Responses to comments and questions:
In relation to the races at Reno. They wouldn’t let me race it in the unlimited class, they were afraid that I would get them in the turns.
I am afraid of hot air balloons, they can soundly out climb me.
For your own sanity and physical well being, build it slower. The amazing thing to ponder about these airplanes though is that even if you build it six times slower, you’ll still be flying it by early summer.
Funny thing is that not only don’t I drink coffee, I don’t drink any alcohol type drinks either. I just never acquired a taste for any of it.
It’s set up to look like the six-cylinder two-row Anzani radial powered examples. Like the one that's in the R.A.F. museum in Hendon.
We just tested a brand new 87 inch early looking prop like the ones that were used on the Bleriots. It statics at 1850 RPM and max continues on the Rotec is 2100 at the prop. We have yet to check cruise RPM as we have only hopped it with this prop. We need to get the correct metric prop bolts.
This is the third Rob Baslee Bleriot that I did the first flight on (you can go see a very short clip of me flying serial number 1 in the movie “Amelia” when it plays in a theater near you) and this one is the worst flyer. The other two have ailerons and the later more standard tail, and they are great flyers. Robs kit examples are set up like that, and you can fly them in J-3 Cub weather. I wanted wing warping and the “flipper” tail (for easy trailering, and against Rob Baslees good advice) and it severely effects the types flying characteristics. On my airplane, you have to fly it in the dead calm only, and the warping is very heavy, and very unresponsive. I can get three times the roll rate from the rudder that I can get from the warping. The flipper tail is also very sensitive to CG range variations as well, but I am setting up the airplane with a variable tail weight so that I can adjust this to the pilots weight (I have let three other very trusted guys fly it now).
No brakes and a fixed non-steerable tail skid. Anything else would be sacrilege (although a tail wheel was a common sight on many Bleriots). In relation to X-winds, the aileroned versions (which are the only ones I would fly in any wind) were very good in X-winds. I suppose that it’s that with the rear fuselage uncovered there is not much weather vaneing tendency.
Yes on the original airfoil question.
P.S. If you are interested in one of Rob’s designs (Fokkers, Nieuports, Sopwiths, deHavillands) check out his AirdromeAeroplanes.com web site. If you really get interested call me for an introduction to Rob, and I might be able to save you a few bucks.
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Fly low (check) Fly fas... well, no, Turn l.. - uh, wing warping?