ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

Yes, I have inquired to a laser cutter about making a 85" Duellist. I thought the quote I got was very reasonable.

Here is the e-mail I got back from the fellow..Let me know if you decide to carry out this project, I bet it would be better if he could do 2 at once.
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I offer large format scanning, plans scaling (up or down) overdrawing of
parts in AutoCad for laser cutting, Coreldraw, vinyl graphics and high
resolution decals. I am also preparing to provide cutting of foam wing
cores, and vacuformed parts, but all the eqpt has not yet arrived. If I can
assist, please fell free to email or call. To accurately quote a scan to
laser file project, I will need to review the plans, with a description of
the service(s) you desire. If you would like to send a copy of your plan, I
will quote it for you immediately. Most scan to laser file projects run from
$50 to $100, but all depends on amount of parts, and the complexity. The
actual laser cutting cost is about $30 to $45, wood included. Again, this
depends on size, large parts required more wood, and more cutting time.

Large format scanning is $1.00 per square foot, and I quote per project,
rather than on an hourly basis.

I have 17 years AutoCad experience as a mechanical designer, and 2 years in
the graphics, and aircraft design field. I have accomplished over 20
customer projects, of which only one, did not evolve. I also have 7 kits of
my own design, beginning to see the RC market.

Thanks for the inquiry, and if for any reason you are not pleased with the
quote, your plans will be returned, postage paid, or at the completion of
the project.

Glenn A. DelConte
792 Brandlwood Way
Lilburn, Georgia 30047
(770) 717-1694

**********************************************

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

ehfleming:

Making a smaller version of a good flying airplane often results in a dog, thanks (mostly) to Mr. Reynolds and his number. Happily, the reverse is not true. Scaling up a super nice bird like the Duellist should result in a really great airplane. BUT. The trouble of making a plug just to pull one globberfast (fiberglass) fuselage is not my idea of fun - I'd use built-up construction, or a foam cut.

I have a Pica (pre-laser) Duellist, construction not started. Still haven't collected all the bits I want for it. I have ordered the Mk II plan, see if Ol' Dave has made any changes I want to incorporate. Main question I've still not made a firm decision on is the incidence and thrust angles, as well as wing tip wash out. I have scratch-built two twins, they are like night and day. In designing and building my number two twin, I set EVERYTHING to zero-zero and it pleases the H*** out of me. Did all the "Stability" angles in number one, it flies like a dog. When I say scratch, that's what I mean. Not someone else's plan, mine.

But on this thread I've heard that Platt's original design was also zero-zero, that's one of the things I want to check on the Mk II, if he has it also at 0-0 that's where my Duellist will be.

ChuckAuger, If I read that letter correctly it sounds like the cut wood kit will be a max of $145, if only one is purchased. Second and later will be a max of $45. If that is correct we can split the set-up charge among several of us, and have a unit price well below $100. Add the piddly stuff and still beat the poo out of Pica's price, and a larger plane too. Can't beat that with a stick.

If it works out sign me up for one or two sets. I'll have to finish the one I have, Joe Bridi is supposed to send me one of his remaining F7F kits, I'll have to do that one, and of course there's a J-3 to build, (doesn't everyone have a J-3 to build?) so it'll be a fair way back in line, but it sounds like a great place to put a pair of Technopower's little radials.

ehfleming, another word for you. EMS/Jomar has a nice gear sequencer, requires a separate door servo, either mechanically connected or operating a second air valve. Check them out at http://www.emsjomar.com Mark is one of the good guys.

Speaking of Dave Platt. Dave, if you're listening, tell us why Pica cut you out of designer credit in their Duellist kits. The World (or at least we on this thread) Wants to Know!

A round engined twin, there's no bigger win!

WLR

ehfleming

My Feedback: (5)

Chuck

This reads too good to be true. I can't beleive he can do this at that price. I estimated about $100 in wood(and some CF), alone. I thought the most time consuming tasks would be cutting out ribs and formers. If he could accurately cut those, that would save a lot of time for me. I plan to plank the fuse. Also, if he's that reasonable, I should plan airfoiled tail feathers. He lives about an hours drive from me. It would be good to sit down with him and talk through what ever mods are required before he sets up to cut. I'm getting way ahead of myself, here. There are a lot of details I need to work out before I get to these stages, the least of which includes thinking through the mods.

Thanks for this info. This is another step closer to me pulling off this project.

Ernest

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

Hey Ernest..it would really be great if you could indeed take a set of plans to the guy. It should make it much easier for him to make an accurate quote. I suspect that the cost might be a tad higher (like we are noting..this price seems almost too good to be true!) as the Duellist has different ribs/formers, etc. for everything. But I did tell him what I was after in my original e-mail..an 85" Duellist.

I looked at my Pica plans..they are the older Duellist, no MK #, and they say designed by Dave Platt. They are not going to be useable for this project, however. I don't recall them having all the ribs/formers on the plans...you would almost need to have an older kit and copy the parts to make this version work. But I can attest to the excellent flying qualities of these plans. At least we know that at some point Pica had Dave Platt on their plans.

If nothing else we have found a small group of like-minded guys, it would be nice to have a little peer support on the project.

ehfleming

My Feedback: (5)

Chuck,

My plans are the newer MK2, drawn for fabricating all the pieces. They're suitable for the project. I agree, it would be good to sit down with this guy when we decide to do this. William, thanks for the EMS Jomar lead. I'll figure out something to get this Bobcat finished. I'm signing off for tonight. Later, I'll post a list of some of the mods I thought about.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Chuck/Ernest:

Got my plans out. Listed as kit #RC-5, credits Morten Tanger as the designer, says plans by Jon Tanger. It would seem mine is between yours, Chuck, and the Mk II. This plan does not have the fuse former outlines, and has the rib shape only for #6. BUT, as I haven't started construction outlines could be pulled for all if desired. As I said earlier, I have also ordered the Mk II plan. Want anything out of mine, let me know.

Ernest, another thing EMS/Jomar has, that I have come to believe is a necessity, is their "Twin Engine Sync System." Takes ALL the pain out of it. Listed at $89.95, the gear and door sequencer is $44.95. You're welcome. WATS number is (800) 845-8978 - as I said, Mark is one of the good guys, so use his WATS number for orders only, get info on the net.

You're on the skids if you've no twin for the kids.

WLR

mucksmear

Hi all,

Mine is also the Morten Tanger #RC-5 kit, with the 7 degrees down thrust at the firewall and the symetrical airfoil. Washout built into wing by using a strategically placed strip of balsa on the plans durring build-up.

It would be very interesting to see a side by side comparison of the various versions of the duellist: rigging angles, flight report etc.

-E

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I would be interested in an 85" Duellist also. Should work nicely with a couple of Saito .90's. I have been thinking about a larger version for a few weeks now, but was considering a 100" or so. 85" is actually more reasonable.
Edwin

scalebldr

My Feedback: (7)

hello chuckauger,
you have the older platt plans of the duellist,what to they show for wing & stab incidences as well as thrust lines on the engines.
maybe we can see where the design was changed.thanks in advance for your reply

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

OK, I measured the angles..from the plans. Although the plane is assembled only feet from this computer, I'm hot going to block it up and measure it.LOL

The firewalls are -7deg to the bottom of the nacell...

The wing and stab are both +2 to the fuse crutch (which I assume..uh oh, there's that word ) is the datum line.

But the nacelles apear to be -2 to the wing...so the firewall is still -7 to the datum line..make sense??

Or I guess you could say the datum line of the nacell is parallel to the datum line of the fuse..with the wing being +2 to both.

OldRookie

My Feedback: (13)

Chuck,
Is there any right thrust in the firewalls?

Greg

TimeFLYING

My Feedback: (3)

When you get a good solid price that he can make this kit for please email me. I would want to buy on

[email protected]

Thanks
Troy

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

The right/left thrust angle is 0. About the only thing I see that is 0.

I think the long tail might have something to do with the engine out characteristics..I've seen where guys used out thrust, moved the nacelles, a little bit of everything but this one flies pretty well in the engine outs I've had (2). I've never lost one on take-off.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

ChuckAuger,

Please Chuck, look again at the stab on your plan. The stab is indeed 2 degrees, but it is negative, not positive.

A single will only tingle, fly a twin, see what's in.

WLR

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

And I'm positive that it's positive..there is a building note right there on the plans that says, "Note Positive Incidence!" pointing to the stab. The LE of the stab is noticeably higher than the TE.

I think with 2 degrees positive on both wing and stab it gives the plane a nice nose down look in the air, warbird like..

But I'm quite positive about the positive stab.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Chuck, apologies and much self-abnegation. Looked at my plan again. There is an arrow pointing to the stab with the caption "2d positive incidence." So Sorry, Please excuse.

But with the wing and stab both at +2 degrees to the datum, and the engines at minus 7, then in effect the wing and stab are indeed zero-zero, but the engines are at NINE degrees down thrust! (And the fuselage points down two degrees.)

I have a red face, must be flying a single, Ace.

Bill

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

No need to apologize! This thing has stuff pointed in every which direction, anyway.

Like I said..the plane is setting right here..I'll set an incidence meter on the wing, set it to 0 degrees, and see if it really is 9 degrees down on the engine.. but that's the way I see it, too. I'll be back.

Dream_Flyer

My Feedback: (7)

I have a couple of Saito .80s laying around. Would that be enough engine for the larger sized Duelest?

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Duellist 2/120 (Duellist+ is better? Let's name it) with Saito 80s.
Barely enough power for my taste - I like a plane to fly around 100 in level flight. But that's only my likes. I think it sounds like a plane for 1.08 2 strokes, or 1.20 4 strokes. The standard Duellist, however, would be nice with your Saito 80s.

Be a Mentor: No engine in the centor. (Sorry 'bout that one!)

Bill

Dream_Flyer

My Feedback: (7)

But thank you so much for the response . Just a shot in the dark I guess.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Hey, Dreamflyer! I like rockets! My big twin goes 140, but it will also fly at 65-70 when I want it to. I'm not good enough to hover the thing, but with a better driver I think the plane would be willing. For me, POWER! The Duellist+ would probably fly very nicely with your Saitos, but I think I would be leaning toward Ho-Hum with them. Build it, if you get bored stick bigger engines in it, sell it and build a smaller version, or whatever. Just do it. And do it with the Saitos. It'll be a while before the things afe ready anyhow, so there's still time to think about it.

Get a twin hoss, or get lost. (Another bummer rhyme, sorry)

Bill

Dream_Flyer

My Feedback: (7)

And I thought a single 502 chevy Boss Hoss was enough Dang.

Thank you so much for the reply I have never built a twin but was thinking about it for awhile with the pica plane. It just looks very nice.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Hello again, Flying Dream. In my opinion, and the opinions oif many others are in agreement, the Duellist is, if not the nicest, then close to the nicest twin kit available. While not a beginner's airplane, it can be flown successfully by a pilot of moderate skill, and is an excellent "Starter" twin, and with greater than "Stock" power will clear your sinuses, raise your adrenaline flow, and be a heck of a lot of fun. It is also one of the easiest to fly engine out - do not overlook that little item, it leads to much longer airframe life. I still have every twin I've built still in flying trim. Number one is small, an F7F semiscale, it's a dog. Scratch built dog. Lessons learned were applied to my last twin, also scratch built, it is a dream rocket. Under construction is a Duellist 2/40. I will probably use it for pure relaxation, it is getting a pair of K&B Q40 engines. Do not think it will be a rocket, but it will be a twin I'll be willing to let single fan drivers play with. Easy to fly, and still stable with one dead. I don't think you could pick a nicer airplane for a first twin, but don't consider any twin until you have a few hours logged with an aerobatic single.

Regards speed, my street car is an AMG 500. Speedo reads to 240+. Nail it and you're going 140mph in heartbeat. That clears sinuses too. But the cops don't appreciate such things. And the fuel mileage sucks.

My car engine's not twinned, but the cops still want me "Penned."

Bill

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

I'll trade a Duellist, twin piped 0S 46VF's,, only flown by a little old man on Sundays, for the SL 500 AMG?? Nah, didn't think so. That is a sweet ride.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Chuck,
Got it in Stuttgart 22 years ago, never been unhappy about getting it. Well, maybe a little bit when a timing chain broke. Only $12k later I had a new engine in it. It was so cheap because I pulled the engine from a 500SEC I had, (put a 6.9 engine in the SEC from a burned car - had the only 690SEC in the world, but that's another story.) Zero timed the 500, got 420hp on the dyno while running it in. Great car, but costs money to run - 8mpg on a good day.

Engine on each side, man that's a ride!

Bill

PS: It's an SE, not an SL. wr