ORIGINAL: hrrcflyer
ORIGINAL: doxilia
David,
..........What are your thoughts on the design? Are you hunting for a good design for the new NR black beasts?
David
Good morning David,
I don't have enough experience with any of these classics to offer constructive thoughts on the design. Also, I have not had the opportunity to see very many of these classics in person. At this point, I'm just absorbing all of the great information I can about the classics from the rest of you guys and I'm enjoying reading about your experiences with them over the years. I am also learning a great deal from watching real craftsmen here and other sites change a bunch of balsa, some fiberglass and a little paint into a real masterpiece.
'morning.
The great thing about the forums - everyone learns and enjoys from other modelers builds and experiences regardless of our background. Like you I have learned immensely and "see" how others approach a task and a building technique.
I’ve always liked planes like the EU1-A, Aurora, Atlanta, Blue Angel, Illusion and others ever since I first saw pictures of them here on RCU. I think it’s the graceful lines and the way they flow over the fuselages and the wings and since I’ve never had the opportunity to fly any of them, that’s all I can say.
I almost hate to admit this, but the only classic pattern planes I’ve ever flown is my old Tower Kaos which is now deceased and the Dalotel I had which I thoroughly enjoyed flying while I had it. I guess my Dalotel is what really planted the seed in my head about finding one of the planes mentioned above along the desire to build and fly one even though neither my building skills nor my flying skills are up to the task.
My personal view is that we are
all up to the task. That's probably my transcended grandfather speaking but it stuck. At first our models might be a little rough but the more we work at it the more we improve. I think it's probably easier for all of us when things are taken in small bites. Discipline is also key and being constant. With these few ingredients kept close, just about anything we decide to build is achievable - just witness what is done for the top events in the hobby.
But I'm being a little philosophical. In a nutshell, I guess I'm trying to say: cast aside your doubts and hit it! This alone is cathartic regardless of the outcome of the build.
To answer your last question, Yes. I’m actually looking for two classics to put a purple headed monster in since I now have a natural case with a 10mm carb and a black case with the 9mm carb. I guess it’s a good thing that I’m in no real hurry to get one because I still have allot to learn, especially with regards to setting up a plane with a tuned pipe and how planes perform with different props.
Well, those are indeed two monsters and will yield very high performance models if they are built with care. It sounds like a healthy and ambitious project. You can be building these models while you fly others that will prepare you for them when they are ready. Unless you work on them daily, it can take upwards of a year or more to get one ready for the flight line so there's plenty of time. My personal preference in terms of acquiring building skills is to build in wood. Foam and glass kits are wonderful and many of us are grateful to Don and others for making these available again. Indeed there are some designs that I'd find hard to fathom in anything but these materials. However, the building skill set one develops with glass/foam kits is rather different than when building in wood. The latter teaches me what to and what not to do over the course of a build and in future builds. In glass/foam builds, I'm mainly thinking along technical aspects of the build and juggling the gear installation in my mind before attacking the fuse and wing.
In any case, I'm not trying to deter you from or encouraging you to build either type of model - just my view on things. Given how you've presented things, I might be inclined to want to build one of each as they will each teach you something quite different.
I would also likely select either an EU-1A or a Brushfire but not both. Given the engines you have at hand, I'd suggest you go with a glass/foam Arrow and wood/foam Brushfire. Heavy personal bias naturally...
The beauty of the Brushfire fuse is that it actually lends itself very well to a simple straight forward wood frame up which is much lighter than the original plan design. In those days, balsa was available in logs at our LHS's and carving 6x6 blocks of it was nothing out of the ordinary. Nowadays, we approach things with a
skinned & thin strong bulkhead approach much like how canoes are built for example. Naturally this modern approach used almost exclusively in ARF's is not only much lighter but also much cheaper (which is necessary given the cost of wood).
So there's the two of us being long winded this Sunday morning...
David