RE: 14 Pound P51 mustang
Gents, I still have my original Flightglass 60 size P-51 kit. If I recall correctly, Ralph White either won the NATS or placed very high. Since it was the most scale at the time, I purchased when I was in High School. I have saved it to finish someday.... however, since I'm into 1/5-1/4 scale now, I could sell if anyone interested. Mike P.
Posted on: 9/11/2009 4:43 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9087474

RE: Seeking Polikarpov I-16 plans
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_1021268/anchors_1021284/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#1021284 I did a quick search and RCU has this thread for 1/3 scale I-16 from 2003. I also believe the AMA magazine or Model Airplane News Giant scale editor is doing a 80 inch or so. good luck.
Posted on: 11/27/2008 11:49 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8190532

RE: Platt Spitfire build
Rich, Chad, thanks for the updated info on my questions.
Posted on: 7/20/2006 8:09 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4525490

RE: Platt Spitfire build
Great thread and I have already gleaned much info. I purchased a 1/5 PICA spitfire that was already built. Problem is I have no plans to do the final set up. Model is built very well with light fuse but heavy wings. 89 inch WS with inverted ST3000 and onboard glow. With no plans looking for input in 4 Q's: 1) where is the best CG location? 2) what are the throws (hi/lo) for Ail,elev, rudder? 3) what servos (torque) did you use on above control surfaces (two for ail, and two for flaps is my set up) 4) Modeler at Warbirds over Deleware said ST300 requires Morgan fuels to run the best. He stated to ask for the "Super tiger blend" Morgan's website had no mention of any special blend. What fuel works best in ST3000? 5) i also have a 3w-60 rear carb. should i convert to gas? Thanks in Advance, Mike P.
Posted on: 7/18/2006 8:58 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4517891

RE: Calling on any owner or pilot of a real P-40
Try Fighter Factory here in Virginia. The owner is Mr Jerry Yagen. I sent you an email. http://www.fighterfactory.net/ Mike P.
Posted on: 7/18/2006 7:13 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4517541

RE: DF Fan thrust calculations, etc.
Agree you should contact JHH for good advise. or Iron Bay (John Craig can help you as he has the formulas) If more engineering level, try this link [link]http://www.avidllc.biz/publications/UnmUnl11817.pdf[/link] If experience is your guide, I have 33 lb Byron (Iron Bay) F-15 on twin Os-91's and it flies fine. I'v even had another pilot do a few laps around as 1 engine kept dying and we had to clear the pattern during initial test flights. As to fuel, twin 24 OZ tanks gave me 8 minutes flight time with plenty for reserve passes.
Posted on: 3/9/2006 9:32 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4013952

MOVED: Last F-14 Tomcat Cruise for USN
Airplanes - Full Scale: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4013644
Posted on: 3/9/2006 8:59 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4014688

Last F-14 Tomcat Cruise for USN
The last 22 Tomcats of the U.S. Navy will return from their final mission Friday as they fly in to NAS Oceana. 05:56 PM EST on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 Associated Press Click for Video from local news CH13 [link=http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=54399&catId=44]News Video F-14 last flight[/link] VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- The Navy's last two squadrons of F-14 Tomcats are heading home, ending the final combat deployment of the Cold War-era fighter jet that flew into the danger zone with Tom Cruise in "Top Gun." Fighter Squadrons VF-213 and VF-31 -- 22 Tomcats in all -- are scheduled to fly to Oceana Naval Air Station on Friday, one day before the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is to return to Norfolk Naval Station, the Navy said Monday. The carrier is returning from a six-month deployment in support of the Iraq war. The squadrons will be replaced by F/A-18 Super Hornets later this year. Navy officials say former F-14 pilots as well as family and friends are expected to be on hand for the historic homecoming.
Posted on: 3/9/2006 8:29 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4013644

Final Combat Cruise of F-14 Tomcat
Associated Press Click link to see short video. [link]http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=54399&catId=44[/link] VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- The Navy's last two squadrons of F-14 Tomcats are heading home, ending the final combat deployment of the Cold War-era fighter jet that flew into the danger zone with Tom Cruise in "Top Gun." Fighter Squadrons VF-213 and VF-31 -- 22 Tomcats in all -- are scheduled to fly to Oceana Naval Air Station on Friday, one day before the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is to return to Norfolk Naval Station, the Navy said Monday. The carrier is returning from a six-month deployment in support of the Iraq war. The squadrons will be replaced by F/A-18 Super Hornets later this year.
Posted on: 3/9/2006 8:07 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4013524

RE: Corsair F4U D
Antonio, Great looking warbird and I love the engine choice. I can't wait to see your flying success. Can you tell me where the CG is located from the plans? I bought a used 1/5 F4U on RCU. I do not have any plans but do have Meister plans as a comparison. I am refurbishing this winter especially based on all I've learned from Dino on corsair flaps. Francisco, Previous builder/owner in Florida used a G-62 and said it flew good. he said pulled it through nice loops and good speed. I will mount a a Brison 5.8 for better performance. Best of luck Mike Purcell
Posted on: 10/16/2004 11:36 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=2259093

RE: Yellow F4 Flying, good or bad???????
GM, Great flyer for me and was my first DF 4 years ago. I have OS.77/dynamax combo at 10 lbs. I've seen others at 14+ lbs fly just as great. Lifting body will handle the extra weight. Agree on beefing up landing gear plates. I drilled four outward holes through the ply mounts and into the foam about 3 inches long. glued wood dowels to spread the loads so it wont punch up through the wing. I do not use flaps and just posted how I land it on another F-4 thread. I also raised nosewhell 1/4 inch for easy takoffs. Landing Gouge is pull nose up and "let it settle" it finds its own preferred nose high attitude. do search for key words to see full thread. Also at high speed (150 mph) mine tends to porpouise slightly in pitch. nothing serious just nose bobble of 1-2 inches. I was told before I flew it or else you might not even notice. I back off a click or two and its smooth as rails. Should fly great on a turbine. It will look and sound awesome. Mike
Posted on: 7/3/2004 9:58 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1957531

RE: Byron F-15 Twin Mixture Adjustment
Razorrice forgot to answer rest of Q's. Regulator uses crank case pressure and lines are short. Now I had never tapped an engine before but it was easy. They recommend going through the motor mount area. I was unsure so John said see pic on the iron bay website. I took off backplate and mounted engine in a vise. used my drill press to drill down into engine and then tapped with 4/40. cleaned up burrs and mounted nipple. Below pic is from website. should help. Fuel lines are about 6 inches to carb and a foot to fuel tank. I have inline fuelfiller installed per instructions Mike
Posted on: 7/3/2004 9:38 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1957506

RE: Byron F-15 Twin Mixture Adjustment
That is yet to fly after new pipes and fuel regulators.
Posted on: 7/3/2004 9:30 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1957487

RE: Byron F-15 Twin Mixture Adjustment
Razorice, I' ve yet to fly it . I switched jobs (retired USN actually) I had been repainting to get ready Mid-Atlantic but was only able to do static. Still not ready. I have them installed and after I put some clear coat on the plane I will test run them with Westons. John at Iron Bay said they ran a os91 DF that was 4 feet above the fuel tanks! I'll post my experience afterwrds. Mike
Posted on: 7/3/2004 9:29 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1957485

RE: Yellow f4 flaperons?
232CAP, Follow joe's advise. Mine set up about the same and flys great. mine has os.77/Danamax combo at 10 lbs. I've seen same F-4 w os.91/dynamax and 14 lbs and it flies exactly the same. Like a fast pattern plane on rails. Landing Gouge: Three words : let it settle. I learned to land from him and this is so easy now. Use Navy oval approach pattern for landings not rectangle. start w/ upwind gear check pass at 1/2 throttle, turn to downwind and continue to bleed off speed. Pull throttle to 1/3 and start 180 descending turn to final. Control descent w/ throttle as required but around 1/3. As plane makes the runway, roll to wings level (i'm about 20 ft here) for lineup. Here is the key: begin to lift the nose and it will find a particular nose high groove it likes and then just "let it settle" in for landing. About 20mph. Check descent rate w throttle. About 1 ft off the deck bump up the engine slightly to reduce the sink rate at touch down on mains for perfect landing. (Later you can do a break upwind and drop gear on the downwind). I also have flaperons but have yet to need them on takeoff or landing. I raised nosewheel 1/4 inch to help rotation on takeoff. At full speed (estimate 150mph) I notice a "slight" porpousing in pitch. something like a +/- 2 inch bobble in the nose. Back of slightly and she is on rails. Also if you fly too far away the wings tend to disapear when you turn in to you again. Spins are no problem and crosswinds are easy with that wide track gear. I balanced mine w/ trapeeze method but any will work. balance w/ fuel and gear up at most aft cg on plans. I have since added 1/4 oz to elevator access area as it helped the inverted flight with less down stick required. Best looking and flying jet out there. Love that 'Toom. Happy landings, Mike
Posted on: 7/3/2004 9:02 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1957451

RE: BYRON F15 OWENERS
Guys, I completely refurbished mine from one I bought on RCU. Call John Craig (304) 232-7511 as Iron Bay now has the old Byron line. He has all the parts and a new fuel regulator that will provide exact amount of fuel to your fans even when tanks are far away. See also www.Ironbaymodels.com The instruction book said throws work out to 1" I copy: "Elev (measured at root trailing edge) = 1" Aileron travel 1" up 1" down Rudder 1 " left/right Measure the CG location down the middle of the fuselage at the tail pipe opening. a distance of 38 inches ahead of the end of the tailpipe is the average CG location." I use 38 inches and used a trapeze method to balance upright w/ fuel loaded and gear up. Trapeze lets you see difference when you lower the gear. (CG comes out 5 inches from the back edge of the airbrake as another "rough" reference.) I have slightly more aileron throw for faster rolls. I use -24 expo on elev and ailerons for Futaba. Plane flies great single engine as I had 3 during initial test flights. Also get the new wheels. They are harder rubber and will not roll of the rims. Happened to my test pilot on the 1st flight. I also filled nosewheel with rubber inserts (car R/C part). John, where did you get turbine conversion kit from? I want to upgrade in a few years. Mike sends
Posted on: 5/27/2004 9:28 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1850190

RE: Mid Atlantic Jet Rally
Frank, I'll be there.... with new paint still drying on the Iron Bay/Byron F-15. Started painting base gray last night. will do rest over next 10 days. Weekend should be a blast. look forward to see all the great people/flying. Fly Sat and go to RUSH concert. Mom and Kids at Baseball tourney. Fly Sunday. Mike Purcell
Posted on: 5/20/2004 4:41 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1832171

RE: Building the Ziroli 88" Stearman....
EZFlyer, I thought Model Airplane News Dec 2003 did kit review on 1/4 scale Stearman. Turned out it was 89" by Flair Products. Article could be used as comparison for servo/engine choices. Also shows some good scale cockpit construction and custom graphics info. Perhaps you can order dummy engine kit also. Cheers, Mike
Posted on: 5/3/2004 2:34 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1782249

RE: Whats the easiest bomber to build?
I would say the B-25. the real airplane was designed in an era where moment arms and power were very key. It has perhaps the best aerodynamics around. Plus tons of various versions and cool/wild paint schemes to show up great in the r/c version. my two cents Mike
Posted on: 4/19/2004 2:18 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1738290

RE: Engine question for a Ziroli AT-6
Brian, When I researched which engine for Mine, 95% came up with G-62. However, I had a great deal on 3w-60 so I'm modifying mine for rear carb. I should have it flying by July. I don't recall any OS engines. Hey, go for it and be a trail blazer. Mike
Posted on: 4/19/2004 1:36 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1738187

RE: F2G Corsair Build Sneak Peak!!!
Luke, I sent you email, but it bounced. I wanted to send you two pics of real flying F4U in my area and a cooler pic for F2G. Please send me an email. Mike
Posted on: 4/19/2004 1:32 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1738180

RE: F2G Corsair Build Sneak Peak!!!
Luke welcome back. Great to see you tackling another favorite the F2G. I have TF red box corsair that I'm going to bash into the F2G model later this summer. I've chosen Cook Cleland's white #94. Cheers Norm, what size is your F2G?. I've been trying to contact you about the plans your dad/you had. Mike
Posted on: 3/31/2004 10:21 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1676702

RE: T.F. P-51 Whatcha Think?
PJ, the hellcat is looking good. What method are you using for the rivets? Mike
Posted on: 3/31/2004 10:13 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1676681

RE: Movie's blunders
Battle of Britain. Still my favorite WW-II movie. I'm surprised no one mentioned the fact that Dave Platt made and flew some R/C models for this movie. I recall an article years ago. Some He -111's and Spits used in crash scenes. Way ahead of their time. As to Me-109's with diff engines. They were not merlin powered but Spanish engines.. Hispano Suiza (spelling?). Spain aquired the rights during their civil war in late 1930's but wanted to use indigenous engine. I saw a restored, flyable version at an airshow a few years back. Agree they still look funny though. F-14 canopy. In the Tomcat the ejection sequence is canopy is blown off and then Rio is ejected and finally pilot. Its not like other fighters which crack the canopy with metal object or metal piece on ejection seats. Mike
Posted on: 3/27/2004 11:05 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1664672

RE: ZIROLI CORSAIR
Full cockpit is doable and really sets it off. Just remember to move the instrument panel forward. Luke's corsair thread shows example of "eating the Dash" I post picture again.
Posted on: 3/25/2004 9:44 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1660519

RE: 1st WAR Bird
for 60 or 85 inch: P-47, P-51 and Zero all good airplanes with lots of wing area, wide gear and taildraggers. Simple retracts and not rotating like F4U or P-40. Most Top Flight kits are all good flyers. Great planes P-51 and Hanger 9 P-51 also both great deal. Just paint the nose different from everyone elses. Today most ARF are better than ever and you can be flying quickly. So pick a warbird you want. Finally, see what you local field has for warbirds and ask them what they think. Let them help you: either in checking it over or beeing buddy when you fly it for the first time. If instructor with lots of warbird experience available use him. pick his brain. etc. Mike's two cents
Posted on: 3/25/2004 10:08 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1658393

RE: p-38 or corsair arf?
other P-38 ARFs: Morris Hobbies and VQ are two recent additions. See the Market place as some P-38's up for sale.
Posted on: 3/25/2004 9:51 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1658346

Cumputor cannot shoot down...
quote: a computer cannot track, engage and defeat a human opponent. From a different perspective: a Surface to air missile (SAMs) or any air-air missile could be considered such a "computer." How many jets lost to SAMS? How was the stealth fighter in Bosnia shot down? ground fire. It still happens. Mike
Posted on: 3/24/2004 12:22 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1654225

RE: Raptors over FLorida!
F106A, great link. Looks like F-22 is suffering from the age old "mission creep" syndrome. I can't beleive the MTB failure rate or Anomaly as it is now termed MTBA is only 2.7 hours. F-4 Phantom was last truly joint fighter. It could also do it all... in its day. Air-Air, Air-ground, Wild Weasel, Photo recon... GEO-oNE, don't just settle for one Academy, apply for all five. USA, USN, USAF, USCG, Merchant Marine. USAF has less restrictive eye requirements for transport, cargo pilots. Just something to consider. USN still 20/20, no glasses upon entry at Pensacola. Mike
Posted on: 3/24/2004 12:16 AM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1654212

RE: Help! Support your Ducted Fan here!
Forgot to mention my "Turbine" at work. See Avitar. BQM-74E target drone. JATO launch, 240 lbs thrust on Williams jet engine (450 lb target) 50 ft to 40,000 ft at over 400 kts. And I get payed for doing this [:D] Fly Navy.
Posted on: 3/23/2004 11:51 PM by Author "FireBee" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1654143