alaninaustria Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) I was wondering if anybody here at LSP is into building balsa and tissue rubber powered flying airplane models? I’m thinking of getting back into it this summer. Cheers Alan Edited May 10, 2020 by alaninaustria Jack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helmsman Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I used to build gliders ( FAI F1A class) when I was in high school (more than 35 years ago) and have unfinished Guillows kit for like 15 years or so. Not sure whether I'll ever finish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Well......ages back i used to have a balsa rubber propelled FW190 with a friend, we tried it out in a "obstacle clear" area, and it flew very well, untill the eventual fatal crash, all these little pieces found at the crash site was putting us off for the time being.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Not in many many years. Not a bad idea to think about though Alan. Why did you have to go and do that! now it's in my head too. Ron D.B. Andrus, Jack and Kagemusha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Doing a control line kit would be a lot of fun too. Lee White 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I've got 2 or 3 in the stash yes. All Guillows, a Cessna 170, a 180 and DHC-2 Beaver. The 170 is currently at the top of the stash even! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssculptor Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Ah, nostalgia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I also build RC, mostly 1/5 and 1/4 scale. Not so much stick and tissue as balsa and fabric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 I attempted a big Fw 190A one time (Comet perhaps), but never finished it yet. I've had no interest since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Been there, did that, done with it. Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrov27 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Ha well as a kid I did - I think the Guilows kits? I had terrible luck trying to fly them though. I still remember spending a couple weeks on a biplane (maybe a nieuport?) and it really turned out great. I think the first time I tried flying it, it nosed over and smashed into a zillion pieces. Probably the 10 coats of gloss testors enamel from a spray can might have had a negative effect on the flying qualities lol.... Adrian, Rick Griewski and D.B. Andrus 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Rick Griewski said: Been there, did that, done with it. Yep, me too. I was into building the IMAA giant scale stuff. But only seemed to fly small stuff I felt financially comfortable with. And didn’t have time with 4 little one’s in tow every weekend while the wife worked. Gave it all up back in 1999. Got deep into plastic at that time. FWIW, I still have one old Coverite GeeBee kit in the cornet of the basement. I probably need to get rid of it before worms eat it up. Rick Griewski 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 I have happy memories of my father building tissue and balsa models when I was a child, we’re talking 1953/54 here! He was meticulous and his gliders were particularly successful. A smell that transports me instantly back 65+ years is (I think) nail varnish remover (used by my wife of course!) which smells like the “dope” used to tighten the tissue. Marvellous. Rick Griewski, Adrian and D.B. Andrus 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 In the UK we had Keil Kraft. I had a large 2m wingspan glider (Chief) and a rubber powered high wing monoplane (Gypsy) that had something silly like 30ft of rubber inside of it. There were several others that didn't last long enough to even be memorable. The rubber powered aeroplane exploded when I overwound the elastic band in a fit of teenage enthusiasm while the chief caught a thermal and went up and up and is currently residing somewhere in the high levels of the troposphere (and hopefully not in the engine of a 747). All great fun and got me outside chasing errant models across fields and country but there was always a lot of repair work and I had to build with the knowledge that eventually it would end in tears and a pile of balsa, tissue and dope. One other interesting free flight was a electric high wing monoplane that had certain flight profile that were determined by putting in a round plastic disc. Oh the nostalgia! mozart and D.B. Andrus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaninaustria Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 (edited) Cool, I’m building the Dumas Grumman Bearcat right now. Lovely build, takes me back to my youth! I’m really looking forward to flying it too! Cheers Alan ps: this is what got me interested again - Edited May 11, 2020 by alaninaustria Grant_T, RLWP, Rick Griewski and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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