Well since the last crash involving the Parkzone Corsair it still flies perfect thanks to the minimal damage. In the meantime my order arrived from FMA and included a new Multi4 charger. Also included in the package was a battery connector (Parkzone and newer Hong Kong lipos I grabbed on Ebay) and a PC cable to connect with the included chargers software on my PC. It’s pretty neat and you can view graphs, control presets, change charger variables and download new REV versions and basically customize the hell out of it to your desires. Here is a pretty extensive review that I used and ultimately convinced me to purchase. FMA and the Cellpro line has long been embraced by the RC community as one of the best RC chargers on the market and you rarely see them for sale used.

I recently ordered two more 11.1v 3s 2200mAh Lipos off of Ebay. The two other Ebay lipos have been working fine and it’s hard to beat the prices they’re offered at. They should arrive from Hong Kong in about 10 days.

And lastly I received my fiberglass cloth (3/4oz lightweight) that I will experiment with applying to the foam Super Cub. It should add some great stability and toughness and resist the little ‘hangar dings’ that occur. I have been following this thread for the fiberglass application and materials used. If it works well I may try the fiberglass cloth on the Corsair. The other option is to reinforce vulnerable areas with the familiar strapping tape or packaging tape. Weight is my largest concern as it should be with our lightweight foam models.

So I have reinforced some areas with packing tape, added larger Dubro wheels, added new larger (4) 2200mAh lipos, new charger, added a video camera set-up (vids here) but there are a lot more fun additions that can be added. Some popular mods that I may pursue are motor upgrades such as the Power 10, Power 15. Lipo upgrade moving to 4 cell 14.8v battery, adding the Spektrum DX6i, etc. Here are some posts from several owners with their upgrades (Park Zone F-4U corsair modification thread) . Tons of ideas on wattflyer , rcgroups and the other RC forums.

RCGroups Jake’s Great post on Mods and TIPS!

Wattflyer RC forum Parkzone F4U Corsair

ParkZone’s Newest Warbird: F4U Corsair In Action

Corsair Mod Thread – RC Groups

ParkZone F4U Corsair RTF Review – RC Groups

Parkzone f4U Corsair Rtf – RC Universe

F4U Corsair – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vimeo Video – parkzone corsair power 15 11x7E on Vimeo

Vimeo Video – Parkzone Corsair 4S battery upgrade search

I’m thinking on upgrading the motor on the Corsair as it needs more performance. I was looking into the expensive E-Flite Park series but a lot of the T-28 and Corsair guys are having a lot of fun on the Turnigy motors from HobbyKing. Going this route you will need to replace the ESC with a larger 40amp and also modify the motor mount. Here are the items that I’m looking at:

1. TR 35-36C 1100kv Brushless Outrunner (Eq: AXi 2814)
2. TURNIGY Plush 40amp Speed Controller OR TO BE SAFE TURNIGY 60A OR Castle Creations ThunderBird 54 Brushless ESC
3. Custom RC’s Motor Mount for the Corsair/Turnigy 3536
4. Parkzone Corsair/T-28 aluminum motor mount for Turnigy (or make your own)

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Well it was bound to happen, just not the way I envisioned it. It wasn’t spectacular it was just a failure to pre-flight check everything as thorough as I should’ve. I haven’t flown the plane or any of my RC planes for a few months. So I grabbed the 11.1v lipos and charged the batteries to capacity after checking that the resting voltage was ok. The lipo’s checked out and took a balanced full charge. Next step was to install the batteries and turn on my DX5 transmitter for a flight control check at home. All checked out and control surfaces as well as prop sounded and looked great. So off to run errands and I brought the Parkzone Corsair F4U and 3 batteries and figured I find a new area to fly and dust off some cobwebs.

So after the errands, I went to a huge retail outlet that has empty parking and empty fields galore. Eager to fly, I grab the plane, flight bag, and walk to an empty street that is gated off for new construction. There isn’t any pedestrian or vehicle traffic and the adjacent fields look perfect for a few flights. Again performed a visual test with battery installed and radio on, prop runs strong. I set the Corsair on the ground and did a rolling take off (ROG). Not even 10 secs later I lose input control off the plane, throttle and control surfaces aren’t responding and she flies left in an arc about 30yards away to the ground. WTF just happened! First crash of the Corsair and I would of expected it to be a lot more brutal than that. With all the aerobatics, flights carrying video camera, many times losing visual orientation, stalls, inverted close calls and other crap I have done since I purchased it and I crash on take off. Pretty damn wimpy! After standing over the plane and taking note of the extent of damage it received I’m somewhat relieved that I get away with so little. I damaged a wing, the landing gear tore off, and little dings here and there.

The SOLUTION: my favorite glue, Gorilla Glue and a little patience. The damage was minimal

After allowing the glue to set I was out flying that evening in my main flying area. The plane flew great and it was fun to get back in the air again. I have since been using the DX5′s range test feature which allows you to decrease the transmitter power and then you walk 30 paces away to simulate reaching the range limits of the radio. Better safe then sorry and another learning experience not to always rely on the DX5′s led indicators for batteries.

Added my Aiptek PocketcamX to the Corsair this morning with good results You can see the

Corsair videos here.
Testing camera location and first ever flight adding a Aiptek PocketcamX to the underside of the Corsair. The flight was originally 7m30s but the camera only captured half due to low batts.

This is about the 8thflight with the new corsair and marks the first time the battery ESC/BEC cut the power to the flight. I used more throttle then usual and with the additional weight ended the flight much shorter. The previous flights where timed at 10-11 minutes and I would land to avoid the auto low voltage cutoff.

Stock Corsair – except added larger Dubro 2 3/4 Super Lite wheels.

Park overhead view where I was flying and missed the initial landing approach:

RC Parkzone F4U Corsair missed landing approach from DynamicJ on Vimeo.

Parksone F4U Corsair video test from DynamicJ on Vimeo.

Update – Made a lot of modifications since this original post=====> Go HERE for the UPDATES on the Parkzone Corsair

Purchased a NEW PLANE!!

Here are a few pics after 3 flights and one pre-fight just in case the maiden flight went terribly wrong.

Just picked up the new Parkzone F4U Corsair from the local Hobby shop. Man, this plane flies so much faster than the Hobbyzone Super cub which was my main RC plane for a year. I have been eying the Parkzone Trojan T-28 as my next plane but the new Spektrum DX5 radio that comes with the RTF Corsair convinced me to purchase it instead. The brushless 480 motor and the ailerons and the new LiPo battery and 2.4ghz Spektrum radio changes the whole flying dynamic.

I woke up this morning and took off ROG and had to play with the rudder to keep it straight. It took off pretty easily and had a relatively short takeoff. The plane performed flawlessly with the new 2.4ghz Spektrum radio system. I was able to put the plane into a few loops and consistent rolls and flying inverted was a piece of cake. I limited flying to timed stopwatch flights of anywhere between 7-10 minutes until I familiarize myself with the discharge rate and capacity of the new 1800mah lipos. Scared myself a few times and lost orientation by fooling around with rolls, outside loops, and rolls to inverted flight. Very pleased with the new performance and flight characteristics of the new plane. I had the plane at altitude and throttle completely off to test the gliding capabilities and it passed with flying colors. No drama, no wing tip and spin reaction but I will stall the plane without power to test recovery at a later time. I think it will accommodate my pocketcamX nicely and I’ll be able to add my Corsair videos soon.

I need to purchase additional Lipo’s for the plane as I only have one and it takes 1hr+ to charge. The last flights I hand-tossed the plane which is my normal practice with the Super Cub. I also left the landing gear on and didn’t use the skid pads for the under belly. The plane was released in Aug/Sept 2008 and is quickly drawing praise and attention in the forums. There will be countless mods and additions that owners will experiment with much like the Super Cub and the T-28 Trojan planes.

Here are the Specs of the plane and the Manufactures website:
F4U Corsair RTF

My Parkzone Corsair On Board Videos

…other F4U Corsair videos on VIMEO

RC Parkzone F4U Corsair missed landing approach from DynamicJ on Vimeo.

Parksone F4U Corsair video test from DynamicJ on Vimeo.