Crashproofing: What Do I Need?
Crashproofing: How Difficult is it to Install?
Crashproofing: What Are The Levels?
Crashproofing: What is Foam Prep?
Why You Should Really Upgrade Your Crashproofing
More Specfics About the Different Levels of Crashproofing
What are the Benefits of Higher Levels of Crashproofing?
Crashproofing: Drill Bit Sizes
Crashproofing: Custom Crashproofing?
How Do I Find the Center of Gravity (CG) in my plane?
Hawksky/Fighter: How do I install the Hawk Straps?
Hawksky/Fighter: How do I keep the hawkfighter canopy on during flight?
Hawksky/Fighter: Which side should the propeller face?
Hawksky/Fighter: Which Hawkfighter is faster? 6 or 7?
Do you have classes to teach me how to fly and/or to Crashproof a plane?
How do I track my UPS package?
How do I get more questions answered?
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Here is the history of our product! http://www.killerplanes.com/content/crashproofing-information
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WHY SHOULD I GET CRASHPROOFING?
Reinforcing your foamie gives you two benefits. First, it VASTLY improves the aerobatic capability of any plane by stiffening the airframe, and the wings in particular (after installation, the typical plane can handle 15G maneuvers without breaking or coming apart- you know, the ones that would mash you into goo if you were in the plane!) Second, it makes the plane HIGHLY crash resistant by increasing the structural strength of the foam an average of 300%, and some parts (like the noses) have increases of over 1000%!
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Does Crashproofing really work? How many planes do you still have in the air?
As usual, if you make more than $12 an hour, it's an extreme bargain to go for the installed version, BUT- if you plan on doing reinforcement on your planes, you should go for the foam prep and start getting used to the process. I've done the math over 3 years, and, if you factor in just a couple of low speed mishaps, the amount of time and money you save by reinforcing your foams exceeds what you spend, easily. With ONE bad crash, you will make back twice what you paid on the reinforcement. It doesn't sound like much in print, but I still have 82 of the last 85 planes we reinforced in the last 3 years, all ready to fly- and that includes nearly all of the planes you see crashing in all of our videos! (this number doesn't include the Hawkfighters, which I usually give away after 30 or so crashes, because they're not pretty enough to keep making videos with. They're still in the air with the new owners, though, and the record holder so far is a Hawkfighter 5 named "Buckshot" with over FIFTY crashes and one shotgunning on it. You might say that Crashproofing works "extremely well"
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I WOULD LIKE TO INSTALL CRASHPROOFING MYSELF. HOW HARD IS IT? AND WHAT'S THE PAYOFF FOR DOING ALL THIS WORK?
Generally, the "if you have to ask" rule applies, meaning if you need practice doing reinforcement installations (drilling 24" deep holes from the wingtip to the root, etc), you might want to do the practice on simpler planes (after first practicing on some 1" foam boards). We've started our camps for teaching how to do this stuff and how to fly, if you're interested. I can tell you this much: if I could have gone to classes like this when I was starting, I could have saved myself the entire first year of figuring all of this out- and keep in mind that I'm a Master Carpenter. We teach you tricks that will actually make things that seem almost impossible very easy to do.
That said, if you're good with your hands and tools, these are fairly easy to install- it's drilling holes and cutting grooves in foam, and you can even do that with sharpened carbon fiber rods. The bits make it easier, but I don't think people should spend the dough unless they're planning to do more planes.
What's the payback for all of this? I learned early on that it wasn't as much fun if I had to do an hour of repair for every 10 minutes of flight. As far as I'm concerned, the single most valuable part of reinforcing your planes is this: having planes that are much harder to break will keep you flying after some mishaps that would have sent you back to the shop. Here's the question- would you rather stay at the field and practice flying, or go home and practice fixing the plane? You can spend your day doing ONE of them... and I know which one I'd rather do!
If you are experienced with tools but have never done this, you should be able to do this after an hours worth of drilling practice on foam (insulation boards — the “old fashioned” (like the pink Dow insulation boards from the 90’s — if you know of a good place to get these, please email us) dense stuff.
If you are NOT experienced with tools, first, get experienced with tools. DO NOT practice on your plane.
If you are NOT experienced with tools, first, get experienced with tools. DO NOT practice on your plane. If you do not feel confident in your skills, you can ship the plane to us and Steve will "Foam Prep" it or install the kit (you will be responsible for shipping charges, both ways). See here about the difference between foam prep and installation. https://www.killerplanes.com/content/faq#What is Foam Prep
Also, another great way to get introduced to installing a Crashproofing/Reinforcement kit is to order a Foam Prepped plane from Killer Planes. Then you can get a general idea of how the rods are placed and you will get your first experience with gluing in rods with Gorilla Glue.
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I DO NOT EVER CRASH, OR CRASH BAD ENOUGH FOR THE NEED OF CRASHPROOFING. DOES IT HELP THE PLANE IN ANY OTHER WAYS?
We really should change the name of Crashproofing, even though it actually WILL save the plane in a bad crash. But if you never crash it, you still get the benefit of the increased strength and rigidity of the entire airframe, which equals crisper (and more aggreassive) handling. In truth, this is what I actually use it for, since that's what made me start reinforcing planes- i did NOT like it when a wing would crack (or even snap off!) from doing hard maneuvering. The first rods I put in a plane were additional wing spars, after folding up the wings in a high speed dive on a Hawksky (the TopRC FW-190 has 11 additional rods in the wings alone!)
I can say this about how well the reinforcement performs- I literally never put a plane in the air without it, and so I still have 80 of the last 83 planes we reinforced, which includes nearly every plane you see in a bad crash in any of our videos!
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I WANT TO INSTALL THE CRASHPROOFING MYSELF. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO SO?
To install a Killerplanes Crashproofing kit, you need a drill and hand tools, including an extending blade knife with new blades, and a rasp (like a file but much rougher) or keyhole saw (sheetrock saw) and Gorilla Glue, Foam Tac, contact cement, and hot glue, and a water spraying bottle. Drill bits make it easier, but you can also drill with sharpened rods, as shown in the video instructions that come with the kit. Takes a few hours, and you'll save 10 times that amount of time by being able to keep flying after 25 or so crashes that would have each required an hour or 2 of repairs (If the kit is properly installed, a Hawkfighter can generally absorb about 25 pretty bad "flying speed" crashes before it's toast. We're talking the type of crashes that will destroy parts of, or all of, an unreinforced plane. With Hawkfighters, I sometimes need to change wings after several high speed cartwheel or through-a-tree crashes, so my fuselages usually last through 2, or sometimes 3, sets of wings. (all of my Hawkfigher fuselages have MAX Crashproofing and Noseplates and Bands installed) We paint our dayglo orange and flat black Hawkfighters with Rustoleum spray paint, doing a couple of light coats, and the black accents on the top are done with the fat felt tip markers.
The Do-it-yourself Hawkfighter
The Hawkfighter that's completely done by Killerplanes
The bit set
https://www.killerplanes.com/content/drill-bits-long-drill-bit-starter-kit-5-long-drill-bits-save-10
Carbon Fiber Crashproofing Kits
https://www.killerplanes.com/product/crashproofing-kits-carbon-fiber-click-here
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WHAT GLUE WILL I NEED FOR INSTALLING MY CRASHPROOFING KIT
Mostly you will need Gorilla Glue (probably the 8 oz bottle) for installing your rods. We are also getting good results using Foam Tac to install rods. A hot glue gun is also helpful. Preferably a higher end glue gun that has heat settings. Steve frequently uses his on "HOT" but be careful. This can cause some nasty burns if you get it on your skin. And contact cement and or Epoxy.
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WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF CRASHPROOFING?
We have 3 levels of Crashproofing protection.
1 - Regular - basic amount of rods. A very good carbon fiber reinforcement kit.
2 - Max Crashproofing - more rods and more protection than the regular kit.
3 - SuperMax Crashproofing - the MOST rods and most protection of all of the kits and some plastic plates too
You can get any of the above as:
1 - a kit and instructions - you install everything yourself (You do all the work)
2 - a kit and foam prep - We drill the holes in the plane foam (hardest part) and you glue the rods in (We split the work)
3 - Installed - we drill the holes and glue in the rods (We do ALL the work)
To buy your crashproofing kit - Click Here
To look at your next plane - Click Here
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When ordering Killer Planes Crashproofing, "Foam Prep" means we drill all the holes in the foam body, wings, and tail(s) of the airplane. Then we cut all the grooves, pre-cut the rods, and put them in their respective holes and ship the plane. You, then, take out the rods and glue them in according to our detailed gluing instructions. It's the second best value we have- the installed is an even better value, because it works out to about $10 an hour to save yourself the work gluing rods, and wiping off the glue as it expands.
Reinforcement is one of the few things that's actually worth more than it costs -- as soon as you get it. (Immediate return on investment after your first crash) Our customers are way lucky- I had to invent this stuff to get it in my planes, and I destroyed "a few" planes before perfecting it! Save yourself LOADS of dough, and LOADS of time spent repairing planes. Fly it, crash it, and fly it again!
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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HIGHER LEVELS OF CRASHPROOFING?
The higher-level kits have combinations of more and/or heavier and/or longer rods in them, which give higher levels of reinforcement and protection. For instance, an FMS fighter Regular Crashproofing kit may have 32 rods, while the Supermax might have 44 rods, some of them being heavier or longer, or both. The individual plane designs vary, but you could say that the Regular Kit installation makes the foam structure in areas like the nose about 8 times stronger, the Max 10 times stronger and the Supermax 12 times stronger- and no, those are not exaggerations! (The strongest area is the nose, followed by the wings, then the tail. For instance, in this video you see a Dynam A-10 with Supermax Crashproofing installed plow a groove in a field at 63MPH, and we simply launched it again after we plugged the motors back in. And no, there's no trick photography or anything. Generally, the planes with motors somewhere other than the nose fare the best in crashes- you're not dealing with any props, spinners, motors, or other parts at the point where the plane impacts the ground. Properly reinforced foam is the best nose there is!
To buy your crashproofing kit - Click Here
To look at your next plane - Click Here
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WHAT LEVEL OF CRASHPROOFING AND UPGRADES SHOULD I GET ON MY PLANE?
We strongly recommend the "SUPERMAX" kits- the rods are tricked out the way that we want our personal planes to be, and after 3 years of designing kits we know how to make them so they work! We also have additional "Plastic Plates" for quite a few planes, and this is one of them- it's a set of plates that get glued onto various critical areas of the plane, and they increase the strength at those locations by "factors"- generally between 4 and 15 times stronger (sounds like bull, doesn't it?) And by "15 times" we actually mean what used to take 2 pounds to crush now takes 30 pounds, etc, etc.
To buy your crashproofing kit - Click Here
To look at your next plane - Click Here
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YOU SHOULD REALLY UPGRADE YOUR CRASHPROOFING!
It sounds like you're interested in reinforcing more planes, too- in which case it would be a really good idea for you to upgrade the FW-190 to a SUPERMAX kit- you'll get much better protection in that plane, and it will show you a LOT about where to put rods in your other planes, what dimension rods to use, etc. Below is some info about the different reinforcement levels. If you want to upgrade to the SUPERMAX, just email me back and I"ll send a payment link.
Also, if you are going to be reinforcing your other foamies, I would also advise getting the "everyday" bit set that we use in the shop, which includes 2 more 6" bits, 3 more 12" bits, and 1 more 18" bit. These added bits will give you the diameters you need for all the different size rods. There are another several bits we stock that we don't use as much, but the others I named above we do use - literally every day. Normally I don't like to spend other people's money, but since you're in NZ, adding them later would cost a lot in shipping that you could save now- the added bits would probably be only a bit more than the additional shipping alone.
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MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CRASHPROOFING
At this point, we've heard "I would have upgraded if I knew that!" from so many people we send this information about the upgrades to everybody who orders "Regular" Crashproofing. And here's the first thing to consider- this is your one chance to get your plane in the hands of our master craftsmen. We advise you make the best of it - it's much better than kicking yourself later!
The "Regular" levels of our designs are all based on my own early flying, which was much lower speed and much less "radical" in terms of aerobatics. As I got more experienced, the reinforcement designs I did were intended to give me the same level of protection at higher speeds, and in crashes from higher altitudes, as well as airframe reinforcement that could handle the stress of more aggressive maneuvers, like snapping out of a high speed dive without folding up the wings. The biggest problem with having lower levels of protection is that many people's flying abilities increase quite rapidly, leaving them with an under-protected plane. Consequently, unless your intention is to remain at the "fly a few circuits and land" level of piloting, you're much better off reinforcing your plane for your future as a fighter jockey- it's probably much closer than you think!
For starters, EPO type foam is a great material for making planes for many reasons- but it's not able to withstand stresses from many circumstances outside the intended use, which, of course, is flying. Nobody (except for us, of course!) INTENDS to crash their plane, so the planes are not designed to handle that. They ARE designed to break in crashes, which gives the manufacturers exactly what they want- lots of money made by selling replacement parts. Here's a simple fact to consider- we stopped ordering any foam replacement parts from distributors several years ago, because our customers don't buy them. We still have over 90% of the replacement parts we included in our first order 4 years ago, sitting taking up space in our warehouse. They'll probably sit there forever. Other sellers, you may have noticed, are quite often out of stock in their foam replacement parts catalogs, since they do a brisk business selling new foam parts to customers who undoubtedly believed they'd never need them. Har de har har.
But I digress. Let's get back to the topic
The higher levels of reinforcement (MAX and SUPERMAX) have greater levels of protection and airframe strengthening by adding combinations of more and/or heavier and/or longer rods. For instance, the front wingtip rod is 6" in most FMS 1400mm Regular kits, 10" in the MAX, and 12" to 18" in the SUPERMAX. The Full Wing Rod (from the tip to the root) is not in the regular kit. In most planes, the Full Wing Rod in the MAX kit is a 4mm tube, and in the SUPERMAX a 5mm tube. The rest of the design differences between kits are like that. Generally, if you're prepping the plane yourself, you'll need to drill deeper holes (for instance, 12" to 18" rather than 6") for many MAX and SUPERMAX rods, and you'll need to drill more holes for rods that aren't in the regular kit at all.
You can tell the difference in protection by looking at your plane, and seeing how many weak points are crossed by shorter rods vs longer ones. For instance, with most Regular Kits, the wingtip front corner is protected by the 6" front rod, which will keep the wingtip intact in things like a tip-over on landing. The long front rod of the SUPERMAX also crosses the areas with weak points, like servo pockets and other cutouts in the foam, giving much more strength and protection (wings tend to crack starting at cutouts like servo pockets and inside corners like at the end of the aileron). so, in the MAX kit, this front wingtip rod is longer, and a Full Wing Rod (wingtip to wing root) is added at the middle of the wingtip. The SUPERMAX kits have a heavier Full Wing Rod, and most have a third rod in the trailing edge of the wingtip. The noses get the same type of increases as the wings in number, diameter, and length of rods, and the SUPERMAX kits also have a number of small diameter rods protecting many thin, easily breakable parts of the plane.
The fuselages are protected with rods that start at the nose, as far forward as the specific plane allows. Most planes have at least 2 rods that go from nose to tail, many have 3, and some have 4. Most planes with spinners have rods that go to the back of the spinner, and most removable cowls have separate rods. Wherever possible, the main fuselage rods extend to the front point of the cowl to absorb impact energy starting as close as possible to the front of the nose. More and/or longer and/or heavier rods are used in the nose in MAX and SUPERMAX designs.
Planes like the fully tricked out HAWKFIGHTER (our flagship design) have plastic nose and wing root plates as well, bringing the survivability of the fuselage to new, unheard of levels. The HAWKFIGHTER 6.5 test plane was impaled straight into the ground (on a lawn) to a depth of 3" or more in THREE "flying speed" test crashes before we even made the sales video - and the Hawkfighter 6.5 has a 70+MPH top speed! (We just wanted to make sure it worked. LOL.) I like to show that footage to people who say "You can't crashproof a plane". They're right - you can't. "Crashproofing" is just a trade name, but the reality is this- you CAN make a plane WAAAYYY harder to break, and that is exactly what our Crashproofing does. Another thing you'll read in forums is that "heavier planes fly like crap". Our Hawkfighter is nearly DOUBLE the weight of the Hawksky it's made from (1220g vs 625g), and it has a 20% smaller wingspan to boot. Here's a video showing the performance and handling of the Hawkfighter 7. It's a good thing to keep in mind when reading the authoritative sounding proclamations on forums written by people who have never flown (or even SEEN) one of our reinforced planes.
Simply described, the Regular Kits will protect previously unprotected areas of your plane for low speed (5 to 10 MPH) impacts, like a flubbed landing, and they do a great job of that. The MAX kits will minimize damage to your plane for impacts during low speed, low altitude flying. The SUPERMAX kits will minimize damage from higher speed impacts, and add protection to a lot of the types of places that can get torn on a car door, etc. All 3 levels add rigidity to your airframe for better handling, and the higher levels of reinforcement provide much more rigidity for FAR less wing flex, etc., giving you crisper, cleaner handling.
As far as weight, you can see how all of the planes handle in our videos. ALL of the planes in our videos have SUPERMAX Crashproofing installed, as well as additional Plastic Plate kits and other weight added, like bigger batteries. Some planes we add even more weight to, to increase the realistic look of the flight characteristics. In short, there are exactly zero planes in our videos that don't have a lot of added weight for the test flights.
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ARE THERE ADDED WEIGHT ISSUES?
We don't have issues with the weight we add with reinforcement, bigger batteries, cameras, etc. with most planes. There are a couple I have tested that do not handle extra weight too well, but that is like 2 out of 90. People who talk about weight not being good on planes obviously do not have much experience with it; mostly they are just repeating what they have heard forever- "extra weight is bad". I would put it like this- "extra weight that does nothing for you is bad", which is why I like to replace the big nose weights most foamies have with reinforcement, bigger batteries, etc. If you have seen our videos, you have seen how the planes fly with about 30% extra weight piled on. Some have as much as 50%, and the Hawkfighter, which is built from the Hawksky airframe, weighs nearly TWICE as much as the Hawksky (1150g vs 625g), and has a lot less wing area to boot. Personally, I'd say the Hawkfighter flies a LOT better and lasts 8 to 10 times longer than the Hawksky.
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I BOUGHT A CRASHPROOFED PLANE AND THERE IS GORILLA GLUE ALL AROUND INSIDE THE FUSELAGE. IS IT SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THIS?
Yes, there's Gorilla glue all over the inside of the fuselage because there's supposed to be. Occasionally we do get an email from somebody who does not like the looks of the gorilla glue. The concept is to get as close to embedding the rods as possible with expanded plastic foam- that is a hugely important part of reinforcing the planes. It is a lot harder to see on fighters, etc. Sorry if some glue got on a window- that does slip by us sometimes. You should be able to pop Gorilla glue on windows right off with a fingernail.
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HOW DO I INSTALL HAWK WING/FUSELAGE STRAPS
Great news - if you just bought a HawkSky or HawkFighter, we now have a video that shows you how to install the straps on these planes. Just email Denise at killerplanescustomerservice@gmail.com and ask her to give you access to the private video. Sorry this is only available to customers who have purchased a HawkSky or HawkFighter.
Your HawkSky/HawkFighter will come with at least 2 large white plastic tie wraps that we call “wing straps.” Here is what you do with them:
The rear strap is drilled through the motor mount just aft of the front bottom screw (right above the foam). You drill with a 1/8" or so drillbit through the motor mount about 1/8" above the foam, and widen the hole with the bit enough to fit the strap through. The strap goes up through one wing, through the mount, and down through the other wing and around the bottom.
The front strap goes through the wings and around the fuselage right in front of the servos that are under the wing.
You should be drilling the straps through the wing on the outside of the front-to-back rod in the wing root, so if you should hit that rod while drilling, move the bit to the outside side of it. The straps hold the fuselage top and bottom together, and hold the wings on. They multiply the strength of the plane in that entire area by more than 6 times, so they're important!
Refer to this video:
INSTALLING WING/FUSELAGE STRAPS (This video does not use the HawkSky or HawkFighter as an example, but it’s the general idea)
NOTE: You do NOT have to add the rubber tubing in the holes if it is too complicated, but this gives you and idea of what to do.
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FUSELAGE STRAPS
The cable ties are for making fuselage straps, and they hold the wings. Motor and top of the fuselage on. You drill the straps through the wings right at the side of the fuselage, on the OUTSIDE of the front to back rod that's embedded in the wing at the root. The rear strap goes through the motor mount and the front strap goes in front of the elevator/rudder servos (the ones under the wing root).
The rear strap gets drilled through the motor mount, just behind the screw in the bottom front corner. Drill 3 1/8" holes right next to each other, just behind the screw in the bottom front corner, and 1/8" above where the motor mount sits on the foam top of the plane. Clean out the remaining plastic with the bit or a knife to make a wide "slot" for the strap. If you got the 10" cable ties, put 2 together to make one strap (the new cable ties are long enough to go all the way around with a single one). To see how it is done, check out this video. You don't need the flattened plastic tube that goes through the wing- that's just an added finishing touch that will keep the wings nice if you take them off a lot. It does also keep the hole in the wing from getting enlarged by flight and crash stresses.
Straps like these will work the same on any plane, especially the top motor designs like the Hawksky. They add an amazing amount of strength to the plane! While it's pretty easy to tear a 4" thick foam plane in half in a crash, it's almost impossible to tear one of the straps in half. Someday we will have to do the actual math with a stress meter, but for now, saying it is 10 times stronger wouldn't be far off the mark.
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HOW DO I KEEP MY HAWKSKY/HAWKFIGHTER CANOPY ON THE PLANE DURING FLIGHT?
We use canopy straps instead of magnets on the Hawkfighter, which keeps the canopy on in the hard crashes. We like to use a long strip of hook and groove (Velcro) wrapping all the way around the fuselage and canopy. Also we've started putting a piece of 2mm rod through the canopy that sticks into a hole, diagonally, on the inside of the fuselage. This seems to work like a charm!
Wher to buy a canopy with a "chin strap" (or just look at the photo and make your own!)
http://killerplanes.com/product/dynam-killer-planes-hawkfighter-camera-mount-canopy-chin-strap
AIR VENTS IN HAWKFIGHTER
We also put ram air vents in the cockpit sides for the ESC- just use some vinyl tube and hotglue
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WHICH DIRECTION SHOULD MY HAWKFIGHTER 7 PROP FACE AND WHAT SIZE IS IT?
*** FOR ALL HawkSkys and HawkFighters, the numbers on the prop face the motor and the front (nose) of the plane.
The writing should face the front of the plane (or the nose of the plane, NOT towards the tail).
The HawkFighter 7 is a custom 7 x 7 x 3 prop, since nobody makes one.
HawkFighter 7 prop:
http://killerplanes.com/content/hawkfighter-7-replacement-propeller
HawkFighter 6 prop:
http://killerplanes.com/content/hawkfighter-6-replacement-propeller
Email Denise at killerplanescustomerservice@gmail.com if you need to purchase a spare HawkSky propeller or you can get one here with an extra Motor:
http://killerplanes.com/product/dynam-hawksky-400-brushless-motor-propeller
You can go here for spare motors and props:
http://www.killerplanes.com/catalog/parts/manufacturer/dynamkillerplanes
NOTE: The approximate location of the CG HawkFighter 7 - approx ⅛" forward of the center wing spar panel at the bottom of the plane.
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WHICH IS FASTER THE HAWKFIGHER 6 OR THE HAWKFIGHTER 7?
The HF7 is a smidge under the speed of the HF6, which goes about 75, but the 7 gets 15% more time on the same battery. You can see the relative speed in these 2 vids, both running a 2700mah 3s 30c battery.
HAWKFIGHTER 6
http://youtu.be/0zoB1W9-DWY
HAWKFIGHTER 7
http://youtu.be/o91V7WNdLtg