Musciano Scientific F6F Hellcat

Cool!! Kit looks very simple and straight forward. I agree with Roddie, the Surestart would give it some go especially if you took the restrictor out of it. (Bandit)

Looks like a well made kit George.

If it were me, I would go with the Babe Bee. Ease of mounting, no external plumbing, compact and the design does not lend itself to anything more than very mild sport flying.

Have fun with it.

That is a really nice looking kit George , I remember you talking about it and going to get you one in another thread . Glad you are getting those memories going on,are ya going to camo. it or the drab grey ? If you flew one on a .020 any of those engines will bee fine the Baby Bee would bee easier and faster , but I think that is up to you.

Looks like a fun one to build! Looking forward to seeing how she looks finished.

I'd use the Babe Bee, too. That is, the Corsair 290 on the Babe Bee tank. Neat kit, are they for sale yet?
Chris...

Now that is a kit that I would enjoy building, if the parts are laser cut. I'm just not steady enough anymore to follow and cut lines.

I was never a big fan of either the Grumman F4 or F6, the radial engine just did not lend itself to the streamlined designs that I prefer in aircraft of that era. But for some reason that kit appeals to me. Will it be marketed for sale?

My vote is for the Babe Bee, plain/plane and simple.

Hi George, I can see why the Babe Bee is being recommended by many. There's plenty of room for one of your wedge tanks in the bay behind the firewall.. but access to it becomes a problem once the wing and canopy are mounted.. and that flat-bottomed airfoil wouldn't lend itself well to inverted flying.

Still...  If you mount your tank securely.. and maintain it properly.. you shouldn't need to get at it. I'd solder extension tubes to the vents, long enough to extend 3/8" out the top and bottom. Reedies don't generally have fuel draw issues.. and I've used the wedge-tank/horseshoe backplate set-up successfully on many airplanes. The CG on this model is pretty far forward.. and you could place your tank very close.. if not right on it. This could be an advantage, because your balance-point won't change as the tank empties. What's the O/A length of the model? I'm guessing it's less than 13"?

Hi George,
I noticed there is no listing for the Hellcat on the Aerowerkes site. Any updates or knowledge of the kit's progress towards release?
Chris...

GallopingGhostler wrote:Two days ago, I received from Dave Cowell of Aerowerkes, Farmington, NM a prototype kit of the 1964 Walt Musciano designed Scientific Grumman F6F Hellcat. with an 18 inch wingspan, he has done a great job in his reproduction, even with the same clear turtle deck and two piece ABS cowl.




My choices in engines are possibly:

• Cox .049 Babe Bee
  
• Cox .049 Sure Start
  
• Cox .049 290 Donor from a Cox Vought F4U Corsair
  

For the non-tank engines I have 1/4 oz. and 1/3 oz. Perfect wedge tanks. The 1/4 oz. is the same capacity as the Black Widow's 8cc tank. The 1/3 oz. is double the Babe Bee's 5cc tank.

I built this as a 5th grader in 1965, with a Cox .020 Pee Wee engine. It feels great to remake it 50 years later.

Nice kit, although I would cut a new fin and rudder from a scrap piece of balsa, as on the kit the grain on those parts goes in a totally wrong direction.

Bonjour,
Vraiment super ce petit kit !
Hello, Really super this small kit!
@+Christian

stuntflyr wrote:Hi George,
I noticed there is no listing for the Hellcat on the Aerowerkes site. Any updates or knowledge of the kit's progress towards release? Chris...

If you contact Aerowerkes with an interest for this kit, I believe he can do something for you.

Cox45 wrote:Bonjour, Vraiment super ce petit kit ! Hello, Really super this small kit!   @+Christian

Thanks, Merci. This type kit was typical of the 1/2-A Scientific kits 1950s - 1960s.