ARF's of the old Classics
 

Hi All, I'm gearing up to start producing some ARF's of the old classic pattern planes from the 60's and 70's. Anyone interested in a Daddy Rabbit, Banshee, Cure Air, Cutlass, Phoenix 5, Trouble Maker, Nutcracker, Quick Fli III and Eyeball to name a few!! ? All will be foam core balsa sheeted wings and stabs (where applicable), and I will be producing fiberglass fuselages for some too. Short kits will be available and PM me if you're interested in a specific plane!

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

How soon do you expect they will be available for shipment?

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

8178, Although I'm still working on a couple of templates, I have the wing cutting and sheeting process complete and ready for production right now. I'm still finalizing the details regarding quantity orders on the fiberglass fuselages from my fabricator, so right now, I'l be offering "as ordered" custom kits in about 5 to 7 weeks. The latest kit I've just got a contact on will be a King Altair. While marketing and advertisement are to be coming soon, I'm going to offer kits here on RCU first to test the waters. I expect to be in full swing by mid June by the latest.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

What do you think the price range will be $1,000 to $2,000?

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

Given the nature of the market for classic aircraft, the sale of components such as glass fuses and wing cores, maybe some glass cowls and turtledecks for those balsa block sculptures like the sweetater would be more lucrative. Most people who fly the classics are probably happy to build - in many cases building is WHY they fly the classics. I doubt you'll ever be able to compete with a Chinese Kaos 40 for $98 complete with hardware. But, I'll bet there are some classics builders out there who wouldn't mind paying $80 for a fuse and set of cores.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I believe it would be difficult at first to produce all these different models as arfs and payoff the initial production costs to fabricate all the different moulds. The foam wings if cut on cnc foam cutter could be done on a j.i.t. basis for each custom order. But I believe some of the models mentioned will also be produced by Wing Mfg. and North Carolina Models (hope I have this correct) who have possessions of the original fiberglass moulds. This would save some production time, but they also would have to recoup the costs of purchasing the moulds.

Why don't you poll the flyers on this forum after giving a list of models. At least you would have some forecast of which models would be in demand. But one of the first rules in forecasting is the forecast is always incorrect.

What's Tony Howard's view on this? Tony's been in the business along time.

I agree with Raineday, but a $80.00 kit would also be a challenge.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

Propbuster,
I say go for it!
Sometimes folks do things 'cause they love them.
If you recover the cost of the balsa and foam blocks that may be enough for you knowing that you have enable old f*rts like me to relive their glory days.
Don't let this talk of CNC and J.I.T. discourage you.
Chase your dream!
:)
Good luck!
JLK

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I don't want to discourage him, but if he picked a model that someone else was not also producing and one that had a good track record (flight record?) he might stand a better chance of selling some arf's or kits. I would go for the kits, unless you have a airplane in mind with a distinctive color scheme.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

My, what a timely post. I own a professional hobby estate buying service, and in the very near future I am going to be inventorying much of the original tooling for the Model Merchant line of kits from the late 70's to early 80's. One of the fuse molds will be for the Compensator 60 and possibly the Compensator 40. What would a set of fuse molds like these be worth in anyone's opinion?

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I hope you can include a few early Birdy-like pattern ships in the mix. I surely would like to own a glass and foam Durdy-Burdy. Even a K-oss or Souper K-oss would be nice. <G>

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

C'mon, Ed. A Kaos is nothing but a 4 sided box with the corners rounded off... It is almost an ARF in kit form.:D

Mark

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

Whysit that I never heard of a Daddy Rabbit till the SPA started? Don't know if they really belong on that list or not.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

Same with Kwik Fli, Daddy Rabbit, and more than a few others. Actually even many of the more streamlined were not much more. Its just that the top of the box had a 2 or 3 inch lid and was rounded with one extreme corner.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

That's a good point about the simple box-fuse designs. A fiberglass DaddyRabbit fuse wouldn't make much sense.

On the other hand, a glass Perigee, or lasercut parts for one, would be interesting. There's a lot of construction involved in this design.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

The Daddy Rabbit series is very famous from the late 60's early 70's. The original won the 1966 NATs and maybe more later. Designer
Jim Whitley was always in contention in any national competition.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

Where would one find plans and/or some pics for it?

Mark

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

Google Jim Whitley Daddy Rabbit

or

Click here: http://www.rcpattern.net/images/edsrabbit.jpg

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I started reading about R/C in the early 70's and bought my first R/C in 1976. Never, ever, saw an article on a Daddy Rabbit. Since there is a kit for it, and kits for a Kaos, I would suggest an ARF of a Mach I, or Curare, Taurus, or maybe Wolfgang Matt's Atlas. However if I was in the business, I would look at what kits are available, then look at which of the old designs had the most sales, then make an ARF of the most popular not presently kitted or ARFed. I suspect that is the Mach I, though you might have a problem with Midwest.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

This is just an assumption - so correct me if I'm off track - but I think the Daddy Rabbit just happens to lend itself well to the OS 91 Surpass, and is therefore seeing poularity.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

So why wouldn't a model that lends itself to a Saito .91 be even more popular? Is that the sole .91 four stroke brand allowed? Just wondering why they all seem to have OS .91's, maybe they are ruled in that way?

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I am a dumb*ss. After asking for plans, I went and did a search on "rabbit" and came up with what I was looking for...:eek:


Mark

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I believe the core SPA fliers think the OS 91 is the best engine so that is the one that 99.99% of them use. The Daddy Rabbit is the most popular and a then a few Intruders. Here’s a link to what they were flying at Hotlanta in 2004 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2019541/tm.htm

Although SPA flies the pattern like used in the 70s, you would not recognize a SPA competition event as something you saw or flew in the 70s. The aircraft sort of resemble aircraft of the day but the four stroke sound of the 91s totally ruins it for me. The 91 also gives the aircraft way more performance than the 61s of the day and they do not allow pipes so you are stuck with a four stroke. Recently they have started to allow people to fly what ever AMA legal aircraft you bring in the lower class but no retracts.

Don’t get me wrong I think what SPA is wonderful and they are keeping the classics alive but it’s not what you might expect.

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

---------------


No argument from me. I've built half a dozen or more Kaos models and variants over the years. My problem is that I always get a bowed trailing edge on the wood ribbed wings. Still haven't figured that one out. <G>

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

8178


As the SPA became more popular you would think they would stop the use of
4 strokes just to keep the playing field even and make it true SP class event.
I guess to change the mindset of the SPA it’s going to take one or two big named
(old) pattern fliers to show up and kick butt for a few of years with something
other than a Daddy Rabbit powered by a K&B or Super Tiger 61? The best days
in Pattern for me " 70’s, 80’s, & the FAI’s 10cc limit ". JMHO

RE: ARF's of the old Classics
 

I’m not sure if it could be done with a two stroke without a pipe. These guys fly very well and with the power of the 91 four stroke mounted on a Daddy Rabbit is hard to beat combination. They sound like dog do do but fly very well!