Spitfire Mk. IX
The fuselage, wing, two-piece horizontal stabilizer and elevator, small bag of hard- ware, charger and 2200 mAh battery are all there. The term building does not really ap- ply to this aircraft; final assembly really fits here. In fact, your first step should be to charge your flight pack with the included charger or one that is compatible, as the model will be finished long before the pack is ready. With the parts out of the box, I studied the individual foam components, and was im- pressed to see that all of the panel lines were there and were nicely done, not too deep to look over done, but present to give a nice scale effect. I looked hard at the camouflage pattern and colors of the plane and after thinking a bit, grabbed my Model Master Color paint chip book off the shelf. Not only has Horizon Hobby used a correct paint scheme but also the colors for the RAF Slate Gray, Ocean Gray and Medium Sea Gray all matched my color chip samples. A real “kudo” goes to the development
team in taking the time to put in these sub- tle details that many manufacturers forget or ignore. I was also impressed to see a cock- pit with a fully painted pilot installed as well as the simulated paper red gun covers on the wing. About the only thing missing was some slight weathering, but that can be done later. Rather than go into the final as- sembly of the model I will cover the option- al retractable gear and subsequent flying. Just know the only tool you will need is a small Phillips screwdriver. For this review, Horizon Hobby also sent
along a set of their electric retracts for mod- els within the .10–.15 size range. In my mod- eling past there were only two types of re- tracts; mechanical and air type systems. Mechanical retracts are simple enough and do not weigh much more than an extra ser- vo but can be a study in frustration in set- up. Air retracts are a bit easier to set up and look a bit more convincing in flight like the full scale. However, they require a bit more weight and installation time. They would be too heavy and complex for a model of this size.
The retracts from E-flite at first glance
look like any other retract with the excep- tion of a small motor and a servo lead. In- stalling them into the Spitfire couldn’t be any easier. In the manual you have the op- tion to install the included fixed gear or re- tracts. For the retracts, simply unscrew the four screws in the wheel well area and re-
The Bind-N-Fly version of the Spitfire is very complete; add your Spektrum or JR transmitter and go fly.
move the plastic plate. ParkZone also sup- plied a set of gear struts and gear covers that are specifically for the Spitfire. Simply unscrew the setscrew within the retracts, slide out the strut and replace it with the Spitfire strut. Look carefully and you will see the leads
for the retracts in the wings radiators. Care- fully pull the lead out, plug in the retract lead and you’re ready to bolt the retract and cover in using the screws that you took out previously. I also added a bit of thread lock to each screw just as an added bit of securi- ty. As an added precaution, I used a small piece of thread to tie the leads together so that the assembly would not disconnect. Normally I use heat shrink tubing for this process but the space required is frankly not there. Once the leads have been secured, they can be pushed back into a small space within the radiators. With the gear bolted in and wire hidden, simply install the wheels and you’r done. With the Spit ready for duty, I bound the receiver to my Spektrum DX-8. Within 10 minutes I had all my travel rates and asso- ciated exponential programmed into the ra- dio. With a selection of the gear switch on the transmitter the gear went up and fit snugly into the wheel well. To say it’s pret-
ty cool to hold such a small, scale-looking electric in your hand and watch the gear slowly tuck up correctly the first time would be an understatement. On a side note, this is my first Spektrum radio system and I have never been one of those to be a fast programmer, but I found the Spektrum’s programming to be logical and simple to use.
The weather in northern New Jersey has
been very prototypical of the area which the full scale Spitfire protected. In short, very rainy and wet! However, we were blessed with an October day that had a clear blue sky, and only a light breeze. I charged the battery and headed for the usual haunt for flying such a review model. With Frank Fanelli as cameraman, I fired up the DX-8, and installed the 2200 pack, connected it and replaced the hatch cover. The Spitfire came alive. A quick check of all the flight surfaces to ensure everything was in order and I was off to the runway. The manual suggests you program your timer for seven minutes, I set the timer to activate at 25% forward throttle. Two concerns I had of this Spitfire, and
any model Spitfire for that matter, came by the way of its narrow gear and its elliptical wing tips. The narrow gear on the full scale,
The horizontal stabilizer simply slides in and is secured with clear adhesive tape (at left). The Mk. IX used the “E” wing and housed two Hispano cannons which ParkZone correctly included (above).
48 JANUARY 2012
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