Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
09-25-2009, 11:26 PM
#151
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Aaron,
Thanks for the info on the BVM wheels but at $140 a pair I think I will have to pass for this particular project.
John,
Keep the good thoughts coming! I'll take all the good "juju" I can get. The Hellcat is on the charger and tomorrow will be the day assuming we get through the range checks and taxi testing with no "incidents". This evening was spent running the .61FX and everything went to plan other than a muffler issue which was quickly rectified. I think the .61 is going to provide plenty of power. Good, bad, or really ugly I'll report back with some kind of news tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned...
Thanks for the info on the BVM wheels but at $140 a pair I think I will have to pass for this particular project.
John,
Keep the good thoughts coming! I'll take all the good "juju" I can get. The Hellcat is on the charger and tomorrow will be the day assuming we get through the range checks and taxi testing with no "incidents". This evening was spent running the .61FX and everything went to plan other than a muffler issue which was quickly rectified. I think the .61 is going to provide plenty of power. Good, bad, or really ugly I'll report back with some kind of news tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned...
09-26-2009, 07:09 AM
#156
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Chad this may help in your Hellcat (wheels ) question , go to the williams brothers site , I tweek mine for my Fw190 two styles may work and they have pics on the site
Scale Wheels Balloon Style
All Wheels are Pairs
- Photo 1 Photo 2
11900 3-1/4" Diameter* $14.25
12000 3-3/4" Diameter* $20.95
12100 4-1/2" Diameter* $27.50
Scale Wheels Vintage
All Wheels are Pairs
- Photo 1 Photo 2
VINTAGE II - ANTIQUE LINEN COLORED HUBS!
$13.50
13140 3-3/4" Diameter * VINTAGE II
$19.95
13148 3-3/4" Diameter * VINTAGE II, WHITE TYRE
$Scale Wheels Smooth Contour
All Wheels are Pairs
- Photo 1 Photo 2
14300 3-3/4" Diameter * $19.75
Scale Wheels Balloon Style
All Wheels are Pairs
- Photo 1 Photo 2
11900 3-1/4" Diameter* $14.25
12000 3-3/4" Diameter* $20.95
12100 4-1/2" Diameter* $27.50
Scale Wheels Vintage
All Wheels are Pairs
- Photo 1 Photo 2
VINTAGE II - ANTIQUE LINEN COLORED HUBS!
$13.50
13140 3-3/4" Diameter * VINTAGE II
$19.95
13148 3-3/4" Diameter * VINTAGE II, WHITE TYRE
$Scale Wheels Smooth Contour
All Wheels are Pairs
- Photo 1 Photo 2
14300 3-3/4" Diameter * $19.75
09-26-2009, 07:43 AM
#157
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Ya Chad I agree, I passed on the wheels too. They do sell the tires seperatly for 23.00 a pair. I may try and find some cheaper wheels and make them narrower to fit the 4" tires. I'll worry about that later in my build if my wheels don't work.
Good luck on your maiden.
Aaron D.
Good luck on your maiden.
Aaron D.
09-26-2009, 02:46 PM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
I think we may have a winner gents! I wish I could offer up pics that were as satisfying as the test flight but this is all I have. I present these only as proof that the Hellcat was airborne and nothing more. I think I have found a source for a digital video camera and will do my best to have video soon. If all goes as planned I will take it out again on Tuesday or Wednesday.
09-26-2009, 03:16 PM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Here are some of my initial impressions from the first flight.
The OS .61FX provides good power for scale flight but is certainly not overpowering the airplane. A relatively large loop from level flight is no problem. The airplane is pretty draggy so is not fast with the .61 but due to the light wing loading it still has pretty good vertical. I'm at about 10 1/4 pounds right now which is a bit heavier than I wanted but still quite light for the wing area. With limited detail and an iron on finish you could probably end up closer to 9 1/2 pounds and the .61 would be just about ideal. As it is now a .75 two stroke or .90 four stroke would be perfect in my opinion. I will stick with the .61 in mine unless the finish adds more weight than I expect it will and performance suffers. Or unless I convert it to electric which is being seriously considered.
Ground handling is pretty typical taildragger warbird and requires a modicum of rudder thumb skills. I've certainly flown much worse, that's for sure. The .61 does not have a great deal of torque which makes things a bit simpler although the other side of that coin is that you can't horse it off the ground too quickly. For you guys that fly off of grass the ground handling will be a no brainer. I am considering shortening the struts on my airplane about 1/2" which might make the ground handling even better. Although, my reasons for doing so are not really related to that. I think the struts look a bit long due to the undersize wheels and so my reasoning is aesthetic but there certainly could be other benefits. For those guys who are not overly concerned about scale the struts could shortened even further and the handling would only keep getting better.
General flight characteristics so far as I've tested them have not shown any surprises at all. The Hellcat is very groovy and rolls and loops very nicely. The airplane will slow fly very nicely and I had to work pretty hard to get it to drop a wing. I was able to fly it around with full up elevator, power off, and using the rudder to keep the wings level. When a tip does finally drop the rudder will pick it up almost instantly and you have to work really hard to get it to snap. And even then the snap is a fairly gentle one and simply getting off the up elevator has the airplane flying again.
I wish I had some video of the first landing as it was a real greaser! I've only got one landing on it so far but I'm really looking forward to more. Landing is one of my favorite things to do and I think the Hellcat is going to make it very easy to look good! Having said that, I will admit to landing it a bit hot and running off the end of the runway. That would not have been a problem but the over run is soft dirt and I got a bit sideways and broke the tailwheel mounting bulkhead. It will take me about 10 minutes to fix it but I decided not to do a field repair and called it a day after the one flight.
Overall I'm very, very satisfied at this point with the airplane. I hope to get a dozen or so flights on it over the next week or two and will be playing around a bit with the CG and whatnot. In the meantime I will also be gearing up to produce the first run of kits and will, hopefully, be able to commit to a price and a time line in the next week as well. I'll wrap up with a few static shots from this morning.
Me and my fearless ground crew. I'm on the far left, Dad in the middle, and that's my brother on the right.
Not much to look at yet but details and paint are coming.
The OS .61FX provides good power for scale flight but is certainly not overpowering the airplane. A relatively large loop from level flight is no problem. The airplane is pretty draggy so is not fast with the .61 but due to the light wing loading it still has pretty good vertical. I'm at about 10 1/4 pounds right now which is a bit heavier than I wanted but still quite light for the wing area. With limited detail and an iron on finish you could probably end up closer to 9 1/2 pounds and the .61 would be just about ideal. As it is now a .75 two stroke or .90 four stroke would be perfect in my opinion. I will stick with the .61 in mine unless the finish adds more weight than I expect it will and performance suffers. Or unless I convert it to electric which is being seriously considered.
Ground handling is pretty typical taildragger warbird and requires a modicum of rudder thumb skills. I've certainly flown much worse, that's for sure. The .61 does not have a great deal of torque which makes things a bit simpler although the other side of that coin is that you can't horse it off the ground too quickly. For you guys that fly off of grass the ground handling will be a no brainer. I am considering shortening the struts on my airplane about 1/2" which might make the ground handling even better. Although, my reasons for doing so are not really related to that. I think the struts look a bit long due to the undersize wheels and so my reasoning is aesthetic but there certainly could be other benefits. For those guys who are not overly concerned about scale the struts could shortened even further and the handling would only keep getting better.
General flight characteristics so far as I've tested them have not shown any surprises at all. The Hellcat is very groovy and rolls and loops very nicely. The airplane will slow fly very nicely and I had to work pretty hard to get it to drop a wing. I was able to fly it around with full up elevator, power off, and using the rudder to keep the wings level. When a tip does finally drop the rudder will pick it up almost instantly and you have to work really hard to get it to snap. And even then the snap is a fairly gentle one and simply getting off the up elevator has the airplane flying again.
I wish I had some video of the first landing as it was a real greaser! I've only got one landing on it so far but I'm really looking forward to more. Landing is one of my favorite things to do and I think the Hellcat is going to make it very easy to look good! Having said that, I will admit to landing it a bit hot and running off the end of the runway. That would not have been a problem but the over run is soft dirt and I got a bit sideways and broke the tailwheel mounting bulkhead. It will take me about 10 minutes to fix it but I decided not to do a field repair and called it a day after the one flight.
Overall I'm very, very satisfied at this point with the airplane. I hope to get a dozen or so flights on it over the next week or two and will be playing around a bit with the CG and whatnot. In the meantime I will also be gearing up to produce the first run of kits and will, hopefully, be able to commit to a price and a time line in the next week as well. I'll wrap up with a few static shots from this morning.
Me and my fearless ground crew. I'm on the far left, Dad in the middle, and that's my brother on the right.
Not much to look at yet but details and paint are coming.
09-26-2009, 04:21 PM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Well done Chad,
now that must have given you a real buzz first flight and all,
Very happy for you Chad can't wait to see your video to..
Now i better try and get my one fin.
Just working on those retracts and getting there..
Well Done Again
Cheers Bryan
now that must have given you a real buzz first flight and all,
Very happy for you Chad can't wait to see your video to..
Now i better try and get my one fin.
Just working on those retracts and getting there..
Well Done Again
Cheers Bryan
09-26-2009, 08:01 PM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
LDM,
Thanks for the info. I looked at the Williams Brothers wheels on the Tower site but wasn't sure how easy it would be to make them look like a Hellcat wheel. When I build my Wildcat though...
Aaron,
If a decent wheel could be found to fit them then $23 a pair for the BVM tires is not too ridiculous.
Aerowoof,
The slow flight was done with the gear up. There is a substantial change in trim between gear up and gear down but I have the CG pretty far forward at this point which may be exacerbating the situation. I flew a couple of circuits gear down and had to hold a moderate amount of back pressure to fly level. As soon as I pulled the gear up I had to dial in about two clicks of down trim for level flight at full throttle. I will be playing around with the CG some and will report back with my findings. One other thing that may need to be tweaked is the down thrust. Right now the airplane has a scale 3 degrees of down in the engine which seems a bit excessive but I thought I would try it anyway. I will do some air tests to see if I can determine if this is the ideal amount or if it needs to be reduced a bit. It must not be too far off as I did not notice any drastic tendencies but, then again, I've only got about 12 minutes of time on it at this point!
Thanks for the info. I looked at the Williams Brothers wheels on the Tower site but wasn't sure how easy it would be to make them look like a Hellcat wheel. When I build my Wildcat though...
Aaron,
If a decent wheel could be found to fit them then $23 a pair for the BVM tires is not too ridiculous.
Aerowoof,
The slow flight was done with the gear up. There is a substantial change in trim between gear up and gear down but I have the CG pretty far forward at this point which may be exacerbating the situation. I flew a couple of circuits gear down and had to hold a moderate amount of back pressure to fly level. As soon as I pulled the gear up I had to dial in about two clicks of down trim for level flight at full throttle. I will be playing around with the CG some and will report back with my findings. One other thing that may need to be tweaked is the down thrust. Right now the airplane has a scale 3 degrees of down in the engine which seems a bit excessive but I thought I would try it anyway. I will do some air tests to see if I can determine if this is the ideal amount or if it needs to be reduced a bit. It must not be too far off as I did not notice any drastic tendencies but, then again, I've only got about 12 minutes of time on it at this point!
09-26-2009, 08:28 PM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Bloody well done sir!!!
From start to finish (now) this has been a great little build and a very enjoyable read.
No mucking around here.
Cheers,
Brad (awaiting vid)
From start to finish (now) this has been a great little build and a very enjoyable read.
No mucking around here.
Cheers,
Brad (awaiting vid)
09-27-2009, 01:30 AM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
ORIGINAL: Chad Veich
I think we may have a winner gents! I wish I could offer up pics that were as satisfying as the test flight but this is all I have. I present these only as proof that the Hellcat was airborne and nothing more. I think I have found a source for a digital video camera and will do my best to have video soon. If all goes as planned I will take it out again on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I think we may have a winner gents! I wish I could offer up pics that were as satisfying as the test flight but this is all I have. I present these only as proof that the Hellcat was airborne and nothing more. I think I have found a source for a digital video camera and will do my best to have video soon. If all goes as planned I will take it out again on Tuesday or Wednesday.
congratulations, the buzz from designing to flight must be be cool,
so much better than sticking a ARTF together ,( some guys i fly with actually call that building)
bring on the kit
well done [sm=thumbup.gif]
09-27-2009, 10:54 AM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
And just why didnt you give me a shout when you came thru??? I would have let you buy me a hamburger and fries Jerry[sm=cry_smile.gif]
I hear you on the crappy weather, its done NOTHING but rain here for like 3 weeks straight.. every day. We held a ssc combat event at our club yesterday, and we waited until the monsoons passed before we got started. It finally let up about 2 :00 pm and we were able to get in 3 good rounds. We had folks from far away as Texas, Georgia and Kentucky come... it was a blast when we finally got to compete.... I even won a magnum 15 engine as a door prize... WOO-HOO!![sm=lol.gif]
I hear you on the crappy weather, its done NOTHING but rain here for like 3 weeks straight.. every day. We held a ssc combat event at our club yesterday, and we waited until the monsoons passed before we got started. It finally let up about 2 :00 pm and we were able to get in 3 good rounds. We had folks from far away as Texas, Georgia and Kentucky come... it was a blast when we finally got to compete.... I even won a magnum 15 engine as a door prize... WOO-HOO!![sm=lol.gif]
ORIGINAL: tailskid
John drove thru Alabama last weekend - and hit some pretty rough weather on Friday....drove from Chatt to Mobile, then to PHX.....LONG DRIVE Still recovering
John drove thru Alabama last weekend - and hit some pretty rough weather on Friday....drove from Chatt to Mobile, then to PHX.....LONG DRIVE
Still recovering
09-28-2009, 01:26 PM
#171
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Chad beautiful, you're the number 1. Hello Gianluca
[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]
[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]
09-28-2009, 09:12 PM
#173
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Thanks for all the congrats and kind words guys! This whole project continues to be very gratifying and I can't wait to get some kits out there getting built. I'm working feverishly on getting all my ducks in a row and it won't be long before I can start taking orders.
Jerry,
I am tentatively planning on taking the Hellcat out again late Wednesday afternoon if the weather is good. Probably will be out at the field around 4-5 pm. Come on out and do some flying. Drop me an email if you're interested and I'll be sure to confirm with you once I know for sure if I'm gonna make it out. I'll even try to rember to bring the "Holy Smoke" plans that I printed out a year ago!
ORIGINAL: tailskid
Chad, I do have a video camera, just don't have any editing software - and I get off work at 3 PM week days....hint, hint....
Chad, I do have a video camera, just don't have any editing software - and I get off work at 3 PM
week days....hint, hint....
I am tentatively planning on taking the Hellcat out again late Wednesday afternoon if the weather is good. Probably will be out at the field around 4-5 pm. Come on out and do some flying. Drop me an email if you're interested and I'll be sure to confirm with you once I know for sure if I'm gonna make it out. I'll even try to rember to bring the "Holy Smoke" plans that I printed out a year ago!
09-29-2009, 12:30 AM
#174
RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Wednesday sounds good....which field do you fly from? Mustang Field? If so, I'll probably need a map and a raincoat - oh wait, I live in Arizona where it doesn't rain ...I'll email you tomorrow...............for more details.
Jerry
and a raincoat - oh wait, I live in Arizona where it doesn't rain ...I'll email you tomorrow...............for more details.Jerry
09-30-2009, 05:59 AM
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RE: Gauging interest, Hellcat group build
Chad Veich "...Not much to look at yet but details and paint are coming..."
Wadddaya mean, Chad?
You've got the color match PERFECT, or at least "close enough for government work!"
Juss kiddin' ya...congrats on the maiden...this is an exciting project!
John in Boston
p.s. I've "borrowed" this image of a Point Mugu F6F-5K from the China Lake Alumni website:
http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1960.htm