World War I
Golden Age
Submit your photo with a short description by:
Geoff
Ashton: "I picked up Kurt’s Albatros DII about a month ago.
It was my first all balsa build. I found the kit great. All the laser cuts and
placement to plan was top shelf." Geoff Ashton
Gary Germain: "First of all let me say that your Albatros DIII is one of the best-engineered kits I've ever assembled; and I've built dozens of planes over 30 years in and out of the hobby. I'd never built or flown a bi-plane before and had little experience with scale models. I'm using a GWS 300C-C BB. The 5.33:1 ratio and a 10X7 APC prop work well with the 8X800 mAh NiMH battery pack. I tried 7 cells but I didn't have any reserve power. With 8 cells I only use full throttle for takeoff and the occasional aerobatic maneuver. I'm getting over 9-minute flights with this setup and a plane that weighs in at 21 oz after trimming the CG. The plane flies beautifully and looks extremely realistic for such a small plane now that I have it properly trimmed and have the surface movements adjusted."
Quang Ngo: "I ordered the Albatross D3 plans from you 2-3 months ago, and this is the photos of the finish product. I use Nippy black 1812/100 brushless motor with Jeti 18 speed control, battery is 11.1 volts / 2100 mA Lipo. and the covering is Coverlite painted with water-base Tamya paint. RTF weight is 24 oz. and she is a great flyer."
Tim
Kwasny: "I just finished my Albatross DVa and wanted to show some pics.
This is my first AerodromeRC kit which I have finished. I have done a couple of
other full builds though. I skinned the fuselage with 1/32" bass wood and
followed the scale panel lines. This turned out pretty good and I don't think
it added to much weight. I have a Hacker 30-22 and 3cell LiPo which drew 28-amp
full power for 280 watts so I think it will have enough power. The covering is
CoverLite, and the paint is Testors Model Master enamel (the green and gray was
a spray, the black, white, was shot through an airbrush). The purple on the wing
and the sky blue on the bottom are some off brand spray paint I got at Wal-Mart.
But my guess is its about 28 oz.
It had its brief maiden flight this
morning. The winds had come up a little to about 4 mph, so I did a few take off
rolls just to calm the butterflies and then took off with about ¾ throttle.
It flies fairly well, straight and level at ½ throttle. Lots of adverse
yaw in the turns so I will have to adjust the ailerons a bit. About 2 minutes
into the flight the wind started gusting. After a couple minutes more the wind
was gusted up to 12 to 15 mph so things got hairy quick. Heading into the wind
the plane came almost to a stand still at one point. So I decided to land right
away the plane was about 4 ft. off the ground when a wind gust drove it the rest
of the way down. Luckily it landed about 2 ft. short of the pavement in some waist
deep grass and there was no damage. So there was a satisfactory outcome, all things
considered."
Mark Sparks: A real fun kit to build, like all of your kits. Decalage is all hand painted, including the pilot, though the pictures don’t show his pretty blue eyes and mustache. Researching didn’t really tell me what the real color of the plane was, so I used an acrylic Forest Green on the fuse, and an acrylic Sand on the wings. Thank you for the tips and assistance, and the patience with me with all my many questions. AUW 27.1 oz
Walter Spilis: "This Aviatik 30.27 uses a Mp Jet ac 25/35 MKII runner with a 4.4:1 gear ratio swinging a 11X7 APC electric prop."
BERT AYERS: "You suggested having a Gallery of builders models. Its been bouncing around in my brain for awhile---so I thought I would participate. I'm sending along some shots of the Bristol Scout from your short kit. Easy build---enjoyed it very much. Good flier. Speed 400 with gearbox as suggested. Covered with Nelson Litefilm. 30 Ounces. HS-55 servos. ElectriFly Rx/ESC. Airtronics Tx. NiCad-6 cell-1100. I certainly intend to build more of your kits. Thank You---Bert Ayers"
GREG SMITH: "The Scout is an excellent kit. I added ailerons to mine and kept the plan dihedral and was happy with this change. I put a tiny servo in each wing for the ailerons. If I built this model again I would put a brushless in it but use regular round batteries - not lipolys-as the way to control CG. I just like the reliablity and efficiency of brushless. I built this model about 6 months after getting into RC and flew it a lot. Due to pilot error it crashed. Probably overall my favorite RC model ever."
ANDREW PERRY
Walter Spilis: "The Bristol Scout has flown great. Would like to see this model in 1/6 scale. It has a Nippy 1812/100 motor, 2000 3S1P Kokum Li-poly pack, and a 10X7 APC slow glyer prop. She has 20 flights on here without an incident!"
Edi Werner: Speed 480 1.8:1, 8x4 prop, 1200mAh 3sLiPoly, Litespan covering.
"Excellent flyer, rather fast for a biplane. She is fully acrobatic."
Walter Spilis: "This Curtis Jenny has an Mpi HB-2815-1400 inrunner, swinging an 8X4 prop. I can't believe when this one was done it only weighed 17 oz without battery. At present I am working on the Hanriot HD-1 V2. I have quite a backlog yet. Hope to get to them all. I find these to be the most fun and rewarding models I've BUilt. Keep those great kits coming Kurt!"
Steve Collins "I built my Fokker triplane using a Feigao 1208420L brushless motor in a GWS IPS gearbox. I used a Castle Creations Phoenix 10amp ESC hooked to a Thunder Power 11.1v 730mah lipoly. My prop is a 9070 GWS. For servos I used 3- 4.3gram servos, (rudder, ailerons, elevator) from United Hobbies. Pull-pull rudder and ailerons, pushrod elevator. My receiver is a Spektrum AR6000 and the plane is programmed into my Spektrum DX6. I covered the plane with Coverite Microlite painted sky blue on the top and bottom. I then dry brushed Olive Drab enamel paint for streaking. After it dried I made a wash of Leaf Green Acrylic paint and lightly washed all the upper surfaces and then dry brushed a little light gray. I applied the decals and sprayed a light coat of flat clear. The Spandau machine guns are kits from Wight Brothers. The wheels were taken from my parts box with index card cones applied. I haven't been able to fly it yet because of weather issues but it seems very powerful."
JASON HASLAM: Himax bushless 10 amp version using the 6.6:1 with 12x8 Hyperdrive prop. Thunderpower 1320 3 cell. AUW 21.4 oz. Covering is Solite streaked with paint.
Edi Werner: Fokker DR.1: Jacob's mount. The motor is a monster (www.powerditto.de), Kontronik ESC, 13x8 prop, 2000mAh 3sLiPoly, Litespan covering. "Excellent and sturdy flyer, very nice handling characteristics, ROG even from short grass w.o. problems. Fully acrobatic of course."
Anders O of Orebro, Sweden (Zeroaltitude on RCGroups)
Jiri
Fejfar (Czech Republic): "I would like to show you how I built
model, which I ordered by you. On my internet pages you can see a few photos,
which I took during construction. There is also video from the flight. I am very
satisfied with the construction and also with quality of the model. The centre
of gravity work out very well and also the motor power is very good. I can go
straight up to the sky with this plane. Thank you very much for this kit ! I send
to the magazíne RC REVUE (CZ) construction metod and experience from the
flight, Everything is written in number 6/2007. Internet sites: http://www.j-f.cz/Modely/Fokker.html
Next
year, I would like to build model with larger wings. I am thinking about "larger"
wingspan or AEG Bomber which you have now only in design."
Bert
Ayers : "All up weight is 30.2 ounces. (~ 10 oz psf) It's really
a neat looking airplane, even though the paint scheme is bogus. I'm looking forward
to see what other builder do with this kit."
RICHARD DERY: "Attached are photos of the Fokker D-VI and Fokker D-VIII that my son and I recently completed from two of your excellent kits. The 35" span D-VI is powered by a Rimfire 28-30-950 outruner motor, which provides plenty of power to ROG in short grass. Unfortunately, this aircraft had a bit of a run-in with the ground after going into a spin when I turned a litle too tight. I had more throw on the controls then was needed. (The airplane turned on a dime-which was my downfall...) It will fly again, but not too soon... The 36" span D-VIII is powered by a 400XT outrunner motor, and also ROG very nicely. The German camo on both planes was hand painted on CoverLite.
DAVID JENISTA: "I began the DVII project early in 2004, with a "flying break" for the summer months, completing it in November. The model is covered with PolySpan, doped with Minwax Polycrylic. Color is spray can Krylon and decals were done on waterslide inkjet paper. Driveline is a 6v speed 400 with a Mini-Olympus gearbox, fueled with a 7xKAN1050 pack. Receiver is a FMA fortress with GWS Pico servos in the wing and HS-55s for elevator/rudder. ESC is a JETI 11."
BERT AYERS: "Here are some photos for your gallery. The D.VII is a really nice kit to build--ideal for beginners. When you published the scale information for the Lozenge patterns I was inspired to give it a try. Colors are not really true---but thats to be resolved on the next attempt. D.VII not flown yet. Model balanced perfect without batteries---so one day I can replace NiCad with LiPoly right on CG. Included is a photo of Lt. Heldmann checking out his kill."
Quang
Ngo sent AerodromeRC some photos of this build of the Fokker DVII. He used
our lozenge files to make up the camo.
Quang writes: "The Fokker
D7 is a great weekend flyer, weight in at 24 oz. with Nippy Black 1812/100 brushless
motor, 11.1 volts 2100 mA. Lipo battery, speed control is Jeti 18. The covering
is coverlite and the paint is water base Tamya ."
Gary Ritchie: "I covered my Fokker D.VII with 2 layers of silkspan, which I died scarlet with RIT dye. I painted it with several coats of nitrate dope. The plane is powered with an AXI 2808/16 brushless outrunner motor, a Jeti 30 amp controller and a 2s 2,100mAh PolyRC lithium polymer battery pack. It turns a standard 10x4 wooden propeller at 7,600 RPM, while drawing 26 amps of current and generating 150 watts of power at full throttle. This is more than ample power, so I find myself flying at half throttle much of the time. I have put more than 90 flights on My D. VII and find that it flies very well and has no bad habits."
Jeff
Roby: "I build for display -- don't have the nerve to fly (they're my
babies). I found the basic AerodromeRC kit a fast and easy build at a great price,
and provided a perfect foundation for doing as much scale detailing as I had the
skill and desire for. The wheels are a bargain, a modification of AerodromeRC's
spoked wheel kit, using music wire instead of thread. The whole kit gives good
positioning so I was easily able to, for instance, use brass tubing for the struts
instead of wood, without in any way having to "fight the kit." I look
forward to my next one!"
Frank Borden: "Fokker and Pfalz I ordered 2 years ago are flying very well, and it make´s a lot of fun to build and fly them. The Motor in the Fokker is an AXI 2212/20 on 10 cells KAN 1050 with Graupner CamProp 9x5."
Rob
Trudnak: "Here are some photos of the Fokker I put together. This is
the first kit I've ever built and found it very enjoyable and rewarding. Kurt
I'm an engineer and designer like your self and find your work some of the best
I've see. Simplicity is the key and also the kit leaves room to do your own modifications.
I used mono coat as a covering and as far as a power plant used 200w e-max with
a 40 amp speed controller (very light motor). It has a pull pull system, hs-55
in the wings and GWS Pico for rudder and elevator. I incorporated 3 access panels
with magnets, cowl, battery hatch and belly panel. All the wood is finished with
golden oak and poly. Decals are water slide. Pilot is the usual Williams Bros.
which I modified with expolite, coated tin foil with it to make straps for helmet,
added beard and collar and different facial features. It weighed in at 24.6 oz.
and balanced perfectly. Thanks again Kurt for delivering such a good product.
I did have it in the air and it flew like a dream. The wind started to gust so
Ii only had it up for about 4 min. The coolest thing about the plane was it had
the same mannerisms that a full size WWI aircraft would have, I love the way it
bounced a bit when I landed it."
BRIAN
WILLIAMS: "At last I am able to report a successful first flight of my/your
Aerodrome RC 1/6 scale Fokker D V11. As usual with your models,I found the build
straight-forward... but after all the work involved in painting the lozenge patterns,fitting
the control systems and many hours of detailing, I was too intimidated to trust
my own flying skills to its maiden flight. Therefor,my thanks to Jack Cann, [our
clubs test pilot], for his patience,help and advice. Motor used is an an AXI 2826/12
with a 4 cell,4200 li-po battery pack,a 40 amp esc, separate bec and a 13x7 prop.
With the battery tucked up to the firewall,the balance point was right on the
mark. No extra weight needed. The weather was perfect...a cool Canadian evening
with just a gentle breeze from the South West. Everything was checked twice. It
was time to fly! Jack gave the motor about 3/4 throttle, applied a touch of right
rudder and after a 20 foot run she floated herself airborne,wings perfectly level,
steady and oh... so graceful. What a thrill to see air appear under the wheels
for the first time. The Wright Brothers must have experienced a somewhat similar
feeling. Compared to my 1/12 scale Pfalz, the Fokker's 1/6 scale made everything
appear to be happening in slow-motion. Then, at about 4 foot altitude the motor
quit...fortunately with enough field remaining to land straight ahead. No damage!
And so it was back to the pits to analyze the problem where we found it impossible
to get a consistent motor run. I decided that 4 cells might be proving too much
for the esc.to handle,resulting in the shut down of the motor. But thankfully.
by having a separate bec,the surface controls had operated without a glitch. We
were about to call it a day when I remembered that I had a 3 cell 4200 pack with
me but no matching prop. So I installed the 3 cell pack combined with the original
13x7 prop. Motor cut-off problems were cured but thrust was reduced considerably.
By then we had perfectly calm air and it was just too nice an evening not to enjoy
just one gentle circuit of the field. Take-off was definitely longer than on the
first hop,...... more thrust would have been nice, but a smooth. slow and very
stable flight was the result. Some power was kept on for landing. Surprisingly
one click of trim was used ...thats a first for me! Balanced where the plans indicated,
proved to be right on. Thanks Kurt. It's a great model. The engineering, laser
cutting and fit is first class. The next flight will use the original 4 cell,13x7
set-up, with a bigger opto esc. CANT WAIT! Finally, heres a selection of pictures
to illustrate how much I enjoyed the build and to thank you for a great design.
Love those those lozenges!!!!!!!
RICHARD DERY: "Attached are photos of the Fokker D-VI and Fokker D-VIII that my son and I recently completed from two of your excellent kits. The 35" span D-VI is powered by a Rimfire 28-30-950 outruner motor, which provides plenty of power to ROG in short grass. Unfortunately, this aircraft had a bit of a run-in with the ground after going into a spin when I turned a litle too tight. I had more throw on the controls then was needed. (The airplane turned on a dime-which was my downfall...) It will fly again, but not too soon... The 36" span D-VIII is powered by a 400XT outrunner motor, and also ROG very nicely. The German camo on both planes was hand painted on CoverLite.
STEVEN PERRY
Glenn Horowitz
Edward
"Deadstick" Ducote: "I would be honored to add my newly completed
Morane Saulnier L, "Joie de Vie", to your gallery
I am ready to
order many more of your great models. The Neuiport Triplane and DH1 are my next
projects.
Frank Borden: "Fokker and Pfalz I ordered 2 years ago are flying
very well, and it make´s a lot of fun to build and fly them. The Motor in
the Pfalz is an AXI 2808//24 on 3 cells Kokam Lipo 2000 mAh with Prop APC-E 10x5."
Pat Daily: "a 2 cell 2100ma battery, the all up weight is 27 oz with 3 square feet of wing area or a 9 oz per ft2 wing loading. " "The Pfalz has a planked fuselage that was covered with silk and dope, flying surfaces are silk and dope. Aluminum enamel and Poly S Japanese Yellow. AXI 2808/20 power with 10x6 APC prop and 2x2100 Impulse lipos running a Castle Creations Phoenix 25 and an FMA Encore receiver and HS 55 and GWS (ailerons) servos. Note the dummy motor which serves as the battery hatch. " "Kurt--you did a great job putting the idea and construction and design together. This is not a plane you can find very often--the planking takes a bit of work, but it replicates one of the most beautiful planes ever made IMHO. Piano makers in Germany did some amazing work." "I was shaking in the knees so much I almost fell down. After building this bad boy for 4 months I was really nervous on the first flight. I managed to loop her a few times after I dialed in a bit more down (needed a bit more downthrust or nose weight). Even did a roll. Finally I thought I better bring her in and she just floated in--that 9 oz/ft2 wingloading is wonderful with the undercambered airfoil. She landed with just a tiny bit of throttle and rolled out perfectly. Added a bit more lead in the nose and went at it again." "I only had one battery pack of the correct size. The fourth flight the bec kicked in and we had to quit. I am going to order a couple of more 2100 2 cell packs -- my guess is we got about 15 minutes or more time out it because she flys on about 1/4 throttle. She will go straight up with full throttle. Two things I really like--excess power and lightest possible weight. This plane has both." .."thanks to Kurt for a superb design and great flying qualities. It is rock solid and loops, rolls, inverted and slows to a crawl for landing--couldn't ask for more."
Chris
Curren: "... I finally got her finished. Yesterday's maiden flight
went suprisingly well. The Pfalz was in the air in about 10 feet and climbed with
authority. Very scale like. She was a little tail heavy, but that did not inhibit
her performance. She climbs, rolls and loops nicely. The landing, however, was
the "icing on the cake". She floated in and touched down, ever so gently.
To sum it up, at around 29 ounces, she's quite the lady in the air. ..."
"...I
had another successful flight today. This one was even better than the maiden,
now that I fixed the CG issue...."
Rob Trudnak "Here are the pics of the Nieuport 17 40 inch I just completed for your gallery. I used a torque 2818-900 brushless and an airboss 45-amp speed controller, which will supply the plane with more than enough power. Weight wise it came in at 33.60 oz. I used a Williams Bros. pilot modified with epoxolite. I added a little more dimension to the Vickers guns by printing them out on photo paper and embossed them with a piece of music wire and a hammer. A few taps on each of the cells gives you a more realistic gun that lends itself paint and depth. HiTec 55's were used all around and has workable bell cranks. The graphics were all done on inkjet water slide decal paper made in a Corel Graphics Suite. Covering is flat dove gray polyester film. I enjoyed this build very much and look forward to picking up another kit from you soon. Thanks again Kurt for designing another great aeroplane."
Gary Ritchie added ailerons to his Nieuport 28.
Gary Ritchie: "I built this Nieuport Type 28 fighter from an AerodromeRC short kit. It's covered with two layers of doped medium silkspan. The second layer is dyed with tan Rit dye. The camo is silkspan that was dyed cocoa brown. All decals were downloaded from the internet, printed on silkspan, and doped to the covering. The power system consists of an E-flite 450 brushless outrunner, an E-flite 20 amp controller, and a 3s Cellpro 1,500 lithium polymer battery pack. It pulls about 14 amps at full throttle and generates 132 watts for a power loading of 86 watts per pound. It leaps off the ground at less than half throttle and I spend most of my time cruising at about 1/3 power. Fun to fly and looks sensational in the air. Thanks for offering such a great kit!"
DEOGRACIAS RODIL: "Just wanted to drop you an email to let you know that Mister Mulligan's second flight was a success! He is a great flying aircraft once I had my setup right. Thank you for making him possible. He was a joy to build and great fun to fly! I've attached pictures showing the hatch I made in the belly to make battery changes easier and one picture of the plane without the wheel pants before the second flight.
Here's an additional picture with the wheel pants. He flies great with the following setup:AXI 2808/24, APC 11x5.5 E prop, I Rate 2600mah 3s1p Li-Poly. It still amazes me how well he glides in for landings!"
SAM LEONARD: "Thought maybe you guys would like to see my E-1 that I just completed. This is the early version that Kurt did. Wings, cowl with dummy engine, and landing gear are all removable. GWS 100 (280) with 3.75-1 gear ratio, 9-7 GWS prop,1200 ma E-Tec battery. Solite covering. 11 1/2 ounces ready to fly. Flies great, needs a little more power. I am going to put in the 3.22-1 ratio drive and see if that helps. I built it to fly in an indoor meet next week, but I think it is a little too fast for indoor. Will play around with props and see."
Walter Spilis: "The EI has also flown. Again, a great flying model. Only probleml was keeping the pinion on the motor. Have thrown two in five flights. Tried more super glue to hold it on. Used an Ultrafly A/30/24 brushless motor, Olympus gear box, 2000 3S1P Li-poly and a 10x7.4 APC slow blyer prop."
Jack Richardson
PT Military Trainer with Continental Dummy Engine
Yigal
Flint writes: "Finally I finished the construction of the Stearman PT
19 and hope by this
weekend to make the test flight. The model has an AXI 2820/10
Brushless motor powered by a Thunder Power 4200 mAh 3S2P Li-Po battery. In order
to balance the model I had to add 110 gr of lead bolted to the firewall behind
the dummy motor."
Walter Spilis: "The Rex Scout has flown. Only incident was a motor problem (timing). Found out she really slows down in a glide. Stalled her about two feet off of the ground. Remarkably she stalled wings level and dropped her nose. Minor bending of landing gear that was it! Used an E-flight 400 4200kv in runner, E-flight stick mount gear box 6.6:`1 ratio, 2000 3S1P Li-poly and a 11x7 E-flight slow flier prop."
BEN BENJAMIN: "Power is an MP Jet AC 25/35-20 with a 4-1 gearbox and a Master Airscrew 12-8 wood electric prop. An APC would be a bit more efficient, but the MA looks great sanded down and stained antique brown. I am using a 3S1P 1500 mAh Kokam LiPo and my new Airtronics RD8000 radio. I needed three ounces of nose weight even with the relatively large LiPo, but the airplane does not mind at all.
Covering is a double layer of dyed silkspan. The markings are from AerodromeRC files, computer printed onto white silkspan and doped in place. Finish is non-tautening nitrate clear dope from Aerodyne. The Vickers gun is scratch built from odd shop scraps.
I included full working closed loop cable controls on the rudder and elevator. IMHO, nothing else looks right on a vintage airplane.
I had her out for some exercise yesterday and fine-tuned everything. At least in the case of my airplane some pretty heavy exponential on elevator and aileron helps keep everything smooth...in any event she flies really World War I scale."
Al
CLARK :
"I
purchased your 1/8 scale Sopwith Pup kit last December. After 5 months of off
and on building, I finally got her finished, and test flew her this afternoon.
After some adjustments to the controls and waiting out a few rain showers, she
was flying very nicely. Speed is pretty close to scale, and the motor has plenty
of extra power when needed. It was overcast today plus we have smoke in the air
from the Florida and Georgia fires (Spring 2007), so not the best conditions for
photos. I'll take some more when we get some sun. It looks great flying overhead
with the light coming through the covering. My flying buddy took some airborne
shots which I will send in a separate e-mail.
My Pup ended up weighing
29.8 ozs, including 2.7 ozs. of lead in the cowl for balance, although I might
be removing a little of that because I think it's just a tad nose heavy now. So
that gives a 7.7 wing loading - very nice for scale speeds. I am using the following
equipment in my Pup:
- E-Flite Park 450 outrunner motor
- Castle Creations Thunderbird 18 ESC
- Thunderpower 3S 2100 mah Li-Po battery with Deans Ultra connectors
- APC 11 x 3.8 prop with ends rounded to scale shape
- Spektrum DX7 radio with AR6100 Microlite RX
- Hitec HS-55 servos throughout
- Covered with Coverlite (applied using SIG Stix-It) and 2 coats of SIG Litecoat dope thinned 50/50
- Silver is Pactra Aerogloss dope
- Roundels made from Solite and ironed on. Tail stripes (red and blue) also from Solite and ironed on over the white Coverlite.
- Lettering is home-brewed on the computer using Microsoft Word and Powerpoint and printed onto Inkjet waterslide decal paper.
I made a spar carry-through for the lower wings so that the top wing didn't have to carry their load. I added a few items to enhance the scale fidelity including the "egg crate" structure on the forward fuselage sides under the covering, cable operated tail controls, and wire rigging. Doors on front fuse side panels are put on with a Sharpie marker. Engine is fake and is from a photograph printed out and glued onto a 1/8 thick balsa plate which is attached to the cowl.
I
get a nice long run using the E-Flite Park 450 and 3S 2100 battery, at least 10
-12 minutes (still had battery left when I quit so it's likely closer to 15 minutes)
since most of the time I am using 1/2 throttle. The Park 450 has a nice power
range and at full throttle will nearly haul the Pup straight up. It's nice to
have that extra power if you get caught low and slow! But it is perfectly happy
running at 1/3 to 1/2 throttle which gives a nice scale-like speed.
The
Pup is quite well behaved and not at all sensitive to the controls. In fact I
ended up increasing the control throws. It has a fair amount of adverse yaw, which
I expected, and I have mixed rudder with the ailerons to correct that. I haven't
gotten it to spin yet, but that's probably due to my balance point being a little
far forward. Loop, rolls, and hammerheads are no problem.
I
just returned from my second test flying session with the Pup. I moved the balance
point aft quite a bit to 3.25" from the LE on the top wing. By my calculations
that puts the plane's balance point at 28%. She handles and flies much better
now, taking a lot less back stick and less power for slow flight. The landings
are easier now since you don't have to maintain as much throttle to keep the nose
up. I could not get her to spin before, but now she will, although I had to increase
the rudder throw to the maximum allowed and increase the elevator throw some more.
Even with the increased control throws on the tail she is still quite docile handling
and easy to fly. I should also mention that I have mixed in a fair amount of rudder
with the ailerons to counteract the adverse yaw, which was expected since most
of the older planes have a lot of adverse yaw.
I believe the balance point
could be moved even further aft to 30% or 32% with no problem, which would make
spins even easier, but then I would have to add tail weight! As it is, I have
no nose weight and the all-up weight is now an amazing 27.2 ozs, giving a 7.0
wing loading. Very nice for scale-like flying speeds
I spend most of the
time at 1/3 to 1/2 throttle and have found that the 3S 2100mah battery will last
a long time, around 27 minutes if I run it all the way down. So, even with more
touch and goes and higher throttle settings the flight times with this battery
should be at least 20 minutes, which is really nice.
I have built more
than 120 RC models since 1971 and this is one of the most pleasant to fly models
of all. Really a lot of fun and being scale adds a lot to those low, slow passes
and overhead passes with the sun shining through the covering. Thanks for going
to the trouble of kitting it!
Gary Ritchie: "This SPAD VII was built from Kurt Bengtson's AerodromeRC short kit. I covered it with two layers of doped silkspan and painted it with Benjamin Moore latex paint matched to authentic French WWI colors. It is patterned after the SPAD VII flown by Lt. Decaix of Escadrille Spa.150. Lt. Decaix, as unit commander, painted his vertical stabilizer with a checkerboard pattern. The unit marking of Spa.150 was the Condor. All markings, roundels and details were hand painted. The kit is powered with an E-Flite 450 brushless outrunner, E-Flite 20-Amp controller, Cellpro-3s 1,500 mAh lithium polymer battery and a 12x6 propeller. The power system draws 14.1 amps and generates 132 watts of power. The aircraft weighs only 28 ounces. Kurt has hit another home run with this gorgeous little warbird!"
Walter Spilis: "The Spad VII uses the Ultrafly A/30/24 brushless motor on the Olympus gear box swinging a 10x4.7 slow flyer. It will be grounded ujtil the Pfalz pinion problem is resolved. Too nice of an airplane to break."
Tom (evdo on RC groups): "I went with the Axi 2826/8, 12x8 APC, 3s4200 lipo, AUW was around 60oz with the bigger lipos and cowl/firewall extensions. I maidened it this morning and wow what a great flier. I didn't want to push the 2826 too much w/ the 12x8 but even at half throttle it flew with authority. I didn't even have any issues with the wheel pants on landing (which typically happens on our grass field) All in all it's a very stable design with great performance. Thanks for the tips and information from everyone, also thanks to Jim Young who was kind enough to share his decal files from his beautiful '44. It does make a very odd sound at higher throttle settings due to air through the dummy engine. It's not a bad sound, just an interesting one that is clearly air beating through the dummy engine and out/around the cowl venting.
Brian Williams
