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| Warbirds Place to discuss anything Warbird Related..... Fighter Planes, Fighter Jets, Fighter Helis and All Warbird Builds, etc. |
Topic Review (Newest First)
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| 07-11-2020 10:19 AM | ||
| Max |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt It looks great. You wouldn't even know it was damaged. Safe landings! 
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| 07-08-2020 08:08 AM | ||
| cf100 |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt I finally got my Platt Zero flying again and it's flying well. I kept the Brison 2.4 in it and added lead to compensate for the heavy Yellow Aircraft spinner that was replaced with a lighter one from a FW190 that a club member gave to me. So far it's flying good, I'm planning a prop change from a 18x10 to a 19x10 to give the Zero a bit more umpp. |
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| 07-04-2018 01:15 PM | ||
| michaely |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt Ken and Max, Thanks for the weight and center of gravity information. I went back to Platt's RCMagazine article. Although he said that under 20 pounds his model's flight performance was "exhilarating", he notes early in the article that another flyer reported his 60" span Top Flite model at 12.5 pounds flew fine and that the full size Zero had great layout, including large wing area and a thick airfoil that meant good model characteristics, "power with gentleness". I suspect that the Platt model at 1100 square inches of wing area and 22.75 pounds still compares ok with other WW2 warbird models of the same wing area. Ken, I like the rising sun flag in front of the model at your flying field; an nice idea for warbird events. I've read some about the Zero and there is a great two part You Tube documentary that included interviews with a Japanese pilot of the plane. One thing that I find a bit surprising about both Platt and Ziroli's versions is that they chose the latter A6M5 versions which had a shorter wing span - by one meter - over the A6M2 model 21 version which was actually the version used in the Pearl Harbour attack. On a model basis, a A6M2 model 21 translates to the Platt model having its wingspan increased from 78.75" to 86" and the Ziroli increased from 91" to 99.25", and more wing area. In the YouTube documentary, the Japanese pilot says this earlier, longer spanned model was more maneuverable because of the lighter wing loading. |
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| 07-04-2018 11:11 AM | ||
| cf100 |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt Quote:
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| 07-04-2018 10:35 AM | ||
| Max |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt I forgot to mention in my post above, that this method effectively doubled the distance from the CG to the lead weight. By comparison if one mounted the weight to the firewall, one would need double the weight as opposed to adding the weight on the bracket directly behind the propeller. |
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| 07-04-2018 10:32 AM | ||
| Max |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt I had the same problem with my zero. It's not a plat kit but was also typically tail heavy. The best solution for me was to make a mounting bracket that came forward from the firewall under the engine. The bracket had a flat area which was directly behind the propeller where lead weight was bolted. I did this to allay the fear that I had of a extremely heavy prop spinner. I see from what happened to you that my fears were well-founded. There was a Thread here on these forms where I had pictures of my modifications. I'm not able to do a search right now, perhaps you could? If not, I can always try to dig up some of my pictures and repost them here. Let me know if you are interested. |
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| 07-04-2018 09:13 AM | ||
| cf100 |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt At takeoff, my Zero weighed 22.75 pounds, three pounds of combine lead and heavy spinner at the nose to balance. The YA spinner cone weighed 8 ounces, the backplate 3.5 ounces. Heavier than I would have wanted the Zero, I will fix it and get a better feel to see if I like how my Zero flies at that weight. cheers - ken |
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| 07-03-2018 11:13 PM | ||
| michaely |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt Congratulations on the build and the repairable landing on the maiden. Was is the all up weight, less fuel? |
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| 07-03-2018 11:31 AM | ||
| cf100 |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt So around 34 years after I ordered the Dave Platt Zero plans from RCM magazine, I completed and flew my Zero. The test flight started off well, the Brison 2.4 gasser was turning the 19x8 HK Aerostar prop at 7500 rpm and running good, nice light breeze and off we launch into the wind. 2 clicks down trim, 2 clicks left trim, on the fourth circuit the spinner cone flew off. I was using a 3.5" diameter Zero spinner from Yellow Aircraft, the cone weighs 8 ounces (helped Yellow Aircraft balance their Zero kit), the loss of 8 ounces from the nose put me into a tail heavy situation and I pooched the landing and tore out the retracts and cracked the wing up some, all repaireable! At takeoff, my Zero weighed 22.75 pounds. |
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| 05-24-2018 02:04 PM | ||
| sgmcgee |
Re: Mitsubushi Zero by Dave Platt Very nice |
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