Is Flair Magnatilla Fuselage Similar in Dimension to Puppeteer ?

[Andy-H]

Does anyone have both a Flair Puppeteer and a Magnatilla ? If so, do the main fuselage dimensions appear to be broadly similar ? They both use same dia cowl, and the fuselages are balsa covered at the front and built up at the rear. I’m kicking ideas around for a four stroke project.

 

I ask as a laser cut rib set for the Magnatilla (mk 2 version) I can be bought through eBay. From the info I’ve found, it looks as though Flair used a similar construction approach for both models and they have a similar wingspan. Although Magnatilla mk 2 plans don’t seem to be available anywhere, I have an untouched Puppeteer Mk 2 kit and am wondering if I could use the Puppeteer plans as a proxy template to build a Magnatilla wing and use the fuselage parts as a template for the main components, adapted to take account of the different wing location. An EBay vendor does offer plans for the Magnatilla, but they are for the mk 1 which is smaller. Also, out of stock.

 

Many thanks.

 

[J D 8 - Moderator]

  Your assumption about the Flair Scout series using some common parts/dimensions is correct. 

[Engine Doctor]

If it looks right then it generally flys right .

I recently finished an Elf Bipe  from I believe a Ben Buckle kit . I aquired a part built fuselage and bottom wings but no plan or top wing , just a set of ribs. I found a plan for the Elf on Outer Zone of the same span and had a couple of plans printed. The ribs , spar spacing were very different from the ribs i had so just used the outline of the plane . Result .... 8t flies really well.

Just make it up as the scout series were very similar construction .

[leccyflyer]

According to Dudley Patterson in the article about Flair in this month's magazine, the Puppeteer is simply a biplane version of the Magnatilla - so that is straight from the horse's mouth.

[Andy-H]

Thanks both, that looks to be line with my own findings. Having checked the plans in the puppeteer kit with an image I’ve found for the Magnatilla, extrapolating dimensions from one to t’other shows they are broadly similar. Should be fairly straightforward to scratch build something workable.

[Andy-H]

2 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:

According to Dudley Patterson in the article about Flair in this month's magazine, the Puppeteer is simply a biplane version of the Magnatilla - so that is straight from the horse's mouth.

Thank you - well spotted ! 

[Jon H]

Both are great models and fun to fly. My dad taught me to fly using his pup as it was all he had at the time. 

 

I have the flair nieuport and i hope to take it out to play in a few minutes. 

 

Something to watch on the pup is not to over power it. They are very lightly loaded and fly much slower than most are used to. They are also quite draggy so to fly them at 'normal' speed you need lots of power. This leads people to fit 70's as they feel a 50 class 4 stroke is not man enough. It is, a 52 surpass for example is more than enough. Its just a case of getting used to just how slowly they will fly. 

 

I have a battered pup waiting for rebuild and a battered engine that has been rebuilt waiting to go in the front. Some day they will fly again. 

[Andy-H]

The Magnatilla plan is available again on EBay so for the sake of a tenner, I’ve ordered a copy. Alongside my mk2 puppeteer plans, I ought to be able to put something together, particularly if I can buy a ready cut rib set. At the same time, Four strokes in the 48/52ish range seem to crop up quite frequently and are a notable margin less expensive that larger engines so it’s probably a good plane & motor combination to start with.
 

Building a Magnatilla wing would also give me some useful experience for when I get round to building the Puppeteer.

 

 

[Jon H]

Building biplane wings is like deja vu.