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The Big Question ?


RICHARD WILLS

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1 hour ago, Lipo Man said:

When your battery-less plane makes a perfect landing it’s definitely your lucky day! If I were you I’d nip out and buy a lottery ticket! 👍

RC to Free Flight before you could say 'lost my lipo' 🤣

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A small tip for any other fellow builders. When checking the CG position I didn’t put the mark on the wing - I put it on the side of the fuselage on the bit where the fuselage narrows above the engine exhaust area. That way you can lift the model to check the CG without needing to turn it upside down - the model can pivot on your fingers using the underside of the widening part of the fuse. 

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Raised on another thread was the issue of decals not sticking , in particular to matt finish paints .

The simplest precaution is to rub the area where the decal is to be attached with flour paper , or if , like me, you don't have that , use a standard white envelope . 

The envelope is course enough to sand away the top surface . A quick wipe with a damp cloth will leave a smooth enough surface for your decal to get hold of .

If that is not enough , a thin coat of PVA under the decals will pretty much make them stick to anything . (perhaps not carpet , lets be reasonable 😬)

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  • 3 weeks later...

With a couple more FW190 maiden today any ideas as to how many are ready to be scrambled for flight duties?

 

And of course not forgetting the Best of British at Buckminster 27/28/29 September this year. I attended the Lindsay Todd "Renaissance" meeting a few years back (mass build) and it was great to see them turn up and chat with the designer. Lets hope we can squeeze a WR slot in.

 

If I get the Tempest finished I could be tempted to find another stick wiggler to be employed

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Always wondered who the puppet was and who the puppet master is....The Green man himself...or could it be Baron von Sweep? Not seen them for a few weeks guess they are wind tunnel testing the Tempest real dedication when you have that much fur!

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Alright - I’m going to ask the very obvious question after the maiden of my FW190 this afternoon. I’ll share a photo of the cheeky Focker alongside my scratch-built Flitetest foamboard P47. The P47 is powered by a 2200 3 cell battery supplying a 35mm diameter motor turning a 10x6 prop. It weighs barely over a kilogram ready to fly and has unlimited vertical off that modest power train. It’s so light that it’s amazingly easy to fly and can slow down without doing anything scary. It’s the perfect warbird for a newish pilot like me. 

By contrast the Focke Wulf is nearly twice as heavy, with almost exactly the same wing area. So common sense says it will be much more intimidating to fly, needing much more speed to stay airborne and with a likely much more tricky stall once it does get too slow.
So - my question. Why the heck was it so easy to fly? And why did it slow almost to a walking pace without showing any signs of plummeting out of the sky? I’m genuinely baffled. 

The wing is quite thick - is it that? There looks to be a bit of washout, so that could keep the stall benign? Or is it simply voodoo and black magic? I’m puzzled…

 

IMG_4705.jpeg

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7 hours ago, Lipo Man said:


The wing is quite thick - is it that? There looks to be a bit of washout, so that could keep the stall benign? Or is it simply voodoo and black magic? I’m puzzled…

 

If you take a closer look at the Flitetest wing profile although reasonably effective it's not as accurate or efficient as the FW190's profile.

Plus the voodoo of course...🤫

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Its probably better to look at the equation from the other end . 

If you consider the two similar sized fighters , at what point do they start exhibiting unpleasant tendencies? I would say north of 6lb . Up to that point you can improve their stall and general handling , by wing section and washout + tail area . 

I have been playing around with the wing sections since 1995 and pretty much make mostly 55" fighters . The sections I use are an unusual mix which other people generally don't consider , but because I have flown so many at this size , I can remember how to get a certain outcome . 

The Yak3 was an interesting subject because of its highly tapered wing . That did require some head scratching particularly as I had (for my own amusement ) wanted it to be capable of high top speeds . The sections on that model changed completely from root to tip and the nett result was excellent . Since then, all of my designs have had similar "transitional" wing sections . 

Yak June 9 2011 050.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yep, definitely prefer the razorback version of the Thunderbolt.  In fact I prefer the razorback version of everything - P-51B >>>>>> P-51D, Spitfire 1 over any late Mk Spitfires

 

The Thunderbolt has a lot of desireable attributes for an electric warbird - wide track undercarriage, deep fuselage to aid with getting the lipos in close to the front, big radial cowl, so plenty of room for the motor. I wasn't really into them and did question the assertion made several times in RCM&E that the Thunderbolt was the most frequent warbird on the warbird circuit but once I got my Eflite P-47D I was a convert, they fly beautifully and the ground handling is excellent.

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14 hours ago, RICHARD WILLS said:

Any views on the P47 Thunderbolt ?

Razorback 👍

Why the question? has a decision been made on the next project? Still fancy a Mosquito although I accept it would be more complicated and expensive so possibly less appealing but come on who doesn't love it and aspire to owning/flying one 🙏 

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