First flight.
04-26-2003, 06:20 AM
#1
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First flight.
Hello
Anyone who have any wise words for me before I take out my Kyosho Me 109 for the first flight. Never flown a warbird before and never flown a low wing airplane before at all.
Thanks.
Anyone who have any wise words for me before I take out my Kyosho Me 109 for the first flight. Never flown a warbird before and never flown a low wing airplane before at all.
Thanks.
04-28-2003, 11:05 AM
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First flight.
HAHAHA, thanx for your support.. Everyone is telling me diffrent things so I dont know what to belive now. Some say its like flying a trainer...
04-28-2003, 02:00 PM
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First flight.
Thats what I was guessing. But flying a trainer is not so hard anymore and I want to move on. I got a AT-6 from Vmar but sold it. It felt so heavy compared to the Kyosho Me109
04-28-2003, 02:02 PM
#7
First flight.
Yes, it does fly like a trainer. However, it won't take off and land like a trainer, especially on a grass field. Since the CG is pretty far forward on this plane, you must manage the elevator and rudder correctly or it will nose over. The problem will be less severe on a paved runway. Once it is up in the air, it is very easy to fly. This bird is quick and agile, and you will have a blast flying it.
04-28-2003, 02:02 PM
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First flight.
I second the idea of taking an experienced pilot along. Let him/her get a trim flight in so you have one less thing to worry about when you fly it. 
If you MUST be the first to fly it (as in, no one else handy to help out) I recommend doing some taxiing first. Get a feel for how it handles during power up. A lot of these warbirds like the power to be added gently, not all at once. Be ready with the rudder to correct your line as the plane will probably tend to turn to the left during power-up.
Now take off when you are comfortable. Do a trim flight to get straight and level with no control input. Check it at various throttle settings, lower throttle will lose altitude of course, but you don't want it to actually pitch up or down drastically when throttled up or down. If it does there is an issue to be resolved before going any further. (engine thrust line, control surface incidence, etc...)
Ok, now you have it flying straight and level. Now it is time to practice landing approaches. This will not land like your trainer. Practice your approaches out in front of you, a couple of mistakes high in altitude. You are not going to actually land yet, just slow down and get a feel for how slow you can go without stalling. (check your timer and make sure you are not about to run out of fuel... I DID mention to run the tank dry on the ground first to see how many minutes it gives you, didn't I?)
Now go around and do your landing approach. During your stall testing you found out how low your throttle can be set without slowing down too much. Let it lose altitude on it's own, don't try to fly it down using down-elevator. As a matter of fact, you should have to keep a tiny bit of "up" on approach, with a nose-up (slightly) attitude. Just before touch-down you can chop the throttle and let her settle in.
To prevent nose-over during taxi, hold full up-elevator. Any time you blip the throttle it will want to "fly" the tail and up-elevator will hold the tail down.
It is a little different than a trike-gear trainer, but really it is just a matter of getting a "feel" for this particular aircraft, in a controlled way.
Good luck and post a flight report!
If you MUST be the first to fly it (as in, no one else handy to help out) I recommend doing some taxiing first. Get a feel for how it handles during power up. A lot of these warbirds like the power to be added gently, not all at once. Be ready with the rudder to correct your line as the plane will probably tend to turn to the left during power-up.
Now take off when you are comfortable. Do a trim flight to get straight and level with no control input. Check it at various throttle settings, lower throttle will lose altitude of course, but you don't want it to actually pitch up or down drastically when throttled up or down. If it does there is an issue to be resolved before going any further. (engine thrust line, control surface incidence, etc...)
Ok, now you have it flying straight and level. Now it is time to practice landing approaches. This will not land like your trainer. Practice your approaches out in front of you, a couple of mistakes high in altitude. You are not going to actually land yet, just slow down and get a feel for how slow you can go without stalling. (check your timer and make sure you are not about to run out of fuel... I DID mention to run the tank dry on the ground first to see how many minutes it gives you, didn't I?)
Now go around and do your landing approach. During your stall testing you found out how low your throttle can be set without slowing down too much. Let it lose altitude on it's own, don't try to fly it down using down-elevator. As a matter of fact, you should have to keep a tiny bit of "up" on approach, with a nose-up (slightly) attitude. Just before touch-down you can chop the throttle and let her settle in.
To prevent nose-over during taxi, hold full up-elevator. Any time you blip the throttle it will want to "fly" the tail and up-elevator will hold the tail down.
It is a little different than a trike-gear trainer, but really it is just a matter of getting a "feel" for this particular aircraft, in a controlled way.
Good luck and post a flight report!
04-28-2003, 02:47 PM
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First flight.
Nobody has mentioned it yet.. so I will.
I know this is obvious but in the excitement of flying my newly completed F8F - I found out the hard way.
Do a complete and through pre-flight. - Check control surface movement to make sure nothing is reversed.
- Check your CG.
- Check your flight pack.
- Do a range check.
- Check your hinges to make sure they are secure.
Have fun!
TRP
I know this is obvious but in the excitement of flying my newly completed F8F - I found out the hard way.
Do a complete and through pre-flight. - Check control surface movement to make sure nothing is reversed.
- Check your CG.
- Check your flight pack.
- Do a range check.
- Check your hinges to make sure they are secure.
Have fun!
TRP
04-28-2003, 03:22 PM
#10
First flight.
Both of mine have very nice stall characteristics and can fly very slowly without dropping a wing. In fact, the nose of both planes will drop first at stall. Both planes required some down elevator trim and no aileron/rudder trim to fly straight and level at full throttle.
04-29-2003, 12:45 AM
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First flight.
Just about all War Birds can be a handful. I have been flying them for many years. I flown everything from the Ziroli F4U to the Century Jet F-15. If you have never flow one before get an experienced "War Bird" pilot to help you. They are lots of fun. Just try to avoid kicking your self when your gluing new gear blocks back in.
