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Question 2: "Since I was a kid, I have wanted to build and fly a WWII F4U. The problem is that I have never really been able to get into the hobby until now. Is this project a little too much to start with? I have been building static display models most of my life and feel the actual construction will fall right into my current hobby skills, but I really want to fly. If this kind of project is a little advanced can you suggest a better beginning. My sons - ages 8 and 6 - have enjoyed helping dad with other modeling projects. We look forward to taking things to the next level but I don't want to frustrate eveyone. Thank You, Jeffrey, Portland,Oregon"

Richard: "Hi Jeffrey, The F4U Corsair is a beautiful plane and a joy to fly. However, if you have never flown a low wing plane, then flying and landing a Corsair could be tricky and disastrous. I would suggest starting out with a high wing trainer first, then move to a low wing sport plane and fly that for a while before switching to a warbird. Once you have mastered the skill of flying and landing a low wing plane, then the Corsair is a fair game. Richard"

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Question 3: "Richard, Congrats on your new position at RCWarbirds! I just bought a Hanger Nine Corsair and spent the better part of a Saturday reading all the more than one thousand post at RCUniverse on this ARF. Went with the CJM retracts and will follow all your advice there about building this bird. I am interested in putting a smoke system in it and would like to know if it will handle it. Have a Saito 100 in it and am flying at about 7000' here in Wyoming. I have no experience with smoke systems at all. Weight and CG I guess would be my biggest concerns. Also, have you heard anything about the new KMP B-25 ARF. When will it be released? Will you be doing any reviews on it at all. My Uncle flew these in WWII and I would like to model one after his but I believe I will wait to here from you on them before I buy one. Thanks from Wyoming,
Theo"

Richard: "Theo, Congratulations on your purchase. The H9 Corsair is a very nice flying plane. It will be able to handle a smoke system since it has plenty of room in the fuselage for a small smoke oil tank. With a Saito 100 in the nose,
you will likely need nose weight to put the CG at around 4.5". It is best to mount the smoke oil tank near the CG, preferably just ahead of it, to keep the model stay trimmed through the entire flight as the smoke oil is being depleted. Since the H9 Corsair is relatively light, the added weight of a smoke system won't affect the plane's flying characteristics that much.I'm afraid I have not heard anything about the new KMP B-25 ARF."

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Question 4: "Richard, Am interested in a few of the ARFs sold by Giantscale planes. The 75" Corsair, the 70" Hellcat and the 71" Thunderbolt. Do you have any experience with them? Interested in the overall quality of the glass work as well as how well they go together and fly. Thanks! Eric"

Richard: "Hi Eric, I don't have any experience with the 75" Corsair or the 71" Thunderbolt. However, I do have the 70" Hellcat, and the quality of the glass work is excellent. The fuselage and cowl are nicely molded with recessed panel lines and rivet details. Construction and material used are very good. Wing and rear stabilizer are fully sheeted. Tail feathers are airfoil shaped. The plane goes together pretty well. Except for the belly pan, most parts line up and fit perfectly. The Hellcat is one of the best flying warbirds I have in my hangar."

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Question 5: "Hi Richard, thanks much for the help I have decided after much thought and your advice to install my new OS 91 Surpass III Pumped engine along with a Slimline inverted pitts muffler. I really didn’t want to hang another 10 ounces up front and it will be nice to have the cylinder head concealed by the cowl or if a little bit is showing that’s fine also. I have an onboard glow for the engine that is always nice with inverted four stroke with factory pumps. I will try both props you suggested earlier the Graupner 13.5X8 or 14X6 at least I am guessing you mean the grey Graupners? One thing I forgot as I said in my first question I am installing offset Robo Struts on the mechanical retracts mounted in the plane. I will of course modify the retract plates as I wrote before. Have you heard anything bad about the WM mechanical retracts? I have not read anything bad so I am going to buy a high torque retract servo so it can pull the Robo Struts up into the wheel wells? So I will let you know how the first flight goes. Thanks Again Joe"

Richard: "Hi Joe, Yes, try the gray Graupner props. They are efficient and look good. I usually spray mine black with insignia yellow tips. I have not heard anything bad about WM mechanical retracts, so give them a try. If you use light wheels, then any high torque retract servo should be able to pull up the struts and wheels. Good luck with your maiden flight."

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Question 6: "Building a hangar 9 P-51 .60 size. Got a Saito 100 in there and there is some debate between the guys on prop and exhaust. We purchased a 2 blade no spinner yet but I really like the looks of a four blade and am wondering on performance. Also on the exhaust we found a company that makes custom exhaust that comes out where the real mustangs do.Any suggestions in your experience? Ryan"

Richard: "Hi Ryan, A 14x8 2-blade prop would be perfect for the Saito 100. You will lose some speed when you switch to either a 3-blade or 4-blade prop. By the way, a 4-blade prop for the Saito 100 would be a 13x6, which will look small on the H9 Mustang. Scale prop size is around 20" in diameter for this plane. In terms of exhaust, I saw an H9 Mustang at our field with a Slimline inverted Pitts muffler bolted to a Saito 100, and it looked and sounded pretty sweet. "

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Question 7: "Greetings, Glad to have you on RC WARBIRDS. :) Here is my question. I am currently building a Skyshark SBD, but would like to get an arf warbird to mess around with. I have plenty of experience flying RC, and feel ready for a warbird. But rather than start with the SBD, I was thinking of starting with maybe the GP Texan, since this is similar to the SBD. How is this plane? I would like to put retracts on it, but which ones? How do the GP texan, kyosho texan, and hanger 9 texan compare? I like the fact that the GP is all balsa construction. What are the others like? I hope I didnt ask too many questions right off the bat. Thanks
Craig"

Richard: "Hi Craig, The GP Texan can be a handful on the ground due to its small size and narrow track. I would go with the Hangar 9 Texan because it's a bigger plane, comes with factory installed retracts, has better ground handling, and goes together quickly. I believe the Hangar 9 Texan is all wood construction. As for the Kyosho Texan, it has been discontinued. Richard"

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Question 8: "I am in the middle of building a hellcat and want to get an ARF war bird to train on because the hellcat will be my first war bird. Which ARF plane would you recommend to train on for the hellcat? Thank you very much. Ben"

Richard: "Hi Ben, I would recommend getting the CM Pro 70" span F6F Hellcat ARF to train on. It is a great flying plane that's also easy to take off and land. It will prepare you for your own Hellcat because the flight characteristics of the two planes might be very similar."

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Question 9: "I recently put together the Top Flite P51 large scale and I went to do the CG and I found that I had to put almost 6oz in the tail. It is powered by the US41 spinning a 18/10 prop. With Robarts Retracts both main and tail. Does this sound like too much weight? Sure would hate to mess up the first time flying. What do you think? Jim"

Richard: "Hi Jim, I don't think 6 oz in the tail is too much weight. I had to add 6 oz in the tail of my smaller .60 size Top Flite P-51D, powered by an OS 120 Surpass III four stroke with pump. I prefer to balance my warbirds slightly nose heavy for the first few flights. In your case, I would suggest adding five ounces or less in the tail. You can always add more later."

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Question 10: " I have a new Zenoah G62 engine and I need a plane to put it in. I have always wanted an AT-6 Texan and was wondering what would you recomend for a larger ARF model?"

Richard: "Hi Jason, The Zenoah G62 would work great in the Top Flite 1/5 scale P-51 ARF. I would also recommend China Model Productions 103" span AT-6, 100" span F4U Corsair, or 91" span A6M5 Zero for this engine."

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Question 11: "Hi Richard I am considering purchasing a P51D on Ebay which the seller says is Kyosho with Robart air retracts. Can you tell me if Kyosho ever produced a 72” P51D with retracts and flaps. I cant find anything on the web about this. Regards Graham (UK)"

Richard: "Sorry Graham, Kyosho has never produced a 72" P-51D with retracts and flaps."

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Question 12: "Hi Richard, I am a huge war bird fan with unfortunately only limited flying experience (yet). I have recently bought a ModelTech P47 Thunderbolt (67 inch wings). I live in Singapore where flying is possible almost 365 days a year. Our field is rather tricky when it comes to landing as there are tall tress on both sides of the field. So we have to come in rather steep and there is not too much room to slow the birds down quickly. I have been told that this particular Thunderbolt has a relatively low landing speed but I am not sure if I should use the mixing function to turn the ailerons into flaps. How much would this diminish the use of ailerons during the final approach? Thanks for some help here. Best Regards, Andre"

Richard: "When used as flaps, the use of ailerons during the final approach would be diminished somewhat. You would use the ailerons only to keep the wing level and the rudder for turning the plane. Although some people have had success in using ailerons as flaps, I would advice against doing so. With both ailerons deflected down at slow speed, there is a greater chance for the wing to tip stall. If you still wish to try it, take the plane up high and drop both ailerons to see how the plane would behave at medium to slow speed. "

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Question 13: "Hello Richard. I just discovered your site tonight and was very impressed with all of the information available. I looked through past questions and saw mention of this problem, but no real suggested answer. I am building the Hanger 9, .60 size, P-51 ARF. I will be using a Saito 100 for power (with prop sizes you recommended in another thread). I am worried though about the factory installed retracts. The retracts in this Hanger 9 P-51 are well known for failure during landing. Can you make a recommendation for a suitable replacement system? Would you go with mechanicals or a total upgrade to pneumatics. I was thinking about using the Robart 606HD, 85 degree set. What are your thoughts? Thank you very much. Charlie''

Richard: "Hello Charlie, There are two ways to upgrade the factory installed retracts. The first and least expensive way is drilling out the factory retract mechanisms to accept 3/16" diameter wire stubs, then bolt on a pair of functional oleo struts. Since the oleo struts add more weight, a strong retract servo is required to bring the wheels and struts up into the wing. The second and more expensive way to deal with the factory retracts is replacing them with a set of pneumatics, which I would go with. The Robart 606HD retracts will work fine. You will need to widen the factory retract mounting rails slightly to allow the retract mechanisms to drop in."

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Question 14: " Hi Richard You may remember helping me with Zero retracts the other day and once again thanks for the picture. Retracts are in and look fine, just need to flight test. I am a builder by heart but I don't think I am ready to scratch build. What advice would you give me between an ARF or a Kit and which bird is the better flyer Corsair or Mustang? Thanks for great input on the site. Regards Geoff Port Elizabeth South Africa"

Richard: "Geoff, if you have neither the time nor patience to build a kit, then an ARF is the way to go. You can always detail out an ARF to make it looks as nice as a kit. Both the Corsair and the Mustang are equally great flyers, so it's up to your personal preference. You really can't go wrong with either one."

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Question 15: "Richard, I an currently starting to assemble the CM pro( Giant scale planes) Hellcat and was tossing up which motor to install. I have a Saito 100 and Magnum 120 FS available. I was leaning towards to 100 but thought that I would check out your thoughts first. Thanks David"

Richard: "David, Both engines will work. This plane will end up around 12 lbs, so the Saito 100 will fly it scale at best. I would suggest using the Magnum 120 because you might need the extra power and nose weight. Richard"

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Question 16: "Richard, I'm trying to decide between the Hangar 9 P51 - .60 or the World Models P51 - .60. Which would you say is the better choice. I fly off a grass field, will the retracts that come with either of these planes be up to the task or should I plan on upgrading them right out of the box? Thanks,
Chris"

Richard: "Chris Both the Hangar 9 P-51 and the World Models P-51 are great flyers. You can't really go wrong with either one. The WM P-51 has flaps and airfoil shaped tail feathers whereas the H9 version doesn't. However, the H9 Mustang lands fairly slow that it doesn't need flaps. The supplied retracts
are adequate if your field is smooth and the grass is short. Most people tend to upgrade them to heavy duty mechanicals or pneumatics"

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Question 17: "I am building a TF P51 84.5" Mustang and would like your opinion. TF recommends a US41 engine are there any other engines(gas) that you would recommend that the engine will be enclosed within the cowl. Thanks Tom"

Richard: "Tom, The US41 will fly the plane just fine if you keep the plane light. Both the DA-50 and Brison Revolution 52 gas engines will provide better performance and will fit inside the cowl. In fact, the Revolution 52, together with Keleo scale P-51 exhaust, will fit completely inside the cowl with minimal cutting."

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Question 18: "Hi Richard, I have the World Models Corsair and sadly busted my left retract. Now I’d like to fit Century Jets Retracts – do you possibly know or able to find out exactly which ones would fit? I’ve tried in forums but no luck as not many have the WM Corsair. Your help would be greatly appreciated Best regards Chris"

Richard: "Hi Chris, I'm afraid the Century Jets retracts can't really be installed on the World Models Corsair. For one thing, the entire retract system weighs over one pound, which would significantly increase the wing loading of a Corsair that already has small wing area. Also, the length of the air pistons in the CJ retracts will prevent the struts from being shortened to fit in the WM Corsair wing. I would try a set of replacement retracts for this plane from World Models first. Richard"

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Question 19: "Hi Richard, I have a Hangar 9 P-51 Miss America Mustang. I am using a Saito 100 for juice. I am going to upgrade the retracts. Would you recommend mechanicals or should I just go to pneumatics. I would like to use mechanicals because they are easier to setup, but they are said to give in or break after time. Is this true. Thanks Richard, Michael"

Richard: "Hi Michael, The stock mechanical retracts should work fine on either a paved runway or a well groomed grass runway. If you are going to upgrade the retracts, then I would recommend going with pneumatics. They are more stout than mechanical retracts, have less wobble, and don't tend to develop play over time. Richard "

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Question 20: "Hello. I'am looking for a all composite ARF warbird for 1/5 scale and upwards. Do you have any companys that sells Corsair, P-38 (1/6 scale) in ARF. Thanks Thomas from Norway"

Richard: "Both Airworld and FiberClassics sell several all composite ARF warbirds, but they do not have a Corsair or a P-38. GiantScalePlanes sells a 94.5" span Corsair. KMP sells an 86" span P-38. However, both planes are made of fiberglass and wood. Richard"

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Question 21: "Hobby People has a Sportsman Corsair 52/70 ARF W/ Retracts. Do you know if this is a good flying plane? I fly low wing planes, but I here that Corsairs are tricky to fly. I'm interested in a 40 or 60 size plane. I would be using a Hitec Optic 6 radio. I hope you can help me out. Thanks"

Richard: "This plane appears to be a scaled down version of the Hangar 9 Corsair ARF. In that case, it should be a good flying plane. Since you are also interested in a .60 size Corsair, then a great choice would be the Hangar 9 Corsair ARF itself. The Hangar 9 Corsair is easy to fly, and it doesn't have any bad habits."

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Question 22: "Hi Richard, I am looking for a Corsair that is between 4 lbs and 5 lbs. Anything smaller is too light and anything heavier is too heavy. I've looked every where I know for an ARF in this range and have had no luck. All 2.5lbs or smaller or 6 lbs and heavier. Hope you'll know where to look. Carl"

Richard: "Are you looking for an electric Corsair or glow powered Corsair? Three glow powered Corsairs that come to mind are the Sportsman Aviation 58", the World Models 55", and the Lanier 55", all of which weigh around 6 lbs. I don't know of any electric Corsair ARF's that weigh between 4 and 5 lbs."

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Question 23: "Rich: I am ordering a P-51D Mustang model from VQ Model Aircraft. Can the pre-covered model be sprayed with a dull-coat for a little more realism? Thanks. Pete Rugheimer"

Richard: "Yes, the pre-covered model can be sprayed with a dull-coat. However, the finish on most VQ warbirds are not glossy to begin with."

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Question 24: "Hi Richard, i am a modeler from Hamburg in Germany and i am looking for a ARF kit for a B-25 bomber. the only one i could find in the web at the moment is this http://www.eurolight.aero/ (klick on "Motorflug scale") and you see the picture.
is there any supplier in USA who is offering such a kit for the B-25 with a wingspan of minimum 2 Meters?? thank you so much for a hint. best regards, Oliver"

Richard: "KMP is offering a B-25 with a wingspan of around 2.16 meters (http://www.kmp.ca/classics.htm). However, I believe this plane comes from the same factory as the one offered by EuroLight. You can also order the same plane from YT International (http://www.ytinternational.co.uk/), located in the UK."

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