speedbrake

I bashed a Bruce Tharpe Flying King several years ago. The project took about three months to complete. I added four OS.20 four cycle engines, 9X6 props. The Kit is stock except for the four nacelles, and stronger wing mount. The span ended up about 81 inches. It hasn't been weighed...but my guess is it is a bit over stock weight. I hope to have it flying this summer. I expect it to be a simple flyer with no bad habbits. It should sound really good with the four engine running. Each nacelle has a 3oz tank and a mini servo for the throttle. I didn't add flaps. The cabin area is sheeted for additional strength. My one worry was it would be top heavy and want to nose over. I'll keep the thread posted on the flight results. I'll send pictures soon.

Keith

speedbrake

Some pictures.......

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

Very cool.

Wayne22

My Feedback: (2)

What a neat idea! The FK is a gentle beast and should take the extra engines in stride. I've flown several with 61's and 91 4-strokes on them.

A Saito 91 with a 14X6 has 154 sq inches of prop disc area...with your set up, you have 254 sq inches......I'm really interested to hear how it flies. My arm chair guess, wth the props blowing directly over the wing, it should take off pretty quickly, climb pretty decently. Landing....it may float forever in ground effect if all 4 are running. This is just a for-fun guess...lets see how wrong (or right) I am.......

Did you send pictures to Bruce?

speedbrake

Wow! I had to figure the area of the prop disks myself......it's been thirty years since I calculated the area of a circle! Thanks for waking up an old brain. I agree with you, the plane is going to float down the runway at idle!! What a floater this is going to be. I smell fun coming............

Bruce was in contact while I built the plane. He really interested in how it performs.

Keith

evan-RCU

I did this with a tower trainer and four OS .25's a few years back. FLew like crap but it did fly. An interesting thing was it flew very top heavy with the cylinders all up making the center of lift below the center of gravity. It was also very heavy loaded... Anyway, it was fun when I did it and I ended up tossing in the can... A pic is in my RCU gallery.

speedbrake

Finally! The Flying King is flying. What a great flying plane. No bad habits, easy to fly and land. It took me a few flights to get the engines tuned to each other....all are tuned to the weakest engine. Three ounce tanks permit fifteen minute flights. I have OS.26s on the outer nacelles and OS.20s on the inner nacelles. Using APC 9X6 props. The engines have proven to be very reliable.

Prior to flight I had fears that the model would be top heavy and thrust at idle would cause the plane to stay in ground affect. No problem...the plane handles the four engines as if it were designed for them. The large generous wing handles the weight nicely. Coordinated turns are a must though....got to use rudder for a nice turn. Engine out performance is very good. I had two quit on one of the first flights and there was no problem. I did add an additional 1/4 inch to the elevator travel and an extra 1/2 inch to the rudder throw. Ailerons have recommended throws.

The sound from the four engines is unique and pleasant to hear. The plane is easy to trim and flies predictably. The torque from the four engines is very noticeable. Must use a little power on approach to counter the drag on the plane. A most satisfying project.

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

Very cool!

You could easily add a boat hull and make it a seaplane. If you made the seaplane hull like a slipper you could just slide the nose in, the "sole" of the slipper would provide you with the step you need for ROW.

speedbrake

LOL....no flying boats for me.

During my building of the Flying King I found a neat product. A 5 in 1 pigtail that replaces the three Y cords I needed for the throttle servos. The attached photo shows how small this pigtail is. For those of you who haven't seen these they can be obtained from Hobby King. It really tidies the servo wires and provides an easy connection when installing the wing. And obviously a perfect product for a four engine setup.

nk3t

Very nice!