Dave Grennan

Hi Guys, Thanks a lot for the feedback. From reading your replies and thinking about it a bit, I think I finally get it. According to the watt/lb rule I need between 80 - 120 watts for a small warbird. So lets call that 100 watts/lb to put it in the middle of that category. Now my plane is 0.6lb so I need 60watts to meet that criteria. With 2S 7.4v I would be drawing 60/7.4 = 8.1A With 3S 11.1v I would be drawing 60/11.1 = 5.4A Therefore I need to size the prop so it draws close to this current on a test meter? Dave Bran: I found one of those suppo 2208 motors local and ordered it. I need to look closely at the battery, I think most 3S batteries will add too much mass to a plane of this size, At least with that part I can out a few different ideas and see what works. Thanks again. Dave.

Hi Guys, Here's a link to a pic of my latest build. Its a scaled down (60%) version of the flitetest spitfire with some mods. **LINK** All in weight with the motor and electronics shown is 300g. Wingspan is 650mm. However I think the motor might be overkill. Its an NTM prop drive 28-26 1200kv with a 6x4 prop attached. I did some bench tests. It draws 2.93A from a 2S lipo. Given that the draw is quite low, I guess I could use a 6A turnigy plush ESC I have around. Instead of the 30A one shown in the pic. So what do you think? Probably better with a 22XX sized motor? However a little voice inside me says the 28 size would go like a demon, so I'm tempted to give it a spin. Opinions appreciated. Regards, Dave.

Thanks for that guys. As it happened it was a reasonably calm evening here in Dublin, only a slight variable breeze, so I spent 15 mins flying the PZ UM Spit on Phoenix, then went across to the footie fields with my real one. One thing the sim doesn't model is the 'fear factor' that inherent dread of thrashing your shiny new model or the 'oh oh I'm a bit close to that tree' factor. Also phoenix doesn't take into account all the variables such as trying to hand launch while maintaining the elevator etc. What it certainly did do for me was allow me to get enough practice in so I was able to get a nice if somewhat nervy 15 mins of flying in (I brought a couple of lipos). And get my little spitty back in one piece. When I came back in I went back to phoenix and it felt like 'easy mode'. The I remembered I had no wind set up. So I tried to match what the conditions were like outside and it felt much more like what I had experienced with the real model.

Tim, I've just read through all 15 pages of this thread and I'm only now picking my jaw up off the floor. That is absolutely incredible. Just to be able to even conceive of such a massive project is amazing in itself, but to have the skill and determination to take it to completion is just out of this world. Congrats on this and I wish you many happy hours flying this legend. One request, any chance the maiden (whenever) that is will be video'd? I would love to see this fly. Regards, Dave.

Thanks Mike. I guess a similar analogy would be the difference between something like MS Flight Sim and real world flying? In theory its accurate but the various nuances of the real world is something you can't simulate? Anyway I really enjoyed spending a few hours with it last night. As an RC noob, I can try out all sorts of interesting models. Even after a couple of hours I was flying far more relaxed and much more precise. I spent quite a bit of time practicing circuits and setting up landings, over and over again until I was totally comfortable with it. One thing that really struck me was that flying a little ultra micro is actually more difficult than flying a large sized nitro of the same model. The UM models seem to dance around at the slightest touch. I can see why you might need to set up some dual rates for these little models. Anyway delighted with the purchase and hopefully it will actually save me some money in the long term by enabling me to practice stuff before I actually go try for real.

Robert, You can get emulators of older dos systems which run on modern PC's. Might be worth looking at to get your old program up and running. It would be a joy to see a short stirling fly again, even a model one! I see projects are not in short supply Dave.

Robert, may I suggest you use up some time by planning and researching your NEXT project I've been reading through this thread and admiring your amazing workmanship! Looking forward to more of the same please Hopefully as the thumb starts to heal you'll be able to do a little more work on this one. I look forward to reading all about it. Regards Dave.

I just splashed out and bought Phoenix v5. Can't wait to get home from work to give it a spin. I have a couple of questions for the experts? How realistic is it? For example if you take the time to master a particular model until you're totally comfortable with flying that model, would you be happy to go fly that model real world? As a follow on from the last question, would you use phoenix to help you choose a model to buy?

I just laid all this out on the kitchen floor tonight and enjoyed looking at all the various parts and figured out where a lot of them go and at least the purpose of others, BUT taking a look at all the work needed to convert this to electric, i.e. modifing the front end for a battery hatch etc, i'm coming to the conclusion that a project like this one is probably best undertaken way down the road when I have more experience with less challenging builds. I love building stuff and I'm no slouch when it comes to a bit of engineering but sometimes its no harm to admit that more experience would probably make a project like this more rewarding. Given that there so many ARF kits out there in both balsa and foam, I think I'll go down that road for my first real build and maybe return to this P-47 when I've broken a few of them

Tony, from using a few clues from your lead, I found that the manufacturer is 'Global Hobbies' and a little more research led me to this instruction manual. http://media.globalhobby.com/manual/123745.PDF Which seems incredibly close to mine. I'll print this off and compare it to mine and this should give me some good leads on how to proceed. Thanks again. Dave.

Hi Tony, YES!! That is definitely the one alright. Seems to be some sort of generic brand. Actually I've just been giving it the once over and I think I can see how it all goes together now. There are pre-made housings for the servos. They've even put in some thread through the wings for pulling the servo cable through. Looking at the picture, the only thing that looks different is the main gear. The landing struts on the ebay link (on the main pic) looks quite flimsy. However the actual struts which I have and are shown in the second ebay pic, are much beefier. Thanks Tony. Thats a great help. Dave.

Terry my jaw is on the floor looking through the wonderful craftsmanship on display here. Simply breathtaking to see a pile of balsa being turned into a wonderful turbie by such a skilled hand. Best Dave.

Thank for the excellent advice guys. I really enjoyed reading Biggles Elder Brother's conversion thread. Certainly nothing in there which would scare me off. Simon B: Thanks for the links.. Quick question here, is there some reason I shouldn't use an ESC with a built in BEC for the receiver? Just as an aside, I noticed there is a huge amount of VERY affordable stuff becoming available from China. I mean ESCs, motors, servos etc. In some of my other interests I've found that the quality coming directly from the far east is surprisingly good. Even if you do have to wait ages on delivery. Just wondering what you guys think. David D: Yes I plan to head over to the Phoenix park tomorrow for a chat. You could do a lot worse than a Navan girl! Thanks again, Dave.

Hi I'm Dave from Dublin (42 years young), I've dreamed about flying RC planes since I was a small kid and now decided to do something about it. I got hold of some good second hand bargains. Namely a Spektrum DX8 set and and Artec Cessna Trainer foamie. I'm about to join the local club here so I'll hold off flying the cessna until I'm signed up and insured. I bought the artec on the basis that it was already pretty beat up and as such I wouldn't be too upset about thrashing it. I have to admit to being lured by the pz ultra micro spitfire. (I love warbirds). The UM Spit is small enough for me to fly it in the local football fields when there's no-one else around. Probably not the best model to do a first flight on but I did and managed a couple of circuits and got it down safe. Second flight zaaap, nose dived, broken plane. Fixed said plane and third flight was great. I've just been taking it nice and slow, nothing fancy I also have a question, a few years ago a friend gave me this P-47 and its been sitting in my shed ever since. Now before you start to panic, don't worry I know that flying something like this is Waaaaay down the road, but it's a nice dream and goal to have. My question is does anybody recognise what make or model it is? Its got a 57" wingspan. It has all the control surfaces. It also came with a nitro engine (irvine 53). There's loads of mounting hardware, control rods, horns and clevises etc, but I think a lot are missing too. If I go down the road of building this I'll probably retro-fit it with an electric motor as I'm no grease monkey. Do you thing it's worth pursuing? It will probably cost as much to kit out as buying one of those foamie warbirds. Just seems a shame to condemn such a beauty never to fly. I've really being enjoying reading through these boards a lot of really fantastic people and really useful stuff for a noob like me. Best, Dave.