" Zero Killer!"

I would like to start this article with a big thanks to Flitetest for the honorable mention in their newscast. 

Thank you Flitetest!

The F-6F Hellcat swappable park flyer

"Zero Killer!"

 With the sun bing extinct for all I knew, and rain in the forcast for the next two weeks. I set out to design another swappable park flier. I chose one that I think hasn't gotten the credit I feel it deserves. The F6F Hellcat! The Grumman design started development as a upgraded version of the F4F Wildcat design, but by the time a final design was completed it had became a completely different breed altogether, not even sharing any parts with her predecessor.  F6F Hellcat fighters were designed to be produced efficiently, and additional features such as heavy armor and self-sealing fuel tanks were installed to provide additional safety to the pilots.  With it's Prat and whitney R2800 2,000 Hp engine, and 6 heavy hitting .50 calls mounted in the wings. It proved to be THE answer to the Zero menace.

The first of these carrier fighters took flight on 26 Jun 1942 and the first combat-ready squadron was deployed aboard USS Essex in Mar 1943.  They first saw action against the Japanese six months later when F6F Hellcat fighters of USS Independence attacked and shot down a Japanese seaplane.  On 23 Nov 1943, F6F Hellcat fighters engaged Japanese Zero fighters over Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands and scored 30 kills at the loss of only one.  Repeated overwhelming victories hinted that the United States had finally produced a fighter design that not only matched but exceeded the capabilities of the feared Zero.  By the end of the war, they participated in nearly every engagement in the Pacific since their introduction in 1943 and achieved an amazing kill ratio of 19:1. Hellcats were credited with destroying 5,223 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft. To date, no other aircraft has achieved such a high kill ratio!

Unfortunately the power pod had to be modified to the point that it is not intechangeable with the FT power pod design, but may still be incorperated in some of my future designs. ( Like maybe.... A Zero!) the aircraft itself is still the basic foam board construction, and takes just two and a half sheets to build. Wing design is similar to the two dollar tiger with the high camber wing tips. I've chosen to go with sub-micro servos for the ailerons though due to the 9 gram servos being to thick and long to allow the proper camber of the wing at that point. Also the sharp bends at the camper lines were un pleasent to me so removal of the paper on the inside of the forward section of the upper surface. This allows for better curvature of this section. I've found that rolling this portion over a section of 1.5" PVC pipe or similar item provides a good camber. In addition, I've also provided the F-6 with an option for landing gear.

The main gear blocks sit flish with the wing surface, and are supported by the main spar.

 I chose to bend the tail wheel strut to an angle that suited me. The unit swivels, and a stearing arm may be incorperated! This Item is listed below.

Special Note: this option has already been incorperated into all four of my other war bird designs.

I saw a ball of fire in the sky the other day! Somebody told me that it was the sun. Impossable I said!...... It's been extinct for three weeks now! I had origenally planned on getting some scuba gear that day for the flood I was sure was headed our way, but I opted to take advantage of the light ad headed off to the park for some photo's at least. Wind gusts up to 20 Mph that day prompted me not to even hook up the controls so I wouldn't be tempted. This is what I came home with. These are the only ones I felt worth sharing. The wind made it difficult to get it to sit still for the pics. Kinda like my own sons.

I was extremely happy with the canopy thank you to pintokitkat for the article on lamanate pouches, but that squared off cowling made it look too cartooish, so I dopped by Home Depot and picked up a piece of Owens Corning Pink Foamular. A 24" X 24" sheet was $5. I then headed home, and broke out the saw!

The ouer edge cuts quite nicely on the band saw!

Oh but that lower intake was a time consumer!

Already looking much better at this point though!

Well worth the effort!

A little touch up paint on the nose, and she's ready to dance!

I'm sure she'll fly on anything up to a 1200Kv, but I'm using my trusty ol Turnigy D2836/11 750Kv with a 9 X 5 prop for starters.

It came out at about 1/12th scale, and

Here are the specs

• Span 36"
• Length 28.7"
• Weight 20 oz
• Aeria 240 sq"
• Wing Loading 12 OSF

The F-6 is alread available for downoad at Beyondthewheelrc.com, and I'm now able to offer all my designs in two formats. Tiled PDF, and Full size PDF.  If you've got Facebook, feel free to drop by my FB page, Beyond the Wheel RC, and see what I'm up to lately. I can post more frequent updates there. Be sure and like my page while you are there. I've already posted the beginning of my next design there. An answer to the "Perfect Storm" the 44" Swappable Fw 190. Sarting construction phase tomorrow! 

A quick update before I close: I went directly to the RL Adams website today (Makers of the Dollar Tree foam board we use for our aircraft) I was looking to see what colors they have available if any. I was amazed! they have red, blue, light blue, green, yellow, and pink! they even offer color on both sides, or one side color, and the other side white! I submitted a comment to find out why it's not supplied to Dollar Tree in these colors,and will let you know when I get a response.

Also They have posted some not so desierable news just last month. Since Oct. 2013 the cost of raw materials has increased by 14%. It may not be substantial to the Readi-Board we use, as they produce a wide variety of polystyrene products from desposable dishware to insulation sheets, but I'm sure we may see a little incrase. Especially for our friends across the pond. Twenty years ago I worked for AMOCO Foam Products of Yakima as an extrusion operator, and Thermophase technician. The environmental fees these company's pay each quarter alone is stagering! We are extremely lucky to get it at the price we do! And yes..... I thought about using the sheet material we produced back then for building, but Glo Fuel doesn't play well with Polystyrene. Speaking of this. If you have questions about foam board properties or it's production process feel free to ask. I may be able to help.

Untill next time

 Visite my website today and get yours: Flyin Fam RC