First Balsa Build. Guillows 504 Spitfire

Ketchup

4s mini mustang
It has been a while since my last post, but I just finished!
70E91906-6193-4A88-91F8-9051193CE5DC.jpeg
 

Ketchup

4s mini mustang
Nice! have you flown it yet?
I did some glide tests and a few powered flights, but I didn't get many turns and the flights were short. I might record some powered flights later, but I’m going on vacation soon and I might have to wait until after that.
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
Congratulations. Hope you have a big soft landing zone for full powered flight. Unlike our RC airplanes you want this one to fly in a circle. Trees have strong a gravitational pull for free flight airplanes.
 

Ketchup

4s mini mustang
Sadly the plane will not be doing any more powered flights. I was doing a glide test when the plane flew straight into the trunk of a tree and cracked the cowling right where the thrust bearing was. I’m not too sad though, because the plane still glides, and it was so heavy that powered flight was about the same as a hard toss.

Edit: I forgot to thank everybody who helped me by giving me advice and motivation.
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
That sucks. Unfortunately that is not an uncommon story with Guillow's rubber powered airplanes. Especially the warbirds. The SE5A I made as a boy could barely maintain level flight with the rubber and propeller in the kit. The best flight was probably less than 30 seconds and every flying session resulted in something broken. That is why I went with electric power and RC for the recent SE5A build. It flies very well but is fragile. I had to repair a couple of cracked wing struts when it flipped over on landing.
People who build Guillow's rubber power to fly well do some serious weight reduction. Then they replace the rubber and propeller with better products. You got some balsa building skills now. The next one will be awesome.
 

Ketchup

4s mini mustang
Thanks @TooJung2Die. I might try building another free flight plane, or I might just go straight to rc with these planes. It depends on whether or not I feel ready enough for a conversion.
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
Thanks @TooJung2Die. I might try building another free flight plane, or I might just go straight to rc with these planes. It depends on whether or not I feel ready enough for a conversion.
If you want to build another rubber power Guillow's that will fly you should get a Javelin or Lancer. My little brother had very little skill at building anything when he was a boy but he built a Javelin. It actually flew surprisingly well. The Lancer is a good choice for simple RC conversion because it has enough room in the cabin for a tiny Rx/ESC/Servo brick.

jon
 

Ketchup

4s mini mustang
Quick update on the spitfire. I decided to make this plane a static display piece so I applied the decals in the kit and I will seal them tomorrow with dope. My plan is to hang the plane above my bed so it’s easy to see.
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You can see where I messed up the letters for the decals. On one side the f ripped apart and on the other side I put them on backwards (I think). At least I made up a story for it. The paint got scratched off (somehow) and the plan was to paint the markings back on, so they did. Sadly though, whoever did the painting was fairly incompetent and did it wrong. They were also going to repaint the f that got scratched off, but newer versions of the spitfire were made and this one was obsolete, so they stopped and sent it away.
 
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Jackson T

Elite member
Quick update on the spitfire. I decided to make this plane a static display piece so I applied the decals in the kit and I will seal them tomorrow with dope. My plan is to hang the plane above my bed so it’s easy to see.
View attachment 141171 View attachment 141172 View attachment 141173
You can see where I messed up the letters for the decals. On one side the f ripped apart and on the other side I put them on backwards (I think). At least I made up a story for it. The paint got scratched off (somehow) and the plan was to paint the markings back on, so they did. Sadly though, whoever did the painting was fairly incompetent and did it wrong. They were also going to repaint the f that got scratched off, but newer versions of the spitfire were made and this one was obsolete, so they stopped and sent it away.
I was so looking forward to seeing it fly! :D