SPITFIRE STORY By Tony Iannucelli Hanger 9 Spitfire MkII, split flaps down. Growing up in the hobby, the warbird I wanted to model most was the iconic P-51 Mustang. Second on my list was a Spitfire. I ve had several Mustangs over the years, but never could find the right Spitfire. Top Flite had a gold kit that was attractive, but it was a true get-out-the-sandpaper kit, and I never wanted to tackle that build. I almost settled on a Kyosho ARF 90 size Spitfire and might still own one someday, but I never could find one at what I thought was a fair price. A few months ago I got an email coupon from Hangar 9, and after reading the reviews on their offering I decided the price and the kit were a good fit for my modeling desires and my budget. Here s the story of my new Hangar 9 Spitfire Mk II. This plane is another quality ARF from Horizon Hobby. Their 60-90 size Mustang, Thunderbolt, Corsair, and Wildcat have become staples of the $300 and under warbird class available in the hobby. The Spitfire MkII is a true ARF, was very easy to assemble, and although I m waiting for some soft grass on our field for the maiden flight, it looks like it will be a winner in the air. The proportions of the plane, its reasonable weight, and morethan-adequate power plant have me looking forward to flying it.
The Spitfire has a striking camouflage color scheme done in Ultracote, my favorite plastic covering. There was not a wrinkle or serious blemish anywhere on it right out of the well-packaged box. Mechanical retracts are pre-installed, including the wires. More about them later. All the parts fit well. The cowl, canopy and fiberglass scale accessory parts were excellent. The hardware is all usable, and although I sometimes substitute for my favorite brands, it wasn t necessary. It looked like it would take about 30-40 hours to assemble and that estimate proved out. I found some parts for sale on RCUniverse for this plane, and got a nice deal on a brand new cowl, canopy, fiberglass accessories, retracts, and even some Robart struts. In case I goofed in the assembly--or when flying-- I had backups. The manual was well-written and photos were helpful. I noticed the manual was dated 2006, so this design has been around for several years. Some of the methods of assembly reflected that. No problem, just not cutting edge as they say. I try to make my planes unique, sometimes with custom decals, sometimes with slightly different trim or color schemes. Although this Spitfire had a nice color scheme on the top side, it was plain gray on the bottom, and I really don t like to fly gray airplanes. The Ultracote was shiny, something I can live with, but I can t abide the gray color. This one begged for some invasion stripes. I ordered some Monokote strips, cut them to size, and applied them with plenty of spray soapy lubricant. I had the wing joined already and placed it on some towels on part of my bench. The installation of the first three strips went well, and gave me courage to continue. Three left wing panel main stripes got the ball rolling; Landing gear removed at this time 2
Several hours later, the bottom of the wing was finished. I also did the rear of the fuselage and the stripes really brought the plane to life. I know the visibility in the air will be greatly improved, and I judge the time spent on this trim well worth the effort. Finished product; the invasion stripes make the plane really stand out. Although it most likely would have held up, I removed the stock landing gear before I joined the wings. It had 5/32 wire struts, and experience tells me that might not be enough for a nine pound warbird on a grass runway. Reviewers on the Horizon web site were of differing opinions. I opted to beef up the gear before the first flight while everything was nice and clean and easy to work on. I installed a set of Hobby King electric retracts with Robart Struts, and I m really happy I did. I am optimistic they will hold up on any runway. They feature 3/16 wire stubs onto which the struts are attached along with scale Robart wheels. I ll provide details of this installation at the end of this article. The wing fit together nicely. All hinging was done out of the box; just gluing was necessary. The elevator and rudder pushrods were wire-in-a-tube 3
and were also installed with no trouble. The tubes were glued in by the Chinamen. The wires weren t as smooth as I would like, but the servos I used overpowered any minor binding with no humming or hang-ups. I oiled the wire, and that fixed it. I don t enjoy installing the horizontal stabilizers on my planes. It seems to me there has to be a better way than smearing epoxy on this part and getting it all over everything. What was nice about this one was that is slid right in, and no trimming or sanding was necessary. And it was true to the preinstalled vertical fin, which made for an easy task. I did measure the tips of the stab to the wing tips at least 10 times to be sure of alignment, which is yet another unpleasant requirement of this type of install. I think there should be a better way. I have used CA glue on some of my planes, and that has worked well so far. That stab isn t going anywhere, so CA keeps it light and does the job. Epoxy certainly is stronger, just not sure it s needed. Hangar 9 includes a metal engine mount which I did not use on my H9 Thunderbolt. I did use it this time, and am happy I did. The inverted O.S. 91 Surpass II seems very secure; measuring was at a minimum, and no drilling was required. The Dave Brown parabolic spinner looked really good on the plane and the combination made the cowl installation easy too. 4
Nancy hand-painted a pilot for me. The exterior canopy framework was prepainted. I decided to fog the backup canopy I had with smoke paint on the inside as the cockpit lacked quality and detail. Although I like the look of the sun-shaded canopy, I put the clear one on first anyway. As noted, the detail in the cockpit is weak; it s nowhere near the finish of the Top Flite gold ARFs. But the pilot is worth showing. And now the retracts: I ve had retractable landing gear over the years in many planes. I ve used air and mechanicals, with the main gear in warbirds mostly mechanical because warbirds usually don t require complicated nose gear installation. Air systems require air pumps at the field, air lines, an air valve, and a servo in the plane, and are subject to leaks. Mechanicals require a heavy duty 180 degree servo, careful alignment and installation, strong servo attachments, and any screw up will drain the flight battery while you are flying. Decades ago, Kraft made Multicon retracts which were electric, but they cost over $140, which was about my weekly salary back then. Suffice to say I never bought them back in 1975. Mechanicals, air, and expensive electrics were the retract choices until now. The Hobby King electric retracts I used on the Spitfire are designed for planes up to 10 pounds; this Spitfire came in at nine pounds two ounces. No worries. Each unit is self-contained with just one wire exiting at the motor. You can see the retracts near the top in the following picture. 5
The two units with Robart struts and wheels are connected with a Y which is then connected to channel 5 in a secondary receiver (shown on the right) in the picture. The small blue battery pack along with the wiring and the receiver all fit easily in the wing cavity. When I turn on the main radio, since the retract receiver is bound with the same link, the result is magic! Wheels on the right are the kit wheels. I used Robart wheels that were ¼ smaller to avoid potential hang-ups, although the retracts have built in fail safes which protect against binding both up and down. Really nice setup! Here s a link: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=14838 I flip the retract switch on the transmitter and the wheels cycle at scale speed. No air pumps, no worry about binding wires, no linkage issues, no problems. No drain on the flight pack battery either. Not to say a hard landing wouldn t ruin my day, but each unit cost only $7.95 that s $16 for 6
a PAIR, plus an inexpensive HK receiver, and a battery made from cells left over from old flight packs. I also installed a small switch on the side of the fuselage that turns the battery on/off between flights. My backup landing struts you see on the lower left feature 5mm wire and Robart 3/16 axles. I don t think I ll need them. The confidence factor is very high with these electrics! I m going to take a video of them in action, and will ask Jim Kitt to post it. Hope I can figure out how to do it. Robart strut and tire I think the electric retract units will be the way to go in the future for me. After 20-30 flights we ll know for sure. If they work well and are dependable, I ll retrofit them in a couple of other warbirds I have. It will be an easy job. The Robart struts are my third set. They are well worth the money, and when you get them in a deal like I did, even better. Can t wait to fly it; I m rooting hard for our runway grass to grow 7
The plane weighs nine pounds two ounces as noted earlier. If I left out the pilot and used the stock wheels, I d be at eight pounds, fifteen ounces, as predicted by Hangar 9. I d rather keep the pilot. The wing loading is about 29 ounces, which will make the first few landings a lot of fun until I figure out what the plane likes. It has working split flaps, and since we always have a breeze, I m not (too) worried. I do OK with it on the simulator after about 100 crashes. Not kidding. So that s my Spitfire story. If anyone wants more detail or has questions, please let me know. See you at the field! ---Tony Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. ---Winston Churchill 8