New Hangar 9 .60-size Sopwith Camel

[Debra]

Latest from Hangar 9:
http://www.modelairplanenews.com/pics/hangar 9 camel.jpg
No other Allied fighter shot as many foes from the sky as the single-seat Sopwith Camel. Hangar 9’s first World War I scale aircraft is a remarkably rigorous rendition of the legendary British biplane.
The Sopwith Camel 60 ARF from Hangar 9® is an easy-flying sport plane designed to give you the awe and rush of wartime combat. The detailing is amazingly accurate. Check out the twin Vickers machine guns…the wood-finished wing struts…tail skid…wheels…cowl and dummy engine…even a scale pilot figure seated in the cockpit.
All of that detail—combined with Hangar 9’s meticulous UltraCote® trim scheme—makes the Sopwith Camel 60 ARF a true-to-scale airplane with comfortable sport characteristics to match its scale looks.

Glow or Electric
Fly the Sopwith Camel 60 the way you want, whether you prefer electric or glow. No electric conversion is necessary. A motor mount, battery mount, quick-release battery hatch and all other necessary hardware is included.

Wingspan: 61 in (1549mm)

[Kmot]

Looks awesome for an ARF!!

[Gerryy]

Here are some early pix of our test model! We went out to the flying field for test flights today and all went well. The engine is a Saito 82a 4-stroke, and is still being broken-in. So it ran very rich but still had plenty of power. COntrol response is very sensitive to inputs so will be dialing down the throws and will be increasing the dual rates a bit. But the model is a real bright spot in the ARF world!
GY

[Gerryy]

Any angle makes the model look great

[Gerryy]

Removable hatch is great!

[Gerryy]

shock absorbing landing gear

[Gerryy]

Saito .82a for power is more than enough; turns a 13x6 APC prop! Will be testing with Master Airscrew wood and composite props as well!

[Kmot]

Thanks for posting the extra pictures. That dummy rotary looks pretty interesting in the top photo.

[Gerryy]

I flew the Camel at the recent Kingston Dawn Patrol event up in Ontario Canada! Really flies great but will add about another 2 ounces of nose weight in the form of an on-board glow driver, to help with twitchy elevator response. Here are some of the photos! My friend Rolly Seimonsen was at the sticks as I clicked away!
GY

[Gerryy]

plenty of power! only complaint--the fuselage main hatch (fiberglass,) rattles during flight. Will add a little foam to stop it! no biggie!

[Gerryy]

it also glides really well on deadstick landings! Another reason for the onboard glow driver!

[Gerryy]

It is an honest flyer! Can't wait to see what it's stable mate will be... Fokker triplane? Albatros?
GY

[greenl3vf]

Just bought mine today, orderd the Evolution 61NT for it, loks really nice and a great price.

[Electrick]

Anyone got any inside leads on where the best price is to be found for a Camel? I got ca$h in hand and am ready to pull the trigger. Gotta be someone out there selling at a better price than $249.

I saw one online on the 'Bay for $199 but I was too late.

Anyone?


Rick

[Goplaneman]

Garry,
How does she handle on the ground? Are the throws the book gives you the right place to start? Are landings prodectable, she come in slow? or does she have a tendacey to feel like she whants to snap? And does she fly like a sports flyer or does she fly scale?
Thanks,
Goplaneman

[Gerryy]

Garry,
How does she handle on the ground? Are the throws the book gives you the right place to start? Are landings prodectable, she come in slow? or does she have a tendacey to feel like she whants to snap? And does she fly like a sports flyer or does she fly scale?
Thanks,
Goplaneman
Hey Goplaneman, On the ground, there's no tendancy to nose over, but as with any tailwheelless airplane, steering is minimal. To help in turning I give down elevator and blip the thtottle, this floats the tail around. Best to walk place it nose into the wind and go. The throws in the instructions are a good place to start. I fly mine with high rate ailerons and low rate elevator. I also have more rudder than the instructions say. The model never felt like it was going to snap out of a maneuver. It is very solid and considering it is a scale Sopwith Camel, it is very easy to handle. I have it balanced just slightly tail heavy!
Landings are easy, keep the nose down, keep a little power in (about 1/4 throttle) and fly it in. Level off about 3 feet above the end of the runway, then pull throttle to idle. She lands without much effort! But it will lose rudder control in a 3-point attitude with very low airspeed. But this is normal.

Also, in dead stick landings, it glide surprisingly well! I do not have the wing rigging wires in place to save some effort and to reduce drag.
GY

[Goplaneman]

Thanks for the quick reply, I have mine ready to go with a GMS .76. I should maiden her on Monday and just wanted to know what to exspect. Had to put the weight box with all the weight in the nose and it seems to be balanced as per instructions, hopefully this will take some of the twitch out of the Elevator.I too have left the wires off the wing. Never got the brass plates for the tail, had to make my own after two tries with Horizon,(They sent me wheel straps, Steel and Long, Would not have looked good.) Thanks again and please keep us updated.
Goplaneman

[Gerryy]

What I did was to cut the lead block in half and glue the two pieces to the bottom of the firewall just above the landing gear blocks. I did this to lower the CG. I also added a Higley heavy prop nut!
have fun!
GY

[Goplaneman]

Did you put your battery under the fuel tank towards the firewall?

[Gerryy]

not below it but to one side! The receiver is placed on the otherside of the tank, opposite the battery pack
GY

[Goplaneman]

I moved my battery to the same place hopeing to remove some of the dead weight in the box, but your on the CG, so it made little differance being beside the tank or behind it. It does make it look better inside the Fuse. I have thought about mounting the battery on the weight box and seeing what that does for me but I think I will madian the plane and see how it flies at it present weight.
Goplaneman

[greenl3vf]

What about a fuel filling port, where did you put it, cowl loks like it's kinda thin without beefing it up for fuel port.

[Gerryy]

I installed a third filler line and made it long enough to pull out of the cowl when refueling. I cap off with a fine thread screw!
GY

[greenl3vf]

That would work, I installed my tank already so I'll add a filler valve on cowl I guess, can it be lower then carb, say at the 5 o'clock position?
I'm planning on onboard ignition also using 4 AA's rechargable Eveready's on firewall, should help on CG issue, using a SAITO 80.

[Goplaneman]

I put a 3rd line in also after I installed the tank, just unscrewed the top and removed it from the tank out the front. I drilled a hole in my Firewall and brought a fill line into the Fuse. With the removable top itis easey to fill and you can see the tank and know when your full without messing with the vent line and one less thing to see.(also left my charging jack inside the fuse.)
Goplaneman

[Goplaneman]

Maidened my Sopwith today, what a thing of of beauty. Still felt tail heavy, put another 6oz of weight in the coweling, and will try again tomorrow.

[Gerryy]

excellent! let us know how the flight tests go! The Camel does look great in the air!
GY

[Goplaneman]

Flew much better with the 6 oz in the cowel. Still getting used to the ground handleing. Flies great! :D Here is a link to some short videos I shot.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4725375/anchors_4797030/mpage_3/key_/anchor/tm.htm#4797030

[Spitpilot]

Just joined RCZ and found this forum - I have just recieved my Sopwith - looks like a really great flyer and am looking forward to getting mine completed and airborn. I plan on using the RCV-90-SP, has anyone else out there used this engine on this, or any other model?

[greenl3vf]

I read somewhere, I thought it was on here that someone did not recieve the 8 small brass plates for wires on tail. I also did not get mine. The comment I read stated Hangar 9 did not send them, I emailed them for a replacement parts, we'll see.

[Goplaneman]

I think Hangar 9 forgot to put them in just about everyones kit.

[Electrick]

Can anyone weigh the plane as it comes out of the box, with no engine or radio installed?

I need an empty weight for Motocalc so I can do some calculating for props and motors.

Rick

[Gerryy]

Sorry I can't help but perhaps just take the published weight and subtract the published weights for the engine and servos
here's what I used.

Saito .82 engine
JR 1500mAh AA 4.8V airborne pack
5 JR NES-537 servos
JR slimline 7-channel receiver

Attached is a candid photo of me talking with good scale buddy Sal Iasille at Rhinebeck aerodrome with the Camel!
GY

Photo by Jerry Festa

[Goplaneman]

Yesterday at the Flying field.
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/10/27414070656.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3561093)
Goplaneman

[Gerryy]

Nice GoplaneMan, a classic match-up!

[danny03]

I am considering purchasing this arf, but I am concern about cooling airflow inside the cowl. Is it adequate as is or am I going to have to make some mods and if so What and Where? I plan on using a Super Tigre .61.

[Gerryy]

no air cooling problems encountered with the Saito .82 4-stroke. The aft section of the cowl just in front of the landing gear is cut away and this is where the muffler and needle valve extension stick out. Even with the dummy rotary engine (cut away between the cylinders) in place. No mods needed, just follow the instructions.
GY

[danny03]

Thanks for the quick reply. :wave:

[Goplaneman]

Couple things to watch for,

1-I found all 3 "O" rings broke on one side and one on the outher on the landing gear.
2-Do not over tighten the top wing on the struits, if you have a gap, uses spacers as this will warp the wing.
3-If you go tofar forward on the CG, it will nose over easy. If you nose it over and hit the rudder and vert stab, it will break the wood so make sure you check it out.
4-If you stor the plane on its wheels, you will flat spot the wheels.
Fred

[Gerryy]

Hey Fred, I just took the Camel out of my model trailer to store away for the winter. I too found the foam wheels have flat spots where they were resting on the shelf. I have placed the model on blocks (on the axles) to lift the wheels off the ground. I hope this allows the wheels to "unflatten"! Also I too had two O-rings break after several flight! I replaced them with standard rubberbands and they seem to be holding up nicely!
GY

[Goplaneman]

Did the same on both issues. Read your review in MAN, nice.
Fred

[tailskid]

December issue of MAN has the review by Gerry...

[simitar1]

Is Gerrys article, from Model Airplane News, on the Sopwith, available as a downloadable PDF?

[Gerryy]

no, sorry no PDFs.

[Gerryy]

(I borrowed this from the Aerodrome forum. it shows Tom Polapinks new Camel under construction.)

Hi,
Here's a picture of the Hangar 9 ARF Camel that I'm tinkering with at the moment. I thought it could use a different color scheme than the standard paint job that is provided by Hangar 9, so this is the result of a couple of cans of Lustrecoat paint and some masking tape.

It is pretty impressive right out of the box for an almost ready to fly sport scale model. I'm grateful to Hangar 9 that they chose to stick with reasonably accurate scale outlines and didn't feel the need to dramatically widen and shorten the landing gear, which is commonly done on WWI sport models (and never looks right). I trimmed the cowling at the back edge 1" all around, which further helps the scale appearance.
Tom Polapink

[Electrick]

You certainly won't be losing sight of that paint scheme in the air Tom! Looks great, and it's different.

Rick