Official FlightLine RC 1600mm Spitfire Mk. IX Thread

[Grossman56]

Yeah, I'm thrilled to say that I've joined the ranks of Spitfire Aces as mine is on the way!!
Also, Callie has my graphics coming too!!
Mine's going to be a little different (what else is new??) as I'm going with 'Skipper' from the movie the Battle of Britain. It was actually a 9 dressed up like a 2!

so it'll be pretty well a complete repaint. I'd also like to do something inside the radiators, similar to what some guys did wth the P-38 rads, so it actually looks as if there's something functional inside them.
Lots of fun in store for me!!
Grossman56

[Oxotnik]

Although I've had my Spit since they hit the market (I'd preordered), I've only flown it maybe a dozen times. It's so hard to take the wing off and re-assemble at the field, that I've only been able to take it to the field in my Chevy Tahoe, when it was virtually the only plane that I was taking. The last time that I flew it at my home field (a grass field), it was the heat of summer and the grass was pretty thick, even though it wasn't very tall. Take offs were easy, but I kept nosing over on the landing. I got very frustrated. I think I was coming in a bit too fast and my tail was too high on touch down. Anyway, that kind of broke my confidence with this plane.

So, this past weekend, I scored a new-to-me plane transporter. I call it the Ghetto Plane Transporter (or GPT). A friend in my RC club gave it to me for a variety of reasons. Anyway, now, I'm able to easily transport the Spit (and my FMS 1.7m Mustang (which is very easy to assemble at the field)) with the wings on. Since I'd last flown the Spit, I'd been flying the snot out of my 1.7m Mustang and have mastered landing it. Yesterday, I tried out the GPT for the first time, taking both my 1.7m Stang and 1.6m Spit to the field. Still feeling a bit hesitant about the Spit, I flew it, re-trimmed it for the cold, humid conditions, flew a few circuits, with the requisite rolls, Cuban 8s, and inverted passes, then lowered the gear and flaps for an early landing (to give me time to go around multiple times, if needed). First approach, with half flaps (8 knot wind), and she settled down for a near-perfect landing. Not a three pointer, as I'm still a bit worried about tip-stalls at really low speed, but a very smooth two-point landing. Then, I asked myself, why was I so dang worried about landing this plane. She's a real peach to take-off, fly, and land. She's significantly faster than my 1.7m Mustang, and those elliptical wings are gorgeous on high-bank maneuvers. I could also hear the guys in the pits ooo'ing and awwww'ing as she flew. I flew her three times yesterday. All three flights were locked in and great. Awesome, awesome plane!

LOL, looking at the plane photo again, I just realized that the 5 planes that I brought to fly are all made by different companies. I think that's the first time that that has happened,

[Grossman56]

Hi Oxotnik!
Just a reminder, keep your fuse level and control descent with throttle.
When you mentioned tip stalls, thats what I used to be worried about until Ryan and Charlie set me straight on how to land a warbird at Nefi 2016. Never worried about tip stalling again and my landings improved 100%

Grossman56

[Oxotnik]

Yep, these larger planes are easier to do good throttle-controlled landings. They don't get flown around as much as much as the smaller warbirds. My landings are getting good, but they can always be better. Worst thing (other than crashing) is to ruin a great flight with a crappy landing.

[Grossman56]

Adam from warbirdpilots.com produces some of the most detailed, poseable, full body pilot figures I've ever seen. Many of the turbine drivers at my main airfield use Adam's figures, and I recently spoke with him about the FlightLineRC 1600mm Spitfire Mk.IX being a 1/7 scale warbird and a perfect candidate for his 1/7 WWII RAF figure. Standing at 10" tall, this pilot figure is quite detailed, and fully configurable.

Here are a few basic pictures of the figure out of the box and posed with the FlightLineRC 1600mm Spitfire Mk.IX. I'll post a tutorial soon showing how simple it is to modify the aircraft to fit most of this large figure with just a couple of slices.




The weather was very overcast today, and felt very much like we were in 1944 England! I'm gradually weathering this model more and more to make it look the part.







The final production model arriving soon for video from our ever excellent multimedia team.

Hey Alpha, remember way back when!! Did you ever post a tutorial on how to get this guy into this bird?
Love to see it, I wouldn't mind replacing the stock FW pilot with something a little more 'authentic' you might say??

Grossman56

[BrandonTW82]

I am in a debate right now, I ordered an Admiral Rx600sp with my Spitfire. I also have a Spektrum AR610. I cant decide which one would be better suited for this aircraft. One is going in the Spitfire and the other is going in my soon to be purchased EDF.

[Pogo]

Hey Alpha, remember way back when!! Did you ever post a tutorial on how to get this guy into this bird?
Love to see it, I wouldn't mind replacing the stock FW pilot with something a little more 'authentic' you might say??

Grossman56

I did a full cockpit and sliding canopy on my TopFlite P-47 about 5 years ago and replaced the pilot figure with one of these Warbird Pilots last year. As Alpha said, the realism of these figures just can't be beat and though expensive are well worth it, I think.
As the Jug is about 1/7.5 scale this guy is a tad large but should be just right for the 1/7 Spitfire.:Cool: I'll probably begin this week and will try to document the process as it goes along. I'll use this guy out of the Thunderbolt for sizing as I haven't got his British counterpart on hand yet.
At the moment I'm waiting not so patiently for my family to wake up so the gift opening can begin and I can unbox the Spit Santa brought me!
Happy Holidays guys!
Tom

[Grossman56]

Sounds great Pogo. looking forward to it. My Spitty is due here the 29th and I'm off until the New Year. Also have some more powerful motors coming for the Tigercat. Nothing but fun in store!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Hey, she's out for delivery today!! HO HO HEE HEE HEE LITTLE BROWN TRUCK HOW I LOVE THEE!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

GOTTA GO, LBT IS HERE!!!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

From this.....


To this....

in a couple of hours....Dang this is a pretty airplane!! The only trouble I ran into was separating the two elevator halves, some glue-like substance, maybe paint, had them locked together....

When the painting is complete, she'll look like this, Callie decals arrived a couple of days ago...


I have a DX8, any recommendations on the elevator flap mix in %??

Grossman56

[Oxotnik]

I've not seen a need for a flap/elevator mix. I haven't noticed any pitching or ballooning when flaps are dropped.

What's the story on AI-A?

[Ole-Timer]

AI-A is Skippers aircraft. Skipper is a fictions character from the film Battle of Britain.
"Squadron Leader Skipper" is based loosely on Squadron Leader Sailor Malan, a South African fighter ace and No.74 Squadron commander during the real Battle of Britain.

The weather here is so miserable I decided to toy with the shark mouth on the Grey Nurse. No.457 Squadron had a squiggly outline to the mouths and the rushed version myself and Callie did was straight lined based loosely on what she was previously offering.



its a bit closer now anyway. Perhaps I’ll make a new overall pattern and send that to her.


Bob

[Grossman56]

I've not seen a need for a flap/elevator mix. I haven't noticed any pitching or ballooning when flaps are dropped.

What's the story on AI-A?

The thing was that there were not enough IIa Spitfires in 1968, so the film company grabbed whatever Spits they could find without bubble canopies and doctored them up to look like 1940 vintage BoB Spitties . (They found TWO Hurricanes world wide, one came off a scrap heap in Canada)
AI-A is actually a IX in disguise, note the Griffon engine bulges just above the exhaust stacks and the enlarged carburetor air intake. If you could see both wings, they both have the square radiator intake whereas II's and IIa's as well as Vb's had one square and one round intake.
I'm always looking for something unique and was thinking at one time of Douglas Bader's IX, but Callie has a set of decals for that one so there will be a bunch of them out there.
After thinking I was so unique with La Patrona only to see that FMS is offering it as an option, I thought for this one, I'd dig a little deeper.
I saw this movie so many time in the theater when I was a kid in Air Cadets that I've lost count and always loved the Spitfires, Hurricanes and Buchons (Me 109's) So it was a logical choice.
So, without further ado, here's Skipper:


She's not complete
But all the big paint work is done. Gear doors have to be done and gun smoke on the bottom of the wings has to be done as well as some aging. Nomenclature decals will be installed and then a coat of Satin to seal everything on, then some clean up. Will pop the canopy at some point and do some detailing in there. Hopefully there are some 3D renderings coming for the cockpit, that'd be cool!!

Grossman56

[Shirty]

Wow. Too cool on both fellas. I'm getting inspired to get mine out of the box lol. ;)

[Pogo]

Grossman, that's a heckuva nice job- you'll be proud to fly her! I've always loved the BoB schemes.
Tom

[Ole-Timer]

Gross,
Great job on the repaint! Ya gotta love different...:Cool:

Your question of the correct mix of flap/elevator will vary by what you prefer. The manual states on page 9 the aircraft will pitch down when flaps are deployed and so calls for up elevator when flaps are dropped. Keep in mind the specified cg location of 90mm by the book is a fwd cg of 24% mac with up elevator already dialed in to counter nose drop in flight. Reguarding flying characteristics and this Spitfire. I found a report from January 1942 performed by NACA on a Spitfire VA. The CG used during testing was 31% of mac as stated by them. This would indeed be an aft cg. While general flying characteristics were mostly acceptable, the Spitfire’s landing performance in this configuration was deemed unsteady due to a lack of longitudinal stability brought on by the reduction of down wash on the tail and separation of airflow from the main wing at the wing root most likely also enhanced by the three point landings where this situation peeked in ground effect. Ok..., got it?



The Spitfire has a very narrow cg band. In this model it’s about 1””” or 20mm, And by my experience it mimics the real thing.
A forward cg by the manual at 90mm will pitch down slightly when flaps are deployed. If it’s windy out, I suggest this location. Very little or no up elevator required with flaps.
As the battery is slid aft, so moves the cg aft. At 100mm there is even less forward pitch with flap deployment. Essentially it is at a point where it floats along with little pitch up or down.
By 110mm and 29% mac, things just get weird. Recalling the NACA testing results, the model responds much like the real thing. It really begins to lack longitudinal stability during landing and can get downright unruly if the winds are kicking up and you get too slow. You do not want the nose pitched up in this configuration as the model will loose airflow over the tail. Your apt to add down elevator in this situation to help regain better control.

My preference is a fwd cg with little or no up elevator mixed in with flaps. I want the nose to drop in a landing configuration as that attitude produces better airflow over the tail and greater longitudinal control. Full flap should only be deployed when the field is made and instead of three pointers I make wheel landings. Anytime the nose of the Spitfire is brought up in a landing configuration especially in ground effect, you will notice the loss of longitudinal control compounded at slower speeds.

Happy landings, Bob ;)

[Grossman56]

Thanks OT, I was hesitant on the mix especially after my experience with the Tigercat. Had way too much in it, turned out it need none at half flap and very little at full. It's always breezy in Wyoming, but I'll mark the battery position at 90mm and see how it goes from there. I'll leave the mix out for now and see what it asks for in flight. Again, similar to the Tigercat where I took the mix out and felt it out from there. We have one other factor her as well, we're 5500 feet up so the air is a little thinner, add the Summer heat and, well you can guess. I see what you meant in that of course, you want that wind over the tail.
Ryan was doing a fairly steep descent at Nefi and she seemed to handle it fine and the slow flight characteristics seem great as well, our runway is a lot shorter than the one at Nefi. We're about 500 feet, so not incredibly short by any means, but still, the speed has to be peeled off by the time I get over the runway. I figure that with the Avanti and the Tigercat, can't be much different, just that narrow undercart is all.

Grossman56

[Oxotnik]

I checked my Spit IX program for mixing, and don't have any, as I'd said earlier. I flew the Spit twice today. Did a half flaps and a full flaps landing. No ballooning/pitching on either, with no elevator mixing.

[Ole-Timer]

I also fly with an 8000mAh 6s battery so I am a bit heavier than most which is the likely reason why I have a slight pitch down upon flap deployment with no up elevator dialed in. In calm conditions I have added an up elevator mix while moving the cg aft. This plane can really float in amazingly slow. Typically though I’m using a fwd cg with no mix and flying it down, not floating in. Here in Western PA we are 1100ft asl. No density altitude issues. It’s such a great flying airplane, beautiful to watch, quite addicting! Makes me forget I have other stuff to fly.

Bob