Originally Posted by startazz

Just got back from the maiden flight of my Spitfire upgraded motor (TR35-36c) and things didn't go so well i hand launched it like i would the stock spitty big mistake just over half throttle and she went vertical and started to go over my head about 10/15 foot up but i manged to sort of control her a bit as she was sort of doing a loop then i got her down to earth but this all happened really quick NO damage.
So i go for another launch this time under 1/4 throttle and she went off great but she did need a lot of down elevator to much as i had to give her as much down elevator as i had but she wouldn't fly straight at all and she wanted to do was nose up every time i gave her the smallest amount of throttle i kept flying her like this for about 3 wide circuits but i just couldn't get her to fly true,oh she didn't need no aileron trim though i brought her down with out any trouble,oh i forgot to mention at the start that the elevator was level and it looks like if i wanted to try and fly her true from a lunch she would have to have loads of down elevator so much that it wouldn't be right.

I did balance her (holding her upside down) as well and she was spot on how i like my planes which is just a touch and i mean a touch nose down.

I realise something is wrong but i'm leaning towards trying the smaller TR28-30B motor as the one on her now seems to be way over kill well for me that is



So any ideas out there Marlin/anyone??? to whats going on as i don't think it can be the elevator as if it was to get her to fly true it looks like the elevator would be at such a down angle it wouldn't be right,well i don't think so.

Hmmm ... that is odd. I did notice when I dropped the bigger motor in mine that it needed a bit more down ele trim to fly level, but nothing major. Sounds like it could be an issue with the motor angle. What are you using for a motor mount? I used one from CustomRCparts that retains the right and downward thrust angle of the stock motor setup. If you don't have enough downward thrust angle that could account for why it wants to just climb.

I flew mine with the big motor at 1/2 throttle the entire time, flew just great after a bit of trimming. I have also seen others on YouTube who put even MORE powerfull motors on the PZ Spitfire and don't have any problem. Once you get the correct thrust angle and trim the power just makes it go faster, perhaps a BIT more down stick at high end throttle, so there should be no reason not to use this Turnigy setup.

I assume your Center Of Gravity was as per the stock recommendation. If it was flying Tail Heavy that would also make it want to climb hard, and even harder with more power.

Let me know about those two things, see if we can figure this one out Ian.

Marlin

Yeah thanks for that Marlin and i'm using the same motor mount as you from customrcparts and i've just checked my CoG again and it should be 70mm from the leading edge when using a lipo and 67 with stock setup.
After reading what you said about being tail heavy it all seems to make sense as thats how she was flying but i did/have checked CoG and she is bang on level but when i checked it the other night she was a bit nose heavy,so it looks like i must of been off with my measurements and i'm going to put some nose weight in there now to make sure one way or the other as i can fly a plane nose heavy a lot easier than i can tail heavy as i found out today,DOH

Weather is meant to be good for tomorrow apart from the cold but i'll brave that again just to see what happens but i'm sure your right,but to be honest she feels way over powered with that motor and i have a few YouTube buddies that fly with that motor in there F4U's,T-28's and so on but i can't see me ever giving her that much power so it would seem like a waste of power for me but i'll see what happens tomorrow before i make my mind up completely

Thanks again Marlin

Ian

Originally Posted by startazz

Yeah thanks for that Marlin and i'm using the same motor mount as you from customrcparts and i've just checked my CoG again and it should be 70mm from the leading edge when using a lipo and 67 with stock setup.
After reading what you said about being tail heavy it all seems to make sense as thats how she was flying but i did/have checked CoG and she is bang on level but when i checked it the other night she was a bit nose heavy,so it looks like i must of been off with my measurements and i'm going to put some nose weight in there now to make sure one way or the other as i can fly a plane nose heavy a lot easier than i can tail heavy as i found out today,DOH

Weather is meant to be good for tomorrow apart from the cold but i'll brave that again just to see what happens but i'm sure your right,but to be honest she feels way over powered with that motor and i have a few YouTube buddies that fly with that motor in there F4U's,T-28's and so on but i can't see me ever giving her that much power so it would seem like a waste of power for me but i'll see what happens tomorrow before i make my mind up completely

Thanks again Marlin

Ian

Looking forward to the flight report Ian! I hear you about the over powered, it seems like it to me as well, though I am sure it will absolutely SCREAM if we put a 40 A esc in it. (Then I would worry about the wings not being re-enforced ....) I will probably keep it with this 35-36 for now, and next time I order anything from Hobby King will pick up another of the smaller motors, or a MonsterPower 10 or 480 Parkflyer BL from HobbyPartz. That said, I plan to take mine out in the next while, once I "winterize" it. (Have to cover the bottom air inlets to stop the snow from coming in on belly landing, though that might be dangerous with regard to over-heating will have to think this one out a bit more!

Let me know how it flys for you Ian.

Marlin

Originally Posted by Fish99

Looking forward to the flight report Ian! I hear you about the over powered, it seems like it to me as well, though I am sure it will absolutely SCREAM if we put a 40 A esc in it. (Then I would worry about the wings not being re-enforced ....) I will probably keep it with this 35-36 for now, and next time I order anything from Hobby King will pick up another of the smaller motors, or a MonsterPower 10 or 480 Parkflyer BL from HobbyPartz. That said, I plan to take mine out in the next while, once I "winterize" it. (Have to cover the bottom air inlets to stop the snow from coming in on belly landing, though that might be dangerous with regard to over-heating will have to think this one out a bit more!

Let me know how it flys for you Ian.

Marlin

Just got back from a quick flight and i mean quick as it is quite misty over here in the UK at the moment,i'd been waiting all morning for a break in the fog and about an hour ago it started to lift a wee bit,yeah i know i shouldn't of flew in it as it's nearly as bad as flying in rain because the mist makes it wet real fast but i just had to try her again (the Spitfire that is )
Success she flew straight and true with only a couple of clicks down elevator,so yeah she was way tail heavy and to be honest i should of known that was the case but because i'd checked my CoG the night before i thought i was good to go but now i've learnt a damn good lesson which is to check my CoG about three times when i mod my birds

Right as for the motor i stand corrected as i put a 9x6 on her last night and did a watt test and she was 28.16amps and 303watts with an 1800mah 40c trunigy battery and the E-flite 30amp ESC,so i was happy to give that set-up ago today,man was i happy as she flew out of this world so what will she be like on my 2200mah 25c batteries? well she is now my number two plane next to my F4U Corsair but after i spray her who knows after only about five circuits i brought her in (only because of the mist) talk about glide in i was amazed as i can't remember her gliding in like that before but i might of been going a bit fast when coming in but i won't know if thats the case until the next few flights,as soon as she landed i checked the ESC straight away as i've now moved it so as i could feel it and she was just warm to the touch so no problem there,i will still get a 40amp ESC later so i can prop up to the 10x6 again and really open her up on a 2200mah 20/30c battery

Thanks again Marlin as you were bang on the money about her being tail heavy and i'm now converted to the TR35-36c motors from HobbyKing thanks to you and i'm not even going to try the TR28-30b on the Spitfire but may have another one of my planes that could go in but that could be another post

Talk to you soon Marlin

Ian

Originally Posted by startazz

Success she flew straight and true with only a couple of clicks down elevator,so yeah she was way tail heavy and to be honest i should of known that was the case but because i'd checked my CoG the night before i thought i was good to go but now i've learnt a damn good lesson which is to check my CoG about three times when i mod my birds

Talk to you soon Marlin

Ian

OUTSTANDING! Very glad to hear that you got her up and she is flying great! I haven't been able to fly mine since I maidened the dual aileron configuration but am getting anxious to do so!

I agree with you if the 9x6 gets you JUST under 30A then I will have to be VERY carefull on mine with that 10x6 till I get the 40A esc for it! They always draw more on the bench than in the air (probably about 5-7 Amps more static than in free flight) but I still have to be carefull.

Can't wait till you give it the paint job, you have to post some pics Ian!

Congratulations and long live the PZ Spitfire BL Mods!

Marlin

Originally Posted by Fish99

OUTSTANDING! Very glad to hear that you got her up and she is flying great! I haven't been able to fly mine since I maidened the dual aileron configuration but am getting anxious to do so!

I agree with you if the 9x6 gets you JUST under 30A then I will have to be VERY careful on mine with that 10x6 till I get the 40A esc for it! They always draw more on the bench than in the air (probably about 5-7 Amps more static than in free flight) but I still have to be careful.

Can't wait till you give it the paint job, you have to post some pics Ian!

Congratulations and long live the PZ Spitfire BL Mods!

Marlin

Yeah i was well pleased with it (can you tell ) and i should have it painted from by the end of next week but i can't get the original PZ Spitfire decals for her even though i kept the wing roundels i still want to try and get some new ones,i'll have a good look around for some spitfire decals online as the online store i got my spitfire from don't have any left and my LHS decals look to big but keep your fingers crossed i can find some good ones somewhere
As soon as she is done i'll post some pictures with out a doubt.

About the amps with the 9x6 prop i get 28.16amp and with the 10x6 i'm getting 38.73 and like you say in free flight you should be able to knock 5/8amps off which is handy to know,the E-flite 30amp ESC can peak at 35amps but i don't know how long that would be for but i'd say around a few seconds not long,so as long as you manage your throttle well with the 10x6 you should be ok.

long live the PZ Spitfire BL Mods! plus one

Ian

I actually peeled the decals off the wing, placed them on a piece of wax paper from the kitchen to hold them while I did the re-paint, then re-applied them to the wing. They stick NO PROBLEM, as in fact I have peeled and re-stuck them a couple times while switching in a new wing. Just be carefull when you get them started not to rip them, especially the large lettering on the aft fuselage.

Thanks again, Ian, for the info on the AMP draw with the different props, it's made me feel a whole lot more comfortable with this.

Now we have to figure out what NEXT to mod the spitfire with! (I was thinking some flashing lights for machine guns ... )

Talk to you soon.

Marlin

Now we have to figure out what NEXT to mod the spitfire with! (I was thinking some flashing lights for machine guns ... )

Talk to you soon.

Marlin[/QUOTE]

I've done the LED lights before on my spitty but i wasn't happy with them,only because they were not bright enough but i've seen some online which comes in 1 meter lengths and you can use as many LED's as you want as you can solder the plugs on at certain points which is very handy

Yeah i kept the wing decals and stuck them on my white board in my hanger but i ran out of room for the others so i binned them another buddy from a UK forum put me onto a good bloke who makes up decals to what you want so i got some made up,the same as PZ ones but with personal letters and numbers,so just got to wait for them to come which i'm hoping will be early next week and i'll be putting them on

Haven't done NO flying since the last flight with the Spitfire as it's been snowing over here and to cold for me at the moment but i'll soon get used to it again i'm sure,you just know when the Spitty is done i'll be back out again.

Not long now Marlin

Ian

Originally Posted by startazz

Now we have to figure out what NEXT to mod the spitfire with! (I was thinking some flashing lights for machine guns ... )

Talk to you soon.

Marlin

I've done the LED lights before on my spitty but i wasn't happy with them,only because they were not bright enough but i've seen some online which comes in 1 meter lengths and you can use as many LED's as you want as you can solder the plugs on at certain points which is very handy

Yeah i kept the wing decals and stuck them on my white board in my hanger but i ran out of room for the others so i binned them another buddy from a UK forum put me onto a good bloke who makes up decals to what you want so i got some made up,the same as PZ ones but with personal letters and numbers,so just got to wait for them to come which i'm hoping will be early next week and i'll be putting them on

Haven't done NO flying since the last flight with the Spitfire as it's been snowing over here and to cold for me at the moment but i'll soon get used to it again i'm sure,you just know when the Spitty is done i'll be back out again.

Not long now Marlin

Ian[/QUOTE]

Gonna have to get some custom decals form somewhere over here, that would look great. You could model it after a real period plane. Can't wait to see the pics or your spitfire.

Had the spitty up today (I tape over the first vent hole on the underside and the bottom air holes on the cowl to keep the snow out during the BELLY landing) and it FELT GREAT to see it up in air. Flys like an absolutely CHAMPION. I have a WATT/AMP meter on order, should be in this week, so I can test out my setup with this 10x6 and 10x7 props, see where I should be. Also have a 40 A ESC I am going to drop into it, just to be safe. All in all, I hope to have the 40 A with 10x7 on it and it should have LOADS of power/speed.

Will keep you posted.

Marlin

All most mid week and still my decals haven't come yet but it might be down to all this damn snow we are getting over here,it's the same old story though every year we get it and the first few days or so this country come to a stand still just about

I can't make up my mind weather to paint my ParkZone P-51 next or my PZ BF-109 not that they need it but i think i'm getting the bug for painting now if i do it won't be this side of Christmas though.

Glad you got your 40amp ESC mate and you will wonder how you ever got along without a Watt metre as it takes all that guess work out for you motor and ESC setups plus i got a servo tester when got mine,that way i can use it to bench test my motor/ESC setups with out using my TX/RX, oh and for centring my servos of course

Ian

Originally Posted by startazz

All most mid week and still my decals haven't come yet but it might be down to all this damn snow we are getting over here,it's the same old story though every year we get it and the first few days or so this country come to a stand still just about

I can't make up my mind weather to paint my ParkZone P-51 next or my PZ BF-109 not that they need it but i think i'm getting the bug for painting now if i do it won't be this side of Christmas though.

Glad you got your 40amp ESC mate and you will wonder how you ever got along without a Watt metre as it takes all that guess work out for you motor and ESC setups plus i got a servo tester when got mine,that way i can use it to bench test my motor/ESC setups with out using my TX/RX, oh and for centring my servos of course

Ian

Servo Tester and a PROPER Lipo charger are on my NEXT TO GET list! Hope you get your decals soon, the snow can really mess things up when folks are not used to it. (In Vancouver, BC Canada they seldom see the white stuff, but when it comes the whole area pretty much comes to a STAND STILL! Quite funny to the rest of Canada as we pretty much get used to 4 or 5 months of the stuff, so its just not a big deal to us!

I am thinking HARD about a repaint on my 109 as well, it's looking a bit tired. With winter here I am basically only flying my Spitfire, my Stinson on Skis and helis, so I have a bit more time. (Not lots, as the boys play hockey so I am running them around to rinks 3 or 4 times a week, each!) I have to look for a good, original but historically authentic, paint sceme and just dive in.

I was at my LHS and they have a kit from Testors there that lets you design and print decals on your ink jet printer. After you print off you spray with a sealant and the ink won't smear, etc., then just cut, peel and place on your model! Going to pick that up as I will want to do up new decals for my Spitty and 109, and personallize my Stinson to give that bird a name.

Anyhow, can't wait till the new ESC arrives (should be any day now) then it's onto the bench, try the different props and see what works!.

VERY MUCH looking forward to pics or your Spitty Ian, let me know when it's up and running! Stay warm!

Marlin

Hi Marlin

She is all done now mate but i've got to go out for the rest of the day so 'll upload a picture later on then i'll sit down and sort out a video for YouTube to show what i did to her and what i used just in case someone else out there need a heads up what to do and use as i've got some good info off the Tube before.

Oh and i put my own letters and numbers on my Spitty as i wanted it personalised but the new paint job i do on one of my other birds will be historically authentic

Speak to you later on today/tonight.

Ian

Here you go Marlin my new upgraded ParkZone SPITFIRE,hope you like her mate after waiting all this time
As you will see she has been done in the invasion stripes but with my own personallised letters and numbers,plus the before and after pictures.

She has the TR 35-36C HobbyKing motor in her plus i put a wing spar in the top of the wing just in case of wing fold when i open her up with a 40amp ESC and a 2200mah 25c battery she has two metal gear servos in the wing instead of the parkzone single servo which i used for the rudder mod i also did

All i need now is some half decent weather so i can try her out in her new colour scheme as we both know i've tried the new motor out

That looks INCREDIBLE Ian! Excellent job my friend, and thanks for posting those pics. You definitely need to put a vid on YouTube describing what and how you did in this mod.

I very much like your re-paint and the invasion stripes, it looks great. Very nice touch with your own decals as well, you can't even tell it's a parkzone bird. Did you keep the plastic covering on it that came with it, or re-cover it somehow? I can't tell as it looks VERY smooth!

You have to let me know how it flys my friend. Again, GREAT JOB!

Marlin