RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Here guys, is flight number four vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPRI4CHE6x8

I am still looking for the canopy[&o]

Cheers,

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Nice Brad !! Very nice, hope you find that canopy I know whats it's like I lost the demon canopy about two months ago flying out on the access road & could not find it, it now has a VQ texan canopy so looks a little different.
Took the Hurricane out again today, added some weight to the nose & finally pulled off a landing worth posting !, wilkie also flew his 3M extra today looked & sounded awesome , also a very nice landing.
Watching this & the 109 thread with interest & looking forward to our next get together.
Spit looks GREAT !.
Steff.

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Cheers mate, yes cant wait till we are all together again. Where will that be I wonder,,, talk off line about that.
Still havnt found the canopy. Looked for another hour today. Have lost Baz as well. Tried to call him a few times to say we were flying but no return call.
Good job with the Hurri. The Spitty is a dream to land.

Seeya

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

My daughter and I spent an hour or so walking the field this afternoon but the canopy still remains lost.[&o] Still it was a nice walk.
I just cant believe I havnt found it. Almost time to call Leo for a replacement which is the easy part. The worst part will be making the frame again.:eek:

Any way, here is a short clip of take off number five with the engine getting close to tuned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHc_B-LPoHw

Cheers,

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Great Flights Brad and I loved the construction video too.. very nice touch. Why did the canopy let go.. any ideas... and did you ever cover the whole model with any kind of clear coat? The very idea scares me as I can see ruining the whole paint job at the very end!!!

Right after you buy a new canopy you will find the old one... works for me!!1


Cheers

Len

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Len a clear coat won't effect your paint job at all. After you weather etc. you'll discover that the clear coat kind of brings everything together. It actually looks better afterwards.

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Hi Len, I think the rare earth magnets were just not up to the huge surface area of the canopy, also the sticky tape I had on I had folded over at the rear end and I think this would have flapped around in the slipstream and come unstuck then with the bit of vibration it came loose and let go. I searched for another hour and a half today after work but to nothing. As of this evening I have ordered two,,, yes two more canopies off Leo so will be able to do other work on the rest of the model until they arrive and are ready.
I also have a new tail retract coming for the one that went U/S on the first flight so I hope this one lasts a bit longer.
More work to do is lighten and rebalance spinner, check aileron servos and control rods and start to detail whole model.

I have not as yet clear coated the Warbird Colours and it is holding up really well even after wiping down with some pretty strong degreaser to get the exhaust residue off. After I do some weathering I'll have a look at that.

Cheers,

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Got my new tail wheel retract on Friday. Think that was just over a week from ordering by phone from Yellow A/C. Now that is service guys. $6.50 for post (about,,, $6.25 AUS at the moment:)) and that is all the way over to Western Australia where time itself is slow.
Just finished working on my mates HD Models Seafury wing so will play with the Spit tomorrow and through the week. Got lots to do but at least it is still fun.

Cheers,

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Brad,
Great videos and I'm sorry to hear about the canopy. There is some kind of law of physics that says if something falls off your plane mid-flight it will be the last place you look. I like the sound of the motor in the last take off vid. You're definitely tuning out that "burble" and it sounds very smooth. Don't be surprised if you have to let it warm up a bit more than usual to get a smooth transition. It's normal when you've got your motor tuned so well.
Again, congratulations on your success!
Sam

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

hi Brad
Have been away and just watched your vids.Very nice flying plane and I bet your well pleased:Dso keep up the good work.

Cheers Nudge

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

I got to test my new HD camera today on my friend Ed's Yellow Spitfire. I believe he goes by Gonewest on here?

Ed does an amazing job building and flying his warbirds

This is only my first airplane video with this camera and I'm pretty impressed by the footage. You loose quality uploading the footage online, the raw footage looks amazing.


I find it views better on Vimeo, just a better picture and smoother play. Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/25645099


It can also be seen on youtube, but please be sure to select 1080p HD on the lower right hand tool bar across from where you hit play.... it's much better in full HD.

Enjoy:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAievoomHCk[/youtube]


later
Ron

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Very nice vid Ron!

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Yes nice vid Ron,, hope I get one like that of mine one day. Thanks for posting it here.

Cheers Daddysam and Nudge, it is all worth it when you see it in the air. Everyone is so right when they say this is one nice flying bird.

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Thanks a bunch guys, I really enjoy editing and filming.
It's adding a new challange to the hobby along with flying and building

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Nice!

Awesome video, Ron. Wish I had you around here...

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Me too, then I could drop my F-18 in your shop :D
Thanks Shawn, I love the yellow spit. That thing flys sweet and looks great in the air!

If I hit California Jets will have to pit up together and I'll shoot some video of your planes for you

Thanks again, I'm a rookie at video but I'll get better
Ron

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Ronnie,

Thanks for making the video and posting it. The air was pretty bumpy and it was windy, but the video still came out nice.

-Ed B.

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

There you are Ed! Flyfast1 is your user name... well that makes sence because you like to fly fast..lol

No problem, I had fun making the video and your plane is a great subject.

See you at the field!

Ron

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

My Y/A spinner has runout.[X(][:@] I even removed the spacer ring for the 3W55 shaft and it is a bit better when I tested it on my balancer but it still has runout. It is balanced though.
I will have to take it to work and fix it up on a lathe. Not very happy with this. I might also ask some questions (in the right forum) as I read and learn how to make a new spinner cone from the kit supplied static one I purchased. It is a much nicer shape and if made from carbon fiber will be much lighter. Remember I can move my RX batteries forward to compensate for the lesser weight.

Anyone else experienced this?

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Time to lighten the spinner before fixing that run-out.

Marked it out with the aid of my navigation protractor, (18 holes at 20 degrees looks ok)

Drill lots of holes and cut out sections with Dad's Jigsaw.

Got a bit of filing to do to make it look respectable but as of now have lightened it 178 grams or 6.2 oz.
I am seriously thinking of reproducing the static spinner with carbon fibre for even more weight savings and a better look as well.

Tail wheel retract is all go again and replaced door hinges for a much smoother operation. Only need 20psi for a cycle there.

Cheers,

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Nicely done on that spinner Brad! That's a fair amount of weight to drop! I may need to do the same with my spinner for my 109...not sure yet. Perhaps I'll just send it to you! Lol

Casey

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Just follow how I have done it mate,,, it is easy,,,you don't need me,,,, honest. (I say sweating thinking Casey will actually send me his spinner)

OK, after a couple of hours of the dremel tool doing it's thing I have tidied up the cuts on the spinner to end up with almost half the weight gone.
390g down to 199 and I could just keep on going if I wanted to. It might look a bit thin down the bottom of the lightning holes but remember how thick the plate is.
It is all balanced again and in regards to the 'runout' I might have fixed that too. I noticed that the shaft collet insert seemed to be sitting a tiny bit proud of the back of the spinner like the recess was not deep enough for it so I sanded it down a bit and the spinner seems to run a lot truer. The proof will be in an engine run.

Cheers,

Brad

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Bad news for me. I lost my spitfire yesterday at a warbird event. On the fourth flight I was pulling out of a full throttle dive when BAM!, the wing had a catostrophic failure (is there any other type of wing failure?) and the plane went in. A total loss. I was at full throttle and the plane was really screaming, but I've never before had this type of wing failure on any plane.

At home today I was picking through the wreckage and the wing indeed broke where the left wing panel was joined to the center panel. This wing did not have any structural enhancements. It was a stock build without any additional wing joiners or gear mount modifications and the wing was covered I think with fairly light cloth, probably 0.75 ounce, but I don't recall exactly. As I was looking over the location of the break I was reminded at how small those wing joiners are on this wing. Obviously not enough!

The good news is that a lot of the parts survived. For example, since the undercarriage was retracted, the Sierra mains appear to be undamaged, along with the tail wheel assembly. I'll also be able to reuse some of the hardware. The spinner was destroyed, but the engine itself looks ok, although I won't know for sure until it is checked out. I plan to order another kit this week and build another one. This time I will be adding some additional structure to the wing, probably similar to what others have done. I will also use heavier cloth.

It's a shame this happened. I really liked this plane and it was a great flyer. But, I have a positive attitude and will take the opportunity to add some things to the next one that I did not have in this one, such as a sliding canopy. I will also do a different color scheme.

-Ed B.

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Ah.... Not a good day sorry. Glad to hear there is enough for a rebuild and that you are going to do so.

Casey

RE: The complete YELLOW AIRCRAFT SPITFIRE thread.
 

Oh my Ed!
I'm really sorry to hear this, bud... it was a great plane. It's the risk we all take with these planes.
The way I look at it if there was no risk involved in this hobby it would have no excitement at all, it would be a bore. Not sure that helps at all ...

I burned your video to DVD this morning, I showed it to my folks today on the big screen when they stopped by and they were super impressed with your plane. The video looks great on the big screen, by the way.

I'll bring the DVD next time I head out to the field for you

sorry bud
Ron