Project Jet Falcon

[Tom Niebuhr]

John D'Ottavio built a jet version of his famous J.D.Falcon in 1967, but never finished the airplane. Only 2 or 3 of us have seen the airplane. I now  have the airplane and have started to draw the unique fuselage.  I will start construction in about a week.

John never had a formal name for the airplane, so we will call it the "Jet Falcon"

The original airplane had an early foam wing with rib bays cut out. It can be built with either a foam or built up wing.

The airplane is very different from the jet style stunters of the 60s and 70s in that there are contours that are unbelievable. Even with the airplane in front of me I still ask "how did he do that!"

The "Jet Falcon" is Classic legal and just cries to be shown to the world. This will be my next Classic ride.

Both Buddy Wieder and I consider John to be not only our lifetime friend but also our mentor and second father. John is now 93 years old and this project will be a tribute to him.

[Avaiojet]

Tom,

Looks like I'll be first to congradulate you on your quest. 

And what a quest it is!

The importance of "Mentors."

The design looks great! And I'll bet you'll do a fine job.

I hope your efforts are posted, even if only from time to time.

Good luck again with your fine project.

Charles

[Gerald Arana]

John D'Ottavio built a jet version of his famous J.D.Falcon in 1967, but never finished the airplane. Only 2 or 3 of us have seen the airplane. I now  have the airplane and have started to draw the unique fuselage.  I will start construction in about a week.

John never had a formal name for the airplane, so we will call it the "Jet Falcon"

The original airplane had an early foam wing with rib bays cut out. It can be built with either a foam or built up wing.

The airplane is very different from the jet style stunters of the 60s and 70s in that there are contours that are unbelievable. Even with the airplane in front of me I still ask "how did he do that!"

The "Jet Falcon" is Classic legal and just cries to be shown to the world. This will be my next Classic ride.

Both Buddy Wieder and I consider John to be not only our lifetime friend but also our mentor and second father. John is now 93 years old and this project will be a tribute to him.

This is to good to let go by. I'd like a set of your plans when you are ready to release them.....................hopefully!
Do you know the area, engine size, span etc.?

Cheers, Jerry

[Tom Niebuhr]

Jerry,
The JD Falcon is 592 Sq. In. with a 53.5 wing span. The Jet Falcon uses the same wing.

The original Falcons used the Fox .35 of the era. The Jet Falcon was set up for a Fox .35 also.  The Classics all fly better with more power. They come to life with the added power. A .36 to .46 would be much better. I suggest engines like the LA .46, RoJet .40 and the AeroTiger .36.

[peabody]

Hi Tom....Way cool!
John once gave me a JD Falcon that he designed for a .46. It was unfinished and had a tank glued in as well....it weighed around 56 ounces ! I knew that my refinishing skills(?) wouldn't do justice to it, although John suggested that I put a Tiger 60 in it and fly it.....
I believe that Tom Hampshire or Buddy has it.....

[Tom Niebuhr]

Rich,
I saw the airplane that your are talking about. John always built heavy. His JD Falcons and Jerseyan were in the 57-58 ounce range powered by Fox .35s.. It was amazing that he could get them to work and win. He was amazed when my Falcons and Jerseyan were about 40 ounces.  Be assured that I will do everything to keep the Jet Falcon light. It will not be underpowered either.

[peabody]

An interesting and spirited talk once between John and Larry Scarinzi about airplane speed and weight....
John admitted doing 50' wingovers on 60' lines.....

[Tom Niebuhr]

Rich,
That was common back then. you just waited for the plane to get back to 60ft at the bottom. We used to laugh about it.

Larry flew fast. It wasn't until we got more power that you had tension everywhere. 

[john e. holliday]

And Larry still flies fast and low.

[Ward Van Duzer]

Rich,

I'm disappointed in you. You missed the opportunity to tell Tom that ship needs a "Tuna Pipe"!

Ward-O   

[Tom Niebuhr]

Ward-O,

I forgive you for the corny joke, I knew that you had "lost it" years ago.

The "Jet Falcon" will be powered by a RoJet .40, side exhaust.  I was thinking about electric, but not in a Classic,

I have now started building the fuselage.

[wwwarbird]

The "Jet Falcon" will be powered by a RoJet .40, side exhaust.  I was thinking about electric, but not in a Classic,

 Way to go Tom.

[Tom Niebuhr]

I haven't shown anything on the Jet Falcon in a while.

The old JD Falcon wing was stripped and is installed in the Jet Falcon fuselage.

The aft end is very unique. John's original airplane had a carved block to form the jet exhaust. I decided to use soft 1/16" to shape the exhaust around a laser cut former. The resulting contoured area is very fragile as shown. I now have a layer of carbon veil applied and will place a second layer over the first layer. This will harden the area and make it safe to handle.

The wing is covered and ready for final finishing. flaps and tail surfaces need some more work, but are close to the finishing stage.

[Crist Rigotti]

Very cool Tom.

[wwwarbird]

 Cool. It's always fun to get a look at something other than the "cookie cutter" stunters.