Guillows

I'm thinking of buying a Guillows Sopwith Camel and try to make it radio control.Anyone know what I'll need besides the engine?

[AeroClassics]

New wood! Serious electric folks I know tell me the plane is too heavy as is. They generally replace the strip wood and cut new parts using the originals as templates.

Doug

Originally Posted by Trench Raider

I'm thinking of buying a Guillows Sopwith Camel and try to make it radio control.Anyone know what I'll need besides the engine?

[EricGoedkoop]

DPC Models is in the process of re-kitting the Guillows 100 series, using the original plans but substituting laser-cut parts of high-quality, lightweight balsa. A group of builders has recently been testing out the prototypes - you can see Bill Carney's Camel here.

I don't know when the new kits will be available, but you could email Dave Cowell and ask. He might also be able to hook you up with some builders that have been successful with r/c conversions of his other kits.

Good luck!

Is it harder to make one of the older kits radio control?

[Wind In The Wires]

From what I can tell from the links provided the DPCM kits are reproductions of the old Guillows kits using better quality balsa and laser cut parts instead of the Guillows' die cut (die crush) parts.

The advantage to the newer kits is that Guillows used the cheapest balsa available which was often hard and heavy and that the die cutting crushed the edges of the parts and sometimes broke them. The DPCM kits use lighter weight balse and die cut parts which have clean edges that superglue together very well.

If you were building one of these things from scratch you would modify the structure to add strength by using full thickness spars and reduce weight by using thinner outlines.

That said I remember building the Camel in about 1963 straight from the Guillows kit except for a plywood firewall to which I mounted a Cox .010. It wouldn't fly with the plastic cowl on (the prop was only a half inch bigger than the cowl) but without the cowl would fly from a good launch in about 30 foot diameter circles, gaining about one foot per circle. It came down in 20 foot circles at about 10 foot per circle. Gas powered free flight for the cost of a Guillow's kit, a Cox .010 I already had and a piece of 3/32 plywood. The good old days.

So if I do build one the key is to make it as light weight as possible.

[Wind In The Wires]

Yes, light weight is important in rubber powered and electric powered models.

The other thing you will need to do is double the elevator and rudder spars (as well as the aileron outlines if you want them to function) so that the control surfaces can operate independently. The traditional method to hinge them is to take several strips of 3/8" X 3/4" cloth and glue one end to the upper side of the stabilizer and the other end to the bottom of the elevator. Glue the next one opposite and duplicate on the other side.



Note the control horn which you will need to add so that your RC servos can actuate the surface.

If I do buy one of Guillows Sopwith Camels then what type of engine,and micro servo do you recommend to buy?