[wingtipper]

HERES MY LATEST ORDER . CURRENTLY ON THE WAY .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGYy9lWKnuI

[smuzz]

Great! .... although I'm sure you'll hold in some right rudder on the takeoff. I've got one of these (an earlier version in a different scheme) still in its box - looking forward to joining you with it in a month or two.

[wingtipper]

COOL . IT'S A VERSION 7.5 . hopefully the retract issues have been ironed out over the previous versions . i might fly on 5s 3000 mah batteries though , even if i have to limit throttle to pull back the amps . it has the 540kv motor and 65 amp esc . some nice vids on youtube . they seem to fly and land very nicely . bit pricey though . with the aussie dollar down and ems delivery . cost $345

[wingtipper]

WELL HERE IT IS . IT WILL BE MAIDENED TOMORROW .
purchased online on thursdat at 10 am in HONG KONG , and delivered to my door at 9am on monday .
ITS PNP , but takes around 4 hours to setup . very nice plane , great instructions , well put together at factory . very improved . i'm pleased with FMS progress , they seem to be getting there with quality and continual improvement .
weighs in at exact;y 2.5kg flying weight with 5s 3000mah battery . its only just right with C of G . So the recommended 4s 2600mah battery is a no go .
besides it can run on 5S . TESTS ON 5S ARE 43 AMPS MAX @ 19V 817 WATTS . WHICH COMES IN AT 140 WATTS PER POUND . THIS MOTORS MAX VOLTAGE IS 18V . BUT IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER BRANDS WITH 42X50 540 KV MOTORS they are good for 5s 19v 900w and good for 60 amps on 4s so i see no problem and the supplied 65 amp 6s ESC is more than enough .
alloy shock retracts and redesigned blades make the 4 blader now very quiet , the sequencer and 17g servos seem up to the job . the plane and stickers supplied are extreme scale as they tell you where to mount over 100 stickers .
i just have to fly it and see how it goes .

[gbanger]

Looks the goods Frank...... you really can't beat FMS's bang for your buck.

[smuzz]

Good luck with it - will be looking forward to your flight report!

[secant0give]

Hey that loooks really nice !!
It should fly well at that weight too.

Love how the canopy opens, You'll have to bring it down to McCoy field before it rains again
The field is looking AWSOME and Chris has improved the srtip so the approaches are much better !!
It's all comming together nicely

[wingtipper]

well the maiden flights went extremely well . needs right rudder and slight elevator on take off and throttle up slowly and it lifted off with no torque roll whatsoever , very stable flight and the zippy 5s 3000mah 20c battery was spot on for c of g . i had the controls on high throws with 30 expo dialled in need a litlle bit of aileron trimming and that was it . 1st landing was without flaps and it had some roll on . 2nd was with 1/2 flaps and was pretty good , full flaps in air and the plane flies well and is controllable . but hard to touchdown asw it stalls at near walking pace .
never mastered the landings as flaps produce a bounce flare effect . but was no big deal .
the plane flew flawlessly and very stable slow flyer indeed , very scale like . 5s is the way to go certainly not a power horse on 5s as you tend to use 3/4 trottle in flight . there was a guy there with one on 4s and he was scared not to fly at WOT as he thought it needed this to stay up .
after flying 5s i find it hard to fathom a 4s setup .
on the 4th flight i landed at full flaps 1/2 throttle and it kept bouncing and flaring at very slow pace . the last touchdown broke a wheel plastic strut on a retract . i'm sure i can fix it up .

the experience has taught me that i wont use full flaps, 1/2 flaps or even no flaps are the way to go .

all in all a 9 out of 10 . definately draws a crowd and gets comments off the crowd in flight . very scale like in air .
must be flown on 5s , and metal retracts arent really metal if the wheel struts are plastic . however definately better retracts than the other rubbish once used . but still need improvement . definately worthy of expensive retracts , for grass landings especially .

[smuzz]

Glad to hear it went well Frank - thanks for the report.

About a month ago I started to read through the RCGroups threads for these FMS 1400mm series warbirds - like Gazz was also discovering, there's not much else you can do while you're waiting to get mended. I was studying mainly the FW-190 Würger (Butcher Bird) and the T-28 Trojan. I've decided to replace the motor in the FW-190 with one of these ...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...duct=35713

... because I think at 650 kV and 1300 W on 5S it should give that bird the zip it deserves. The early series stock motors had a tendency to come apart in flight, but I tend to buy these things as if they were "airframe only" and if any of the power-train or servos actually work, then that's a bonus.

For this motor, I'll have to do some serious static tests and I might have to shim to the propeller blades too, but that's not a big ask. I'm looking forward to getting it together as it should go like hell!

[wingtipper]

wow steve . it would be very interesting seeing that prop drive motor in such a plane . my fms p51 on 5s struggles to pull 750 watts constant .

the retract issue is fixed , and i have found they are full metal struts . they are us $30 per pair only . but they are fabricated by hand , which means inconsistancy and failures , this is why my one failed . but i have improved it somewhat .

[smuzz]

Glad you've got your retracts sorted mate ... they're usually the weak link in the electro-mechanical parts of these models, but I'm sure that will change over time. Quite frustrating sometimes - in the Durafly Trojan for example (a fantastic model on 4S, though it's set up for 3S), the main gear was excellent but the nose retract was made of cheese and was a disappointing flaw in an otherwise superb model. Over time though, these things will get sorted out ... gotta remember that only a couple of years ago, retracts were an exotic extravagance

All the best and I look forward to flying with you in a while.

[wingtipper]

yeah well i think from now on whenever i order a plug and fly with retracts i'll order a 2nd set of retracts at the same time .
still though i'm glad i could fix it for now . .
the new 14x8 fms 4 bladed prop doesnt pull like an 8'' pitch and current suggests this also . s alright on 5s as is . i think the 650kv might be the go though and bring back some prop sound that has now disappeared with these mustangs .
let me know when you fit this motor . looking forward to seeing its performance .

[smuzz]

... let me know when you fit this motor . looking forward to seeing its performance .

Will do mate - but it will be several weeks, with the way things are going.
I'll be in touch, now that I know you're interested.
Cheers,
Steve

[Raptorfly]

Well done on the maiden Frank, it is a very nice plane.
I think everyone shoud have a P-51 in their collection, they are one of the best looking planes in the air.

[gbanger]

What do you mean "one of the best looking planes in the air" they are THE best looking plane in the air ... period!