FMS 1700mm F4U Corsair V3 PNP

For starters, this is my 2nd purchase of this version in the last 4 months. When I tried to apply coupon codes against the prices they were denied? Now the good news is that the main gear (mechanical) are strong and well designed (finally). Plane flies stable with a wide speed range (using 8s). First F4 delivered, the tail wheel/tailhook contraption kept releasing the leading the leading bar and jamming the doors. Second F4 delivered, the tail wheel is not centered with the rudder, the servo is centered but the attaching link to the wheel strut is not and can not be centered as the shaft has a flat which is in the wrong location., and because of the way it is manufactured it is necessary to either use another channel for the tail wheel or remove and open the servo and remove the shaft and regrind the flat on the strut. The tail wheel would not retract, but jammed on the wheel well edge. The stars and bars on the wing were applied upside down and were very difficult to remove without screwing up the wing paint. Paint colors do not match the decals. But biggest issue is the Main gear box structure which acts as a connection between the wings inner spars and the outer wing spars and also holds the landing gear motors. On both of the planes sent to me, the boxes were not glued securely into the foam and it was necessary to lift the boxes without damaging the wing, and inject glue under the boxes to secure them to the foam. nice airplane, but for the price a better quality control could be expected.

The model goes together quickly and easily. This Corsair is big and flies as good as it looks, which is to say very scale! I love everything about this model, with the exception of just one thing: the tail wheel assembly. Why on earth did they make the tail wheel steering components completely out of cheap plastic? I have had 3 of these (all three are still flying!) and every single one will break the little plastic steering pin that fits into the yoke on the servo. There is way too much stress and load (even in the best of conditions) on the tail wheel for that steering mechanism to be so small, especially made of plastic. The engineer in me looks at it and just shakes his head. My third kit (purchased Nov 11, 2024) came out of the box with that pin snapped off already, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, the flat spot on the retract for the strut set screw is off enough that the tail wheel is cocked about 10 degrees off center. Didn’t have that issue with the other two models, so I’ve ordered another tail wheel assembly in the hopes that the tail wheel will be centered correctly (I tried to remove the strut and tail wheel from the retract so I could file/grind the flat spot to allow for the tail wheel to be centered, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get the tail wheel and strut off the retract).

FMS really needs to upgrade the tail wheel design.

I just opened the box and as the other gentleman stated that wow factor is just great. Everything was well packed no issues so far I’ll add more once this bird has been completed. But I can say most of it has been taken care of already it seems I have the fun part. Simple a great product I only wish it could have been made in the USA.

When opening up the box your first impression is wow
The impressive size of this plane gets your attention
Assembly is straight forward and simple with the parts fitting well together
The maiden flight was on a breezy day and this was not a issue for the Corsair
With a 6s and the 4 blade propeller the Corsair had no problem getting off the ground and into the air
The trims were minimal and the speed is very scale, landing is very honest with no bad habits
When setting dual rates the elevator only needs minimal rates while the ailerons can handle all the input you can put
Other than that this is a great warbird for your collection

Beautiful warbird, the detail on the paint and the lined panels are perfect. I upgraded the ESC to support an 8s battery and she really flys on rails. I would highly recommend the warbird to anyone.