Waco pica kit ymf
 

I need help I"m new to rc airplanes and just found a Waco kit already built in a garage sale, I found a piece of paper inside from pica????? the wing span top is 60" and below 53" it has an super tiger 62 engine no servos and never flown. Can someone give me more info on size ?? % or so and what kind of set up will be good. How can I find parts if needed.
thank you.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

You have a Pica 1/5 scale Waco. The engine you have is plenty strong enough. Use standard servos. This is a great flying bird. I doubt if parts are available anywhere except maybe on E-Bay (although I think Cox/Estes bought out Pica and is now making an ARF). Let me know what specific info you need and I'll pull the plans and check it for you.
Walt

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

What you actually have is the 1/6th WACO UMF. Pica marketed it as a YMF, and Cox has done likewise, but sorry to say, it's a UMF. There is a thread running here in the vintage and antique forum on these planes. You are welcome to join us.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACP Brotherhood #1

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Thank you for the info.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

UMF meaning what?

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

UMF meaning that the cowl is wrong for the YMF. Yours is actually a UMF-5, and not the YMF-3 that it has been called for so many years. There is nothing wrong with the plane, but it's not the 1/5th scale which has a 72" span, but it is the 1/6th scale version. They are great flying models. Come over to the YMF thread and visit with us. There is a lot of information on the flying of this model, and what to watch out for.

Bill,AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Bill's right, I was never good at math and even less so after a day of house-hunting. Your Waco is 1/5 scale. I'm not a raging scale nut, so I won't get into to UMF, YMF distinctions, but I thnk the only difference was the engine. One was a Jacobs and the other I'm nbot sure.

Regardless of my poor math my Waco is a great flyer and I still have te palns if you need any more info.
Walt

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Walt,

The 60" wingspan makes it a 1/6th scale version. The 1/5th scale is a 72" span model. To bring you up to speed on the Alphabet soup of these 2 variants, you are right in that the Jacobs engine makes it a YMF. The Blisters on the cowl are evenly spaced. The UMF used a Continental engine, which makes for the paired Blisters. The difference between the -3, and the -5 is the size of the vertical stabilizer.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

One more thing that needs to be mentioned: You say you are new to r/c airplanes. You make it sound as if you plan to stick a radio in this and fly it. Please, please, please don't do it! You have what looks like a very nicely built WACO kit and I would hate to see it as a pile of sticks after one flight attempt. I haven't actually got my WACO up in the air yet, so I don't speak from experience, but you need a substantial amount of flying experience to fly one of these planes. (I have flown other biplanes)

If you haven't flown before, I would recommend getting a high-wing trainer to start. You could get a .60 size almost ready to fly (ARF) trainer and use the .60 size engine you got with the WACO. The Hangar 9 Alpha 60 would be a good choice. You should join a flying club and learn to fly with an instructor. After learing to fly the trainer and then a few more advanced planes afterward, you might be ready for the WACO. Biplanes like the WACO have a lot of drag and don't "float" very long when you lose power.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

I been reading for the past 2 days about this Waco planes and I have realized they are beautiful planes, I been flying for few months on a trainner I do not plant to fly my Waco anytime soon, I would like to set it up as nice and beautiful as possible and some day fly it with an experience rc pilot first. I seen that the muffler on my plane does not fit with the originals and I would like to modify that part, this plane has no servos or equipment so it will take some time before is ready to fly, where is a good place to look for vintage wood propellers?, my plans are to have a beautiful plane to enjoy and fly onece in a while. Don't worry I would not destroy it I love vintage. I paid $100.00 is it a good deal?

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

I would modify something like a Zinger wood prop. Round off the tips, and sand off the markings, then just give it a couple of good coats of clear lacquer. Something like a 14X6 should look about right.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

$100.00 is a fine deal. I got mine for free because I rescued it from the garbage, but the engine was rusted beyond hope and the airframe needed repair and recovering.

As far has the muffler is concerned, you will want something that goes straight down. Mine came with a "Pitts" style muffler that exited out the bottom of the cowl. Because I am using a Saito 4 stroke engine instead, I am not using the muffler that I got with the plane. I don't think it will fit a Super Tigre, othewise I would send it to you. Once you decide on a muffler, you will need to either patch the hole in the cowl and repaint or buy a new cowl.

For a wood prop, Bill is right about a wood Zinger being a good choice. I did the same thing for a Cub project. Sanded off the markings, applied some scale details and re-varnished. I would probably just use your wood prop for display and fly it with a more durable prop. I'm thinking a 14x6 might be a bit much for the .60 2 stroke, but I might be wrong. I'd probably go with a 13x6 or a 14x4 for actual flying purposes.

Glad to hear you're taking the right approach to learning to fly. You'll have a lot of fun with this hobby and this is a great place to go to get answers!

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Now you know why I'm no longer banker --- made the same mistake twice in a row ---of course it is a 1/6. Just an only one cup of coffee typo.

Thanks for the clarification on the cowl blisters vs engine types.
Walt

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Scott is right, the Waco is a great flying model, but it is a tail-dragger and a bipe. Mine is happiest if there's a little breeze down the runway and also likes a fairly hi idle to keep air flowing over the tail surfaces. It is close to a "floater", but it does slow down quickly because of all the drag.

Just writing about it makes me itch to fly it again. Unfortunately the snow, ice and water around here are saying "NO!"
Walt

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

I have had 3 of the 1/6 Wacos from Platt/PICA. They are great fliers. Mine was about 8 lbs and flew on OS 60FSR and HB61PDP s.. Plent of power for everything scale. Plane took off like it was on rails.. just ease in throttle and steer with slight down until alittle speed is built up. Then, neutral elevator and a slight bump in the road would get them airborne. Mine really did not want to land slow under power.. you could land easily dead stick. With idle on the motor I would wheel land and then after I slowed abit .. stick the tailwheel on the ground with a blip of up. I would go so far as to say that if the WACO is trimmed out it makes a pretty good trainer .. except for the possible massive repairs if you get close to the ground to fast.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Heo everybody,I, from Spain,and this is my waco (construction progress) this is my first kit,unitl thismoment i just flow ARF`S:eek:

i have some problems ,i want a make the wing wires at more scale,and i need some photos of the rear cockpit.
somebody can help me??[8D]


thanks here i let you some pics of the construction progress





and...sorry formy english[:o]

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

more pics of the waco

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Your English is fine, much better than my Espanol.
There is a wealth of info in the WACO YMF thread in this forum (Classic and Antique). Come and join the Waco Brotherhood, no dues required, just a love of these old biplanes. It's difficult to find a good picture of an original YMF cockpit. Very few originals exist, but the newer "Classic" Waco is a bit different inside, although the airframe is almost identical to the 1935 original.

The 1st and 2nd pics below is the cockpit of the new version. The 3rd and 4th pics are of both cockpits , to give an idea of relationship and size. The 5th pic is more representative of an original instrument panel. The 6th pic is how I did mine:

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

kurrikan,

What you have for an instrument panel is fine. Each and every IP is different from plane to plane, even sister ships. I have developed a list of ProPagTeam ( http://www.propagteam.cz/ ) instruments to make the IP for the Pica 1/5th scale YMF according to the detail sheet that comes in some of the kits. I order my instruments thru InZpan ( http://www.inzpan.com/ ), ProPagTeam’s representative in England, and have the parts in under 3 weeks. ProPag has the best looking instruments and they come assembled. Drill the appropriate hole in some 3mm (1/8th) stock and glue them in from the back side and in no time you have a good looking IP. They also have toggle switches, magneto switches, screws and other accessories.

Come join us over in the Waco YMF thread as Bill and Ken have suggested. You will find that many of the suggestions for the 1/5th scale also work for the 1/6th scale plane that you have. There are also photos of a real 1987 YMF Classic, NC 14081 and many other Wacos scattered thru the thread. I only caution you on one thing, the thread is long, over 260 pages, but you will enjoy it.

Below is the start of the IP for a Waco UBF-2, I had to wait for a new compass and turn and bank instrument. Compare it to picture 5 in Kens post, same plane. When I finish it, I will post another picture.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Any info you might have on where I might purchase a Waco (Pica) kit would be greatly appreciated.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

can some tell me where i can buy a 1/6 waco i live in houston tx and would love to have one

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

I have a pica waco ymf 3, I want to know if a evo .45 would work in it, it is 1/6 scale. any help is appreciated.

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

The .45 is probably just a tad on the small side for the sixth scale Waco. These generally run from 8 to 10 pounds, and that's asking a little more from the .45 than it probably has to offer. I would reccomend a good .60 size two stroke, or something like an .80 or .91 four stroke.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Hi
posted this on the other Forum(Vintage) I understand it is In AUS But might be worthwhile as your $$ is strong against OurA$
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Pica-Waco-biplane-60-dave-platt-rc-kit_W0QQitemZ230304496772QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item2 30304496772&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2| 65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318
Rob

RE: Waco pica kit ymf
 

Hi, skylarkmk1! Any assistance available in getting those WACO instruments in 1/6 scale? Thanks.

Joe