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1916 Blackburn Triplane Zeppelin Hunter Flies well, 1/6th scale - October 2021 RCME


Jon Harper
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I thought people might like to see flight video of my 50” wingspan 1916 Blackburn Triplane Zeppelin Hunter which turned out to be a very sweet flier.   Amazingly it flies like your second plane after a trainer.  Anyway, here are some supplementary photos of the model.   It really is an excellent example of a bunch of airplane parts flying in formation.  The detailed build article is in the October 2021 RCM&E issue.  My friend Chuck took the video and the photos.

 

Jon

 

 

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Edited by Jon Harper
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7 hours ago, Jon Harper said:

And this is a short flight video where I was flying it like a DR1 inclose to the camera.   It is really fun to fly!   Could use a touch more power.   The pusher prop makes an unholy racket that sounds better than it does in the videos.

 

Very cool model, looks great in the air. I dont think it needs more power though - I am pretty sure it is massively over-powered compared to what the full size would have had, so jsut enjoy it as is. Part of the fun of flying a "period" plane for me is having to manage the power carefully to achieve manouvres, just as the full size had to.

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  Overpowering these early aeroplanes is often a bad thing, they start to display strange flight characteristics like wanting to climbing at a too steep angle or even shoving the nose down even when elevator is up. Light structures that bend/twist is one cause.

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10 hours ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

Nice, would an OS 40 fs go into it ?.  
 

Paul, An OS .40 could file.   the Elite Power 25 x 870kva elec motor fit nicely and allowed me to put in the rotary dummy engine around its.   Wrapping around the dummy engine around an OS 40 would be hard to make look good I think.

 

Jon

 

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7 hours ago, MattyB said:

 

Very cool model, looks great in the air. I dont think it needs more power though - I am pretty sure it is massively over-powered compared to what the full size would have had, so jsut enjoy it as is. Part of the fun of flying a "period" plane for me is having to manage the power carefully to achieve manouvres, just as the full size had to.

It is true that more power is not needed, but there is no excess power.   It has sufficient power to climb slowly, and can loop….but not enough power to “get you out of trouble”.    The power it has definitely allows for scale flying which is great….and fun for touch and goes.    Jon

 

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9 hours ago, J D 8 said:

 Very good flying model of a type I had not come across,? did it ever see service or just a prototype ? The sound of a 4 stroke running nearby had me puzzled for a bit. :classic_smile: 

JD, The Blackburn was extraordinarily unsuccessful.   One was built and sent for testing in 1916.   It performed poorly and was struck off charge a month later.   The model is the exact opposite- a wonderful flyer and very maneuverable like the DR1 but lands and takes off with not complications….contrary to the DR1.

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59 minutes ago, J D 8 said:

           Proper " bird cage" that". 

             Upon seeing a similar wired aeroplane an officer asked an aircraft rigger how he knew if any were missing ?  Well Sir we put a canary inside and if it escapes we know a wire has gone!

 

That is like the old fable from the 80s about the difference in build quaility between a BMW or Mercedes and an Alfa Romeo...

 

Merc - Put a Canary inside and seal up the windows, if it's dead in the morning it's built right.

Alfa - Put a Canary inside and seal up the windows, if it's still inside in the morning it's built right! ?

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Don, you are on to something there.   That is exactly how I decide what to model next.   It is never a mainline aircraft, always something a little ugly at first glance, but it draws you back.   When I am nearing completion of a build I often find myself surfing the net for some ugly duckling and after an hour or so I have often found 10 or 15 aircraft I have never seen before.   A little more research on Wikipedia and I find 2 or 3 with interesting stories on top of the ugly beautiful looks.   Invariably one of these knows away in the back of my mind challenging me to devise a way to build it.    At that point the deed is done and I have my next build.    I think I have finished about 8 ugly own design scratch builds in the last 5 years.    Always amazes me when the balsa sticks and covering end up flying!    At this point I feel like we could make a frying pan fly!

 

jon

 

p.s., some of my uglies attached.

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13 minutes ago, Don Fry said:

Ummm, are these all 5 foot (ish) machines, with electric motors. As in, can go in the car in one piece?

BTW, the fifth photo, 4 engine American marked bomber?

They are 5ft up to 6ft wingspan.  You are correct in that I pick a scale that will just fit up the basement stairs and into the car in one piece.   The American Army bomber is the six engined 1922 Barling long range Bomber XBNL-l.  That one is huge in one piece with a 72” wingspan standing 24” tall.  Very interesting history:  It bankrupted the manufacturer, had a crew of 7 or 6, was larger and taller that the B17,  had 10 landing wheels plus 2 training nose wheels to start, and with six engines could not fly over the Appalachian mountains.   All that remains are two enormous wheels in a museum in the US.   Let me see if I have some flight video from my friend Chuck.  The model is an evil thing to fly for someone like me with medium flying skills.   Link to Barling flight with my friend Dave on the sticks.

 

 

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Edited by Jon Harper
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4 hours ago, Trevor said:

Fascinating model Jon. In your quest for oddball types, how about modelling a model next time?

 

The Stanger Biplane

 

Trevor

Model of a model?   You made me look!   Great idea.  Then I found a few more nice and ugly aircraft.   Oh the temptation!   D. Stanger and his models appeared frequently in flight magazine from 1910 to 1916.   What a great looking model.   Yours looks fantastic!

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