[Brijim]

I was wondering what the bets plane is to get started in combat???
would a lanier shrike 40 be good?......let me know.

[Sideslip]

I've never flown the shrike, but I understand there are many who do and so they must like it. It depends on whether you are building for Open A (.15 engines) or Open B (.25 engines)

If Open B, I'd recommend the DogFighter off the Spad.org site. I've built many myself, as have many others, and they have never failed to fly perfect right off the board... they are fast and cheap to build, and are very competative.

The only modification I made to the design shown at Spad.org is that I build the wing from a single piece of folded 2 mil (with 4 mil for aeilerons). I find this simplifies and speeds up the building process... and is reasonably durable.

If finding 2 mil is a drag, others make the wing from a single piece of folded 4 mil (with the flutes going spanwise) and use a slice of blue foam for a spar... this is very durable.

Some people also make the fuse by folding 4 mil coroplast in to a square tube instead of using PVC gutter pipe... this is also very strong, but the pipe is faster if you have it available.

Hope this helps... Combat is a gas, so go for it!

[Bryan Mailloux]

Have you thought of scale combat? There are many ww2 planes to choose from. And still in development are the ww1 combat planes.
I have 2 corospits and the are easy to build and fly.

But I would have to agree with side slip coro is a great building mat'l

[Brijim]

Thanks these are all great tips..i will be in this buisness in a couple of months.

[voyager_663rd]

Consider SPAD ( www.spadtothebone.com ) before making any decisions.

[Fodder]

Spads against balsa in combat is not good for the balsa. We had one guy fly a spad and he kept flying through planes. When we managed to knock him out of the sky, he just dusted it off and he was ready for the next round.

[Gary Maker]

Well with the new proposals in combat dealing with Mid Airs, If it goes through, there will be absolutely NO advantage to purposely taking out another fellows plane.

I see you live in Woodstock Brijim. I believe Brian Hewett lives there as well. If you need enough 2 and/or 4 mm coro and a piece of drain pipe to build a .25 size combat Spad, let me know and I can send some to Woodstock with Brian for you to pick up there. Just cover the minimal cost of the materials ( $15.00 ) and its yours. I'll even throw in a finished/stepped drainboard plastic firewall!

Let me know before Wednesday as I will see Brian at our monthly meeting and can take the stuff to give him for you there.

[voyager_663rd]

Gary, is there a specific reason why you use a firewall? Personally, I find that 2 L-shaped hdpe brackets works as well and is a lot easier to make, with less weight to boot as well. IMHO.

[Gary Maker]

Voyager, You must be talking about a different SPAD than I am.

I just cut an old plastic cutting board into 2 3/8" squares and cut a step into them to fit perfectly onto the front of the Canadian Drain Pipe. Makes a perfect and cheep firewall

[voyager_663rd]

This is from the SPAD site and I use this mount exclusively in my SPADs:

use 1/2" hdpe, and 1" coarse thread drywall screws ( I use the same #6 1 inch screws that I use to attach the empennage to the fuse with--fit through bolt holes from the mds you see to my 46FX) to screw the engine into it with. Works great, is extremely cheap and easy. No more store bought engine mounts for me.

Here's the way i do it. I make 2 of these, then screw the engine to it first, then screw the brackets to the gutterpipe, with the engine already in place. THe pipe will pull enough to make a snug fit. Works great, and are tougher than nails. I haven't broke one yet, even with a 70-80 mph nose in the dirt hit.
I cut about half of the top leg off of one of them, and the throttle linkage slides right by. I know that the fuselage is open, but it hasn't gotten much dirtier than my planes with firewalls. If you use a sullivan 8 oz tank, it fits right in, and won't come out. Plus, fuel lines are a breeze to change, and you can always tell exactly how much fuel is in the tank

The mount and firewall (not really a FW though because one is not needed) is integrated into one piece. Two screws (through the top leg down and up thru the bottom) hold it secure to the fuse. Overkill (I've found) is to use a third one through the side so you would have 3 screws on each mount.