Dewoitine D.520

Yup, the ailerons are already done, just haven't had the time to shoot another photo.
It will be two channel, yank and bank, two 5g servos.

Here's the (mostly) finished thing, weighs 195g without battery. The COG is a bit more forward than I would like, so I'm going to move the receiver and voltage regulator back a bit. I'm tempted to use a 120mAh 2S lipo to save weight, as I don't need any to balance the model, I'm just not sure how many flights I can get from a battery that small.

The front-top fuselage covering came out somewhat messy and will have to be redone at some point, but it's good enough for the maiden. The rest of the tissue covering ended up great, especially the wings are tight and virtually wrinkle-free.

Good work. Which brand of fuel proofer you used?

None yet (hence the "mostly" done in my previous post), but I will paint it with some thinned down epoxy, that used to work fine for me in the past.

Thank you!, I think I will start with the 120mAh battery then, I don't have to head home to recharge anyway, I have a field charger.
I have flown these little engines before, I'm aware of the time limitations, and I'm not discouraged by them.

Can you clarify what you mean by torque being a potential issue?

Ah, right, now I get it. I think I will try both props, as it's almost a tie for now.
Running time is between 1.5 and 2 minutes, if I recall correctly. Then you refill and go back in the air, you can do that all day, replacing the battery every so many flights.

I've always liked the Dewoitine aircraft. I considered scratch-building a D-520 for the 2nd CEF Speed Contest..



A healthy Babe Bee is very capable of swinging a larger diameter propeller than the two that you have listed. You could certainly run a 5" diameter propeller.. but you'll burn-through that 5cc's of fuel very quickly. I've run a wooden 8 x 3 on a C/L "bipe" which was R.O.G./stooge-launched. It may have been "lighter-weight" than your RC model.. but your D-520 will be unhindered by control-lines.

Think about the "maiden-flight" of this scale-model. A strong Babe Bee with a prop that will produce the most power.. may fly the model too fast. That may not give you adequate time to set trims.. before you run out of fuel.. and is also likely to be an unrealistic scale-speed. I'm not suggesting that you maiden the aircraft with an 8 x 3 propeller.. but you may want to obtain a wooden 7 x 3.. and bench-run it, just to see how your engine runs.. compared to the other two props. You can always "bush" the hub of a larger propeller to fit. Lower RPM's = less fuel-consumption. If your AUW is light-enough.. you may be surprised.

Roddie, looking at the picture you posted I realised I forgot to add back windows to the model, and I put the number "1" markings where the windows should be. I will have to address that.

Here are a few shots from the underside:




I'm pretty happy with the water cooler (which also doubles as landing gear).

Looks ready to go:

It's alive!



Zips through the air with the screaming engine, I was surprised it had so much pull. I was half-expecting the little Bee would tear the model apart, but it was all fine in the end. The motor was a bit of a hassle to start at first, once it got going it would start first time, every time. I got 5 flights out of my 120mAh battery, they set back some 80mAh. As always, the worst landing was the one that made it to the movie
Despite the speed, the model is an easy flyer, thanks to the forward GC. I went with the 6x3 prop, and realy don't feel the need to change anything. Flight time is about 1:40 on the integral tank.

Beautiful model so nicely finished and constructed. Fly's great too. You must have great eye/hand coordination to maintain flight at such speed.

Bob

Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot to me. I am indeed quite happy with how the model came out visually. I don't consider myself a good flyer though, this plane really just flies itself, in spite of the speed - I have to say though, it doesn't look as fast on the video as it felt in the air

Just some stats for ya:
Based on the pitch of the sound at the beginning of the video, the motor is doing some 15k rpm. With my 6x3 prop (actually, 5.7x3) the performance of the engine according to http://godolloairport.hu/calc/strc_eng/index.htm would be:

Static thrust = 10.93 = 0.69 pound = 0.31kg
Perimeter speed = 113.65m/s
Required engine power = 0.076HP = 0.055kW
Estimated flying speed = 42.6mph = 37.0Knots ~70km/h (not sure about this one).

Is this kind of performance reasonable for a Baby Bee?

All stick and tissue, bank and yank - radio is actually 6-channel, but only 2 channels are used.
Flying Weight is 205g (I'm guessing about 7oz). That would make for a thrust/weight ratio of about 1.5, more than I'm accustomed to with my electric-powered models.

Not the best flying day for the French fighter:


It is being rebuilt though.