Retreads new Ringmaster

[Scott Hartford]

I finally killed my old Ringmaster thouroughly dead when the motor died with no warning just when I pulled up in a wingover. It was sarting to run incredibly with a warmed-over 35 FP I had just bolted on with an 11-4 prop. I used this plane as a motor test bed and to get re-acquainted with flying after a 25 year break. It was one of my old ones with plenty of repairs and a hard life. It served with honor and died a noble death. RIP. So.... I had to build a new one with some building tips and info from local fliers that help me so much. It came in at 31 oz. with a 25 FP (will test 25 LA, 20 FP later)It has a 3 oz. Hayes tank on pressure and a 9-6 APC prop. I used the kit wood and routed out the leading edge log quite a bit. I used colored wood stain to color the pieces, clear Monocote, and polyurethane for a finish with no filler at all. I will try her out tomorrow and see if she flies well.   

[Bill Smith]

Very nice. I like that idea.

[minnesotamodeler]

Very nice...tell us about that interior interwoven bracing.

--Ray

[Scott Hartford]

That is 100 lb. test kevlar fishing line CA'd in place. S-shaped ribs would look bad with clear monocote!

[Scott Hartford]

OK, I flew it this morning and it went real well! I started out with a 9-6 APC and then tried a 10-5 narrow MA. Kind if a toss-up at this point, but I flew more with the 10-5. It did actually do a little 4-2 at the beginning with the 10-5 but the last 4 laps were very fast. I don't exactly hate this just yet since my last plane died a horrible death with no sign of running out of fuel. This time I get a warning! One thing that was really apparant was that my old plane dropped like a brick when the motor died and this one drops like a much lighter brick! The wind started gusting pretty good so we all packed it up to let our planes live to crash another day!

[Scott Hartford]

Another pic and a pic of the prototype my son and I built first: