Travel Air 6000
Her lines struck my fancy and she seemed
like a reasonably easy plane to model. After several weeks, a
decision was made to order plans, though without a solid
committment to build. A plan drawn back in the sixties was
ordered
from the AMA Plan Service having a forty nine inch wingspan so the plan
was doubled
to match 1/6 scale. I'd done some measurements and 1/6 scale will
fit in the back of my pickup and it will support a small gas engine.
A 98" wing with a chord of 12.5" yields 1225 sq inches and the goal of building it 13-15 lbs for 25-28 oz/sq ft wing loading.
Initial ideas (if a decision is made to build) are to use the black and orange scheme of the Delta Air Service Inc full scale as pictured. I'd use a small gas engine likely a Zenoah G-20 or MLD 28 or similar. Wings would be two piece and a Williams Bro dummy Wasp engine to dress up the front end. A couple of items that seem to me to make the plane are her rounded window frames and the novel gear strut shock supports.
She wouldn't be an aerobatic flier but would be rewarding but not too difficult to build. I've been watching for a suitable scratch build for some time and this seems to be it.
Dec 4 - I've committed to the build. While leaning hard, the owner of the above plane found a thread on RC Universe where I mentioned interest in a build and that plans were ordered. He invited me for a ride and that did it, my enthusiasm is in gear. In fact, I ordered a print from a local newspaper photo (not very big because I'd like it to be part of a collage). Here is a pic that the owner posted on RC Universe
The current effort is getting the handle on some things like issues with the dummy radial, the wheel sizes, and a balsa material list.
Engine Choices
Thought is being put to the build. Williams Bro offers both dummy radial engines and golden age wheels. The engine however is yet to be determined as I'm mulling the option of a Saito 170R three cylinder radial rather than using a gasser and dummy radial engine. I'd prefer gas to glow for clean up and cost of fuel but I've listened to sound clips of the 170R and at idle up to mid range, it has a deep loping radial sound that is tempting. The Travel Air shouldn't require a lot of power to maintain cruising flight and the plane is not intended or won't be an aerobatic model anyway, so the radial engine running at 1/3 throttle would provide a sound that would add to the scale looks to increase the total golden age realism. But..... radial engines require selling the back forty.
Another option if the plane shows it needs a lot of nose weight is a weedy conversion and I've a Ryobi on the shelf that was picked up for $50 fully converted. Heck, the exhaust stack alone was worth that. At four pounds, it suffers a poor power to weight ratio so while not suitable for most planes, this plane probably has the wing area to support the extra weight. A pound is a pound however and if the plane doesn't need the extra nose weight, I'd not want to use it because an extra pound will have an effect on landing glide slope. It probably would pull the plane fine especially considering this plane will likely not be very areobatic. It would be nice not to have to spend money and use something that is on the shelf.
A 98" wing with a chord of 12.5" yields 1225 sq inches and the goal of building it 13-15 lbs for 25-28 oz/sq ft wing loading.
Initial ideas (if a decision is made to build) are to use the black and orange scheme of the Delta Air Service Inc full scale as pictured. I'd use a small gas engine likely a Zenoah G-20 or MLD 28 or similar. Wings would be two piece and a Williams Bro dummy Wasp engine to dress up the front end. A couple of items that seem to me to make the plane are her rounded window frames and the novel gear strut shock supports.
She wouldn't be an aerobatic flier but would be rewarding but not too difficult to build. I've been watching for a suitable scratch build for some time and this seems to be it.
Dec 4 - I've committed to the build. While leaning hard, the owner of the above plane found a thread on RC Universe where I mentioned interest in a build and that plans were ordered. He invited me for a ride and that did it, my enthusiasm is in gear. In fact, I ordered a print from a local newspaper photo (not very big because I'd like it to be part of a collage). Here is a pic that the owner posted on RC Universe
The current effort is getting the handle on some things like issues with the dummy radial, the wheel sizes, and a balsa material list.
Engine Choices
Thought is being put to the build. Williams Bro offers both dummy radial engines and golden age wheels. The engine however is yet to be determined as I'm mulling the option of a Saito 170R three cylinder radial rather than using a gasser and dummy radial engine. I'd prefer gas to glow for clean up and cost of fuel but I've listened to sound clips of the 170R and at idle up to mid range, it has a deep loping radial sound that is tempting. The Travel Air shouldn't require a lot of power to maintain cruising flight and the plane is not intended or won't be an aerobatic model anyway, so the radial engine running at 1/3 throttle would provide a sound that would add to the scale looks to increase the total golden age realism. But..... radial engines require selling the back forty.
Another option if the plane shows it needs a lot of nose weight is a weedy conversion and I've a Ryobi on the shelf that was picked up for $50 fully converted. Heck, the exhaust stack alone was worth that. At four pounds, it suffers a poor power to weight ratio so while not suitable for most planes, this plane probably has the wing area to support the extra weight. A pound is a pound however and if the plane doesn't need the extra nose weight, I'd not want to use it because an extra pound will have an effect on landing glide slope. It probably would pull the plane fine especially considering this plane will likely not be very areobatic. It would be nice not to have to spend money and use something that is on the shelf.