WWI aircraft

Model Airplane News, Nov 2001 by Leu, George

Many fine WW I aircraft designs are on the market today, from older, classic wood kits to a new generation of impressively built, almost-ready-to-- fly (ARF) kits. For instance, Arizona Model Aircrafters and 3 Sea Bees have started selling almost-ready-to-cover (ARC) and ARF kits. Built-up wood kits can be found from such companies as Balsa USA, Flair (available through Hobby Supply South), FunAero, Proctor Enterprises, Hobby Hangar and The Aeroplane Works. The latter's Ziroli Fokker Dr.I triplane, for example, is designed as a great flying, sport-scale model. It doesn't require the building of true-to-scale internal structures, as are found in the popular Proctor kits, but the finished project certainly looks good close up and in the air. Another beautifully designed triplane kit is available from Glenn Torrance Models. The Torrance kit very closely follows the prototype aircraft's method of construction.

If you like to scratch-build and want WW I scale airplane plans, then you should check Steve Stratt's impressive work at Aerodrome Models. Steve offers several not-often-modeled designs in clean, electric-powered versions. Nick Ziroli Plans offers other WW I designs, as do Rich Uravitch and Bob Holman Plans. Whether you like scratch-building, kits, or ARFs, there are many designs out there to get you into the Dawn Patrol skies.

SIEMENS SCHUCKERT D-III

Many individuals design and build their own WW I aircraft. One modeler I recently met is Dave Johnson; he won the WW I category at the 2001 Westchester Radio AeroModelers (WRAM) Show with his original design 1/4-scale Siemens Schuckert D-III. The prototype aircraft was flown in late 1918 and was used mostly by German naval squadrons. The aircraft had an exceptional rate of climb and was considered outstanding by the few pilots who flew it. This aircraft has always seemed to me to be an ideal RC subject, but the round, fully sheeted fuselage didn't inspire me. Dave built his model using a 3/4-inch copper pipe as a center fuselage jig to hold all the formers in alignment. He drilled 3/4-inch holes in the centers of the fuselage bulkheads, slid them onto the copper pipe, moved them to their respective positions and glued the fuselage longerons to them. He then added the balsa sheeting and ended up with a perfectly straight and strong fuselage in much less time than if he had used a standard jig- or crutch-construction method.

The proof of any design is in the flying, and I saw Dave fly the D-III at the Connecticut Valley Scale Meet back in June. Dave placed first in Expert, and the model will be featured in a construction article in a future issue of Model Airplane News. Dave's model also earned him first place at the New England Scale Masters qualifier in Gardner, MA.

FUNAERO SE5a

The FunAero SE5a that I featured in the column several issues ago is now completely framed and ready to cover. This plane is very easy to build, and the laser-cut kit is an exceptionally good value. The model's outline is very close to scale, and I think that when I finish the model, some of my scale buddies will be surprised when they see how nice it looks.

FunAero designed the SESa to be a fun-to-- fly, sport-scale plane. Though it wasn't meant for serious scale competition, its overall appearance is very impressive. The FunAero people had conventional building techniques in mind when they developed this aircraft, and I am very pleased with the modeler-friendly design of the kit. I'll show more pictures in a future issue when the model is ready to fly.

Arizona Model Aircraf ters, 14795 N. 78th Way, Unit 800, Scottsdale, AZ 85260; (480) 348-3733; fax (480) 348-3773; www.arizonamodels.com.

Balsa USA, P.O. Box 164, Marinette, WI 54143; (906) 863-6421; fax (906) 863-5878; www.balsausa.com.

Bob Holman Plans, P.O. Box 741, San Bernardino, CA 92402; (909) 885-3959; fax (909) 889-9307.

Flair; distributed by Hobby Supply South, 1720 Mars Hill Rd., Ste. 8365, Acworth, GA 30101; (770) 974-0843.

FunAero R/C, 4385 Redlane Rd., Palzell, SC 29040; (803) 499-5487; www.funaero.com.

Glenn Torrance Models, 2404 Bane Rd., Eland, NC27243; (919) 643-1001; fax (919) 643-1002; www.gtmodels.

Hobby Hangar, 7715 Industrial St., W. Melbourne, FL 32904; (321) 727-8227; www.hobbyhangar.com.

Nick Ziroli Plans, 29 Edgar Dr., Smithtown, NY 11787; (516) 467-4765; fax (516) 467-1752; www.ziroliplans.com.

Proctor Enterprises, 25450 N.E. Eilers Rd., Aurora, OR 97002; (503) 678-1300, fax (503) 678-1300; fax (503) 678-1342; www.proctorenterprises.com.

Rich Uravitch, 5629 Cypress Creek Dr., Grant FL 32949. Sig Mfg. Co. Inc., P.O. Box 520, Montezuma, IA 50171; (800) 247-5008; (515) 623-5154; fax (515) 623-3922; www.sigmfg.com.

The Aeroplane Works, 2134 Gilbride Rd., Martinsville, NJ 08836; (908) 356-8557; www.theaeroplaneworks.com.

3 Sea Bees Models, P.O. Box 747, Lake Stevens, WA 98258; (425) 334-6089; fax (425) 397-2126, www.3seabees.com.

Aerodrome Models, P.O. Box 1425, FDR Station, New York, NY 10150.