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Discussion
Balsa USA 1/6 Fokker D-VIlI
Anyone picked up one of Balsa USAs latest 1/6 scale model, the Fokker D-VIII?
Was hoping they would release a Dr-1 or D-VII in that scale instead, would have been too much to hope for an Albatross |
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Good point, it's listed at the same ~6.5 pounds as the biplanes in their 1/6 scale series but only 440 sq in vs the 800+ sq in for the bipes. Think I'll pass on the D-VIII unless the listed wing area is a typo.
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I think that the wing area is roughly right, it only has a wingspan of 52 in or so. My guess is that the rear end is quite heavy requiring quite a bit of nose weight to balance. Maybe as an electric it could be made lighter.
The one thing that surprises me is that BUSA does not post more photos of their planes on their website. It would be nice to see a few bare bone shots to get an idea of how the structure goes together. SIG makes the manuals available online which I always thought to be a good idea as it gives you an idea of the effort involved the the possibility of removing weight. Teo |
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Well I went ahead and ordered one. Will most likely be using a Saito 62, kit specs say 40 4 stroke but the only 40 currently available is the Saito 40 and it's very small and light. If I'm going to need weight in the nose may as well make it useful!
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Fokker D8
I may build this new kit as I always liked the D8. I remember a fellow who did a D8 build for R/C using Earl Stahl 1942 free flight plans. About 1959 with tubes and escapement for rudder only. I wanted to build one but did not start until the late 1990's. Did not finish until 2005 with electric power and 6 Ni-Cd pack up front for balance. Later 8 cells and even later Lipo. Flew better with the heavy Ni-Cd packs. Flys well but needs a lot of motor right thrust. Jack
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I have two aircraft on the bench that I need to complete first but I will document once I get started but wont be for a while. Kit arrived today, typical BUSA in that no double box or even brown paper over-wrap used but it was undamaged. Also my wheels, guns and pilot arrived from Williams Brothers. At a quick glance this thing is pretty small, surprised the fuselage cross section is so slight compared to my Sopwith Pup of the same scale. Plans are neat and well drawn, but only show an electric installation. Would have at least like to seen a suggested glow setup view. Balsa seems good quality and parts being laser cut is an upgrade from prior BUSA kits I've had that were die cut and not always cleanly. Manual is well done, and seems from the photos BUSA did two prototypes, both electric powered. At first glance I'm thinking this is not a great candidate for a glow engine, firewall arrangement is decidedly tailored to electric so would need some rework. Also, I will need to layout my engine, tank and servos on the plan but my first thought is this will be very, very tight and if I need to recess the firewall to accept the longer 4 stroke engine it will just make space issues worse. No discussion or photos in the manual on how to layout a glow setup. For the electric setup they've built in a battery compartment above the firewall, but it seems access to the battery would require removing the cowl? I'll have to study the plans to be sure, there is a bottom hatch to access your receiver and servos but I cant imagine you also access the battery from the bottom. |
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Hi -
Thank for the info and I am glad to hear that the kit arrived safely and that it appears to be nice. A couple of years ago I built a BUSA Citabria Pro as an electric model. Knowing that weight would be important, I made some changes to the kit (thinner wood, lightening holes where appropriate) and even covered in Solartex it came in at 9.5 lbs ready to fly. The box listed the weight between 11-12 lbs and I was told it could not be done under 12lb. The point is, it may be possible to save some weight if you are willing to make a few changes. In the Citabria, battery access is through the bottom hatch which means I have to flip the model over, but it is not really that big of a deal. I use an arming switch as a precaution as well as a throttle cut just to be safe. I imagine that you could do the same with the Fokker is not already designed that way. On the smaller models, specially if they are electric, you can get away by using smaller servos. On my planes 6 lbs and under, I normally use mini's such as the Hitec 225 or even HS65 or HS81 depending on the size of the control surface. Keep in mind that the airloads are a function of the speed at which the model flies along with the size of the control surface. Although it does not sound like much, using smaller servos could save you 4 oz and the small changes do add up. Another area where you can save weight is the motor mounting box, I always make them out of aircraft ply rather than use an off the shelf metal one. I can post photos if you need ideas. Good luck, Teo |
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The old Ben Buckle EV/DVIII kit was 1/6th scale and very close in dimension to this one. I lightened mine as much as possible and it flies great at around 4 lbs.
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Thread OP
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^ Will certainly aim to lighten where possible but as BUSA claims 6.5 lbs I will be lucky to get it under 6 lbs.
I did a mock up and confirmed the Saito 62 will fit very nicely with the stock firewall location. Fuel tank and servos right behind the firewall will work with some careful planning. Goal is to get started on New Year's day, wrapping up two other builds so wont be starting until those are finished. Winter's are long here so shouldn't be an issue to have it done for next year's flying season. |
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Keep hoping to see someone has flown the 1/6th BUSA Fokker D8...
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Thread OP
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Seems BUSA built at least two prototypes (both set up as electric) but it is curious no videos have surfaced of this model flying that I'm aware of. |
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Bummer. I have always been surprised at how little information they provide about the kits they sell. A few build photos would never hurt, either at their website or maybe within rcgroups or one of the other forums. This is probably particularly true when they are trying to introduce a new design. I know that the kit can be built more lightly, but without anything to take a look it it is hard to estimate how much lighter.
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