Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

I'd bet money they will work just fine. I too am going to start saving my pennies for one of these with the hopes I can squeeze my Yellow P-40 landing gear into it. Not sure how I will finish it beyond saying that it will NOT be left in the AVG scheme.

DLEVETT

My Feedback: (13)

A lot of the recent releases from TF, ESM, KMP etc are all begging to be recovered into unique colour schemes.
I,m presently concentrating on getting my Aerobatic birds ready for the season.
Then its time to turn my attention to recovering my ARF warbirds.

Dave

Experten109/40

My Feedback: (-1)

.

whstlngdeath

My Feedback: (15)

Fliteskin is still selling the Jerry Bates-designed P-40B in 1/5 scale:

http://fliteskin.com/P40page.htm

Looks pretty good for about $550, (without their skins).

Jesse

Ram-bro

My Feedback: (101)

remember your talking apples and oranges here, ARf vs Kit

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

I had one of these kits when they were still being sold through Vic. I sold it off to a friend due to the fact that I did not have a set of gear for it and had too many other projects going that I needed to spend money on. A couple of months ago I came across a really great deal on a set of Yellow P-40 retracts that I just could not pass up. So now I'm sitting here with a beautiful set of retracts and no airframe! The P-40 is on my "to do" list of airplanes that I would like to build to a competition level but, until then, I think this new TF ARF can be dressed up nicely for a sport flyer. I can't wait!

800mZero

My Feedback: (2)

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXZKD0&P=7

Vintauri

My Feedback: (25)

http://www.modelairplanenews.com/ME2...07C203D4DC78FE

mike early

I wonder if this bad boy comes with a spinner. I wonder if it would be a 2-blader. I wonder if a 3-blade spinner can be obtained.

Everyone at my field with gas airplanes flies nice and slow except when going straight up, then they open the throttle up.
I'd be flying this ******* right on the deck Balls to the Wall. Seems like a fun thing to do....

cold_reboot

My Feedback: (20)

Now if they'll just offer it in a kit we can all be happy. I don't buy ARFs

andernamen

My Feedback: (3)

This is a great development and looks like a nice plane for the money, BUT...... I really hate to complain, where is the .60 size ARF???? I hope like with the Mustang, the .60 size ARF will come out a little down the road. Giant scale is great, but for me right now, .60 size works better (no trailer, etc.)

mike early

The rumor was the .60 size was all but done, just trying to get the bugs out of the retracts. I guess rotating mechanical retracts proved too much of a PITA. (i could have told them that)
The 60-sized planes come with retracts, I think. I reckon this was the issue that has killed (hopefully temporarily) the .60 ARF. I'd be putting Century Jets in anyways.

Experten109/40

My Feedback: (-1)

personally I like the 1:8 scale (50sized 4-stroke) warbirds.

800mZero

My Feedback: (2)

would be great to run off the new hanger 9/eflite electric retracts.

telejojo

I like the 1.20 size they perfect for 26cc gas

fockewulf37

My Feedback: (102)

Hey If ya'll don't want to ait until agust or later they still have a few left .... http://vq.vqwarbirds.com/products/ai.../ESM50P40.html

They will be in in the next week or so....

ty

handyman 220

My Feedback: (54)

Mike
Does that mean the 60 size is going to be released as well? I like the size, a little easier to transport. As you said we can put in our own retracts.

Yak18

My Feedback: (11)

It does include the spinner. I have no doubt this one will have tons of extras custom made for it. Tru-turn and sierra precision are probably already at work.

Vintauri

My Feedback: (25)

I f the included spinner is anything like the one they put in the Mustang kits and arfs then it'll be junk. Those have issues with coming apart no matter how much you balance them or put loctite on the screws.

fockewulf37

My Feedback: (102)

Ya'll know this stuff is comming out of china .. there will not be a tru-turn spinner in the kit... that would be a $100 by itsself....

Vintauri

My Feedback: (25)

Yeah I'd rather they just leave it out. We've had too many of the P-51 spinners fail that it's not even worth messing with. I bought a dave brown for mine.

jimkim

Alright guys, enough information has leaked out that I can go ahead and address some of your comments and speculation. The early information was released for our dealers but you sleuths always seem to figure things out pretty fast!

We have developed a Gold Edition Top Flite giant scale P-40 ARF and we are pretty excited about this one. This is the first new giant scale warbird that we have released in years. It has been designed from the ground up as an ARF. This is not a re-work of a previous kit since we have never had this plane in our kit line. The airplane is an all wood structure covered in Monokote. Here are the vitals:
Specifications:
Wingspan: 86 in (2185 mm)
Wing Area: 1262 in² (81.4 dm²)
Weight: 23-24 lb (10.4-10.8 kg)
Wing Loading: 42-44 oz/in² (128-134 g/dm²)
Length: 72 in (1830 mm)
Requires: minimum 5-channel radio with fixed landing gear (9-channel or greater recommended) with 9 servos and 43-55 cc gasoline engine.
Street:$579.99

It is always interesting to read the speculation and concerns before an airplane like this is released but let me assure you, this is one really good airplane. We found an airfoil that allows this plane to be very stable and not tip stall at slow speeds yet with the DLE55 it is one fast airplane. As a pilot who recently flew the prototype said after making a low pass, “this thing really hauls a**! We took the prototype to Joe Nall this week and it has gotten a lot of attention.

We have tried to bring you a top notch kit and to do a few things with this kit that have not been done with many other kits. First, the detail is exceptional for an ARF. The covering and paint is a flat finish, not glossy. The cowl, landing gear fairings and other misc. components are fiberglass. This is a full cockpit that will accept a full length pilot. We have detailed the side walls and the floor with panels and rivets and pre-painted them. The instrument panel is fully assembled with instruments and bezels. We have not done a “Top Gun” interior but all of the basics are there and with a little extra work you will be able to have an impressive interior.
The finish on the cowl is stunning! The marking decals on the fuselage replicate the full size plane very well but we have not pre-applied the decals. This was done intentionally to allow those of you who wish to do a slightly different trim scheme to be able to do it without removing the decals and lifting the covering. The provided color scheme is from a restored P-40 that was a replica of an actual plane used during the war.
We have included a pre-painted metal 2-bladed spinner. We have learned a lot over the years and this is the best spinner we have ever provided in a kit. It is not a True-Turn but it is very high quality and has shown no issues in any of our testing. This spinner is comparable to spinners that you would expect to spend $100 for.
The airplane includes scale pre-painted split flaps with the fully exposed rib structure for scale fidelity. The elevator, rudder and ailerons are built as an open structure giving the appearance of exposed ribs just like the full scale.

Making a strong landing gear mount for the P-40 is difficult due to the landing gear being mounted so close to the leading edge of the wing. Typically the gear can rip out quite easily in a bad landing. We designed the landing gear mount to be mounted to aluminum and plywood ribs that tie into an aluminum leading edge that carries the load of the mount across four ribs in each wing. We have flown this plane, landed it hard and abused it on landing without a failure. The wing is also built very strong. Some might think it is over built but we know how you guys like to fly warbirds!

The flight characteristics of this airplane are second to none. With the DLE 55 it is a power house with great speed and vertical performance. With the flaps deployed it is amazing how slow and stable this airplane is. The plane really flies and feels more like an 18 pound airplane. The ground handling of the airplane is very good in spite of the narrow tread of the P-40 and how high it sits off of the ground. Landings are easy if you are landing into the wind or even a quartering wind. A crosswind can be a bit tricky but I am told this is true of the full scale too.

We are supplying a fixed landing gear in the kit but I cannot imagine owning this airplane without the Robart landing gear. The rotating landing gear for this airplane is the coolest landing gear you can get for a warbird. To compliment the gear we are including scale wheel covers for the wheels.

The plane assembles quickly and is a very conventional build that any semi-experienced builder will be able to accomplish. There is not any plan to release this airplane in an uncovered version. I think we will have to wait and see how sales are before determining if it is a viable option. Speaking of sales, if you are interested in one of these I would not wait too long to get with your dealer to place an order / backorder. The initial shipments will be arriving in August and with the early interest being shown by dealers and here on the internet, I do not know how long thay will be in stock after they arrive. Dealers should have order information this week and I would imagine Tower will have the ability to place backorders this week too.

I hope this answers many of your questions. I wish I could provide you with video and detail pictures but I can not and I am sure more information will be released soon from Top Flite.

Jim
Hobbico R&D

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

I can feel my wallet getting lighter.......

Any idea of the cost of the retracts?

MX240

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks Jim of Hobbico,
As a owner of your P-51 this will sure be in my inventory also.
Any pictures from the Joe Nall event would be nice for us to see??
Jim

jimkim

Here is more!
http://www.top-flite.com/airplanes/topa0705.html