Official FlightLine RC 1600mm Spitfire Mk. IX Thread

[MichaelJ]

Maidens my 1600 Spitfire/grey nurse It went well but the gear door broke intwo
on the landing caught on short grass causing a nose over. I suppose I should of rounded them off https://goo.gl/photos/zDECY1fLNUcevPmn8

[MesRcPilot]

Hello Michael ,If you don't mind , me thinks that your CoG should move a little back.....You are not '' guilty'' of what Spit requires for an ideal straight path, but you can slightly round the gear door.
Al the best Sir !

[franky]

Did you guys sand or carved inside the backplate to fit more flex in the metal prop adapter? And was there any need to balance the spinner and blades?

[Beeg]

I used an Exacto knife to scrape the back plate into submission. Don't over do it. You want a snug, slop free fit.

I weighed multiple sets of blades and picked the most closely matched sets. Of the six extra sets of blades I ordered most were very close. Only two of the 32 blades were not close. One being really heavy and the other really light. I then balanced the backplate/propeller assemblies without the spinner using epoxy on the back of the backplate not that they were out by much. If you put too much epoxy on you can always grind it off to achieve the desired weight. I just wanted them perfect after my experiences with the P-38 assemblies. Everything runs smoother with a perfectly balanced prop. Unless you have one of those really heavy or really light blades in your mix you could probably go for sometime without balancing but it's common and recommended practice to always balance your propeller to minimize vibration.
Do not use CA to glue anything or use as weight to the backplate. CA makes plastic brittle.

This propeller balancer will not work very well with these larger props.
https://www.motionrc.com/collections...eller-balancer

What you want is something like the Du-Bro 499 Tru-Spin Prop Balancer set up to handle larger propellers hanging off the edge of your bench.

[Oxotnik]

I traveled an hour and a half to fly with a club that was doing a big Model Aviation Day event. I flew the Spit off of asphalt for the first time. As expected, much less tendency to nose over on a paved runway. The crowd loved my Spit and other MRC planes- Me-262 and P-38. Many folks made their way to my table after the Spitfire flights, to tell me how much they enjoyed the flights and to ask questions about the plane. It was a great day of flying.

[Grossman56]

Ok, thanks for the info, i will stay on my velcro.

I used Foam-Tac to anchor mine down and velcro on the bottom of my batteries (the hairy) side. Doubles the grip.

Grossman56

[MichaelJ]

Any one got a picture of their placement of their battery? I was going by the video MRC has

[MichaelJ]

f was using a 4200mah

[radfordc]

Ok, thanks for the info, i will stay on my velcro.

I think you would like the pad if you try it. I sprayed the pad with contact cement and glued it to the plywood battery tray. My batts slip into place easily and don't move at all once the strap is pulled tight. Easy to remove, too.

[franky]

I used Foam-Tac to anchor mine down and velcro on the bottom of my batteries (the hairy) side. Doubles the grip.

Grossman56

I will give that combi a try, also thanks Radfordc.

[franky]

I used an Exacto knife to scrape the back plate into submission. Don't over do it. You want a snug, slop free fit.

I weighed multiple sets of blades and picked the most closely matched sets. Of the six extra sets of blades I ordered most were very close. Only two of the 32 blades were not close. One being really heavy and the other really light. I then balanced the backplate/propeller assemblies without the spinner using epoxy on the back of the backplate not that they were out by much. If you put too much epoxy on you can always grind it off to achieve the desired weight. I just wanted them perfect after my experiences with the P-38 assemblies. Everything runs smoother with a perfectly balanced prop. Unless you have one of those really heavy or really light blades in your mix you could probably go for sometime without balancing but it's common and recommended practice to always balance your propeller to minimize vibration.
Do not use CA to glue anything or use as weight to the backplate. CA makes plastic brittle.

This propeller balancer will not work very well with these larger props.
https://www.motionrc.com/collections...eller-balancer

What you want is something like the Du-Bro 499 Tru-Spin Prop Balancer set up to handle larger propellers hanging off the edge of your bench.

I will take your advice to scrape it with care and not to rush it.

[franky]

Forgot to say that i have the DuBro Tru Spin Balancer, its very precise, i think one of the best balancers there is.

[Aros]

Flew her a couple times on my Admiral 5Ks (pushed all the way forward) and I love this bird. Once the initial "figure her out" phase is over (which we all go through with any new plane for the first few flights), she's as rock steady as I've flown for a warbird of this class/size. 2 point greasers are a real treat, especially with full flaps. Being my first Spit it was worth the wait.

[Shirty]

Awesome mate grats. :)

sweet pic!

[Aros]

Thanks! Going to head out for some more sorties today.

[downwindleg]

[QUOTE=Aros.MotionRC;n92375]Flew her a couple times on my Admiral 5Ks (pushed all the way forward) and I love this bird. Once the initial "figure her out" phase is over (which we all go through with any new plane for the first few flights), she's as rock steady as I've flown for a warbird of this class/size. 2 point greasers are a real treat, especially with full flaps. Being my first Spit it was worth the wait.

[/QU
Nice angle on the shot.....looks like the real thing....maybe some weathering and prop decals from Callie and I'd be fooled. I agree totally about how this bird flies...put a smile on my face for sure! Was going to fly today also but gale force winds in the straits put the kybosh on that. Did some repair work on my P-38 instead so it will be able to fly next weekend along with the Spit. Brad

[2FewDaysAtFlyingField]

Got my prop adapter(s) in the mail yesterday to replace the one that was cross threaded at the factory and was ready to mount up the propeller. I heated up the adapter with my heat gun to loosen up the loc-tite and removed two screws. When I went to take the third out of the adapter it just spun in place. Whoever put the prop adapter on stripped out one of the four holes in the motor case when they screwed the adapter on. So not only did they put a cross threaded adapter on they stripped out one of the screws when they installed it. :Drooling: I went ahead and installed the new prop adapter with 1 new and three supplied screws (One snug but not tight) and the spinner slipped on without any effort. I don't think it will be a big deal as over-done as the design is on that thing. Guess we'll have to wait and see!

Was ready to go maiden her and when I was loading it in the truck I looked down and said, "Where is my freakin' tailwheel?" After looking around it was laying where the plane was sitting in the hangar. The shaft on it looked a little sketchy like when it was injection molded there was a separation in the plastic or something. I never so much as bumped the tail on this bird. I don't think I broke it but since it spent a lot of time in the foam super stand while painting her, I ordered TWO this morning just in case. Hopefully I can install it without having to remove the plastic assembly and messing up my awesome paintjob.

Not sure who the goober(s) were that assembled this airplane but they could use some remedial parts observation/inspection training and maybe give them a torque wrench when installing screws in the motor.

I hope when I finally get to fly her, my flying luck is better than my factory quality luck.

I've been in engineering and manufacturing for 25 years so I know that expecting perfection is impossible. It is what it is. I still love the bird and I haven't even flown her yet!!!

[Beeg]

Sorry how things have been going for you with this model.
Just remember as you've read in the many flight reviews to tone down the rates a lot. Low rates in the manual would be a good starting point unless you think you'll need a lot of elevator for the type airfield you have for takeoff. It is very responsive with high rates. I usually set my models up with as much control throw as possible but that makes this model way too sensitive. I think on my maiden day while trimming and setting things I had ended up with about 25-30% expo and rates down to 80-85% on both elevator and ailerons from book high rates.

[MesRcPilot]

Some of us, in Europe, are accustomed to "scams" although I find that this product is quite standard, but like every ARF/ARTF requires complete verification and some adaptations before the maiden flight. Me thinks it would be desirable for every model owner of this category (size, price, and ability to handle with a RC models) to be a good builder with technical knowledge ...... OK I know this is not always possible ... but .. . It would be nice and useful to do so.Please without any offense to anyone.
Best Rgds

[Oxotnik]

Sorry how things have been going for you with this model.
Just remember as you've read in the many flight reviews to tone down the rates a lot. Low rates in the manual would be a good starting point unless you think you'll need a lot of elevator for the type airfield you have for takeoff. It is very responsive with high rates. I usually set my models up with as much control throw as possible but that makes this model way too sensitive. I think on my maiden day while trimming and setting things I had ended up with about 25-30% expo and rates down to 80-85% on both elevator and ailerons from book high rates.

I don't remember what my rates are set at, off hand, but for my maiden, I had set my aileron rates pretty low. After getting the Spit trimmed, I came by for an axial roll, and I got worried that the Spit may not make it through the roll. So, I up'd my aileron throw quite a bit. I run 30% expo on almost all of my warbirds, unless I decide to run a stabilizer-capable RX, then I cut my expo back to 15%. I fly on a grass field and need all of the up elevator I can get, to hold the tail down during taxi and the initial takeoff roll. With this high elevator throw, though, I'm careful not to crank too hard on the elevator during half loops and such. I've only had it almost snap-roll on me once. I've also put in a degree or two up aileron reflex, to cheat in a touch of washout. I'm really happy with how my Spit handles in the air.