Nice pic Nigel. Looks good in the air even if I say so myself.

What can I say. I have three daughters. I'm calling this one the Barbie Baron.

This is built from one of Ken's kits which I had lying around half finished
for quite a while. Nothing wrong with the kit (which I like very much), I have been working on other things (e.g. My Das Ugl-E-Stik).

While following this thread my interest was regenerated and I am now finished except for the gear.

Peter,

Looks great, love the colour scheme - also looks as though you intend it to be very light.

FYI have just started on the 34" outdoor version. One mod (which I did on the Baby Baron as well) is to move the rear upper LG ply piece, back, one 'width', and the forward LG support ply, forward, one 'width'. Alters the LG angle slightly forward to lessen the chance of 'nose overs'....(if you are not too good at landing - like me !)

Nigel

Thanks for the tip on the L/G geometry. I kept mine stock except for replacing the upper wing balsa stiffener with a 3mm carbon flat at the leading edge. If I was doing another one I would use carbon on both wings and do away with the balsa which is hard to keep flat.

mine will get her first flight at our next indoor meet this Sunday.

The bigger version flies very well also. I severly damaged mine by leaving it unattended on a very, very windy day (Too windy to fly) and it was blown over and away into a fence. I built other things after that and never replaced it. Only recently I have been thinking about building a bigger full fuz WW1 model (Around .40 slimer size). I have built a 48" Full fuz 3D bipe to verify some construction techniques. It flies very well and is more than strong enough. It came in at around 3lb AUW with 3S 2500 or 2100 pack and Hyperion 2019 propped for around 35A (Could go higher although haven't tried or needed to yet). I intend to post plans after I get some photos of it.

I'm thinking I'll probably do the SE5A initially as the fuz should be nice and easy and my smaller model was a great flier. I can just scale up the plans and sort out the fuz.

Peter

A full fuz SE 5a has me salivating already !!!! Please keep us posted.

Best regards,

Nigel

sickness im going to build one right now!!!!

Hi Peter,

Found a light way to stiifen up the back end on a T section fuz like the your Red Baron - used 2 x 3mm 'slats' glued at 45 deg between the horizontal & vertical fuz from the pilot back just aft of the horizontal stab. (See DIY Tip & Tricks, post 66 in the Foamie (Scratchbuild) forum.

Added the 'slats', took off the pushrods and added 'pull-pull' controls - stiffness, much better - weight increase - NIL.

The small one flies so well I'm now in the process of building the 'Big - outdoor Baron. Just waiting for a few bits to arrive. Will post pics when it is ready.

Nigel

Nigel,

That should make it a lot stronger, good idea.

The baby baron was merely an exercise in 'scaling'. the big version was my first one and I was happy enough with it to scale it down. the outdoor version flies very well also and looks great in the air even if I say so myself.

Peter

Flew the Baby Baron outdoors again today - it is superb ! (even makes me look like a reasonable pilot !!!!)

232g / 8.125 oz 2Sx 700mAh e-tec lipo (1st gen - 36g) CC10 esc, 17T x 26AWG 2207mm STRONG RC single stator outrunner swinging a GWS 8X4 HD prop with the C of G 25mm aft of the L.E middle wing.

Inside & outside loops / immelman turns / spins / inverted / left & right rolls, low slow flyby's and even a bit of attempted hovering ! Got 16 mins 20 secs on a freshly charged battery before I ran out of power (esc cut off 6v)

Thanks Peter, I just hope the big one flies as well as this !

Finished the 'Big Baron" today - at dusk (sheesh !!!) Only mod's I made were to raise the motor upwards and stiffen the rear profiles with some 'slats'.

Haven't flown it yet (dark) and won't get a chance now till next Thursday !

AUW 13 1/2 oz. GWS 10x4.7 RS prop. 1200 e-tec 2S lipo batt, STRONG RC 22.7mm double, wound 13T x 24AWG. CC10 esc and Wayfarer 6 gramme ball bearing servos. Pull-pull on rudder & elevator using Berkley 15lb fishing line (non-stretch)....Not sure about the power on 2S...Webocalc says it will be aerobatic but a test in the living room didn't feel as though there was enough thrust - may try 3S !?

Have attached a couple of photies.

Nigel

Will update you on the maiden.

Wow Nigel, your builds are awesome!

Can't wait to hear about the maiden!

They look fantastic Nigel. I'm guessing you are going to need 3S.

Peter

Tried a 3s 1000 mAh lipo battery tonight on the same prop GWS 10x4.7 RS - it gives me 430g / 15.17oz thrust which is better than 1:1 (AUW has gone up with a 3S batt to 406g / 14.25oz)

Only problem I can see looming is the duration of flights !? (might try a smaller prop like a GWS 9x5 HD which improves the engine efficiency & pitch speed - should give me slightly more time in the air ?)

Had a look on the web tonight - no-one seems to be selling the 'old type' 10-12C lipo batteries anymore. They were lighter than the present generation, seem to last longer, were cheaper and plenty powerful enough for the sort of power we are using - 10A max !?

Where do I look ?

Nigel

I just ran a worldwide search on ebay for "lipo" - 640 items under radio controlled; "11.v" - 442 items; "7.4v" big number (can't remember!) - you don't need the inverted commas. You'll find plenty of 8-12C stuff there and as long as you buy from an established trader with good feedback you'll be OK. Beware the low price item with very high shipping costs.

MY aging Baby Baron will do rolling circles by itself .... something I've never been able to do on my own ...Cool !!!
Nigel ... nice pair of Fokkers ...