6/02/2012
Would you recommend this product to a friend? : Yes
How long have you owned this product? : 4
: Week(s)
Pros : Easy to build, really nice to fly, good looker
Cons : Warped Flaps
Nickname : Mark Campbell
Title : FMS 1400mm Hellcat Review
Detailed Review : The FMS 1400mm F6F Hellcat has been added to my ever-increasing FMS 1400mm fleet. This model now follows the usual FMS building sequence and high molding standard – although on this particular model the inboard section of the Flaps were badly warped, which had an impact on the initial flight characteristics. Assembly started by mounting the horizontal Stabiliser in place with two bolts. The vertical Stabiliser has two bolts coming up through the bottom of the Fuselage. The rear bolt was not a problem but I could not engage the front bolt and eventually “lost” it in the tail end somewhere (still has not surfaced after the maiden flight). I gently lifted the front of the Fin and spread some 5-minute epoxy in the gap, problem solved. Next step was to sort out the wiring harness’s for the Wing, insert the two carbon spar rods, feed the wiring through the slots in the Fuselage and push the wings into place. No problems were encountered here and everything fitted really well. The wings are retained in place with four bolts – the left wing bolted in place immediately; the right wing took some jiggling around before the bolts went home. All the wiring was then plugged into the Receiver, battery installed and the model powered up and servos centralised. Pushrods were fitted to the flying surfaces and all set too neutral. At this point I noticed that the right Flaps (split flaps) did not retract home fully while the left Flaps did. Adjusting the pushrod on the right Flaps so they retracted fully stalled the servo plus resulted in the Flaps moving down and up different distances. By un-stalling the servo the right Flaps sit lower than the left Flaps. This, coupled with the warping, left me with the dilemma of where to centralise the Flaps. I went with the slightly stalled servo and the right Flap retracting fully, which was not a good idea. Undercarriage was cycled to ensure all was OK – the tail wheel retracts as well a la full-size. There is A LOT of movement on the tail wheel so beware during the take off run. CofG was checked and found to be spot on at 90mm back from the wing leading edge. As usual with any new model I have to maiden, there was a robust discussion between John Knox and myself on who will do the test flight. I don’t know how, but I lost the discussion, so John lined the Hellcat up on the runway (cricket pitch) applied power and with the model tracking straight down the centre line lifted her into the air. Initial reaction was CofG was OK but it required all the right Aileron trim to fly hands off, plus a few clicks of down Elevator trim. A few circuits for John to get use to the model then some height was gained to test the Flaps. First Flap setting resulted in the Hellcat rolling to the right so John did not go to the second (landing) setting. The rest of the flight was taken up with low-level fly-bys and typical Warbird maneuvers, all of which it excelled at. Because of the rolling when Flaps were lowered John bought the Hellcat home without flaps. Where John and I fly, due to space the landing approach is a typical Carrier approach i.e. descending 180-degree right hand turn until touch down. The Hellcat handled this very well, been solid and manageable through touch down and rollout. Nice one John. Take-off was done at 60% power, as was most of the flight. This is a very efficient model given its barrel shape and it looks impressive in the sky. One nice model. Have tried to straighten the Flaps before the next flight by bending them straight and applying some reinforced glass tape to them – has sort of worked. Have also adjusted the Flap pushrods so they travel the same. Will have to put up with the right Flaps not fully retracting. Thought the servo arm may be one spline out compared with the left Flap servo but it is not. Has anybody else had this problem? Would be interested in hearing from you to see how you resolved it. The Hellcat had its second and third flight on Saturday after a two-week break due to weather. Flaps have been re-set to where the servo is not stalled i.e. right Flaps slightly lower than the left Flaps. My method of straightening the Flaps seems to have worked they looked really good two weeks. This time with half Flap and full Flap the Hellcat was very stable with no pitch change. Landing are just fun to do. Takeoff on the third flight I used half Flap – will be using half Flap all the time now. Takeoff is just so much better. This is a fantastic model to fly, looks impressive in the sky due to its bulk. Only shortcoming would be the colour scheme – the blue does disappear in the sky depending on the time you fly – be aware of this. My problem now is which model to take to the field – F4U, P-40, T-28 or F6F. I need to find a way to fit more than just one in my car. Thanks Xtreme Hobby and FMS for bringing another fantastic model to us – well-done guys.