Originally Posted by rodneyf

Dick, I had to sit the Spitty for a while as I had an accident where the failsafe did not work and the result was 45 stitches in my right hand and left forearm.
It all started when I left my TX in the hands of a friend and went to retrieve the Spitty after a landing, when I picked the plane up I noticed a little damage on the rudder and reached up to touch the rudder.
I had landed about 100 mtrs from the pits on a grass field and my friend took my reaching for the rudder as the signal I had removed the battery and he turned off my TX for me.
That's when the failsafe failed and the motor went to full throttle in a second and my arm and hand were in the way of a 14x8 wooden prop until my friend realised and turned off the TX.
After the surgery and healing another friend suggested I paint the Spitty in the colours of the Grey Nurse, a Spitty that is famous down here in OZ.
She is all ready to again with some modifications to the electrical system to isolate the motor via an external switch.
The moral of the story is, NEVER TRUST the system KEEP CLEAR OF ALL PROPS!!!!!!!

rodney,

That's a terrible thing - so sorry. I promise to take your advise seriously but I'm afraid I've already suffered some stitches myself. In my case I was trying to figure out how to control some lights I installed on a PZN Corsair. During the process I hit the reverse mode throttle on my Dx7 Tx and the prop went to full power. It was totally stupid messing with it while the prop installed. Tough lesson and a bloody one as well. I was lucky I just missed a nerve and artery.

Anyway, I hope you heal quickly and will soon be back in the air.

Dick

Rodney:

My plan at this point is to remove the forward bulkhead for the fuel tank and install a new, shorter bulkhead immediately behind the motor.

I am planning to use a 5S 4500 - 5500 battery. I have checked out dimensions of various suppliers and they should all slide through the opening where the fuel tank should sit. I expect, based on other comments on this thread that I will want the battery as far forward as possible due to the short nose on this model.

I will swap batteries through this forward hatch, securing the front of the hatch with some form of clip/hinge and retaining the back corners of the hatch with a couple of rare-earth magnets.

David

David, that is the way I did it too, I put a metal bar across to put a velcro strap through to secure to battery and I made up a little ply, balsa and lead cradle for the battery to sit on.
You can see it in the pics and if I use a bigger battery I won't need the cradle. I used a 75mm hole saw to cut a piece of 7 ply then cut the piece in half, trimmed it a little and epoxied it to the inside of the cowl top and bottom of the existing engine mount. This strengthened the cowl and gave me the right distance to mount my motor so the adapter and spinner sat at the right place.
Don't use the mount plate that comes with that motor because they are rubbish and mine tore to pieces, make yourself a steel or brass one.

Rodney -

Do you have a picture of your hatch front attachment design? I will use magnets for the rear but I am still considering the front attachment design.

I regret to admit I need to sell my spare Spitfire 50-54. I still think CMP has the best looking one out there so bought an extra as a back up to my first build. As much as I love my Spitfires another plane has seduced me.

NIB - only opened for inspection following initial delivery.

$175.00 shipped double boxed CONUS

PayPal or USPS Money Order.

Dick

Hi Dick,

Did you ever find a good flying site near home to fly your warbirds from?

Originally Posted by mickydee

Hi Dick,

Did you ever find a good flying site near home to fly your warbirds from?

Not not really. ...I discovered a club was started up locally here but unfortunately the field they fly off is very rough an not going to work for me. I've maidened a smaller Spitfire , an foam FMS 1430mm Corsair and a big P-36A Hawk here but the CMP Spit is still waiting for her debut. I'm looking forward to the opportunity this Spring or Summer possibly at a club in Austin. I'll be sure to post an update.
Thanks for checking in with me though.
Best,
Dick