What a beauty! And how cool is it - a semi-scale warbird, not just a flat profile imitation, with retracts! Having in mind to fly it inside our gymnasium I choose the Kawasaki over the Mustang and the Spitfire because the specifications leaned towards lower wing loading. The wingspan is not 480mm as stated but only 448mm. Wing area is 2.78dm2 and with many modifications the flying weight came out as 36.9g.

I must admit I went a bit over the top with lightening mods. I used an MXL-RX62H integrated receiver/linear servo combination (used the telemetry/gyro version with only 3.5g) and a linear aileron servo linked to a self-made central double-lever. This was also done for correcting the “wrong” aileron differential and using nearly full servo throw. I created a new wooden frame from 1mm ply, lightened the wheels with an inner foam layer and used only a 150mAh battery. Furthermore, I reduced the dihedral for better looks and hinged all moving surfaces with tape or inserted polyester film. Tape was also used to reinforce the leading edge.

In hindsight I think the most effective and easy way to lighten the airplane would be just to recreate the wooden frame with 1mm ply. That is quite easy since you can cut the straight edges with a sharp knife and a ruler. This would save approx. 1.5g. For fitment of a slightly larger battery, I would recommend to build a removable hatch on top of the fuselage in front of the cockpit since the battery has to sit above the wooden longeron. The parts on the bottom of the fuselage could be glued permanently also for better crash stability.

The kit is super precisely cut, well-engineered and with the PVC stickers covering all open foam edges it is a delight to build! But take your time doing the fiddly stuff – once a tiny piece of the linkage or retracts package snips off the table it will most likely be lost.

For the maiden flight I went outside. First try did not work because the spinner and prop came off due to my Loctite getting in the wrong places. Unfortunately, the propeller hub was broken. Next try with new prop and better secured spinner was a complete success. By adjusting the cg and the throws the Kawasaki turned into a gentle flyer! Maybe due to the low dihedral turns should be initiated with rudder and be supported with aileron. CG is 3mm aft of the wing score line, throws are fine with 5mm on aileron, elevator and rudder, I used 40% expo on aileron and elevator The retracts work flawlessly although there is of course a little play in the plastic parts. Landings on a smooth surface are done with throttle “one notch” below cruising throttle and immediate elevator pull once the plane is on the ground.
This might be my new favorite micro flyer. Disregarding the grinding noise of the drivetrain this is a 100% recommendation from my side.

Video of one of the first indoor flights: Flying the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien from Minimum RC indoors (youtube.com)

Cheers from Dresden, Germany
Martin

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