My Warbirds Spitfire Electric Conversion.

Hi all , in the hunt for the elusive Mojo that has gone AWOL I thought I'd try to revive my dusty unflown Spitfire....

Please excuse some of these pictures...they were taken before I had a nice camera...

OK a little history for you all....I purchased a War birds Replica Spitfire with the intention of an Electric Conversion...these are the build pictures I found on my photobucket album.. =

Early work on the fuselage....my work space is tiny (flat in London and no garage).

The only picture I could find of the wings....Doesn't really show much except I've cut out the U/C holes and they are fitted...also curved and sanded wingtip edges.

A little video of the U/C in operation.
s9.photobucket.com/user/Techy111/media/spitretract011.mp4.html

Early offering up of the nose section.

Won't make a post too long...will add more in a bit...

Tony

Nice looking spit so far.

OK second instalment.

Little offering up of the fuselage to the wing section.

The engine fitted....this is a major problem because I don't think it's powerful enough and needs to be changed...???

My butcher job on a battery hatch.

Wing fairings going on.

Tail feathers on...

More to follow.

Tony

Thanks Tony

OK further along we go...

Not a great picture but it's starting to look like a Spitfire.

Nose section...testing spinners.

Misunderstood someones advice and put dope at full strength over wings and body...oops

Inside isn't too detailed but a cockpit will go in of sorts.

Undercoat on.

Stay Tuned.

Tony

Smoothing the nose section...making it look more "right"

Really wasn't happy at this stage because the nose looked horrible but I got it nearly right further on.

Spraying the underside duck egg....not a good idea in a little flat....

OK my first attempt...HORRENDOUS !!!!!

Final few pictures next.

Tony

OK are you ready to see where I finished up ? Now bare in mind she's never flown and still in the state you see next...

Not great but not bad for my first ever build.

Sorry I have lost many of the in between build photo's and these are all I have left. She need's butchering again now to get the engine out and replace it , I'm not looking forward to that job

Tony

Cheers Eric....yes I have a wattmeter but I made the mistake of putting in the motor before testing the ruddy thing....DOH !!!

This is the wattage for my Seagull PC-6 Pilatus Porter....Haven't found a prop for the Spitty yet so cannot test it....but I do have a 4260 motor with an 80a ESC that I could chuck in

Tony

Can you remember the motor spec's Tony?
One thing that springs to mind is that heavy coat of dope, undercoat & top coat ..... you may be a bit over the expected weight, but nothing that a load of power won't sort out.
Am I correct in thinking they are foam veneered wings? .... you'll probably be lucky, but doping veneered wings can sometimes cause problems if the dope soaks through the veneer. It sometimes causes the veneer to come unstuck from the foam. .... Drop a bit of dope onto some scrap foam & watch it dissolve.
Leave the motor & battery until last & get an "all up weight" first ..... the rest is easy to work out.

Pol.

Tony F wrote: Sorry I have lost many of the in between build photo's and these are all I have left. She need's butchering again now to get the engine out and replace it , I'm not looking forward to that job
Tony

You'll need some system of being able to gain easy access to the motor, you may want to alter side or down thrust after its maiden .... you may even decide to change it at some point.
Don't forget to allow for airflow to cool the motor as well. Obviously you don't want to go too far from scale, but you don't want overheated motors on every flight.

Pol.

ahhhhh I love the spitfire, lovely jubbely Tony

Nice job Tony F. As has been said before, let us know the weight complete with lipo and we will have a good idea of what motor to fit. An underpowered Spit is a recipe for disaster , ask me how I know

Garry

Lol oops well spotted Eric , that's the wrong picture !!! it pulled 800 watts on a 3 bladed prop

Tony