Pinback Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Hi 🙂 I had a long term aim to do a dio with an Airfix Beaver floatplane and finally kicked it off when I bought a Dumas flying model Beaver and decided to build them side by side. This was my first attempt at resin. It won't be my last, but the fumes... phewy! WIP is below: Thanks to @TheyJammedKenny!, @MrB17 , @dnl42 , @rob Lyttle and @iainpeden for your steers and suggestions-much appreciated. This is how it turned out. I was happy with the way the Airfix Landy from the Bloodhound kit finished up bearing in mind its pretty basic. Even got to include the dog 🐕. I used Krystal Kleer for the wave effects. Now the Dumas Beaver- It looks shipshape but its flying characteristics... Initial test launches without power were promising. It flew straight; just needing tweaks for the centre of gravity. It was landing fairly flat too. But when I added power we had a major departure from controlled flight and it stalled. I did not get a shot of it in flight... if you can call it that. This is the aftermath, prop still spinning but starboard rear strut gone. The wire strut support is still there but it isn't a happy bunny as the balsa has split where the strut meets fuselage. Now I know it's obvious that when it comes to floatplanes and the choice between Mother Earth or a decent stretch of water to land on then stretch of water is preferable(!) Mother Earth won out here. Not a difficult fix but I am thinking be brutal! Why not remove the floats completely! There is a plan for a wheeled option with the kit but may ignore that too (suggestions welcome.) Happy modelling! PB 16 1
TheyJammedKenny! Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Wonderful projects, well-executed, both! I strongly suggest that on the Dumas aircraft you look at removing the floats and substituting a simple wire and wheel undercarriage. Do more glide tests to get the flight characteristics nailed down, then add gradual amounts of winding so you don't start with max power on your first powered flight. Another idea might be to introduce a reduction gear (I'm not kidding!) to slow the prop down so you avoid excess torque. 1 1
Pinback Posted January 27 Author Posted January 27 7 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Wonderful projects, well-executed, both! I strongly suggest that on the Dumas aircraft you look at removing the floats and substituting a simple wire and wheel undercarriage. Thanks @TheyJammedKenny! I'm thinking off with the floats! PB 1
MrB17 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Nice work on both projects, the Beaver diorama is very nice, indeed. The Airfix Beaver itself is a very nice build, and looks the part. The rubber powered Beaver, is very cool, and at least it’s taken to the air! Having only broken one float strut on a maiden flight over hard ground is a huge achievement! I’ve seen much much worse, sometimes they go home in a garbage bag! I haven’t flown rubber powered models in a while, it’s hard to find a field with tall grass around here. Most of the hardcore rubber powered scale enthusiasts choose aircraft with retractable gear, and have the model in a gear up configuration or removable, and often fly inside a gymnasium or similar I’m going to build a few simple non scale rubber powered ones this summer and introduce my grandkids to a dying art, they loved kite flying last If the Beaver is stalling under power, check the CG and make sure it’s not too tail heavy. Some other things you could try are gently twist the rudder to the right to counteract the propeller torque. Another thing that helps is putting a shim behind the propeller boss and giving it a bit of down thrust, this lessens the chances of insane climb under full power. At any rate, give yourself a pat on the back, many never even get this far! This has been a treat to watch. Cheers Jeff 1
Pinback Posted Saturday at 01:48 AM Author Posted Saturday at 01:48 AM On 1/28/2025 at 4:58 AM, MrB17 said: Another thing that helps is putting a shim behind the propeller boss and giving it a bit of down thrust, this lessens the chances of insane climb under full power Thanks Jeff And thanks again for the suggestions - Will definitely try a shim and see how that pans out. Here's hoping your builds are successful this summer! PB
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