Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

[Chad Veich]

Thought some of you guys might be interested in a "little" air racer project I'm involved with. A good friend and fellow r/c flyer of mine is involved in scale warbird racing and asked me to design a model of Czech Mate for him to compete with. The project reached the test flight phase today and while their is still some "tweaking" to be done the airplane gives all indications of being a solid flyer and competitive race plane. While certainly not exact scale I did try to stay as faithfull to the full size as I could while still meeting the demands for speed, simplicity, and flyability. Just needs a few markings to wrap it up.

[xmh53wrench]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

HOLY COW that thing is amazing!! Very nicely done. Whats the scale and wingspan, just curious

[tex-fan]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

that's museum quilaty stuff right there! WOW, good job!

[Skyracer]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

VERRRRRRY NIIIIICE! Where's it flying at?

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Looks awesome. What size/make motor is in there?

[Chad Veich]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen, I will pass them along to the builder. The model is essentially 1/6 scale but the wing span was stretched a bit (66" instead of 61") in order to achieve more wing area and, thus, a lighter wing loading. Unlike Reno we race around two poles in an oval so turning performance is paramount. There is also a minimum wing area requirement based on engine displacement that must be met. In this case the motor is a single cylinder YS 1.40 four stroke. I'm guessing but the airplane probably tops out in the 140-150 mph range. All pictures were taken at the Sun Valley Fliers r/c club field in Phoenix, Arizona.

[FlyKidChris]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Very nice.

Is it just me, or are photos #3 and #4 reminiscent of the Hughes Racer?

[Chad Veich]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Very nice.

Is it just me, or are photos #3 and #4 reminiscent of the Hughes Racer?

It's not just you Chris. At least half a dozen people mis-identified the airplane as a Hughes Racer while we were out flying it on Saturday. It will get the "Czech Mate" name and other markings soon and that should help!

[C_roundy]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Hmmmm, Chad, perhaps we should fly together sometime. Our Rare Bear, and Stilleto, and Corsair match your beautiful new YAK-11 quite nicely. We build to 1/6 scale as well.
I have always held underdogs as my highest ideal to emulate; hence our Rare Bear exists. When I began learning pylon racing history it did not take me long to go head over heels for Lyle Shelton's Bear team story.
I have similar feelings for Sherman Smoot's struggle to bring a previously un-conpetitive airplane type to competitive level. Smoot always goes faster and faster; when he fly's her.

I am proud of you more than words can tell, for modeling this airplane.

Out here in foggy California, Chuck Roundy

[Chad Veich]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Thank you for the kind words Chuck. I would love to see pics of your models as well. I am currently working on a second Yak of my own which will be finished as "Perestroika" when she had the lime green wing and tail surfaces. I'm more interested in scale than racing myself so my airplane will be finished with more detail and a lot less motor! Normally 1/6 scale would be a bit too big for the racing we do except in the case of very small aircraft such as the Yak. Robert and I have worked on several other racers together including a "Critical Mass" Sea Fury and a Hellcat. I don't have any digital pics of the Sea Fury but below is the Hellcat which is 1/8 scale, 64 inch span, and has a "massaged" YS 1.20 up front. I had no visions of racing when I designed the F6F but Robert liked my prototype so decided to give it a try. There is not much in the way for racing Hellcat paint jobs as you can imagine so he settled on the scheme worn by what is now the CAF Hellcat when it was owned by JR Sandberg. Robert did change the tail surface shape a bit from scale but I think it looks good. It is surprisingly fast for such a "lump" and Robert reports that it handles very nicely on the course. Anway, I'm rambling again! Post some pics of your models if you have some.

[Jeff E]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Chad,
That is awesome. What is the finish on the fuse? That last shot is very cool.. with the reflection in the Fuselage.

[Chad Veich]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Hi Jeff,

The finish on the fuselage is chrome Monokote which, if you are not familiar, is an iron-on and heat shrunk plastic covering.

[Jeff E]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Wow.. really. That is an awesome covering job. Ive been into RC for years and years. Been working on a WEB RC show for the last year or so as well. Trying to find the niche.

Usually that Chrome Monocoat gets pretty scratched when people put it on.
Excellent job..
J

[C_roundy]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

Post some pics of your models if you have some.

Chad, the forum software seems to have me maxxed out on picture posts, so here are a couple links to my original 2 threads regarding Our Bear.

The first link is to the thread I started to ask for help documenting the 1988 thru 1991 paint scheme well enough to attempt it, (it was actually PPG "CopperFrost" as it turns out, not orange). I will always be grateful to those that came up with pics and other help for us, The stories they shared about those record breaking years filled me with a sense of being connected to the history I was trying to salute.

http://aafo.com/hangartalk/showthread.php?t=7970&highlight=C_Roundy

The 2nd link is to the thread I started to show our model, and to give thanks again. When you look at our orange Rare Bear, you will see that we did not try to match the "CopperFrost". But as a scale modeler yourself, when you look at the airframe, and the placement of paint lines, and our custom recreated graphics, hopefully you can tell we put a fair amount of work towards scale accuracy. Somehow I feel certain Lyle would have liked it.
Best Regards, Chuck Roundy

http://aafo.com/hangartalk/showthread.php?t=8484

Edit: I went back through my old posts and deleted a couple of pics so that I can share one picture from thursday at the 2011 races. The one and only Mr. Dave Cornell with our Bear. (he is saying "Sure I'll hold it, but do I hafta' give it back?") No matter what happened the next day, I will always have memories to cherish from that priceless week, even though it had to be cut short.
still a little misty eyed sometimes, Chuck

[WASP-kid]

Re: Czech Mate flies again - well sorta

That's awesome!!!