Intro

A few years back I decided I had the need for speed. Still being somewhat of a ‘noob’ I did some research and found that if I wanted to go fast I should buy the Parkzone Stryker. I looked online and found someone that was selling a highly modified Stryker near my house. I met the guy and although the Stryker was bright orange and beat up, I bought it. The airplane was a beast that definitely topped 100mph at full throttle but the motor and battery would come down blazing hot after each flight. It served me well for several months before I pulled a ‘watch this’ maneuver and ran it full blast into a tree. The resulting carnage was spectacular. Over time I rebuilt the Stryker but it was never the same and Shaky Thumbs has constantly bugged me about getting a new one.

When I saw that Parkzone was re-releasing the Stryker I was only mildly intrigued since I still had one on the shelf. A month ago I managed to burn up my Stryker’s motor while testing a questionable ESC and watched in dismay as hot embers jumped from the motor can like fleas off of a dog. Suddenly I was in the market for a new Stryker! Last weekend I went to the RC Hobbies and bought the new F-27Q Stryker to see what all the fuss was about.

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy (USN) service. Although the F6F resembled the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II.

The Hellcat was the first USN fighter designed in view of lessons from combat with the Japanese Zero. The Hellcat was credited with destroying 5,271 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France, plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II), which was more than any other U.S. naval aircraft. Postwar, the Hellcat was phased out of front line service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night fighter. The Hellcat holds a crew of one and is powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine. The more powerful engine gave the Hellcat a top speed of 380 mph and a service ceiling of 37,300 ft.

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft which was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s. It was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft, and was the only British fighter in production throughout the war.

The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith became chief designer. The Spitfire's elliptical wing had a thin cross-section, allowing a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Speed was seen as essential to carry out the mission of home defense against enemy bombers.

During the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire was perceived by the public as the RAF fighter of the battle, whereas in fact, the more numerous Hurricane actually shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against the Luftwaffe. The Spitfire units did, however, have a lower attrition rate and a higher victory to loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes.

After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire became the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific and the South-East Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, carrier-based fighter, and trainer. It was built in many variants, using several wing configurations. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was adaptable enough to use increasingly more powerful Merlin and the later Rolls-Royce Griffon engines; the latter was eventually able to produce 2,035 hp (1,520]]> http://www.rctalks.com/2011/11/24/dynam-spitfire-review/feed/ 0 http://www.rctalks.com/2011/11/23/airfield-a6m-review/ http://www.rctalks.com/2011/11/23/airfield-a6m-review/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:19:29 +0000 admin http://www.rcairplanereviews.com/rc-airplane-reviews/177-airfieldzeroreview.html

History

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter, and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies as the "Zero", from the 'Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter' designation. The official Allied reporting name was Zeke.

When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was the best carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. In early combat operations, the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a "dogfighter", achieving the outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled the Allied pilots to engage the Zero on more equal terms. The IJNAS also frequently used the type as a land-based fighter. By 1943, inherent design weaknesses and the increasing lack of more powerful aircraft engines meant that the Zero became less effective against newer enemy fighters that possessed greater firepower, armor, and speed, and approached the Zero's maneuverability. Although the Mitsubishi A6M was outdated by 1944, it was never totally supplanted by the newer Japanese aircraft types. During the final years of the War in the Pacific, the Zero was used in kamikaze operations. In the course of the war, more Zeros were built than any other Japanese aircraft.

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. In the United States Army Air Forces and later in the United States Air Force their designation was OA-10. A Canadian-built PBY would be familiarly called a Canso.

Swedish Air force Consolidated PBY Catalina on display at the Swedish Air force museum in Linkoping, Sweden

During World War II, PBYs were used in anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escorts, search and rescue missions (especially air-sea rescue), and cargo transport. The PBY was the most successful aircraft of its kind; no other flying boat was produced in greater numbers. The last active military PBYs were not retired from service until the 1980s. Even today, over 70 years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as an air tanker in aerial firefighting operations all over the world.

The initialism of "P.B.Y." was determined in accordance with the U.S. Navy aircraft designation system of 1922; PB representing "Patrol Bomber" and Y being the code used for the aircraft's manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft.

The Catalina supports a crew of 8 (pilot, co-pilot, bow turret gunner, flight mechanic, radioman, navigator and two waist gunners). It is powered by 2-Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp radial engines that produce 1,200hp each and give the plane a maximum speed of 196 mph.

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly AD) was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter. ]]> http://www.rctalks.com/2011/11/21/blitz-rc-works-a-1-skyraider-review/feed/ 0 http://www.rctalks.com/2011/11/20/e-flite-beechcraft-staggerwing-review/ http://www.rctalks.com/2011/11/20/e-flite-beechcraft-staggerwing-review/#comments Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:23:58 +0000 admin http://www.rcairplanereviews.com/rc-airplane-reviews/175-e-flitestaggerwingreview.html

History
At the height of the Great Depression, aircraft executive Walter H. Beech and airplane designer T. A. "Ted" Wells joined forces to collaborate on a project many considered foolhardy — a large, powerful, and fast biplane built specifically for the business executive. The Beechcraft Model 17, popularly known as the "Staggerwing" was first flown on November 4, 1932, setting the standard for private passenger airplanes for many years to come. It was considered, during its time, to be the premier executive aircraft flying, much as the Gulfstream executive jets are considered in contemporary times.

The Model 17's unusual negative stagger wing configuration (the upper wing staggered behind the lower) and unique shape maximized pilot visibility while minimizing the tendency to stall. The fabric-covered fuselage was faired with wood formers and stringers over a welded, steel tube frame. Construction was complex and took many man-hours to complete. The Staggerwing's retractable conventional landing gear, uncommon at that time, combined with streamlining, light weight, and powerful radial engines helped it perform significantly better than other biplane designs.
In the mid-1930s, Beech began a major redesign of the aircraft, to create the Model D17 Staggerwing. The D17 featured a lengthened fuselage that improved the aircraft's landing characteristics by increasing the leverage generated by the elevator. They relocated the Ailerons to the upper wings, eliminating any interference with the air flow over the flaps. Braking was improved with a foot-operated brake synchronized to the rudder pedals. These modifications enhanced the Staggerwing's performance, which was soon put to the test under wartime conditions.
The Staggerwing held a total of 4 people and 125lbs of baggage. The plane was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985-An-1 radial engine that produces 450 hp and gave the Staggerwing a top speed of 212 mph.