[Rowarrior]

maybe I am a little too late, but I just maidened mine 2 weeks ago. It has aWebra 80 at the front, and boy oh boy, she needed a pile of led at the front. She flew great, the o rings stink so I replaced them with rubber bands and EXCEPT for the tail rigging (that is functional) the wing rigging I did with seamstress sting, nice, black, and flexible!
It flies very solid with all that weight on the nose, but no bad habits. I tried to stall her and I couldnt!

[Gregor77]

I had the same issues... It flies good.. I have two of them, both electric... The weather has been good, but they are a bear to transport. I might try them again this weekend.

[Rowarrior]

Originally Posted by Gregor77

I had the same issues... It flies good.. I have two of them, both electric... The weather has been good, but they are a bear to transport. I might try them again this weekend.

Please do share your impressions of the Camel, I have only flown mine twice...

Is it true the landing gear gives in easily? do you find its hard to stall it? have you suffered damage on the control surfaces because the balsa is too weak? or any other weaknesses you consider important?

All of these things I have heard of in the past and I would like to know your experience as I am sure you have flown yours considerably more than I have. I really like mine and I would not like to lose it to something like that (as it is a complicated machine in terms of parts)

Thank you!

[Gregor77]

I got both of mine second hand. One is mint and the other is a bit ratty. Which is not a bad thing at all. I put lots of Hobbyking stuff less the Hitech Digital servos for the wings and the elevator. Rudder I used Hobbyking metal servo. The power system is a G60 (HK brand) with a 80Amp ESC and a sep SBEC 5V. It runs on 2 3S, 3000 in series to get 6S out of it. The prop is a 18X6E.

I flew it this winter and took off from a half snowy runway at TEMAC. The plane tracked like most tail draggers and pitched a bit to the left. I compensated with Right rudder. It took off in about 15-20 feet. I had added too much down elevator as I was afraid that the plane would pitch up to fast on me. But after trimming it flew level. It flies good and doesn't yaw like the Tri-planes do. I would saw I had enough power to be scale and not overdone. As for the landing it will come down slowly as you start to reduce power. Yes the landing gear is weak, but cheap as a replacement part. I have used rubber bands and not the supplied o rings. I had to add a ton of weight and my C/G is 3.5 from the top L/E and it tracked nice. As for weak spots, I only flew it a few times and it seems to be OK. I don't like the way the wings shake on a bumpy surface, it looks like they will break in half. It's a fun plane and really looks the part!

[Rowarrior]

Hi Gregor,


Very insightful. Thank you very much, it will help lots. You are right, the Camel is truly a good flyier for what I could experience (maybe 20 minutes total) . I am renforcing the landing gear by putting fishing wire around the landing gear for bracing just like the real thing.
I know what you are saying about the yawing on a tripe. I fact, I recognize the Red Baron's tripe on yor avatar...I believe that picture was taken right before he moved to Cappy...serial number 477. Excuse my geeky-ness but it was my interest on the Red Baron that got me into the whole WW1 RC thing.
Anyhow, I still have my Great Planes DR1 ARF that I put together in 2003....but it seems both, my Camel and the DR1 I will never be able to land completely upright...both seem to nose over at the very last moment....JUST LIKE THE REAL ONES haha

That is why I bought my Camel, so the DR1 had a friend to play with!!

[Gregor77]

Wow, I have the same at home too!

Mine is a VK DR-1, I have not flown this model yet.. I was monkeying around with the GP (Smaller) DR-1 for a bit. Then used the EPO DR-1 (Learned alot), then grabbed all the GP WW1 planes. They all fly very well, I like the Newport 17, it is my fav.

I have some BUSA kits at home, one including the DR-1 which will be a long term project with the amount of planes and other hobbies in my life.

[Gregor77]

Oh ya, I used the HK pilot for the plane and it looks better IMHO.

[Rowarrior]

Originally Posted by Gregor77

Oh ya, I used the HK pilot for the plane and it looks better IMHO.

Yep! sometimes the pilots match other planes better. Thank you for the pictures. I hope you dust off and get that DR1 in the air soon.
I thought about the ARFs you mention, but I have not switched from Nitro to Electric yet...but I may soon, as the electric selction is really good. In August e-Flite is releasing a 55 in WS Albatros DV..you have to check it out on their web page...it looks awsome.


In the meantime, I play with my Hangar 9 Camel and Fokker DVII, a BUSA Bristol M1C, the GP Fokker DR1 60 ARF, Top Flite Elder and most recent baby: a 50 in Wingspan SE5.

WW1 planes present a complete different challenge than the rest, gotta love them!

Great rigging job on the Camel, how did you do it? string?
If you look at my Camel, you can see the landing gear bracing (which I hope is functional with the fishing line)

[Gregor77]

That SE5A looks like a version of the HK or the Dynaflight one...

[Rowarrior]

Originally Posted by Gregor77

That SE5A looks like a version of the HK or the Dynaflight one...

I wish! I think the Dyna Flite is 64" , but hey, cant complain...it should fit in the car in 1 piece