Michaelj2k

An Aeronca kit just showed up on Fleecebay. Looks complete!

maxpower1954

Hey Mike, it looks very nice, the box is much better than the one I have. I think UStik should bid on it so he can experiment to his heart's content with a genuine Babcock Aeronca Champ! Russ Farris

http://cgi.ebay.com/VTG-BABCOCK-AERO...item19b7bf9f70

UStik

Ships worldwide so I'll try. Hope you're not in a huff, you just asked a riddle I couldn't resist trying to unravel. Hate to leave mysteries unravelled. Any hint for an upper bidding limit?

maxpower1954

Nope, nothing to be in a huff about, my friend. I appreciated your interest in my project, even though I didn't agree with some of your ideas. But I think your theory about the sharp leading edge causing airflow seperations is spot on.

The kit collectors guide shows a spread from 90 to 190 US dollars. I paid 90 for mine, and personally wouldn't pay much more than 150, that's my thinking on it. Good Luck, and I hope you get it! Russ Farris

UStik

Hi Russ, got it! Thanks for tip and encouragement! Price is $113.50, as you may have seen. Not too bad. This was a night job for me (it was 1:45 AM here), and hopefully it will be a winter project. Not too bad as well, looking forward to it. Will post here for pictures and questions...

maxpower1954

That's great! A good price for a kit in excellent condition. I'm looking forward to your reports on taming the little beast, I know you will find it a fascinating project. UStik, you are carrying on in the tradition of the famous German aeronautical engineer Heinrich Dorfmann! Russ Farris

UStik

...but, actually I preferred to fly full-size airplanes built by others (though those could fail as well), and nobody will be hurt if the model crashes (except my ego).

BTW, did you know Hardy Krüger travelled whole Africa with a Twin Comanche?

pd1

Glad you got it.
I was hoping somebody from here was bidding.
If I knew it was you, I would have dropped out sooner.
I was at $111.

Now you have to post your findings .


Paul

UStik

No problem, it's still a good price (only customs could swart me). I'm so curious what the findings could be, and I'll savor all possible analysis. We'll make it an RCU project, and I could even send the model back to the US so you could analyse it as well (if it suvives the shipment to me and back).

maxpower1954

UStik (what is your name...unless you want to be called Heinrich ) when you get the Aeronca and examine the contents give us your impressions and I'll post a run-down of my experiences putting it together (you already know about the flying part!) Russ Farris

UStik

Thanks Russ, I already wanted to ask for that. Delivery will take some time, though, due to German customs. As to the name, I consider this as kind of "aeromodelers anonymous". I'm UStik and I didn't think of model aircraft for 16 hours.

Seriously, I have to hold off and try to not already think of building the model. Right now, I'm pondering how the rudder could be linked. It seems to make up 40% of the vertical tail and has to be linked rigidly, or it would flag in sideways motion and undo much of the stabilizing/damping effect. And is it possible to simply pinch a narrow strip of soft foam plastic between fin and rudder to seal the gap.

Oops, have to reset the abstinence counter to zero.

billmod12

My Feedback: (1)

When I saw that plane on ebay I thought about getting it but I was doing my restoration on my fire damaged planes and had my hands full. This is going to be better than anything on TV even Myth Busters can't even top this!! I will be listening with open mind and and taking notes with each sip of burbon. Cheers! Bill

maxpower1954

UStik, is Hardy Kruger a pilot? I also remember him from that John Wayne movie where they captured animals in Africa - Hatari, I think it was. The movie with the Baby Elephant Walk song. Russ Farris

UStik

Yeah, that's another favorite of mine. I love to see how they throw a net over the tree with the monkeys on it using rockets - you see my weird technical veins.

[link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardy_Kr%C3%BCger]Hardy Krüger[/link] is an actor, but his father was an engineer and actually he intended to become an engineer, too. Later he just could afford buying a Twin Comanche and perambulating Africa. He published travelogues as a German TV series called "Hardy's log book" (1963 till 1968). That's why I even have a few hours on a Twin Comanche even though I actually could not afford it.

bondogee

I have one of those kit available if you know somebody who wants one.