I began this project back in October. It started out as a Pica 65" kit. I has had some extensive modifications in the wing. Significant re-design was required to install electric retracts in the scale location and flaps were added. Some changes in the fuse were made because it was originally designed for glow. Then the tail was designed as a slab plank which has been changed to a built up airfoil section. I have begun to fibreglass the structure. As you can see by the photos, i have designed it as a MK 5b (tropicalized version) with a "Vokes" dust filter under the nose. My desire is not to produce "another" Spitfire but have one that is somewhat unique.
See you when it gets warmer
Andre
Wow! That is nice!
I look forward to seeing that in person, and in flight.
Now Robert is going to have to settle for 3rd place in any scratch-built competition. ;D
Looks great Andre, is it a clipped wing or just sans tips?
Jack.
Wow! That's fantastic!
Fancy keeping that to yourself!
Jack,
A Spitfire looses a lot of its eliptical character when the tips are clipped. They will get added.
Quote from: Michael on March 18, 2015, 06:46:34 PM
Wow! That is nice!
I look forward to seeing that in person, and in flight.
Now Robert is going to have to settle for 3rd place in any scratch-built competition. ;D
And you are going to have to settle for second! :'(
I must say. There are some pretty awesome builds going on right now!
That looks great! Another nice addition to your fleet.
Hey Michael, I hope so. I'm out of wall space! BTW, for the 20th anniversary of the Kingston Electric Fun Fly this year, I'm going to bring the award I received the first year in 1995 to show off ;D
Very Nice Andre'
I always liked the look of the extended filter housing when combined with the North Africa camouflage.
What power system? Retracts?
Glenn
The spit is being powered by an Eflite 110 on 8 cells. It might sound a little over kill, but no one ever complained of too much power. The retracts are eflite 60-120 electric retracts. And, of course, i really like the desert colours over the green/brown or green/grey.
Well, the fibreglassing work is proceeding. It is slow. I found the Minwax product that Michael used was very effective to apply the glass cloth. With a light sanding to the cloth epoxy finishing resin is applied and sanded (and sanded...and sanded...and sanded :( ). When the primer is on another picture will be added (hopefully in a week or so).
Just about ready for paint. I need to fibreglass the wheel wells. Then i must decide on the "completness" of the cockpit interior. I still have to manufacture and install the exhausts (appropriate for the MK vc.
I forgot how quick and easy it is to vacuform parts. Actually, all the time is spent making the molds. The exhausts are just set in place. They will be painted separately and installed after the painting is done.
Very realistic Andre, looks like the real thing.
Jack.
The primary colours are on. I used folk art acrylic paint. People must think i am nuts as i go into Michael's craft store with my paint chips and try to match up the colours by opening the bottles. Thankfully you can unscrew the cap and get a little dab of paint without undoing the sealed cap. The next step is to paint the markings on. (I must say, it was painful to paint my aluminum spinner)
can't wait to her in the air!!
Great job
Looks great Andre. Did you use a spray gun? If so how much dilution did you use? You can get the same paints in Dollarama for a lot less. American made to boot.
Jack.
Yes, I used a spray gun. I diluted the paint about 10% with water. I think the dark earth was a little more diluted and resulted in some "bleeding" at the leading edge that will get cleaned up. Unfortunately, i experienced a couple of issues with the humidity. We'll see how it turns out once is gets a final "semi-gloss" coat.
I had seen some of the "folk art" paint at the dollar store. But there wasn't the variety that Michael's has.
Very nice, Andre! Up to your usual standards! Excellence!
Thanks guys. My "little buddy" showed up today. ;D
Well, i finally have the markings on the Spit.
Still to be done... install the receiver, esc, bec, aileron linkage, secure batteries. Then ready to fly. Current weight with motor batteries: 10 lbs. The other components will add another 4-5 oz.
Wow Andre, that looks great.
Jack.
Well, i'm hoping for a maiden this weekend. Actually two.
I'm watching the weather and keeping my fingers crossed. My second maiden is a P 51 mustang that was piled in at full throttle a year ago. It didn't take long to build and cover a new fuse and tail. The wing was perfectly in tact.
Very nice Andre!. Love to see it. Are you and the Spit going to make it to either Kingston or Bramalea?
I will be at Kingston with car load. I do need to check the dates for Bramalea.
Well, the test flight didn't go well. Those who were there can attest...it was spectacular. Video and pictures will be posted soon by some of the pilots who were there. Thanks for all the support guys. But it was an airplane that i suspect might have snapped in as i tried to land. Who knows. Anyhow, on to the next project. ????
Andre, you flew it beautifully and did all the right things, height etc. It was a wonderful sight in full song and you did a magnificent job of building. It looked extremely scale like with a super sound. I'm sick at the sound it made going in and doubt you could have saved it. I'm so sorry to have seen it end like that. Something you build yourself has a special attachment that only builders know. It makes it all the harder.
Good luck with the next project and please do another blog, this one has been so interesting.
Jack.
So very sorry Andre.
Hi Andre,
It was a pleasure to meet you and your father today.
I am so sorry things did not finish as expected.
Thank you for coming all the way to our field today.
Graham
https://youtu.be/frtpZmwv3Rw (https://youtu.be/frtpZmwv3Rw)
For those of you who don't know, André is a founding member of TEMAC. I've known André for about a quarter of a century, and although I don't see him often, I count him as a close personal friend. André helped me with the negotiations and lease when we started TEMAC, and he was one of a very tiny few who put in hours of hard work preparing TEMAC's field.
André devotes his life to helping others and serving his community, and he's one of the finest human beings I know.
That makes it especially difficult to acknowledge this setback in his pleasure, yet he reacts with maturity and good nature.
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I look forward to spending time with you, André, in Kingston; we'll have a good time.
it was a shame to see a beautiful plane like that go in
Andre,
I'm sad to see the out come of the First flight of such fine mode. I am also disappointed that I was unable to be at the field (work commitments) to see it fly. Now for the post flight, I'm sad to say the cause looks to be extreme elevator throw. The plane looked as though the stall was under control and then as you started to pull out of the dive you applied the elevator and hit the point where it affected the airflow over the main wing.
Anyways, onward and upward. I know you will be already thinking about your next project which will be A thing of beauty I'm sure.
Glenn
You are right Glenn. I have been replaying the events in my mind. When the airplane first stalled and snapped (I was intentionally testing the stall characteristics of the airplane) I let the contols go to neutral and the airplane started to straighten out toward the ground. I began to apply power and pull up when it snapped again. At that point i had run out of altitude to wait for the airplane to straighten out again. I am sure panic set in and applied too much elevator control. It was a heavy airplane with a high wing loading. I fear that it might have stalled and snapped when i made a landing approach (but i will never know) as i tried to slow it down.
Anyhow: Onward and Upward. A learned experience.
Andre,
I heard about it at the field today and just saw the video. What a shame to lose such a large and beautiful model.
I had a model go in like that. One aileron failed (hinges pulled out). Nothing altered the path of the dive. This looked quite similar.
Get back on the horse...even though it may be different one.
Frank
Hi Andre:
It was a really beautiful flight until the gut-wrenching end. I hope we will see a Mark II some day. Your builds are magnificent and an inspiration to all of us.
Andy
Just saw the post on your Spitfire. As always, your models are works of flyable art. So sorry to hear (and see) the unthinkable happen.
Eric
Andre! I'm very sorry to hear about and see the crash. That sucks, but you're an experienced builder who can pick up the pieces and move into the next wonderful project. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.