gamaray,
Thanks for posting the pics. I enjoyed them. You did a beaut job on that DR-1! I am assuming that is the discontinued GP DR-1? I am curious to know what plane/pilot you modeled it after?

I would like to do the Sopwith Camel as my first biplane. My son is making me a Soopy that will be used, and his head will turn with the rudder servo. Some of the guys say it is not harder than a Cub to fly. I have been flying for a long time. I have built the C.G. Piper Cub and use floats, Model Tec P51, P47 and the Extra. I have the Sportsman Aviation F4U Corsair and the Sig King Kobra. If not the Hanger 9 Camel, then what should I do first. Can you tell me the dia. of the wheels? I will be using a grass field that is a little on the rough side. I have installed larger wheels on my P51 and will do the same on my P47 . Thanks for your help Ron

Ron, Depending on your experience, the Camel can be quite a bit more difficult than a Cub.

Here's a review I did of the Camel. Check out the Flight Report:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=810

The good news is, the wheels are HUGE so that won't be a problem.

Hey Capt. Ron,

I have a Thunder Tiger Cub and Model Tec P-51 ... love them both. Did a lot of modifications to the P-51. Squeezed in a set of Century Jet retracts made for a MT 60 kit. Also added a better engine mount that extended the nose by 1/2 inch.

I fly on an elevated grass runway. As you can see ... the runway about 2 feet above the pits and can be a little bumpy depending on the time of year. You need to keep in mind that the runway is only 12 ft. wide and if I miss I'm in the tall grass. The photos are of friends.
My first take off with the Camel was all over the runway. Looked like I never flew before. Same thing happened with the Cub. You learn how to deal with it and get over with it and enjoy flying. If you have a wide grass runway and can fly and land your P- 51 and Cub I would think that you will have little trouble with the Camel.

Post Photos of your articulated Snoopy.

Rich

H9 Camel wheels are 4" dia!

Thanks for your help. I have a friend that has flown a lot of biplanes and he will help me to start off. The field that I fly on is huge. I think it will be fun to have a Snoppy at the stick. My son can just about mold anything. He has been working on the Simpson's TV Show for a long time.

I made some changes on my P51. I use a OS 91 FX and have put on 3" dia. wheels. I made new wheel cups out of some Rubbing Alcohol bottles, using the bottom area. I bought Robart struts that are a larger dia., and drilled out the stock retracts.

Thanks for your help. 4" should do just fine.

OK, it has always helped me when folks post their progress, so here are some pics that show my Camel build so far. I will be using a Power BL 46, and a sound system.

Notice I paint all my nylon fixtures a flat earth, and dull coat the covering. I will also cover the screws in flat clear to give them a weathered look. Gives a nice scale look I think. I also had to do a lot of ironing to smooth out the covering.

Electronics go in very nicely. I have the TP 4S 5000mah extreme installed, and an AR7000 receiver for the DX7. Speed control is a Jeti Opti 77 and a BEC. I use Velcro squares from Home Depot. Makes it easy to get things in and out than using two-sided tape. The speed control is also tied down with a twisty wrapped around two extra long #8-32 engine mount bolts. I did this because of all the pulling to be done while plugging/unplugging the battery. Everything is as far forward as possible.

Another note: I did not follow the manual that said to install the cabane struts in the beginning. I thought they would get in the way, and I am glad I have not put them on yet. I will do it prior to wing install.

Hey tclaridge that sounds very cool. Is the sound system for machine guns? I think that is a good idea on the cabane struts. How much flying time do you hope to get with that set up? Thanks for the pictures. I hope to order mine soon. I was thinking of using a Magnum 91 or a OS 91 four stroke.

Tclaridge, how did your CG work out on that arrangement? I would think you might need your battery as far firward as you can possibly get it, i.e. poking through the firewall into the cowl. Is the sound system mounted up there on the firewall to help?

Rick

The sound system will have a Gnome engine sound digitized from the real thing and tied to the esc so the RPMs match. There will also be a machine gun sound tied to the gear switch on the Tx, and there will be LEDs in the gun barrels so the flash matches the "pop pop pop." I don't have it installed yet, but that is next.

I don't know the CGyet, but I am assuming I will be OK because the sound system will come in about 16 oz, and its installed in the cowl. That is a good idea to open the firewall an push the battery through. It would move the battery 2 inches foward. That would move the CG forward 1/4" and every little bit helps. If I get into adding too much ballast, I will cut the firewall and go for it.

Another thing this thread helped on is I reversed the engine mount. This give more clearance of the engine against the dummy radial. I do not have to trim the dummy motor, and you do not have to reverse the shaft of the BL 46.

Thanks guys. I will post pictures as I progress.

Hey tclaridge,

Nice looking! I sprayed flat clear on mine .... what a difference.

Do the LED's fit in the barrels? I'm not particularly interested in a full sound device, just the flashing LED's.

I busted a few landing gear o rings last time out. Between the ground being hard and fuel getting on the o rings ... they tend to fail. There are a few posts that mention this. I'm not sure if you will have the same problem running electric. It's something to keep in mind.

Rich

The LEDs fit fine after you knock down the flange a little with a file or Dremel.

This is TOTGA. I need suggestions, comments or hints on the Hanger 9 Sopwith 60.

I have a OS FL70 four stroke that I am pulling from a crashed Cub. Is this enough motor for the Hanger 9 Sopwith, considering the recommended engine is the Saito .91 four stroke?
Anyone out there that may have expiriance with this plane contact me at RC Universe my user name is TOTGA. Thanks for the help ahead of time.

TOTGA

Take some time and read all of this thread. It's full of useful information and it's only 7 pages long. There's even an excellent review.
One person here is using a Sato 82 and said reports that it has plenty of power. The very next post mentioned that a 70 4c would work.

I had a FL70 4C in my Cub and did not like the combo. It's now in a 40 size Kyosho Zero and is working great. I'm not sure what the weight difference is between the Zero and the Camel but that is something to consider. You'll need that pound of lead and then some to balance the Camel.

Thanks tclaridge,

I saved a few LED's and a circuit from a toy my son trashed. Works on 4.8v and can be hooked up to the receiver with a little modification. It does not flash super fast but it will work.

Rich

I agree. In the Review, I used a Zenoah G-20, but that was WAY more engine than it needed.

I think an OS 70 would work just fine

i posted about the saito .82 It is more than enough power for the camel. If you are really interested in scale flying I think the 70 would be perfect. Very seldom do I get over half throttle with mine unless I really want her to scat. This is an awesome plane once you get it in the air. And it is so light don't try to fly it in the wind. It may fly good but as they say what goes up must come down. To me it lands like a true camel. If you read about this plane in WW1 you will see where more pilots died on take off and landing than were shot down. I think this plane flies very scale.

OK, after all the good advice on this thread about weight and balance, I did some numbers and saw I was heading for a pig. I am now working to move things forward to avoid adding too much ballast. Boy is this thing sensitive to CG!!

I had to cut the firewall to get the battery forward, and most electronics will go under the cowl (except the Rx). I am posting a little Excel sheet to share my weight and balance. I hope it may be useful for other folks to plan their radio, motor, and equipment install. For us electric guys, the lighter motor seems to create a balance challenge.

I will post pictures of the final installation when it is done.

PS Just change the *.txt filename to *.csv for Excel to read it.

Here is my latest post showing the LED installation for the muzzle flash of the twin Vickers!

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5533192

I posted an update on painting control linkages and saving weight for an electric installation (including pictures):

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5751085

Nice work tclaridge. I like the carbon control rods. I built a red LED flasher circuit for my machine guns but they are not as bright as I'd like them to be. I need to tweak it in some.

Now that the weather has started to calm down ... I will start flying my Sopwith more frequently.

One of the guys at the field has been to Rhinebeck and said that it would be a good day trip to take my son to. Surprisingly ... my wife agreed that this is on our summer "To Do" list. I'd like to time it so I can see / fly in the RC vintage warbird fly in that is hosted there.

Hi guys,

What a useful thread!

I wanted to have a classic "Dogfighting duo" for model air displays, so I've just finished my Great Planes Fokker DR1 and I'm about to order a Hanger 9 Sopwith Camel!

One quick question to those who have built one: One page 2 of the manual it says you need 2 9-inch servo extension leads (for the ailerons), then later in the manual it says you need 2 18-inch servo extension leads! Which is it?

Many thanks,

Jason.

Jason,
The extensions should be 18" if I remember correctly. Also, there is a BIG error in the manual about the interplane struts. It is very confusing, and on the web at Hangar 9, they posted a service bullitin about it, AND IT WAS WRONG TOO!!

Be careful to check the lengths of your interplane struts when installing them. One is only about 1/8" shorter than the other. If you put the wrong ones on (front on the back and vice versa) you will twist your wing!

Check the wing incidence after installing the interplane struts! I have a feeling some of the reporting stalling characteristics were due to this. I made sure everything was square, and she flys straight and true without any bad tip stalls.

Hi Tclaridge,

I can't thank you enough for that very valuable tip! So, as regards the interplane struts, you say one is shorter than the other - does the shorter one go on the front or the back?

Thanks again,

Jason.

Hi Tclaridge,

I can't thank you enough for that very valuable tip! So, as regards the interplane struts, you say one is shorter than the other - does the shorter one go on the front or the back?

Thanks again,

Jason.