Nieuport

[stx44]

So Ive been given a Nieuport for my birthday. Any suggestions on what basic modifications may be needed to make it an OK flyer (not expecting miracles here).

The prop mounting into the plastic vac moulded motor looks a little sub par to me- anyone tried maybe mounting a permanent blast tube in there to give a solid mount for the prop?

Is it worth magnetising the landing gear to prevent damage in a dodgy landing? (all my flyers to date have been built sans wheels)

Any other suggestions?

[ADW 123]

Build it light... make sure the tail doesn't get too heavy. I would just pop in the landing gear for display only. Don't even bother trying to fly it with the gear in. It will break somehow; it is simply too fragile. All of the biplanes in that series have poor landing gears and are generally better off flying without them. Plus you will save a lot of weight that way. I also want to say that you will likely need to replace the prop that comes with it. I have always thought that the props that come with that series (if I am in fact thinking of the right prop) are not the best. But it has been a while since I even tried to fly one from that series... so someone else should confirm.

I'm sure there are some Nieuport build threads on this forum somewhere you can check out too...

[stx44]

Thanks for the feedback- there are other threads, but they all seem to relate to static build, not rubber power

[Mitch]

Hi STX... gee, I just happen to have a kit of this in my closet. Someone (I forgot his name) flew this model in WW1 combat at Perris at WESTFAC IV. I enjoyed seeing the model and talking with him, but I was busy timing for someone else and did not see his plane fly. I saw the results later and his plane flew for 3 seconds. I give him credit for flying and that is a recorded flight. So that is our mark and I think we can improve on that. But it will take some extra effort.

I was planning on building mine for WESTFAC V. You can build it how you like, but for FAC rules a fighter plane MUST have the machine gun(s). Planes with fixed landing gear MUST have the landing gear. Also the BASIC rigging MUST be represented.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Build it light. Use have the wing ribs. Cut lightening holes or sand down the parts.
2. The tail is fairly square so I would use the parts, but scallop out the excess wood, make them lighter.
3. The landing gear needs to be changed. I believe the music wire should be one piece for the forward struts and the back struts are free floating.
4. The Guillow 'light weight' wheels weigh 8 g each (ouch) I plan to make replicas from Balsa.
5. Have thrust adjustment and a bigger prop and more rubber.

I hope that is a help for your start... Mitch

[Bill Gaylord]

The LG does weigh and break easily. If I were to make it, I'd reinforce the struts with something like .015 music wire or CF tape/horsehair, which can still come out lighter than hardwood or light ply, and make the axles as short stubs glued into the bottom plate at each side. Hard balsa inserts glued into the bottom plate at each side can make a solid area to drill into, for gluing in the stub axles. The GWS ultralight wheels look reasonable with paper covers glued onto them, and are still light. I believe the axle holes diameter is something like the thin .047" wire included in a number of Guillows kits, which is pretty light in short lengths. They can always be glue filled and redrilled for a smaller axle: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... 47mm_.html I believe these wheels are also made by the Dubro and Max Prod brands.
One good thing about the LG is that it is mostly forward of the CG, so it's not dead weight and does contribute to nose ballast that will most likely be needed anyway.

[Wildpig]

Some people have used tiny super magnets to hold the landing gear in place. Upon landing, the gear shears off at the magnet attach points, thereby saving it from damage. Or that's what is intended to happen. Those magnets come in tiny sizes, about 1/16" diameter. I think Easybuilt sells them.

[scigs30]

I built mine and reinforced the landing and she flies ok. Keep the landing gear you will need the weight.
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