Building the FT Spitfire

[Flyingshark]

Over the past week or so, I've been building the FT Spitfire from the plans here on the forum. This is my second FT plane, but my first without an SBK. I'm using the new power pack C, and flitetest brown foam board, since I didn't want to deviate too much from standard before I get better at flying r/c planes. I'm making this thread to try and document the build and several difficulties I had, which I thought would be easier if it was all in one place.

Since I was following the build video, I started with the wings, and ran into a problem with the servos and linkage stoppers from the power pack:
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...c-linkage-stoppers-dont-fit-servo-arms.64228/

After that, I paused until today for various reasons. (I was low on packing tape, and my workspace was full.)

Once I got that last problem fixed, I had a severe case of get-it-finished-asap-itis.
The wing went from 2 parts to this pretty quickly:

As it turned out, I'd cut too much foam away on the top in front of the spar to try to get a nice clean fit, and had to fill the area in with some scrap fb. To make sure it stayed together, I also added a layer of packing tape all around the joint instead of only on the bottom.

After the wing was done, I went and made the power pod so I could test fit it when I built the fuselage. That went well up until I tried to mount the Ft radial motor from the power pack. After a lot of rewatching the video (and checking the P-40 build video) to figure out how the motor attached to the swappable firewall, I got frustrated and tried to screw the motor directly onto the firewall. Since only two screws fit in unsure: correct me if I'm wrong, but the firewall had four holes...), I took it out and tried again with the x mount on the back.

Turns out, it only works one way, and on the other way it doesn't align correctly. (Can someone explain why this is?) After that, the power pod build went well, though it ended up receiving an extra layer of packing tape on the outside for no real reason except to make me feel better.

<nervous laugh> "But if one WORKS, then two layers will work even better, right??"

Hopefully that didn't add too much weight.

After finishing the power pod, it was on to the fuselage!
That went well, with the only hiccup being that the score/remove foam areas for the B-Folds on the bottom of the fuse weren't quite wide enough (either errors with me taping the plans, me cutting the tiled plans or me transferring/cutting from the plans to the foam. Wasn't a big deal, though, and a little bit of cutting and sanding did the trick.

As you can see, I stopped after folding together the fuselage box and cutting out the reliefs for the formers which I had somehow forgotten to do before.

And that's where I am now, with a 100% chance of more building in the forecast for tomorrow.

Also, if anyone has any tips on flying the Spitfire/large FT planes in general, I'd really appreciate hearing them. Who knows when I'll get to fly it, what with COVID, but, still, any and all sorts of building/flying help is welcome!

 

[danskis]

The CG balance point is spot on so balance with a little nose down for best flight characteristics. Its hard to see so put some bright colors on the wingtips so you have better orientation on the turns. Read this thread if you haven't already

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ft-war-hawk-vs-mustang-vs-spitfire.63273/#post-571473

 

[Flyingshark]

The CG balance point is spot on so balance with a little nose down for best flight characteristics. Its hard to see so put some bright colors on the wingtips so you have better orientation on the turns. Read this thread if you haven't already

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ft-war-hawk-vs-mustang-vs-spitfire.63273/#post-571473

I have read that thread. Thanks for the tip on the CG. I noticed somewhere that one one of the other FT warbirds (maybe the P-40) there were a bunch of different conflicting CG values, so it's nice to know the one for the Spitfire is accurate. I'm not planning to paint it until I've gotten a couple flights in without pulverizing it, but I did start optimistically thinking about how to combine realistic-Spitfire with ease of orientation. Do you think D-day stripes on the bottom of the wings would be enough, or should I abandon the idea of camo altogether?

 

[danskis]

So Marty72 prefers to have the orientation colors on the bottom (I think) and I prefer to have it on the top because your in the center of the circle when you're flying (at least to start with)

This works for me.

 

[Marty72]

No we agree, orientation colors are the top are best! I put the invasion strips on the bottom for cosmetic reasons, it's better than nothing on a camo plane.

Flying Shark. I would highly recommend that you paint/tape or mark in some way, the tops or the bottoms of the wings for orientation. Of the 7 Ft planes I've built, the spit was the most difficult for me to keep orientation. Contrasting colors are best, yellow to black or white to black. All that white, I can't imagine how difficult that would be for someone that isn't very experienced.

The first spit I built was camo, I couldn't tell orientation. I put some stripes on the bottom of the wings, still not all that good. I was so sure I was going to crash it if I kept flying it, that I built another one (I called an orientation trainer) just so I could fly it. It worked great, I never lost orientation with the plane shown below.

You don't need to go this far, but putting a couple of black stripes (at least an inch wide) on the top of the wings, will go a long way.

 

[Flyingshark]

No we agree, orientation colors are the top are best! I put the invasion strips on the bottom for cosmetic reasons, it's better than nothing on a camo plane.

Flying Shark. I would highly recommend that you paint/tape or mark in some way, the tops or the bottoms of the wings for orientation. Of the 7 Ft planes I've built, the spit was the most difficult for me to keep orientation. Contrasting colors are best, yellow to black or white to black. All that white, I can't imagine how difficult that would be for someone that isn't very experienced.

The first spit I built was camo, I couldn't tell orientation. I put some stripes on the bottom of the wings, still not all that good. I was so sure I was going to crash it if I kept flying it, that I built another one (I called an orientation trainer) just so I could fly it. It worked great, I never lost orientation with the plane shown below.

You don't need to go this far, but putting a couple of black stripes (at least an inch wide) on the top of the wings, will go a long way.

View attachment 175840

I think I will at least do invasion stripes on the fuselage and both the top and bottom of the wings to start. Still, though, I'm probably a long way away from flying the Spitfire, let alone getting comfortable enough to work on a paint job. Probably the first 10 or so flights I do won't have any paint on it. Only then will I start working through more of the details. (little foam board/3d printed exhausts, paint, etc.)

An a related note, I really like how you did the yellow wingtips on that Spitfire! It looks like a natural extension of how the leading edges of the wings were often painted yellow.

Also, although the FT Spitfire looks like a Mk IX to me, I might go with more of an early war orientation scheme like the bottom one.

Also, I might abandon the idea of giving it a wartime paint job, and paint this one as more of a race plane if I have trouble with orientation.

 

[Flyingshark]

Got the wing installed and dry-fitted the tail. I also glued in the formers for the turtledeck. I had some problems with the alignment of the wing cutouts. (I did it == bad job) After trimming the holes a little, the wing settled down and ended up with (mostly) correct dihedral.

 

[Marty72]

I would not put the stripes on the top and bottom, defeats the orientation purpose. Pick one.

Looks like you are enjoying the build. You can do the build again, after you work out all of your issues with the first plane, make the second one look anyway you want. The second build goes much smoother (plus you already have the templates made).

 

[Flyingshark]

I would not put the stripes on the top and bottom, defeats the orientation purpose. Pick one.

Looks like you are enjoying the build. You can do the build again, after you work out all of your issues with the first plane, make the second one look anyway you want. The second build goes much smoother (plus you already have the templates made).

Sorry! In my head, I keep translating "orientation" to both "orientation" and "being able to see the plane."

I'll probably just do stripes on the bottom, since with the light gray/light blue there, it'll be doubly hard to see where the plane is/is going. For the top, I'll probably start with just camo and roundels and might upgrade to colored wingtips.

 

[Flyingshark]

Looks like you are enjoying the build. You can do the build again, after you work out all of your issues with the first plane, make the second one look anyway you want. The second build goes much smoother (plus you already have the templates made).

I am really enjoying building the Spit! I think another one (or more) is in my future... Let's see, maybe a PR Mk XI (would need to change the nose a little) or a clipped-wing Mark IX... I hope my budget can accommodate all this!

 

[Flyingshark]

Since post #7, I've glued the wing, tail and last servos in place, but there aren't really any major visual changes yet.
This leads me to a question, though:
When I threaded all the servo wires, I still had 2 12" servo extensions left over from the power pack. Is this normal?

 

[Flyingshark]

Also, looking ahead to tomorrow, what sort of canopy should I build? I'm trying to do something vaguely realistic, but I don't want it to be too heavy or complicated. I think I remember finding plans for a foam board and poster board canopy here on the forum a while ago.

EDIT:
I think this is it:
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ft-spitfire-canopy.6136/
Has anyone built this recently?

 

[danskis]

Before you paint I have a few suggestions. I bought some 1/32 birch plywood made by Midwest Hobbies at the LHS. This stuff is great because you can cut it to any shape with a scissors and its really thin. Anyhow, I put it on the outside of the nose section on the sides (cheeks) to a little back of the firewall. Its held up really well and preserved the nose. Balsa would probably work too. The other suggestion is to reinforce the elevator hinge where it goes through the rudder. I tried several things but ended up using a bent piece of wire in sort of a U shape on the bottom of elevator. The arms are spread about 3-4 inches (from memory).

 

[Flyingshark]

Before you paint I have a few suggestions. I bought some 1/32 birch plywood made by Midwest Hobbies at the LHS. This stuff is great because you can cut it to any shape with a scissors and its really thin. Anyhow, I put it on the outside of the nose section on the sides (cheeks) to a little back of the firewall. Its held up really well and preserved the nose. Balsa would probably work too. The other suggestion is to reinforce the elevator hinge where it goes through the rudder. I tried several things but ended up using a bent piece of wire in sort of a U shape on the bottom of elevator. The arms are spread about 3-4 inches (from memory).

I think I'll at least do the elevator mod. I've already tried to reinforce/preserve the nose by smearing a thin layer of glue on all the exposed edges, but I may try to do further reinforcement in the future. Thanks for the suggestions!!

 

[Flyingshark]

Got it mostly finished yesterday!

I went with the removable wing and the poster board/foam board canopy designed by @Flynn.

I thought I'd probably have trouble getting the poster board skin on tightly and accurately ... and I did ... so I made two canopies. (One with a good internal structure, but I messed up fitting the poster board skin on, and a better one that I installed in the plane.)


(I needed the removable wing so it could fit in the backseat of the car.)

I still need to set up the tx/rx and strengthen the elevator like @danskis suggested. (Of course, the transmitter and receiver can't be set up until they both arrive...)

 

[Flyingshark]

I still need to set up the tx/rx and strengthen the elevator. (Of course, the transmitter and receiver can't be set up until they both arrive...)

I haven't addressed the electronics much yet.
The servos, esc, and motor all come from Power Pack C. Right now, the Spitfire is hooked up to my "testing transmitter and testing receiver," a Tactic TX410 and a TR624 receiver, but because they can't do dual rates, expo or different flight modes and throttle curves, the maiden will be with a Spektrum DX6e and an AR410. As I said earlier, those (and the battery straps)haven't arrived yet, so the maiden will be delayed until I can get the receiver installed and set up the transmitter.

And speaking of the maiden...
The airframe (with electronics) without a battery weighs 450 grams. The AUW (minus a couple pennies for nose weight) is about 550 grams.

 

[danskis]

Some inspiration. Ooops...obviously mislabeled.

 

[Cobra1365]

I’m getting ready to build this myself.
I watched the FT build video. My question is....where/how is the battery secured? It looks like they inserted it under the power pod. But, how is it held in?
Additionally, where is the Rx mounted?

Thx

 

[The Hangar]

Got it mostly finished yesterday!
View attachment 176122

I went with the removable wing and the poster board/foam board canopy designed by @Flynn.

I thought I'd probably have trouble getting the poster board skin on tightly and accurately ... and I did ... so I made two canopies. (One with a good internal structure, but I messed up fitting the poster board skin on, and a better one that I installed in the plane.)
View attachment 176123 View attachment 176124 View attachment 176125

(I needed the removable wing so it could fit in the backseat of the car.) View attachment 176126

I still need to set up the tx/rx and strengthen the elevator like @danskis suggested. (Of course, the transmitter and receiver can't be set up until they both arrive...)

Awesome looking build!

 

[Flyingshark]

Some inspiration. Ooops...obviously mislabeled.

Looks like a good launch! Is that a sled you're using?

I’m getting ready to build this myself.
I watched the FT build video. My question is....where/how is the battery secured? It looks like they inserted it under the power pod. But, how is it held in?
Additionally, where is the Rx mounted?

Thx

They deal with that in the power pod video. FT uses a long strip of Velcro. I'm going to use some battery straps, because that makes me feel safer about the battery not falling out of the plane through the open front end.

The Rx is somewhere in the power pod.