48 ModelAirplaneNews.com
VQ WARBIRDS TIGER MOTH
hundred bucks), so we went with that.
While assembling this model, I found myself
smiling at how easily things went together.
There even are marks on the firewall
indicating where to drill for various motor
mounts and individual diagrams showing
exactly how to hinge control surfaces. Every
stage of assembly, in fact, has a minimum
of one diagram showing how to do it. The
covering job is incredible, with not a wrinkle
in sight. And as you can see from the parts
photo, every part is ready to go; not a lick
of sandpaper is required. One could easily
assemble the Moth on a kitchen table
without worrying about dripping glue or
sandpaper dust.
You need to be alert with the hardware
installations, however. Everything is metric
threaded, and the hinges and hardware are
not as high quality as you might prefer. My
suggestion: Replace whatever you don’t like
with good ol’ Du-Bro hardware. And don’t
be afraid to use a drop of thread-lock on any
UNIQUE FEATURES
The VQ Warbirds almost-ready-to-fly (ARF)
comes in at 1/6.4 scale, a perfect size for
transporting it in the back of your SUV—in
one piece. Other than its pleasant looks,
there is really nothing “unique” about this
model other than the fact that you can
assemble it in less than five hours or so. It
doesn’t consume much adhesive; a little
Zap CA and some Zap Goo are all that’s
needed. The simple tools required are found
in almost anybody’s toolbox. With a little
supervision, a person who has never built
a model airplane but has some intelligence
could successfully assemble this Moth. For
power the builder has a choice: a .46 to .50
two-stroke engine, a .60 to .70 four-stroke
engine, or a 700 to 800W electric motor.
Mike Goes Flying (mikegoesflying.com)
offered us a cool Magnum .52 two-stroke
glow engine for a great price (less than two
metal-to-metal assemblies to ensure that
they will stay married forever. I use Zap Z-42
(the blue stuff).
The servo installation is pretty simple:
Pockets and mounts are premade for
specific-size servos, and pushrods are
prebent to specific lengths, ready to install.
We were provided with little ST-3959
servos, called “minis” in our camp, from
Mike Goes Flying. One of the servos,
unfortunately, was inoperative from the
get-go, so we had to find a substitute in
a hurry. Thankfully, Horizon Hobby came
through with a few Spektrum 7050s that
fit the aileron mounts perfectly. There are
five servos in the Moth: one for the throttle,
two for the ailerons, one for the rudder, and
one for the elevator (which operates a split
pushrod). The elevator and rudder both used
ST-3959 servos; the rudder and tailwheel
steering are coupled, which is prettytraditional for models of this size. Since we
didn’t have one of the mini-size servos for
throttle, Jimmy Prive of FTE fabricated a
new throttle-servo mount and installed a
standard Futaba S3001 servo we had lying
around the shop. If you take a peek at the
picture showing the radio bay, you’ll see how
simple the servo and radio installation are.
To get an even better feel for this bird, we
converted it to an electric motor after flying
it with the Magnum .52. Horizon Hobby had
great choices, and we settled on an E-flite
46 BL outrunner motor with a 60-amp Pro
SB brushless speed control and an E-flite 5S
5000mAh 30C battery. I mention this now
because the power change did not affect the
flying characteristics at all but did lessen the
amount of support “stuff” we had to take to
the field. The engine-to-motor change was
a simple one to make, but a little finesse is
required to fit the electric motor without
interfering with the top of the cowl.IN THE AIR
At the shop, we fired up the Magnum .52
glow engine and set the needle for optimum
rpm, then richened it about a quarter turn.
It hummed along happily at 12,600rpm on
a Xoar 11x6 prop, and idled smoothly at
2500rpm. Throttle transition was perfect;
there was no stumbling or missing while
advancing the throttle. Once satisfied with
the power settings, we addressed the
throws for all control surfaces and set out
for the local flying field. It required no weight
to balance it, without fuel. By the way, it fit
perfectly in the back of the Escalade.
It took literally three minutes to fuel the
Moth and get it running for its first flight—
no excitement here. While taxiing out, it
was obvious that the tailwheel was overly
sensitive; you might want to put some
expo on the rudder to make it gentler. I
slowly advanced the throttle, and the planeEven though it is a simple model, a lot of thought
went into the cockpit interior.The wing servos mount to a plate, then the plate is
screwed to the wing—simple and neat.
I don’t normally show just parts, but it is remarkable
how neatly this model is packaged and how complete
it is.Mounting the glow engine probably consumes
the most time. A dedicated diagram shows exact
mounting holes and dimensions. The modeler must
cut the cowl for muffler clearance with a two-stroke
engine; the task is less annoying with a four-stroke
muffler.