Official Nexa 1540mm Spitfire Mk. IX - ARF Thread

[jbaartz]

Spitfire Mk.IX 1540mm (60.6") Wingspan - ARF from Nexa - NXA1008-001


The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, using several wing configurations, and it was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be popular among enthusiasts; nearly 60 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world.

The Nexa Spitfire Mk.IX is a .50 size electric or gas option scale series warbird with a 1540mm wingspan, constructed primarily from balsa wood and covered with a fuel-resistant covering. This ARF requires assembly and installation of your choice of servos and power system, and includes split flaps, painted pilot, machine gun, antenna and other scale details. The large battery hatch affords ample room for either electric or gas setups. To complete the scale appeal of this beautiful Spitfire, the model includes electric retracts and scale struts. Impress at your flying field with this iconic stunner!

Fully Covered and Detailed The Nexa Spitfire Mk.IX comes fully covered including simulated panel lines, rivets, nomenclature and weathering detail.

Scale Details Throughout There is no shortage of scale details with this Spitfire including functional split flaps, antenna, machine guns, painted pilot, electric retracts and metal main struts.

Prehinged and Installed Control Surfaces All control surfaces come out of the box fully prehinged and installed for your convenience.

Easy To Transport The Spitfire with its just under 1.6M wingspan is easy to transport.

FEATURES:

• Complete Balsa and lite-ply construction for rigidity and durability
• Covered from tip to tail in scale details including weathering, functional split flaps, printed simulated panel lines and rivets
• Fiberglass cowling for strength and durability
• The hand-painted pilot is ready for your added cockpit details
• All control surfaces come out of the box pre-hinged and installed for convenience
• Large battery hatch allows for your chosen electric or gas setup

INCLUDES:

• Nexa Spitfire Mk.IX 1540mm (60.6") Wingspan - ARF
• Electric retracts, wheels and struts
• Fuel tank, hardware and servo trays

REQUIRES:

• 7 Channel radio - select a minimum 7 channel radio from our Radio Collection
• 7 Channel receiver - select a minimum 7 channel receiver from our Receiver Collection
• Brushless outrunner motor - we recommend the Admiral GP10 5030-400kV Brushless Motor
• 65 Amp brushless ESC - we recommend the ZTW Mantis 65A ESC with 5A SBEC
• 4x standard servos for ailerons, elevator and rudder - we recommend FOUR Hitec HS-485HB Deluxe Ball Bearing Karbonite Gear Standard Servo
• 2x standard servos for flaps - we recommend the Hitec HS-85BB High Torque Micro Servo Airplane Multi-Pack (2 Servos)
• 6 Cell 22.2V 4000 mAh LiPo Battery - we recommend the Admiral 4000mAh 6S 22.2V 40C LiPo Battery with XT60 Connector
• Electric propeller - we recommend the APC 15x8 Thin Electric Propeller - Black
• 6 Cell compatible battery charger - select a minimum 6 cell (6S) charger from our Charger Collection

GAS REQUIRES:

• 2 stroke engine - we recommend the NGH GT17 17cc Two-Stroke Engine
• 2 blade gas propeller - we recommend the APC 15x8 Gas Propeller

Customer Note
Nexa ARF models are constructed out of balsa wood and plywood. These are not foam models. The assembly of balsa wood ARF aircraft requires basic model building skills including the installation of servos, ESC, and motor (or gas engine).
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS:

AGE LEVEL : 14 AND UP
SKILL LEVEL : INTERMEDIATE
BUILD TIME : 6+ HOURS

Model Scale	1/7
Wingspan	1540mm / 60.6in
Length	1230mm / 48.4in
Weight	3900g / 137.5oz
CG (Center of Gravity)	90-95mm from the leading edge of the wing's root
Power System	400kV Brushless outrunner motor for electric or 2-stroke for gas (required)
Electronic Speed Control	65A (required)
Propeller / EDF	15x8 2-blade for electric or 15x8 gas 2-blade for gas (required)
Servos	45g metal gear standard: left aileron, right aileron, elevator, rudder 17g metal gear standard: left flap, right flap
Landing Gear	Electric retractable (included)
Required Battery	6 Cell 22.2V 4000 mAh LiPo Battery (required)
Required Radio	7+ Channel (required)
Ailerons	Yes
Elevator	Yes
Rudder	Yes
Flaps	Yes
Lights	No
Hinge Type	Nylon
Material	Balsa and light plywood
Skill Level	Intermediate
Build Time	6+ Hours
Recommended Environment	Outdoors

[cjordan]

Has anyone set this plane up for electric power? I have a brand new eFlite Power 60 motor, wonder how that would work in this plane with a 90amp ESC and 6S 6000 battery

[cjordan]

Has anyone purchased this plane??? I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on it because I can't find any threads or reviews of it. I totaled my Hangar9 P51, which are now out of stock, and I'm looking for a replacement plane, similar size warbird. I believe I could use the motor, ESC, servos, etc. from the P51 in this plane but I want to hear from someone who has owned and flown this Spitfire.

[James]

Has anyone purchased this plane??? I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on it because I can't find any threads or reviews of it. I totaled my Hangar9 P51, which are now out of stock, and I'm looking for a replacement plane, similar size warbird. I believe I could use the motor, ESC, servos, etc. from the P51 in this plane but I want to hear from someone who has owned and flown this Spitfire.

While I have yet to get this one, I have now built the similar-sized Nexa P-40 on electric and the Nexa Hellcat on gas and both models are well made. No reason this wouldn't be just like them. Also, these models used to be called VQ models, but we now carry them as Nexa with some updates and will be updated and expanding the entire lineup up as the future unfolds. So you can probably find plenty of older threads for the VQ version and get the basic idea

[cjordan]

Thank you James!

[cjordan]

Greetings folks! Well I bit the bullet and purchased this Nexa (formerly VQ) Spitfire. I just received it today and I'm ready to assemble.
Since I've had no luck finding any build threads for this model I've decided to do my own. This is the first time for me to document an assemble and post on a thread, please bear with me. I did find a couple videoed unboxings of this model under the former brand name VQ, as suggested by James previously, thanks again James. Here's a YouTube link to one of the more interesting unboxing videos, this guy is a nut. https://youtu.be/QqKRGsNlxpw

Just a little back ground about how/why I chose to this plane.... A few months back I purchased the Hangar 9 P-51D, assembled it fairly quickly and got it in the air. She looked great and she flew great, I loved that plane. Did you notice the past tense "looked", "flew", "loved"?? Yes, she's dead! I had a rare electric motor malfunction at low altitude, tip stall, ba bye P51!
The good news is, all of the electronics and accessories are in good shape and the vendor (eFlite) sent me a brand new motor at no cost. The bad news is, like many of the nicer models, everyone is out of stock right now.

Soooo, after a little back and forth I decided to try this Spitfire. My plan is to use the guts from the P51 to get this plane in the air. Should be interesting to see how this turns out. For example, the Spit calls for a Admiral GP10 5030-400Kv motor and a 60amp ESC. I will be using the eFlite Power 60 470Kv motor with a Castle Talon 90amp ESC. Way more power than necessary. It's interesting to note that the Power 60 is actually 1oz lighter than the GP10, so at least my nose weight should be manageable.

Attached are some pics of the kit right out of the box along with the power plant that I'll be using. Notice, this Nexa model comes with the electric landing gear ALREADY INSTALLED! Sweet.
Everything looks solid, nice quality. I'm ready to get going.

My plan is to try and post my assembly progress along with any tips and tricks over the next couple weeks. If anyone has any feedback or recommendations, I'd love to hear it. I SHALL RETURN!

[cjordan]

Greetings, here's an update on progress thus far. I have the motor installed following the mounting directions right from the manual. Very easy, no issues. Kind of an interesting setup using long screws to attach the motor mount to the firewall. One nice thing about that is the ability to easily adjust the motor forward or back to extend just right with the cowl on. Note: Instead of using the plain washers that came with the plane, I'm going to use lock washers along with plenty of Loctite to keep the screws from loosening.
I will also be spreading some epoxy in the corners and joints all around the firewall just for added strength.

[cjordan]

Here's a look with the cowl, prop and nose cone temporarily in place. I'm showing an APC 16 x 8E prop because that's what I was using on the P51. I may come down to a 15 x 8, we'll see later.

[cjordan]

I got all the electronics setup on the wings. I'll be joining the wings tonight or tomorrow. I'm using HiTEC HS-81 mini servos for the flaps and HiTEC HS-645MG for the ailerons. I did have to trim open the servo mounting holes just a bit to fit my servos, no big deal.
I was happy to see that the hinges for the ailerons and the flaps are already installed. They seem very strong and installed well. Unfortunately I had to install the control horns, the one thing I hate installing more than hinges, is control horns.
The flap control horns are a piece of cake. I had to ream out the pre-cut slot in the flap just a bit to get the horn in. I kept it very snug and glued it with medium CA.
For the aileron horns your have to drill the screw holes in the flap into to attach the back plate. This is always tricky because you need to carefully align the holes as you're drilling.
Note: make sure you don't install the horns too close to the leading edge of the aileron, stay at least 1/2" behind the leading edge where the aileron is not at it's thickest point. If you're too close to the leading edge the screws won't be long enough.
To help with wire management I'll be using a 3-way multiplexer so that I'll only have to plug 2 plugs when installing and removing the wing, instead of 6 plugs. You'll notice in the picture, I always use those little plastic extension locks whenever I'm joining servo wires. Better safe than sorry.
Note: Instead of using the provide EZ link to connect the aileron push rods to the servo, I went with a "Z" bend.
One more thing, there is a little wooden dowel that you have to glue into one of the wings main rib. I have to ream out the hole for the dowel on each wing in order for the dowel to fit. Try to keep it a snug fit.

[cjordan]

I joined the two wing halves using 30 minute epoxy (DONT ATTEMPT THIS WITH 5 MINUTE EPOXY). MAKE SURE you test fit the wing spar on both sides before trying to glue it. I found it to be a very tight fit and also the little dowel was a bit tricky to line up.
You can see on the pictures, I used a clamp on both ends of the center section and left those on overnight until the glue was fully hardened. I also screwed the plastic wing nuts halfway through each of the holes and wrapped rubber bands on both sides to keep the trailing edge sung while the glue dried.
Tip: Have some rubbing alcohol and a rag handy to wipe off any excess epoxy before it dries.

[cjordan]

Remember in the beginning of this build thread how excited I was to see the landing gear already installed, well I'm not so excited anymore :(
You can see on the pics below how the wheel wells angle back toward the trailing edge of the wing, like they're supposed to. However, when you extend the gear the wheels are "toed out" way too much. To correct the problem I had to modify the gear where they connect to the struts and the ream out the wheel wells. This is really disappointing as this has been a decent model up to this point. See the next post for the modifications.

[cjordan]

To correct the wheel alignment issue I had to remove the struts from the landing gear and file flat spots on both sides of the gear post for the two grub screws on the struts.
You want a little, REPEAT a little Toe In on the landing gear wheels.
Once you get the angle of the wheels corrected with a little Toe In, they will not retract back into the wheel wells correctly. As you can see from the pics below, I had to ream out the wheel wells a bit with my Dremel tool. Ouch that hurt!
You'll also notice I cut a cooling hole in the bottom of the cowl. You definitely need a cooling hole!

[cjordan]

The wing bolts were a bit tricky to line up initially, I had to ream out the bolt holes on the wing a bit to make it work. I added washers on the wing bolts, just in case.

The tail wheel was very difficult to get installed. It was really hard getting the tail wheel landing gear pushed into the mount. Be patient, it will go eventually. You can also see how I used the little screws for the tail gear cover, no glue.

The plane weighs in at 9.5 pounds fully loaded. I'm using a 6S 6000 battery pushed all the way to the front.

[cjordan]

Alas! She's ready to maiden. I'm going to do the maiden flights first then come back and install the details like the guns, antenna, strut covers and decals.
It was tricky getting the motor at the right distance from the firewall and straight to line up with the cowl. Just be patient and use baby steps.
With the 6S 6000 battery pushed all the way to the front I get a perfect balance using the 95mm CG point as recommended in the manual.
I test drove her in the street in front of my house and tested the power. Holy Cow, she has tremendous power!
Well, I'll see you on the other side! 😉

[cjordan]

Completed the maiden today. SUCCESS!!!
As suspected, this plane and this setup has way more power than needed. I was surprise to see how well it tracked on our grass field. No problem keeping her straight.
I took off with no flaps and 50% power. It was in the air quickly. I only needed a few clicks of down elevator and a few clicks of right aileron and she was cruising.
As mentioned earlier, I'm using an APC 16x8E prop, but I'm definitely going to try a 15x8 and/or 15x10.
She fly great! Very stable like she's on rails. Inverted flight was perfect, so I know I have the CG right.
The landing flaps were perfect, no need for dialing in elevator and she really slows down well.
I had no issues with the landing and was able to taxi back just fine on the grass runway.

In summary, this is a solid plane. It feels light, 9.5lbs, when handling it on the ground, but in the air you feel the difference compared to a foamy. It flies really well.
If it weren't for the cheap landing gear and the issue with the wheel well alignment, I'd give this plane a 9.5. But unfortunately the landing gear issue puts it at a 7 for me.
I'll post a couple more pics once I get all the accessories and decals mounted.

Giddy up!

[cjordan]

After my first two flights of this Spitfire and in preparation for next weekend, I've made a few tweaks. First I tried a couple different size props. As noted earlier, I maidened with an APC 16x8E prop. Using the watt meter static on the ground I was pulling 97.77 amps and 2,300 watts. That's definitely pushing the limits of the Talon 90 ESC.
Today I tried an APC 15x10E prop. The watt meter showed 93.55 amps and 2,191 watts. Better, but still a bit high.
Finally I tried an APV 15x8E prop. The watt meter showed 68 amps and 1,604 watts. PERFECT!! Still tons of power.
I'll use this prop next weekend and let you know how she flies.

[cjordan]

Well here's the finished product. The letters on the side are actually left over Callie Graphics from another project. The decals that came with the plane we not good.
I'm also disappointed with the small details like the guns and the antenna. Obviously these were made from a 3D printer, you can tell. And they want you to simply glue them on.
I decided to screw them in but I don't expect them to last long.
Forget about trying to use the strut covers. Because of the way the gear are angled, as described in my earlier post, the strut covers simply won't work. Very disappointing.
In the end, the plane still looks cool in the air and flies great. Just don't look too closely.

[cjordan]

Couple final tips...
In addition to the cooling hole I cut in the bottom of the cowl, I decided to drill a couple angled holes at the rear of the faux exhaust stacks to allow more air to flow through. I found the motor to be pretty hot after a flight.
Also, during the maiden flight the right and left side cowl mounting blocks both came off the fire wall. I glued them back on with epoxy.

[marty 72]

Hi Chris, Very nice job reviewing the plane and explaining the required modifications. It's very useful. How does this plane compare to your Hangar P51 (that no longer exists)?

[cjordan]

On a scale of 1 to 10, If I give the H9 P51 a 9, I would give the Nexa Sprifire a 7. The details, fit and finish of the Hangar 9 is superior. I just bought another H9 P51, Christmas present to myself. 😁