How many seconds will I survive?

[Lucam]

Well, guys at my club have lots of fun with RC scale combat.
They fly super-rockets all-fiber models, with some dynamyte .21 engines. :eek:

I decided to join them, but for my first attempt I choose a very conservative design: a traditional balsa 44" Texan T-6 (from House of balsa kit) and a .15 Os CV...

So, in your opinion, how many seconds can my plane survive a five-six rockets dogfight? :confused:

Do you think that balsa still flight better? Or fiberglass has definitively overrun our favourite three? ;)

And in a RC combat, reeally you need enough power to shoot a rocket in the moon? :confused:

Stay tuned, in the next few week I'll build the Texan and I'll say you how many times his tail has been cut off... durng maiden flight :o

[mr.zagi5c]

are all the other planes balsa?

[Lucam]

are all the other planes balsa?

No! fuselage are fiberglass, wings are core foam and carbon skin. :rolleyes:

just mine is (will be) balsa, plywood and oracover... and a little fiberglass just under the wing's centre section, for belly landings.
:D

[sheepy]

I have flown combat since 2000, and have had several balsa ships. It will disentigrate the moment it hits something. It has been years since people have used balsa for combat airplanes. Even foam wings with wood sheeting(balsa or plywood) get torn up very easily. The current high strength wings are 40 or 60 psi foam and fiberglass rods for spars and leading edge. Covered with packing tape or rip-stop nylon. Tails are usually made of coroplast as opposed to balsa or ply. Ailerons are the only thing I have seen in a competative combat airplane that are still made of balsa.
Fuselages can be several different things, but plastic baseball bats work well. g-10 and basswood is good. Aluminum channel is good, but bends easily. HDPE (cutting board material) is good, but heavy unless you buy kits with the fuse already lightened up.