ProfLooney

I understand what you mean pitts, but what I am meaning it isnt an aerobatic plane if flown scale like a fighter would be. I guess I shoulda explained it better. I was under the impression he was looking for more of an aerobatic style bipe like a neuport sopwith and others, whereas a duck was not an aerobatic capable plane in full scale other than a few basic maneuvers as with the huge float and the powerplants of the day they didnt have enough power.

Joe

pittsdriver

My Feedback: (7)

I know Joe, just having a little fun with you. For a cheap biplane that flys as good as any try the Lanier Rebel. I think they still make it. Not as nice as the newer ARFs but a tough great flying airplane and at around $100 a real deal. Don

ALLISONMO2

My Feedback: (35)

well guys i need an opinion. i recently acquired an arf cgm ultimate in a trade and was originally going to sell it. well i opened the box and played with it and now it's stayin! .91 will be here fri! my only concern is my relative lack of experience. my first plane was an avistar trainer and i still have it after 4 years. problem is that's it. no other experience except a few flights on a stik. avistar was fun and did some non-trainer like stuff with a .46fx&macs pipe but it was a trainer none the less. most landings occured without the prop still spinning and at an airspeed of mabye 10 mph. now i'm considering flying a much less forgiving model that i have heard i have to fly in at high speeds. am i making a big mistake or do you think that an instructor on a box for a while will have me on my way? buying a plane to fill the void in flying styles isn't really an issure due to $ and time constraints. what to do?

flyster63

My Feedback: (3)

Depends on your level of flying. If your comfortable with mid and low wing sport fliers like the CG 300 I would recommend an Ultimate. That was my first aerobatic Bipe and it is a wonderful plane. I had the CG with an OS 120 4-stroker and the vertical was outstanding! The Ultimate is a very stable flier and extremely easy to land if you keep it light! I have also had or flown a Miles Reed designed 1/3 scale weeks Solution, very beautiful plane and flies great. It was powered by a D&B 3.7. A Byron's 1/3 scale Pitts Special with a Satio 270 twin. Right now I have one of the GP 1/3 Pitts ARF's with a US41 for power, FANTASTIC plane, and a Byron's 1/3 scale Christian Eagle with a Satio 270 Twin. Both are great fliers but are not as easy to land as most others, you have to keep just a small amount of throttle to them and be easy on the sticks.

Spuetz

Scale, great flying, aerobatic Biplane? One that won lots of prizes, both the model and the real thing? The Buecker Jungmeister (not Jungmann cause that was more a trainer,) The Junmeister with that beautiful radial engine!... Here's a link to a great kit (from what I've heard)
http://www.modellbau-benja.de/Bucker...ngmeister.html
Cheers, Martin

G.F. Reid

My Feedback: (1)

I don't think you have a real concern here. In fact, I think bipes make a rather nice progression from trainers. They are different but not inherently hard planes to fly and once you have a good flying bipe, you'll never be without at least one in your stable.
I haven't flown the Ultimate but have had 4 or 5 bipes. In my experience, it's very misleading to say that the Ultimate will have to be landed at high speed. What they do require is that you keep some power on. Power doesn't necessarily translate into speed when it comes to bipes. It just means that you can't chop the throttle and glide it in from the downwind leg like you would a trainer.
They have a lot of drag so they slow down quickly when you drop the power. Just keep the throttle on a bit when you come in on final and learn what the rate of descent is.
An instructor on the buddy box for the first couple of flights or so is a great idea.
As for good flying bipes. I like the 1/4 scale EAA Bipe from Balsa USA so much, I built two. It's inexpensive too!

yardbird78

I have been flying RC for 33 years and I have 3 favorites for bipes.
#1 Favorite is Lou Andres' Aeromaster with an O.S. 91 four cycle or the new Saito 100 four cycle. Fantastic flying machine with no bad habits. Take offs are straight down the middle with only a slight amount of right rudder. It is reasonably aerobatic, easy and graceful in the landing. It does have a lot of pieces for building. It was also kitted by Great Planes with a simplified wing mount system and a radial cowl. I put an aftermarket cowl on my Andrews version. It sure changes the looks.
#2 Favorite is Sig 4 Star 60 bipe. It's lines are not as pleasing as the Aeromaster, but it flies well. Same engines as above. Quite a bit easier to build.
#3 If you want an ARF. The Global Fokker D-VII is unbeatable. I put an O.S. 70 four cycle on mine because I didn't have the recommended 50 size and it is somewhat overpowered. The nose is a little longer that scale. It will do all basic aerobatics and even Lomcevaks. It lands a little hard with the solid LG mounts. I changed the color scheme to match one Ernst Udet flew late in WW-I with a barber pole/candy striped top wing and the words, " Du Noch Nicht!!" across the elevator. Udet was quite an egotist, but he wound up the war with 62 kills (second only to Richtofen) and survived to start WW-II with the Luftwaffe.

flyster63

My Feedback: (3)

KatManDew,

The Ultimate is is as easy on the ground as it is in the air. On the landing keep just a few extra clicks of throttle in it until your on the ground. Once you landed it a couple of times you'll learn how slow yours will come in. Mine was really light and at about 5 feet of the ground I brought it back to idle and just let her slowly set down. What are using for power?

Mark

US185Damiani

I say the GP Supersportster Bipe and the Balsa USA Phaeton series are fantastic flyers. for scale the Se5a by dynaflite or the Rich Uravitch Fokker D7 plans ( semi scale ) or THe Sig Liberty Sport or Skybolt or the Great Planes Skybolt. lots of great flying choices. Good Luck

neteagle

bibe plans you can find here: http://rcplan.com

Corkscrew-RCU

KatManDEW,

There have been a few WW1 aircraft mentioned, but the sport aircraft mentioned are more likely suited to "wringing it out," if that's your goal. There are a number of civil and military interwar (between WW1 and WW2) aircraft. One is the Boeing F4b-2 Biplane which is featured on this RCUniverse thread . There was also a French civil, aerobatic bipe, the Morane Saulnier MS 350. No plans are available, to my knowledge, but it might be worth pursuing if you are up for the research, and want something unique..

KatManDEW

My Feedback: (6)

Lots of great suggestions. Thanks.

beenie

My Feedback: (9)

One nice bipe worth mentioning is the Grumman Ag-Cat. Its a little different than an Ultimate, which is a good plane in its own right. You would have to scratch build, as I am not aware of any kits. Check my gallery for pics of mine. It has a 48" ws, now weighs 3 lbs, 2 oz, and is powered with a .30 4 stroke. All of the maneuvers you could want, even hangs on the prop, just does things a little slower. Looks just like a full size Ag-Cat dusting a field when flown in a spray pattern. Is an awsome plane at 48", would be even better bigger.

Out in the Stix

Phaeton. The answer is simple. The Balsa USA Phaeton.

Skymac

My Feedback: (8)

That's bull..............................Yes most do come down like a brick but hard to flare, no way man. I have a 1/4 Scale Ultimate, Barnestormer Kit and its not hard at all, picture in the Avatar. Flying a friends Goldberg back a few months ago and was landing, the guy next to me flying taxied out, without looking down the runway and not have hearing my spotter (accident) I did not know of this by watching the plane. I had already touched down, 5 feet later I saw his plan right in the middle of the runway, everyone screaming I just pulled full up and hopped right over him, on low rate which is not quite 1 inch of throw. And his plane is not a light one. Its been around for awhile.

MalcolmL

KatManDew- it's not clear to me from your two posts whether you're looking for a WWI or any aerobatic biplane - you mention both. If this is your first bipe (and if you haven't been flying long) then you may wish to consider getting in more stick time and then selecting a docile bipe even if it's non-scale. However, a competent flier will have no problem with either WWI or aerobatic bipes. My third RC model was a semiscale and docile Tiger Moth - a very successful entry into the world of bipes. That was almost 30 years ago and many other bipes have since left the building board.

As to recommending a WWI type, this is rather difficult and would mainly be a matter of personal choice. It seems that they all have quirks which must be considered in light of your experience level. Whereas there is a whole slew of aerobatic types - from manageable to ballistic - to choose from. Then again, there are so many Golden Age civilian and military bipes to choose from.

So, while I have not made any specific recommendations, I hope the above helps you to make a decision. Welcome to the wonderful world of bipes ! MalcolmL

DoZeR1369

Does anyone know if there are any 3 view, plans or kits available for the Grumman Duck

stikpilot

WELL I HAVE TO GET IN MY TWO CENTS WORTH, I HAVE OWNED A GB ULTIMATE, A SIG PROFILE ULTIMATE, PICA WACO, SIG SKY BOLT, A LAZY ACE BIPE, SO I HAVE HAD MY SHARE OF BIPES,AND THE TWO ULTIMATES WERE FINE FLYER'S. NOW I'M MOSTLY INTO PROFILES. AT PRESENT I'M FLYING A TOPCAT, WACKY WACO AND BUILDING A LANIER DOUBLE TROUBLE. THE WACO-WACO IS IN MY PHOTO GALLERY. WILL TRY TO POST IT HERE.

PROBRO #205

MalcolmL

There's a 3-view of J2F Duck on this site :-

http://members.fortunecity.com/inedesca

Just scroll down to alphabet "D" and click on DUCK.

MalcolmL

KatManDEW

My Feedback: (6)

MalcolmL: I'm mainly interested in aerobatic planes, but I've always liked the WWI bipes. I don't think I would be happy with one that didn't have much in the way of aerobatic capabilities.

I was looking for opinions on WWI bipes, and also on bipes in general. I'm flying the GB Ultimate now and I love it. I wouldn't mind having a different aerobatic bipe but I can't imagine another one flying as well, and being as well behaved as the GB Ultimate.

As for bipes landing like bricks - The engine on my GB Ultimate flamed out the first two times I flew it, (which were also the first two times I flew a bipe), and I greased it in pretty as you please from the back side of the flying field. I had good altitude, but I was two turns and a long way from landing, and I just kept the nose down and it floated in like a trainer. Sweet plane.

Skymac

My Feedback: (8)

The New Cermark pitts is great, its the same as the old one but just with some improvements. GREAT flying plane, I like the feel of it a whole lot more than the GB 10-300 and thats pretty hard to beat as far as all-around flying. The pitts will fly on a good .90 FS if you dont want to do aero batics and just have a nice everyday flyer or it can do wonders with a YS120 or other 120 class Fourstrokes (FS) It's got a 60in. WS. with 2 colors to choose from, classic red or a blue and white "house/factory" color. I have seen the blue one in person and its pretty sweat for an ARF

www.cermark.com

MalcolmL

KatManDew - well, you seem to be covering the spectrum of bipes with the exception of perhaps Golden Era civilian types like the Great Lakes and others. I don't think you'll find a scale WWI bipe that flies like your (and my) Ultimate. MalcolmL

LMProd

Look at the June Issue (this Month) of RC report, Dick Petit reviews a Dyanaflite SE5A.
He like the way the plane handled.

Another SE5a to check out is made by FunAero.

canadagoose

My Feedback: (2)

Check out RCM's Rodeo bipe, I flew one for 2 years solid. It handles well on the ground and in the air. I put a saito 80 in mine, it was definetly one of the funnest planes i have flown.

cg

Hi ----
I've built a few biplanes. I really enjoyed my Goldberg Bucker Jungmann with a Saito 150 up front- slightly underpowered but great fun. My Flair Tiger Moth was alright with an OS160 but not really very interesting -too slow and ponderous. My Giant Aeromaster is a 'thing of beauty and I hope a joy forever' Its big, weighs about 20lbs witha Zenoah G62 and it does everything that I can possibly think of !. Super model super kit. Only snag is that it is not scale so I can't enter it in scale competitions. I would like to build an Ultimate and have written to Barnestormers about their 25% scale kit although temptingly they are talking of a 48% scale kit which must be pretty huge. If anyone has experience of the Ultimate kits i would be most interested to hear your thoughts.
Colin Gardner Zimbabwe