Back to airplanes...

[jharkin]

With the weather now warming and the days getting longer, the stove is shut down and Im starting to think about spring projects.

Starting to plan out this seasons garden improvements, summer renovation projects, and of course the important stuff in life.....

airplanes!


Some of you have seen my postings in the hobby thread with my mostly big RC planes. This year I decided to build a little one for flying in the park.

One guess what it is

 

[jharkin]

Im used to working on larger models, building in this smaller size (the entire plane will weight under 2lb) is tricky because you have to work with very small parts like this framework built up of 1/8inch square balsa and spruce.

To give you the sense of scale....those reinforcing gussets are 1/64" plywood

 

[ironpony]

Sopwith Camel, do you by chance have any ducted fan models? such as an F14. I would like to pick one up and give it a try.

 

[ironpony]

just spotted the pic in back, Fokker triplane, Sopwith was a biplane Duh.....

 

[ironpony]

I see a UPC code on the frame work, is that on the original plane?? accuracy counts

 

[jharkin]

just spotted the pic in back, Fokker triplane

Ding Ding! that's right


Its a Fokker Dr.I Triplane number 152/17 which was the plane the Red baron (Manfred von Richthofen) was flying in March 1918 a month before he was shot down. He was actually flying a different one (425/17) on his last flight, but I find this one more interesting because the colors are not all red.

useless factoid: The streaky green finish is how the triplanes where painted in the factory. The pilots at the front would then customize them with all those bright colors painting over the factory finish. If any originals had survived we would see a really rough finish with the camo colors bleeding through those bright paint jobs.

 

[jharkin]

do you by chance have any ducted fan models? such as an F14. I would like to pick one up and give it a try.

I once had a small foam A-10, electric powered. Didn't fly very well but this was back in the days of NiCD batteries.

Nowadays R/C jets come in 2 flavors -

electric jets
- ducted fans driven by brushless DC motors and lithium Ion batteries
- Range from small foam planes that can fly in a park to large $$$ composite jobs that can hit 150mph)
turbine jets
- Real turbine engine running on jet A/kerosene
- cost thousands and can do even more ridiculous speeds (250+).

The old glow fuel piston engine ducted fan models are pretty much all gone...

 

[ironpony]

I was looking at one on a hobby sight about $300 ready to fly, 38 inch wing span seen a you tube video on it. I have a 20-30 acre field in front of the house would make a good flying spot, take off and land on the 400 foot paved driveway. might have to give it a try this summer if they get some back in stock.

 

[jharkin]

They are fun - my only piece of advice - if you have never flown RC before get a training propeller drive airplane first. These jests are not self stabilizing like the toy helicopter models at the mall.

And if you dont have anyone experienced to help out on the first couple flights with the prop, practicing on a computer simulator is a great way to learn. pm me if you want suggestions.

If not there is a good chance you might crash the jet on the first flight. we all do (Ive crashed probably a dozen times over the years)

 

[Swedishchef]

That is like an incredibly high-tech Lego build Holy crap, I wish I had the tools and ability to do that myself.

Super nice Jharkin!

Any recommendations of a website for someone who wants to get involved in RC planes?

Andrew

 

[jharkin]

Like anything else its an acquired skill, Ive been working at it for almost 15 years and this is around the 20th plane Ive built.

there is no central home like hearth in the RC world... There are many many web forums, probably the best place to begin would be one of the 2 largest ones and look for the "beginner" room:

rcuniverse.com (pretty much anything r/c related from from jet airplanes to submarines)
rcgroups.com (general but most popular for electric flying)


Edit to add-
The old fashioned way to start was to join a local model club. Here in the states they are all organized under the Academy of Model Aeronautics, in Canada its the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada. Both sites have contact list of local clubs, who typically offer open houses, beginner programs and free flight instruction.

 

[Swedishchef]

Thanks! It has been a big interest for years and now it's time to have some fun!

 

[Lumber-Jack]

That looks like a nice kit. I've always had a keen interest in that plane.
Years ago, before I got into RC, I built a small line control Fokker Dr. 1. I enjoyed building it, but while I was building it I kept wishing it was radio controlled rather then line controlled. Years later when I started getting into RC I looked, but could never find a decent Fokker Dr. 1 kit, but I did eventually built plenty of other RC plane kits, and even designed and built a few planes from scratch.
Around 1980 (when I was 21 years old) I was looking into building a home built aircraft and seriously considered building a full size Fokker Dr. 1 replica, plans were available for around $100. The high estimated materials cost and hundreds of hours to build held me back, also the burgeoning new sport of ultralights where just coming on the scene, I was wooed over and ended up getting an ultralight kit instead.

Apparently the Fokker DR 1 had some unique flying characteristics, both bad and good. I once read an account from a WW1 Canadian pilot describing a dog fight when he encountered the Red Baron in his Dr.1. He related how at one point he ended up flying side by side, parallel to the Baron and could clearly see him sitting in his cockpit off to the side of his wing. Normally fighter pilots were more immediately worried about someone on their tail then someone flying parallel to them because the machine guns fire forward, but suddenly and unexpectedly he watched in shock as the Baron kicked his plane into a hard quick full 90 degree yaw, and as the plane momentarily yawed sideways he fire off a quick burst of fire from his machine gun nearly hitting his plane,,,, a maneuver the other planes at that time were not capable of doing.

 

[ironpony]

went home last nite and opened the local paper and low and behold the RC flying club is having thier annual show at the fairgrounds March 23. I will be there to check it out and might come home with a plane.

 

[jharkin]

Hey Randy...

Do you still actively fly RC?

If you were building models in the 70's I'm guessing the only kit that was around might have been the VK 1/6 scale triplane... which is actually still made by Proctor. (A little before my time I built my first RC - a Goldberg Eaglet - in the late 80s then dropped the hobby till after college). This model is a 1/8 short kit by Aerodrome RC, they are a small company that specializes in electric only models. I modified it a bit to add some scale detail not in the design (like the sawtooth on the wings). I'd really like to build the(broken link removed)designed by Glenn Torrance, but its big $$ and was out of production for a while.

This little plane is just a warm up. I got a fantastic second hand deal on an un-built Proctor Albatros D.V for the next big project. The detail on that kit makes this triplane look like a fisher price toy. Probably take me 5 years to finish it though.

The high estimated materials cost and hundreds of hours to build held me back, also the burgeoning new sport of ultralights where just coming on the scene, I was wooed over and ended up getting an ultralight kit instead.

And it probably would have been a handful to fly even without the rotary engine up front. Which ultralight did you build? (I used to fly at a field shared with an ultralight club).

Apparently the Fokker DR 1 had some unique flying characteristics, both bad and good.

Yup. Also including that nasty tendency to rip off the top wing in flight Luckily modern glue is stronger.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Wow! Looks like you got quite a few quality kits to choose from now, thanks for the links. Back when I was looking for a DR 1 kit there was no internet, so the only source I knew of for rc plane kits was my local hobby, and possibly magazines, which I don't even remember ever seeing or reading. The little line control model I built could probably be built into an RC plane now with the way everything has miniaturized in the RC world, but back then the availability of tiny servos and decent engines just wasn't there.
Most of the RC planes I ended up building, at least initially, were sail planes gliders, and electric gliders when electric really started coming on the scene. Since then I stuck with electric stuff 100%. Sometimes I'd go fly with some guys who flew nitro engines powered stuff and it seemed like they spent most of there time at the field tuning their engines or trying to get them to start. LOL
My first ultralight was a weight shift controlled Quicksilver clone made here in Canada called the Atlas. Weight shift was a easy transition for me because I had already been flying hang gliders for several years.

I have owned a couple ultralights since then, and just sold my last one last fall. Bought a couple dual sport motorcycles for me and my son with the money.

I don't actively fly any RC stuff anymore, although I have a few planes and at least one old helicopter that could be made to fly without too much work. My kids don't seem to be into it right now, so I don't know when or if I'll find the time to get back into it, although I've seen some pretty cool little full aerobatic micro helicopters out there I've come close to blowing some money on.

 

[ScotO]

That's really cool, Jeremy! Of any plane I would choose, it'd be a bi-or tri-wing like the one you are doing.....
I love the movie Flyboys, I know it's just a movie but it shows the flying, bravery, and skill learned by those pioneer pilots.....

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this was one of my favorite scenes....

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