JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

Does anyone know if the current Falcon 56 kit, I believe it is the Mk.III now, is the same airplane as the original 56 right down to and including a built up horizontal stabilizer? I think the new one is laser cut. Anyone????/

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

The Mk III is the fourth variation of the Falcon 56 design.

The original has a very narrow nose and was marked for .09-.15-.19 engines
The "Deluxe" had the nose widen and the kit was marked for .15-.19.-.35 engines. Both these first two versions had all balsa spars. With a bigger engine, the spars sometimes failed. The Deluxe version is the one that most think of as the original, but it's not.
The MkII had hardwood caps on spars.
The MkIII has a lite-ply fuselage.

buzzard bait

Also, the fin and rudder changed with the MkII and that is carried over into the MkIII. The Mk.II added ply doublers and glued on stab; except for the stronger spars noted above, the wing and stab construction were unchanged, and I'm pretty sure that is true for the Mk.III also. Basically, it got beefed up, and the stab-fin was slicked up, but the aerodynamics didn't change.

Jim

David Bathe

Ahhh the classic Falcon. Heyt you know what? Build it with a flat wing and increase the size of the ailerons (just use larger stock) and you've got the sweetest Sunday sports come fun fly.
Many hours of fun to be had and more than able to hold it's own at the field against modern Sunday sport designs.

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

I have an original Falcon 56 and it is sweet. But it is so old and has been virtually destroyed so many times that it probably weighs in at somewhere around 7 lbs. It is the .35 version, whichever Mk that happened to be. I would like to have another one if the flight characteristics are similar since they are much more affordable than an original when you can find one.

Never thought of flattening the wing. How do you do thatsimply slice the arc off the lower part of the ribs? Or do you mean to take the dihedral out? Interesting thought.

By the way, I am now running a Tower Hobbies .46 on mine. It is a power house. I guess I got lucky as I have read that they are either very good or very bad. Mine is good.

David Bathe

Yes sorry, I ment build the wing without dihedral.
You can also leave of the last couple of wing ribs (if it's an original), leaving it with a shorter span. This together with the larger aileron stock, revolutionises the roll without effecting it's general pleasant nature.
Just keep it as light as possible... as one does these days.