time will only tell now.

snappa

here is my solutions to the spinner 1 my setup was a ASP180, APC 18*6 prop and the trusty spinner...... 1 (engine mounts) throw away the one that comes with the plane, it will only end in tears if you try to use it as its too flexible hard mount it in a fassion like I have shown a few pages back......2 Prop the APC has a large hollow section on the back of it, this plays havoc with the spinner so you need to fill it with epoxy putty, but here is the trick as you do it bolt the spinner motor and prop together hard before it sets, this will put some groves into the putty in the corect place for grip on the spinner, you have to be accurate with this, then ballance the prop using the velcro method and do the same to the spinner if you dont fill the back of the prop the contact point on the back is very small and will cause it to snap........ 3 spinner screws CHUCK THEM IN THE BIN they are very soft and will break, get some cap screws m3*10-12mm

mmontella

My Feedback: (36)

Great to see lots of build hints and mods, but I have not seen too many flight reports. Has anyone actually got one in the air yet?

MM

SCALECRAFT

My Feedback: (13)

NoFlaps

RCV 120. with a 3 blade 16X7-13. Have not flow it with the 3 blade yet. Plan to try it out on the same day with the 109 flight.

The VQ Hurricane .60 (apox 64"span) size is very impressive for what it is. Good shape on the fuse, good cowl and spinner (same as B Taylor cowl and spinner) I would rate it good enough to own, I guess. The covering is again self adhesive type shelf paper. Entire wing is sheeted balsa. Some real Solartex would be nice on the fabric sections.

The down side is the ply wood is the cheap stuff like the Home Depot Luan door skin stuff. It appears the RCV 120 will find every weak spot on an air frame, it has a bit of a vibration.

The VQ is an experiment to configure a nice 3 blade system to ultimately put in an all composite 61" span 109F I have. Not nearly finished unfortunately.

Steve

kahloq

Yes there a couple of ppl that have flown them and flight reports were posted several pages back....but...the majority of ppl that have the plane have yet to fly it simply because of weather. The plane was not released until middle of Sept and a lot of ppl ran out of flying weather before they(including me) could finish the plane.

kahloq

Had that happen with my backplate...two of the stock screws broke in half and I had to drill them out from the back side of the backplate. Instead of the m3*10-12mm cap screws, I highly recommend dubro #4 x 3/4" SOCKET head screws. These allow you to get a larger diameter ball driver on the head of the screw to tighten it down better and they fit perfectly in the screw holes of the spinner and the backplate.

kahloq

BTW....I weighed my plane today. Ready to fly, its 17 pounds. Holly molly! I was stunned as my KMP ME-109 only weighs 13.8 pounds. Of course, the two 5s 4900mah packs weigh 2 pounds 12 oz alone which is weight that isnt in a glow plane(although glow fuel would amount to about half that weight). She's definitely gonna need the flaps to slow down and maintain adequate lift for landing.

I was kinda hoping my scale was actually off some...since i used a bathroom scale with me on it first to get base weight and then me holding the plane on the scale. But, difference was 17 pounds so its probably close to accurate. Nuts!!

SCALECRAFT

My Feedback: (13)

kahlog

Wow, thats around 4lbs more than mine. Oh, your is electric, correct?

Steve

kahloq

Yeah, but 4 pounds seems awfully high. My motor is definitely lighter then a glow motor so it doesnt make any sense why my plane weighs that much. I did not add any dead weight. I placed 2 or 3 rx type batteries right up behind the motor for balance reasons(2 x 2700mah 6v rx batteries for the plane and then one 1500mah 6v battery to power the JR matchbox controlled 4 flap servos. I did this to keep a massive load of current from going through the receiver itself if it had to power all 12 digital servos in the plane.
Anyhow....Im stumped why it weighs that much even for an electric. However, a buddies electric H9 80" P-51 weighs 20 pounds so i guess its about right. Man, I better be careful about making steep banking turns LOL...just like the real plane...flew heavy...but in the right hands could actually outturn a P-51. But, 9 times out of 10, the ME-109 pilot wasnt skilled enough to do it....hence why the P-51 was normally attributed as being a better aircraft(I dont really agree with that technically...but it was when an inexperienced pilot is in the ME-109)

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

snappa , are you filling your spinner ?sorry I am confused on the upgrade

kahloq

Ive balanced the plane slightly ahead of the manuals CG listing to be safe. The forward range of the manual says 112mm. I put mine at 108mm, but tis gonna be awile before she gets a chance to fly.

snappa

If you look at the spinner you can see a raised grip area on both sides for the motor and prop to bite into, then look at the prop you can see how little contact the knurled "grip" made ,what I did was fill the cavity on the back of the prop like I stated above giving full contact between the prop and spinner

kahloq

Its not a big issue when using an electric motor IF using say an APC E style prop. There is plenty of surface area, but good suggestion when using a normal APC prop

snappa

LOLOLOLOLOL yeah a big thumping four stroke doesnt have a soft start...........

SCALECRAFT

My Feedback: (13)

snappa


When I saw the raised section of the backplate, I machined mine off. Still the backplate will fail. If not at firstt, then on the slightest nose over.

I turned a 4mm aluminum one for my spinner. Its seems to correct all the wobble.. Secured the same way with 8-32 socket screws. My only concern is the large 4mm backplate I made may bend my engines shaft upon impact. Unlike a plastic one that may break and absorb some of the impact. I may drill holes or make a few groove in the backplate to make it a weak point.

Note: On start up I would keep everyone and everything extra far away from the front and sides of the the spinner/prop arch if you use the factory original backplate.

Steve

kahloq

Well, here are some pics of mine. I am still thinking of adding some yellow paint to the chin scoop area and plan on eventually adding the spiral thing to the spinner(I just havent found thin masking type tape to do it yet).

I honestly like the looks of this plane better then my KMP overall. What I dont like is the fragile nature of the fiberglass. When I was drilling out pilot holes for the screws(hexbolts with blind nuts) to secure the chin piece, a chunk of the fiberglass broke off. It was small enouhg to keep hidden when the chin piece is affiex, but still it worries me that with regular repeated landings, the plane will start to crack apart in places. Already, I have large paint cracks around the vertical stab area. But, this plane just looks so good, I may get a spare from AK.

Note...I used window screen mesh material on the face of the turbo airscoop just like the real plane and the scoop is functional to direct air onto the 2x 5s 4900mah lipos

wesson

Hello all:

I've been sitting on the fence for quite some time, following this thread closely and trying to decide whether or not I want to purchase this kit. Is anyone else experiencing fiberglass problems, or does anyone else have fiberglass concerns? I seem to remember, many threads past, that someone mentioned that the fuse was pretty thin. Also, I'd love to hear from kit owners who did not modify the landing gear area (IOW, did not cut up wing to move the gear closer to the leading edge) to report on the 109's ground handling in stock configuration.

Peter

kahloq

I believe the fiberglass is msotly ok. My fuselage arrived with cracks already in it, so it was probably shipping issues from Nitroplanes(where I bought it from). I had to have the fuse replaced cuz the first one was really bad(definite shipping/hanlding porblems and not manufacturing issues).
I wouldnt worry about the glass work. Yes the fiberglass is thin, but its that way on KMP fuse's as well. Thin doesnt mean bad. However, textile strength would be more of a concern if structural crakcs start to appear(which they havent yet).
The chunk that came off was in a spot that close to an edge anyhow. Drilling through any other location in the fuse, there wasnt any problems.

I didnt modify the retract rails or move them closer. I only had to sand down the rails slightly to fit the gear from Sierra Giant..nothing more.
The ground handling will be better with the stock location as they are spread further apart then scale(not a lot though). As far as nose overs, I cant give info on that yet as I havent had a chance to do any taxi tests because we have 10 degree weather currently.

I would go ahead and buy one now while the sale is going on at AK-models. I just bought a spare kit just for future use. With shipping, it only cost me $250(thats with the 20% FLYAKM discount code)

SCALECRAFT

My Feedback: (13)

Unfortunately the fiberglass fuses on the CMP are layed up with a cheap polyester resin along with a thick polyester gel coat that doesn't really penetrate the glass.

Heat and extreme cold are enemies of the fuse.

My fuse has stress cracks in it already and I have been babying it.

Unlike my composite models made from epoxy resin. Epoxy resins are much more durable, impact resistant, and it bonds better if CA is used to apply wood trays and bulkheads.

I believe KMP uses Epoxy. Well, they should for the money they get for their Chinese kits.

How to tell polyester from epoxy?? Sand a small portion of the models interior, if it smells like a boat factory or Bondo, its polyester. Epoxy has no real detectable smell.



Steve

Fearless Freddie

Scalecraft .... ......you got me worried about my plane sitting in the sun now ..... I'm used to my KMPs been out in the sun and I see little if any change. I guess I need to keep it in the shade when not flying ?