ANYBODY HAVE A GP TRIPLANE?. Just like to know what you think of it before I buy one......I would appreciate a report if possible.
Thanks in advance,
Bob

Bob,
I don't have one or have flown one. A local at my field yesterday has/had one. He had recovered his in blue and white, I think the scheme of some General von Raben pilot, looked really good. He told me why he recovered it. Apparantly the bottom wing does not have any hard wood spar at all, so when landing/taxying, if a bottom wingtip catches any grass or other protrusions, it is liable to break from the twist. This guy had a Saito91 in his, and needed some 1.5 lbs of lead in the nose, yes, you read it right/I wrote it right, 1.5 lbs, so might as well stuff a YS91/1.20.Saito1.50 in the nose of it. It seemed to fly very well, I was very surprised that despite his limited flying experience, he almost flew it like a funfly, slow, close and low.
If you have the money or enginie, I would think the Saito170R3 would be perfect for this bird.
DKjens

I'm putting a 91 magnum in mine and yes it needs nose wieght.I'm going to look at the lower wing and see if that is going to be a problem.thanks for the info.

Mine's virtually done, put the Saito 91 in it. It will need some nose weight, but not 1.5 lbs.

I a bit leary to fly it because of the weird incidences. With the horizontal stab level, all three wings seem to have about -2 degrees of incidence. The book doesn't indicate the desired incidence and GP hasn't returned my EMAIL on this matter.

Does anybody have any light to shed on this matter?

I got mine about a week ago. Fuselage forward sheeting is broken in 4 places, monocote torn at 2 of the breaks. No signs of shipping damage to outer box so I`m not shure if damage was done during packageing or shipping? Tower Hobbies offered to exchange it and pay for return shipping, but after the long wait to get it I`ve decided to repair and recover it myself and consider it a lesson learned not to buy large fragile ARFs from anybody except my LHS. As far as the plane goes it is very well done for a stand off scale triplane. It does look strange in such a shiney finish. Mine will be recovered blue at the damaged areas with matching paint detailing and overall sprayed a light coat of matte clear, Saito 90 for power.
Don`t figure wing incidence from level stab, go by the datum line and you`ll see the H.stab is at a positive incidence in level flight. This is easily seen in any good 3 view of the Fokker and is needed to counter strong lift of 3 wings [ same function as the drooping elevator on a Sig Kadett Senior]
,

I don't have a Dr1, but do have it's predecessor, the Fokker DV biplane. I got it from 3 Seabees. ARF, expensive, but great construction and finish, solartex covering, 69" span.

It fly's with a positive stab. incidence. The wings are undercambered and develop phenomenal lift.

A friend of mine has just completed a Flair (UK manufacturer) Dr1. It's a little larger then the GP ARF and he is using a Saito 150 for power. It needed a little weight in the nose. A very nice aircraft.

I'll post a flying report within a couple of weeks once it has it's maiden.

Best of luck with those GP Dr1's.

Well Guys,
I've got one of these "hun fun flys" and I put an OS .91 four stroke on the front. I balanced exactly at the indicated CG with no weight added! I have not flown it yet so do not have any flight data for you. The balsa was cracked on mine as well and GP sent me a new fuse!

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN

HEY FIERY....
That 3 Seabee's sounds nice...I never heard of them...How do I get in touch with them?
Thanks,
Bob

G'day Bob!

3 Seabees are the US distributor for K&W model aircraft. These aircraft are more then a typical ARF. They are a top quality custom built close-to-scale model aircraft. They are built the same as a craftsman built kit. They specialise in early flyer's. To check them out go to:

www.3seabees.com

www.gsilink.com/user/kwmairpl/

I dealt with 3 seabees at length by email and they really are great to deal with - they go the "extra mile" to make sure their customers are happy. I was so impressed I bought the SPAD XIII they also have in their line up off them. It's also a very good model. I will assemble it (you don't build these aircraft) soon, on my next holidays.

These aircraft are not "cheap", but offer real value when compared to the usual ARF IMHO. Very "repairable" as well - I have had a couple of "arrivals" in my Fokker D-V, and was amazed at how well it stood up the punishment. Minor damage sustained was easily put right.

I'm getting my Fokker D-V ready for the next warbirds meet to be held in early May, at a field a couple of hours drive from where I live. My flying buddy and I will take his Flair Fokker Dr1 and my 3 Seabees Fokker D-V to represent the WW1 "hun" contingent at this gathering of eagles ... makes a change from all the Second World War aircraft you always see at these gatherings. And much more interesting to fly than a ho-hum P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt etc.

Those Nieuport and Sopwith Pup boys better look lively! But I'd better watch my back - I have heard that an SE 5a will be on the hunt as well ...

Back on the subject...

I flew my GP Triplane last Saturday and it performed quite well, once I toned down the control throws. I used an OS 70 Surpass II on the nose and total weight dry was 8.6 lbs, only a 2 oz heavy hub was needed to balance at the recommended starting location.

First flight was a real thrill, but the next several were great. It'll land at a walk and cruise thru the sky at 1/4 throttle. Full power and it climbs out of sight, not vertically, but does so with authority.

It took 11 hrs to assemble. Everything was usable. Nice plane.

Read the full review in an upcoming issue of R/C REPORT.

Dick,
Thanks for the excellent report. It sounds like a real floater. I have had alot of WW2 warbirds 1/5th scale and a few 1/5th WW1 monoplanes. However having just bought a terrific ARF the GP 1/3 PITTS.....well I can't complain about the newer ARF's being offered. Can't beat the price and time to complete. I thought if the Triplane was anything close to the Pitts in Quality I'll buy one.
Do you think a .91 4 stroke would be just about right in balance?
No lead needed? Thanks again for the report...this great RC UNIVERSE WEBSITE.....along with your great magazine...the perfect combo. It seems RC Modeler is so full of advertising
there's not much on info. I've been buying your magazine from my LHS for the past 3 years. Keep up the good work.
Thanks,
Bob

would a 3 lb 25cc gas engine be too much for this plane??

Thank you Dick Pettit. My triplane is on hold untill I read the test in R/C Report. Maybe I can use a Saito .65 or .72 and keep it light. I do like the wheels, they have a more scale outline and shape than Williams Bro`s WW1 generic vintage wheels.

Personal opinion? As to the 25cc engine, Way too much weight on the nose and not a lot of power to show for it. A 70 size 4 cycle or a 60 size 2 cycle is just fine.

Remember this is only a 6 lb airframe. Keep the wing loading down, use the recommended engine size

"Heavy airplanes only make larger holes in the ground".

I would like to know if an OS Max .61FX would power this plane? Anything I should know to do this? (ie Balance, take off length, etc.)

Thanks

The OS61FX would be more than enough power to pull the Triplane off the ground in less than 50 feet. You may have to add some nose weight depending the weight of that engine vs the OS 70 Surpass I used.

In any event, it would make a fine power choice

Did you use the split wire push rods for the elevator as supplied ? Useing wheel collars on primary flight controls seems risky.

Yep, I used the setup as furnished in the kit. This is a slow flying non-aerobatic plane and the 2 wheel collars snugged down on the 2 wires is perfectly strong enough (especially after you wrap the 2 pushrods in copper wire and solder them together!)

Just got back from the FF where today was the maiden flight of the Dr1. All I can say is "AWESOME"!!! The OS.91 is well matched to this airframe and pulls the bird around the sky yard nicely at just below 1/2 throttle. No added weight either with the weight of this engine. You guys who havn't flown yours yet are in for a treat. Ground handling isn't that bad either, even with that confounded skid!

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN

Model Airplane News arrived today with a red arf Fokker Triplane on the cover. Thought for sure it was the GP aircraft but no... it's from Arizona Modelers. It got a good review from an experienced scale contest builder/flyer. Hmmm, anybody have that one? Decisions, decisions. Guess i'll keep flying my Nieuport for awhile. :stupid:

I just got back from my friends house and saw his DR-1. Looks nice, but I have a question about the down thrust and right thrust on the engine. It seems like his has a ton of both and we were wondering if that is normal.

Sung

The engine thrust lines do look excessive but work just fine! Don't change anything and you'll have a very nice flying plane!

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN

Loopman

Thanks for the reply, will pass the word on.

Sung

My friend just flew his today withe Saito 3 cyl. 90 radial. Flew great, very gentle and no bad habits at all. Too slow for my taste, but good flying plane.

Sung

Ok you guys, now that so many are flying I'll have to finish mine off. I'm still worried about that incidence thing... with the horizontal stab at 0 the wings are all at -2 or -3 degrees.

Do the ones that fly fine have that same setup? Or is it just mine?