Dynam F4F Hellcat

[Dewey H Lee]

Is it me or does it seem Dynam just doesn't care. The planes are a value at the price. It would be nice if MOTION would at least post that this problem is a strong possibility just like they do with the retracts. Knowing what you know now. Would you still have bought the plane. Yea I think I would. Plan on getting the 109 soon also. What do you think of it. I know I'm going to have trouble with those long skinny retracts flying off of grass. I like running out the take off and my landings on the mains. Not bragging but I have spent more time it seems practiceing my landings than any other aspect of flying. Especially my Corsairs. They look so good coming down and not planting the tail till there's not enough airspeed to keep it up. Have never had the opportunity to take off and land on a hard surface as of yet. No clubs close to go to that has one. I envy the guys that do.

[farmflyer]

Dewey I would definitely still buy Dynam planes but part of the order in the future will include a replacement esc. On the 109 I like it but a couple of issues with it (1) the fuse had a gap in the seam from the cockpit forward (2) need to trim to clear the spinner (3) the ailerons and flaps are connected in one piece that runs the full length of the wing like a 3d plane which made for very sensitive control I cut the flap section loose and made it stationary (4) shim the gear forward they are long and will bend on a rough landing but you can bend them back easily. I put 1/2oz of lead up front with an admiral 2500 all the way forward and liked the balance there. I posted a review on the MRC site on the 109. I really like the way it flies it feels locked in good power and as expected a little tricky on the ground with the narrow stance. I think you will like it. My next Dynam will be Waco then the Corsair. I'm lucky I fly off of smooth rolled asphalt and have never flown off grass.

[LiveToFly]

I've flown the Hellcat for a couple years now and find it a very good flyer. I'd certainly recommend it as a first warbird. It is very docile and smooth. Just a couple negatives:
- Have had the cowl fall forward due to weak magnets. They were in place but didn't hold on a somewhat rough takeoff strip. Was very happy to see MRC pick up the plane as I knew they'd supply the cowl and prop I needed to repair.
- Landing gear are wobbly and weak. They often bend slightly on landing. I always do a test retract as I carry it back to the pits to see if the gear fit in the well.
- One of the gear doesn't want to extend in cool weather. It retracts just fine but getting it down is a little different. No biggie, I can always belly land in the grass next to the strip.
- Directional control sucks until you get the tail down. Landing at the correct speed is very important, or when you force the tail down the plane will lift off again.
- The aforementioned low throttle stutter- I look at that like a cold radial getting started but really, I don't run at that throttle setting so it generally doesn't bother me.
- The supplied pilot is way too big for the scale look. I'm looking for a 1/10th scale WWII pilot to fit the bill.

As I said, I enjoy the plane. I fly it often. It gets admired by some of the guys at the field as well.
I bought it at a different site that was always out of spare parts. Even at that, to replace the cowl they wanted me to buy an entire fuselage. Thanks MRC.

[farmflyer]

Well not having very good luck with this plane yet while doing a systems check after replacing a bad esc the left retract quit I checked all connections and even tried another known good y connector. I havnt even flown it yet. I'm not worried though I have no doubts that MRC will take care of me. I'm hoping to get it all sorted out soon and start enjoying this fine bird.

[Dewey H Lee]

Man . Sorry to hear that. Still no maiden on mine. Hopefully Spoon.

[farmflyer]

I've been lucky and had very few problems with any of my previous planes so I guess I was due. There's not much chance of flying in this part of Texas this time of year with daily winds 20to30 and gusts to 40 occasionally to 60. So I'm mostly just getting things ready to go when I get a chance even if it's only an hour at sunrise or sunset. I've got two maidens to do this one and the um pt17 I'll get em done sooner or later.

[farmflyer]

I got my replacement retracts in now I only need the weather to cooperate so I can get the maiden in. I'm excited to get this bird in the air and can't hardly wait for a good day to come.

[farmflyer]

Installed the new retract today it's working fine but now I've got to order the strut cover set. I didn't check ahead of time the covers are glued together over the strut and can't be removed without destroying them. I'll fly without the cover until I make another order to save the shipping.

[Dewey H Lee]

Man. Sorry to hear that Farmflyer. Been hoping to see a post saying you had maidened. Good luck and let me know how it goes. I still haven't gotten mine up. Weather is beautiful when I'm working and crap when I'm not. I'm hope maybe this weekend after I take care of an elderly neighbors grass for them. Good luck again.

[farmflyer]

Weather here has been crap today 90 degrees wind sustained 20to30 gusts to45 predicting the same next few days but it will let up sooner or later and I'll get her up.

[Evoman]

I became a fan of the F6F Hellcat after countless combat flights in the War Thunder flight simulator. This is what led me to buying the Dynam Hellcat and the RC Flying hobby when I discovered they made an RC version. I haven't flown it yet for fear of crashing this beauty but I have been practicing with two other RC planes I have. From all the videos I have seen of this model flying it seems to behave just like the simulated model in War Thunder. So I will already be familiar with this warbird's flight characteristics when I maiden it. I highly recommend all RC pilots to try out War Thunder. It is a great way to get to know all of these great warbirds. War Thunder is free to play for PC and PS4. You can check out this Hellcat review in War Thunder here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReHB...&nohtml5=False

[Pheonix]

I have the FMS Hellcat and the Dynam. The retracts on the FMS were problem prone. I replaced them with a set made by Philip at PW-RC. These work fine anbd the plane really flies well the MrRC sound card. I upgraded the motor and ESC in this one as well. It is a great flying plane. For the Dynam, I replaced both the motor with a Bigfoot .25 and the ESC with a Motion Gecko 65. Callie graphics completed the upgrade. This is a great flying plane. Just remember to add right rudder and go easy on the throttle on take off. The Hellcat is a very stable flying plane from the large wing area.

[Dewey H Lee]

Hey Farm flyer.
Made a pack with the boss to get a couple of days off next week. Since grass is in my future for the weekend maybe I can get it in the air next week. Just have to decide what days. Looks like the wind that's plaguing you decided to come to NC. Man it's blowing. There even talking of the temps in the 20s tomorrow night. If we could just get the temperature to settle I think the winds will to. Anyhow still looking forward to hearing of your maiden and hopefully I'll post mine next week.
Hey Pheonix
On your gear upgrade was it a drop in fit or did you have to carve. Also I was wondering if they were a little sturdier. I'm good at Landings but my club field is grass so there still going to get a workout. I envy Farm flyer for having a paved runway. Are you flying yours off of grass. Thanks for your information and happy flights.

[farmflyer]

I got the maiden in on my Hellcat today. All it needed was a couple of clicks of down elevator and a couple of right aileron. It is very stable and easy to fly descent speed at full throttle and flew comfortably at 2/3 throttle. I need bigger batteries the 2500 admiral hit the low voltage cut off at 4.5 minutes. I should have only went 4 on my first flight but got greedy. I had to dead stick the landing it went ok bent one landing gear wire back some but straightened it out easily. I'm going to like this plane.

[Dewey H Lee]

Hey Farmflyer
That's great man. Mine still setting. Went back and checked cg again with the gear up and down and boy what a difference. I found our large difference. Glade I hadn't tried to maiden with it like I had it. Would have been way to tail heavy. Now all of a sudden after messing with mine the other night the retracts started acting up. I noticed from the beginning that the one on the right(facing the plane) was rock steady but the one on the left had a 1/4 inch play. Been looking now for an upgrade for them. They just seem to work when they want to. Might cycle 10 times and they might work 6 times. Kinda worries you about putting it up. We'll congrats on your maiden and hate to hear about the dead stick. It's good you had things under control though. Let me know how the next one goes. Hopefully mine will fly soon. If I hadn't forgot how to fly🙄.

[farmflyer]

I'm sure you havnt forgotten. The landing wasn't total dead stick after it cut off I was ably to get a couple of good short bursts of throttle. Those allowed me to get her turned into the wind and one burst to help keep her from stalling about half way down on the landing. Actually the plane handled fairly well without power I let her settle on a pretty steep approach then kinda flattened her out about 10 ft of the ground if I had not rushed it down on the runway I probably wouldn't have even bent the strut.

[farmflyer]

On the retracts yes mine have a lot of slop and after the rough landing they jerk going up and down. One or the other will occasionally stick up I can tap on it or barely pull on it and it will work for a few times then hang again. I'm going to change them out before I fly again. I'm thinking the 10 15 size eflite 90 degree rotating. They're a little expensive but I have never had an eflite retract fail.

[Dewey H Lee]

I saw a couple of videos on YouTube about it and I think I'm going that route also. Check out the one where the guy uses the dynam mounting plates so you don't have to put in the hardpoints. It looks pretty simple. Another one the guy really changes alot and requires foam repair but the retracts are a different brand. I don't know how to list the links or I would. I just searched up grades for the retracts and found it.

[farmflyer]

Thanks Dewey I can do a search and find them. I think I've seen the one using the dynam mount plates.

[farmflyer]

Dewey I also put a small drop of FoamTac on the top and bottom of the cowel where it meets the fuse to keep it from coming loose. You can wiggle it a little and get it back off with no damage.