Navigator-RCU

Any comments on this companies kits? I don't see alot about them here.

Jon Mead

Flair kits are very good, just don't expect the kind of build manual that you get with Sig or Great Planes kits. They are mostly die cut, and use a lot of liteply, but don't always have tab and slot construction, which means that you have to be a bit more careful to ensure straight construction.

However, the great thing about Flair kits is the way that the finished plane flies. You have to be a pretty poor builder to have a poor flying Flair plane. I have built the Cub and am currently building the Puppeteer, and I have an Astro Hog in a box ready to build.

I wouldn't recommend the ARTFs though. These are not very good, but then, I'm not a fan of ARTFs.

Navigator-RCU

The Puppeteer is a WW1 biplane like a Sopwith Camel.
I was considering that plane. Does a lot of the hardware come with this kit? Cowling, landing gear, etc. With it being 60" WS it makes it a Big Bird for biplanes. Where did you order yours from?

Jon Mead

The Puppeteer comes with a spun aluminium cowl, pre-formed landing gear wire, balsa pushrods, hinges, clevises and tank. It doesn't include the wheels, the pilot or decals.

I have attached a photo of the plane as of 5 minutes ago, and it should be displayed below. As you can see, there's a lot of building in this plane, and the building instructions come on 7 sheets of plans and scrap views, so you have to be reasonably handy at reading plans.

I have a Saito 56 for mine - although the plane is large, it has a thick wing section, and will fly very slowly. There are a couple of Puppeteers, an SE5a, a Baronette and a Fokker DVII in my club. All of them are great flyers with a 50 sized 4 stroke or a 40 2 stroke.

Navigator-RCU

Thanks Jon, The picture is really the extra touch.
It looks like you did a GREAT job on building the plane.
I can see one of these in my hanger.

I found where I could get one from a US distributor and have it shipped to me in North Carolina.

I just noticed you live in Wales. How is the weather for flying there now. Cold and rainy now but we are suppose to have 60 degrees F here this Saturday. Maybe I'll get to fly some then.

Jon Mead

Like I said, its a lot of building. This one has been on and off for the last 2 years, but I have now made a pact with myself that I won't start another plane until the Pup is flying. I'm going to go and do a bit in a minute - I have one aileron left to cut out and face on the top wing.

I have made some mods to the plane (as usual) which involve making the rear fuselage detachable from the front. This means that I'll be able to leave the wings rigged to the forward fuse and simply attach the rear section at the field. The standard kit build means that the wings have to come off for trasportation, which in turn means unscrewing part of the landing gear. This all takes about 15 mins to assemble at the field. Of course, if you've got a van or a truck (US sized) then you can probably transport in one piece.

If you can, get hold of the Windsock datafile for the Sopwith Pup. This has lots of WW1 vintage photos, a three view suitable for scale competition, and colour plates showing schemes. Some of the training squadrons painted their planes all kinds of colours. Mine will be red, blue and white.

I forgot to mention in the last post that I bought the kit from the LHS, but of course, I'm in the UK, and I guessed that you were in the US. Hobby Supply South used to import the Flair range, but I don't know who does them now. Have a look at the Flair web site on www.flairproducts.co.uk - they may indicate who their US distributor is now.

Treeseeker

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Hey!! Don't our friends over at Giant Scale Planes.com sell their Christen Eagle?

foodstick

A buddy of mine beefed up the DR1 kit from Flair and it flies nice.. However it did end up a tiny bit heavy compared to a BUSA kit...