ok no problem
andy

For you Hellcat builders out there who are interested I've got a couple more scale detail items available (finally!) to dress up your airplanes.

First is the dress-up kit to fit the Robart tail wheel retract unit. I have utilized this in my prototype airplane for quite a while now with no problems and I'm satisfied that it is up to the task. The biggest issue I have found with the whole mechanism is the plastic steering arm that comes with the Robart retract. I can now offer a stainless steel replacement which solves the problem. The complete dress-up kit includes laser cut G10 parts, aluminum tube, cast stainless steel yoke and steering arm. You supply the 3/32" music wire strut and axle and will be required to do your own soldering/welding of the yoke to the wire. (And, of course, you will need the Robart tail wheel unit!) For those who prefer I can also offer these fully assembled on a time available basis.

Here are the laser cut G10 parts and the aluminum tube...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps2a1061d9.jpg

...which are then assembled into this.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps804aecfd.jpg

Here is the raw stainless steel yoke as it comes...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps15ab7ebb.jpg

...and the finished assembly including the aforementioned steering arm.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps1da650a3.jpg

Combine the above with the Robart retract unit and this is what you get.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psd858ced3.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps207ff2bb.jpg

Shoot me an email if you would like more info, [email protected]

The other item now available is the partial cockpit kit. This includes the seat back and frame, the armor plate with headrest, the instrument panel, gun sight, and the tub into which all of the previous is installed.

Here is the vaccum formed tub and the laser cut seat back.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psbf8a8c6e.jpg

The tub gets trimmed up and braced with some tri-stock...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psd2d3a289.jpg

...and then the seat back is installed and the whole thing dropped into the fuselage opening.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps86c51e0e.jpg

An instrument panel bulkhead is also supplied.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psdef9239e.jpg

The armor plate and headrest consists of these three parts...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps2822cfd6.jpg

...which look like this when assembled and painted.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps00fb1b9d.jpg

The framework behind the seat is also included, consisting of 1/16" plywood parts and aluminum tube...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psac68b2d1.jpg

...which should look something like this when assembled.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps8e7bcfc7.jpg

The instrument panel comes painted and assembled. It is relatively simple due not only to the relatively small scale but also because the panel in the full size airplane is not particularly complex.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps4d09df10.jpg

Finally the gun sight and mount is supplied from three 3d printed parts and five laser cut parts...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps96b487c6.jpg

...which are then assembled and painted. The macro setting on my camera makes the dry brushing look much harsher than it actually is.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psc9ed77eb.jpg

Finally everything gets painted and the various sub-assemblies are then installed.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps2903be34.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psd0a6697c.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psf9169c64.jpg

A pilot bust will be installed to finish it off and then I will be ready to add the canopy. Simple but effective at this scale I think. For those who may be interested the Mk.8 gun sight was used in many different aircraft and is available seperately if you would like one for some other project. I also have it in 1/6 and 1/5.3 scales.

Thanks for looking gents!

Just a quick update to keep this thread alive! I have recently shipped some additional accessories to Dirk (Reini450) in Germany and to Craig (Oakey) in Australia and have another box to go to yet another Australian customer as soon as I get another fiberglass cowl. Several other builders have been in contact with me recently and I am excited to see a bit of a resurgence in interest in the airplane. I am patiently waiting for a flight report from Andy in the UK as well. (Well, maybe not all the patiently!)

Despite my stated intention to ground my Hellcat for some much needed TLC after our last One Eighth Air Force event I was persueded by a good friend to compete at the Scale Masters qualifier in Hemet, California last weekend. So the Hellcat was prepared for one last "hurrah" before being grounded for rebuild. Attendance was relatively light due to it being Easter weekend but there were around 18 total entries with 5 in my class. (Expert) My static score at this event was 96.25 which, while very satisfactory for an airplane that was never intended for competition, was still fourth out of the five entries. Thus I started the flying rounds very aware that I was climbing something of an uphill battle. I had a solid first round with one exception, I let a cross wind get the best of me and broke the dead line on takeoff which resulted in a zero for that manuever. That dropped me to an overall score of 84 for round one. Round two went well, although not quite as solid as round one, but I did not zero any of my manuevers and ended up with a 90.25 total flight score. Round three was my best of the meet and the good old Hellcat chugged her way to a 94.5 total. Thas was good enough to tie fellow competitor Corey Dail for the highest flight score of the weekend. I rewarded the airplane by making a down wind landing that ended upside down off the end of the runway resulting in a shattered canopy! Doh! My caller warned me that I was landing down wind but I was too busy chatting up the flight judges and simply missed his warning. Live and learn. Despite that the landing itself was good and the mistake only cost me a couple of points off my "flight realism" score. I still broke my airplane though! The canopy damage was quickly taped up as best as possible and the airplane prepped for the last round of the weekend. At this point I was hoping for a really stellar round four. The final flight score is tabulated based on three rounds and thus each pilot is allowed to drop their low score. I was hoping that I could drop my round one score and thus rid myself of that offending zero for breaking the dead line. I got off to a very good start to round four and was feeling very good about it. However, about half way through the flight the engine started to sag a bit. I continued with the flight and got through 6 of my 9 manuevers but manuever 7 was a half reverse cuban eight and the engine was simply not making enough power to get through the manuever safely. At that point I decided it was better to cut the flight short than to risk a dead stick landing. (You don't want to have to make an off-airport landing in Hemet, very rough terrain.) The landing was probably my best of the entire weekend but, of course, I got big fat zeros for the two manuevers I was unable to complete. I forgot to check what my overall score was for the round but it had to be somewhere in the mid-seventies so, obviously, that was the round that got dropped. Thus my average flight score for the weekend was something around 89.5 which, when added to my static score, was good enough for a second place finish. The winner, Brad Osborne, had a near perfect static score of 99.75 and an average flight score of over 93 so chances of overtaking him were pretty slim. (I would have had to have an average flight score of around 97!) Brad's airplane, a PT-17 Stearman, was drop dead gorgeous and he handled it superbly. It was a pleasure to compete with him and I will gladly take second place to such stiff competition any day of the week. The whole trip was a real pleasure and I think I am pretty well hooked on competition at this point. I sure wish I could get to the Scale Masters event in September but a trip to Indiana will not be in the budget this year I'm afraid. So now the Hellcat REALLY is grounded for some upgrades and repairs. In the meantime I hope to finish up my brother's Hellcat before the end of summer and, maybe, get some more work done on my second airplane. With any luck maybe I can get qualified again next year and get my second prototype completed for the event. With the flaps and other additional details I plan on adding it might prove to be a bit more of a contender.

A short report on the Hemet event as well as some great pictures by Ken Young can be found at the link below. I would like to thank Ken for the really terrific photos of the Hellcat, one of which can also be seen below.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/even...l-19-20-a.html

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...8&d=1398114954

Congratulations bud! :cool:

Good going Chad. Sounds like you had a typical contest. Everything at home can go perfect until you get to the contest site, then the real "fun" begins.
There will be four scale contests in Indiana this year. The Scale Nationals in Muncie in July, the Hoosier Scale Classic in Seymour in August, the Scale Masters in Rosewood in September and the NASA Scale Classic in Muncie in October.
Come join us if you can!

Hello Chad,

it sounds like a great event.
Congratulations.

Last week, I got my motor and the prop.
The test bench is ready.
Here are some pictures of the motor, the bench and the prop as well.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1990446http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1990447http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1990448http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1990449

Enjoy it.:rolleyes:

Have a great Week.

Dirk

Thanks for the reply John, good to hear from you. Any more flights on the Corsair?

Steve, I'd love to come fly with you guys but I just don't see it happening this year. I'm hearing rumours of Texas for the Masters next year, not sure I'd be able to get out there either assuming I can get qualified again.

Dirk, your prop set-up looks fantastic! There are at least 3 or 4 of these being built up for electric that I'm aware of and I look forward to a flight report on the first one to get finished. That very well could be yours!

Congratulations!

Great Job Chad!

Casey

Thanks for checking in Casey and for the kind words. I hope all is going well for you and the family in your new digs and the youngster is adjusting to his new life in "paradise". :)

Hi Chad
she had her first outing yesterday at rafmaa warbirds only as static as I've still have a few things to sort ,she was very well received though & looked great .
Will email you some pics when I have them all sorted

Andyhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1990665http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1990666

That is good news Andy and, as I'm sure you are aware by now, I am really looking forward to a flight report when you do get it completely sorted.

Reni your installation is looking great. I am still grappling with the placement of the batteries. I have moved the firewall forwards to match the motor size and a couple of other little adjustments. but I cant get the battery packs in behind the firewall from the bottom hatch so I was going to have to make a top hatch and try to blend it in across panel lines. how have you done it?

perhaps we could share notes by email? PM me if you like

cheers

Craig

Hi Oakey,

thanks for your kind words.
Currently, I've (depending of the position of the batteries) two ideas.
If I have to place the most weight behind the motor, then I'll mount the batteries vetical behind the motor.
For this, I've "open" the cowling. As shown in the pictures.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1991945http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1991946

If it's not necessary to place the batteries so much forward, I'll place the batteries behind the firewall. Like you.
Next, I'll finish the tail section (installing the tail gear, elevator, rudder and so). Than I can get a first test to see how much weight in the front I need.
My aim is to save weight as much as possible. As you know, the retracts are limited to 4,5 kg. :(:confused::(

Dirk

100° rotating electric Retracts
 

Robart has announced new 100° rotating electric retracts.
http://robart.com/products/810rse-10...ectric-retract
With some minor modifications, it could fit into Chad's/our Hellcat.
I've tried to bring these into Chad's drawings. And I think, It looks not so bad.
But the best is, these retracts are proven from 8-18 lbs. :D:D:D
No worries about the weight. :cool::rolleyes::cool:

Greetings Dirk

Top Hatch
 

I've picked up Oakey's idea from a top hatch for an access to the batteries behind the firewall.
And to follow the panel lines is also a great idea. That could make the hatch nearly invisible.
I've attached a pdf-file.
The black lines are the drawings from Chad's design.
The red one are the panle lines, used from drawings from Eduard.
The green lines are the Eduard drawing, but a little bit "squeezed" to match witch Chad's design.
Currently I have no idea how the hatch can be secured. (Prefer: unvisible)

Dirk

Hi Dirk
looks like we are using the same panel lines too. I have designed a battery carrier to put the two packs on that will slide into a hole through F2. I have increased the depth of the F1s infront of f5 so that I can get a bit more of a box. I also added some cheek plate type doublers for to reinforce the front a little more. weight there wont hurt.

I was going to build up the rudder to save a little more weight.
I am thinking about the sierra 100 degree rotating retracts as I fly off some very ordinary paddocks.

cheers and PM me if you want to talk offline otherwise with Chads OK I will post some pics of my thoughts.

cheers

Craig

Hi all,

here is a small clip of the first test run. ;)

http://youtu.be/pziLAnksEcw Greetings

I'm lovin' that big 3-blader Dirk, looks excellent.

Post away Craig!

Tail Wheel Hatch
 

Here are some pictures from my last progress.
The tail-wheel-hatch is ready.
I used only 4 magnets and 4 ordinary nails. :cool:
The nails serve as guiding and positioning.
I think the images require no explanations.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993836http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993837http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993838http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993839http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993840http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993841http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993842http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1993843

Greetings,
Dirk

Clean and neat work as usual Dirk. In case it is not obvious you will need to add a chunk of balsa to the lower plate on the tail wheel unit and sand it to shape to match the contour of the hatch with the tail wheel retracted. See picture for clarification. It is for this reason that I did not paint this area on the unit I sent to you.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psdf91638d.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...WRETRACTED.jpg

Came across some video from the Hemet event which includes a wee bit of the Hellcat, 30 seconds or so. Not much but proof that the flight shots in this thread are not Photoshop fakes! :) The whole video is worth a watch but the Hellcat stuff starts right at the 6 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0WCDhBoay4

Great landing!

Thanks Steve!