Official FlightLine F4U-1A Corsair 1600mm (63") Wingspan

[RichJ53]

Well flight 16 ended badly today. Right after taking off the wind came up out of the east(crosswind) and I found myself stretching the flight as long as I dared hoping the wind died down. It didn't so I had no choice but to make an approach and hope for the best. As I slowed down, the plane was drifting towards the pits and as I gave it a little rudder, the wind stopped dead and the plane mushed in.:Scared: Even though I would just call this a hard landing, the gear just folded like they were made out of balsa. I have to say the gear are pretty weak. Other than that though, hardly a scratch on the plane.:Whew: Two prop blades, half of a gear door, and what ever happened with the gear.They don't operate at this point so I'll have to dig into it tomorrow.

Sorry Brad
I can see this happening....glad it did not have to much damage ….. I hope I can keep my bird from suffering this same fate. If you feel like sharing some of your damage photos with us, I would like to see the gear and where the week points are. I am using the stock wheels and did not opt for the larger DB tires

All the best
Rich

[RichJ53]

Thanks guys...
Great advice as always. :Cool::Cool::Cool:

I saw your question and was afraid to chime in because of the reported issues and wondering if I should take any action on my stuff? Reading about the "fails" I have struggled to make sense from the problem. As with any manufactured item made by humans, you can get a defective part or have a delayed failure from this defect. As a whole, all the other parts will work as designed for the life of the plane..

I like the blue box idea, my observation while using the servo tester to set everything up was the blue box will stay on the last position when powered off. So when you have mounted your receiver and finalized your installation, be sure to note where you have your landing gear switch when powering off the radio. As long as you have your radio gear switch in your last position when the plane was powered off, it should not be a problem.

So far my L39 and Corsair 1A have been working nicely, however personally I do not like the 5 + second delay built into the circuit. I would prefer to do this myself with my radio settings on my transmitter. In my opinion, MRC should look into this design and include some safety measures into the circuit board or possibly eliminate the delay all together for future projects.

Rich

[RichJ53]

I just joined the FL Corsair Club. Should have it here by this Friday along with the Admiral RX600SP receiver. I purchased the "bubble top" variant.
I did buy the RX with stabilizer. A question in regards to the RX. Does it come with any male to male connectors?
I've read most of the posts on the 1600 mm Corsair but haven't seen any that have used a Stabilizer. Does it need one or could it use a stabilizer under certain conditions?

I've been hesitant in buying an electric Corsair but after seeing one assembled and flown at Nall I had to have one.

Tom

Hi Tom

Congrats on your choice!

The RX600SP receiver only comes with a bind plug and adhesive pad. So it does not come with any connectors, but you don't need any to connect the servos unless I am missing something here? Using gyro assist on your airplane to me is a personal preference and based on your flying experience...… that would be hard to advise you.

The Corsair is a very stable plane with a solid feel and really does not heed any gyro assistance. As with any plane you need to be careful at slow speeds but this airplane is wonderful flying in the air...
Rich

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

Hi Rich:
https://www.motionrc.com/products/fr...ol-box-e-mcb-e....I didn't realize the MFCB (blue box) came like this.

The Corsair may not need stabilization but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Tom

[downwindleg]

Ugh. Sorry Brad, I wish I could say I have no clue what you are talking about but in fact I know all too well precisely what you are talking about. Even though I admit fault for slowing her down beyond stall speed about a foot AGL, I too was shocked that the retracts buckled like kindling. Definitely the weakest point of the plane. Not to say they are bad retracts, but they are manufactured to fold to save the integrity of the wing. But not without cost.

Thanks Todd. I haven't had a chance to dig into it but wondering what you wound up doing with your gear. Mine no longer function but haven't explored further.(not enough hours in the day) Did you wind up replacing your gear or making repairs?

[downwindleg]

Thanks Todd. I haven't had a chance to dig into it but wondering what you wound up doing with your gear. Mine no longer function but haven't explored further.(not enough hours in the day) Did you wind up replacing your gear or making repairs?

Thanks also to Rich and yes I will be glad to post photos when I get a chance to work on it. Kind of bogged down with runway maintenance, yard and home maintenance, and the ever popular honey do list. There's also that pesky Yellow P-38 sitting there calling to me. I finally got the motors to fully arm and spin....lots of trouble shooting. BTW Todd, they started cutting the hay at the field yesterday so the "tunnel feeling" at the runway is almost gone in case there was another Corsair you might want to maiden here sometime.;)

[paladin]

FINALLY GOT MY MAIDEN DONE!
had this plane for ever it seams. initially hooked it up to the blue box and all was good w the world. then as the months rolled by the reports of blue box failures started to come in. having a little experience with circuit boards and a flight line spit I made sure the E,A, and R all went directly to the rx. when the rain broke I took it to the field and the flaps would not work. to test that I did not have the tx setup wrong I plugged the flap plug from the blue box to the aileron rx and still nothing. so back home I ran the flaps directly to the rx and looked up which lg cycler I needed incase that part of the blue box failed also.

this Friday the wind was supposed to be 9mph down the runway. so after work I got there and noticed one of the flap linkages was flopping in the breeze. I did not have keepers on the "L" bend snap on thing. IDK if they came with the plane and I did not use them but it is what it is. I had the aileron linage in the furthest hole of the servo out put arm and the furthest hole of the ailerons and the servo EPA at 150 both sides. flaps were also on furthest out holes on both servo put and flap control horn. elevator and rudder servo output arms were from factory, E was all the way out on the control horn and rudder was factory.

I pushed a old (that means heavy) 6s5a20c battery as far forward as it would go. I placed my backup battery between the drive battery and rx. handed the destructions book and tx to my son and he and the others at the field verified the cg and directions of all the control surfaces.

with no more excuses it was time to put it in the air. I tuned on the tx, then back up battery and waited for the radio to come to life then plugged the drive battery and the motor chimed to let me know it was online. taxied out to the center of the runway and turned into the wind. did a quick check of all surfaces again and advanced the throttle. it tracked straight, with no rudder input from me. it needed hardly any trim then to the maneuvers my first loop was terrible with several sharp elevator deviations. I was afraid I had forgotten expo (that's what happens when months go by between build and maiden) after I landed I checked and the expo was on but on the low setting 30% and I left it there. continuing with the maiden, I rolled to both sides and it rolled faster to the left, barrel roles were nice and big and the heading was the same in and out.

time to prep for landing, I slowed the plane and added flap as it slowed with no retracts. once all the flap was in I tried to find a throttle setting that it would fly level at it was a couple of clicks above off then put the flaps down and the nose came down a bit, perfect no roll! I flew it down and dirty directly in front of me and put the gear up and the flaps with the same throttle setting, the nose dropped a little and it was able to sustain a 15-20 degree down line. I pulled up and it came up for an instant than continued in the same down line.

flew for a minute or two more and set up for a landing we were getting a blast of gust right into our face so as always start set up in a gust and it was gone by the time I was on final I had to carry some extra throttle to penetrate the wind down the runway which had picked up and touched down about 40ft before where I was standing nice and gentile on the mains, pulled the flaps up then killed the throttle and it still had not reached me before it was stopped.

I flew it once more that day and realized that the jerking in the first loop was probably me getting used to the plane cause I never saw it again.

while back in the pits after the first flight I noticed another flap link dangling, again after flight two, and again when I took it out of the car at home. it now has keepers on them.

conclusion: I moved the aileron linkage into hole 3 of 5 on the servo output arm cause the maiden ailerons I had were little light, still faster to the left roll. the second flight had even more wind with no problems. it dose all the maneuvers with ease, with plenty of power for big loops.

Joe

[Aros]

Thanks Todd. I haven't had a chance to dig into it but wondering what you wound up doing with your gear. Mine no longer function but haven't explored further.(not enough hours in the day) Did you wind up replacing your gear or making repairs? ...BTW Todd, they started cutting the hay at the field yesterday so the "tunnel feeling" at the runway is almost gone in case there was another Corsair you might want to maiden here sometime.;)

I just replaced the gear entirely. As for some other Corsair, I sure hope so!!! :)

[NorthernFlyer]

How about some pictures of where your gear are failing...?
I cannot figure out why all Rc components come with preinstalled wiring harnesses. Why aren’t they all made with a plug at the component, just like real aircraft are made. Would make component changes a snap, right :Silly:

I know I am late to the party on this one, but being someone who is considering the FL Corsair, I would love to see this issue fixed before I pull the trigger.

I regards to what Ole Timer is saying, I would agree that a short plug at the retract and other components that have a higher potential to need replacing would be highly useful. E-Flite has done this on a few of their planes and it makes life so much easier when replacing parts. I had a retract give out early in the life of my E-Flite Texan and when I went to replace the retract I was pleasantly surprised to find the short lead and connector right at the retract. It was nice not to have to pull the tape of the wing and have to repaint as I have had to do on other planes. I am not sure why rc companies have not made this common practice.

[downwindleg]

I just replaced the gear entirely. As for some other Corsair, I sure hope so!!! :)

As luck would have it they're out of stock. How many backup sets of gear did you buy anyway?LOL

[Alpha]

FINALLY GOT MY MAIDEN DONE!
had this plane for ever it seams. initially hooked it up to the blue box and all was good w the world. then as the months rolled by the reports of blue box failures started to come in. having a little experience with circuit boards and a flight line spit I made sure the E,A, and R all went directly to the rx. when the rain broke I took it to the field and the flaps would not work. to test that I did not have the tx setup wrong I plugged the flap plug from the blue box to the aileron rx and still nothing. so back home I ran the flaps directly to the rx and looked up which lg cycler I needed incase that part of the blue box failed also.

this Friday the wind was supposed to be 9mph down the runway. so after work I got there and noticed one of the flap linkages was flopping in the breeze. I did not have keepers on the "L" bend snap on thing. IDK if they came with the plane and I did not use them but it is what it is. I had the aileron linage in the furthest hole of the servo out put arm and the furthest hole of the ailerons and the servo EPA at 150 both sides. flaps were also on furthest out holes on both servo put and flap control horn. elevator and rudder servo output arms were from factory, E was all the way out on the control horn and rudder was factory.

I pushed a old (that means heavy) 6s5a20c battery as far forward as it would go. I placed my backup battery between the drive battery and rx. handed the destructions book and tx to my son and he and the others at the field verified the cg and directions of all the control surfaces.

with no more excuses it was time to put it in the air. I tuned on the tx, then back up battery and waited for the radio to come to life then plugged the drive battery and the motor chimed to let me know it was online. taxied out to the center of the runway and turned into the wind. did a quick check of all surfaces again and advanced the throttle. it tracked straight, with no rudder input from me. it needed hardly any trim then to the maneuvers my first loop was terrible with several sharp elevator deviations. I was afraid I had forgotten expo (that's what happens when months go by between build and maiden) after I landed I checked and the expo was on but on the low setting 30% and I left it there. continuing with the maiden, I rolled to both sides and it rolled faster to the left, barrel roles were nice and big and the heading was the same in and out.

time to prep for landing, I slowed the plane and added flap as it slowed with no retracts. once all the flap was in I tried to find a throttle setting that it would fly level at it was a couple of clicks above off then put the flaps down and the nose came down a bit, perfect no roll! I flew it down and dirty directly in front of me and put the gear up and the flaps with the same throttle setting, the nose dropped a little and it was able to sustain a 15-20 degree down line. I pulled up and it came up for an instant than continued in the same down line.

flew for a minute or two more and set up for a landing we were getting a blast of gust right into our face so as always start set up in a gust and it was gone by the time I was on final I had to carry some extra throttle to penetrate the wind down the runway which had picked up and touched down about 40ft before where I was standing nice and gentile on the mains, pulled the flaps up then killed the throttle and it still had not reached me before it was stopped.

I flew it once more that day and realized that the jerking in the first loop was probably me getting used to the plane cause I never saw it again.

while back in the pits after the first flight I noticed another flap link dangling, again after flight two, and again when I took it out of the car at home. it now has keepers on them.

conclusion: I moved the aileron linkage into hole 3 of 5 on the servo output arm cause the maiden ailerons I had were little light, still faster to the left roll. the second flight had even more wind with no problems. it dose all the maneuvers with ease, with plenty of power for big loops.

Joe

Hi Joe, I appreciate you taking the time to write out such a thorough maiden report, complete with ups and downs and all the details in between. I'm certain other readers will find it beneficial!


As to redesigning servo cases to allow "in-situ" replacement, that's a large ranging topic that involves mountains of up front cost, extensive retooling at both the component factory and the model factory level, and a variety of other hurdles. If it were as easy as it seemed, the RC Industry would have done it by now. For our small part of the Hobby, suffice to say we've tried to mitigate some of the potential friction points along the "servo replacement process". First is to use screws to affix the servos within plastic bays. This increases the cost, labor, and weight for everyone, yes, but it helps if someone ever needed to replace a servo. Second is to widen the wire channels to make servo wire removal easier. The Corsair's wings are a good example of this, where most of the wiring transits within widened channels instead of tack-glued into narrow grooves and covered with tape. The design of an aircraft drives a lot of these decisions and the capability to implement such "features".

All Industries are an Evolution. We are where we are, which shouldn't restrict our memory of where we came from or dilute our march toward where we're going.

[MrSmoothie]

I haven't posted in a while -- why? Because I've had zero problems and nothing but fun with this model. It's one of the most consistently great flying models I've yet owned, and continue to believe it's one of the best thought-out and designed Warbirds available -- maybe THE best. Thanks again for the great work Alpha!

Now, please get with the program (haha) and produce a DH Mosquito in the same size as the Tigercat!!! I may break my finger hitting the "purchase" button... And when you do, PLEASE leave the decals off, same as the Corsair. Honest, I think Mosquitos at the large size and to this new standard of quality will sell as fast as you can ship 'em.

[Aros]

As luck would have it they're out of stock. How many backup sets of gear did you buy anyway?LOL

Just one set, I promise! LOL

[NorthernFlyer]

I haven't posted in a while -- why? Because I've had zero problems and nothing but fun with this model. It's one of the most consistently great flying models I've yet owned, and continue to believe it's one of the best thought-out and designed Warbirds available -- maybe THE best. Thanks again for the great work Alpha!

Now, please get with the program (haha) and produce a DH Mosquito in the same size as the Tigercat!!! I may break my finger hitting the "purchase" button... And when you do, PLEASE leave the decals off, same as the Corsair. Honest, I think Mosquitos at the large size and to this new standard of quality will sell as fast as you can ship 'em.

Hear, Hear!!! I second that!

....and maybe a 1600mm Sea Fury to boot! That plane looks phenomenal in large scale:

https://youtu.be/oz6JP21udgg

[Cws]

Alpha, the way you installed the servos and channels for the wiring on this airplane are the best I have seen. the rest of the industry should take notice and adapt. now if you can just come out with a
1600 mm P-39 without markings life will be good.

[benjack71]

[themudduck]

Nice job on your maiden! that's a beautiful flying field.
Try using the flaps for landing, your bird will slow down very well and its very easy to handle, just keep some throttle on because they do add a lot of drag.

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

Hey All:
Should be getting my bubble top F4u-1A on Friday. Sorry Motion it's not the 1D variant.
Anyway, has anyone painted the bubble top in the tri-color scheme?
I thought I've seen it done but not sure if it was here or on RCG.
I'm thinking of doing just that.
Will be a lot of sanding to get the darker blue off but should look great when done.
Going to be practicing my airbrushing technique until the "bent wing" gets here.

Tom

[Alpha]

Hi Tom,
I wouldn't recommend sanding off the factory paint.... Almost all of us who repaint these birds do so over the factory paint. The factory paint acts as a good base coat since it's formulated for foam and it's thicker viscosity increases its adhesion compared to painting hobby paints onto bare foam.

I do recall someone repainting a tri-color scheme on their -1A... I can't remember where I saw the pictures.

I'm looking forward to seeing your finished bird!

[I-fly-rc-aircraft]

Thank you Alpha.
I'm just thinking of the amount of paint (number of coats) will be needed to paint the white over the dark blue.
I just watched a video where the guy used paint thinner to remove the paint vs sanding.
That maybe the way I proceed.
I'm not completely sure I'll even do it. I may just fly the paint off it and do the re-paint when the weather sucks. LOL

Tom