The flap control rod is pre-made by AirBorne. If flap movement is slightly different, screw one control horn (above left) in or out on the torque rod until the movement is equal. Total flap deployment should be 13⁄8 inches at the fuselage.
til both flaps move evenly. The flaps are ef- fective so you will want to use them to steep- en approaches and lower landing speeds.
Critical setup
The final step is to set up the airplane. Do not exceed these high-rate movements as the controls are extremely effective. Maxi- mum elevator travel is 0.7 inch (18mm); rudder is 1.35 inches (35mm) and ailerons are 0.5 inches (12mm). Set the low rates at 70% elevator, 80% ailerons and rudder. Use at least 50% exponential on the rudder and 30% on the ailerons and elevator. Having the proper center of gravity is crit-
ical on this fighter as it is on most WWII era battle aircraft. For the first flights, set the c.g. at 3 inches back from the leading edge at the fuselage. While you may later wish to move the c.g. rearward to the book’s recom- mended 3.35 inches, starting there means the airplane may snap out of a steep turn if too much elevator input is applied (most WWII fighters perform this way).
Flying the Focke-Wulf Always the best part, flying this airplane is made even better as it is such a good look- ing aircraft. The gloss cameo color scheme really grabs the spotlight while the paint matches the Toughlon covering. You know it is Toughlon because the name is printed on the wing. And, try as I might, it is difficult to understand why the manufacturer decid- ed to also print their website URL under the canopy and on the wing.
I checked all my reference books but was unable to find a Luftwaffe Fw 190A with this web address painted on it. While not visible during flight, if this print offends you, just remove some covering from the wing’s center under the fuselage to cover the offending print.
Flying the Fw 190A is a joy. Like all Air- Borne warbirds, the Focke-Wulf takes off very quickly. Because it is light (6.9 pounds) the climb is fantastic even on a .46 engine (12,400 rpm on an APC 11–6 prop). I wonder what the Evolution .52 would do? Despite its big round cowl, this is a very fast aircraft topping out well above 80–90 mph.
FLYING MODELS
While AirBorne’s “Butcher Bird” (so nicknamed by the Allied pilots who had to face it) does look great at the field (above right), even the model has a slightly menacing appearance.
While not listed above in AirBorne’s ad- vantages, all of their fighters that I have tested proved extremely maneuverable. The Fw 190A’s roll rate is very high but the rolls are almost axial; similar to an aerobatic air- plane’s. Snap rolls are fast but easy to stop on point with a little practice. Spins are also quick but must be forced. The airplane will drop its wing in a normal stall but does not enter a spin unless commanded to. Stall re- covery is instantly precise using the rudder. The ailerons remain effective throughout the stall but do induce a small amount of ad- verse yaw so rudder correction is preferred. The Focke-Wulf will snap out of a tight
turn even with the c.g. at 3 inches. Most fighters will always do this, so go easy on that elevator until you are used to the airplane. But once you are, there is no maneuver this airplane will not fly with precision. Stall turns are surprisingly effective given the smallish rudder as are point and slow rolls. However, point rolls using left rudder will pull towards the bottom (again so very com- mon in WWII fighters) so some knife-edge rudder-to-elevator trimming is required. Inverted flight matches upright as the wing is symmetrical. Be very careful on the
elevator when pulling out from inverted loops. The elevator remains very effective in- verted so extra movement is not necessary. Landings are in the 25 mph range using flaps. The extra drag makes it easy to man- age the approach and steadies the aircraft during flair and touchdown. When flying touch n’ goes, there is no need to retract the flaps before takeoff as the airplane still climbs straight up even with full flaps and gear still deployed.
This is an extremely attractive WWII fighter. It has all the advantages of an Air- Borne ARF and is amazingly aerobatic and fun to fly. High speed flybys can make you want to take cover before those heavy can- non and machine guns open up on you. This extremely aerobatic fighter is meant only for experienced R/C pilots comfortable with high-performance warbirds. But in their ca- pable hands, it can put on an exciting air show that will be a “field stopper” almost anywhere.
As both flaps and retracts are included, the $290 price is reasonable, especially for such an exciting, attractive airplane. There are a few Fw 190A ARFs out there but this is probably one of the very best.
PHOTO: FRANK FANELLI
With its distinctive looks the Focke-Wulf will have no problem standing out at the club field or in the air looking for Spitfires or Mustangs.
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