Balsa USA - 1913 Etrich Taube 90

[Gastronom]

I am considering purchasing this kit for something different. Has anyone seen one of these fly or built one? It's a WWI plane so I'm not sure if the flight characteristics will match a new plane say from the 90's. Any/All advise on this matter is appreciated.
I'm a very seasoned flyer and builder so keep that in mind when answering this.

Here is the link: http://www.balsausa.com/kits/kit.htp?id=25&shopperid=

If anyone is considering building this airplane then I guess this would be a good place to share experiences.

[therotund1]

I too would like to know about this one. It's a beautiful design. I'm glad to see it has ailerons! I'm not too sure how that wing warping stuff would react to my limited abilities behind the sticks.

Dave,
inquiring minds want to know....

[KOMET 44]

I built this plane.The kits are nice but lots of HEAVY WOOD!!!!! Mine had a T.T.90 4STROKE.Way more than enough power.Bad side of this plane and lots of there kits are they come out tail heavy:( :( I used solar tex fabric to cover the plane.The alierons need to be corordinated with rudder when making turns.If I built it again I would leave out the alierons.Use rudder and elevator only.This plane is accutly pre W.W.1 Primarily used to scout out the enemy.As for flying get the plane rolling and let it lift off the ground.Keep it level and then add power.Flying slow is where it shines the best.Any more questions just ask.stefanP

[Texas Buzzard]

That kit has been on my shelf for over 6 years and now I started building it.

I intend to install a P.A.W. 0.90 Diesel engine w/ a 16 x 4 wooden prop. Yes, I know that is a lot of power .....but hey I have a throttle and the 0.90 diesel runs at half speed really well.

I think the wood is heavy too. I hope I can knock off about a half a pound in the airframe and landing gear. It would be a shame to use Monocoat or some shiny covering I think. So even though the fabric-looking covering I have is sorta' heavy I will use it.

I am glad Steve mentioned that he'd omit the ailerons - that would save about 4 ounces right there. My neighbor said to fill the wings with helium, duh?

[gwinhh]

Don't know how heavy your engine is, but try really hard to keep the tail light. You can lighten the fuselage sides -- or just build with sticks, not sheet (though I may be thinking of the Eindecker.) I think you can also halve the size of the tail sticks without damage. My 40 size ribs were horribly heavy -- I omitted every other one behind the wing spar and had no problems. And since I used a .35, I also extended the nose 1" to make it easier to balance.

If you look at a 3 view, you'll see that the landing gear has a sort of "knee" joint; if you did that, you could use smaller wire.

In fact, I think if I was making a new one, I'd use functional rigging. You could then use much smaller and lighter spars. A two piece wing, with stub-spars to locate the wing on the fuselage and the wires carrying flight loads would also be possible.

I've had both the 90 with ailerons and the .40 without -- the ailerons are nice to have. Use plenty of differential (more up than down) to cut down on the yaw.

It would look much better with solartex and maybe a light coat or two of WBP with a little brown tint to represent linen......

good luck.

howell

[rnrdoc]

I just put everything together to size it up to make sure everything fits.

I add weight to the front I will be glassing it. I have already glassed the Cockpit area. I am looking to obtain a Glossy Metalic Black Finish. I will be using super coverrite and Nelso Hobbie Paints to finish it off.

Learned alot on this build. Have a Bristal M1 as my next project waiting.

Any questions please let me know.

Gary...

[gwinhh]

Niice. Shame to cover up that framework, though....

howell

[rnrdoc]

Niice. Shame to cover up that framework, though....

howell
Yeah I know. Looks so nice. But its not goign to fly any other way. And after spending so much $$$$ on it worse to keep it on the table.


Gary...