S.E.5a Model Kits

Hello,

after thinking it over I decided to purchase a kit.
Needs to be about 80".

But Which?

The BUSA seems not to scale e.g. Landing Gear Struts, Aerofoil...but Pricey. And nice flying considered

What about the Funaero Kit, that looks nice.

Or the dbsportsandscale from England?

Anyone experienced one or more of these kits?

chris

[PfalzPflyer]

An SE5a would be a good choice for a first WW1 bipe project. Compared to other fighters of the period, it has a longer nose (fewer CG issues), generous tail surfaces with a fixed vertical fin, and dihedral on both wings. Everyone I've ever seen or heard about was a nice flying plane.

If price is an issue, you might consider the Dynaflite SE5a kit. It goes for about $120 from Tower Hobbies. It's a bit smaller than you mentioned (64" span), but the two that I've seen fly seemed like very solid performers. I have one as a "winter build" project.

http://www.dynaflite.com/airplanes/dyfa3045.html

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLX5&P=7

Stan Durnal and Kenny Watkins were flying their Dynaflite SE5a models at the Hoosier Dawn Patrol in Muncie, Indiana last month. Both planes flew very well. Video link:

http://www.indyflyer.com/dawn/dawn2006.htm

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Dean

Thanks, thats a lot of Information.

Funaero also offers an 60 Inch kit but a bit more expensive.

It´s Just a bit too small but when you look at the price its an issue I agree

[Prop Nut]

Hi Chris,

I guess you have to ask yourself what you want to do with the plane. If its just for flying on weekends with the guys, a Dynaflite is great (I have one) flies very well, its alot bigger that you think, and is pretty easy to build. But...not great scale lines, top wing too high, fuse not perfect, etc. The Balsa USA kit is also great if you really want a bigger plane, better scale lines (and you can redo the undercarriage if you want) and the price really isnt all that bad if you compare it to others, such as FunAero etc. Speaking of FunAero, I have built thier Albatros 1/5th scale, nice kit, really heavy tail, but it looks good. I have heard others say that thier SE5 is a good scale representation of the original, from the pictures you could argue but it is better than the Dynaflite. There are several kit producers in the UK that have excellent (very scale) SE5's but the cost is pretty high. Long story short, build a "True scale" if you are interested in competition or you just have out "outdo" some guy. But if its for fun, build a Dynaflite, Balsa USA or Funaero, I doubt you will be sorry with any of the three. For a great scale
SE5 look at the thread by BobH. He did a ton of work, and spent years doing it. It looks like a labor of love.

[DJ]

Unless you are competing, why get all warped over exact scaleness??? The Dynaflight is going to be the best flyer but... based on your size comments, price, value, blah blah, blah, I would vote with my dollars for the BUSA Se5. Find yourself a US 41 on EBAY (nose weight, bigger prop) and have a ball!!! They also fly awesome and bigger planes are just plain easier to fly.

First of all thank you all for the hints.

Scale is very important to me. More than just going to the Airfield and fly a "similar as" airplane easily.

For that matter (scale) the BUSA and the Dynaflite kits don´t look too perfect to me seen on the available pics.
The most scale-looking model is the dbsportsandscale and even the Funaero S.E.5a.

At the moment I´m deciding between the Funaero and the Dbsportsandscale.
The English Kit is easier to send to germany, but perhaps I come to the States in November and buy a Funaero Kit.

[Tmoth4]

The Funaero looks to me to have a good outline but the airfoil is too thick. I am starting to build one (80" version) and I modified the ribs to make it more scale. I am also going to build up the stab to an airfoil section. I am documenting the build on rcscalebuilder.com in the "Other Kits" forum.
I think the Funaero has the potential to be a nice representation.

If you really want exact scale, get the Dennis Bryant plans and laser cut parts from Bob Holman Plans Svc. in California.

Jim

[Prop Nut]

Woher kommst du Chris?

[BobH]

If you want a scale SE5a then look at Dennis Bryant plans. They are available in the UK and a kit is available from Bob Holman in the USA. That plane is 1/4 scale.

If you can find a Duncan Hutson kit (a little smaller than 1/4 scale) it's very scale also. You can see mine here on this site.

[papermache]

Chris,
If it comes down to a choice of kits, the Fun Aero and the BUSA kits are both great. The differences are that the BUSA kit is die cut and the Funaero is laser cut. (That being said, BUSA's die cutting is probably the best I've ever seen and is better than some laser cut kits I've seen.) The Funaero is a little more scale all around and has a totally removeable cowl which makes the engine easy to get at. On the other hand, the BUSA kit features an adjustable "box" setup so you can run a different-than-recommended engine more easily. I would give the BUSA instruction manuals a definate edge. They are very complete.
Other than the price difference (BUSA is a bit less) I'm sure you'll get a great airplane out of both. I've seen the BUSA SE5A fly. It's beautiful, and you can't tell it isn't totally scale from 100' up.

papermache