My, nearly maiden-ed, Flair SE5a:
The wind was uncooperative on Sunday (gusty) and, being light with really narrow gear, my test-pilot of choice wasn't able to get it into the air. Scuffed wingtips and a trashed prop later and we decided to call it a day. There are also a few things I want to change before we try again. Primary among them is a 3-axis gyro. My only option is a paved runway, and WW I biplanes are notoriously squirrely without the drag of grass helping to keep the tail pointed the right way. The prairie grass in the pictures looks nice, but it's actually way too rough for a small airplane to handle.
Vitals: - Covered with my dwindling stash of Solartex
- Markings are Oracal vinyl cut on my Silhouette Cameo
- Paint is Behr semi-gloss latex from Home Depot with the red and blue color-matched to the Oracal
- Clear-coat is System Three WR-LPU with cross linker
- Powerplant is a Saito FA-50
- Guidance provided by a Spektrum DX-9 and 8-channel Rx; Hitec servos, and Dynum single-axis gyro
- Guns are iflytailes. I haven't mounted the Lewis gun pending successful test flights.
- Lacing eyelets are from a scrapbooking store I've forgotten the name of; cord is leftover from an old Revell USS Constitution model
- Fred, the pilot, is a Williams Brothers 1/6th scale bust painted using some of the Aces of Iron techniques
The color scheme is a coulda-been mashup of elements from couple of different schemes I like. Detailing is pretty basic, but hopefully enough to invoke SE5a-ish thoughts.
Regards,
Randy
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