PZ F4U Corsair

[Bad_B]

Went to the LHS to pickup 2 cans of testor's dull coat, nothing more.....and there they were 6 PnP PZ Corsairs. I got one and need to swap out the E-flite ESC (had three fail on different occasions).

I should be able to report back later today after the maiden flight.

Cheers,

Brian

[Grasshopper]

That's good news. It will be nice hearing what you think of it.

[constantCrash]

I'll buy the ESC off you for $25

[Bad_B]

Oh, how I have suffered for you people. Sacramento is hot today, Africa hot, 100 + degrees. I put a total of 6 flights on the Corsair; three flights with the 2 bladed prop and three flights with the 3 bladed prop.

Here’s the PnP setup: stock, except for the ESC, a CC-36 and the battery a TP 2200 mAh V2 3S 25C.

For the scope of the review I will keep the flight performance relative to the stock PZ T-28 Trojan. The Corsair is much more nimble than the T-28, much quicker in all aspects of flight and faster all around. The plane has a great vertical capability with both props, a very fast roll rate and tight loops. The plane will telegraph its stall speeds with a pretty aggressive series of wing waggles, nothing nasty just point the nose down and it will find a good glide path. The Trojan is much more subtle in the way it stalls, but the Corsair recovers seems just as easy. I did a several dead stick approaches and got a good feel for the glide characteristics. The Corsair appears to have a higher rate of speed during it glide path and needs a bit more room to land. The dead stick landings were easy today as there was a light breeze ~3 mph. All I really needed to maintain control during a dead stick landing was nose down attitude and a little rudder (I tend to stay away from aileron inputs at really low speeds). The landing gear handles short grass fine, but I did not attempt to taxi the plane around as the tail wheel is rather small. As a tail dragger you need to either fly the plane in for landing or if you have experience with tail draggers just the normal throttle control coupled with up elevator at the right moment to avoid ground looping.
The plane spins like a top and something about the gull wings make it look really cool especially during a scale victory roll. Just like the, Trojan, rolls with rudder input can go well beyond scale performance, but are still quicker with the Corsair.

My overall impression is ParkZone hit a homerun this plane. The look is very scale and the performance is very acrobatic. Is this a beginner plane? No, I wouldn’t recommend it for a beginner, not because it has any bad characteristics, but because it can get small fast. Couple the speed factor with the dark blue color scheme and you can quickly loose your orientation if you are not in tune with exactly what inputs you are giving the plane. I will say the white outline on the bottom of the plane really helps your visual acuity, but there are moments (steep dives right at you) that you can momentarily loose the plane. I would recommend this plane to anyone who has complete confidence in his/her skills or feels that the Trojan is an old friend, albeit a bit slow now. Also if you are going to take the plunge as a beginner, double check for spare parts at you LHS first, mine had none, so you might have to wait if you crack it up.

Tips: Check the control clevises as the plastic post is rather weak, mine was stressed and I replaced it. Also experiment with the clevis position on the rudder and elevator control horns. My rudder had very little authority on the hole furthest from the rudder, but I moved it in one hole and it’s great now. Yes, you will notice a slight difference in performance with the 3 bladed prop and no it does not really sound any different that the normal one, but it looks really, really cool esp. with the yellow tips.

Cheers,
Brian

[Angler-Hi]

Thanks for the review Brian. Sounds like a sweet fly!

[constantCrash]

Mine should be here wednesday. the truck takes longer to get to MN

[jkaven]

Sounds real nice. Maybe my lovely wife will get me one for Christmas.

[firemanbill]

Sweet! Glad to hear she's a good flier. Congrats on the succeful flights and thanks for the report

Sounds like a winner!

[FlyingMonkey]

the new stock ESC is supposed to be a much improved unit. Switiching BEC and a higher working load, it is not the ESC from the Trojan.

[David Eichstedt]

Originally Posted by FlyingMonkey

the new stock ESC is supposed to be a much improved unit. Switiching BEC and a higher working load, it is not the ESC from the Trojan.

True. We feel it is a much better piece of hardware, all-new. We've worked it over hard in hot conditions and it just keeps going.

It also supports 4S Li-Po packs (not recommended for the stock T-28 or Corsair motor).

David Eichstedt
Horizon Hobby

[rcers]

Was hoping to see them in DFW area here, but the LHS didn't have it yet, but they expect it anytime.....

Looks like a winner for sure.....

Mike

[Rabbitcreekok]

I have a PNP or order. Will follow this thread for tips.

[Daylight99]

Does it look like retracts can be installed?

[FlyingMonkey]

yes and no...

yes, you could put traditional retracts in, but not sure about the scale ones that rotate 90 degrees, like on the full sized one. reports say that the structure of the wing wouldn't support it.

[jayxer]

I'll top the other guy, I'll give you $30 + shipping!

The ESC in the corsair is a 30AMP with switching BEC, not the linear 25AMP that came with the Trojan.

I've got both the Trojan and yesterday I ran to the LH store to return a Himaxx inrunner, and saw a PNP Corsair. Needless to say, I took the credit of the Himaxx towards the Corsair, and ordered the Himaxx I needed. I hate this hobby sometimes.....

Haven't flown her yet, was working till late yesterday and can't again tonight, but I hope to fly her on thursday night.

Just thought I'd throw it in there that the stock ESC in my T-28 is working flawlessly also, and i've got to have over 100+ flights with it. Only reason I bought the Corsair is cause the T-28 is the best plane I've ever bought, and if the F4U is anything like it or better, I'm in for a treat.

[Bad_B]

I wanted to revise my review on the Corsair in regards to its speed. I think I let my enthusiasm get the best of me. After flying both planes on consecutive flights I’ll say the T-28 and Corsair are about the same, with a slight edge going to the Corsair. The glide speed is faster and it does require a bit more landing room.

Retracts would be a bit of a chore with this plane. The Corsair does come with two skid plates that can be installed in lieu of the landing gear that would give you a cleaner look. The plane requires very little runway to get airborne, so I assume hand launching would be no problem.

Another handy improvement is the hook and loop seatbelt for the battery. As I stated in my review I’m using the TP 2200 V2 3S for power and after several flights it is no longer a snug fit. The seatbelt helps prevent the battery from sliding back and changing the CG. On the T-28 I had to do a little bit of cutting to get the TP to fit, but with the Corsair there are no modifications needed.

Brian

[constantCrash]

I'm starting to get impatient waiting for mine to arrive at the LHS. Started building my E-flite P-38 to keep me busy.

[FlyingMonkey]

I am waiting for mine to arrive here at the house, within the next couple hours.

[Rabbitcreekok]

Mine is in Memphis, on its way.

[FlyingMonkey]

My Corsair has arrived!

Unfortunately, while assembling it, thunder started rolling in.

So, all I have for now is some photographs to share.

I want to thank BadBill from Hodge's Hobbies. He got these planes in yesterday, I got mine today. Georgia to Florida overnight, not too bad.

Thanks Bill!

[SkunkyMagoo]

http://www.acepilots.com/usmc_aces2.html#Walsh

[gfdengine204]

Originally Posted by FlyingMonkey

My Corsair has arrived!

Unfortunately, while assembling it, thunder started rolling in.

So, all I have for now is some photographs to share.

I want to thank BadBill from Hodge's Hobbies. He got these planes in yesterday, I got mine today. Georgia to Florida overnight, not too bad.

Thanks Bill!

IN other words, you have not had a chance to destroy it?

[FlyingMonkey]

in short...


I am very much looking forward to seeing how this thing flies.

[constantCrash]

I just got back from the field with mine. took ~45 min to assemble including adding 2.5" dubro wheels in front and the nose wheel off my E-flite P-38 in the back. It flys like a dream. i had a 2200 mah battery in it which made it slightly nose heavy, but a few clicks of up trim and it was perfect. I had it flying so slow that i could walk next to it.

attached pic of it next to friends T-28

[FlyingMonkey]

I flew it, it didn't crash, this time...


video to follow