F6F Hellcat as first warbird?

[cartrouble2k]

Hey all - so I am interested in getting into warbirds and I love the look of both the Hangar 9 and Nexa F6F Hellcats.

Many seem to think the P-47 is the best first warbird. How about the F6F? My grandfather served in the Navy as an aviation machinist, so I am partial to a Navy bird.

My experience is mostly flying balsa 3D planes. So I am used to flying planes that are super responsive, but also super light. I have almost never used a gyro/stabilization, but would be open to using one on a warbird.

Anyone have thoughts on either the Nexa or Hangar 9 F6F? I like the finish of the Hangar 9 better but am somewhat annoyed by the lack of flaps.

Thanks a lot guys!

[Tigercat]

Hellcats make great first warbirds. During the war they were called old man airplanes. Good stable flyers.

[rifleman_btx]

If you go nexa, you will be replacing the retract units after a couple flights, especially if flying off grass. I replaced mine with the eflite 46 size rotating retracts. Not sure about the hanger 9, had always wanted to buy one of those until the nexa came out. Other than the retracts, extremely pleased with mine.

[flyguysc1]

Got mine close to bing done ,just waiting on the oleo struts .This is a Hanger nine with a .60 eflite motor and a castle 90amp esc and Hitec servo all around .

[rifleman_btx]

It was a hard decision for me going between that one and the nexa. I really like that one, but I've always liked the -3 three tone paint.

[flyguysc1]

So Rifleman ,what do you think about nexa planes in general? Never bought one but thinking about it.

[rifleman_btx]

As for the plane, fit and finish it's great, looks really solid, feels solid, and tracks well in flight. Excellent plane until you get to the retracts. These made absolutely no sense to me and felt like an afterthought last minute toss in. They were 100% plastic and completely failed after the third flight. Swapped those with some eflite units, and now the hellcat is just about as perfect as can be. Now I am not sure about the other planes, but this is my experience with the hellcat model

[flyguysc1]

Well here it is.will take first flight Sunday am

[rifleman_btx]

Such an awesome plane, looks great!