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

[Elbee]

No Worries and Welcome.
Sometimes I still can't get it right the first time.
LOL

[jetfool]

Lani,
Welcome to this sight. You will find many great friends and excellent advice. Waiting to see the mods. you plan to do.
Best Regards, Rex

[ianl1201]

You can really tell this is my first time posting on HS!!

[ianl1201]

Doh...duplicate posts! 😖

[Elbee]

ianl1201,

Great debrief, hope your next check flight goes off without any issues.

Glad to read you're planning some detail modifications.

Good-lookin' pilot figure and cockpit parts.

Looking forward to more pictures as you progress.

Best, LB

[ianl1201]

Late to the party as usual, but I have read the entire thread and want to say thank you to all the contributors here for all the tips, hints and 3DP parts for this lovely Corsair.

I have lots of plans for my recently purchased bubble-top. I've already printed and painted the cockpit parts, pilot and have an envelope from Callie sat on my workbench. Unfortunately my maiden attempt yesterday evening didn't go to plan!! I had the field to myself (always prefer to maiden without a crowd) and the wind dropped to almost zero which is rare here in the Netherlands. C of G and range checks all done so taxied out and throttled up...it came up on the mains so I held throttle steady to let her build speed then she dipped the nose and dug in the prop. I shut off and she slowly nosed over. No damage other than my pride, so put her back on her wheels and tried again. Same result and as I was walking up to it I was hoping the top of the rudder was in a hole...but no....it had cracked and folded over 😒End of the maiden plans.

All fixed now and I also adjusted the elevators with a tiny bit of up trim when at neutral position...also need to adjust my thumbs to react a bit quicker!! Have any of you experienced the same thing? Maybe I needed more power sooner or perhaps fully released the up elevator too soon once she was rolling. The Corsair isn't my first big warbird as I have the Hangar 9 60 size P-47 (with the FMS 1700mm Corsair prop) which I love but I can tell I need to be on top of my game with this new bird.

My plan is to fly it, get it set up and trimmed then add the decals and go to town with some of the weathering techniques described in the thread and begin to really enjoy it in the Spring. I'm really happy with my new aircraft...but will be happier still once I've got it in the air! 😂

[Joe Hockey]

Thanks ! They are semi soft tires sold by Amazon and ZY hobbies , I will try to find a link . I am using them on my TF Seafury and my 80” Phoenix P40 in larger sizes as well.

[Elbee]

Good modification, Joe. Are your tires solid soft foam, and if so, who distributes those? Best, LB

[Joe Hockey]

These are my original 3.5” light weight wheel mods . Canopy glue for the raised details , going strong 3 years & I swear they have helped with bad landings & bad field conditions!

[Joe Hockey]

Thank you , appreciate it !

[Evan D]

Yes. First after the beeps saying it's in programming mode.

Question please : Need to remove the break on my esc , is that the first beep after the esc recognizes the 6beeps for the lipo ?
Thanks

[Joe Hockey]

Question please : Need to remove the break on my esc , is that the first beep after the esc recognizes the 6beeps for the lipo ?
Thanks

[f4u ausie]

Couple times in my case. A shakey retract was a bent jackscrew and no brakes in the case.
I ended up with lots of internal parts.
I ended up with an wire extension about 4 inches long which I could see .. so retract maintenance or replacement was just 4 screws and tuck remaining wire into the channel.
Not as neat as factory.. but I just wanted to fly it

[davegee]

Yeah, I kind of suspected that it was not a great thing, in my case, it's pretty violent. I have a brand new set with the bigger pins, so I'll just change out both and fly something else in the meantime. The Spitties are crying for flight time anyways. At some point, I'm going to work up a order list and include a second set of retracts as spares.
I've replace one all ready and it really is a PITA the way you have to run the wires. Usually, I tie a string on to the old wire, pull it through and then reattach the string to the new wire and pull it back, trouble is that the plug puts up a bit of a fight sometimes. In an old guy moment of brilliance, I thought, "Why not attach an extension wire to the plug and tape it together instead of a string?" Might be better.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Yeah, these airplanes give you pause trying to figure out how to fish wires through the wings to replace parts like retracts and the like.

Just curious, have you tried just pulling the retract out slightly just enough to get a good look at it from all sides to see if you can see a crack or damage? Sometimes you'll find the dreaded crack in the housing meaning you need to replace it. I use a bright light like a good flasshlight and some magnifying glasses to see if you can see any damage or cracks. But I would highly advise that you remove the retracts just enough (not pulling out any wires or anything), so you can inspect if you have a broken retract housing. That would be the Least I would do before you take it up again, stopping short of actually pulling and replacing the retract.

Cheers

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Yeah, I kind of suspected that it was not a great thing, in my case, it's pretty violent. I have a brand new set with the bigger pins, so I'll just change out both and fly something else in the meantime. The Spitties are crying for flight time anyways. At some point, I'm going to work up a order list and include a second set of retracts as spares.
I've replace one all ready and it really is a PITA the way you have to run the wires. Usually, I tie a string on to the old wire, pull it through and then reattach the string to the new wire and pull it back, trouble is that the plug puts up a bit of a fight sometimes. In an old guy moment of brilliance, I thought, "Why not attach an extension wire to the plug and tape it together instead of a string?" Might be better.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Went well Dave, had her out flying today and they stayed on!
Elbee says to increase the x and y settings on the slicer, slightly which is something we might want to try on the winter when I get another set of Robarts.
In the meantime, I have this issue, I think it may have been addressed before, when the gear is retracting or extending, they shudder, really rocks the airplane, not a very smooth retract/extend.
Was there a solution? I'll have to look back through the pages.
Meantime, if there are some outer rings that 'size' the wheels correctly to the Robarts, we could do that route as well with the new wheels.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Hi Dan: good on gluing the Elbee wheel covers. I flew mine this morning, and it looks like I just glued them on like you did. That was over 2 years ago and they are solid as heck. They seem to fit the OEM wheel pretty well, I don't think they need to be enlarged, but we could try an experiment this winter to enlarge the X and Y axes to see if we can tweak it some. The biggest thing I'd like to do for a winter project is to increase the size of the pilot in my Spittie, you too, if you want to. It's a subjective thing to do, but I thnk we'll know when it "looks about right." If you could send me the STL for the Spittie pilot, it would be easier for me to find. I have so much on my memory stick from so many projects, it would be tough to find it! I can get going sooner as I get time to start on an enlarged pilot for evaluation.

Got three beautiful flights on my Corsair this morning, one of the finest foamy prop aircraft I have ever had. Have had it for over 5 years now. Wish I would have started logging flights like I have some of my newer planes. But I would guess my Corsair has over 100 flights on it. Same for my Spittie which is about 8 years old now. I"ve flown it a ton. Am waiting for a replacement servo for the left aileron comes from MRC to see if I can get rid of that annoying shudder that the left aileron does on the ground.

Regarding the "shudder" you are experiencing on your Corsair. I have had the same thing for years, especially on retraction. I have seen the shudder when I damaged the retract housing and that was the source. But if you inspect the gear housing for cracks and there are none, I think you are ok, based on my experience over several years. I have to admit it bugs me, but once I check the gear retracts for cracks or damage and there is none, I feel I am good to go.

Cheers

Davegee

[Elbee]

Hugh Wiedman

Copy...Nailed it.

1) Never cross your crew's Chief (CMSgt-USAF).

2) Always bring adult beverages and/or snacks.

3) Remember you only have privilege to borrow the aircraft.

Respectfully, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Went well Dave, had her out flying today and they stayed on!
Elbee says to increase the x and y settings on the slicer, slightly which is something we might want to try on the winter when I get another set of Robarts.
In the meantime, I have this issue, I think it may have been addressed before, when the gear is retracting or extending, they shudder, really rocks the airplane, not a very smooth retract/extend.
Was there a solution? I'll have to look back through the pages.
Meantime, if there are some outer rings that 'size' the wheels correctly to the Robarts, we could do that route as well with the new wheels.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

I agree with Fast N Light , my limited experience with retracts that shudder is a sure sign of impending failure and usually as minimal as a bent worm screw. That's why my maintenance department carries several spare retracts for all my birds! Better to replace it before it goes out for good.

My Master Chief MO's normal stare at me after coming in for a landing, usually followed by him claiming "I've had it up to here with your total disregard for the well being of MY AIRCRAFT":

[f4u ausie]

Yehaaa no bad news is good news

[Aros]

Flew mine today. It’s been too long. Such a sweet bird. Nice break from my EDF jet mishaps as of late.