Hi All,

I am trying to find some ready made spoked or domed wheels for a sopwith tripe ...wheel diameter around 3 inches.

all i can find is some very expensive $45 pairs... anyone know of any alternatives?

Cheers.

Tim.

Tim, I'd gladly pay $45 for a pair of spoked 3" wheel. The proctor wheels are upwards of $100. What brand are these? There's a Czech company that's making very VERY nice spoked wheel for ultra-lights (electric, free-flight) for around $20 a pair but the max size is only about 2 1/2". Bummer.

What absolutely kills me is that I had a pair of 3 3/4" spoked wheels that I bought years and years ago that would have been perfect on my EIII. But stupidly, I figured I'd never use them and sold them on Ebay about one month before getting into RC.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_18.../anchor/tm.htm

Arizona have them at a bunch of sizes for $45 a pair...

Yeah, but the Arizona Models ones are KITS that require skilled soldering -- and SILVER soldering at that. I guess I'm just too lazy for that!

BTW, here's a shot of the spoked wheels on the outstanding Sopwith Pup replica newly intalled in the San Diego Aerospace Museum.

Tower has some Top Flite spoked wheels at 4" dia, (LXCLX7 at ~$30).
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLX7&P=0

Edwin

Darn it.... looks like the Czech place has some 70mm pairs so that's perfect for me....now, the next question is...undercarriage lol...

....

??

I know i can make it myself, but it's a real headache getting spring steel lined up perfectly...

Tim.

Tim, if you think the undercarriage on a Sopwith is a pain, TRY AN EINDECKER!!! What a nightmare! I am SOOOO glad that I've finally got that part of the project behind me!

Very impressive work with the undercarriage Don! Looks like an EXACT miniature replica of the San Diego Eindecker's gear.
I've already gone ahead and ordered some cable lugs at my local hardware store. I plan to follow your example with the joints. How did you make those beautiful scale fairings??

I see you've also installed a bellcrank system. Are you playing with the idea of switching to wing warping after all?

The fairings are made of balsa soaked in thin CA to make them a bit more resistent to crushing, then primed. The little straps are made from FliteMetal aluminum tape. Finally, the whole assembly is painted "Lichtblau."

IMHO the three keys to a realistic looking EIII are 1) a good dummy engine 2) good undercarriage and 3) a suitably busy top deck. All too often scale(ish) models of the EIII seems to have wire gear, no dummy, and a featureless top deck with a cheap looking gun glued unrealistically to the top (instead of being seated into the cowling). The Eindecker only APPEARS to be a simple model. I believe now it is (or can be) one of the most challenging WWI scale projects. In so many ways mine is still just a "sports" scale model.

As for the wing warping levers in the U/C well for now these are just for show. But I tried to make it sturdy enough and with sufficient movement that I COULD -- if I ever get around to it -- switch to a scale wing with wing warping.

I'll add the the fairings add almost no weight and in general I'd guess this scale U/C weighs very little more than a more traditional approach using heavy music wire (5/32 aznd 1/8). And (I hope) as per the original the strength comes from the geometry not the materials. So far, the plane balances very nicely without any nose weight.

I'll 2nd that bit about the eindecker being a challenging project...behind it's relatively simple and straitforward appearance lurk many intricate details. The functional UC and wing warping are nearly just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm more and more coming to realize that I've picked a bad time to start such a project. Richt now I can only work on it on the order of 2-3 days a month. And when I do I find that I'm redoing certain parts (i.e. wing) or correcting this and that rather than making any actual progress/
The scale(ish) wing ribs are proving to be quite a challenge to make. Balsa is now out of the question as the ribs turn out too fragile (due to the numerous cutouts) so I've opted for thin 1mm ply. This seesm to work fine and would actually reduce the weight of the wing compared to 'full' balsa ribs while maintaining good structural integrity/ might post some pics in a bit.

eindekker...

?

here's mine.

full wing warping...but no dummy..couldnt find one...then switched over the electric planes...

Tim, just gorgeous!!! You obviously know exactly what you're doing. Any chance you could give us scale newbies currently building EIII's (e.g. Trev and I) a leg up by providing some close-up shots? Yours has that wonderful delicacy that original had -- I'm afraid mine will somehow seem heavier even though I've used scale outlines.

Tim, also what's the scale on your EIII? I've learned so much from other people on this forum -- and have manage to apply only a fraction of that to my model.

Well...uhum....its actually not mine...i'd be wrong to claim it.

its a K&W model and yes it is exquisite. almost museum quality in detail and finish.

there's a video..

www.cmfc.rchomepage.com/EIII

so, alas, i dont know what im doing....lol...my bad?

but the post was more to show an eindekker, not to claim as my own... the upper and lower rigging posts and assy are very heavy...still, my model's CoG was too far back at first.

tim

Indeed I agree, what a fantastic looking eindecker! Is that a kit or did you scratch build it??
The scale I've chosen for mine is 1/5 th. So far I've completed the fuse and the tail feathers..not being too satisfied with the first wing panel I built I've discarded it as a useful experiment and am starting on a more authentic scale wing.
This being my first scratch build project and first wing warper at that I'm naturally somewhat inexperienced, especially concerning control surface travel.
It would be a big help if you could say how much up/down travel you use on your wings (and the tail feathers) and perhaps describe how this crate actually flies/ is coordinated rudder nessecary?
Of course some close up pics would be great!

Oops...just read your last post after I posted my message/
I've heard of K&W models and that they rival proctor kits in terms of accuracy and excellence.

I knew that they produced a Pfalz EI but wasn't aware they'd also included an eindecker in their assortment of WWI aircraft. If I'm not mistaken yours should be at around 1/5 th scale??

This is a good chance for me to get some valuable info such as approximate weight or CG location?
(my best referece was about 28% of the wing chord from the LE)

Oh one more thing, I'd be very interested in the engine size you've used for your eindecker and what you might deem necessary for such a model.
I intend to fit mine with a .40 OS FS (mostly because this engines left over from a previous model)/
I'm aware that this may result in a bit of underpower syndrome but I'm not sure to what extent.
I read that lots of ppl install a .60 engine or upwards in 1/6th scale ww1 models.
On the other hand I've seen a 2 meter flair taube weighing in at roughly 3,5 kg perform very adequately with a .40 OS FS engine.
Admittedly it didn't behave like a pattern ship and wasn't very capable of unlimited vertical performance, but then again this would be out of character for a delicate ww1 aircraft.
I'm (tentatively) optimistic that my eindecker at 190 cm and a projected 3- 3,5 kg would be about the same.

yeah 28% is ok....its actually quite tolerant on the position...

even midpoint on the wing flies fine.

the flying characteristics were very different to anything i've flown...and could catch you off guard if not careful.

First the rudder is ultra responsive. it is very efficient at steering both on ground and in the air. In fact i used it almost exclusively for turns, coordinating the ailerons just to keep from losing height.

aileron turns cause rapid height loss and they are authorative enough, but hardly useful for a quick rescue...so the moral there would be to not get into any trouble that requires a quick aileron response.

the plane wind vanes alot also.

if the wing warping isnt ligned up, it'll roll over on takeoff and airspeed and aileron control isnt authorative enough to quickly adjust...trust me i know this one.

you need to make some washout in the wings also, i did this using the rigging tension.

after flying around a few times and getting a handle on it, it's a great time!...and those low speed, low alt passes take everyone at your field back to 1915.

oh, anohter thing, i used a pretty small 4 stroke in mine, actually smaller than the spec (a 0.54 TT)..and the plane weighed over 9 lb. Due to the large diameter wheels and heavy undercarriage it flew very well even with that modest powerplant.

i just thought of another one...the angle of the fuse whilst at startup can starve fuel to your engine, so be sure to run richer than you think- or when adjusting the mix lift the tail to parallel with the ground...do the same for balancing- it's easily overlooked...

FYI the warping cables need to come around the pulley one full circle before exiting- my main worry was a cable slipping off when under no load...so the top rig needs to be fairly tight.

Cheers..

Tim.

Oh, and yes, checkout K&W...they are fantastic...the only thing is the cost in shipping..this baby cost me $350US of so, then another $600US to get it here....

we mustve been posting at the same time....

i'd say that a 40 might be ok for a 1/6th scale model flown scale like.

i had a saito 40 special in my kyosho 'stang that weighed about 2.7 kg and it flew very well.

also, the scale cowl didnt allow much more than the 54 i had in the eindekker anyway..perfect fit actually...who knows how anyone got a 60 or larger 4 stroke in there..

Tim.

Tim, I downloaded the K & W manual for the EIII some time ago and found it very helpful for my project. This is what gave me the idea of placing the servos and tank on shelves one above the other. It is really a nice looking model -- and an ARF to boot! Makes me wonder what I've been doing all these months!

www.kavanrc.com/english/P108_142.pdf

Thanks for the description of the flight characteristics. I'm cheating with mine and using ailerons (this was LONG LONG AGO IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY a BUSA kits) since I'm not a skilled pilot. I've done a lot of rudder and elevator only flying on the simulator and am hoping this will come to me aid when I get around to flying the EIII.

BTW, I'd still like to see some close-ups of the gear, tail, and cowl. Actually, if you don't mind, would you just send the entire plane up to me in California? I promise I'll return it after a few hundred test flights.

Well i can tell you that the positioning of the servos and the linkages for the wing warping are very difficult, as the rudder and elevator is pull pull wiring and these get in the way of everything...plus there is very little room in there to boot...but it can be done!

did you view the video?


i'm not sure what closeups ive got...i sold it off when i got sick of tuning engines, cleaning fuel, tightening screws and having to lug the trailer out to the field to fly gassers.

Now i go to a small park and fly almost silently!....no regrets!!

I'll see what photos i have of it...if you dont hear from me about this, then it means i havent got any useful ones...

Tim.

Tim, the video looks great! Actually, I'd seen this some time ago and hadn't realized it was yours. But I don't know, to me it's the messy fuel and noise that makes these things airplanes! Though I do envy the folks that can step out back to the corn field and fly anytime they choose. Hell, I'd even settle for a bit of grass. Electric just doesn't do it for me. I know that electrics are getting bigger and more powerful everyday but I'd say that anything big enough to be scale is probably too big and too dangerous for park flying.

But then I'm a technical luddite who prefers an al manual film Leica M6 to digital.