Steve! Don't get depressed lol!.. hey.. you have a finished plane that looks pretty good I think.. It never was built to be a Master Scale kinda plane and thats ok.. ya know. Most important is to have FUN!.. k bro..

Oh, I know. Since I started looking into this scale side of RC, the things some people can do is just incredible when you see it and think of the work that went into it.

I got real photos of mechanics working on stripped down S.E.5's during the war. These guys has to be "modelers", carpenters and machinists, not mechanics, to have worked on these things. All that wood, hundreds of feet of cables and turnbuckles - it must have been a real joy.

If it looks good in the air while flying by yourself on a lazy sunday afternoon (imagine chasing all those Fokkers around the sky) then its a good plane. Bob's SE5 is more like a guy stepping out of GQ magazine compared to my caveman SE5 (Dynaflite). But either way, they are a blast to fly and just have fun. Someday, I will get my "stuff" together and build a really nice plane. As long as I can have one in the air that looks "sorta" right, I am happy.

I agree. It looks like the FunAero SE5a to me. The outline looks more accurate than the BUSA one. I'm building one now, with some mods to make it a little more scale. You can see the build under "Other Kits" at rcscalebuilder.com forums.

Jim

I've done some looking at the plans. problem is, the guy (dead or in Australia) who built it, made a lot of changes. but it does seem to conform to the BUSA plans. However, I suspect the BUSA and Funaero plans are a lot a like. when I get around to it I'll check closer. I need someone to give me some exact measurements of the Funaero to compare. I'll also check things like formaers, etc. Still waiting for Mike at Funaero to post some more data.

Splais, Sorry I didn't back sooner but we just got back into town late this evening. As for your SE5a, there is one way you can check to see who the MFG of the airplane is, remove the lower wing center section, the former that the wing pins into will have the FunAero name on it along with LCF # on it. As long as the original builder didn't turn it around backwards. It will also have slight charring around some of the Lt Ply pieces. Reguardless of who the MFG is they are both excellent flying airplanes. Thanks, Mike

No, thats ok Mike, I ove this kind of detective work and correcting or not - misinformation. You wouldn't happen to have your nose to tailmeasurement would.

Another point, my plane weights 24.8 pounds. closer to your advertized weight than BUSA. but then with all the mods and 3 piece wing, kind of throws that out the window

Well, if your going to throw it out the window let me know which one...I will be right out there

Well, my venture into WWI scale aviation has come to a screeching hault. My beautiful S.E.5a is no more - as you can see. On her maiden flight on the second turn around the field I watched helplessly as the elevator came off and she went straight into the ground from about 200 feet. I may be a long time before I purchase another plane built by someone else; but it sure was fun while it lasted. Just a shame to see this beautiful plane in this condition. []

I am staring with mouth agape......I am so sorry.

Oh Man!.. Dang Steve, sorry to see that. It was a decent looking plane and I'm sure it would have been an excellent flyer. Sorry bro.[sm=sad_smile.gif][sm=sad_smile.gif]

That sucks! It was a really great looking plane. At least you have some interesting souvenirs to hang above the workbwench as an example of why you should build it right the first time! I hope this isn't your last attempt at early aviation. They are really great fun when they work!

On her short maiden flight she lifted off beautifully with little trim required. I made two passes before the elevator came off. she also taxied very well with the steerable skid. The plane obviously was lost, but the engine was also completely destroyed. Post crash examination showed that every hinge in all control surfaces had popped out. They were glued with a glob of some brown stuff. A closer examination showed this plane may have been older than thought. Things like the cotter pins in wheel axles were rusted. For a plane that had never flown this indicates a lot of hanger time. Maybe the glue just dried out, don't know. I should have been more leery of this planes flight worthyness, but it looked so good. During setup and ground testing I had two pull-pull cables come loose (replaced whole thing), two hinges come loose (repaired and checked all poorly-obviously), and had one exhaust stack fall off. But it is hard to tell just how good or bad a finished plane is put together. It was fun; I guess the search begins again; I don't think i'll find another plane like this one was for $900 though.

Well, things have gotten interesting. I always wondered about what Funaero said about my BalsaUSA looking an aweful lot like a funaero. Apologies are in order. take a look at what I found in the wreckage. So I got a plane supposedly built BalsaUSA. Even got the manual and plans; that turns out to be a Funaero, serial number LCF022002*. Just one more weird thing. The guy I bought this from allegedly helped the guy who built it. All water over the dam now; I'm already looking for a replacement because I liked this one so much.

Bob, You really did a fantastic job on #3!! Great thread at rcscalebuilder too. Wish I'd found you guys a year ago. I've been working on my first scale plane . It's a 1/6 scale SE5a. I've almost finished the fuse and tail. I modeled the radiator & cockpit from pics of #3. I'm new at this forum. How do you post pics?
Steve

Steve, thank you. There is a script at the bottom of the box that you reply in that says "click here to upload images and files!".
Just click on that and you'll be directed to browse for your images. Look where you have them (what file or folder) and then select. It's pretty simple.

Thanks Bob. Looks like I missed the obvious. Here are a few shots of where I'm at so far.

You guys make me sick [:'(]..................

Steve, excellent work!!!
That looks like Dennis Bryant plans but his are for a 1/4 scale plane. Who's plans are you using?
Your radiator looks super. Id' be interested in your technique for construction. And thanks for posting!

here's my BUSA se5a...
Just a few thoughts for those building one:

I used a Saito 150.... barely enough power, not really enough to enjoy flying this one (cash in significant altitude at every turn)
Needed all kinds of nose weight with the Saito... I'd recommend a G-38 or similar for weight & power.
Build the tail light!! i used 3 sets of nyrods for the tail... Next time I'd do pull-pull for weight savings and less slop.

For the side panel stitching, this is what I did:
covered the plane with coverall & doped, then put a 1/4" wide stripe tape at the panel lines. Then painted the plane with latex.... now before clearcoat, I added a 1/16 black stripe tape over the center of the now-green painted 1/4 stripe tape. I used a toothpick and brass colored paint to make "grommets" where the stitches enter the fuse. Then I soaked lengths of twine with white glue to make them rigid, then cut to lengths & attached from grommet to grommet with RC-56 glue.
Not 100% scale for the purists, but a relatively easy way to add a lot of look.

Steve, Thanks for the compliment. When I see what happened to your plane, I feel sick Sure hope you have better luck with your next bird.
The plans for my plane are my own. I built a Top Flite kit designed by Mike Platt and used his plans as a starting point. Most of the changes I've made are for the details I want to do.
The radiator is made with two plywood boxes (one for each side) mounted on a lite ply back plate. The top is carved balsa. The fronts are a brass mesh I found at Michael's craft store, inset into the ply boxes. The center and top cover are aluminum. Side brackets are 1/64 ply. Rivets are small pins. The shutters are aluminum with a small slot cut into each end with a jig on my bandsaw. The brass bushings (also cut and slotted on the bandsaw)are placed over the slots on the shutters, forming a small cavity.Thick CA is injected into the cavity with an insulin syringe. Brass pins (cut down) pass through the sides of the frame into the cavity.

Question? I hear you guys refer to Nelson. How do I contact him? I'm looking for either flat or streamlined wire. do you know if it's available for 1/6 scale?
Steve

Look here for Nelson

http://www.nelsonhobby.com/instruct_paint.html

FYI I still have a Top flite SE5a designed by Dave Platt new in the box. It was his first plane he designed when he came to work for Top Flite many years ago. And thanks again for the shutter sketch.

Bob, Thanks for the link to Nelson. The top Flite kit is a great kit both to build and to fly. I've used it to work out the details, such as engine size, tanksize & placement, ect.
Any suggestions as to rigging? The streamlined wire from Nelsons will be too large for 1/6 scale. I have some pics of restored aircraft rigged with cable, but it appears that all the originals used solid streamlined wire.
Also, does anyone know what the long tube in the center of the cockpit is for? It's not in all of the planes.

No idea what that item is, but I have seen it mounted to the pilot's left vs between his legs. A good source for photos is
[http://memorial.flight.free.fr/indexuk.html]
look in the Gallery- old photos tab & theres a black & whiite without the "item" there. In the panoramic cockpit view, I think it was visible on the left (I must be missing a plugin or something, can't get it to work for me).
Maybe Arizona Modelers would know?
good lulck
-m