Ok Guys.........

Im going to build a BALSA USA Sopwith Pup 1/3rd scale. All I need is advise, anyone who wants to put in thier 2 or 3 cents worth it would be greatly appreceiated.

Thanks Alan

what do you want to know? i have one, quite a few flights on her. shes now 5 years old

Wow, your 1/3 scale Pup is going to be a monster! Do you intend to build it essentially "stock" or will you be making scale modifications as you go along? How scale is the BUSA Pup's basic structure anyway? That's always the first place I start. I look long and hard at the kit as compared with the best technical drawings I can find (and of course photos of original aircraft) to find how the two differ. And they always do. Then I decide which non-scale features I can live with and which I can't and start making plans to change the things I don't like.

Why not document your build here on RCU and that way you'll get tons of useful advice along the way! I've done that with my last two builds and can't imagine "going it alone."

I plan on making a thread about the progress. I have to decide if I want to start my Royal A6M3 Zero first or the Pup. Both will be on here as I progress along. I was just wondering who built one and if they had any advice on what to do or not to do. I plan to make it kinda scale as I can get it. I want a decent looking plane.

Alan

There a few things not exactly scale with the Sopwith pup. I made complete modifications on the plane and even ribbed stitched the wings for accuracy. I entered in a scale competition and heard the judges say the Balsa kit was not true scale during the judging process. As they stared at the plane, they couldn't figure out where the inaccuracies were, so I figured they realized I made proper changes to the plane. Well, when I got my static score, I realized what idiots I was dealing with. I later asked them about the low static and their comments were that they heard a Balsa USA plane was not true scale and therefore the downgrade. I made changes to the cabane struts and also put the flying wires in their correct places. Which meant some actually went thru the wing and connected at the bottom of the fuselages. Its been too long to remember much about my modifications, other then we had a blast of a time flying it. The plane is definitely a crowd pleaser!!!

Alan, I have a suggestion for you. You build the Pup and I will build the Zero. When we are both done we can switch..... Boy would I love to build a 1/3 pup. I can't wait to see your thread. Abufletcher is right, there is a lot of WWI talent here. And these guys really know their stuff when scale is the object.

WASCAMP - Roger:


Its a deal I will build the Pup and you build the Zero. Your Zero is a royal 60 size correct? I will plan to start the Pup in the next month or so. I have a few planes to finish up first. That way It will put at the time when I need to get the odd ball parts when the Swap meet happens in Georgia. I go to that every year and it takes about 2 days to see it all. Its HUGE. Anyway,,, Im sure we will be sharing tons of info. I would still like all the help from the people who built this plane.

Alan

No Alen, Your Zero is a 60. I dont' have one. I was going to build YOURS so you could jump on the Pup right away. Just trying to save you some time. Those old Royal kits were great builders if you liked to carve and sand. I dont know why they had so many parts. It would have been a lot easier if they just gave you a big block of balsa with the three views printed on them. They do fly well though. We had our first snow here yesterday so the building season has officially started. I expect to see your threads any day now.

Sent a message earlier but it may not have gone through. Here's a short note to verify an email path.
I built my BUSA over 3 years of research, gathering, engineering solutions and building.
Everything on my model is accurate down to the stitches and instruments.
Functional cable controls, steerable tail skid, working access panels for fuel and electronics......you name it.

Here are a couple of pix. I may be contacted easier at these email addresses.
[email protected] or [email protected]

Happy Landings!

Ed "Deadstick" DuCote'

Nice photos. What size motor (Zenoah?) and what is the exhaust headder?

Dear SpongeBob

Zenoah G-62 turning a custom Clark 22 X 6-10 Prop. The exhaust is routed through a MAC header. The coiled, flex-line for the exhaust pipe is from B&B. The muffler is just a snuffler-type canister but doesn't hush it much. Sounds very realistic when "blipping" the throttle, especially on final approach. I use a CH "jump-start" ignition system. The engine back-plate is vibration iso-mounted.

Idiots is right! They are supposed to judge it according to the documentation that you provide.......

Hey Alan. I'm going to be restoring, rebuilding, a 1/3 BUSA Pup this winter. I was looking around for a project when a friend offered this to me with the engine. At this point it sounds like too good of a deal to pass up. He is working on another 1/3 Pup and has all the goodies( gauges petrol caps,etc which he will let me copy) This will be a chance for me to get into some heavy duty scale but it is a BUSA kit and I won't be thinking about any compitition with it. After this project I may consider a scratch build and then I may consider letting the project draw me into competition. Good luck with your Pup Mike

For GODS SAKE DONT DO IT!!!! Think of the children!!!!!


Well, you did ask for opinions.................[&:]

Hey a great engine for this plane is a GT-80. Smooth running plenty of power Thats what I had in mine...

Great color scheme. I researched for a long time for a scheme that was unusual but decided to copy a full scale from a museum. That GT-80 must pull like a mule! My Pup with G62 and 22X10 flies level at only 30% throttle.
I'm working on making a cabane-mounted fuel pump and dummy LeRhone this winter.

Happy Landings

Deadstick

guess it all depends on the all up flying weight as to which engine to use. mine with a g-62 is plenty of power at 31 lbs

Very nice job educote and landrel,
I'll be starting mine soon, and hope it turns out that nice.
How can BUSA get away claiming it is a completley scale plane if it is not? Just wondering...

Well its called ADVERTISING.. and its not completely scale.. for that you would want the Mick Reeves Kit. Having said that though you can turn it into a very nice plane.. and it will be close to scale and still attractive. You can modify it to make it more scale should you desire as well. Hope you enjoy your plane.

The BUSA Pup can be made to scale, depending upon the level of detail you are after. I based my build on the full scale aircraft, in the flesh and from actual Factory Prints that I bought on Ebay. These factory drawings are everything you need to build a full sized replica, if you were so inclined.

High guys, hope you don't mind me joining your thread.
I am thinking seriously about purchasing this kit in 1/3rd scale. Actualy I will probably order myself one as an early Birthday/ Fathers Day present. I am thinking on powering it with a G-62. I also plan on doing all the scale pull, pull cables as well. I am curious to the actual quality of the BUSA kit. From what I have seen, it seems to be good, and easily changed to scale up. Any thought would be welcome, and pics too. I attached a picture of the one that I plan on modeling.

Craig.

I used the basic kit and much up-scaled it. I made it as a replica of N5182 "Sheila". G62 has PLENTY of power. With a custom John Clark scimitar WW1 24X10 prop, spinning at 7200 RPM's, you only need about 1/3 throttle to cruise around..... and my model is heavy at almost 40 #'s wet! Here is a pix. I have tonnes of construction photos for all details, especially the landing gear, tail skid, instrument panel, etc.

Thanks for the information. Does not seem that many are under construction which makes it unique. I may hit you up for some pics at a later date. I am also planing on doing the landing gear scale as well, your pics would be a great help. My first question is, how tall is the Pup when it is siting on its wheels?, and how detailed are the three views that they offer with the kit? I am having difficulty gathering some three views for my documentation, and I would appreciate information on where I can find the best source.

Craig.

Very nice model. What did you paint with?

JEB

Look here for the Windsock Datafile for the Pup:

http://www.wiseowlmagazines.com/inde...6&categoryid=2