Official FlightLine RC 1600mm Spitfire Mk. IX Thread

[Hugh Wiedman]

Mmm tasty FW-190 Targets

Whoa, those are some beautiful FW-190's. Who makes those. I was recently looking at the Extreme Flight, Aces High division, and they now make two 62" balsa/monocoat ARF 190's. A little pricey after installing all the electronics/etc. but one looks exactly like your middle FW-190. I love my Extreme Flight plane and consider them to be the "Gold Standard" in balsa ARF's, so curious to find out if that's one of them. My Spitty too needs a worthy adversary.

[Evan D]

Saw your post in the FW thread and ignored it. Oh baby, wish you were closer! :)

[Gilatrout]

Mmm tasty FW-190 Targets

[kallend]

Thanks all for the tips.

I might be over thinking the blue box lights connectors... just didn’t want to burn out the bulbs.

Brushing a light coat of minwax to prevent the decal backing pulling off the paint makes sense. Followed by a coat over the decals.

I purchased an Eagle A3 L V2 3 axis gyro to install... has anyone else installed a gyro in the Spitfire or is it not worth the addition of another potential failure point between servos and receiver?

I use a HobbyEagle A3S2. It makes the plane very smooooooth and look more realistic in the air.

[Gringotuerto]

... has anyone else installed a gyro in the Spitfire or is it not worth the addition of another potential failure point between servos and receiver?...

I have an AS3X receiver with integrated gyro. My guess is that the usefulness depends on your typical weather. In the conditions where I typically fly, I can barely notice any difference between AS3X on or off on a plane of this wingspan. Of course it makes a huge difference on a 18-inch UMX plane, which is almost unflyable outdoors without a gyro. But for this and other planes I have with 1600mm wingspan, there is much less difference, at least where/when I fly. But I guess if you were flying in very gusty wind you might benefit more from a gyro. I tend to stay home and do other things on stormy days, but other people live in areas where you have to fly on stormy days or you would never fly.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Thanks all for the tips.

I purchased an Eagle A3 L V2 3 axis gyro to install... has anyone else installed a gyro in the Spitfire or is it not worth the addition of another potential failure point between servos and receiver?

A gyro can't hurt. I have the Spectrum AS3X receivers in all my planes, including my fleet of 3D planes. As Grossman56 points out, you can always turn it off. I generally use gains in the 45% range for flying and when deploying flaps for takeoff or landing, it's cranked up to 85-95%. Does the Spitty need a gyro, no, but it does smooth it out for gusty crosswinds. In a calm day, it has no affect.

[Grossman56]

It was worth it in my opinion. I still had an A3 which gave me Sport and Safe as opposed to Sport and 3D with the A3L. I was having trouble with the airplane until I added weight to the front to move the CG forward she kept wanting to swap ends, didn't know what that was like until the Spitfire. Anyway, with the addition of the A3 and the extra weight she flies like a dream now.
BTW, just turn the 3D screw all the way off as it isn't going to help you anyway. I have my gain for the Sport mode at 100% and the gain assigned to the knob of my radio, which I usually start at around 40%.

Grossman56

[bikerGus]

Thanks all for the tips.

I might be over thinking the blue box lights connectors... just didn’t want to burn out the bulbs.

Brushing a light coat of minwax to prevent the decal backing pulling off the paint makes sense. Followed by a coat over the decals.

I purchased an Eagle A3 L V2 3 axis gyro to install... has anyone else installed a gyro in the Spitfire or is it not worth the addition of another potential failure point between servos and receiver?

[Gringotuerto]

As the famous Barbeque sauce commercial says, "I put this #### on everything!

It is probably good as a general coating, but I have also used this just on small areas when I want to put Callie's decals on painted foam. Sometimes the decal backing will pull paint off the foam. If you give the decal area one coat of poly urethane and let it dry before applying the decal, then this doesn't happen. If you match flat/satin/gloss to the rest of the model, you don't even need to cover the entire model, you can just cover the area around the decal and the polyurethane boundary won't show.

[Grossman56]

As the famous Barbeque sauce commercial says, "I put this #### on everything!

The can is the same, it just says 'clear gloss' on it. I find that if you want the most glossy, use a brush, slightly less, use a spray gun. If you want a flat finish, buy the matte version and shoot it on with a spray gun. I would still use the gloss initially to seal in the decals as my experience has shown that the matte finish doesn't seem to seal in the decals, at least not as well as the gloss. As for rattle cans, I can't say as I have no experience with them.

Results?

No, the Mustang is Flite Metal, but the wings are Spar Urethane as P-51's came from the factory with painted wings.

Grossman56

[Hugh Wiedman]

First time post... question on the blue box reference post #2460... Grossman56 provided the light plugins for the wing tips go to the “Strobe-Light” connector and beacon strobe go to the “Wing-Light” connector because the Flightline User Manual is wrong. Correct?

next question: are the right wing and left wing retract plugs connected on the same side of the blue box in “Landing -Gear 1” and “Landing -Gear 2” ? (Spit has no landing gear doors so nothing connected to “Landing-Gear Door 1/2/3 blue box)?

last question: is it recommended to paint the whole plane with a brushed on coat of minwax before installing the decals, followed by a second coat to seal the decals?

Having read all 148 pages, thanks to all posters for the good information.

just returned to rc flying after a 25 layoff, purchased the Spit after relearning how fly on a Sig Kadet Senior and an Eflite Air Tractor.

bikerGus

Clear Coat after everything is on, including graphics. I like to do 4 lite coats so there are no clumps or hardened drips. Spray is better, gets more even coats, but requires a lot more masking of areas that you don't want this stuff on and you need to be careful on vertical surfaces (rudders) and wing edges, which is why an even lite coat each time is preferable. I use the Varathane Spar Urethane clear gloss exterior water based and like that, but I'm sure the MinWax is just as good. Make sure it is the Exterior (resists yellowing in the sun) and the water based (not oil based).

[Grossman56]

It's been a while since I played around with mine, but I do remember the strobe light being wrong in the manual. However, when I rewrote the Spitfire Online manual, I believe is is the correct version, again, been awhile...
when it comes to the landing gear, go with "landing -Gear 2, port for port side and starboard for starboard side. If you use any combination of 1, 2 or 3 you'll get a delay on one side. I set mine up like that and took a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbIMNEoAklg

Hope that helps

Grossman56

[bikerGus]

First time post... question on the blue box reference post #2460... Grossman56 provided the light plugins for the wing tips go to the “Strobe-Light” connector and beacon strobe go to the “Wing-Light” connector because the Flightline User Manual is wrong. Correct?

next question: are the right wing and left wing retract plugs connected on the same side of the blue box in “Landing -Gear 1” and “Landing -Gear 2” ? (Spit has no landing gear doors so nothing connected to “Landing-Gear Door 1/2/3 blue box)?

last question: is it recommended to paint the whole plane with a brushed on coat of minwax before installing the decals, followed by a second coat to seal the decals?

Having read all 148 pages, thanks to all posters for the good information.

just returned to rc flying after a 25 layoff, purchased the Spit after relearning how fly on a Sig Kadet Senior and an Eflite Air Tractor.

bikerGus

[kallend]

This week marks the 85th anniversary of the maiden flight of the Spitfire.

https://www.memorialflightclub.com/blog/spitfire-maiden-flight-85th-anniversary

[RodgerC]

Has anyone ordered a Motion RC plane and had it delivered to New Zealand or Australia lately? Just wondering how long delivery would be if I ordered the Corsair (I already have the Spitfire). I am aware due to COVID deliveries are taking longer than usual.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Got some RAF formation flights in with RudyD54 and his Spitty today. What a blast flying these 2 together, getting 7-8 minutes in the air. Truly an outstanding flying aircraft, thanks MRC. And oddly enough, I didn't even hit him in the air. Oh well, next time I'll try harder. He's probably safer if I fly trying to hit him than trying to avoid him cause I seem to never be able to fly where I want!

And in the photo it's his that is the more "scale" of the two, big surprise, right? Got to fly a bunch of others as well.

[Beetlemankurt]

Thanks Chaps! :)

Kurt

[Hugh Wiedman]

I finally got my aces of iron pilot and the cockpit kit in! You can’t see much of the detail in the cockpit kit in the photos but if you peer really closely through the glass in person you can.

Overall, I’m really pleased with the extra detail it adds.

Kurt

The detail in the cockpit actually shows quite well, great work and detail on the pilot, outstanding!

[Elbee]

Well, it been a while since I posted...Now I’m on holiday I finally got my aces of iron pilot and the cockpit kit in! Overall, I’m really pleased with the extra detail it adds. Happy New Year everyone!Regards, Kurt

Kurt, Truly well done, Sir. Good Hunting. Best, LB

[Gringotuerto]

Looks good, well done! (Edit : also I looked up history of that plane - interesting, good choice).