RE: The funny thing about jets today.....
Ive expressed this about several brands across the board from jets to warbirds and other RC products for years now. Its a problem with the mentality of the manufacturers AND the customers. The manufacturers are playing at being professionals in business, product design, manufacturing and customer service. The customers are all over the board from a novice not knowing any better to "oh its ok I can fix it" and Ill be happy with it. This hobby is about a lot of things to a lot of people. Its recreational, medicinal, social, technically challenging, historical, and its supposed to be fun. So what happens, in my opinion, is that manufacturers prey on consumers to fill in the blanks on their products. They sell subpar products knowingly and call it a kit or ARF and then leave it open ended to protect themselves from the fall out. They are "leaving it to the builder" to determine how to finish the product. What happens when it fails is the customer takes the blame and responsibilty because he built it so the guilt kicks in, end of story. Its been long over due for customers at every level of the hobby to stand up and NOT BUY OR SUPPORT companies that prey upon us. That is why Hobby Shops are important and relevant today more than ever. These stores are the community center for the hobbyist to get the best information from the community of modelers who KNOW BY DOING and practice the discipline of the hobby. These are knowledge and community centers as much as they are retail stores for the hobby. I dont think people realize this significance. With the internet stores and nearly instant gratification of ordering online whats lost is the product support and knowledge you get with the personal touch a knowledgable sales person at a store will give you. There are too many hobbyists playing at business men and manufacturers and too few professionals in this industry. How do you learn about a company that sells poor products? ASK QUESTIONS! And ask more than one person. Sadly there are too many people in the hobby who are highly opinionated about a brand or brands. Ive seen it time and again in stores and at the field people who bad mouth products with NO EXPERIENCE on that product. That is why you have to ask more than one person and seek out people who have experience with the product your interested in buying. That goes double when your talking about trying a new jet or trying to get into jets for the first time because of the speed and volatility inherent in jets. I agree with Jeremey for the most part and it sucks to have to have such huge failures openly before people see whats going on. This is the culture of business today and its time to change that culture to a more respectable one.
Posted on: 5/24/2013 12:19 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11521656

RE: TF FW190 GIANT ARF
@ SrT. I was watching my buddy maiden his the other day. It was partly cloudy, big white clouds, sunshine, etc, and I was surprised how dark the OE ARF looks under these conditions. So for sure the bright nose and rudder will pop in the sky and on approach on overcast days.
Posted on: 5/23/2013 9:30 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11520992

RE: TF FW190 GIANT ARF
[quote]ORIGINAL: SrTelemaster150 I think I'll ditch the Eagle head & go this route. [URL=http://s76.photobucket.com/user/PowerWagon896/media/RC%20Planes/Top%20Flite%20FW%20190/FW190A5_zpsd86267d2.png.html][IMG]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/PowerWagon896/RC%20Planes/Top%20Flite%20FW%20190/FW190A5_zpsd86267d2.png[/IMG][/URL] The graphics are available from Callie. http://www.callie-graphics.com/airplanes.php [/quote] Yes! Thats the scheme Im going to do on my SisT FW when I build it. Nice high visibility scale scheme.
Posted on: 5/23/2013 12:03 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11520421

RE: Hangar 9 60cc Corsair
[quote]ORIGINAL: bbrundle All four H9 Corsairs that flew at Nall are in perfect shape No midairs from the Horizon camp, but I did see the remains of a large P47 being brought back to the flight line on a golf cart. Sorry no videos were shot by Horizon at Nall that I am aware of Had a great time flying the Corsair with a G62 and looking forward to burning more gasoline at the next event this summer [/quote] Thats great but for the Horizon Team this is a huge marketing opportunity lost especially for the release of a premium product. Anytime this product is flown or shown it should be photographed and recorded and posted to media outlets. Maybe everyone there saw them fly but there are thousands of customers who have not and will have questions like on this thread. The marketing department of the company I used to work for makes this same mistake constantly like sending a race truck out to an event and not taking a single photo but winning the race! Good luck
Posted on: 5/23/2013 12:01 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11520416

RE: J10 Vertical launch
So where is the roll component coming from?
Posted on: 5/23/2013 11:49 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11520399

RE: Hangar 9 60cc Corsair
I read that one Corsair had a mid air with a P-47 so thats probably why no video has been released yet, maybe editing?
Posted on: 5/22/2013 5:02 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11519677

RE: Visiting Chile - Manecojets 2013 - CACH
What a great facility! How many acres is the club property? Runway dimensions? Length X Width Website? Awesome, I wish we had something like this around here.
Posted on: 5/21/2013 9:24 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11518888

RE: Top Flite Giant Corsair ARF Disappeared.
[quote]ORIGINAL: SWORDSN [quote]ORIGINAL: Chris Nicastro While the H9 Corsair looks very nice Im not interested in supporting any more over priced wood and ultrcoat covered ARF's. This TF Corsair was at the top of the range I would pay for a Chinese built ARF. I have several full composite warbirds to build that Ive collected over the years that I must turn my attention back to now. I think
Posted on: 5/21/2013 3:35 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11518599

RE: Need help finding a full scale jet for Docs
I believe Michael Dorn, Lt Worf on Star Trek The Next Gen., owns that F-86. I saw it apart for its annual inspection like those photos in the hangar at Chino Planes of Fame. That was about 3 years ago now. I could dig up some photos I took if you need them.
Posted on: 5/21/2013 10:33 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11518323

RE: Top Flite Giant Corsair ARF Disappeared.
Update; The cowl fastening design is a pain to live with! If you use the wood backer for the dummy radial it gets in the way of the line of sight for the hex driver to reach the cowl screws. I opted instead to leave this part out for ease of use. Instead I added some small blocks to screw the dummy radial to the cowl. The hidden hardware is cool in theory but this set up is poor, needs improvement. The cowl screws come loose within two flights so you must use thread lock. 9th landing the tail retract bottom wood block sheared from the bulkhead. Im going to add some wood to this to lower the retract in order to gain some ground clearance. The wing retaining screws vibrate loose each flight so check them often! I used blue threadlock and it wasnt sufficient. Today I tried a little bit of red and it was better but still they came loose. This needs to be improved. The rudder torque rod is twisting like a torsion bar so I have to use full rudder in order to do a barrel roll in flight. The carbon sleeve I added to the linkage to reduce flexing helped but its only a bandaid. Otherwise flying is pretty honest and the speed with the DLE 55 and 22x8 is good. A couple more flights and Im done with the first gallon. The engine is working great, no complaints.
Posted on: 5/20/2013 1:06 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11516782

RE: Some more
THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!!! Pretty cool animatronic pilot, nice work.
Posted on: 5/16/2013 2:52 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11513530

RE: Best way to remove paint without removing rivet/panel detals
Caution! I used Citristrip on a fiberglass boat hull and it ate through the gelcoat. On my Tams F-16 I used Acetone and paper towels with gloves and it was fine, the paint just wipes off cleanly down to the gelcoat. Thats where the details are, in the gelcoat. Acetone wiped on is not as harsh as a part sitting in a bath of acetone. It flashes off, evaporates, but its strong enough to remove most paints. Just test a spot before you commit to a whole area no matter what chemical you use.
Posted on: 5/16/2013 11:53 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11513380

RE: Hanger 9 Miss America Engine Choice
I owned one with a a TT Pro 90 and then an OS 91. Engine installed inverted with a Slimline Pitts muffler. I used an OS F plug at one point to help keep the idle smooth during landing. The one problem I had with both engines was they would change tune in the air. I looked at everything, literally, and couldnt fix it. I dead sticked this plane so many times I lost count, but it flies great. I kept increasing cooling, changed plugs, props, fuel lines, tank position, and so on. Nothing helped and nobody at my club could figure it out either. The first year it flew awesome no problems and then the second year it started acting up so no idea what changed. My buddy had the same plane with a TT Pro 120 and it was really fast. His main problem was nosing over on landings. He raked the gear forward more and that fixed that. His plane had more unlimited vertical than mine but mine was as fast in level flight as his. Were at 2200 ft here. Loved the way it flew but that gremlin took away the fun.
Posted on: 5/16/2013 12:21 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11512892

RE: P-51 MUSTANG PHOTOS ONLY
Nothing wrong with that I just decided to buy this camera to replace any other one I had for these special times and airshows that can be once in a life experiences. I have some more photos, 108 from that visit of the Mustang alone, and I will post them as time permits.
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:27 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11231468

RE: Warbirds Over Livermore the Movie
Awesome! Love the epic soundtrack! Did you take your Mustang out there? Was the B-25 a Ziroli kit? Thats was very cool in blue.
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:15 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11231451

RE: P-51 MUSTANG PHOTOS ONLY
Thanks I love taking photos of warbirds and its all about the right camera and lense. I was probably no closer to the plane as you I just use the lense to zoom in and get the shot. I do not use a flash so the lighting you see is ambient in the hangar. Outside though the Mustang is bright and very reflective, just awesome. Canon 7D with standard AF IS lense 35-200
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:08 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11231439

RE: Hangar 9 Fokker DVII
Here is my H9 DVII thats been rebuilt since new and made to look like Walter Blume's plane. I found machined brass ammo belts with stamped steel links in a hobby shop in Hong Kong and added them to Williams Bro.'s machine guns. They really look good and it was a perfect fit, spent shells too! The pilot is Aces of Iron and hand painted. The lozenge covering is from AZ Modelers. For power it has an OS 95V engine on 20% nitro and a 15X6 or 8 prop. She flies pretty good and very stable in winds up to 13mph or so. Flies fairly scale and requires your full attention especially on landings. You need to keep flying the plane all the way until the wings stall out and then apply full up elevator to gain control of the tail on the ground. You cannot cut the power as soon as you touch down or it will nose over for sure. I use about 25% or so power and roll out for a while and reduce power slowly until you feel the plane has settled. This gives you the option to power up and take off to try again if the plane has not settled well, your still on the prop basically. I had the H9 Sopwith and this one is not as aerobatic and easy to handle as the Sopwith in my opinion.
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:47 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11230745

RE: P-51 MUSTANG PHOTOS ONLY
last set for now...
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:36 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11230772

RE: P-51 MUSTANG PHOTOS ONLY
some more...
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:31 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11230767

RE: P-51 MUSTANG PHOTOS ONLY
Here are a few more...
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:15 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11230759

P-51 MUSTANG PHOTOS ONLY
A while back I was asked if I could post my close up photos of the planes Ive shot in detail. This is a Mustang only photo archive. If you have P-51 photos to contribute please feel free to post them for the benefit of the forum. For starters this is the FHC's Upupa Epops P-51D wich is easily one of the most accurate and beautifully restored Mustangs anywhere. It has to be seen in person to really get the full effect of the planes presence.
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:11 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11230756

RE: DLE55RA
So I determined there must be no difference and ordered the engine last night, lets see how this goes! I used an ad code on Tower to get $50 off and so I ordered the digital tach, total was only $405 with 2 day shipping.... Not bad!
Posted on: 9/12/2012 12:03 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11226340

RE: Welsh mountains before JP2012
The Hawk's special color scheme is my favorite! Great shots as usual! The 15's look mean with the condensation streaming off of them in low level flight. What is your camera gear to shoot these photos?
Posted on: 9/12/2012 11:56 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11226328

RE: Finishing for a TF GS P-51D
Hey Russ #1 I have taken photos of the screw heads with a ruler next to them. I have to find the photos but I can share that info asap. Funny thing the F-86 and P-51 share a lot of the same hardware and I have photos of both up close. #2 This is something that you may just want to experiment with. Different people have different techniques and skill levels to acheive different finishes. A good laquer based metalic paint and polyurethane clear coat should do the trick and will be fuel resistant. Look at Alclad for a laquer metalized paint. One thing you have to test is the clear coat on the "finished" metal paint. I have seen it change and subdue the finish you like in the metallic paint. Layers are the key and the weathering can be done over the clear so its as strong as you like. Also if you are applying water slide decals do it on a glossy finish not a matt finish for best results. Shoot a flat or semi flat after and then do the weathering as needed. #3 The wing on the P-51 was filled with bondo and sanded to about 2/3 of the chord from the LE. This is why a bare metal wing is rare to see and why they are painted silver to match the aluminum. I would paint the wing a basic silver and then try to do a more aluminum metalic finish on the rest of the plane. This would be more realistic. As for the underside the fuel tanks have large panhead screws that are very tall and highly visible. You can reproduce these with miniature hardware made of brass for trains for example. The rest of the rivets can be done with a handmade tool for the airframe as you know. We have a club member that is just finishing his TF GS P-51 and he glassed the whole plane and did the rivets and lines. He made a tool to make the slot head zeus fasteners for the cowl which turned out fantastic.
Posted on: 9/12/2012 12:44 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11225835

RE: DLE55RA
Can anyone compare the two 55's in terms of motor mount stand off distance? There is no info on Tower or DLE from what I see to tell me if there is any difference in the mounting stand off lengths. My guess is there is no change but Id like to confirm. Looks like a promising engine and Im thinking of getting one. I can tell you the OS 55GT is HUGE in comparison so if hiding the engine in the cowl is your concern the OS is hard to work with on typical scale models. Thanks!
Posted on: 9/12/2012 12:13 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11225816

RE: Top Flite Giant Corsair ARF Disappeared.
I met John through Roberto and he told me about John's incident and warned me to inspect mine. So I thought I would bring this up and see who else has had an experience with this issue and what they did about it. Im starting my assembly next week and Ill start a thread about it. Its getting a Saito 300 twin with a custom motor mount. Did you see the tail flutter on the one John flew or was it another Corsair?
Posted on: 9/6/2012 7:52 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11220239

RE: Top Flite Giant Corsair ARF Disappeared.
I know a guy named John in WA that had this problem so thats no rumor either. I can ask him to give me the details but the bottom line was to strengthen the wing mounts. What Im asking about and looking for is to see if this is a real trend or just a couple individual problems. Coming from experience with Chinese manufacturers in the hobby I know that QC and wood quality are nightmares to control. It would be no surprise to me if this is a persistent problem with any all wood ARF made in China. Its not a slam on TF,Tower Hobbies or Hobbico, its just a fact of life and a very difficult production issue to solve in our industry. If there is a problem ltes get to the bottom of it and make sure people are aware to check the plane out. First time Ive heard of flutter in the tail or horizontal stab. My concern is the wing mount.
Posted on: 9/6/2012 12:15 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11219761

RE: Top Flite Giant Corsair ARF Disappeared.
Anyone having issues with thier wing mounts? I have heard there is a potential problem with the wing and fuse which can lead to failure in flight. Has anyone made any mods to this area to strengthen it and can you post photos or info if so?
Posted on: 9/5/2012 4:24 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11218761

RE: Video of a Spitfire
I looked into making my own engine and I have sent the CAD files into a service to be quoted.....$3700 for the first set of proto parts...and that was not the complete engine. Thats why we pay for other companies to do it outside of the US. If you have your own machine shop then go for it and set your price I suppose so the rest of us can support more made in the USA stuff. All I know from having tried is that you wouldnt afford my engine thats for sure. I want to see a 3 cylinder inline 4 stroke 108 to 150cc USA built engine for 1/4 scale warbirds.
Posted on: 9/5/2012 4:19 PM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11218751

RE: Video of a Spitfire
All the usual questions... How much, how soon, who will sell it in the US or is this direct sales? Looks great, would be nice in my P-51!
Posted on: 9/5/2012 1:18 AM by Author "Chris Nicastro" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11217993