Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

[Loneflier]

I am wanting to add a twin to my ever growing air force, and wanted to get the thoughts of the MRC guys, as well as any of you who have these twins too. I am interested primarily in the three listed below, but if anyone knows of other interesting twin warbirds, I would like to know about them too.

1) The Mosquito, both the Freewing and Parkzone versions
2) The Messerschmitt Bf 110 in the Dynam or Durafly lineup (sorry, I know MRC doesn't carry Durafly, but I do like the plane, and have had good luck with Durafly planes)
3) The B-25, again available from both FMS and Taft Hobby.

Any thoughts, experience with any of these, pluses, minuses, etc, I would like to hear!

Thanks!

BTW-I should have mentioned that I fly off a grass field, and while it is usually closely mowed, that isn't always the case! I have heard the nose wheels of the B-25 in either version tend to be weak, and grass fields aren't friendly to retracts anyway.

[colemn615]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

That's a hard one.

The Freewing Mosquito probably looks the best out of all of them but the assembly looks to be more involved then what I am use to out of a foamy. Next up I would say the Dynam BF110 which I think MotionRC will stock in the future. I considered the B25 but for me the wings must be detachable.

I would shy away from the Durafly. No support = the suck.

[Loneflier]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Thanks for the input. I much prefer to buy from MRC, but have to admit, I have had good luck with Durafly, which is produced by FMS. They do offer parts, but postage is high, and getting responses back from them is difficult.
The FreeWing Mosquito comes with many of the things I would want to add to the PZ Mosquito, and if you add in retracts and flaps, the PZ Mosquito is a good bit more expensive. I see that MRC already has the new Dynam Hurricane, so I expect they will carry the Bf110 soon too.
Decisions, decisions!!

[StarHopper]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

P-38's get my mojo workin'.
But.....best solution, buy 'em ALL dude! - then decide which you like best.
Win-win...win!!

<smiley image="smiley_wink.gif"/>

[Loneflier]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

LOL! I would do that, but my wife seems to think that the living room is not supposed to be full of my airplanes. Can't understand why not, but better not push my luck.

As for the P-38, yes, I love that one too, and I do have the micro Flyzone P-38. A very nice flier too I might add, but not for windy days. I don't see an option for a larger (1100mm or larger) P-38 from anyone at the moment.

One of the HH distributers sent me a 50.00 email coupon for their PZ Mosquito, and I am extremely tempted, except that I will still have to spend another 89 for retracts, which makes the Freewing Mosquito cheaper.

I was really hoping that MRC would be getting in the Dynam Messershmitt Bf110 soon since I really like the looks of that one, and I don't have too many German planes in my collection. I think the extra wingspan over the Durafly is probably worthwhile, and I know MRC will carry the parts if they carry the plane.

So for right now, I am holding out until I see that one that is "just right"!

Thanks to all for this forum and the responses. This is a great source of information for everyone.

Rich

[Pheonix]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

The BF110 is a great flying that is easy to build. It tracks true because of the contra props. I replaced the recommended 3-cell 2200 with a 4-cell zippy compact battery. The CG is right on with the set up. The things are a little tight in the fuse. Now for the P38, building this one is a real challenge. There were many design flaws with this one. I am still trying to build this one. I decided to start from scratch by replacing the servos and upgrading the flying surfaces. The Mossy is a great flying plane. I changed out the props and spinners and this thing screams. You cannot go wrong with the BF 110 or the Mossy.

[Baron]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

I was happy to hear that Dynam made the Bf 110. It is on my wish list. I asked here if anyone could tell me if the props would be counter rotating. Either Mark or Tom responded that he was 99% sure that the props were NOT counter rotation because that increases the cost. You are say they opposite based on the actual use. Forgive my ignorance as a total noob on twin engine planes but I assume it does not matter which runs cw or ccw , or does it actually matter in which direction each rotate ie: does the right prop need run cw and the left ccw? Are you getting about 5 min of flight time on medium throttle?

[Hippie 64]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Look at RC Informer about the Mosquito . He did a build review on it with a few tips . Might help in your decision .

[Loneflier]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Thanks for the inputs guys. Like Baron, I was under the impression that the Dynam Bf-110 did not have counter rotating props. I have their Catalina and it does not have them and is an excellent flying plane. If the Bf-110 does have counter rotating props, that is a plus. The Freewing Mosquito is probably my next choice. It have watched the build from RC Informer, and it doesn't look too bad, plus it comes with retracts and lights already. I love the B-25 as well, who doesn't, but am concerned about the nose wheel on grass.

I did get out and flew today, even though the wind was up pretty strong. I flew my Tower Corsair and had a blast. I was able to bring it in on final into the wind and nailed the landing on the grass. The wind really slowed the approach down and it looked good coming in. Usually, no matter how careful I am on landing, my tail draggers will tip once they hit the longer grass outside the soccer field lanes. Also played with my FMS 1280 glider and was "slope soaring" into the wind. I was surprised how well this one handled the wind today. Anyway, a fun day even with the wind. Hope you guys had a great weekend too.

BTW- If you have any flight video of your Bf-110, please post it, I'd love to see it.

[Hippie 64]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Rc Informer is in Florida and only flys on grass. I've spoke with him a few times and is a supper guy . He has his number listed on his web site . Send him a text and he will respond . Most times if you ask to speak with for advice he will be more than happy to help , may take a little time , day or so .

[Loneflier]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Thanks-I will try that!

[StarHopper]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Only thing I can think of as "added cost" would be the need for carrying 2 different props - one 'Reversed'. If you can find a workable prop set on your own, you can always swap 2 motor leads & reverse the motor spin as needed.

One caveat - if the plane only has one ESC this might be problematic. But if a twin has only one, I don't think I would want it. If they 'cheap out' on you there, who knows where else they cut corners!

[eflyer1]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Hi,

I too have gotten the bug for twins/multis and currently have the following twin/multi warbirds and can offer some opinions in my experience:

Durafly Bf-110, Taft B-25, Dynam C-47 Skytrain, Freewing B-17.

I won't get too into details about the 110 and B-25 but the 110, B-25 and C-47 all fly well and have the sweet spot in wingspan, they all will fit either in the trunk or back seat of my car in one piece, the B-17 only fits in the back seat at an angle. Most of these planes have the ESC's in the engine nacelles except the B-17 which has them in the fuselage under the canopy hatch but in all cases removing the wing to transport results in dealing with a spaghetti mess due to the throttle wires, power wires, aileron wires and maybe even flap servo wires (except C-47). In my opinion that's too many chances for a connector to fail so I prefer to leave the planes assembled.

I'm hoping Motion will carry the Dynam C-47, I realize it's not a fighter or bomber but is usually classified as a warbird as it played a pivotal role in supplying the war effort transporting troops, equipment, etc.

The FMS B-25 looks like a good plane and should fit in the back seat of all but the smallest cars plus motion has all the parts.

As for the Mossies It looks to me that the Freewing is the better deal: slightly larger, retracts included, Freewing parts are inexpensive and I kind of like the paint scheme better-looks more menacing.

From what I've seen most of these models get good reviews for flying characteristics and the ones I have all handle like sport planes (usually not twitchy, slower roll rate than a single engine fighter, long wings make these a little floatier in landing but you still need to carry a little power to touchdown.

They all handle grass club fields well but the Taft B-25 has tiny wheels with little room to put in larger ones and so requires a lot of throttle to push it along, perhaps the FMS one being a bit larger will have an easier time,. The C-47 has enough room in the gear struts to accommodate 3"wheels and I have no trouble with nose overs.

I might just get the Dynam Bf-110 when Motion gets them and possibly eventually the Freewing Mossie.

[Loneflier]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Thanks eflyer1-You have hit on pretty much exactly the same planes I am interested in too. I have looked at the Dynam Skytrain too and liked it. NP has a flight video of it and it does look nice. The gear looked pretty solid for our grass fields even though it doesn't retract. How do you like the Durafly 110? Is it a pretty solid plane and good flyer?

I have pretty much narrowed it down to either the Freewing Mosquito and the Dynam Bf-110, and waiting to see if MRC carries the 110. Right now I have plenty of planes to fly and having to be careful about adding new ones since my wife doesn't seem to think that the living room is the place for me to store them!

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[30MinuteMotor]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

I know this is an old thread but I have been flying a PZ Mosquito for about 4 months now and can tell you that it fly's really well. Mine has flaps and retracts. It looks really good with the gear tucked up.

It's an honest airplane, no surprises, and has a gentle stall characteristic. It's not what you would call slow either. It does about 65 MPH under full power on the level. For a war bird it's relatively easy to land.

My PZ P38 is also a good plane but it flys like it has a higher wing loading. The P38 lands really well though. If I could retract the gear on the P38 I'd probably like it as much as the Mosquito.

[Loneflier]

Re: Warbird Twin Engine recommendations?

Thanks 30MinuteMotor-
I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your Mosquito. I am glad to hear that your PZ Mosquito flies well. I really do like that one, I was just looking at the total cost for that version with retracts and flaps, vs. the Freewing version which already has those features and is only 30.00 more than the BNF PZ version. I have quite a few of the PZ planes, and have found their quality to be top notch and all seem to fly well.

I was surprised to see your comment on the PZ P-38. I never knew they made a P-38! I will have to do some web searches now to see more about that one!

For now though, it might be a mute point. Seems I have reached "saturation" with planes at my house. (At least according to my wife!) I have to stop getting more kits and build that shop I've been talking about for a while now so that I can consolidate everything in one place. Until I get that done, I will just have to fly and enjoy those I have on hand!

If anyone has a set of garage/workshop plans or recommendations, I would like to know about them. I am thinking about a detached 16 x 24 size shop, with roll up garage door, a side entry, and a few windows. Nothing really fancy, but a nice place place to work on my planes, and store them out of danger from cats and dogs.