Who's still got a Mick Reeves Focke-Wulf 190D-9?

[Colin Leighfield]

What a shame that Mick doesn't make these any more, it's a brilliant flyer with Saito FA82.At Fradley Scale Day 21 July There was a very nice one at Greenacres 22/23 June as well. His current stuff with g/f fuselages is brilliant, but I'm sure that these would still sell. Anyone else still got one?

[Reno Racer]

Not got one, but been after one for a long time.

[Colin Leighfield]

Reno, one sold on Ebay a few weeks back, unbuilt kit, I think £117 or something like that. I picked mine up on Ebay a while ago, part built. It's one of the best flying models I've flown and close to scale, including the small tailplane, which isn't the slightest problem. (Long moment arm)? The only non-scale bit is the short undercarriage, which I suppose reflects what retracts were available when Mick kitted this. (20+years ago)? I'm seriously thinking about having a go at fitting electric retracts with scale length legs over the winter and improving the scale detail.

Definitely worth looking out for and with the simple structure and straight foam wings, it probably wouldn't be that hard to reproduce it, I suppose.

[Thomas Mattsson]

Hi guys, I have one it´s a leftover from a friend with only the fuselage assembled.

I really would like a 2 or 3 cyl engine, but is afraid of the balance & final weight.

The FA90TS or FA120R3 is tempting. Is that over the limit?

Thomas

[Pete B]

Hi Thomas,

Welcome to the forum! There was a bit of a delay in approving your post so I'll bump it up to make sure it gets noticed....

Perhaps you can add some details of your build when you make some progress?

Pete

[Tony Bennett]

**LINK**

[Peter Miller]

A couple of weeks ago one kit was sold together with an OS FS 40 by Lacy Scott auctioneers in Bury St Edmunds. IT went for £75.

Eat you hearts out.

I bid £65 on commission

[Colin Leighfield]

Nice to see the thread come back to life. Thomas, mine flies very well with the Saito FA82 and has all the power it needs to fly in a very scale fashion. Also with the 82 the cg is spot on with no ballast correction in either direction. It would I'm sure be ok with a 90, I think a 120 would be over the top. Either way, the cg woulg go forward and you might need ballast in the tail, adding weight at both ends and Incan't see how this would improve it. Still, it's a free country!

Tony, looks like a potential bargain, but there's a lot after it! £75 was a bargain Peter, particularly with an engine thrown in!

[Thomas Mattsson]

Thanks Colin

I don´t have the instruktion for this kit so any helpful info about where the CG should be is appr.

What´s the "ready to fly" weight of your version, and what prop do you use ?

Be shure to post your choice of retracts

Thomas

[Colin Leighfield]

Hi Thomas. I'm not at home at present, when I get back I will check the weight (it's not heavy) and cg position and let you know. The prop is 14x7, fuel tank is 14oz. (400 ml)? and gives very good duration, at least I have never run it dry yet!

[Colin Leighfield]

Thomas. I hope these help. Here are the build instructions, plus some more pictures. The cg is 4.5" or 115mm back from the front of the wing opening. The weight is described as about 8.5 lbs. (3.9kgs), which is the same as mine. The retracts are the original Mick Reeves mechanical heavy duty. They are ok, but if I want to re-position them to get a scale leg length, I will replace them with E-Flite electric units. The 25/46 units are described as being ok up to 9.5 lbs (4.3kgs) and the 60/120 units as ok for up to 15 lbs (6.8kgs), I might go for the heavier ones. If the pages aren't clear enough, send me an MS with your email address and i will send them that way.

[Colin Leighfield]

Here's another air shot, slightly blurred but I think it shows the "Dora 9" off well. The scale outline is accurate and definitely provides a good basis for going into more detail. The major blemish is the protruding exhaust, which can be dealt with by some appropriate work. Also I created a wire guard under the engine cowling to protect the rocker boxes from graunching on our hard runway in the event of a nose-over.

The Saito would have been better off side mounted for this reason, but I bought the plane part built on Ebay and it was set up this way. I was too idle to alter it, but perhaps I should have, even then the exhaust would have been pointing down and needing protection anyway! Really it needs an in-cowl exhaust, which there's room for. Overall, if it's looked on as a scale model, there's a lot that can be done with it. (Somebody's going to tell me to re-mount the motor at 45degrees inverted, why did that only just occur to me)?

[Colin Leighfield]

I thought I was very lucky to find the Mick Reeves Fw190D9 after so many years and it's turned out to be brilliant. Now look what else has appeared out of the blue! I'm not greedy, but I couldn't miss the opportunity.

[Phil Reeves]

Hi all,

I have just found this thread only because I have the opportunity to get one as a local family have just cleared their fathers shed and have asked me to help them sell all the items. A new MR FW190 kit is among it all. looking forward to getting it as I have an SC91fs sitting idle and a pair of leccy retracts.

Phil

[Colin Leighfield]

That's great Phil. You won't regret it.

[Andrew Mawman]

Hi guys, i've got one i'm building too, and was starting to look at the retracts, would you go with the MR four dowel and plate system recommended, or a different method to secure the MR mechanical retracts.

[Colin Leighfield]

Hi Andrew. You will see from the photos in this thread the two of these that I have. Both were acquired part built on Ebay with the MR heavy duty retracts already fitted, apparently as per the kit instructions. Although I have done nothing with no.2 yet, experience with no.1 is that the undercarriage is robust and up to the job as mounted, so probably no need to change from what Mick designed in the first place. There's plenty of evidence that he knows what he's doing!

The only further thought on this is the point I made in my posting of 03 December 2013. The outline of this plane is very scale and if you are inclined that way, a lot of scale detail can be added. One was being flown at Greenacres in 2013 with a far more accurate finish and weathering detail than I have attempted so far. However, the MR retracts are shorter than scale length and don't give the typical "sit" on the ground of the original. Therefore I have thought that when I get around to no.2, I might take them out and replace with electric retracts re-positioned to take scale length legs. However, for every day sport flying, which this plane certainly is capable of, it certainly isn't necessary because in the air it doesn't matter.

[Ted]

Colin I copied and pasted into word your build instructions and they are a little more readable.

Ted

[Colin Leighfield]

Hi Ted. I hope that you are able to use them. If there are any problems, when I get home I can photo-copy them and post to you if you sent me a PM. Let me know if you you are stuck and I will do that.

[Andrew Mawman]

Hi Colin, thanks for the response, i guessed as much but was just starting to wonder with all the box type mounts on the internet. it seems simple enough and easy to create so i will go for it as MR suggests. i am a sport flyer at much Marcle so fly of a grass strip. i have some oleos which have been extended a little so i'm going to try them. Any idea what 3 1/2" wheels have a narrower profile to help fitting?

[Colin Leighfield]

Hi Andrew, no problem. I can't give you any immediate thoughts on narrower wheels, not from out here anway. The ones I have on mine are standard balloon type and they fit into the wells easily enough. However, if you need to go narrower I'm sure that you'll find something if you shop around. Good luck!

[Glenn Philbrick]

Here are a couple of pics of my Mick Reeves sport spitfire and hurricane. The spitfire I have flown now for about ten years and is the only plane that I have actually done a make over on. Both fly extremely well and I would love to have another of either. Perhaps we should try to persuade Mick to re-kit them.

Glenn

[Colin Leighfield]

Great pictures Glenn. I had one of the early 63" Spitfires (straight leading edges) and flew it originally with an HB61 and then an Irvine Q72. Great plane, if I hadn't flown it through a wire fence eventually I would still have it! I picked up another on Ebay a couple of years ago, (later one, curved leading edges). I will get around to it one day.

I never had the 80"wing Hurricane, but I've seen plenty of them. A while ago I emailed Mick and asked if there was any chance that he might resurrect the 63" Spitfire. The prompt answer "no"! I asked the same question about the Fw190D9. Very briefly, "no"! I'd be surprised if you didn't getbthe same answer fornthe Hurricane, sadly!

[Harrier Mate]

Wow. Thought I was the only one who still had a D9. I built it in 1985, my first year on a Sqn in Germany. Bought from model shop in Shrewsbury as I recall. Finished it but never had the continuity to fly it and could not get the mechanical retracts to function properly. So retired it unflown to parents attic.... where I found it only a few months ago. Neatly packed in a transit hardboard and plywood box. Perhaps now is the time to fire it up for first time. It has (again brand new at the time) a Suoer Tigre glow engine to mount up front. A little adjustment or perhaps new installation of retracts and it would be ready to go. But then theres the other slow build models too I have promised myself i'll finish too. Hmmm! Priorities??

[Colin Leighfield]

I know exactly what you mean Harrier Mate. Apart from the D9 which is in good flying order, although unflown this year, I've got another one part built, a 63" Spitfire acquired on Ebay needing completion, my original Pat French 86" Giant Zlin waiting for repair for the last 10 years and another one of those as a brand new kit still in the box. I keep on getting distracted by mass-builds etc, at some point I've got to get re-organised.