Tim Flyer

The only modification I have made since the photo is turning the undercarriage (from a Wot4XL) around so it is swept back. That brings the wheels rearward near the correct position which takes excess weight from the tailwheel and improves handling etc. . I changed the undercarriage from the original kit wire design to aluminium to make it more durable. The aluminium Wot 4 XL undercarriage works best with wheels swept backwards bringing them close to original design .

I hope your Mystic is flying well David I’m sure the Laser 155 is a perfect match. I also recently built a Mystic but used an old OS 120AX which I had spare which is also a nice fit in the cowl. I thought I would add a couple of photos of my Galaxy Mystic which I finished in May and have had many fun flights with since. I extended the high rear section for aesthetic reasons and it is great on “knife edge” flying! It goes very fast and is precise it can fly slow but certainly doesn’t slow down much on landing so I have added “up flaperons” which act nicely as air brakes.

Nasty injury , very sorry to see that . Get well soon Ron!

Thank you Jon that’s a great summary! It’s definitely plenty of work to build but definitely worth the effort . As in all these things we learn as we go and the build taught me quite a lot of new techniques. It’s also very pleasing that what is a relatively small engine by powers this model so well plus the nice sound. The instructions mention 30 -50cc two stroke engines which for me with their rasping note would considerably detract from the overall “Spitfire experience”.

Cheers Nick

Thank you Ron😊

I’m afraid I didn’t get decent pictures of all the loops and rolls Jon did as I was filming from my phone in bright sunlight and it was hard to capture the plane high in the sky with such a basic phone camera .

Hi all I hope everyone is well. Sorry I haven’t been around on the forum for a while. I just thought I might post a short video clip of some of the “maiden” flight of my DB Spitfire expertly piloted by Jon . With all the work on this plane and worry about it’s near 22lb weight I was worried how it might fly and whether it might be underpowered by the Laser 180 engine. However I was totally delighted and my concerns evaporated as it looped and rolled really well . It also has a very good turn of speed and certainly doesn’t seem under powered 😊. I had a brief fly of it and after Jon trimmed it, the handling was great.

Great to hear that a number are interested in this model. It’s a great kit not difficult to build and very durable. I also added oleos to soften our bumpy grass strip. I think without them the wire undercarriage might be rather harsh. I also use Robart air wheels which are nice and soft. My Chipmunk gets flown a lot as it’s such a practical model and quick and easy to set up and maintain. Take off does require some right rudder to deflect torque but the big rudder and design of this plane make it a really friendly model and smooth but accurate flyer. I have flown it in 20mph winds and it’s still very stable.

Correction! ….Sorry just double checked my TX to see if I actually did have a flap mix on the Chipmunk and I actually do have a very small bit of down elevator dialled in the flap mix . Obviously you will need to see whether your Chipmunk actually needs it or not .

Cof G is marked at 120mm back from front of wing at the centre ( near fuselage) . Flap movement is not marked. I use around 45-50 degrees as that’s about as far as mine move, I control the flaps using a side slider on the TX so I can adjust travel if necessary. However In practice I always use full flaps for landing and none on takeoff. The plane’s reaction to flap actuation is minimal and didn’t require a mix as the flaps are relatively small and it’s a very steady flyer.

I just posted them on your other thread

The recommendations from the plans are: Mild: Ailerons 12mm(1/2”) up and down with expo Elevators 19mm(3/4”) up and down Rudder 75mm(3”) left and right. These rates are similar to what I’m using on my chipmunk now. It’s a great plane and has seen a lot of flying. Handling is excellent and it’s a real pleasure to fly. Mine is the new version with two piece wing and a Laser 180. The Laser 150/155 is probably the ideal power plant for this model.

Hi Ron no not yet. Conditions at our club have been rather unpleasant and I have been very busy with home projects so only flown once this year. Hopefully I will get a chance midsummer when conditions have improved.

Interesting to hear . I must say I really enjoy my trips to Santa Pod . The drag racing community are a very friendly bunch and love talking about their engines and explaining their latest projects ?

Wow didn’t realise that about model technics.. sorry to hear. Luckily I have some fuel in reserve as I tend to buy in bulk, although being totally a “glow” modeller I do tend to go through it fairly fast. I’m sure the Opfifuel will be just as good. Whatever happens in future we will be able to get bulk ingredients as the drag racing community use similar fuel components.

Agreed, CASC registration isn’t always the best option. Even though we get an 80% rebate if our rates increase substantially the bill could still put considerable pressure on our finances. Local authorities are looking to recoup lost funds during the pandemic so I doubt that rates will remain static ?

One of the reasons we initially applied to be a CASC was that we sub let our land which is owned by our local authority . If we had not registered we would have been liable for far higher rates as our exclusive use of the land was notified to the local authority. More casually run clubs that don’t have exclusive use of their site and without buildings might not be liable for business rates as they are “not occupying” land.

Community amateur sports clubs get a Government “mandatory 80% discount”on business rates. We also had a 100% discount which was applied by our local authority up until June 2021 due to lockdown arrangements for the Hospitality and Leisure sector. That discount can vary by local authority. Our rates are currently being reviewed. Hopefully we will get a favourable review with no substantial increase .

Here is the finished picture with the tapes on

Very impressive work Nick … looks like the real thing!

I have had good service from LIFE batteries for quite a few years, and use them in both transmitter and RX . I have found their storage discharge to be very slow. However, if they are left in very cold environments or over discharged I understand they can be damaged though. I wouldn’t risk flying your plane if the batteries go to minimum voltage on a 1amp drain. It’s better just to replace them . LIFe batteries do need careful balance charging and monitoring what is going in and out of them on each flying session. I do believe their convenience makes it worth it .

Cheers chaps it will save my fingertips going through the sheeting hopefully. I might possibly make some sliding verticals for measuring . If I do that I will also need to add a moving counterbalance for each one in order to retain accuracy. That’s why so far I haven’t done it … but it wouldn’t be too hard to add them.

Very sorry to hear about that Adrian but it was a really kind and helpful gesture to all, for you to post it up on here . We all make silly mistakes and this will help us all to try to keep them to a minimum. As others have said it’s alway best to keep it to one side before thinking about repairs as going straight in is very painful and can be disheartening.