What is it? Speed plane or something else...

Ah, neat.  Twin vertical stabs.  Gives me something to go by when I rebuild it.

Got dimensions?

Looked on outerzone, no joy on both Skyleader and Sky-leader. 

Thanks

Elevator span is about 75 % of fuselage length, if I measured correctly

auction description
Enterprise Skyleader control line sport/stunt kit. It has a 18" wingspan and a 1/2A engine is recommended. This is a carved fuselage model and has a formed and hollowed balsa wing.

Thanks all,  

I will rebuild the tail section just like I had to do on the "Racer" and the Stunt Master and like those leave it as original as possible.  Those tail sections take a beating.  




Anyone ever see a blue anodized Spitfire engine?

That's one heck of an elevator in your picture Levent. Can't say I have seen another of that relative proportion. Ought to be fun to replicate.

Bob

This could be something, found under Enterprise on outerzone - Pirate III

Yup, Blue head Spitfire Engine on Mark Bosens yahoo group:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/049Collectors/photos/photostream/lightbox/1267239107?orderBy=mtime&sortOrder=desc&photoFilter=ALL#

Hope yahoo is playing nice to share pictures.

Ahh, a few days later, here it is, all nice and shiny!

rsv1cox wrote:
Anyone ever see a blue anodized Spitfire engine?

Yep. Saw one in my own box of engines. Got one with blue and one without. Identical otherwise. Nor sure if the one without was blue but now isn't.

I never signed up for Yahoo Rene, so I miss out on Marks site.  

First blue head anything for me. Tool marks are extra

Interesting wing design and bell-crank re-enforcement.  

I'm sure you won't disappoint us with your Smithsonian grade restoration.

Maybe its red because of the Saw Tooth dremel tool bellcrank mount !!

getback wrote:Maybe its red because of the Saw Tooth dremel tool bellcrank mount !!

Could be.  I came home from school one day and followed a trail of blood down to the basement where my Dad kept his workshop, all the way to the table saw.  Cut off the tip of his index finger.

Picked the latest up from Mark.

Lot's to accomplish. Good!!  Not impressed with the #3 machine screw two point mounting system on the Spitfire.  Plastic bell crank is original but cracked and dry, would not trust it to fly.  But, I could not get the engine to run off a prime.  Lot's of sizzle but no pop.  Might just become a static display.  Engine is clean but locked up.  Some heat and Remoil freed it but the needle was a bugger.  

I'm not sure about the common pins, they are glued in and will not pull out.  May leave them.  Radar antenna maybe.  Staples were probably used to hang it with.

I will rebuild the tail, try to match the paint and leave it.  











Looks small when compared to the Roger Harris Bipe.

Be nice to the Spitfire. It should run. Is spray bar orifice clear?

ticomareado wrote:Be nice to the Spitfire. It should run. Is spray bar orifice clear?  

That's what bugs me.  It has compression, some. The glow plug is good but had no gasket.  I did my standard, removed the needle and blew aerosol Remoil through the NVA then blew that out with compressed air.  Saw daylight.  Cleaned the needle. Not thrilled with the backplate. It is secured by the mounting lugs only. Gasket though is ok.

Lot's of fire.  Tried 35% Cox fuel then 10% Traxxes….

Haven't given up completely, going to try a #3 Enya with a gasket.

It's really not a terrible mounting system for free flighters who get their built in thrust line calculations right the first time in the firewall tilt.

I have tried to get 2-3 spitfires to run with the same thing / i was getting a pop but no run , i hope you can get it going . Alot of time since these have run and sure they were used for FF a bunch back in the day

getback wrote:I have tried to get 2-3 spitfires to run with the same thing / i was getting a pop but no run , i hope you can get it going . Alot of time since these have run and sure they were used for FF a bunch back in the day

At least you got pop Eric, all I got was sizzle.

Haven't given up......yet.  Different plug, a little this and that and we shall see.  But, I don't have time for problem engines that show little promise.

Been working on the airframe.

Warm water and a mild dish washing detergent cleaned up the exterior.  But, I don't think the original builder ever laid sandpaper on it, very rough.  So, using 400 grit wet/dry used wet I went over the whole thing.  Smoothed it out somewhat but still very rough.  Continuing, I'm not going to sand the tail section either.  




Epoxied the loose landing gear and a tail skid in place.  Might have got it a smidge to high.  Cut out reliefs for the elevator hinges and made templates for the vertical stabs/rudders.  Can't decide whether or not to use the original bell crank but I will use the original control rod and connection.  Interesting to see the hardware used in these old kits.  

Engine showing signs of life this morning. Used a different glow plug with a gasket, got pop, kick-back and a sore finger.

Air frame coming along. Going through some of my stuff I found a box of Enterprise parts containing a replacement canopy.







Pretty close color match, Duplicolor high heat engine paint.

See; your mind is OK. You remembered that box of parts in your stash.

ticomareado wrote:See; your mind is OK. You remembered that box of parts in your stash.

……...  I was probably looking for my lost keys...but that's life at 80+

Still can't get that Spitfire to run off prime.  Tried a couple more glow plugs to same results.  It should run.  Lot's of compression and responds well to finger flipping, it has that "I want to" feel.  But no-go.

I have alternatives, the Hollands would fit the existing mounts with just a little help widening the holes but I don't want to do that.  Wen's are more expendable and they are close too.  I would like to use one of my know runner Testor/McCoys but the fuel line is on the wrong side and I do not want to press out the NVA and swap it around.

The Atwood is the best bet, same two hole mount, but it's missing the backplate/fuel tank. Anyone got those hanging around?  

The mount spacing for the Hornet, Atwood, Spitfire, Cub .039 and .049X should be the same. In any case the guy who built the model used way too long screws and set it up backwards. For this particular project (assuming flyabilty is a goal)I would do following before proceeding further:

Ascertain that tank is clean, leak free and all plumbing is in order. Evaluate the condition of the firewall. If either flunk, it's going to be nose surgery time. If they pass, then saw off the machine screws flush with firewall and use wood screws for mounting engine in an upright position. I have some Atwood and Holland Wasps. It's a hit and miss proposition with these engines due to combined effects of age, cylinder porting wear and decking and gasket issues.

Also keep in mind that these engines really require a oil content of more than what your offering them. Cox fuel is 20% oil and the Spitfire should have a minimum of 25% oil. Unless doctored, the Traxxas fuel is very low, some make claims of 18% but I think it's more like 14-16% oil.

Thanks Victor and Ken.

My SOP for these old used airframes is to pass a thin wire down each fuel tank opening and see what comes out.  If there is goo on the end I know I have cleaning to do.  This one comes out clean and I can get compressed air flowing through the tank. Filling the tank with Simple Green for a 24 hour soak works well, but I'm told alcohol does ok too.

I know I added SIG castor to the Traxxas but don't think I did with the COX.  Got to start me a log as the brain drains.

Best way to clean castor caked wheels and axles.  Simple Green + 6 hours.  Caution, full strength SG will remove color from plastic parts if left over-time.

Bob, I PM'ed you yesterday on an interesting Enya matter.