RE: 100KM cross country flight.
Cannot contribute much to the original question, but I meant to include for interest and inpsiration this link to the late Maynard Hill's achievement. Click on TAM links for more info, but essentially he crossed the Atlantic with a FAI legal aircraft, i.e. 6 ft wingspan, weighing 6 pound empty, 11 pounds with fuel, powered by a .61 OS FS. http://www.modelaircraft.org/mag/mhill/hillindex.htm
Posted on: 7/5/2012 1:19 PM by Author "franc" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11144288

RE: 100KM cross country flight.
Hi Marcel, From a fellow South African. I have never done the event but a few guys from my club have (PRF in Cape Town). They use from a 1/4 scale super cub to an LT40 trainer and everything in between. Weeks before the event they do endurance practice flying around the club for hours testing fuel economy. Get yourself issue 11 of South African R/C Modeller, as it has an article of the event with lots of details and photos of planes and teams. Last time round a chap flew a foam Nine Eagles Sky Climber glider using 8200 mAh of 3 cell lipos, running out of power only 5km from the finish. Good luck, I believe it is a lot of fun.
Posted on: 7/4/2012 11:51 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11142848

RE: Flying stop sing or round tuit
Have built two of these already (per the attached plan found on the net). Inexpensive one evening build Corex FUN plane; even torque rolling with the odd tail touch is easily achieved powered by a .25.
Posted on: 11/29/2011 11:18 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10834736

RE: Top Flite SE5 cg
Hi Keithy, if you don't want to wait you can download the manual at the following link; look under "Discontinued Red Box Pre-Gold Edition Kits" http://www.top-flite.com/manuals/index.html The CG on mine, which I finished last year, after receiving the kit 35 years ago :-( is at 97mm from the leading edge on the top wing. The manual states in the middle of the top wing, and like I said in an earlier post, the maiden when balanced there was hair raising to say the least.
Posted on: 8/23/2011 11:42 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10683623

RE: Building Tutorial
Try http://www.airfieldmodels.com/ full of everything to do with building
Posted on: 5/5/2011 12:12 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10502364

RE: Top Flite SE5 cg
The manual states exactly in the middle of the top wing. I balanced it there when I maidened mine about two months ago and had the most hair raising flight of my life. It is now at +-90mm from the leading edge of the top wing and, although still slightly tail heavy, flies like a dream.
Posted on: 11/10/2010 9:27 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10126399

RE: Let's show our Scale Planes off
Built over the last few years with other models in between, my skywriter version of the SE5a which is currently displayed in the Science Musem in London. 1/6th scale, power .61 ASP FS. Maidened successfully yesterday.
Posted on: 5/17/2010 8:07 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9739019

RE: extra 3.25 plan questions
Built this a few years ago, made my own 'glass cowl and wheelpants and molded a canopy. Made the U/C legs from carbon fibre. Built per the plans the incidence was wrong as it required about 5 degrees of downthrust and some elelevator down trim to fly level (didn't want to rebuild the fus or wing). Once this was sorted however it was a great flyer on an OS25. Try your hand at 'glassing, opens great possibilities!
Posted on: 12/23/2009 5:11 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9353475

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF
Just came across this thread while waiting for my Tucano to arrive. I'll be fitting a four stroke as some have done...it sounds as if it will be totally enclosed. Is there anything I need to watch out for in terms of having adequate cooling, such as a large exit hole in the bottom? Furthermore my inlet/carb will be against the firewall, doeas this interfere with the nosegear mount? Thanks
Posted on: 11/25/2009 11:49 PM by Author "franc" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9281745

RE: metallic paint for fiberglass fuselage?
My Ryan PT20 1/6th scale scratch build is covered in chrome Oracover. After covering I used steel wool to take the "toy" shine off the chrome, and leave it looking like buffed bare aluminum. By using masking tape to tape off panel sizes, and alternating up and down strokes with forward and aft, I could create the effect of different panels. After this I used a sewing wheel used to mark material to create dimples on the panel lines, which look like rivets from about 3 feet away.
Posted on: 7/7/2009 5:28 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Tips & Techniques"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8912751

RE: 3 Views ???
You may also want to check out this site has downloadable plans as well...http://www.geocities.com/rcsu26mx/su_intro.html sukhoi SU 26
Posted on: 4/25/2008 5:06 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7417134

RE: Der Jager bipe
Would this help?
Posted on: 3/14/2008 7:00 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7222728

RE: Stearman 3 views
Try http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=557457&pp=10 Not calalogued but more or less in alphabetical order, so look about 3/4 way down
Posted on: 11/2/2007 3:42 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6570386

RE: SE5a 1/6 Scale Scratch Build
I discovered this thread as I am finishing off a very old Top Flite 1:6th scale kit to stand-off scale detail. I have been following along "silently" as the detail has me speechless!!! In my research however I have photos I took of the seat belt arrangement on an original SE5a in the Imperial War Museum in my country South Africa. I hope in a small way this repays for all the inspiration your creation has given me:)
Posted on: 7/5/2007 11:10 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6073414

RE: RYAN ST-A plans
Ross, Attached are 3 views I found on the net while researching my Ryan. I hope this is what you are looking for. Francois
Posted on: 5/7/2007 5:31 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5821373

RE: RYAN STA SPECIAL
Hi Vils, Last year I scratch built a 1/6th scale Ryan PT20. I based the colour scheme on a photo of a restored one operating in USA. Attached are photos of my model and the magazine photo of the real one. I will send you a private email with more details. Francois
Posted on: 4/12/2007 7:54 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5703653

RE: Building a SPAD Canard
I have just had a read through this thread and downloaded photos and instructions. I'm looking for something unusual to fly in the wind over here which just doesn't want to die; no good for light weight balsa close-to-scale, which is my main passion. I'll get my son involved as he is quite quick with correx. (he built, set up and flew his first correx model, a QHOR, in an afternoon during a club build get-together). I'm trying to finish off a scale SE5a which is taking forever! Francois
Posted on: 12/20/2006 4:17 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5138454

RE: Building the Flying Lawn Mower
I posted details of my lawnmower on another thread, but as this thread is dedicated to that mower and I as am so impressed with it's performance I'll repeat the post here. I built one for our club air show as most of the display is centered around prop hanging and speed planes, and I wanted something unique. My son and I have built some very successful correx models before, a Mig, a Corsair and some fun planes, like the round floppy disk. As we only decided to build the mower 4 days before the show I was most impressed with Villa's drawings and instructions, as it only took us 3 evenings after work to construct. I love the way of using bamboo sticks for the hatches, will steal that idea in future! We glued the entire craft together with hot glue, our favourite way. My son had two flights the day prior to the show in moderate winds; with CG per plan it flew without any adjustment. Each flight ended in a deadstick however due to new props on the OS46FX and me adjusting it too lean. On both occasions though, although it does not glide like an ASW28, my son managed to glide it down without damage. (one arrival was quite severe but due to the inherent strenth no damage occurred). On the day of the air show (as often happens on these occasions) the wind gusted between 30 and 50km/hour 90 degrees across the runway. The mower flies so well that my son managed a complete display, including some aerobatics and low passes, much to the delight of the spectators, even if the mower was crabbing at 45% to the line of the runway most of the time due to the wind! By this time I'd sorted the OS46 so landing was no problem, according to my son like bringing in a trainer! I hope this encourages more people to try unique craft, this one won't disappoint! Francois
Posted on: 12/8/2006 1:19 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5089501

RE: SE5a 1/6 Scale Scratch Build
If I may contribute towards the side lacing issue; I am attaching a photo of an original SE5a, based in a museum in South Africa, which I had the priviledge of photographing recently. Only visited there after completing 99% of mine, which is a pity as the restorers have left one side covering off revealing the entire inside of the aircraft!! Mine will be finished as a Skywriter, silver all over and no guns, per the one hanging in the Science Museum in Londen. The attached photo shows the lacing in detail; I trust this may be of assistance. I also have some other close-up photos, so if there is any detail you specifically require I may be able to help. Francois
Posted on: 12/1/2006 6:57 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5061280

RE: Spifire Plan Needed
Check out the following site, search for Spitmk9.zip http://acparisis.free.fr/page700.php
Posted on: 11/15/2006 5:53 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4998410

RE: Long endurance airframes
As has been repeated above, the design must be mission specific. You may want to visit the following web pages which detail the trans-Atlantic flight of an R/C aircraft, which illustrated the point of mission specific very well. The actual plan view is more like a pattern plane than a glider, yet flew for over 38 hours on a 61 size four stroke. http://tam.plannet21.com/ http://www.modelaircraft.org/mag/mhill/hillindex.htm
Posted on: 10/2/2006 2:40 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4817176

RE: SPAD Flying Indy Race Car
I came across this thread whilst looking for a flying "racing car" for our next air show. Villa, I saw your comment regarding nobody building SPAD lawnmowers. I built one two weeks ago for our club air show. My son had two flights prior to the show in moderate winds; with CG per plan it flew without any adjustment. On the day of the air show (as often happens on these occasions) the wind gusted between 30 and 50km/hour 90 degrees across the runway. The mower flies so well that my son managed a complete display, including some aerobatics and low passes, much to the delight of the spectators, even if the mower was crabbing at 45% to the line of the runway due to the wind most of the time! It is an easy build as well; three evenings after work! Francois
Posted on: 9/18/2006 3:45 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4761625

RE: Spitfire autocad drawing
Is this it? http://acparisis.free.fr/page700.php Scroll down to spitmk9.zip
Posted on: 9/13/2006 5:19 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4742624

RE: Piper Cub Floats
If you visit this site there are Cad drawings of floats. Search in the Scale model plans area. http://plans.rcmodell.hu/
Posted on: 8/21/2006 5:17 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4649248

RE: Aligning Holes For Hinge Points
This system works for me, only used it on 1/8" hinges.... I cut the end off the mandrel of a few 1/8" pop rivets, leaving about 1/8". Place this in a drill and sharpen to a point. Once I've drilled the holes in the LE, I put these rivets into each hole, align the TE with the LE and press the two firmly together. This leaves me with a set of perfectly aligned dimples in the TE, ready for drilling.
Posted on: 5/22/2006 9:48 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Tips & Techniques"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4304205

RE: any such thing as scale cowlings?
Brian, You may want to take a look at the following web site. This man is a genius! He is a regular contributor to the rcscalebuilder forum http://www.mfarchive.modelstuff.co.uk/mf098/wip.htm Francois
Posted on: 2/9/2006 6:24 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3888390

RE: Let's show our Scale Planes off
My first attempt at scale. I saw the original in a magazine (see below) and just had to build it. Ryan PT 20, 72" span powered by a Webra Speed 61. Designed from a 3-view and scratch built. Francois
Posted on: 2/7/2006 6:18 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3879530

RE: Piper L-4 Grasshopper 3-view
You may also want to check out the following web sites: http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/aviation.html Search for L4B, some detail photos http://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/j3cub.html 3-view drawing of grasshopper. Click to enlarge before downloading. I also somewhere have a very detailed drawing scanned from a magazine; will have to look hard for it though, but it could be the same as The Pipe has offered. Francois
Posted on: 9/26/2005 6:13 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3394183

RE: Scale Cub Gear
You could download a set of drawings from http://plans.rcmodell.hu/. Go to Scale drawings and search for "scale cub gear". Francois
Posted on: 8/15/2005 4:25 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3263770

RE: Wing Wire connections
Here is a photo of my Ryan showing what it looks like
Posted on: 7/28/2005 2:49 AM by Author "franc" in the forum "Tips & Techniques"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3207607