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INTERMEDIATE LEVEL KIT
A Peter Rake design airplane.
The FE8 was one of the innovative fighters of WWI. When airplanes were first fitted with machine guns it was found that
the gun mounted behind the propellor would shoot through the wooden blades. Various methods were tried to overcome this difficulty,
including mounting a gun above the top wing, having an observer with a gun, and firing the gun at an angle upward above the
propellor. The FE8 was one plane that was designed from the start to overcome the problem by mounting the engine behind the
pilot and putting the gun in the front with the pilot in a "tub". The FE8 was successful, until the Germans designed
the "interruptor" which allowed the gun to fire through the propellor. The use of that system started the infamous
"Fokker Scourge" of WWI.
Pete's FE8 incorporates some time saving components. A vacuum formed "tub" and 9cyl rotary engine are included
as part of the short kit. Carbon fiber tubes (not included in kit) are used in constructing the tail booms, giving a stiff
structure for the tail surfaces. Contols are designed to be pull-pull cables per the original.
Pat Lynch's build of the plane is an example of what can be done with the kit. His prototype flights have also produced
a corrected CofG for you to work with. The FE8 looks majestic in the air and handles rough fields fairly well.
For the more ambitious builder a four bladed wooden prop kit can be included as well. The prop is assembled from shaped
'slabs' and then sanded to profile.
Specifications:
Wingspan: 43"
Length: 32"
Weight: 19 oz
Wingarea: ~400 sqin
Prototype power:
"Bell" outrunner (sp480 class)
2s1320 LiPo
8x6 prop
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