Official Black Horse 2385mm A6M Zero thread

[jetdoc]

I ended up going with the Admiral GP-60 electric motor, CC 160HV esc, 12s 9500mAh HRBs, Biela 24x12 3-blade and TopRC composite spinner. There were just too many warnings about overheating danger in the Xpwr 60cc manual so I was afraid to use it with a heavier plane and a heavier 3 blade prop. I added gun barrels from IFlyTailies. The prop will get repainted to proper Japanese colors after the maiden.

[dmdeaton]

I just ordered one. Friend bugged out his new P47 today and it was awesome!

[jetdoc]

I was originally going to get the P-47 but the Zero is larger and honestly, I've never flown a Zero that wasn't anything short of phenomenal! Just a perfect planform for an airplane. Mine is very close to maiden but family health issues have kept me out of the shop for the last few weeks. Should be able to get back at it pretty soon. Congratulations on the purchase. I mounted my tailcone with magnets for future access to the tailwheel assembly. I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade and there is just too much to go wrong to glue the tailcone and assume I'll never have an issue with the tail gear.

[boomer108]

I was originally going to get the P-47 but the Zero is larger and honestly, I've never flown a Zero that wasn't anything short of phenomenal! Just a perfect planform for an airplane. Mine is very close to maiden but family health issues have kept me out of the shop for the last few weeks. Should be able to get back at it pretty soon. Congratulations on the purchase. I mounted my tailcone with magnets for future access to the tailwheel assembly. I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade and there is just too much to go wrong to glue the tailcone and assume I'll never have an issue with the tail gear.

How right you are! Murphy's law in action!

[jetdoc]

Finally got to work on the Zero this week. As I mentioned before, I'll be flying with 2ea. HRB 6s 9500 120C lipos in series for 12s. I'm also flying with a Biela 3 blade 24x12 scale composite prop. Both of these options add weight to the nose. The two 9500s weigh 5 lbs together. After initial balance check, as expected I was a bit nose heavy. After a few weight and balance calculations (from A&P aircraft maintenance school 43 years ago) I determined that if I moved the batteries aft 5.4" the balance would be parfect. I was able to construct a similar tab/slot system just inside the motor box, just forward of the firewall and a new plate and T-nut to allow me to use the existing battery tray. Second balance attempt was perfect, as expected. The math doesn't lie. With the extra weight the AUW is 30 lbs on the nose. Not bad for a 94" warbird. The rebuild was worth the trouble as it puts the big lipos fully in the cabin behind the firewall. This morning I accomplished power runs and taxi tests. Here's where the big lipos earn their keep! At WOT I'm developing 6500w@155A. At 50% stick I get 2500w. That's 210 w/lb and 83 w/lb respectively. 210 is 3D range! What'll be my flight time, you ask? I "flew" a 10 minute "flight" on the ground with varied power settings between 50% and 100%. After 10 minutes I still had 20% in the batteries! Knowing that, when unloaded in the air I'll easily get 10 minutes and probably 12 minutes. Unreal for an electric warbird! Getting ready for the maiden at my local sod farm. Stay tuned!

[jetdoc]

Well, finally got to maiden the Zero last week. What can I say? It flew perfectly with "zero" trim required in any axis. As expected, the balance was perfect as well. I did have to add 10% down elevator at half flaps and 20% down at full flaps on low rates so the percentages were adjusted to 8% and 15% respectively when I switched to mid rates, at which I found the Zero happiest. I will reprogram my rates so that my current mid rates are the new low rates, current high rates are the new mid rates and my new high rates will just be mid rates with "max" elevator (with higher expo in case I forget to switch back before takeoff) mostly for taxi. By the fourth flight it was perfect. The best way I can describe it is a cross between a low wing trainer and a sport plane. Still requires power control on takeoff and landing (both uneventful) as any warbird does but it's honest with no bad habits. I had to slow it to nearly a full stop in the air to achieve stall where it tried to just mush forward and drop the nose until I pretty much forced it to drop a wing. I doesn't prefer either side when it drops and is immediately recoverable. Just amazing.
Once again, I'm flying with the Admiral GP-60 180kV 60cc equivalent motor, CC Edge 160HV esc, Biela 24x12 3 blade composite warbird prop (repainted for scale) and (2) HRB 6s 9500 120C lipos in series for 12s. It flies around 80 mph and keeps up with most of the gassers. I got 9 minutes combined throttle with 20% remaining in the packs and 10 minutes at cruise with 30% remaining. I truly believe I could coax 12 minutes out of this setup but I won't push it. I plan to take it out next time with a Xoar 23x14 2 blade warbird prop and I'm expecting not only at least 10 minutes mixed throttle but higher speeds as well, due to the greater efficiency and rpm. The two big 9500 lipos weigh 5 lbs combined so my AUW is 30 lbs. Perfect for this big bird.
The receiver is a Spektrum AR10100T, no AS3X, doesn't need it. Two remote receivers are used as well. Servos are Hitec D645MW, wide voltage, high torque, metal gear, digital. The receiver and gear controller are powered by separate HRB 2s 2200 lipos. Each servo is on its own channel except for the ailerons which are on a y-harness, which is perfectly fine for a warbird as long as the preliminary mechanical adjustments are optimal. I control it with a Spektrum iX20 with full metal gimbal upgrade. The gimbal upgrade was a Christmas present last year from my lovely bride of 43 years!
The Zero is very convincing in the air and has a wonderful presence. The compliments didn't stop. I added nose guns and wing guns since the maiden and they look great! The wing guns have 8-32 threaded dowel plugs epoxied into the holes BlackHorse provided in the wing leading edge (beneath the covering) in the scale location. I drilled the resin barrels (iFlyTailies.com) and tapped them for a nylon stud that screws into the wing recepticle. This allows removal for transport and protection in an incident. The covering was exposed to direct sunlight all day and looking closely, the photo reveals wrinkles in the wings, horizontal stab and upper fuselage. These were easily removed with a heat gun immediately followed by a swipe with a covering mitt. The wrinkles have not returned.
A resounding success! She's a keeper and highly recommended! GET ONE!