Wilkar

Thanks for the update on flaps. Building has slowed down a bit sence school is out for summer. The kids are verry demanding of my time. I have manage to work on fusaloge and have uper half sheeted. will post pics soon.

glazier808

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You know Chad, I look at those pictures and think...

My God! That man is talented! You really have a special talent for all if this. From design to finish...you amaze me. I was just going through a cockpit kit you made for the BT spit....truely a work of art sir

Casey

Chad Veich

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I understand William, I've got three boys of my own! Work has slowed down on my second airplane as well due to the extreme heat. I'm working on getting a cooled work space set up but it will be at least a couple of weeks before it's ready.

You are much too kind Casey but thanks for the compliment, much appreciated. Speaking of Spit cockpits, I'm working on another run of them right now and hope to have a few more items available in the next month or so. With any luck I'll have a control column, rudder pedals, throttle quadrant, and maybe the gun site. Let me know if you're interested and I'll put you on my contact list and keep you updated. Thanks again!

glazier808

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Please do!

I was going to get some pieces from Jacob (InZpan), but yours will be just as nice I'm sure!

Casey

And don't be so humble, you're damn good!

Lol

baldguy

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Hi,guys.
Anybody have one of these kits that they are willing to part with?

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

Not much happening in regards to Hellcat progress at the moment. It's simply been too hot to work in the garage lately plus I'm trying to finish up some other priority projects as I will be having a relatively major medical procedure done in early September which will be followed by a several month long recovery period. Still hope to get out to the garage when it cools off to get some work done but not certain just how much modelling will be accomplished while I'm on the mend.

There is some good news concerning the Hellcat to be shared. First, for those that are subscribers to the sight, a plan set for the Hellcat is now available as a free downloadable PDF over at RC Scale Builder. It includes all the template sheets for those that may like to try their hand at scratch building the airplane. Just visit http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/forum/....asp?TID=17363 if you would like to download the plans.

If you don't want to scratch build then a laser cut parts package will be available from Manzano Laser Works within the next week or two. Keep an eye on their web site, http://www.manzanolaser.com/, for information regarding price and availability. Lastly, I will be gearing up to again offer the cowl, canopy, and other accessories needed to finish the Hellcat. The plans will also be available through me for those who are not RCSB subscribers or don't have the capability of getting the plans printed themselves. I will be updating the web site with ordering information in the next week or so. It's a bit of a roundabout method of gathering all the necessary parts but for those willing to do the footwork a semi-kit can be had.

Fingers crossed that I will be back to work on Hellcats one and two in the very near future!

glazier808

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Have a quick recovery from surgery Chad! Your knee will be as good as new soon!

This is been a great project watch and you have a right to be proud!



Casey

Sharpeye22

Sorry to hear of the heath problems, Here is hopeing all goes well for you. My hellcat is still in the box waiting for me to tackle it. at present I am still bashing my CMP hellcat. I just finished the wing and now am starting on the fus. So I understand how projects can slow down from time to time.

Inow have downloaded what you have postedon your instruction site. So I am good to go there. I just now need to go through this forum and download the building instructions you and others hae posted here. Between the two I will end up with a bettter building manual thaen any production kit is ever shipped with.

Thanks again or all you do, you are a true artist.

budmo

Thanks Chad. I'm sure I will make it out there to the fly-in.
Good luck with your knee surgery

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the well wishes and kind remarks gents, much appreciated. I received my test kit from Manzano Laser today and I can heartily recommend them for your laser cutting needs. Their cutting and wood selection all appear to be top notch. Owner Charlie Manzano has also been a pleasure to deal with. I'm going away for the weekend but I will post pictures of the kit parts when I get back.

js3

My Feedback: (3)

Today I purchased the Squadron/Signal Hellcat Walkaround. What a great set of photos! So much detail. Chad, if you ever produce a 1/7th version, I think that airframe would really lend itself to a load of detailing.

Chad Veich

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I could not agree more John. Even at 1/7 scale (73 inch span) the airframe would be large enough to handle lots of detail and still fly well. I enlarged my CAD files to that size and started the re-engineering process some time ago but got sidetracked with other projects. To be honest I'm a bit torn between doing a 73 incher or going up to 1/6 scale which would be 86 inches.

lightning 759

hi chad
73inch would get my vote just nice size but not too big & would keep it affodable too .
picked up my lazer cut kit at the weekend so hopeing too start soon

andy

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the input Andy. The 73 inch fits my budget and transportation/storage restrictions better as well but the larger one seems to generate more interest from a marketing stand point. Probably won't be doing either for a while so I guess I have time to mull it over!

Who did you get to cut your kit if I may ask?

JohnMcGowan

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Hi Chad,
what date is your knee Sx coming up?
I wish you well. Just think, you'll be like the Six Million Dollar Man when they are done with you,... faster , stronger.....

Chad Veich

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Next Tuesday John, September 6th! Man, I've got so much to do between now and then I can't even think straight.

js3

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Best of luck Chad with the surgery. Heal well!

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the well wishes gents!

SVX

Best wishes Mr. Veich. My Uncle just had both knees replaced and he is up and walking around pain free for the first time in years.

Dust

flatsguide

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Hi All,

I hope Chads surgery and recovery goes smoothly...

I plan on building the Hellcat starting in a few months. This will be my first model attempt since I was a child. (To give everyone an idea when that was, I remember Hellcats flying over my home in NYC during the war.) With that I'll be asking questions ...and my first one is this;

I downloaded the plans but I'm not sure they are the correct scale on the prints that I had made. There was no referance scale on the drawing (.pdf file) that I could verify that the print was the correct dimension.
I measured the firewall, F-4 and the dimension off of the drawing is; Hight = disregarding the stringer notch, is 10 3/16" and the width at the widest point is W = 8 3/16 ". Can anyone check their drawing to see if that is correct? If not, does anyone know the correct dim's for the firewall so I can scan the prints to reflect the proper scale. By the way the side view and top view of the fusalage and wing sheets were way off, much to small.

Thanks guys

Regards,
Richard Martel
Florida Keys

js3

My Feedback: (3)

I ran into this as well. What I did was to measure the main and tail wheel (on the plan) to see if the actual measured dimension agrees with what is stated on the plan. It did.

I was going to mention to Chad that a printed scale reference on each page of the .pdf would be a nice addition but I never got a round toit.

I am in the process of gathering all the pieces for the Hellcat. So far, I just have the plan. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can order the laser-cut wood. If you haven't done so already, make sure you send Chad a message so that he can add you to his list for cowling and plastic parts.

Good luck with your project!

flatsguide

My Feedback: (1)

Hi John,
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the page that show the wheels printed much to small. Thats the page showing the fus. profile. The page showing the planform of the wing printed way to small also. The rest of the plans "appear" to be OK but I have now way of knowing except by comparison of the dimensions of the firewall, F-4 on my print to a print that is accurate.

Chad has me on the list for cowl etc and I'm waiting for a reply back from Manzano Laser to place a wood order. In the meantime I'm enjoying the research.

Good luck with your project too...Post some pic's of your build.

js3

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I just ordered the wood today. Manzano Laser still doesn't show it as available on the site but I did a custom order. Vicki said that I should have the parts by early next week. I had to call by phone as they didn't reply to my email messages but Vicki was very nice on the phone.

I can't wait!

Good luck!

<EDIT> I'm editing this post to say that Charlie DID reply to my email. It was buried in my inbox and I overlooked it. It was completely my fault. I don't want to give anyone the impression that I've received anything but the absolute best customer service so far on this project. I'll post below as well.

Chad Veich

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Thanks for the Manzano update John. They cut me a test kit so I could check quality and I don't think you will be disappointed. They have a somewhat more capable machine then what I was using and, to be totally honest, the resulting parts are nicer than what I was able to offer myself. Hopefully they will get the Hellcat up on the web site soon.

js3

My Feedback: (3)

I received the wood for the Hellcat in today's mail. Pretty impressive for just having talked to Vicki on Wednesday! The quality is so outstanding I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a Top Flite kit again.

In a post I made earlier, I mentioned that Charlie hadn't replied to my email. In fact, he did. It was in my inbox and I over looked it completely. So it was my fault. I don't want to give any impression that I've received anything but the best customer service on this project. I've also edited my post above to say that the email comment was on me.

I'm SO looking forward to building this plane!