Teus

It's definitely a winner!

Good luck at the show and competition Allan.

Teus.

Nieuport nut

My Feedback: (10)

Very impressive Allan. You certainly perform under pressure! Best of luck at the show.

Martin

dcwwcp

allan, thank you so much for all the great pictures and sharing the build with all of us. it's people like you that make me really appreciate this hobby and the way the internet brings us together to share a common interest. I've been a SSW D.III nut since the first time I saw one, and this has been, hands down, my favorite build thread of all time.

thank you, and good luck

~don

allanflowers

Thanks everyone for your nice comments and support.
Dale, Ron, Abu, US185Damiani, Teus (your SE5 is looking great), Martin and Don (I have been watching your dime scale D.III project with great interest) - you are all terrific!
I hope I didn't miss anyone.
The support on this site has been very important to keep me going.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

Very impressive, good luck. The competition does not stand a chance. I am going to root for a good flying video though when the time comes. That will certainly be a knee knocker! Any chance of getting her to the nationals this year?

allanflowers

Thanks to everyone for your nice comments and support.
I attended the show this afternoon and, at the end of the day, picked up the plane and its third place award in its category (Military Scale Non-Jet).
Not too impressive but it is better than going home empty handed.

udet1918

I'm crying foul! What could have possibly bested your SSW DIII?

Ron

allanflowers

First in the category was a B-24, from Eagle short kit.
Second was a Byron Corsair.

abufletcher

IMHO, you was robbed. I think a lot of people (judges included) just don't "get" WWI stuff. If they can't see rivets and chipped paint they don't know what to look for. And a Corsair and a B-24? Personally, I wouldn't care if I never saw another one for the rest of my life.

Ah, well. I learned not to take contest seriously when I was doing photography. Judges make their decisions on all sorts of uncontrollable factors.

So what's ahead in terms of prepping for an eventual maiden?

Teus

Congrats with your third place Allan,

I don't know much about judging, but when I see a first place winner with extended servo's and controls at the wing, they must have very other interests!

Teus

allanflowers

Since I am out of town for a while, there won't be much news. Then there will be several upgrades to prepare for the actual flights. The spinner attachment is with 0-80 machine screws which always strip out when tapped into aluminum. I will go to 1-72 or even 2-56. The prop and spinner needs careful balancing too, with my new Dubro balancer. Last, a another series of taxi and cooling tests to maximize the odds of a good flight day.
Teus, I see you noticed those servos hanging down on that bomber. All judging for this show is apparently done by one guy, doing 20 different categories including cars, boats, armor, etc. Each category has a first, second and third award so the guy is definately overworked.

cocobear

My Feedback: (2)

OMG Allan, you were robbed. There are model horns and clevises under the B-25

Charles_e_bates

My Feedback: (90)

Allan:
I was their when the doors opened and went right for your plane, [:-]WOW WOW[:-] WOW, from all of us to you a big THANKS just a great aircraft.

Charles

abufletcher

I totally feel for this guy. He had something like 60 prizes to award (many outside of his area of interests) and probably less a couple of hours. As they say about "walking a mile in someone's shoes..." Anyway, spectacular job, Allan and we'll look forward to other future developments (and glory).

ZoomZoom-RCU

I'm sorry, thats like comparing Steak to Hamburger. The judge is obviously WWII biased. I don't care how hard his job was. If I knew absolutely NOTHING about either war or the planes involved (and some may claim this is true!!) The sheer execution and technical mastery alone, puts the Siemens-Shuckkert over the top. Not to mention it doesn't look like a dolled up ARF!

ZZ.

We appreciate ya man....you cant fool us with jackanape-judge tom-foolery. Thats a 1st place Blue ribbon plane right there son.

dcwwcp

no contest such as this should be judge by one person alone. besides beig too much work, it's never going to produce proper results.

your airplane shouldn't be judge in the same class as those two planes in the first place. your plane is in a higher category in reality.

contests should be taken with a grain of salt though.

the real deal is, ... is it a joy to fly, does it fill that spot. you know the real reason you made it.


it inspires me that's for sure.

TFF

Simplicity is harder to replicate than complexity; that is why in a "beauty" contest older planes are overlooked. People think they are quaint. A true scale contest is more even. I say it takes more guts to show off your wheres, no matter the outcome, than hiding it at home. All great art is not understood by all, but should be displayed for the ones who do.

allanflowers

Again, I appreciate all the nice comments and support. Entering a scale contest is a lot like a maiden flight. You prepare all you can but never know what will happen. In this case, the supportive comments of such talented modelers as are on this site and the Aerodrome site, etc. is worth as much to me as a bigger wooden plaque anyway.

Chris, the shipment of your cowl/spinner has arrived and they are VERY nicely made, much smoother and cleaner than the ones I rushed through to get the plane in the AMA show. After my maiden flights, I will finish up these new parts. I have written Chris about his shipping company (DHL), which took from early December until now to get the box here. Not a good job... but better late than never, I suppose.
Some bad news, my club field is flooded out and probably won't be available for the SSW maiden for three or four weeks

CTDavies

Hi Allan,

I am so glad it has finally arrived. I think my wife sent it regular airmail instead of priority mail which is nearly double the cost. It can be the luck of the draw sometimes, I have had stuff arrive in the US after two weeks, sometimes it takes six [:@]

Charles_e_bates

My Feedback: (90)

Allan:
I had DHL drop a plane at my door and run off. i called them to tell them it was broken and they told me , to bad i had signed for it, so i told them never again would i use them to ship anything, not even USED CAT **** !! the phone went dead.

abufletcher

You should also keep in mind that this was shipped internationally during the Christmas rush. I've lived overseas for 25 years and international shipping has definitely gotten better, for example, I've gotten packages from Tower here in Japan is as little as 10 days. But I've also received packaged months later...and once even a full YEAR after it was mailed! In general, I don't have a good impression of DHL but that may be the best option from where Chris is located.

Yeah, I've heard that SoCal has been a bit "wet" recently! Just put some floats on it!

Charles_e_bates

My Feedback: (90)

Hi Allan:
I hope this is ok?
Hi everyone

I have one of your Cyclone kits from 2003 and i would like to find someone that has one they would like to get rid of.
I need some parts or all of it. You can let me know on this web page or P.M. me at me e-mail address.
Thank you
Charles E. Bates

PS. I forgot, i am on the way to Japan this month or next and i will be gone 3 years or more and i just want to take another kit with me so if i need it i have it and i like this aircraft.

allanflowers

Charles, sorry I don't have anything for you but I hope you have a good stay in Japan.

My garage/shop has a skylight and I was worried about fading on the D.III. The dust is also a big problem. The solution was to make a cover out of drapery liner. This 54” wide material, from Joann’s Fabric, is only $6 a yard (80” was needed) and is totally opaque. It has a rubberized feel on one side so it doesn’t slide around and it should protect against bumps as well. Later I may trim and fit it a little better but it will serve for now.
I have also started working on the cowl and spinner parts from Germany. For now these are back-ups but, if they come out really well I may make them the primary parts. After the maiden flights, I will decide. If all goes well, these might be good for Metalmorphus-ing.
It was a little difficult drilling pilot holes in the new spinner from the inside, through the aluminum base plate, without damaging its threads. By the way, these have been redone from 0-80 to 1-72 threads which should be much less likely to strip out of the aluminum during operation. 0-80 in aluminum is not a good idea for anything that has to hold.
The spinner plate got little strips of electrical tape, which should help prevent vibration and keep the holes from getting working bigger.
My new Dubro balancer is SO much better than the other one with the magnetic discs (its frame is so flimsy that I keep dropping the prop on the floor). It is a bad design.
I bought the Dubro unit so I could balance the prop, spinner and aluminum base plate all together. It works well and is made very nicely.

allanflowers

The cowl needed spacers at the side mounting holes for a snug fit to the engine spider.
Baffles were constructed and installed on F1 at the front of the fuselage. The lower ones are mounted with screws and can be removed.
I am adding a bottom and top mount in the cowl. The bottom one is a wood block, the upper one is a brass fitting.
The new fiberglas cowl is being trimed, fitted and mounted.

(photos have been reloaded)

Charles_e_bates

My Feedback: (90)

Allan:
I had the same thing happen to me on another sight, put up 4 photos of my B-25 and WOW they went BIG.
I wanted to take them down but can't, i guess i just not doing something right.
You aircraft is looking great.
Charles