Where have all the builders gone
03-07-2016, 09:39 AM
#1179
[QUOTE=FlyerInOKC;12186289]Nice looking Jug! I had a whole Sunday afternoon free so I spent it reworking the lower wing panels of a partially built VK Dr.1 I received from a fellow modeller and site member. Here is a quick slightly distorted photo.
QUOTE]
Seeing those wing panels reminded me. You should consider the lower inter-plane struts to be somewhat consumable. I often found myself dragging a wing on landing. The rubber band mounting works well to prevent damage to the wing but the struts got a lot of wear and tear.
QUOTE]
Seeing those wing panels reminded me. You should consider the lower inter-plane struts to be somewhat consumable. I often found myself dragging a wing on landing. The rubber band mounting works well to prevent damage to the wing but the struts got a lot of wear and tear.
03-07-2016, 10:01 AM
#1180
Thanks for the information. The plans do mention a wingtip skid it appears to be liteply and I doubt it will save the wing from much of a touch. I have got very deep into this kit yet. The lower wing panels were my first build session and a lot of time was spent getting at the heart of the build errors (Happens to the best of us). I have sorted the lumber to familiarize myself with what's there and inventoried the hardware. I have decided on color scheme and I am leaning to power it with an engine I have on hand. I want a scale like flight so I don't need power for 3D flight. I don't really want to move the firewall back because it moves the heavier radio gear parts back as well. This airplane is tail heavy enough. I have decided on a pull-pull system for both rudder and elevator and may make my own control horns if I don't get Proctor's update hardware kit. They still produce this VK model kit as well as several others.
03-07-2016, 11:44 AM
#1181
I think the VK Triplane could almost fly on an overachieving .40. It will bob along pretty slowly with all of the wing area but there is a lot of drag to overcome. With a .60 two stroke there is almost zero ground roll on takeoff. A honking big motor is most useful as nose weight. I used an Irvine .72 because it was the .60 class engine I had on hand. A Fox Eagle .60 would also be good. The only problem is that they tend to stick out from under the cowl. I eventually tried converting my Tripe to a Magnum .61 four stroke, a much lighter engine using a recessed firewall. I ended up adding lead to the firewall to get the balance back. It never did fly as well and I ended up spinning it in. Mounting everything as far forward as possible is the best plan. As I recall the servos were right at the firewall on my Tripe. I also ended up disconnecting the stock torque tube aileron linkage and replacing it with mini servos in the upper wing. The stock linkage squeaked and got sloppy pretty quickly. It was a good adaptation to the 1970's radio systems but I was much happier with the mini servos.
03-09-2016, 04:16 PM
#1188
My Feedback: (40)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Alabaster,
AL
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I picked up several projects needing restoration and repair this weekend at Perry Ga. One is a 95" Tri-pacer that needs a lot of tlc but she will fly again. I bought an older build Ikon N'west Monocoupe that I can't wait to get started on restoring. The prize though, was a Hostetler P6E Hawk that has some damage, but not too bad. Getting ready to order plans so I can begin repairs on that one as well. These old birds deserve to be back in the air again.
03-10-2016, 05:26 AM
#1189
I picked up several projects needing restoration and repair this weekend at Perry Ga. One is a 95" Tri-pacer that needs a lot of tlc but she will fly again. I bought an older build Ikon N'west Monocoupe that I can't wait to get started on restoring. The prize though, was a Hostetler P6E Hawk that has some damage, but not too bad. Getting ready to order plans so I can begin repairs on that one as well. These old birds deserve to be back in the air again.
03-12-2016, 02:37 PM
#1192
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Measnes, La Creuse, France.
Posts: 2,129
Received 146 Likes
on
123 Posts
The Keil Kraft Falcon is an excellent flyer but not a very simple build. Ben Buckle makes a kit and these guys on RC Greoups may be able to help you:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...l+Kraft+Falcon
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...l+Kraft+Falcon
04-05-2016, 08:58 PM
#1193
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Measnes, La Creuse, France.
Posts: 2,129
Received 146 Likes
on
123 Posts
This builder has spent the winter building these two models, and assembling two ARTFs but they don't count!
I decided to build the Gemini as therapy after I'd been jilted by the prettiest sixty-five year old in France; I am sixty-eight. The Gemini was my first radio controlled model. I bought the kit for £5 in 1980 at an auction where I was buying furniture for a new house. It was finished in red and silver and I fitted an Irvine 21 car racing engine and a second hand but unused Sanwa radio purchased from a carpenter who was setting up "on his own." It was not a success but I'm a better pilot now.
The modern manifestation uses the servos and electronics from a crashed electric foamie. The original had a tricycle undercarriage but there was insufficient space in the nose to allow for a nose-leg and the electric motor.
The next picture shows my mates Alan Ayres and Kit Davidson with their SLC Fun Flys (Flies?) Alan's is the earlier version featuring a foam wing and powered by an OS 35 SF. Kit's has the later built-up wing and a Thunder Tiger GP 42 for power. I have flown Kit's model on several occasions and have been impressed by it.
I had originally planned to finish mine in yellow to match theirs until someone pointed out that three identical yellow models in the air at the same time is a recipe for disaster so Kit persuaded me to finish the model in orange to match my National Coal Board overalls which I wear whenever the weather is cold. I've acquired the soubriquet "Guantanamo Dave" as a result of my having bought them. They were going cheap as we no longer have a mining industry and they're superbly made. Sticks and stones....
However, I ran out of orange film during the construction process so finished my model in orange and white. Graphics courtesy of Model Markings.
It is powered by an OS 40 FP with a Just Engines Super Quiet Silencer. The wheels last flew on a control-line 48" (1222mm) wingspan Sopwith One-and-a-Half-Strutter by B.Sichi in the 1980s!
I plan to maiden both of them later today.
Wish me luck!
I decided to build the Gemini as therapy after I'd been jilted by the prettiest sixty-five year old in France; I am sixty-eight. The Gemini was my first radio controlled model. I bought the kit for £5 in 1980 at an auction where I was buying furniture for a new house. It was finished in red and silver and I fitted an Irvine 21 car racing engine and a second hand but unused Sanwa radio purchased from a carpenter who was setting up "on his own." It was not a success but I'm a better pilot now.
The modern manifestation uses the servos and electronics from a crashed electric foamie. The original had a tricycle undercarriage but there was insufficient space in the nose to allow for a nose-leg and the electric motor.
The next picture shows my mates Alan Ayres and Kit Davidson with their SLC Fun Flys (Flies?) Alan's is the earlier version featuring a foam wing and powered by an OS 35 SF. Kit's has the later built-up wing and a Thunder Tiger GP 42 for power. I have flown Kit's model on several occasions and have been impressed by it.
I had originally planned to finish mine in yellow to match theirs until someone pointed out that three identical yellow models in the air at the same time is a recipe for disaster so Kit persuaded me to finish the model in orange to match my National Coal Board overalls which I wear whenever the weather is cold. I've acquired the soubriquet "Guantanamo Dave" as a result of my having bought them. They were going cheap as we no longer have a mining industry and they're superbly made. Sticks and stones....
However, I ran out of orange film during the construction process so finished my model in orange and white. Graphics courtesy of Model Markings.
It is powered by an OS 40 FP with a Just Engines Super Quiet Silencer. The wheels last flew on a control-line 48" (1222mm) wingspan Sopwith One-and-a-Half-Strutter by B.Sichi in the 1980s!
I plan to maiden both of them later today.
Wish me luck!
04-05-2016, 09:25 PM
#1195
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Measnes, La Creuse, France.
Posts: 2,129
Received 146 Likes
on
123 Posts
1. The overalls keep me warm.
2. They are fire resistant so if the club house were ever to catch fire I would be able to walk out through the flames while my detractors died in agony!
3. If anyone ever flew his model into me while I was wearing them, I'd be able to sue them quite successfully.
4. I've also got a red set!
2. They are fire resistant so if the club house were ever to catch fire I would be able to walk out through the flames while my detractors died in agony!
3. If anyone ever flew his model into me while I was wearing them, I'd be able to sue them quite successfully.
4. I've also got a red set!
04-07-2016, 05:50 AM
#1198
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: merrill, WI
Posts: 210
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
nice chrome-bumper "B" !. in my 20's, I had a '61 MGA and a '72 Midget and pit crewed for a guy that raced a B in SCCA E-production !. the most recent kit I bought was Carl Goldburg "Buster" large u-control profile plane, when I was 14 or 15.....some 46 years ago. this was the first plane I built that was not a small scale rubber powered plane, (remember all the "Comet" kits ?). it was also the last kitted plane I ever built....
04-07-2016, 08:55 AM
#1199
"B"
nice chrome-bumper "B" !. in my 20's, I had a '61 MGA and a '72 Midget and pit crewed for a guy that raced a B in SCCA E-production !. the most recent kit I bought was Carl Goldburg "Buster" large u-control profile plane, when I was 14 or 15.....some 46 years ago. this was the first plane I built that was not a small scale rubber powered plane, (remember all the "Comet" kits ?). it was also the last kitted plane I ever built....