FT Spitfire Build

d8veh

Elite member
i'm done building for the day, dealing with too much other nonsense about work. if you want the god's honest truth, don't EVER become a teacher. i have spent 20yrs working with the most challenging, most disturbed, most emotionally disabled students on this earth and i am VERY good at what i do. in thanks though, i am the one who gets sacrificed by the district. :cautious:

oh well, hopefully my sacrifice will force some change. if not i am very worried for these kids and anyone crazy enough to be talked into taking my position.
Jeez is that good or bad? What happens now?

Teaching kids in the 12 to 16 age group is definitely one of the hardest jobs. I was a teacher for 10 years, and I found that it totally took over my life. There was always something demanding my time - reports, planning, marking, training, meetings and more. I got to the stage that I could never go out for a drink or meal with my friends because there was always something that had to be done in the evenings. Luckily I started late in life, so I didn't have financial constraints on me and I was able to reduce my hours in the latter years. I found that at 70%, it was like a normal job and I could lead a normal life. At 50%, it started to become fun. What I missed most when I left was the use of their very advanced and expensive laser cutter. I had mapped out many of the KeilKraft kits so that we could cut the balsa wood accurately. I still have the files somewhere if anybody wants them.

I think you deserve a medal for doing 20 years, especially if you did it full time.

That's a very nice Spitfire. I hope it flies as well as it looks
 

mrjdstewart

Legendary member
almost done. paint is drying on canopy, then just need to set throws and expo. will maiden tomorrow morning.

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yup, teaching has become almost a 4 letter word in AZ. no respect, no pay, no nothing but grief. i have been in district since 2005, have 2 college degrees in teaching, plus receive a $4,000 additional stipend for "hard to fill" position and i barely make $40,000 a year. if i wasn't already a disabled vet and receiving a retirement and benefits from the VA, i couldn't afford to be a teacher. we should be embarrassed at our efforts to educated the next generation. gonna and up with a bunch of entitled kids with no clue how to do anything if the internet goes down.

laters,

me :cool:
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
almost done. paint is drying on canopy, then just need to set throws and expo. will maiden tomorrow morning.

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yup, teaching has become almost a 4 letter word in AZ. no respect, no pay, no nothing but grief. i have been in district since 2005, have 2 college degrees in teaching, plus receive a $4,000 additional stipend for "hard to fill" position and i barely make $40,000 a year. if i wasn't already a disabled vet and receiving a retirement and benefits from the VA, i couldn't afford to be a teacher. we should be embarrassed at our efforts to educated the next generation. gonna and up with a bunch of entitled kids with no clue how to do anything if the internet goes down.

laters,

me :cool:
It looks fantastic and I hope it flies for you as good as it looks to me. Just need the canopy!

Have fun!
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
Looks great! Loved my spit. Have a speed build kit sitting around I’ve meant to build for two years. One day. Good job on your build, make sure your cg is good on this one and she’ll fly sweet for you!
 

mrjdstewart

Legendary member
wow, not only does it looks good in the air it flies like a dream! silky smooth and able to fly nice and slow, or crank it up and away it goes. flew it 2x's today and can't wait to do it again tomorrow. i have to say, i was a little concerned about the design but obviously David knows what he is doing. i would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a nice looking warbird. it was all grey and cloudy today so we did not get pics, will try and get some of it flying tomorrow.

laters,

me :cool:
 

mrjdstewart

Legendary member
the spit flew perfect again today but regrettably i still haven't gotten pics. did my own hand launch today and it took off without issues. the previous launches had a bit of a nasty torque roll left on take off but today i went easier on the throttle on launch and it was easy peasy. this plane looks so good in the air it's hard to describe. it also has soooooo much rudder authority it will do some crazy stuff. knife edge...no problems. wag the tail like a dog, no problem. all easy and controllable.

laters,

me :cool:
 

bstanley72

Member
For you folks who are scaling up the plans, are you keeping the same degree (10 degrees) of dihedral? I've blown the plans up to 150% on my computer and it looks like it is a lot of dihedral.
 

danbob

Active member
Hi, I think the two i have built have had a little less when next to the kit version, I found this plane to fly far better when scaled up.
Good luck with the build and please share the results :)
 

Hyper46havoc

Active member
Hello all went to a new field today and also found a nice pond need some water resistant foam now. My ft spit and brothers parkzone. Was good to get out been a while tho I did launch mine into the ground when the tail caught my hand on a launch just a snapped prop and learnt a lesson.
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DazDaMan

Elite member
So, I recently bought a few pieces of 5mm foam board, so looking to get the Spitfire on the build desk at some point soon!
 

myxiplx

Member
Picked up one of these second hand, it's going to be my first model bound to a radio for buddy boxing so I can teach my little girl how to fly :)

Anybody else find they had to add a lot of nose weight on one of these? I'm running 3S 2200mAh LiPos and my god the CG was a long way back.

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blitzr3n3l

New member
Picked up one of these second hand, it's going to be my first model bound to a radio for buddy boxing so I can teach my little girl how to fly :)

Anybody else find they had to add a lot of nose weight on one of these? I'm running 3S 2200mAh LiPos and my god the CG was a long way back.

View attachment 131112

View attachment 131113
Yes i noticed it is very tail heavy with a 3s 2200mah so I took the opportunity to run it on 4s 2200mah and a spinner at the front