Jump to content

Chris Freeman 3

Members
  • Posts

    1,025
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

Chris Freeman 3 last won the day on May 23 2023

Chris Freeman 3 had the most liked content!

1 Follower

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

Chris Freeman 3's Achievements

206

Reputation

  1. Being a cheap modeller I often get things that I might use one day, one of these was a local Mustang fuselage based on the old Byron kit. I managed to borrow a foam wing and stab from a Byron kit and then made my own wings and stab that was sheeted in balsa and then glassed and filled. The wings were made for Robart retracts to be used, the Top Flight kit is about the same size so these retracts were the ones used. For some reason I then stopped work on the mustang after all the building was done and packed away. Byron was at a loose end after the MB 5 was returned to me when I needed to get it ready for flight and said he really enjoyed working on it so I suggested he take the Mustang and do some work on that. He has done a great job so far and I think this airframe will be great to take to the flying field with the MB 5 so people can see the difference. The wings on real Mustangs were filled and painted to improve airflow on the wings and fuselages left in bare metal so our model will be the same.
  2. I see that Robart is stopping making retracts after 50 years!.
  3. Very sorry to hear about the closure and very glad that you managed to get other work Jon. It might be nice getting your hobby back and not having it as a business! It also just shows how the hobby industry is changing and it is a concern.
  4. I am glad to report that the test flight went very well, very nice flying aircraft with plenty of power. We are using 12 cells and a 20x10 prop and are getting 2300 watts with an all up weight of 8.7 kg. Some clever person decided to do donuts on the runway in his car which did damage the ground but as it has been very hot it was not that bad. Some aileron trim was needed and that was all so the airframe can now be painted. My building skills are luckily better than my video skills so here is a poor quality video that shows just how comfortable Byron was with the flying qualities:
  5. Years of reading model mags and huge amounts of balsa dust, Glue fumes and paint fumes have had a negative impact on my resistance levels and ability to think clearly at times. I have just paid for a new airframe that I will only get in a months time when My son is on holiday in Durban. It was built by a very well known and respected South African modeller so I could not help myself as it has been on my must build list for 20 years!
  6. Not Winter in South Africa, we are having a very hot summer around 30 during the day, some have been around 35 and even hot at night! My son and I visited a local club on Saturday and had some good flying. Both scratch built aircraft.
  7. Starting to look like an MB 5! First time on its wheels.
  8. Hi Roy Thanks for this information, I will spend some time reading it. The Article that inspired this build was by Dan Parsons! The retracts sure are a challenge, I wish I had mounted mine further forward in the wing, mine are close to the scale position and are limited to the spar position that I used.
  9. Simon and Roy I love the pictures of your aircraft, both are a credit to you. The MB 5 is progressing well, retracts are fitted and working and even holding air for more that 24 hours which is great but I need to see what they actually do at the flying field! I am not sure what the weight will be yet as I often find the pilot and airframe fly better when they do not know that they are heavy! the length is 190cm with the spinner. The motor I have fitted is a EMAX 5335 which will use a 19 to 22 inch prop. The Motor on the drive unit is a EMAX 5345. EMAX do not give any performance detail other than prop size and recommended weight. All servos and pushrods are fitted so we hope to test fly in about 2 weeks time. I will be doing some tests to find the best prop to use. Thanks for the info on the props but being in South Africa means it is very expensive to get stuff due the the exchange rates and courier fees. I am a bit of a cheap modeler that gets a lot of my stuff second hand as Byron and I are always busy building. We also mainly fly early morning at our own field so the aircraft are not display aircraft. We were invited to a club on Saturday and our 4 aircraft were the only own constructed aircraft! Scratch building is really dying in South Africa
  10. Nice Model Simon. Props are a problem as the front on is a pusher prop on the unit we have which currently has 23x 8 props as that was what we could get as a matched pair. Test flights will be done in primer and with a normal drive electric motor as I would hate to damage the counter rotating unit that has taken lots designing and machining done by a friend of ours. The airframe and detailing was done by Byron who stays 6 houses down the road and I will do the installation for the test flight. The fuselage has a motor box that will make motor changes easier and a hatch on top of the fuselage for easier battery changes.
  11. I think we were too busy to be sick, I am normally not the best on a boat in the ocean, big or small, but never had any issues on this trip. The T240 really taught us a lot as we flew it from the most ridiculous areas in often unfavourable wind and still had it loaded with sweets and never had any issues with the aircraft but my nerves have taken a toll! The strange thing as well is this was all done with an ST 90 which most would consider as marginal for this size airframe and Futaba 3001 servos all round!
  12. Last year my son and I were looking for a project for a counter rotating prop unit that was built for his Maachi but not used as the aircraft was finished and flwn before the unit had been completed. The one aircraft that seemed to fit the requirement was the MB5. I had 2 old Scale RC Modeler magazines from 1979 that had quite a bit of information on a model and how well it flew. The internet provided more detail and 1 very interesting 3 view showed a Mustang and MB5 superimposed and that made up our minds to build one. I got my Top Fiite 1/5 Mustang kit out and made changes on the plans and used the kit fuselage as a template to cut out my own parts. Wings and tail feathers are foam and veneer. Not superscale but good enough to see for us what it is, many will think it is a clipped wing Mustang!
  13. We under estimate the speed that our aircraft fly, especially over longer distances. I found the old article on our flight and that should give more detail on the challenges of a flight like this.robbin Island.pdf
  14. Balance slightly nose down when ready to fly on the mainspar. Rudder as much as possible, ailerons 9 -12 mm and Elevator 6 - 9mm movement. Not much detail.
  15. I have checked the plans and the CG is not on the plans, I will find the manual and see what is listed as I was given a crashed T180 with all the documentation. Nice designs, I had 1 and a few T240's. Used to use the T240's for sweet drops and even flew one to Robbin Island!
×
×
  • Create New...