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....I will be starting a 1/6 Dr1 on my inside workbench! .....
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A friend of mine has a 1/6 Dr1 which he built from the VK kit plans. He is an
experienced pilot (instructor rating) and the model flys very well. However
taking off is very tricky. The model is powered by a 50 or 60 size two stroke
and engine torque is very significant. If you apply too much power, the model
topples over before it moves very far. Too little power and the rudder is
totally ineffective and ground looping can become an issue (depending on the
quality of the runway surface). It also has a tendency to nose over if a wheel
hits a rough spot before it has reached sufficient speed for the controls to
become properly effective. Once in the air, the amount of power seems to be
just right and the model is a pleasure to watch.
Some of problems due to the surface of the runway (we fly off grass of similar
quality to a golf course) may be less apparent if the model was 1/4 scale or
larger although the engine torque problems may remain. I imagine the 1:1 scale
version was probably quite a handful.
BTW. Readers of Aeroplane magazine (and possibly others) may have noted that
possibly the most experienced Dr1 pilot ever died in a recent crash (in his
Dr1). I cannot remember the man's name (he was British I believe) but Aeroplane
was suggesting that he would have had many more hours in a Dr1 than Richoffen
by the time he died.
Regards
Paul Butler
pgb@kau1.kodak.com