SCALE PARK FLYERS.

Mini Reviews of a few Scale Park Flyers.

Photo shows the Great Planes Sopwith Camel and the SE5a.

This size and type of model maybe the most popular today. They are larger and heavier than the indoor models and thus can usually carry more scale details. They are available as all foam or as built up models. It is possible to build scale park flyers from plans and the British magazine Flying Scale Models usually has a free plan included with each issue.

The built-up models generally feature conventional balsa and ply construction and can be covered with any of the popular film coverings.

Usually powered with a 950kV size outrunner brushless motor and utilizing Li-Po batteries, they can be assembled quickly and economically.

WW1 airplanes are very popular park flyers and are around 36 in. wing span. This size of RC park flyer can be flown at the club field or at the local park. The fixed landing gear does require short grass for take off and landing or ideally a small paved surface.

WW2 airplanes can be of all foam construction and usually are hand launched or have fixed landing gear.

RC Jets are available-and are getting very sophisticated. For more information on this type of RC airplane, please visit the page on this site titled "EDF Jets," by clicking here..

The Great Planes Sopwith Camel.

In 1916 Germany controlled the skies over the trenches. In response, Britain developed 3 new fighters, of which the Sopwith Camel was the most successful. Small and lightweight, the Camel represented the state-of-the-art in fighter design, at the time.

 The Camel shot down 1,294 enemy aircraft during WW1-more than any other allied aircraft. However, more pilots lost there lives learning to fly it than in combat!

The Camel was a revolutionary machine in many respects. The twin Vickers machine guns, mounted in front of the cockpit, was a first for British fighters. This was to remain a feature for the next 20 years.

This photo shows the component parts for the Great Planes Sopwith Camel. A Much easier to fly park flyer than the full size!

The model is an ARF and is of conventional balsa and lite ply construction, covered with Monokote iron on covering. I prefer this style of construction, for park flyers, as I find it much easier to repair than the foam models.

SPECIFICATIONS
Wingspan: 35.5 in (900 mm)
Wing Area: 389 in² (25.1 dm²)
Weight: 21.1-26.3 oz (595-745 g)
Wing Loading: 7.8-9.7 oz/ft² (24-30 g/dm²)
Length: 25 in (630 mm)
Requires: 4-channel radio w/4 micro servos, 950kV outrunner brushless motor, 25A brushless ESC (min.) & 11.1V 1500mAh LiPo battery.

Our affiliate online hobby shop, Hobby People, has the Sopwith Camel park flyer in stock. List price is $99.98. Please click here for more information, or to buy. Hobby People have been in business since 1972 and have an excellent after sales service!

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The video below, has some nice flying shots of this park flyer and is well worth a look.

The Great Planes SE5a.

In 1916, the Royal Flying Core issued a specification to the British aircraft industry, that would produce a fighter superior to the enemy, in all respects.

The Royal Aircraft Factory, at Farnborough, produced the SE5a,whilst Sopwith's answer was the Camel.

The original version was soon found to be under-powered, so a 200HP Hispano-Suiza engine was installed. A total of 5,265 aircraft were produced.

The aircraft was armed with a single Vickers machine gun, synchronized to fire through the propeller and a Lewis gun mounted on the top wing.

The Great Planes park flyer has a little less horse power (HP), but is ideally suited to fly in your local park! Again the model is of balsa and ply construction, with Monokote covering.

SPECIFICATIONS
Stock Number: GPMA1140
Wingspan: 34 in (864 mm)
Wing Area: 420 in² (21.7 dm2 )
Weight:1.3-1.5 lb (595-680 g)
Wing Loading: 7.5-8.2 oz/ft² (22-25 g/dm²)
Length: Length: 25.5 in (648 mm)
Requires: 4-channel radio w/4 Futaba® micro servos, ElectriFly RimFire™ 28-30-950 brushless motor, ElectriFly Silver Series SS-25 brushless ESC, ElectriFly 1250mAh LiPo battery, LiPo-compatible charger

The photo at left is kind of unique- hopefully you will never see your park flyer naked like this! The kit is a full ARF and comes completely covered, as in the first photo.

The photo does show the construction details very well. This should assemble into a park flyer you will be proud to own!

Our affiliate partner RC PLANET has the SE5a park flyer in stock, at a list price of $80.00. Please click here for more information, or to possibly purchase.

The video below, shows the SE5a at a sports field- shows why park flyers are so popular-nice flight!

The Great Planes Fokker Triplane.

The photo at left shows the park flyer as it comes to you-all components complete and covered with Monokote! Great planes say that the model can be completed in 4-6 hours.

The Fokker DR-1 will be forever tied to the famous Rittmeister Baron Manfred von Richthofen...the Red Baron. The leader of the Flying Circus had 80 confirmed victories, to make him the most successful pilot in World War I! This prebuilt R/C park flyer version takes advantage of breakthroughs in electric power for long flight times — and, like its inspiration, dogfight-winning maneuverability.

Performs realistic WWI fighter aerobatics — spins, rolls, loops, Immelmanns and more. Perfectly suited for flying at a local field or nearby park. Spanning under 30”, the Fokker DR-1 can stay in one piece for transport in most vehicles.

Built much like larger models, this park flyers airframe is constructed of balsa and plywood materials. Its lightweight design and attention to detail stand this park flyer apart from the rest.
An out-runner brushless motor gives this park flyer a great power-to-weight ratio and long flight times. The ElectriFly RimFire 28-30-950 motor was found to be ideal for the Fokker DR-1.
The prebuilt main structures are covered in high-quality film. Scale-shaped landing gear with an airfoiled center section, and lightweight scale wheels are included.
To further speed and simplify assembly of this park flyer, the Fokker DR-1's cabanes and interplane struts come factory finished — ready for easy installation and proper alignment.
A complete package of high-quality hardware that's specifically designed for light weight and precise control response is included.
A vacuum-formed replica radial engine, cowl, along with hand-crafted machine guns and other details enhance this park flyers already impressive appearance.

Required Parts

Requires: 4-channel radio w/4 Futaba® S3107 micro servos, ElectriFly RimFire™ 28-30-950 brushless motor, ElectriFly Silver Series SS-25 brushless ESC, ElectriFly 3S 11.1V 1250mAh LiPo battery, LiPo-compatible charger

Specifications.

Wingspan: 29.5 in (745 mm)
Wing Area: 315 in² (20 dm²)
Weight: 1.5 lb (680 g)
Wing Loading: 10 oz/ft² (30 g/dm²)
Length: 23.5 in (600 mm)

Our affiliate partner RC Planet has this park flyer in stock and the price is $95.00.To visit their website, where you can purchase this model-please click here.

The video below is made by Great Planes and shows a lot of detail of this park flyer plus good flying shots.

I think that that may be enough of WW1 airplanes and maybe enough about Great Planes! They do make an excellent product and I do like the fact that all of the above park flyers are of built up construction. This means that repairs are possible after the inevitable mishaps.

WW2 Scale Park Flyers.

This group of park flyers is also very popular. The all foam type of model does lend itself to this type of park flyer. The high cost of the molds for injection molding the models can be justified by high volume production. A LOT of surface detail can be built in and the amount of detail always surprises me!

This photo of the Extreme Detail Art-Tech Corsair should give you an idea of the level of detail available in today's scale park flyers!

Model Specifications.

Wingspan: 1000mm (37.8 inch)
Length: 835mm (30.8 inch)

Flying Weight: 700g (20 oz)
Drive System: Brushless Out Runner High Torque Motor
Propeller: 3 Blade
Speed Controller: 20A Brushless ESC
Servo: 3X 9g high speed micro servos

Battery: 11.1V 1300mah Li-Polymer
Control system: 4 CH Multifunctional FM Radio Transmitter and Receiver
Radio Control Range: 3000 feet (1000m)

This park flyer comes completely finished  and just requires final assembly to be ready to fly. A 2.4GHz radio is included and the brushless outrunner motor and the ESC are installed.

• The few negative remarks I have heard are limited to these-

1. The molding "dots" can be easily knocked off, resulting in the white foam showing through the dark painted surfaces.
2. The radio has no expo or dual rates and no way of adjusting control surface travel, however this does not appear to be a problem as the reports are that this park flyer flies like a "pussy-cat" and appears to be set-up very well.

Our affiliate partner online hobby shop, NITROPLANES.com has the Corsair park flyer in stock with a price of $149.95 complete with the radio! For more details please click on the link below-

2009 Art-Tech 2.4Ghz F4U Corsair 3D Aerobatic Radio Remote Control Electric RC US Navy Warbird Airplane RTF w/ Brushless Motor, ESC & Li-Po Battery

Please note that this park flyer can be easily hand-launched. In fact unless your flying field has a smooth, hard runway available, this may be  preferred.

If this page becomes popular with our visitors, we will be glad to add more details of other scale park flyers-just let us know!

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