Oh, don't worry... The Fokker DRI is my all time favorite airplane. Absolutly cutting edge in it's time and, in experienced hands, one heck of a flier. So,... I think a few careful mods and maybe even a little time on the sym and it will fly. On the other hand, I won't beat it up either... I have my eye on an AerodromRC triplane for AXI2826. Maybe fall... I hope to try again this weekend if the winds chill. I'll let you know!

Franny

Nice job on the Tripe Franny....looks Good.I would suggest moving the CG forward until you get a few flights on the plane, then work it back as desired.Your elevator and rudder will have less effect with weight forward of the cg and should help tame this short coupled plane for first flights a little.I understand your choice of elevator throw and your reason for that choice as I too set up my models in a similar fashion.If you have D/R on your radio, Dial in 30/40 % if you find the elevator too Responsive for first flights.That way you could just hit the D/R switch if you needed more throw once in the air.I'm sure you'll get it worked out. I hope our suggestions help rather than confuse.Good luck with your Tripe Franny
Don
PS..I can see in the Pictures the intensity of focus on your face at the field...LoL.Keep up the great work Franny

Hey Franny, when you get that Tripe in the air,you'd better watch your six for those pesky SE5's...LOL...here's a pic of mine but no grass showing here yet :rolleyes:

Hi Don, Thanks again for the comments. I actually spent all evening on it last night. I even moved the elevator servo so I could adjust it easier. Those pull-pull deals are a little difficult to set up, but are really cool once they are working. I have moved all the attachment points to the inside of the servo arms. I can't change the control surface horns. I have a couple of old lag bolts in the nose and it now balances a 1/4" or more ahead of the CG so I'm psyched about that. There is no reason it can't fly and it should be super fun in the air. I can't wait!!

I'll be watching my six, but beware the Fokker scourge! We come out of nowhere! You are on!

Franny

P.S. Oh, don't you just love that photo? That look. Franny was not happy... I always expect things to work perfectly on the first and they almost never do and I'm always suprised...

Now there's another SE5a to hound your DR1, Franny, as I finally got to maiden my GP model this evening. First flight was a little scary, since I had way too much control throw, so the plane was extremely touchy as soon as the wheels lifted off, but some very gentle stick nudging got me a few nice circuits, and then a picture perfect landing, which was unexpected on our very soggy grass strip:) . I programmed some expo into ail. and el., and took off again on the same charge, for a much longer and much more relaxed flight, including some attempts at rolls, loops, and stall turns. Even with my modest power , the plane is capable of much more than scale performance, and rolls can be nearly axial, or very barrely, whichever you choose. Rudder is definitely needed for decent looking turns, and some downtrim improved the "sit" in flight. My second landing was a little too hard, bucking a gust just before touchdown, and the only damage was a small piece broken off a corner of the battery hatch, which popped off when I plopped the plane down. I'm very pleased with the model, and look forward to exploring the capabilities as the season progresses.

My flying buddy did get some pics, so when he sends me copies, I'll post a few.

Brad.

Great Brad! Glad to hear you got some fun flights. I look forward to the photos. Ya know, the DRI in the Real Flight Sim (Add-On Vol 2) flies very well with no bad habits. We'll see if that is really the case this weekend (hopefully). So now I'll have two of you on my six! No worries... I'm ready!

Franny

Hey Franny I fly that tripe on the sim too. The electric and nitro version. Actually flies close to the way my Polks Hobbies .25 size electric tripe flies!! If you go to www.knifeedge.com you can download Steve Shumates DR1 parkflyer. It has six ailerons and will hover if you dial in about 3mph worth of wind!!! Hope you get to fly this weekend. We had tornadoes in the area last night but it's supposed to settle down by Saturday!! I hope!!! Steve.

ground crew spy'in
 

Fanny: I got some ground crew spy'in on dem bad old S.E.5a's! Vital Info in route!, Good luck on your 2'nd Maiden, your bub, stevecooper,P,S, pixs looked like you took it pretty well to me,

Franny, I have to compliment you on the DR1 build, I've been remiss in not doing so earlier. I really like your choice of colour sceme, it's nice to see something other than the usual camo or red layouts.

Steve's comment about the el. throw seen in pic 3 of post 1070 made me go back for a closer look, and I see that the ailerons are also at what looks like full throw, in the direction that the plane is already rolling. Are you absolutely SURE that they're not reversed? Please double check, at least for MY peace of mind:o .

I've flown a friend's DR1 several times, and found it a delightful model, stable and predictable, yet very aerobatic. Of course, he had it thoroughly dialled in by the time he was silly enough to let me have at it. It's much larger, at about 30% scale, so that probably helped the stability, too. It's the one in the middle in the attached pics, and makes my 75" D VII look small!

Wow!!! That really is great!! So, is that a D6 on the end? AerodromeRC has a D6 kit as well. I love that lineup. That will give those SE5s a run for their money... Just beautiful.

Yeah, that is a funny picture... The ailerons look reversed, but I checked them before I gave it a go. That picture was snapped about 3/4 of a second before it went plop. Still, I will double and triple check it. It was just fine on the bench the othr night and the throws have been cut down quite a bit. I try not to rely on dual rates as my receiver only has six model memories. I have to doule and tripple up for all that I have but a lot of them are only three channel, so that helps. I am looking at the the new Spektrum DX7 which has 20 memories.

That is good to hear that your DRI is very stable. That is what I have found with the simulator. In my experience, an unstable model that is built well, and designed well, and *should* fly probably has the CG off a bit. Funny thing about physics... It kind of goes both ways. The weather still looks good for Sunday. We got about 6" of snow yesterday in a spring snowstorm, but I bet it is just mush in a couple days. I'll let you know!

Thanks,

Franny

Oh, Brad,

About that color scheme... So I did some research and came across the "Raben" scheme and the examples I found were that blue and white. I fell in love with it and just had to do it so I went out and picked up the two blues, the white and black. When I was about half way through the covering, I read that the actual colors were red and white (like yours). I guess that there were some actual pieces of blue fabric that were attributed to his airplane, but were later rejected as his. In B&W photos, the blue and red have similar gray levels. That and I believe they were initially shipped with that robin blue on the bottom surfaces. Anyway, while not being historically correct, I still really like it. The larger , next one will be yellow and black as in the end of Waldo Pepper. That is a hot look too. Here are a few photos I used for reference...

Franny

Franny, I've seen a drawing of your DR1 in that colour before, though I can't recall where at the moment. My "Raben" scheme on the D VII was copied from the cover of the Windsock Datafile book.

Another possibility for the extreme throws on ail. and el. in your pic could be a severe radio hit, or glitch from a faulty crystal, affecting those channels. Certainly worth checking out before committing that beauty to the air again.

Yes, that is Ron Dodd's D VI on the left in those photos, scratch built from his own plans, at 22.5% scale, the same as my D VII. All of the planes in those pics are scratch built, except for the 25% Eindekker on the right. The 2 DR1s are both built from Ron's plans, the one on the left built by Al Gross, from the Seattle area, the other built by Ron, then my D VII, built from some enlarged and modified plans published in a Brit Mag about 8 years ago, and the Eindekker kit, from one of the well known US sellers, the name of which escapes me right now:confused: (edit:Balsa USA kit). I'll add a couple more pics of Ron's D VI below:

Dvi
 

Hey Brad. I have a set of plans for the DVI in 2" to 1 foot scale.:) They appear to be overly complex. :mad: I may build her with a much more simplified structure. How does your Buddies fliy? Martin

Dvi
 

BTW Brad, Where is the cockpit on the DVI??? Martin

Zebera Lost It's Stripes?
 

Steve, I have'nt got the stripe'in for the zebra worked out yet, any ideas out there on pait'in mono-coat? I fear the extra pound'age of do'in it in more iron-on as a zebra has a bunch of stripes, I'm just gonna go with the try'ed in true STEAM-BOAT WILLY theme! your bub,stevecooper

Ah, you noticed that, Martin.;) The pics in post 1087 were taken the day Ron maidened the model, and he had not yet got to that bit. If you look carefully at the group photos in #1084, you can just make out that there is now a cockpit, complete with pilot, wearing the obligatory white scarf. The D VI flies very well, as do all of Ron's planes, very predictable, with no bad habits, yet lots of power for more than scale flight envelope. His planes, and my own D VII, designed and built as per Ivan Pettigrew's mantra of "add lightness, take off more weight, then sand some more off", tend to fly like king-size park fliers; slow, maneuverable, but not underpowered. None of our large scale bipes/tripes have exceeded 13 oz/sq.ft. with Nicad/Nimh packs, so take offs, on a breezy day, look more like levitation than flight:cool: .

Hi All,

Well, I got a chance to re-maiden the DRI this weekend and it flew great! It is still a little sensitive on the roll, but it really did track well and can turn on a dime! Sorry, no photos as the wind got nasty and I had to store everything in the car and go home. Even my chair started to blow away! Anyway, thanks for all the help! Next time out I'll get several inflight photos.

Thanks,

Franny

Wonderful news, Franny. There can never be too many WW I models flying! Glad to hear you got the bugs worked out. A little expo, or reduced throw, on the ailerons should have you in great shape. I took the SE5 to the field yesterday afternoon, but the weather wasn't co-operating, with wind, rain, and hail alternating for several hours, so all the guys went to the soccer clubhouse at the end of our field for coffee and Baileys to warm up. Not much point in trying to fly after that!

way to Franny...I was sure you'd get things worked out.Winds are up here ,forcasted 20/30 km all week so we'll be hiding in the hanger.With all the Folkers in the air, it might be a little crouded ...lol.Nice planes guys.Good job on the SE5 Steve....but I think we're out numbered...lol...i will tone down my aileron throw before zi maiden my SE5...I suspected the aircraft might be a little tweaky with all that trow, especially with ailerons on both wings,....It rained here sunday, so I fiddled with my planes and installed a wireless router so i could network to my new laptop.I want to try onboard video later this flying season,then, review at the field...video a dogfight or two maybe ...lol
Don

I just built one of the new Lanier SE-5's. Haven't flow it yet though. Really a good quality ARF for only $89.99. Amazing. It's a 37.5" wingspan. I also have their Fokker DVII still in the box. I'm using one of the new STORM 2726-1000 motors in it. Should be a great flyer!The only bad thing is the UGLY pilot that comes with it. Looks like an Alien! I substituted a different pilot I picked up somewhere along the way. You can see the airplanes on the Lanier website at www.lanierrc.com

Thanks guys,

I'll get some photos... Looks like rain this weekend (our one rainy weekend for the year) but that could change in an instant. If we get blue skies, I might get the Taube back up. Sure do love flying that one too.

Thanks,

Franny

Hi guys (and Franny), finished the DH1 (to a flying state) a couple of days ago and had a nice morning today so did the maiden. I've done this about 25 times now, but I'm still a nervous wreck. Off and on it took me three months to build the DH1, the most time I have ever invested in a model so I was rather relieved when she just climbed away as though it was the hundredth flight.
It flies brilliantly with excellent control responses. With 4 ailerons and the tail controls right in the slipstream she is very agile. Does nice loops but is a bit reluctant to roll - more likely a technique I will have to learn. It does pretty well though as I guess the original was never designed to roll at all.
I don't like anyone around when I do my maidens so I haven't got any flight pics. Some ground shots below together with my trusty Moraine-Saulnier N (actually a crusty old Little Stick) that I flew first to get my eye in.
I still have alot of finishing work to do - top surface will be the olive green colour you can see on the top of the tail fin and I have some nice 1/12 decals for it. Will post some flying pics once she's prettied up.


KiwiKid

good work
 

congratulations. you sure do good work. what covering do you use?? am in the process of ripping off the nice dark red fabric off of my pair of 43" Fokker's, D-7 and the 1919, 2 passenger C2, went on super with glue stick, however when I applied clear dope, it wrinkled up and made it look blotchy. so start over again, probably useing super thin Red Coverite, which I know it will take the thin dope. when they are complete, then I will start on the 1 off, 2 open cockpit version. was built to fly he and his girl friend out of Germany before the Russians showed up. all will be electric powered. dick stamm

Thanks Dick, the Little Stick was covered in Oracover, in hindsight this was a bit heavy but it was really easy to work with, has a nice canvasy look to it and is very strong. The DH1 was a semi ARF kit that came with the wings already covered. Some pics in post 1044.

KiwiKid

Hi Kiwi,

I really like your little stick. I bet that is a fun and reliable flyer - the kind you always bring and always fly. I have a "Li'l Gasser" I converted that I use for that. It calms my nerves and gives me a great indication as to the conditions at the field. Are you going to re-cover the DH1? Is it from the same company the sells that translucent orange Tiger Moth? Looks like a great little fleet!

Franny