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New Giant Top Flite F6F Hellcat coming soon?

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New Giant Top Flite F6F Hellcat coming soon?

Old 04-05-2018, 03:49 PM
  #51  
ChrisK-RCU
 
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Video is up on YouTube too.


Old 04-05-2018, 06:05 PM
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David Eichstedt
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Originally Posted by tailskid
I wonder what the suggested price BEFORE they were bought out
1) I seriously doubt they’ve had a chance to integrate operations enough that the acquisition had anything to do with this price. I’m pretty sure they haven’t integrated anything.

2) Given the reduced vendor base to choose from in China, knowing the remaining ones are more pricey, I think $1000 for this class of airplane is just where we are.
Old 04-05-2018, 06:12 PM
  #53  
Chad Veich
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Makes you wonder if the price may still go up at some point. I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on one but at a thousand bucks I may have to reconsider. By the time I stripped and refinished this one I may have spent nearly as much time as it would take me to finish the one I have started from my own plans. Still pondering it but the price tag is a bit of a stumbling block at this point.
Old 04-05-2018, 06:20 PM
  #54  
vertical grimmace
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https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGUSR&P=ML
Old 04-05-2018, 06:29 PM
  #55  
wantitbad
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Most of the other Top Flite Giants were in the $750 range this one looks pretty typical except for 3 led lights ,not quite worth $250 .I want one and hope the price comes down before I do something stupid like pay this price for it ��
Old 04-05-2018, 06:52 PM
  #56  
tailskid
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Check out the last few pages of the manual.....excellent!
Old 04-05-2018, 08:36 PM
  #57  
quist
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This is the first plane with a 3 piece wing and 4 flaps. So it is more design effort than the other planes.
Old 04-06-2018, 06:11 AM
  #58  
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Old 04-06-2018, 06:17 AM
  #59  
Lifer
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The Corsair has a 3-piece wing and 6 flap sections.....
Old 04-06-2018, 07:17 AM
  #60  
quist
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Originally Posted by Lifer
The Corsair has a 3-piece wing and 6 flap sections.....
Old design mfg setup has been done for years.
They had to do a whole new tooling for a new design.
Chinese labor has increased a lot in the last few years. This is why a lot of mfging is moving to other cheaper countries, like Vietnam.
Old 04-06-2018, 08:21 AM
  #61  
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$999.00 is a great deal, first impression is that it looks very accurate in outline. Lots of room in the fuselage unlike the Zero, and you can fit an electric starter under the cowl.

A Byron P-47 kit in 1989 cost $410.00, in today's dollars that equates to $838.80. That is for a kit that you have to assemble and paint, these new ARF's are so much less work and money.

Support Top Flite people or they will be gone.
Old 04-06-2018, 10:09 AM
  #62  
Lifer
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It looks great, and my experience with Top Flite has always been positive. My one disappointment is that they molded the cowl with the cowl flaps closed. I always liked the way they molded the cowl flaps open on the P-47 and I wish they would have kept that aspect for the F6F.
Old 04-06-2018, 10:36 AM
  #63  
Chad Veich
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Originally Posted by Lifer
It looks great, and my experience with Top Flite has always been positive. My one disappointment is that they molded the cowl with the cowl flaps closed. I always liked the way they molded the cowl flaps open on the P-47 and I wish they would have kept that aspect for the F6F.
Agreed Lifer, but should not be too hard to modify. This would allow for the elimination of the giant cooling hole in the bottom of the cowling as well.
Old 04-06-2018, 01:21 PM
  #64  
Jonboy2
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I wonder if there is any chance a Saito Radial would fit under that cowel? In particular the Saito FG90r3. The FG60r3 might be Ok but I prefer the extra horse power of the 90. If I am not mistaken, I think the only airframe right now that TF sells that the FG90r3 will fit in is the Focke-wulf. It would be awesome if it would fit in this new Hellcat as well. Anybody know the cowel dimensions of this bird yet?
Old 04-06-2018, 04:15 PM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by Jonboy2
I wonder if there is any chance a Saito Radial would fit under that cowel? In particular the Saito FG90r3. The FG60r3 might be Ok but I prefer the extra horse power of the 90. If I am not mistaken, I think the only airframe right now that TF sells that the FG90r3 will fit in is the Focke-wulf. It would be awesome if it would fit in this new Hellcat as well. Anybody know the cowel dimensions of this bird yet?
I don't know the cowl dimensions of the TF bird but I do have a 1/6th scale Hellcat of my own design and I can tell you that the FG90 would NOT fit in my cowl unless you were to put a shaft extension on it so that it could be moved deeper into the cowling. Would not need to be much, maybe 3/4 of an inch to one inch or so. Of course TF may have used a different 3-view than I did and came up with a different cowl! Time will tell.
Old 04-06-2018, 05:48 PM
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With all of the upheaval going on, time will tell how delivery can be taken of these. I know, this is just a rumor, but at my local hobby shop today, he told me Tower hobbies was going to be closed. I have yet to be able to verify this, but time will tell. It is a very interesting time for our hobby.
Old 04-06-2018, 05:50 PM
  #67  
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Originally Posted by Jonboy2
I wonder if there is any chance a Saito Radial would fit under that cowel? In particular the Saito FG90r3. The FG60r3 might be Ok but I prefer the extra horse power of the 90. If I am not mistaken, I think the only airframe right now that TF sells that the FG90r3 will fit in is the Focke-wulf. It would be awesome if it would fit in this new Hellcat as well. Anybody know the cowel dimensions of this bird yet?
That engine is close to 10" in diameter, I was able to calculate that the cowl is 9 1/2" at the center of the DLE engine head from side to side. From the top view the cowl does not get much wider, only on the side view. The Hellcat cowl is not round like the Corsair of course. From what I can see the FG90r3 will not fit. The smaller 60 radial would definitely fit. I could be wrong, so we shall see.

I will go with the smaller radial and open the cowl flaps. I already have a brand new set of Robarts for this and radials are cheap now and run so much better than single piston vibration makers.
Old 04-06-2018, 05:52 PM
  #68  
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Originally Posted by vertical grimmace
With all of the upheaval going on, time will tell how delivery can be taken of these. I know, this is just a rumor, but at my local hobby shop today, he told me Tower hobbies was going to be closed. I have yet to be able to verify this, but time will tell. It is a very interesting time for our hobby.
Dear Valued Customer:

As you may be aware, Tower Hobbies' parent company, Hobbico, declared bankruptcy in January 2018 and has initiated a sale process.

We are excited to share with you that the RC brands and Tower Hobbies website that you have come to rely on over the years will continue. The Bankruptcy Court has approved the sale of Hobbico's RC business to Horizon Hobby, LLC. Horizon Hobby has been in business since 1985 and serves customers in the United States and around the World. Horizon Hobby also maintains a strong online presence and warmly welcomes Hobbico customers to its growing family. With this acquisition, Horizon Hobby looks to build upon Hobbico's great reputation for providing quality RC products to customers across the country. More information about Horizon Hobby can be found at https://www.HorizonHobby.com.
Old 04-06-2018, 05:55 PM
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This was posted by Stone17 in RC Groups.
Old 04-07-2018, 06:52 PM
  #70  
wantitbad
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Saw it in person today in Toledo it's a great looking plane .I liked the nav lights although I didn't get to see them turned on . If it was $750 or even $800 I would order today ! On another note there was a vendor there with a laser cut Ziroli hellcat with a 96" span for $380 . Of course that would take me 2 years!
Old 04-08-2018, 12:21 PM
  #71  
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Looks like a really nice plane. $1000 is a little high, but with tower discounts maybe it will be a little cheaper. The Hangar 9 Corsair was $1,000 and I happily paid $900 for it with a discount. I'd sure like to get the Hellcat eventually. The price range will more than likely be the norm for warbird ARF's and the the only way a new design will be cost effective. Costs are going up worldwide, so be it. Great Job Top Flite and thanks for finally bringing a Hellcat to the lineup!
Old 04-09-2018, 05:48 PM
  #72  
Chris Nicastro
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Looks like the cowl will accept the Saito FG 85-90. So who’s going to pull the trigger first?!
Old 04-09-2018, 07:03 PM
  #73  
Jonboy2
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Will the Saito 90 Radial fit? Has someone been able to confirm the cowel dimensions? I would love to have this plane with the Saito 90 in it. Oh please, let it fit
Old 04-09-2018, 07:19 PM
  #74  
Chris Nicastro
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Based on that drawing up above I think it will. I have an 85 in a TF Corsair using a H9 cowl.
Old 04-09-2018, 10:12 PM
  #75  
Jonboy2
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Don’t think the Saito 90 will fit. Saito manual says the 90 is 250mm across which is 9.83 inches. Per the drawing above, the midpoint of the cowel is 9.29 inches. I’m guessing you would have to cut holes in cowel for top 1/4 inch of each cylinder head. Now that is a real bummer.

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