Got some pushing 80 ft. most are 60ish...My flying space is more suited for heli's, which is where I started...planes take up space pretty quickly and don't seem to just stop and back up....on purpose.
FT Spitfire Build
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Yeah, the whole "not being able to fly in every direction, no matter which way the nose is pointing" gets me too. First when transitioning between helis and plans. Now when trying to do the same between multirotors and planes.
Think I'm going to try just gluing this one back together before building another...It looks awesome in the air, BTW.
Looks like almost the same damage I did to mine (except you still have an intact prop, I buried mine in the sand.) At first I thought it would be better to just built a new fuse but after taking a closer look and test fitting the broken bits I decided to at least attempt a repair.
And like I posted above the repair went easier than I expected. I just hot glued the broken section back in and then used some whit duct tape to reinforce the area where the front wing support pulled out. Haven't had a chance to test fly it yet - but it seems awfully strong as I was able to grab it by that front skewer and swing it around with no problems - and with a wing re-installed I was able to swing it around by the wing with nothing coming apart.
I'm still going to build another though, I got the bottom panel of the fuse just a bit off when I cut it out on this one so the rear section is a little crooked. The tail and rudder are straight to the wing - but the section between them and the back of the wing looks a bit "off". Besides I like this one so much I really want another
Just waiting to see if I get a SBK for fathers day like I've been hoping before I do another from scratch
It's a 2 1/4 inch spinner cone.What's the size across the front of the body where the motor mounts? I'm after a nice nose cone to put on mine (when my foam board turns up!). Think it would finish it off nicely
Got it glue back together and flew it at a larger space...IT FLIES AWESOME! I was worried that the low wing would be a challenge, but this thing is good! Did a couple loops, aileron rolls, lots of good fun! Now I need to learn how to use the rudder with the ailerons, flew it mostly bank and yank, occasionally remembering that I have a rudder.
It is set up with a 1200mah 3s, 30a multistar ESC, and a ntm 2826 motor. Cruises at 1/2 throttle, very rarely did I use full throttle.
It is set up with a 1200mah 3s, 30a multistar ESC, and a ntm 2826 motor. Cruises at 1/2 throttle, very rarely did I use full throttle.
Spitfire222
Not a skater
Hi everyone,
I'm in the process of building a Spitfire as well. I was planning on glueing in the wing to make it a one piece plane, but the more I looked at it, the more it seemed it would be pretty difficult to plug in the rudder and elevator servos once it's all closed up and finished.
A solution would be to use very long servo extension wires (even longer than suggested in the build video) in order to be able to make the connection with the power pod well clear of the fuselage. I'd prefer to not have to do that, so I was wondering if anyone else has built the Spitfire without the removable wing, and if so, what are your thoughts on the servo connection accessibility? Thanks!
I'm in the process of building a Spitfire as well. I was planning on glueing in the wing to make it a one piece plane, but the more I looked at it, the more it seemed it would be pretty difficult to plug in the rudder and elevator servos once it's all closed up and finished.
A solution would be to use very long servo extension wires (even longer than suggested in the build video) in order to be able to make the connection with the power pod well clear of the fuselage. I'd prefer to not have to do that, so I was wondering if anyone else has built the Spitfire without the removable wing, and if so, what are your thoughts on the servo connection accessibility? Thanks!
sidneylopsides
Junior Member
I built mine solid, and moved the servos into the fuselage behind the cockpit. They aren't accessible for adjustments now, but easy to plug in and balance.
I ran the pushrods through holes in the back of the fuselage, I think it looks neater.
I ran the pushrods through holes in the back of the fuselage, I think it looks neater.
Unscheduled_Landing
Junior Member
Hello everyone! I've just finished building my spitfire! This is my first foam board plane. I think it turned out well. It has a solid wing, a huge 2.5 inch spinner, and my idea of a built up foam board canopy. Otherwise built to FT specs. Color scheme is done with hobby checkered vinyl, and vinyl scraps i got for free from a local sign shop Maiden is planned for the morning! What do you guy think?
Maiden is planned for the morning! What do you guy think?
Looks great!
I've been dying to get mine out again, was busy last weekend and didn't get to fly anything at all. Heard my LHS finally got more piano wire in this week so I stopped in to get some (and they finally had thicker wire in stock so I could replace the weak coat hanger gear on my other FT planes!) But as tends to happen I couldn't leave with just what I came in for and ended up picking up a nice red spinner for my Spitfire as well.
So I was REALLY itching to get her in the air this weekend. Woke up early yesterday...and was greeted to the windiest day in over a month Way too windy to pop her in the air. But that's why there are two days in a weekend right? Right! Woke up early again today and it was totally calm out.
Ran up to the field, and tossed the FT Flyer in the air to feel things out - and found the gremlins were in abundance today. Something very funky was going on - almost like I was loosing signal but I wasn't that far away and the control surfaces were still responding (but then sometimes the control surfaces would stop responding but the motor would still throttle back up.) Weird. (I had to repair one of my RX's when the antenna pulled off - I suspect it was on this one so that may explain it.)
Oh well. Air was still calm though and I didn't want to risk loosing that so I pulled out the Spitfire. Man she looks good with that spinner. For some reason I couldn't get my 2200mah battery to fit today...it fit before but today it wouldn't clear the wing. Grrr. Oh well, got some 1500 packs and that fit so no biggie. Got it balanced and up in the air...and oh hello Mr. wind I see you decided to join me today. Made a few circuits of the field and started having a bit of fun. Roll rate still seems slow on mine for some reason so I thought I'd bring it in and check things out...nice slow approach into the increasingly strong wind...moving right about walking speed but super stable in the air and looking great. About 4' off the ground and...WHAM big gust of wind. Like a giant invisible hand came out of nowhere and pushed it to the ground. Didn't nose in, just a hard belly flop. And again the front wing mount tore out. Not in the same place it tore out on me last time...but same basic damage. The repair held but with more damage next to it now I'm definitely going to just build a new fuselage at this point. May go solid wing next time...that front mount just seems to tear out way too easy for me.
Not to go too far off topic but figured I'd toss the bloody wonder up since the wind was still not TOO bad. Whoops, turns out the popsicle sticks I added inside my "big pod" to reinforce the rear support holes now make it not fit the BW. Well, almost not fit...a but of squeezing and it got in there (it's just foam after all!) BW flew well, but the wind just kept getting worse and with no rudder I wasn't having much fun with the wind pushing me around. Brought it in for a landing...nice and slow stable and level, power off a few feet above the ground - hey look my prop is even horizontal this time...soft gentle landing. But sure enough some how even with a soft slow landing and the prop horizontal I managed to break it. I seriously can't fly the BW without going through a prop each flight for some reason!
At this point the wind was enough it was kind of tough to carry the BW back to my truck so I loaded up and called it a day. Not nearly as much flying as I had hoped to...and the Spitfire having such a short and unhappy flight was a major disappointment. But even a disappointing day of flying beats a day of no flying so I'm still smiling Now to cut out a new spitfire fuselage and see if I can't figure out a way to reinforce that front wing mount while still leaving room for the 2200 up there....hmm....
I've been dying to get mine out again, was busy last weekend and didn't get to fly anything at all. Heard my LHS finally got more piano wire in this week so I stopped in to get some (and they finally had thicker wire in stock so I could replace the weak coat hanger gear on my other FT planes!) But as tends to happen I couldn't leave with just what I came in for and ended up picking up a nice red spinner for my Spitfire as well.
So I was REALLY itching to get her in the air this weekend. Woke up early yesterday...and was greeted to the windiest day in over a month
Way too windy to pop her in the air. But that's why there are two days in a weekend right? Right! Woke up early again today and it was totally calm out. Ran up to the field, and tossed the FT Flyer in the air to feel things out - and found the gremlins were in abundance today. Something very funky was going on - almost like I was loosing signal but I wasn't that far away and the control surfaces were still responding (but then sometimes the control surfaces would stop responding but the motor would still throttle back up.) Weird. (I had to repair one of my RX's when the antenna pulled off - I suspect it was on this one so that may explain it.)
Oh well. Air was still calm though and I didn't want to risk loosing that so I pulled out the Spitfire. Man she looks good with that spinner. For some reason I couldn't get my 2200mah battery to fit today...it fit before but today it wouldn't clear the wing. Grrr. Oh well, got some 1500 packs and that fit so no biggie. Got it balanced and up in the air...and oh hello Mr. wind I see you decided to join me today. Made a few circuits of the field and started having a bit of fun. Roll rate still seems slow on mine for some reason so I thought I'd bring it in and check things out...nice slow approach into the increasingly strong wind...moving right about walking speed but super stable in the air and looking great. About 4' off the ground and...WHAM big gust of wind. Like a giant invisible hand came out of nowhere and pushed it to the ground. Didn't nose in, just a hard belly flop. And again the front wing mount tore out. Not in the same place it tore out on me last time...but same basic damage. The repair held but with more damage next to it now I'm definitely going to just build a new fuselage at this point. May go solid wing next time...that front mount just seems to tear out way too easy for me.
Not to go too far off topic but figured I'd toss the bloody wonder up since the wind was still not TOO bad. Whoops, turns out the popsicle sticks I added inside my "big pod" to reinforce the rear support holes now make it not fit the BW. Well, almost not fit...a but of squeezing and it got in there (it's just foam after all!) BW flew well, but the wind just kept getting worse and with no rudder I wasn't having much fun with the wind pushing me around. Brought it in for a landing...nice and slow stable and level, power off a few feet above the ground - hey look my prop is even horizontal this time...soft gentle landing. But sure enough some how even with a soft slow landing and the prop horizontal I managed to break it. I seriously can't fly the BW without going through a prop each flight for some reason!
At this point the wind was enough it was kind of tough to carry the BW back to my truck so I loaded up and called it a day. Not nearly as much flying as I had hoped to...and the Spitfire having such a short and unhappy flight was a major disappointment. But even a disappointing day of flying beats a day of no flying so I'm still smiling
Now to cut out a new spitfire fuselage and see if I can't figure out a way to reinforce that front wing mount while still leaving room for the 2200 up there....hmm....constantmotion
Junior Member
I have finally gotten around to getting mine built. I was going to order the NTM 28-26A 1200Kv motor but HK is out of stock so I bought the Suppo 2208/14 1450kv motor. The printed document included in the kit shows that a 850Kv motor is recommended. I'm a little confused now. I will be running a 2.5" Dubro spinner but the Suppo prop adapter isn't long enough to mount the prop and spinner to the motor. Any suggestions on getting this to work?
There are standard spinners on 57 and 64 mm both wil be ok, but I like the 57 better.
Hi
I have a similar problem. Did you use your own local foam board? We made it here in Mexico with a heavier foam board and we ended with a final weight of 700 grams (no battery), much heavier than the Spitfire made with the Flite Test kit. It was also tail heavy, so we decided to use a heavier motor and a spinner. With a 2200 battery The final weight is close to 950 grams but it is perfectly balanced. I had the same issue with the Baby Blender, so I think my problem is the different density of the foam board material. I got the FT Cruiser Kit from Flite Test and I can see the difference with the foam board, it is much lighter, so at the end it could be that the tail will always be heavier with my local foam board. I rather use the extra weight to balance with a heavier motor and a heavier and more powerful battery. I don't like to have extra weight for balance with no additional advantage, so by increasing the motor size and the battery you will have more power for the extra weight. Look at our final project, it was just published today, you will find all the details on the motor and even the landing gear we added to protect the larger propeller.
Look at ivanlopezvergara Father and Son FT Spitfire
Regards
I have a similar problem. Did you use your own local foam board? We made it here in Mexico with a heavier foam board and we ended with a final weight of 700 grams (no battery), much heavier than the Spitfire made with the Flite Test kit. It was also tail heavy, so we decided to use a heavier motor and a spinner. With a 2200 battery The final weight is close to 950 grams but it is perfectly balanced. I had the same issue with the Baby Blender, so I think my problem is the different density of the foam board material. I got the FT Cruiser Kit from Flite Test and I can see the difference with the foam board, it is much lighter, so at the end it could be that the tail will always be heavier with my local foam board. I rather use the extra weight to balance with a heavier motor and a heavier and more powerful battery. I don't like to have extra weight for balance with no additional advantage, so by increasing the motor size and the battery you will have more power for the extra weight. Look at our final project, it was just published today, you will find all the details on the motor and even the landing gear we added to protect the larger propeller.
Look at ivanlopezvergara Father and Son FT Spitfire
Regards
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I just received my vary first ever speed build kit of the FT Spitfire in the mail yesterday. I really can't wait to build it and then fly it. One of your next speed build kit should be the North American P-51D Mustang that way you have 2 great war birds in the collection. I love watching you guys and I'm a subscriber to your YouTube channel. Keep up the great work.
IBeHoey
The Warranty Voider
Hello everyone! I've just finished building my spitfire! This is my first foam board plane. I think it turned out well. It has a solid wing, a huge 2.5 inch spinner, and my idea of a built up foam board canopy. Otherwise built to FT specs. Color scheme is done with hobby checkered vinyl, and vinyl scraps i got for free from a local sign shop
I like it!
Although, I'm really kicking myself now for not picking up a spinner when I made my last HK order. That spinner really sets it off.
I've finally finished cutting out all of the pieces for my spit build and I hope to have it finished within the next week or so. Most of the flying I do is in a large asphalt parking lot, are any of you all using landing gear? I'd like to install some on the wing (to give it a more scale look) but I'm unsure on how to do so without having the piano wire punch through the wing on a rough landing. Any ideas?
TLMARK
Senior Member
Hi this is my first go at a foam board plane and my hot glue is pretty rubbish so it's not the neatest job
I was so glad when David made the Spitfire my fave plane of all time!
I added some exhausts a pilot and a canopy. I used a Battle Of Britain paint scheme as the black and white under side is great for orientation. Sadly not had chance to fly her yet as we have had a week or so of very high winds here
I was so glad when David made the Spitfire my fave plane of all time!
I added some exhausts a pilot and a canopy. I used a Battle Of Britain paint scheme as the black and white under side is great for orientation. Sadly not had chance to fly her yet as we have had a week or so of very high winds here
That's one of the best looking ones I've seen. Awesome job!!! Is that canopy from the 800 mm series Spit?
