The popularity of the GP Combat Corsair and Mustang will drive someone to build the ultimate launch mechanism or cart for that size aircraft. The launchers used for sail planes do not accommodate a rotating propeller, and some of the dolleys are too big and heavy for this smaller aircraft.

When I proposed that we mount a plane-holder on the end of a flexible pole and then pull it back and let it go there was much laughter. Therefore it must be a good idea?

There are a few ideas here in the forums but nothing really sized for these guys. Gee, why doesn't GP come up with an answer and make even more profits?

Anyone who has tried it knows that holding a radio and throwing a plane into the air gets a bit messy... especially when the exhaust pipe is on the port side and underneath.[:'(]

Come on inventors, the gauntlet is thrown down... be a hero today!

2x4's and some rubber surgical chord I've thought about it and a large cross bow design would work. Give it full throttle and release the chord[>:]

In the early days of combat, launchers were all the rage. Then we learned if you needed a launcher, you don't have enough POWA!

Bigger engines made launchers a thing of the past. You have to set them up, maintain them, take em down. Position them. Have them on the runway or just to the side so they don't go well with sport traffic. Mo Powa takes care of all of that.

The need for launchers has nothing to do with "POWA" ; rather it is the need to launch when you arrive at the flying field and no one else is there, or no one there wants to get hot castor oil on their hands and clothes... or, no one wants to take responsibility for a hand launch that ends in disaster. I am sure that with enough power, the pilot could just drop the Corsair and it would assume flying speed, but that seems to me like a recipe for self-inflicted wounds.

Anyway... my dolly-launcher is built and working very well. I have a few pictures and would be happy to guide others to the world of: "The Dalai Launcher".

Attached are pictures of the Dalai-Launcher. Some things to note;

The length of the entire system allows the two rear wheels to extend beyond the tail of the Combat Corsair when the wing is pushed up against the two wing retainers. This allows the operator to step on the wheels as a "foot" brake until it is time to rev-up and fly off.

The height of the wing retainers is 2.75 inches (sorry I still have not converted to metric when taking quick measurements... don't know why thought... ) and they are made of balsa and covered with two coats of epoxy in order to make them sturdy and slick. They are also rounded at the top. They are epoxied onto the cross-member or "load-bed" ( an eighth inch thick piece of plywood covered with epoxy) of the launcher and are approximately 13 inches apart so that they catch the Combat Corsair wing at the Gull point.

The main front-to-back rail of the launcher is made of motor mount maple wood and aluminum trim from a screen-door molding that I got at Home-Depot.

The dual rear wheels are large tail wheels... probably Du-Bro and it is effective to have their sturdiness, weight and balance.

The front "saddle" is made of the same balsa stick separated so that the cowl of the CC is laying in between where it has a cushion of R2000 silicone glue fitted to its shape. This fitting was done by covering the glue with a plastic sandwich baggie and laying the CC onto it and watching to see that the big blob of glue didn't run off.

The rear saddle is made of an inverted aluminum landing gear and covered with some foam.

The front wheels are from something in my bins of old stuff purchased from guys who are probably dead by now. They may no longer be available but I like their tracking ability in the grass.

If the Dali-Launcher and your Corsair veer off to the left or right on a simple, slow, ground test you simply bend the major front-to-back rail so that it will steer in the opposite direction. Keep trying until it tracks in a straight forward manner. It is important to do this.

Have fun...

If done properly there is nothing unsafe about a hand launch. It may be unsafe for some and those are the ones that need some sort of launching device. In my days of flying 2610 I never had one incident of a failed launch. I launch underhand to keep fuel out of my eyes and I keep my thumb on the transmiter stick at all times to fly as soon as I launch. It is all about technique.

When Air-kill was in business he sold plans for a launcher. I have seen and used one and it worked good. A little too good! It could cause your engine to go lean and sag at the moment of truth!
Your dolly is a good idea. It is just a play on what the Control line speed guys use to launch thier planes. May be a little tough on grass.

I've seen a lot of bad dolly take-offs from grass. All it takes is a bump to lift the plane up before it has flying speed, and it will drop back down on the dolly, often getting holes puched in to the underside. But if it works for you, great.

Personally, I find hand luanching to be no problem at all. I use a left-handed underhand throw and it works great. For some planes with large fuses, I put a small bit of no-skid on the fuse to give me a good grip.

Although I have hand launched many different model aircraft, this little round Corsair with caster oil sprayed on the fuse from the exhaust, leaves it slippery and without purchase for even my big hands.

Do you have the GP Combat Corsair? Have you tried a hand launch of it? If you have, please... show the pictures!

The Dalai Launcher keeps fuel off of me and the Tx; and, every time the DL shows up at the field everyone wants to see it do its thing. It works, we have fun.

Whatever floats your boat guy, like Dirty Harry says, 'A mans gotta know his limitations.'

Me, hand launching has never been a problem including the Corsairs I've launched.

Pictures, I've only got a picture of me launching Krauts Zero and as he was flying it was a two handed thing, but I used to launch my own with my left hand and pilot with my right. Course I've thrown lots of things right handed with my box in the left, but my planes are always trimmed and ready for flight.

Anyways, you asked for a picture



Then again, I'm a combat pilot. A dolly or a launcher is just another thing that can fail so I choose to use equipment I can count on, my strong left hand. Ohh I mean to tell ya it's gotten me through many a long combat meet. Yup, lots and lots of fun and good memories there. I was just getting into the groove at SPADfest 06 after a couple years hiatus from combat and I started to remember, 'Oh yeah, I remember combat. I didn't use to suck at it. Yea, I'm a streamer trimmin machine. YEA BABY! GIVE DADDY A LITTLE SUGAR!!!' And then everyone decided they'd had enough. 'ENOUGH??? NAHHH! TOO MUCH MR CLEAN ON THEIR TAIL THATS WHAT!'

Sorry, carried away a bit there. I'm really a harmless fluffball.

TILL YOU PUT STREAMER ON BEHIND YOUR PLANE!!!

I flew JKA P-47s for a while, covered in ultracote. I suspect the fuse is about the same size or slightly bigger than the Corsair. I had no problems with hand launches using the underhand throw. And that engine was mounted upright as well.

The key was getting a bit of no-skid or sandpaper on there to allow for a good grip even when coated in oil.

I don't seem to have any pictures handy of me launching the P-47, though I probably have some around somewhere at home. I just don't have time to dig for them.

use whatever works for you, that's fine. I suspect you'd have a hard time with a dolly at most combat events, but for sport flying from a very smooth surface, I'm sure it works fine.

Like Clean, I've also seen a number of catapults. They usually worked, but every one that I've seen could also mis-fire once in a while, and it's one more thing to deal with.

Please.... spare us any more political/ego-gratifying, not-edifying posts that lack an obligate degree of specificity... Get the real thing and try it... or let it alone.

Perhaps it is you who sould assess his limitations.

P.S. The above reply is for Clean and not for Montague.

Actually Montague, your sandpaper idea may work! Thanks...

Easy there, blacksheep. Angry posts like your last post are not acceptable and are the fast track to getting a thread locked or deleted.

Clean gives good advice based on his experience launching numerous scale combat planes in actual competition.

You can take his advice or leave it, but attacking him or anyone else for having a differing opinion will not be tolorated.

Having launched several 1/12th scale Corsairs (among many other scale combat planes) myself, Kirk and Clean are dead-on with their advice. Just because they haven't launched this particular airplane (and probably never will due to its totally unaccptable for combat balsa construction) doesn't mean that they don't know what they're talking about. They do know, and they know first hand.

Thanks for your anticipated cooperation.
D

Actually, I launched one of the GP machines for a local club member then he stuck landing gear on it. Just doesn't look right at full throttle with the gear down and he had a 40 something in it so dang was it overpowered, but it looked a lot like the zero pic, I didn't underhand it but I didn't think it anything that I wouldn't. Come to think of it, I did launch a JKA Corsair at the same combat meet that the Zero pic is from. That's the first guy that I saw learn how to put the servos in the top side. His plane looked great, replacing stripped servos was a pain though.

Blacksheep, I didn't mean any insult to you or get you riled up. If you don't feel comfortable with the handlaunch don't do it. I've just had many cases where people have built it up to more than what it is, which is to say it's no big deal. But then I've flown FF, CL and RC airplanes since I was in Gradeschool oh, 35 years ago? so were just talkin something I do all the time anyways. Your mileage may vary. If I come off Blunt, Arrogant or Glib in my answers I didn't mean it. Just trying to relate any gained knowledge, my experience with the subject and wrap it up in light hearted combat chatter.

Have you considered putting a steerable tailwheel on your dolly and just using a seperate receiver setup on it? Wouldn't have to be anything fancy for a reciever, an old single conversion 2 channel and a standard servo, spare battery pack and you would have taxi control. I probably wouldn't go too far out of my way if I didn't have access to said equipment, but combat pilots generally do have a small stash of extras waiting for new rides. I have two or three of the above waiting for some 1/2A or slope projects.

Dear clean and demon, "There you go again...", said Ronald Regan.

The whole point of the last posting was to advise interested and helpful parties to make reply-postings, focused on a particular problem. Making assumptions about the person to whom your are repling, regarding their limitations, or that they are angry or riled up, or that the general solution applies to the specific case doesn't help anyone. Generalized, ad hominem, arguements based on assumptions are what is out of place. Stick to talking about what is on-stage and quit trying to guess if the other guy in the audience feels comfortable or angry. And don't blame him if he defends himself when you have cast the veiled aspersion.

Based on your threat to lock or delete this thread entirely because of your a priori assumption, and not any reality that you have evidenced, who is really over the top? If you want to know how I feel, just ask me, and I will tell you... indeed, I feel quite well today. Perhaps you are feeling angry... I really cannot assume that, can I?

I started this thread as a help to other fliers who purchased the GP Combat Corsair and I have spent considerable time describing how they might make a launcher. Getting off-topic is what ruins these threads. It takes too much time to read the solution when people waste the space with their personal etiology. Why can't they start their own thread? It reminds me of "Cool Hand Luke"... people sitting around waiting for someone else to launch a positive idea-post in which they can boast.

God bless you all... and fare thee well...

Just glad I could help.

Ok, blacksheep,

1) Take-off dollies have no place in R/C Combat. Never saw one used or even seriously discussed at any combat contest, anywhere.* Based on that alone this thread could have gone away as being off-topic right off the bat. And, it nearly did the first day it was posted, but I initially let it stay for whatever benefit the information may be to those that are flying the GP "Combat" Corsair for sport.
2) You lashed out at one poster that was only trying to help, and help in a direction directly related to how the airplanes discussed in this forum are intended to be flown: in R/C combat competition.
3) Your penchant for wasting space with what I perceive as personal attacks has indeed taken this thread far beyond the limit of what is "on topic".

So, here ends the discussion.

D

*Historical Note: Catapults were highly successful for launching scale combat planes safely and consistantly prior to being rendered obsolete by a rule change allowing larger engines, which in turn allowed safer, more consistant hand launching without the use of any additional equipment.