Let's see your peanuts

[flailing]

I will get this started with some of my peanut scale models.
First up a Smith Miniplane

[flailing]

My new Fokker

[flailing]

A Pitts S2-A in Rothmanns markings

[flailing]

Mauboussin Hemiptere, won a few contests with this one.

[flailing]

A well worn Andreason biplane from a Peck kit, won a whole truckload of contests with this one, one of the best flying peanuts I ever built. Still flies fantastic.

[flailing]

Thorp T-18 Tiger

[flailing]

My Yak-9 not a very good flier, need to try another prop.

[flailing]

Davis DA-2A

[flailing]

Here is a shot of the Fokker D-7 I am working on.

[Huckebein]

Flailing

Man! I love your Eindecker! Can you give us a closeup of the engine detail?

Huck

[flailing]

2

[flailing]

Oops

[moon]

Hi Flailing,
Your models are terrific! I would love to see those in the air.
Could you tell us a little about the Eindecker? What plan/kit is it from and how does it fly? Also, I would love to know how you made your pilot bust.

Thanks
Moon

[flailing]

The Eindecker is from my own plans based on the excellent drawings in Austro Hungarian Aircraft of WWII, it's still in the trimming phases but shows real potential it weighs 8 grams. My peanut scale pilots are made from strips of toilet paper and corn starch over clay plugs. You mix corn starch with a little water and use it to apply the tissue strips over the clay mold, when dry you slit the tissue and carefully remove the shell, it won't stick. I have yet to find a lighter way to make pilots.

[Huckebein]

That rotary engine is a work of art! I went to the dollar store to get some bendy straws and will try it out on my Fokker DVIII. The cowling looks to be 1/32 sheet balsa. Is it? I am thinking about just removing my carved balsa nose to try this. Any tips?

Huck

[flailing]

No it's thin plastic vacuum formed over a wood plug. Save every blister package you can get your hands on, with a little trimming there are all sorts of useful parts. You can use a paper hole punch and punch 1/16 balsa discs for cylinder heads to fit the bendy straws.

[moon]

Hi Flailing
Thanks for the tip on making pilot busts. I tried it and it worked on the first try! Now I just have to find a way to get my peanuts to fly! Thanks again for the great tip.

[flailing]

Glad to help, kind of a strange method but it works. Be careful with the paint if you get the TP too wet it will start to come apart.

[Ian Easton]

Flailing,
Any chance of getting a copy of the Mauboussin Hemiptere plans. She's a real beauty!

Also it looks like your printing your tissue, would you like to share your method. I'm particularly impressed with the Rothmans Pitt's. I remember seeing the Rothmans team at the Scottish air show about 1975 - unforgettable:)

[Ian Easton]

Well I found a copy of the plans, free on the net

http://www.theplanpage.com/Months/2109/mauboussin_files/maubp1.tif

Still curious about the tissue techniques though.

[flailing]

The Rothmans Pitts and Mauboussin are painted with Floquil, the rest are mostly printed tissue. The printing is easy, I use a very light coat of spray glue to attach the tissue to a sheet of paper and send it through the printer, drawing the design to print is the hard part. I can send you a copy of the Hemiptere plan do you have a Cad program ? the one on the internet is grossly out of scale.
There is a better plan here. http://mywebpage.netscape.com/dmlivesay/peanutplans.html

But still a little off.

[Ian Easton]

Flailing,

I do have Autocad, so getting a file from you would be excellent, and very appreciated.

Ian

[BobM]

What a fun thread! I've always loved peanuts, even though they rarely fly well for me (this one does about 25 sec, max). They are still fun to build, and since they don't take too much time or money, I think they are good subjects to try new technques. In this case it was the home made decals (super Cal from www.paper-paper.com with artwork lifted from a MS Combat Flight Sim model). The instruments panel was scanned from the Guillow's kit and resized.

[flailing]

Great job on the Mustang, I have seen several Peck P-51s fly very well. Your right about being fun I build lots of peanut models some fly great others not so great but I can't stop building them.

[moon]

Hi Flailing
I am about to undertake another P'nut project. Is the Maubossin Hemptere plan the Florent Baecke plan on Dave Livesay's site?

Thanks
Moon

[flailing]

Yes it is, Florent is a friend and fellow club member, his plan is pretty accurate.

[moon]

Thank you Flailing. I think I'm going to tackle this project. I am very inspired by your models. That must be a heckuva club you are in! We don't have FF activity in this immediate area that I am aware of. I depend on stuff like this for learning and FF conversation. Glad I found it.
Thanks again
Moon

[flailing]

For years I built FF models and never saw another one, then I moved to Texas and now I fly with a lot of well known fliers we have 3 active FAC clubs, I even manage to beat them sometimes.

[moon]

Hi Flailing,
I was looking at the MH plans by FB and I am not sure that I understand the section at the nose. Should there be another former at the underside of the nose (Below former A)?

Also, is there any type of mod(s) needed for this plane?

Thanks
MOON

[aeropenguin]

Flailing,
those are simply stunning and eye-blinding! How it is phisically possible to have that many ribs and stringers so close together and small and beautifully covered like that?
I wouldn't even ever fly them because with one dust particle, it wouldn't be PERFECT, as they are now.

Bravo, and keep them coming!
-Michael

[flailing]

Moon I see what you mean, he shows a former on the side view but not on the plan. I would just skip it and shape the lower block.
aeropenguin, Thanks for the compliments, there not perfect but as close as I can make them and still sleep at night.

[bob the builder]

super nice models Flailing and BobM! I didn't know there was a freeflight forum. I've spent all my time slummin' with the RC crowd (I have a split personality...). here is my Botali Pama lightplane. it does about 40 seconds indoors.

[flailing]

Nice plane Bob, Don't worry we won't tell the free flight guys you visit the dark side.

[Bud Morrison]

Originally posted by moon
Thank you Flailing. I think I'm going to tackle this project. I am very inspired by your models. That must be a heckuva club you are in! We don't have FF activity in this immediate area that I am aware of. I depend on stuff like this for learning and FF conversation. Glad I found it.
Thanks again
Moon

Actually you have more activity around your area than you think. The FAC is located in Erie Pa the website is http://www.flyingacesclub.net/phpnuke/html/index.php

There are quite a few contests.

[Bud Morrison]

Another great source for freeflight information is the FFML mailing list.

It is a very active mailing list with free flight people from all over the world. http://www.mindspring.com/~thayer5/ffpages/lists/subscribe.html

[BobM]

Here's my Comte AC-12E from Walt Mooney plans. I just dusted it off (literally) for the high wing pnut event at Geneseo last weekend. It took some work, but I finally got 43 sec. out of it. But I'm sure that won't be competitive against the Cougars and Laceys. I covered it with red tissue, but it just didn't seem red enough. It was after a shot of Accu-flex though!

[Bud Morrison]

Bob,
What for prop did you use on that?

[BobM]

Originally posted by Msaint
Bob,
What for prop did you use on that?
Its a Sleek Streek prop cut down to about 4 1/2". Its basically the same one found with a nylon prop hanger in AMA Cubs and other small stick models. You can get ones Sig distributes now, but good luck trying to find the on their web page http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmart.exe/MainMenuFV3.html?E+Sig (I searched for part number SIGNPPO055) . They are also available from them from Penn Valley http://www.pennvalleyhobbycenter.com/rubber/supplies/props.htm

They aren't as nice (thicker, heavier, less camber and duller finish) as the old ones from North Pacific though. If you can find the originals, grab them!

[moon]

Bob
Nice bird. Looks great and 48 seconds is fantastic in my book!
What is Accu-flex?
Kevin Mooney

[BobM]

Originally posted by moon
Bob
Nice bird. Looks great and 48 seconds is fantastic in my book!
What is Accu-flex?
Kevin Mooney
Thanks Kevin. Good question on the accuflex. I haven't bought some for a while, so I did a quick google search to find the deteils. It is (or maybe was) airbrush paint targeted at the model train crowd with colors like Caboose Red and Engine Black. I really like it becasue it coveres a variety of different surfaces (doped tissue, metal, plastic) with a single light coat that's pretty flexable when dry. Its also water (or soap and water wash up) and doesn't seem to have nasty fumes.

It turns out it was originally marketed by Badger and the plastic bottles even screwed into their airbrushes. It worked fine for me without thinning, but some people like to. Later it was distributed by Testors, but they have apparently dropped it. I don't see any reference to it on their web page.

The good new (I'm hoping) is that Badger now carries a brand called Model-flex, that some seem to like better than Accuflex. If what they say is true here http://www.badger-airbrush.com/modelflex.htm I think I'm still happy. I'll buy some and let you know.

-Bob M

[moon]

Thanks Bob
I will look for it at my LHS. Sorry to interrogate you so much :)
How did you make the wheels for you Mooney Pnut? They look fantastic.
Kevin Mooney

[BobM]

Originally posted by moon
Thanks Bob
I will look for it at my LHS. Sorry to interrogate you so much :)
How did you make the wheels for you Mooney Pnut? They look fantastic.
Kevin Mooney
No problem Kevin. In fact I'm really glad to see interest in this stuff. One of the things that bothers me about going to these meets is that the average age of the participants is going way up fast. The older guys are great, but I'm worried that when they all pass away, I'll be flying planes by myself. That's a pretty depressing situation.

So to you question, I made the out of blue contruction foam. I'm sure the pink stuff would work as well. I just bought a 2' x 8' sheet of it for . A lifetime supply. My wife thought I was nuts!

I used a nicrom wire cutter to slice it into sheets about 1/8" - 3/32" thick and cut out disks with my Olfa Circle cutter. Then I epoxy them into about a 1" long piece of 1/16" aluminum tubing, making sure they a centered and turn true. I use a battery operated dremel tool to turn them and shape with a sanding block. To finish, I painted them black an glued on some silver paper disks to make the hubs. Finally, I trim off the excess tubing and they are ready to mount.

The landing gear struts are all attached with little pices of staple wire pushed into the ends of the struts. That way they have a little give on hard landings. I don't glue them in at the front so if its really hard, they pop off without breaking anything. I'll take some close ups of that tonight.

So Troy must be like 2 hours down the Thruway from Geneseo. Any chance I'll see you there next year? :)

- Bob M

[Bud Morrison]

Bob,
Im not far from Maryland.
There was a group of guys who used to meet and fly in the York Pa area just off route 83 North of York. They flew outdoor co2 and rubber stuff. Not sure if they still are as Im trying to locate one of them at the present to find out, as I have just got back into flying freeflight. I have been looking for some meets in my area and haven't really found anything. I thought there was an FAC squadron or a cloudbusters club near me also but havent found them either heh. Soon as I get something finished I guess Ill have to post something on the FFML and see if I can locate any of them.


Msaint

[jernst]

Bob / Msaint,

I'm not that far from Lancaster ...less than 2 hrs, and not that far from D.C....about 3 hrs. I say we find some intermediate place and toss some planes!

Bob, do you fly regularly with the Maxecuters? I've always been tempted to fly at the NBM one w/e. Which part of MD are you in? I lived in WhiteMarsh for a couple of years back in the early 80's.

Also, you have a pic of your GB Racer in the photo album on the Free Flight Cook-Up site. Did you take that to Geneseo last weekend?

Sorry for so many questions....

john ernst

[jernst]

As long as we're showing.....

This is a Fairchild PT-19 p'nut built from the Gene Dubois kit.

The kit is slightly over-engineered and would probably make a great Dimer.

The plane was extremely nose heavy. I scraped the prop and removed the "fixed" scale LG, and got it to fly for maybe 25-30 secs at the most.

It really "screamed" around in LH circles until it got stuck in the rafters at the indoor site I was flying at in Philly.

john ernst

[Bud Morrison]

I just ordered every one of Lee's WW1 peanut scale kits listed on peck polymers site last week. They have yet to arive in the big brown truck. Soon I will order all of the peck peanut kits in one order. So I should have something glued up within a week or so and I will be more than ready to fly. Its been a long time (Years) since I trimmed out a new freeflight plane. Should be a blast.
I thnk Im going to also order some airspan from Balsa Products they call it the LW tissue on there website he says its real nice for peanut scale planes. Its heat shrinkable and no need for dope altho I think I may try a light dusting of Krylon crystal clear just to give it that doped look. I do however want to see how well it prints in my printer also :)

[moon]

So Troy must be like 2 hours down the Thruway from Geneseo. Any chance I'll see you there next year?

- Bob M

Bob,
I almost made it this year....uugh.
I am going to try real hard to visit "G" next year. Troy is located near Albany. I am not certain, but I think I am about 3 1/2 hrs from Geneseo. I know what you mean about the hobby. Around here the FF is non existent. We have an active R/C club, but most of the R/C guys around here look at FF as a stepping stone to R/C. ?!! sigh. I wish I could see some of the models and their builders flying in person!
Thanks for the info on the wheels.
Kevin

[BMatthews]

Well, technically this is a Bostonian but since it's scalish I thought I'd sneak it in here.

It's Jim Longstreth's Monocoupe Bostonian from the Flying Models magazine plans of many years ago. He built it more for fun than competition as you can see. I followed his plans faithfully as to the engine and colors but added my own initials to the registration numbers. I DID do Jim one better in that my version came out at just a smidge over 10 gms with rubber ready to fly. I know the fellow with Jim's original hanging on his wall and he told me Jim's came out to 15 gms. All those years of Free Flightin' and indoor paid off.

Typical non thermal flights are between 50 to 60 seconds. It's caught a couple and did just over 5 minutes on one occasion but something at the top of the thermals spit it out into a spiral dive both times..... I'M certainly not complaining about THAT one... :D

[BMatthews]

Oops.... the picture....

[jernst]

BMatthews...beautiful plane!

john ernst

[Adrian Henkel]

Nice job with them little airplanes :D
One day i might be able to make my creations look as good as yours. :rolleyes:

This is the best i can do so far
http://www.svensktmodellflyg.se/users/1478/P3090115.JPG

[Mooney]

It's nice to see this thread again. It's a treasure.

[rk295]

flailing I love the little Davis DA-2A, does it fly nicely?

[GerbilEssences]

My first balsa model after years of 1/72 scale plastic kits ;)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3595/3577370398_69a28f18a4_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2476/3954791931_2dc8033a6a_m.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2473/3954792523_37ba1c0193_m.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/3954793311_ac58a12d05_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2513/3954791207_12e596d809_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2486/3955569832_975f6e4a5d_m.jpg

French plans (http://peanut.scale.free.fr/p-wildcat.htm)
She didn't fly too well due to a heavy tail end :(

Next up: Fokker G1 abd Me109E (Guillows)

[Steve85]

Gerbil,

Very pretty. Don't feel too badly about her flight performance, the Wildcat's planform is definitely not ideal for a small free-flight model.

Steve

[gwinhh]

I WON'T SHOW YOU MY PEANUTS, YOU PREVERT!!!

howell

[GerbilEssences]

Thanks. Do you mean the big front area? Otherwise I think the shape is ok for a small plane.

[jwfinn]

Since we're showing off peanuts...

I've built more models for this class than any other. My first peanut was a Luton Minor, not really successful, followed by a marginally more successful Wittman Buttercup, and so one. First real scale success was a peanut P-51 with foam fuse. After that success, I was inspired to try scale again eventually, and turned out a Macchi MB-308, which got me 3rd place in Modern Civ mass launch at my very first contest. The peanuts after that have been many. Definitely my favorite class. My primary peanut at present is a 5 year old Chester Goon that is unbelievably tattered and patched from countless crashes that would have totalled it for most people. It's had a wing replaced, and a new stab, right wing had it's LE shredded, so I cut the old one out and put on a new one, doing my best to patch the tissue, but it didn't come out so well. Next I had to replace the nose from the wing LE forward after a three vertical dives into the floor (and ground on one of them). This model does not fail to post at least one 2+ minute flight at every contest where I fly it, and indoors, it's good for a minute in Cat I. Most spectacular flight was nearly 16 minutes, on its first flight for an FAC postal a couple years ago. It landed less than 1000' away, too!

I plan to build a new Good in the near future, making use of numerous changes based on the experiences with this one, including removable wings, and a very small DT mechanism.

[GerbilEssences]

jwfinn those are beautiful! Sometimes being able to see through a wing makes the plane look that much better. Esaki tissue is a wonder of the world. Great for home made decals too.

[wingbeat]

Since we're showing off peanuts...

I've built more models for this class than any other. My first peanut was a Luton Minor, not really successful, followed by a marginally more successful Wittman Buttercup, and so one. First real scale success was a peanut P-51 with foam fuse. After that success, I was inspired to try scale again eventually, and turned out a Macchi MB-308, which got me 3rd place in Modern Civ mass launch at my very first contest. The peanuts after that have been many. Definitely my favorite class. My primary peanut at present is a 5 year old Chester Goon that is unbelievably tattered and patched from countless crashes that would have totalled it for most people. It's had a wing replaced, and a new stab, right wing had it's LE shredded, so I cut the old one out and put on a new one, doing my best to patch the tissue, but it didn't come out so well. Next I had to replace the nose from the wing LE forward after a three vertical dives into the floor (and ground on one of them). This model does not fail to post at least one 2+ minute flight at every contest where I fly it, and indoors, it's good for a minute in Cat I. Most spectacular flight was nearly 16 minutes, on its first flight for an FAC postal a couple years ago. It landed less than 1000' away, too!

I plan to build a new Good in the near future, making use of numerous changes based on the experiences with this one, including removable wings, and a very small DT mechanism.

Designer and/ or plans resource for the Goon?
I heart Golden Age racers. :D

[Mooney]

Hi GE,
I bet that you could get that bird going. It looks lilghtly built. Maybe get some trimming experience, but it shouldn't be too crazy to get flying. Much easier than that
Fok G1 you're planning on building!

Josh, I haven't seen any thing on your goon. Looks great. You've not really mentioned it in the past. Any plans available on it?

[jwfinn]

Hey guys, the Goon was built from Aronstein's plans. Be forewarned that the rudder is undersized and needs to either be enlarged or augmented with a plastic extension. I've heard most people find it tough to trim. Mine works fine, but it did present some problems initially. It does build very light, and if you can keep it under 8 g (which is easy with the wood sizes shown on the plans), it should produce consistent 90+ sec flights. An experienced modeler could make it do 2 1/2 minutes reliably.

More notes...
This model is not an accurate representation of the Goon. It is a very accurate representation of a 3-view drawn by Mendenhall. Present it with that 3-view, and you can max your scale score. Present it with any other and you'll pay the price.
The stab outline doesn't match the one on said 3-view. Make it right.
For FAC mass launch use, add a pair of stringers on each side of the fuselage. This will make it look much better and will avert squawks from other flyers. It doesn't add more than .2 g of weight, so well worth the effort.
The rear peg is way too far aft. Move it to the upright just behind the cockpit. I know that sounds extreme, but you'll have no trouble getting enough rubber in with that.
The three uprights that support the wing need to be strong. After the fuse is built, add 1/16" sq doublers inside, the full length of each upright. Adds little weight, and makes the model more durable.

I tried enlarging this model to 22" span and ran into a lot of problems. Probably lack of experience, but the point is that I never got it flying well. I did try to load 20+ g of rubber into it, and the model was only 35 g, so with the incorrect rear peg placement I used, that probably just overpowered the stab. It definitely showed fantastic potential, but I've never gotten it ironed out. Maybe someday...

I know all this sounds like a lot of work, but I promise it's worth it. This is one of the best flying peanuts out there if you're willing to work at it, and it looks fabulous to boot!

[Scirocco14]

Here's a Pietenpol Air Camper I'm just about finished building:

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs224.snc1/7135_1267055116047_1219875474_30803358_2442623_n.j pg

It weighs 12.5 grams w/o rubber, I'm learning how to build them light (even with the kit balsawood. Peck Polymers kits seem to have decent wood).

Here's my first Peanut, a Druine Turbulent:

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs115.snc1/4842_1199919877708_1219875474_30568229_6426961_n.j pg

I didn't know that if you wanted them to fly that you didn't paint the flying surfaces, so it came out kind of porky @ 20 grams. It flies OK, I can get 20-25 second flights out of it outdoors.

Mark

[GerbilEssences]

Hi Mooney,

If you call this flying then yes, it wasn't too hard to achieve ;) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgnR_kc9Pdc

My next projects will be 2mm wall foam, and cut out according to card plans from fiddlersgreen.

[pedr01]

Can you still buy 2mm wall foam? Where? I haven't managed to locate any for ages ...

[lincoln]

I've seen small models of the Wildcat fly much better than that, and I bet yours could too with the right trimming. See if you can find a group of guys who fly free flight scale near you.

If you can find it, which isn't easy, "Making Scale Model Airplanes Fly" by William McCombs, is an excellent book. However, I'm not sure it's available anywhere anymore.
Hi Mooney,

If you call this flying then yes, it wasn't too hard to achieve ;) :
link snipped

My next projects will be 2mm wall foam, and cut out according to card plans from fiddlersgreen.

[scigs30]

The Wildcat is a nice build and your plane looks good. WWII Peanuts are tough to trim. Couple of things I did notice, 1. Increase the dihedral and add washout to both tips. 2. Use colored tissue next time so you don't have to add weight with paint. 3. Pre Shrink the tissue so the parts don't warp. This should help the plane fly better in the future. Once again good job and keep up the good work.

[GerbilEssences]

Can you still buy 2mm wall foam? Where? I haven't managed to locate any for ages ...

I'm not sure what country you are in, but here in the UK I buy it from Wickes (a builders merchant/hardware store).

If you iron it on low temperature, it gives the foam a tougher skin.

[GerbilEssences]

The Wildcat is a nice build and your plane looks good. WWII Peanuts are tough to trim. Couple of things I did notice, 1. Increase the dihedral and add washout to both tips. 2. Use colored tissue next time so you don't have to add weight with paint. 3. Pre Shrink the tissue so the parts don't warp. This should help the plane fly better in the future. Once again good job and keep up the good work.

Thanks for the advice. I did add washout, but probably not enough. I used some coloured tissue and some plain tissue that was chalked, the only paint is on the white diagonal wing stripes, letters and roundels. I think the tail was over engineered and the green tissue was just too heavy, meaning I had to add a LOT of blu tack to balance it. I wasn't aware of any warping and tried to avoid it by pinning balsa parts firmly in place before covering.

On my last flight I glued the wings to give more dihedral and it flew much better - until the wings snapped off!
:eek:

So now I will make a fresh start on another plane.

Cheers,
Dave.

[GerbilEssences]

I've seen small models of the Wildcat fly much better than that, and I bet yours could too with the right trimming. See if you can find a group of guys who fly free flight scale near you.

If you can find it, which isn't easy, "Making Scale Model Airplanes Fly" by William McCombs, is an excellent book. However, I'm not sure it's available anywhere anymore.

Thanks, I will try my best to find it ;)

I think in this case that I had to add way too much nose weight to balance out the heavy tail. After all it was my first balsa plane, lesson learned!

[pedr01]

Great info, thanks Gerbil :)

[jwfinn]

Dave,

Wildcats can be made to fly extremely well. One of the fastest climbing scale models I've ever seen was a Wildcat. It went pretty much straight up in a nice spiral, transitioning into a smooth glide once it was a couple hundred feet up. At ~19" span, it was bigger than yours, but it was also built heavier.

Yours has several problems. #1, your prop is on backwards. Until you fix that, she ain't gonna fly. #2, your CG is WAY too far aft based on those videos. Start with it 1/3 of the way back from the wing LE, maybe only 1/4, then get a good glide estabilished by varying the stab incidence (use paper tabs if you can't move the stab). Power trim should be done entirely using the thrustline.

One other thing: those landing gear may look nice, but they only add drag and stability problems. WWII subjects fly best with the landing gear retracted, meaning draw a set of closed gear doors on the bottom, or in your case, glue dummy wheels in those wells on the fuselage.

[buildawyvern]

Hello all!

Here's some of my peanuts. The Gypsy Moth flys the best but for only about 30 seconds. The Aircamper flys OK too at about the same time. The Luscombe Silvare is still in the trimming stage after two years! The Lacy is 16" span and flys very well. I think peanut should have been 16" since that's when they start to fly better. The Lacy makes a good peanut along with the Nesmith Cougar, Andreason biplane and a few others. Bostonians fly great too at 16".

Have fun!

"Build what YOU want, the way YOU WANT, and most of all, have fun!!"
(Quote from internet modeler.com website)

[jwfinn]

I forgot to share one of my other peanuts. I no longer have this one. It was a great flyer, but I never got it completely figured out. Flew nicely, though, and was lost on an 8 minute thermaling flight. The larger one is 19.5" span and is still around. It is a fabulous flyer and has a pop-up stab DT so I can keep it. Flights are around 90 sec at the moment, but some recent mods should push it to about 2 minutes. I should note that the smaller one was able to do about 80 sec when everything was just right. I think it would have been capable of much more if I'd had it around long enough.

The Mustang was a good flyer, too, but was a little heavy at 12 g. I was getting close to consistent minute+ flights when it decided to go swimming and was never recovered. Had I used my own wood, it would have come in around 9 g, perhaps less. Jim Buxton has a very light peanut Mustang that does over 2 minutes indoors: http://www.gryffinaero.com/models/ffpages/ffgallery/buxton/p51a.html

[buildawyvern]

Wow! They look like great flyers. What's the name of the model in the first photo? Are the plans available?

Tom

[jwfinn]

Tom, the high wing turboprops are Aerocomp CA-7's. I've never been able to find a 3-view for any of the Aerocomp bushplanes, so I had to draw my own 3-view from photos (it needs to be cleaned up, though, or better yet drawn in autocad to make it useful for competition purposes). I then drew a set of plans straight off the 3-view, enlarging the tail surfaces to make it more flyable. Somewhere I've got those plans, but can't locate them right now. Correction...I've got the hard copies, but I can't find the files where I scanned them.

I've been out flying the big one the past few days, and it's even more of a rocket now than before now that the warps are set and locked in by the structure.

[Trisquire]

..........Jim Buxton has a very light peanut Mustang that does over 2 minutes indoors..............Jim was kind enough to show it to me once. Very nice workmanship.

Tom

[GeorgeG97322]

Here's a work in progress, PA-15 Vagabond from Mooney plans

George Gilbert

[MegaTesla]

Another Peck Polymers Pietenpol. I still need to finish the engine and lettering.
The wood in the kit is good quality. The wheels are from a Nowlen Aero kit. I'm just borrowing them for the pictures :)

[scigs30]

Did you use Peck Domestic tissue? Looks great

[MegaTesla]

Did you use Peck Domestic tissue? Looks great

Thanks! The red and yellow tissue came with the kit, the silver tissue is from A2Z.

[GeorgeG97322]

Have the nose blocks in and weight is still under 2 grams :D

George

[Dave K]

Peanut Diels Raiden

[Dave K]

Lee's DII

[kevin matthews]

Dave K, how does your bi-plane fly?

Kev

[MakMov]

A WIP Peck Polymer Andreason

1st stick and tissue in 15 years and probably only buit 5 in my life time.

3rd attempt at building this aeroplane. It is a bit of a tricky one. This is the farthest I have ever got on this one. I probably should have started with an easier one

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg3/makmov/P1010055-1.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg3/makmov/P1010056-1.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg3/makmov/P1010057-2.jpg

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg3/makmov/P1010058-1.jpg

[Dave K]

Dave K, how does your bi-plane fly?

Kev

Not very well 10 to 15 seconds. I never spent much time flying it because it did not look very hopeful.

[Dave K]

Peanut Chambermaid went OOS today:(. I will have to build a new one with a DT.

Here is a video of the Chambermaid climb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fia10KLJbIE

[Dave K]

Peanut Fokker DVII

[Dave K]

Lee's Peanut Dr1. One of these days I will build a new one with some better detail and marking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02pOHSdZOEQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVr5adel_kc

[Dave-W]

Too bad about the Chambermaid, Dave. That thing could really fly!

[GeorgeG97322]

Not exactly a peanut, took a short break from my vagabond to continue another plane in progress...

George

[GerbilEssences]

Peanut Chambermaid went OOS today:(. I will have to build a new one with a DT.


Nice chambermaid, it climbs so well! Can something that small with little wings really get caught on thermals?

[Trisquire]

Nice chambermaid, it climbs so well! Can something that small with little wings really get caught on thermals?As a kid, I would occasionally lose paper airplanes in thermals.

Tom

[GerbilEssences]

I had no idea, I always assumed it had to be a big glider to catch them.

[gwinhh]

Here in Texas, I once had a Super Ringmaster break loose during a "combat" match.

OOS overhead in 5 minutes with a dead engine and trailing 50' of .018 braided steel lines.

howell

[Trisquire]

I gotta try me one a them Texas thermals.