Trevor Crook

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my son has the Mustang in this series, and had no retract issues. Flying it yesterday, it got caught by a gust and landed slightly sideways. Result - one defunct leg. A rod bent, which stalled the motor and let out the magic smoke. He's sourcing a replacement (not identical) from HK, so we'll see how that goes. It's a shame that these models, which perform so well and look superb, are let down by the U/C. However, I guess at the price we should expect a weakness. As I said to him, the model is so good that if the cheap HK replacement also fails, it's worth spending more cash on a more solid job, if we cand find some. Ross, I notice that HK also do a trike set for about £30 that has a twist/turn option. Rated up to 3.5kg model weight, they may be worth considering for the mains on your Skyraider.

Steve, I wouldn't lose faith in 2.4G systems. I've been using it for a few years now (DX6i, DX7, DX8) and never had radio-induced loss of control. I'd also be comfortable with any of the other main brands. Give Horizon Hobby a chance to sort you out, then fly the system in a familiar model to test it and get used to it, then go with the jet!

Steve Did you buy it locally? If so, as WF says above, it could be quicker to go to the shop and ask them to swap it - it is legally their resposibility. If not, HH are very good. I've bought loads of Spektrum stuff and the only thing faulty from new was a 6210 satellite rx. I decided against a 40 mile round trip to my "LHS" and sent it to HH, a new one came by return.

If you use a Sanyo Eneloop NiMH pack (available from Overlander) it will keep its charge much better than standard cells - brings into question bothering with a Lithium pack.

In days gone by, if there was a range fault or some other rf related fault, the technician would fault-find down to component level. Nowadays, labour is expensive and hardware is cheap, so it makes sense to do a board swap. It won't necessarily be the same component each time.

My son has the P51 in the same series - flies brilliantly, and no retract issues yet, although they are'nt the 90 degree type, of course.

John, all the above advice is excellent. All I would add is if you stick with your 300W per motor scheme, and find it is over-powered (probable!) you can always prop the motors to pull less amps, which will keep everything running nice and cool.

Colin, didn't the Seafire have a contra-rotating prop? That would make an interesting little project!

I want one! I've got the Durafly T28 and it's great. The warbirds are all around £100 so I expect the Spit to be similar. Good to see a late mark modelled, and looking pretty accurate. Apparently they tried a 5-blade prop, but it wasn't practical. The 4-blade may not be scale but it looks the part to most people.

I agree 100 percent with BEB - the ability to take over control instantly is invaluable, particularly when giving landing instruction. The student can be allowed far more time to recover from mistakes themselves with a buddy lead than grabbing the box.

Sorry, that should have said seperate not desperate - damn predictive text!

Kieren JR and Spektrum were fully compatible when they both used Spektrum's DSM2 system. However, they have gone their desperate ways now and JR's latest system is not compatible with DSM2 or DSMX. I think you can still get JR DSM2 transmitters, and these will work with all Spektrum Rx's as DSMX is backward compatible with DSM2.

Like the others, very sad to hear of Peter's passing. His column in RCM&E was my favourite for many years. I spoke to him briefly many years ago - during the heyday of the MAP flying days at Old Warden he was preparing for the magazine write-up, and interviewed my while I was flying. An all-round aviation person and real gentleman.

Tony Model looks great. I agree with all you say about the 46LA. It should give your model good performance, without it being ballistic, and will be easy to start and reliable. Some years ago, I used one in a Flair Patriot, which was a fair bit bigger and heavier than the Magician. Performance was adequate rather than exciting, but the model still flew well. Difficult to make direct comparisons, but my electrified Magician weighs exactly 4lb and flies on 400W, which is just over half a horsepower. This gives it almost, but not quite, sustained vertical performance. Yours should have a better power to weight ratio, even with fuel. Good luck with the maiden - just triple-check everything and I'm sure it will be drama-free. We look forward to your debrief!

I enjoyed the programme - good entertainment and showed aeromodelling in a generally positive light. Personally, I'm not too precious to regard my models as toys, in the same way that golf clubs, footballs etc. are as well. Regarding the generally negative comments on the Slough shop, after a visit (for the first time in years) this morning, I can't agree. It's a large, well stocked and organised shop, and the three staff members there let us browse without pestering, which I like. However, when we asked to see a quadcopter that my son was interested in, they fired up 2 of them and gave us a full demo, and were very friendly. I needed a battery for my Blade 120 and was offered a choice of 2, with the cheaper one being recommended. In all, a positive experience and we will be returning. Agreed, the program didn't show them at their best, but you have to allow for editing to show the storyline the progamme makers want.

My son has a subscription to a Traplet mag, and he is able to download it and read offline, so I guess RCM&E will sort this to stay with the competition. Hopefully when they do I'll be able to do it on my Android tab, too.

Kelly We've looked at the video again and yours is definitely not the one my son bought. His was from the UK warehouse, titled P51D Gunfighter 1600mm, currently retailing at £142.04. His came in a longer box than yours, with a 1-piece fuselage. The wing assembles into a removable 1-piece unit. The retracts and all servos were pre-installed, and everything was undamaged and worked. It's had about 5 flights so far, and goes really well - we measured about 800W on the ground. For the price you paid for yours, you'd expect to do a bit more work. The damage doesn't seem too bad. Check carefully if all the electrics work - even if you have to replace the odd item you've still got a bargain, and there's no reason why it shouldn't fly as well as ours. Good luck, and be sure to post a flying video (if the rains ever stop.....)

Kelly I hadn't seen the video when I posted earlier (they are blocked at work), but now I have, I'm not sure if it's the same model that my lad bought. I'll show him the vid. and post again in a couple of days. By the way, this type of video is very useful to those thinking of buying a particular model - those who aren't interested don't have to watch!

My son bought this model a few months back. He had no issues during construction, and it flies really well. It looks to me that it may have come from the same factory as the (more expensive) Max Thrust version.

I believe that the HK 1100mm Stuka, like the other Durafly warbirds, is designed for a 3s 2200. As D.O.B says, though, HK lipos are cheap enough and seem to deliver the goods.

David Have a look at the Durafly range sold by Hobbyking. I've got the Trojan and it's excellent. From memory they also do a Corsair and Skyraider. The UK store also had a non-Durafly Hurricane, which is a bit different, if it's still in stock. All of these come kitted out with servos, motor, ESC and retracts - you just have to add the RX and lipo. For £100 -ish they are great value. Sorry if this looks like a Hobbyking advert! I've no connection other than as a customer.

Erfolg If you're not averse to foam, there's a very nice Durafly 1100mm Mk 24 on the way, and the UK warehouse stocks the Durafly range. I've already got the Trojan, my son has the Vampire, and both fly superbly with no modifications. Money is already being set aside for the Spit, although that new Sea Vixen looks terrific too....

Shaun All the advice above is good. In case you need more of a steer, I'd suggest a motor of around 1000 - 1300kV, a 1300 3s lipo, and a 7x4 or 8x4 prop, which will put you in the 150W ballpark. If you haven't got a wattmeter, it's well worth investing in one for tuning in the power you need, without stressing the power train. The above setup will draw around 15A so an 18-20A ESC should be OK. As has been said above, choose a bigger battery if you have the room and need the weight.

I've got the older MSR, and can fly this confidently around my lounge. I spent some time breaking a T-Rex 450 and lost confidence and sold it. I got the MSR to fly indoors when the weather stopped fixed-wing flying for too long. I can now hover nose-in and fly circuits. If the later model with stabilisation is better, you should have no problems. If it starts going pear-shaped, just chop the throttle. I've not broken mine yet.

Tony I didn't take any steps to reduce weight, as modern electric power trains are light and if chosen wisely give at least as much power as ic. Sorry I didn't take any build photos. The u/c clamps you can see are screwed into a ply section epoxied to the bottom of the fus. The wire legs go up though the ply into hardwood blocks (about 25mm) which are glued to the fus sides. Good luck with the rest of the build - they fly really well.