ORIGINAL: mirwin
The WACO YMF-3 and YMF-5 is the most beautiful biplane to ever sprout wings!
I bet $10 this is the Cox ARF.
Cox bought Pica, and for awhile sold a 1.20 and a .60 size ARF of the Pica kit. Then Hobbico bought out Cox. I campaigned Hobbico to revive this ARF so you can thank me very much.
On the other hand, after nearly five years of hoping to find one of these beauties, I gave up. I finally located a very old Pica kit of the .60 size, and commissioned Bill Phillips in North Carolina to build the airframe for me. I'm now finishing it out. I can't say I wish I had waited because the model that Bill built for me has some re-engineering in it that will make it superior to any ARF. Even so . . . . .
By the way, there's an ENORMOUS thread on this model and other WACOs:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_40..._1/key_/tm.htm
Mike
Starting to look like GP might have actually turned over a clean sheet to do this now 1/5 scale ARF, when it comes out, according to a poster that works at Great Planes in Champaign..we will have to closely inspect it, compare it to the COX/Pica ARF and the original kit and see how it comes out..
I also campagned with the Cox/Estes folks as they became part of Hobbico to re release this model.....looks like they listened to a number of us!
The GOOD NEWS is that their model avoids numerous sins of the Cox/Pica ARF. The new Great Planes models is better in the following ways, at the very least: Upper wing now has correct flat center section (yay!), the gear and cowl look better, the new yellow and black trim color scheme includes the scale red pinstriping plus there is some evidence that they have added some nice scale details, such as fuel lines on the cabane struts, added the Waco decals that Cox was too cheap to include and they modeled the air balance type of rudder.
All of this can be seen in the video if you look closely. Good news for Waco lovers and with the improvements, it should be well worth the extra hundred bucks over the 2006 Cox/Pica ARF price of $379. I might sell off my Cox/Pica Waco and replace it...