I notice they have "Slow Combat" models, what about WW-1 combat?

Seems to me it would be a very slow class that would allow old duffers like me to have a little fun but not require the fast reflexes of the kids.

Surely, someone has already tried this. I'd like to see anything on WW-1 combat.

If you go through the old posts on here, you should be able to find some threads on WWI combat that was being done by some guys in the NC/SC area for a while. I don't know if they are still at it or not.

Yes, it's been done, but hasn't caught on beyond a few small groups of guys. I could list reasons why I think that's the case, but it's safe to say that for the most part that kind of thing is going to be best flown as a local-level event among friends who aren't trying to be too competitive.

Other than the extra work of building the planes, and the weaker airframes which means more damage when bad things happen, it should be a lot of fun, I agree.

Thanks Kirk,

I'll look through the archives.

I can just see my model Fokker DR-1 knifing through the air at about 50 MPH while an SE-5 is sneaking up on me at about 52 MPH.

Wonder if someone has some plans for WW-1 combat. Probably have to use a .25 to get enough prop in the wind around that big nose.

Yeah, that's about the performance and size they were working with.

With luck one of those guys is still reading this forum and will chime in.

They actually had someone producing kits and selling them at a local hobby store. If I recall, you had to build one of those kits, though I could be wrong.

They were nice looking planes though. If I'd had more time I might have tried it.

Dan
We flew WWI combat last Sunday at the Cobble Hills club near London, Ontario. 9 pilots showed up even though it was -10 celsius with a wicked 30 km/h wind. All the models are 1/8 scale and built primarily from coroplast and weigh between 4 and 5 lbs. Most have OS 25FX engines to help overcome the high wingloading so the speeds are faster than we'd like. Someday we'll switch to plain bearing engines and or small 4 strokes. Our designs have come a long way from a few years ago, when a successful take off was something to cheer about. Most rounds have a maximum of 5 in the air at once to reduce midairs. We're still experimenting with a forced circuit pattern and longer leaders on the 30 ft. streamers. One thing everyone agrees on...all those wings are a magnificent sight. Next contest is "Bloody April" in Toronto. Pic is from April 2005.

Here's a pic from Feb 11, 2007. The club that hosted this event flys WWII scale combat every Sunday regardless of the weather.

Hey Gary,

That's an impressive array of WW-1 models.

You guys are on the right track, There are lots of us who want to enjoy more relaxed flying and get nervous when people are zipping around like there hair is on fire.

I like the full fuselage models and hope someone starts to kit a few of these in 1/8 scale.

Keep up the good work and don't be afraid to post more pictures. Love those WW-1 planes.

Here are a few thumbnails from last summer, that's my D5a being bothered by a SE5A.

Got any plans or other guidelines for the planes?

I would be interested in getting plans or other material for WW1 fighters. My club has a small groupm flying Gnats but we have a good source of Coroplast. At present our field woud make a good skating rink.
RC DOC

Hi All,

I've flown in most of the WW1 Matches/demos we have flown around here and CD' a few.

WW1 Combat is alot of fun. It started out as 'wonder if it would work' using our worn out WW2 .25 engines. I don't think any of us expected that it was so much fun and we would still be flying WW1 several years later. And how the planes are getting refined as we go along.

I'm guessing 30, getting up to 40 planes have been built by 12-15 pilots. Most have been prototypes and/or improved first efforts.

The most popular so far are the Fokker D-7, S.E-5 and the Albatross. Our goal is to have them look scale and fly 'realistic'. Typical full throttle level flying speed has been measured around 35- 40mph. The wings can be moved back on short nosed subjects to help with CG issues. Some are built to 42-44in. span biplanes and are not exactly 1/8th scale. Tripes are around 36in. span. We don't allow monoplanes.

I'm not sure of anyone who has plans/kits available yet. Some of the pilots are getting close. Trying to find simple/light/durable building methods is part of the challenge.

The flying part of WW1 Combat is worth the effort of the extra building time. And the 'flying battle' looks fantastic in the air. (Spectators love it !)

If you want more info just ask. You can also go to the R/C Combat forum at www.rccanada.ca If you go back a few pages you can see how our WW1 started and has been progressing. (I wish we could get more photos posted but we always are too busy having fun flying and forget to take pictures !) Seems most of the pilots would rather spend time building/flying than be on the internet.

Oh yeah, the WW1s make great sport/scale flying planes...

Take care,
Have fun,
Dave'crosscheck'Fallowfield
Maac 6437
Unabashed Combat Team

P.S. www.rccanada.ca::viewForum-Combat might go straight there. (I hope.)

Too cool. Wish there were more people in my area intersted in this. By the way, if people are looking for plans there was an article in MAN not too long back featuring a Fokker DVII built for just this sort of thing. Really good design, and a good flyer. I built one, heavily modified for more scale detail, and with some of my own personal techniques mixed in, and it flies great on an OSLA.25, even though its heavier than it should be with the scale details I added. Anyway, keep the WWI's gunning!

ZZ.

Ya'll might want to go to the Aces International forum, they're doing the same thing..heres a pic..



Here's a link to the Aces Forum

[link]http://aircombat.modelarji.com/[/link]

Cash

Cash,

That's a great site. Thanks

Dan, if you goto the WWI section, and take a good look around, you'll notice that a lot of the European WWI combat models are built-up..that's a load of work, IMHO, for a combat bird, but they also use a lot of built-up balsa in some of their WWII planes..guess it's just what your comfortable building/repairing.

JP Morere and I both followed the original WWI thread some years ago. I started work on a combo coro/foam D-VII..even drew up a full set of plans, and got the fuse/tail mostly built. Right now we're trying to keep interest in WWII, but that sure looks like a lot of fun..

Cash

Cash,

I had the same thought about using a built-up model for combat. Seems like a lot of work to risk an accidental collision.

The use of the 4-stroke engines also puzzles me. I know WWI models need a lot of nose weight but the 4-strokes are pretty heavy compared to a plain bearing .25 two-stroke.

Hopefully someone can design a series of lightweight WW-1 models for combat use.

Well, as an experiment I built mine totally out of lite ply, foam board (The kind with paper on both sides that you can get from office depot) lite card board, and covered it in recycled paper, except the wings which are fabric covered. I'll have to post a pic if I can find one. Anyway, its cheap to build/repair and flys really well.

ZZ.

[8D]This isn't the DVII I promised (gotta take some pics) but it is an earlier DVI built in a similar fashion. This one actually has paper covered lozenge wings printed from an inkjet printer.

ZZ.

Here's a link to the MAN plan. http://www.modelairplanenews.com/plan/fsp0204a.asp


ZZ.

Heres my latest coro build designed for people who are new to building with coroplast for WW1

Its a Bristol Scout
scale 1/8
weight 3lbs 12oz
wing loading 16oz/sq.ft.
wingspan 37"
power OS .25fp
material 4mm coroplast, 2mm coroplast, foam turtle deck, sign vinyl covering

I'll let you know tomorrow how it flies.

Dan

Here's a picture of my DVII which is a great flyer, except that I had engine troubles on the initial flight which I need to investigate further. It uses 2mm coroplat, 4 mm coroplat, foam turtle deck, foam leading edge, foam ribs, sign vinyl covering with latex house paint.

The design was loosely based on that MAN article, but I later exploded 3views and made it based on the 3 views, moving the wing position 2 inches aft for balance.

Its powered by an older OS .26 four stroke.

[link]http://rccombat.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12183[/link]

This is a link to some 30" coro and foam WW1 planes that I`ve built. With the new motors now available they could be built in the 40" range with the same basic construction. Not as pretty as the one shown earlier on this thread, but very survivable and easy to build.

Some really great WW-1 models have been shown here.

Today I picked up a copy of May 2007 "Backyard Flyer" and they have an article on a 1/8th scale Nieuport 17.

The Nieuport is designed for electric but I'd imagine the plan could be used to cobble up something that could handle a .25 glo.

Buzz...

That Bristol Scout see any airtime yet? Dang nice build for sure! Look forward to hearing more about it.

A great plane for this would be Polks hobbies DR1. I have 2 of them and a .25 is perfect. Not sure of the scale thogh. They are only $112.00 and they fly great. Available from thier web site.