Tim Campling Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Just the ticket. I'll get one ordered. British of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hi all, OK I know I'll not set any speed building records but in my defence, my workshop is sooo cold in the winter and that glorious sunshine had to be taken advantage of at the patch. Anyway, air scoops have been glassed as per Alan's advice which toughens them up a lot. I cut out the ends and put a bit of mesh in them to simulate radiators. Incedentely the scoops sit nicely over the flap servos, I couldn't resist making the little chocks for this shot! I just need to paint the invasion stripes on the scoops. I knew that there would be a fair amount of ballast required which is why I put the flight batteries over the engine. I also formed a carrier for the lead to place it directly behind the spinner. However after assembling everything and putting about 30g of lead under the port wingtip to laterally balance her, inverted on my fingertips she balanced bang on 120mm. AUW is 11lb 13oz. There are still a few bits to finish; pilot, exhaust stacks, cannons and wing blisters (glassed) and gear doors but I'm hoping this won't change the balance much. One thing is that I balanced her with gear down and I've been advised that it should be with gear retracted. That will push it back a bit so I might need a bit of ballast after all. Hopefully this weekend should see the taxy tests at the patch. She certainly doesn't feel like she wants to nose over but we'll see when she's on grass for the first time. The Laser 150 is a joy. So easy to start, a super slow, stable tick over and with the 16x8 APC almost impossible to hold back. Easily the best engine I've owned to date. Truly beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 NEVER balance with the wheels down, always up, in flight mode, she looks good, doesnt she? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I can't begin to tell you how I love the way she looks! Rebalancing tomorrow, hope for sunshine Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 Hi all. It's been a while but we're done. I bought the kit at Weston last year and felt it would be bad form to not finish before this years bash! I built cannons from hardwood dowel and rather than fix them through the leading edge I made resin supports that I silicon glued to the leading edge. This bulges slightly but you can't tell from a distance now painted. First a layer of cling film. Then build up a rough bed of resin and isnsert the stubs that I premade. Once dry this can be sanded to shape. I cut the cannon at the stub length and rejoined using a nylon wing bolt. This allows me to remove them for transport. Finally with the 'plane assembled I used silicone to glue them to the leading edge and painted them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 However the exciting news is that she has now flown, 3 times! Last Friday the wind dropped and I could no longer think of any more reasons not to fly. After all, Roger was installed in the cockpit and looked really keen to go! So, with all my courage screwed up, a full charge in the batteries, a flick of the starter and the Laser purred to life. She needs controling on the ground to keep things level but she was airbourne in no time. The stange thing for me was the way it all looked so effortless. At 12 lbs this is the heaviest thing I've flown but as soon as she started the take off roll she looked light as a feather! She needed a bit of down trim to stop the climb so I may have the CoG a bit out but other than that it was just magical. I felt the published control throws were way too high and have reduced them by a third with around 25% expo to calm the centres. For me this gives a much more scale looking flight envelope. She looks best performing wide and smooth turns, slow rolls and wing overs. I love the Laser 150 but there's no denying she could handle more power. For a stall test at altitude it was surprising how slow she needed to get and when it did go it just went mushy and started to drop a wing, easily recovered with throttle and rudder. With the gear and flaps down she slows down fast so keep the power on right down to the ground. Landing is my weakest part and I've yet to keep her off her nose but I'm getting closer each time! Anyway I think she's fabulous and I'm very pleased with the way she's turned out. There were some issues with some bits of the hardware and instructions but this is not aimed at a newbie and will not cause any problems for anyone with building experience. I really would recommend it. Thanks to the guys at YT for all the help and fellow forumites for the same. Ready to scramble! Chocks away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 CONGRATS, she flies nice, doesant she, about the landing, use high rate, with lots of expo, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 Good tip Alan, cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Well time for a quick update. I have to admit that after around 10 flights I still couldn't land her properly. She was terribly pitchy at low speed and needed a fair amount of down trim for level flight. I was beginning to think that this sort of bird was beyond my capabilities. Every landing was hot and resulted in bent U/C pins. In desperation I checked the on line instructions and guess what? The CoG is quoted at 107mm from the L/E. My instructions recommended 120mm. So another 6oz of lead up front and what a difference. A full weekend of flying, no more down trim and soft landings every time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 glad you got it sorted, and no damage ensued, i will investigate the differant sizes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Cheers Alan, You've never seen a bigger smile than when she floated in for the first time this weekend! Incedentely I should say the rest of the airframe has stood up to the treatment with no problems whatsoever, she's definitely tough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonesmalone Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Hi Tim just got me a Spit kit kit to build and your build thread has been a great resource so thanks for posting in your build you mention a method for producing contoured gear doors, do you have a link to this info ? Thanks again and I hope she is still flying Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Eve Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Tony - how have you got on with your build? I just bought one and I'm quite appalled at the problems I've had for a realatively high priced model. The hardware in the way of clevises and pull-pull systems is not as good as I've had with kits half the price. YT have been helpful so far but one of my ailerons is 3mm too deep from front to back and I'm hoping a new one is coming but looks like it going to be a bit of a wait and now I find all sorts of trouble trying to put the various parts of the tail together where the hardware is concerned. I wonder what they'll do about that. I see Tim had to provide some better quality stuff but surely a manufacturer wants to keep his reputation intact? So, how have you found it? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi Peter and Tony only just spotted this. For my doors I used light ply which I scored inside at the places I wanted the bends. Then used steam to 'roll' the ply to the shape of the wing. I initially cut it oversized to the hole so that the roll didn't make it too small then cut to fit. I used silicon to stick the door to the oleo which allows the door to spring off if it gets caught on grass. I'm not sure where to find it but I remember Danny Fenton showing how to do the same with Lith plate. Peter, I know what you mean about the tail but persevere and don't use the supplied pull/pull cable. I quickly found out that the YT kit is not for the feint hearted! For the price I would have hoped for better hardware but, the scale outline is fantastic and and I love the way mine looks and flys. I would never have time to build what I wanted myself so this was the next best thing. It's not ARTF but a great base for a custom finish. What engine are you going to use? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Eve Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi Tim I'm really pleased you found my post because, frankly, the more I look at the model, the more I agree with your analysis, they are not ARTF and not for the feint hearted. Very little of the hardware is worthy of anything more than the bin, one of the best examples being the horn assembly for the flaps - it is no good and thant's all there is to it. I remembered Tony's excellent write up and didn't get distressed about that but them it just went from bad to worse. How do you make an aileron which is too big - and then ask the customer to send a sketch of the dimensions he needs! I hope they send one because, as you say, it is a beautiful model and I don't want to take a bodge up to the field which hasn't even flown and that will be difficult to avoid. I am almost certainly going to use an SC 120FS up front, I have two already which have given no trouble. A club mate has offered a Zenoah 26 but I can't raise much enthusiasm for having to get geared up for petrol and everything else is glow. This is another area which worries me. In the supplementary instruction sheet (which I eventually found in the brochure advertising pilots etc) it suggests that augmenting the fibreglass around the firewall might be a good idea for "big" engines. Once again the question springs to mind, why didn't they do that in the factory? I remember another post from a guy in Dubai whose engine fell out during about the third flight! Did you strengthen anything? Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi Peter the flap horn technique I used has worked very well, so I can recommend that. I didn't alter the firewall or surrounding area at all except to shim it for a bit of right and down thrust. Since then, I have undone this as it is not needed. One area I did strengthen is where the rudder hinges fit into the fin. Mine only had a soft piece of balsa behind the glass and didn't look strong enough to me. I know the SC engines and they are OK, I would just be wary of the power, especially if you fly off grass as I do. Make sure you are well up to flying speed before you rotate. She will tip stall to the left (aided by torque effect) if you are not fast enough. Use plenty of right rudder to control this. The Laser 150 will fly mine well, great sound, scale like speeds. What I miss is the ability to pull big loops and Immelmanns. Just not enough power. Oh, unless you mean the 2 stroke SC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonesmalone Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi Peter, I'll be honest I bought my kit in the knowledge that I would be replacing a lot of the hardware, after a lot of research it became apparent that the YT products are not quick build projects but without doubt the best looking spitfire kit available in this size without going down the full build route. I was lucky enough to get an unstarted kit for £200 so the cost of additional hardware isn't really an issue for me. Tim, Thanks for the info, I will have a crack at the contoured doors when I get to the retracts, I have only installed the engine upto now, as I'm petrol only I have gone with a DLE 20cc which fits very nicely in the cowl. Cheers Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Unless you've different experience Tim, the Laser 150 isn't designed for ultimate power and Neil Tidey does stress that they are roughly the equivalent of a "normal" 120 four stroke so the SC shouldn't struggle unduly. I do think that sensible overpowering of a WW2 model can be justified in order to "scalify" some of the vertical manouevres though. It's a good way of overcoming some of the limitations of scale effect. Edited By Martin Harris on 03/12/2013 14:53:57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 I agree Martin. The Laser is easily my best engine. It sounds gorgeous, starts like a dream is reasonably economical and yes it does fly the Spit well. However, I just think this model could use a bit more power. Now if Laser made a reasonably priced 35/40cc petrol, I'd be one of the first in the queue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu knowles Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 The YT 120 Spitfire need a lot of weight up front. Mine had a Graupner / MVVS 26cc petrol. Consider moving the servos forward. Avoid retracting tailwheels etc and with just a push you may get away without ballast. lighter engines just end up carrying loads of useless lead. All that said, they do look and fly very well. I found it essential to avoid three point landings, it will push the main gear through the wing. Wheel it on at modest speeds and all will be well. This was mine in 2013. Having repaired the retract mounts and swopped engines from an RCV90 to OS 90AX and finally the 26petrol, I decided to give it a makeover. Finally and at last, it flew like a Griffon Spit should and (IMHO) the silver & red scheme looked great. I had about 10 flights & a dud RX battery killed it! I found it a most frustrating kit to own but mainly because the original engine suggestion was carp and it is a long way from being an ARTF. However with some work, it can be made to perform well Edited By stu knowles on 03/12/2013 17:24:34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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