well maybe we have caught the seller in a lie. that would be an interesting story to see unfold.

I'm kind of wondering about that....
No city listed, he also says that he is using Ebay as his business now.
I guess we'll find out when Crank gets word. If he was a competitor and doesn't want to talk/share stories about his acomplishments, that would be a first.


DM

we could all ask him assorted questions over there.

I don't expect an answer. I will make a couple of call's tomorrow. Not that this matter's, but interesting. The last Tipo that was auctioned, hit $377, and did not have history. Maybe this one does. Expect $610.00+

Rusty has all that is needed for a Tipo for sale, less then $300.00. I will let you guy's know what come's up. I am sure the seller is reading our post's, havin' a little fun. The 377 Tipo picture here, it was in kit form.
Crank

This plane is the Hippo Tipo. The pipe indent in the fuse gives it away.
Mark

Was wondering when someone would say it out loud.

Terry in LP

Thanks for correcting me Mark. I was a little puzzled that even with an assumed area (on my part) of 850 squares, it would have a span of 73" and a length of 65". With that span it has to have well over 900 squares! I assumed it was an 850 because I recall the pictures below and hearing that the foreground model was an 850 while the rear model (presumably identical to the one on auction) was a modified version of it but essentially of the same size.

In short, not having pictures of the complete Tipo lineup over time (despite your abundant help on this in the past), I called it incorrectly.

The question that I have now is: Does the Hippo in these pictures have a RE Webra 60 or something else? Hard to imagine a model this size flying well on a 60. They must build to around 9-10 lbs. I guess there were several other large 6' planes built with 60's.

David.

Maybe Dick Hanson will jump in here with some input. Nice kit!

OK. I sent two message's thru the site 'message subject box'. Both msg's were opened and answered. Answer: BLANK, NOTHING.

I listed RFJ's Nat's winner's for 1981 & 1982, looking for a comment. Mystery man I guess. Since Rusty is a Futaba rep, and the seller is describing his relationship with Futaba, maybe he can find out. More later.

Crank

Whoa!

We'd make for a good bunch of CP researchers! I'm glad it's hard to get any mistakes past our crew.

It'd be nice to hear the plain facts from the seller - just to satisfy our curiosity.

David.

Looking at feedback the seller is addressed as "Steve" in a transaction dated 7-22-09 and again on 6-4-09 yet again on 5-21-09. I stopped looking then. Buyers do discover the seller in the PayPal process.

Mystery seller of the Tipoare 850?

I have no idea who it is and would contact the seller via Buy-Bay as you have tried. The pink airplanes pictured a few threads ago are more than likely Donny Weitz's, former manager of Circus Hobbies, great guy and pilot.

Powering the larger models? I flew the latest iteration of the Tiporare in 1989/90 powered by an O.S. .61 rear exhaust with pump (?) and it was able to do everything of the time including gigantic knife loops.

Rusty Dose
Team Futaba

Steve Helms ??? Check the date's.

Crank

Hi,

The engine in the photo does appear to be a piped rear exhaust Webra Racing 61F or the long stroke racing 61F LS. It definitely has the Dynamix slide carburettor or something that looks very much like one! It's definitely a two stroke. Now .61cu.in. (10cc) was the two stroke engine capacity F3A rule limit in those days so the plane was definitely designed for, and flew well with, that size of engine.

Webra didn't make a rear exhaust two stroke aero engine larger than .61 in the early eighties when the last versions of the Tiporare were designed. But they did replace the Racing 61 F with a Racing 80F after the rules changed in the early nineties. The Racing 80F can easily be told apart from the Racing 61F by the much wider cylinder head and cooling fins. The engine in the picture is definitely not an 80F. I am told by the Webra representative here that the Racing 80F piston and liner can be retrofitted in a Racing 61F LS but have not verified this myself. It could be possible that the engine in the picture is a Racing 61F LS with 80F internals but I think that's unlikely. An 80 would need to spin a larger prop than the one I see in the picture, too. The one in the picture looks like a coarse pitch 11 prop as was used on 60 size pattern engines in the day.

Best regards.

Whatever you do, if your the winning buyer, make sure you leave him feedback!

We should start a pool on what the final number is. Pretty rare find for the Tipo purist...

Sean

Steve Helms was 2nd in 1981 and 3rd in 1982 using a Webra powered Arrow both times.

Ray

Its not me. I dont have any ideas...

$615.00

Crank

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Hello there gentlemen. I am the poor sap that agreed to put this sale on my EBay account.
The owner of this Tiporare is using my EBay account to sell this rare plane.
I have made him a promise that I would not disclose who he is and plan to honor that promise.
Why he wants it that way, I for the life of me can't understand.
I would figure that anyone that owns something as supposedly rare as this would want to brag about it.

</p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Heck I would. But that is the way some people are. He figured that selling it through my account <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>would keep it quiet. I would say he was wrong. I am almost at the point that I wish I never agreed to let him use my account. I will ask him before the auction to let me say who he is but good luck. Please don’t send me a 1000 messages on this, I have had way too many hitting my email as it is. This $#^&amp; thing has become quite the pain in the you know what as it is.. Thank you and have a great day..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>

</p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Steve..

</p></span></p>

</p>

Thanks for the info. Does he have anymore or similar planes to sell, and if you are in WA, is that where the plane originated?


Crank

I guess Dick Hanson will have to help us out on this one. He hasn't been posting daily as he was a few months back, guess he's been quite busy too. It is narrowed down somewhat: Tipo with completed wings, formers set in fuse, and retract bays cut out. Put this request with it being for a former champ, I'm sure Hanson has a good idea who this would be.


DM

I will ask if he has any more. No he is not from Washington state.. He does not live here either. He sent me the plane to sell for him..

Steve..

still not adding up though.

Mmm...

could the owner be a Canadian pilot? Ivan anyone?

Steve makes it sound as though the plane was shipped from outside the US.

All said and done, of the two Circus Circus pictures posted, the one in the foreground has a very interesting setup. Inverted engine with S-shaped header with pipe running inside the glass fuse along the top! Although the Tipo's I'm building are the classic 720's and hence considerably smaller, it still baffles me (pun inteded) how one gets a tuned pipe installed in the upper part of a Tipo fuse without access to it from the top and of course without frying your radio gear as well as your fuel tank.

Maybe the internal design accounted for all this. It be interesting to see the guts of that plane. It's too bad there isn't better documentation on the Tipo series despite DH being willing and present.

David.

Hey David,
I am also from Montreal. I grew up in Rivier De` Prarie.
I have been state side for 30 years..

All off my familly is still in Montreal.
My mother as well.

Have a great day..

Steve...