What did you fly today?

[paulrkytek]

https://youtu.be/-EDAfE7dQVI?is=X8IlKY_QPvybQjk0 updated with sound system and the full rat tail logo

[Hugh Wiedman]

Finished Re-Powering my 1700mm FMS P-51 Red Tail. Installed an EFlight Power 60 (same motor in my 60" Beast Bi-Plane). Fit nicely and an 80 amp ESC is supposed to be adequate for it (same as the stock ESC), but I had a spare FW 130 Amp 6S ESC lying around from when I converted my 2 F-18's to 8S, so put that in it just to be safe. The most difficult part was props and spinners. The Stock 4 blade setup was 17" but reports existed that that setup would come apart using anything other than the 360Kv hampster wheel that comes stock. It also weighs a whopping 312 gr, no wonder it flew like a dog! I was able to find 4" 2 blade spinners from Extreme Flight (aluminum back plate and plastic cone) and a 4" 3 blade all aluminum spinner from ZYHobby in China (surprisingly quick shipping). Finding decent props was also difficult. Tried a Master Air Screw 16X7 (Power 60 recommends a 2 blade 15X7 to 17X7) but that prop was also too heavy at 110 gr with a 20mm thick hub (supposed to be for both electric and gas but looks more like for just gas to me). So I contacted my Xoar "go to" Sales manager in China and she made me 2 17X17 two blade beechwood electric props in black with yellow tips and 2 16X7 three blade electric props black with yellow tips. Would have loved to set it up with a 4 blade, but couldn't find the right spinner (although Xoar would have made a 4 blade for me). Of course when it's in the air, no one will notice whether it's a 4, 3 or 2 blade prop as it "screams past them"! I've had Xoar make me many different props (that can't be found in the US) and they always come through, only 4 weeks from order to arrival in Miami! They ain't cheap but IMO are the best electric beechwood props available, each meticulously balanced! The Xoar 3 blade weighs 65 gr, with a metal reinforcement sandwiched around the hub.

On the bench with an SMC 6S HiV 5900 mah fully charged, the 17X7 Xoar 2 blade pulled 96.6 ah and 2453 watts (I'm sure it will be less when flying free), the 16X7 Xoar 3 blade pulled 95.5 ah and 2368 watts, but the 16X7 3 blade Master Air Screw could only muster 77.9 ah and 1721 watts. I could hardly hold the plane down at fully throttle with either Xoar prop, but with the MA Screw there was a noticeable difference. I guess to get full benefit for the Power 60, it needs to turn up to 470 Kv and the MA Screw was just too heavy for it.

I did have to add an additional 3 ounces of lead in the motor compartment to make up for the stock heavy 4 blade to balance around 125-130mm.

Now to get it in the air! I think it will transform this aircraft just like it did when the Britts stuck a Merlin Engine in it!

[Elbee]

Hugh Wiedman

SAH-WEET indeed.

Best, LB

[Davegeee]

It started out as a beautiful morning to fly. I got two flights in on my Flightline Corsair, one carrying the special Brewster drop tank support structure and 500# bomb used in the Pacific back in WWII for a while. This is a beauty designed by Elbee and I printed it up with his permission and the use of his stl file. Really a work of art. I've flown it probably on 10 flights in the past couple of years. Does not cause any problems to the flying of the airplane,and is held on by rare earth magnets. As long as the gear comes doen, it will survive indefinitely!

Had a few more controllability issues with it and when I landed on the second flight, the culprit was the servo for the right outboard set of flaps (just one flap). It is pretty much burned out, original equipment when I bought it in about 2018-19. It is my oldest airplane in active flying service, and I've decided to have it "stand down" while I order a replacement servo and while I'm at it, I'll order new retract units for the mains. I think those might be original equipment so they've been through the ringer, I guess about 200 flights or so, since new. It deserves a break while I make the changeouts.

I also flew my FMS F-86, the first time in a few weeks since I broke off one of the flimsy main gear doors on a landing. Flew great, but then the wind came up, a bad crosswind with a lot of turbulence. I had to buckle down and bring it home safely. It worked out, not pretty, but it landed with no damage. Phew!

A few pics of the Corsair after its flights this monring. The engine section of the fake radial was reworked by Danger Dan and me, and he did the same for his Marine version of the same plane, but with the birdcage canopy.

Cheers

Davegee

[jetfool]

Beautiful picks. My favorite plane.
Rex

[f4u ausie]

That 500 pounder looks just awesome 😎 😎... Dave.. great job.. same 4 me. She needs couple. servo and gear.. every so often I hear a little complaining about(what still no zero to fight). I simply say sorry and go inside

[Davegeee]

Beautiful picks. My favorite plane.
Rex

Thanks, Rex. I ordered a replacement servo for the outside right flap that completely failed today after about 6-7 years, (I think that was an original part) but I had to go with RC Castle in China to get replacement retracts for the mains. They still operate ok but shudder when they retract, a worrisome sign of impending trouble. The gear struts are pretty loose in the retracts so I figured it was a good time to replace them, too, while I'm about it. So, it will be down for a few weeks while I wait for these parts.

This model is dedicated to a fearsome warrior and aviator, Marine Lieutenant Robert M. "Killer Bob" Hanson in WWII. He was the all-time record holder for kills in the Corsair aircraft (25). Was set to rotate home for a rest when he was lost attacking a troublesome Japanese flak tower in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

In Manila, Philippines, there is a beautiful cemetery, the largest military cemetery for Americans outside the USA. They have these monolith stones or slabs probably 20 feet tall each, with the names of the 40,000 who never returned from battle. Their names are all etched in stones, and some have a gold star next to the name, denoting a Medal of Honor recipient, which Hanson was (posthumously). I, along with my first officer on a layover took a cab over to the cemetery and did a rubbing of chalk on paper over Hanson's name as a keepsake.

[Davegeee]

That 500 pounder looks just awesome 😎 😎... Dave.. great job.. same 4 me. She needs couple. servo and gear.. every so often I hear a little complaining about(what still no zero to fight). I simply say sorry and go inside

Thanks, Craig. Thanks go to Elbee who did all the hard work and expertise to design up the parts and allowed me to print them up on my printer. I'm not totally certain, but I think VMF-215 did have some missions that used this early style bomb/fuel tank rack on some missions in the Solomon Islands in WWII. At any rate, it fits on beautifully with the use of a couple rare earth magnets that are glued on the ends of the struts that fit into the bottom of the fuselage.

Even wtih the most recent issues with the retracts and the failed flap servo today, this Corsair is one of the best rc warbirds I have ever flown. I never did keep score of how many flights I have done on my airplanes until just a few years ago, but I'm guessing I must have in excess of 200 successful flights on it now. I had one time where I was on downwind leg for landing and when I extended the gear, a black object dropped out of the airplane looking like a bomb! Turns out, it was one of the main wheels! I did a low gear pass to confirm this, but was able to land it with minimum damage to the airplane or the wheel-less strut. And, on top of that, I scoured the sage and cactus field where it was flying and actually found the wheel. Reinstalled it at home and it's been on there ever since.