congrats Russ!
but didn't I see you drinking a pilsner at Oma's Haus restaurant in New Braunfels? was that a spy mission? looks absolutely fabulous, Russ. BTW, your Mondial has been leaving messages w/ Child Protective Services; feeling neglected. . . .
Russ, do you fly out of Hondo? If you do , maybe you will see the ghosts of some of us who were there 67 years ago.
Russ- It sounds like great fun. If you have not done so, you should compare notes with Fred Murrin. Not sure if he rebuilt his Camel yet. Many times in WW-I aircraft, the one that did the best was the one that did not lose altitude in a turn. The top rudder sounds typical with that much torque in a lightweight biplane. If a rotary engine fighter got on your tail, you always wanted to turn left, because they turned significantly tighter to the right. Same for the inline and V engines, but not as exaggerated. Taz Terry Phillips
Thanks, everyone. Taz - I did compare notes with both Fred Murrin and Gene DeMarco, but mostly on weight and balance issues. I've hoarded every contemporary writing on what the Camel was like to fly, and outside of the gyroscopic effects, N1845D seems pretty darn close, even in speeds. She is sensitive in pitch, and much less so in rudder and aileron. I did not rig her tail heavy as Camels were so often rigged, but she still requires some conscious forward stick. Although not as pronounced as the rotary engine must have been, you are very aware of the 90" propeller and its torque. I'm still getting use to the rudder bar and essentially no brakes while moving due to the rudder bar - a lot of thinkin' and energy management on the ground. Yes, it is also similar as you cannot let go of the airplane, you are constantly flying it. Bob - I am just down the street at Castroville, about 17 miles east of Hondo. Brian - I know - it has been a while since I have shown that lovely little car any attention. Best rt
Your comments remind me of flying an original Model A powered Pietenpol Air Camper. It was aerodynamically tail heavy and lacked dihedral. You flew the airplane every minute and if you pointed it some place that's where it would go....forever and mostly down. If one flew it the way it wanted to be flown, it was great fun but you couldn't make the mistake of looking out the left side after you applied carb heat or you could get smacked with a chunk of ice. That's the fun of flying, though , isn't it ? To FLY THE AIRPLANE instead of sitting with your legs crossed and letting something else do the flying.
Logged another hour, sitting here with another Cider. Just droning in orbits to ensure the engine will go for a while. The official going nowhere, half throttle ("5" set) numbers: 1600 rpm prop (2400 engine) @ ~80+ mph ias @ 4000ft density altitude, hot Texas afternoon. Oil temp and pressure remained ok. Landed 3 pt. with a 5 -6 knot crosswind, no problem in the grass. Bungees holding. Still some very minor left wing heaviness, but very little. Flying this plane in the air is all about rudder, all the time; the airplane lets you know when you are slipping or skidding past a certain point as you get a wind blast in the face. WW1 Camelism discovered: At lower altitudes cannot read altimeter due to inclinometer. But, at lower altitude you just look outside. 5/17 compass works pretty well enough if flying smoothly. Have quarter+ size hole in firewall I forgot to patch - you'd be surprised how much heat comes through there. Perhaps I'll just put a little cable operated door on it and call it a heater. Note to other camel builders - am going to have to re-do the turtle deck (again) as my butt had pretty well broken up the area right behing the cockpit getting in and out; need to really re-inforce. Clarity Aloft headset still working great with remote antenna Vertex handheld radio. Next flight: Up a bit higher and steep turns.
Russ, your comments has triggered some of my memories again from flying the Pietenpol. You didn't need a skid ball because if you were flying with the "ball centered" you got a stream of hot air in your face from the radiator. Slip in a turn and you got an earful of cold air, skid and you got it in the other ear. The hole in the firewall is classic heater technology! An old friend who flew Pitcairn Mailwings in the 20's told me of how they tried to warm the pilot by running a hose from the engine back to the cockpit. Problem was that it was low near the floor and to warm the hands the pilot had to take off a glove and lean forward to reach the outlet...pushing the stick forward with the thick leather flying suit. So the airplane went into a shallow dive. Then it was pulled back up and the warm-up was repeated with the other hand thus producing a roller coaster flight path. You are having too much fun and I envy you!
I saw a real neat Pietenpol, the first I had ever seen (heck, I had never even heard of Pietenpol before!), at a fly-in at a now-defunct grass airstrip in Chuluota, FL, near Orlando. I don't know what engine he had, but it had a machine-turned cowl, wire wheels (with mud deflectors), and a bulb horn that could be audibly heard when he flew over, rather quietly. A delightful little airplane; I wonder whatever happened to it.
Tom Gaylord came out to do a possible article. Aviation photog Jo Hunter came to do some photos and clicked this photo. Note it is her photo and I am not using it to make money, but I am having it blown up into a wall-sized framed portrait.I have seen some of the others and they are amazing.Here is a lower resolution version of the one I am having enlarged. Yes, Bob and Taz, I agree it would look better with a skid back there - but there was an 8 - 10 kt crosswind that day and I was happy to have the little wheelie... Image Unavailable, Please Login
A bit low and drug in, but can see over the nose better to practice putting it on a point. It's really not that hard to land so far; of course bungees and grass cover many ills... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fes-YIk3Rz8[/ame]
Well, like all thinks, it's probably time for the thread to fade away. We'll close with a couple of nice photos flying around Castroville. Thanks everyone! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Russ, no reason to end the Camel Build thread. It's just getting good and we want to follow it. Beautiful shots of it, too!
Couple of running changes - now have a one piece turned Gnome engine cowl which I am pretty proud of. Also some new wheels with inset brake drums so you don't see them as much. A few other things like wood landing gear spreader bar fairings and such as more small details are added. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That's so hot it's not even funny. To think that you built it is even more inspiring...just great. I applaud the effort and the work - one of my favorite WWI planes! Good luck!
Thanks all - for the really minutiae oriented folks, I think I have found an original wind driven Rotherham pump for the cabane, as shown on the below picture. For an second completely unstaged picture, here is how she rests in the hangar, ready to pre-flight with the cheek panel removed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
