I'm running a Magnum 61 four stroke in mine and it is plenty of power for the Pup...even off the water on it's floats. Any more and it would be wasted. Frankly if you are facing a constant 16 to 20 mph wind you are building the wrong plane. This plane is a floater. It will land slower than you can walk. In that kind of wind it won't last long. build something that is faster and has a better sink rate.

Good luck

Bassman

Hi Graham & Bassman,

Thanks for the input. Based on that I think that a good .52 will not leave me with a pup that is underpowered and that a .70 will not be necessary.
About the wind: we all sort of decided that the wind will not be an issue so we fly nearly anything under these conditions except for the worst days. I'll keep the heads up in mind though.

Kind regards,
Jock

I am just about to begin the construction of the flair puppeteer. I have read that the model tends to turn out tail heavy. Is their anything i can do to prevent this? As i havent started yet could someone please tell me of anything i need to watch out for?

Thank you Glen

Hi,

I feel the material supplied is much too heavy for the job. I am using much thinner balsa. Also, a thinner horizontal and vertical stablizer will look and be closer to scale. It is much too late now, but if I Had it to do again, I would use thinner stock on the fuselauge longerons.

Jim Walton

I am running a 61 four stroke (same block as the Magnum 52) and only had to add 2 oz of weight to the nose. With the way this plane flys you could add a pound and it would still be a floater. I wouldn't worry about the amount of weight you might have to add. Contentrate on building it straight and making it look good.

Bassman

Thanks guys, Ive been offline for a little while and not been able to respond. Sounds good about using thinner balsa for the fuselage. Im defenitly going to do that. Ive heard that the pup flies well even if you need to add weight at the front. However its always nicer if you can avoid doing so. Ill start building after christmas the box is still under the bed till i finish the xtra wot by Chriss Foss. Ill try and start a thread showing the construction now that i have a digi cam. Thanks Jim and Bassman. Do you have any pictures of your pups?

Kind regards
Glen from the mighty Rock

Hi, I have really enjoyed reading all of the Flair Puppeteer build threads. They have been very helpful. I am nearing completion of my Puppeteer and would like to pass on some of the things I have done to enhance its appearance. As you will see, I was not content to have it look like a “Puppeteer�, I tried to make it look like the Sopwith Pup (standoff scale) of course. I have found this to be a rather hard build. Things are not as clear as I would like them to be. I believe if I ever decide to build another, it will be done differently. I really should not complain, I never seem to be able to follow instruction completely anyway. Some of the additions I have made on mine are:
1. I installed a tailskid made out of ¼� plywood. I really do not like a wire skid. Looks terrible.
2. Next, I made my landing gear flexible. I found the supplied metal to not reflect the correct stance of a Pup. I decided to bend my own. While doing so, I mounted the wheels on an axle, which I bound approximately 1.5 inches to the lower spreader bar. This gives the wheels some flex when landing.
3. After looking at numerous pictures of Pups on the Internet, I determined that the vertical stabilizer is mounted on post slightly above the horizontal stabilizer. This was accomplished using bamboo skewers normally used for “pegging� spruce fuselage pieces.
4. I used Kevlar for pull-pull controls on the tail feathers. Looks great.
5. I glued small square spruce to the leading and trailing edges of the cabanes. I then sanded them round, painting them to resemble all wood.
6. I used 1/32 plywood for the decking around and in front of the cockpit. I stained this to match the cabanes, tail skit, and wing struts.
7. I added some visible structure to the tail post at the rear under the stab. I used wood instead of the metal as on the real aircraft.

As you can see, I like to “bash�.

I am having problems with the wing struts. I would appreciate any help that might be given on how to attach the struts to the wing. Also, how should I attach the flying wires to the cabanes and wing struts? I think I have exhausted my imagination trying to solve this problem. Any help that could be given would be appreciated.

If this post is successful, I will post some pictures next time.

Thanks,

Jim Walton
Columbus, Georgia

Thanks for the information Jim. I would love to see the pictures as it sounds like you have done an interesting job. I am just about to start my pup as soon as i finish repairing a broken elevator on my 3d plane.

All the best Glen from Gibraltar

Glen,
I have posted some pictures under a new thread titled "Flair Puppeteer Build" in "kit Building". I could not figure out how to post pictures here. Please let me know what you thing of it. Also, I would like to see some shots of yours. I hope to be flying within the month.
Jim Walton

For those choosing engines for the Puppeteer, I started with an old OS 48 FS and it flies quite good, with ample power. The 48 died and I retrofitted an OS 52 FS with the same OS 48 carburetor to avoid start cutting wood in the firewall area. I would think that the OS 52 may drop a bit of power with the 48 carburetor but I really could not notice it. The 52 nicely overpowers the bird. For scale take offs do not go beyond 2/3 of throttle, other wise with the lightest breeze you can be airborne in a few metters climbing 45 degrees. (I fly in Santiago, Chile at 500 meters over sea level.) Keep an eye on reducing power on dives as I did experience flutter lossing both right ailerons. The pup flies so well I only realized this problem after landing.

I did experience some overheating that was solved by adding simple bafles around the cylinder.

I use only one standard servo for all ailerons, just as per the plan. If you use two servos make sure to duplicate the diferential aileron efect as this is one of the nice features of this plane. It allows you to turn extremely tight if you want.

I am an old modeller with more than 15 models in airborne condition and although I have much more exotic and fancy planes THIS is the one I like and fly the most. For those weeends after a really stressing and ugly week, this is the model to go!

I have a Flair D 7 in the production line also. Will report once I start.

It is great to hear about someone else building and flying the Puppeteer. I really like the way mine fly’s. I have an OS.70 fourstroke and will admit it is more than needed. I think my justification was if I have to add nose weight (which you do) it might as well be an engine I already owned. It will also turn a scale looking prop. It really is a floater. I also spent a lot of time adding scale details to make it look like a Pup. A lot of the changes I made are described in earlier threads. I get lots of compliments at our scale warbird meets. It just comes in the minimum size allowed with its 60" span.

JC, very impressive photo of your pup. Can you tell me how you did the 'Sopwith' transfer on the tail?
Also, do you have any close ups of the flying wires/ or give me some guidance on the product i should buy. Turnbuckles / flying wires are in my blind spot as far as knowledge is concerned, but they do look like the bees knees.

Glen - how is yours going along? Any photos yet?

Also, are one of you guys still looking to build a scale Vickers to annoy the baddies? if so, i can direct you to a thread which explains a self build out of Al tubing and plastic sheet.

Hi Vicento,

yes I can send some shots of my rigging wires. I am on vacation until Thursday. I will send them as soon as I get home. I will also included some shots of my Tiger Moth. The wires on it are functional. I will tell you that I used Kevlar on the Pup. I also used Kevlar for my pull-pull rigging. Perfect for the job with no chance of interference with the radio signal. I am not really happy with my Pup rigging and am planning to redo it. I will send some shots of the materials that I plan to use. The great thing about the size of the Pup is that I can leave it assembled for storage and transport. I have a full size 1993 Chevrolet Station Wagon that is my "aircraft carrier". It is named the "Ark Royal". I only carries British aircraft because that is all I build. I do carry a Balsa USA large Eindecker but that is only because it was captured by the British and is flown by British pilots for evaluation.

I would certainly like to see your info on building a Vickers. My attenpts at scratch bulding machine guns for WW1 ships is pathetic. The one on my Pup is "just passable".

Glenn, I too am looking for some shots of yours. I haven't heard anything from you lately. What's up?

Thanks,

Jim Walton, RAFRCP

Jim,

Photo and instructions re how to fabricate the Vickers are on posts 333 and 337 of this thread, page 14.

p.s. - I have had some success on the 'SOPWITH' lettering using a product called LAZERTRAN - basically its decal paper for use in an inkjet printer.

vincento

OK. I've now joined the club of Puppeteer builders! (Just building, not documenting.) Last night I punched out all the parts and built most of the fuse. It went together as simply as a puzzle no problems that I'm aware off.

First question: Are both aluminum cabane struts supposed to be exactly the same? Mine aren't. One's a few millimeters taller.

.

Abu,
I am as certain as I can be that they should be identical twins in every respect. I do remember laying mine out one on top of the other and although they were not quite clones, the difference was slight - attributable to the difference in the base angles of the arms - easily corrected using elbow grease.

I understand that you will focus on build rather than document, but I would still be very interested in photos of any kit bashing initiatives - based on your other threads that would be good for the community at large. Is a Pup, or Strutter on the cards?

Thanks for the quick reply. On your advice I've gone ahead and bent them both the same (and while I was at it made sure all the angles were the same). I also bent the top ends so that they were level. One of my mods will be to file off the square edges to the aluminum bar so that later I can wrap it with tape and paint it PC10.

Functional mods:

1. Pull-pull system for rudder and elevator
2. Two servos in the lower wing
3. Sprung UC

Aesthetic mods:

1. Cut ailerons all the way through the wing tips
2. Sheet only front half of fuse box and add stringers to side of back half
3. Better skid
4. Quicky faux rib-stitching (just torn strips of solartex).
5. Aluminum sheet side cowlings

I'm not going to try to convert the non-scale Puppeteer into a scale Pup (or Strutter). I just want to have fun building it and fly the heck out of it. I'm hoping to have the whole thing done in about a month of building.

Here are a couple of photos. The first is of my just recently completed (and not yet maidened) Flair Legionaire. The next shows two days of progress on the Puppeteer. And the last two show possible color schemes.

Excellent detail on the Flair Legionaire - nicely composed shot to boot. [Photograher by any chance?].

Have you had any success with decal paper such as 'Lazertrans'? I want to put the 'SOPWITH' lettering on the tail of my pup and don't want it to look like like an obvious transfer.

By profession, I'm a university professor. But I have worked semi-professionally as a photojournalist. Honestly, I'd almost rather be the photographer during the maiden than the pilot!

On my EIII I made my own decals using the inkjet decal paper that Micro-mark sells. You print out the graphics, then, spray with a sealant (than you order with the paper). They worked out pretty well.

Well, since I'm off on vacation for a month that's about it for the building for now. I managed to finish one of the wings halves so I could see how they went together. This first one was a bit slow but now that I've done one I should be able to finish the others in a day or two of building.

JC, did you resolve your issue with the wing struts? what is the specific problem?

Any news / photos on your build?

Vincento

Vic,

Sorry for being so slow to send pictures. My camera was stolen out of my car while on vacation to Charleston last month. I am shopping for a new one and will send shots as soon as I figure out how to use it.

It is great to see more folks building the Puppeteer. It isn't a Pup but can be make to resemble one without much effort. I think I may have posted some of my mods in an earlier thread but am not sure. Here are some of the things I have done to mine.

1. I to ripped the Solortex for the rib stitching. It real Pup were not uniformly cut.
2. I modified my gear for shock absorption
3. I laminated the front and rear with 1/16" spruce "rounded on the front and back" for a better effect. I then painted them with a wood looking paint.
4. I made the landing gear taller. This required binding entirely new wire. The Puppeteer sits too low.
5. I mounted my vertical stabilizer on wooden dowels to look like the real Pup. I have seen only one Balsa USA Pup done correctly. They show nothing about this on their plans.
6. I made a plywood skid. The wire skid looks terrible.
7. I tried to roughly duplicate the open structure on the tail end of the fuselage. Mine is not scale but looks better than ignoring it completely.
8. I did not use any pushrods. I used Kevlar for pull-pull on both the rudder and elevator. I also used Kevlar for all wing wires. Works and looks great.
9. I simply found the best looking and size type on my computer for the lettering on the vertical stabilizer. I then used ink jet decal paper. Not real happy with the finished look. Works just ok.
10. I fabricated an open area just above and in front of the pilot.
11. I fabricated control cable pulleys in the leading edges of the wings. The shot shown does not reflect the finished product. This detail is not included in the Balsa USA plans.

I hope my changes do not insult anyone being they are all "stand way off scale".

Jim Walton

Well I am posting a reply to my reply. Not much intellect here. I have tried to enlarge the shots showing the cabanes and landing gear. I can't be sure until I post them. I will be glad to post more if asked. One thing I did not mention, I had to hand paint roundels. Decals or vinyl do not work well with Solortex.

Abu, the Flair Legionaire looks terrific. Are they still avaliable anywhere? I would love to build one.


Jim

Wowsers JC, Thanks for these - excellent clarity and some really great innovate ideas and execution. You've given me much food for thought. Sure,I would love to see more close ups of the u/c etc.

Can you tell me the paint you used for the graphics etc?

Vincento