Vraciu F-6F Hellcat Problems

[Folkwulfe]

I hate to throw a wet blanket on the celebrations around the release of BBI's F-6F....but I have a few problems here that I thought you might want to know about. Since it's the first "all new" aircraft available in awhile, I would heavily suggest getting one. Don't think this is just a BBI Bash-fest...far from it. But the quality seems to be slipping some here. So here's what I have so far....along with some fixes that I have already found for a few problems.

Wings and Wing fold: The wing-fold mechanism is simplicity at its best. The material for the all too critical hinge is made of a "soft" plastic that gives a little when force is applied. Be VERY careful here because you can snap this thing in two real fast if you are ham-fisted. However, with that being said, I have to admit the wing junction is tighter than on the 21C Avenger. I disagree sharply that the large door on the underside of the wing that opens where it shouldn't....had to be so large. When I scan the sweep of the fold and the hinge, I find that the door could have been half the size it is and worked just as well. When folded, this door (or the edge of it) is what actually holds the wing folded at the angle it does. Some of you have noticed that the wing sits way too high when folded. I agree...and the too large of a door is why. I going to be doing major surgery here later to try and cure it.

Flaps, Ailerons, and finish: The overall paint on this bird is some of the best mass-produced I have seen. With that said, mine had a HUGE fingerprint on the right upper wing surface made permanent by CA Glue vapors. Most of it was on the aileron and instead of paint, the surface appears to be solid color. So I took a chance and lightly sanded the fingerprint away. It worked extremely well and the entire print practically disappeared. The ailerons and the flaps are a different story...they all sag badly. It is entirely sad to see both ailerons sagging and their range of motion is down only. Because of the hinge style there is no UP in the ailerons.

Landing Gear: The tail wheel is very nicely done, although it is non-steerable. It has a very positive "snap" when it is down and locked. The mains though, have a built in problem. First, they come down and rotate 90 degrees out. I felt like I was going to snap them both off when I tried them the first time. Turns out they were sticky from paint, but I freed them up nicely. They have a very positive up-lock...it's the down-lock that leaves something to be desired. When I tried the gear down the first times, I had not attached the outer wing panels. The gear went down, but the lock was weak and they folded backwards under small pressure. I thought the wing fold hinge might have something to do with the mains, so I attached the outer wings and tried again. This time, the square wing hinge bracket that snaps into place just above the main gear kept the main gear from coming down all the way. It didn't help...it made it worse! I found that sanding down the edge of the square hinge bracket along the edge the gear hits made all the difference. The mains now comes all the way down and a small "snap" is felt when all the way out. It holds much better than it did before.

Fuselage and cockpit: By far the best cockpit around is the Hellcat. BBI did a very nice job here and the pilot figure slides in and out with ease. When in the cockpit, the figure sits at the appropriate height and looks good. The figure is the same figure (with a small patch added) as in the Corsair...so no new surprises there. They did, however, include a .38cal revolver, but there is no holster. Strange? The rest of the fuselage is painted very well and crisp. There is a delicate antenna on the lower fuselage....be real careful. The belly tank is gorgeous! It looks dead on and is attached very easily.

I will try to attach pictures here later so all this Greek might make some sense eventually. Once again, I want to state clearly that this is NOT a BBI bashing festival. I admire anyone who can make this stuff we want so badly and keep improving. I hope some of these "faults" can be ironed out in the future. In the meantime, you might be ready to "reconfigure" your Hellcat...or forever sit and scratch your head and wonder why the gear won't stay down.

[kevrut]

I couldn't get my landing gear to lock in place. I have it hanging now.

[aferguson]

guys.....we have a sticky thread for the Hellcat already. Let's put the discussion there where it belongs.

and btw the control surfaces don't need to sag. They're tabbed and you just push them in a bit and they snap into place. This has been discussed in the Hellcat sticky.