Unusual 66" Stampe SV4 build from a French short kit. Designer, Laurent Buissyne. Kit maker, Guixmodel.

[Mike.K 60]

Here we go again. Another model has begun.

This Stampe kit comes from a little known (in the UK) colaboration between model designer Laurent Buissyne and laser cut kit maker, Guix Model. I tripped over these French guys whilst looking for Stampe plans and kits on the internet.

As a teenager back in 1974, I`d built a Stampe from scratch using the still popular Dennis Bryant plan. Parts were cut from scratch as laser cutting and Sarik Models didn`t exist in those days. My model was powered by a wonderful HP.61 two stroke and although rather heavy, gave me hours of flying fun. I`d finished it in the yellow and red sunburst colours of the well known Tiger Club Stampe, G-AWEF. Some forty six years after owning that model, I badly needed to build another similar Stampe but desired it to be lighter and of a more contemporary design when compared to my original Bryant model.

Now in 2021, choices of kit or plan are very limited. The Bryant Stampe design now features in the Sarik range of plans with a wingspan of 63" and a short wood kit being available. Flying weight would probably be around 11-12Lb. That is seemingly the only option available at that size. With a MTOW within the FRZ limit of 7.5Kg/16.5Lbs with all fuel and equipment in the total figure agreed by the CAA and BMFA as legally flyable within the FRZ regulations this model was certainly suitable for my needs if not quite what I was looking for.

The rather larger and obviously heavier former Precident Stamp kit now marketed and cut by SLEC is something of a big bruiser. I`d have loved to have built one but with other flyers indicating a MTOW of around 18Lb, I discounted that model as quite useless to me if flying within FRZ constaints and constrictions.

Then quite by accident, I stumbled upon the web site of Guix Model in France. They are based near Lille in Northern France in the sleepy rural farming village of Louville. Guix have not only a factory producing laser cut kits but also operate a typical retail model shop. Many of their kits are designed by a prolific French modeller by the name of Laurent Buissyne and marketed under the name of Bulconcept. I`ve grown to regard the arrangement between Guix and Laurent as perhaps being similar to the Nijhuis/SLEC/4-Max set up that we know so well here in the UK. Linking several businesses together as a collaboration can only be but benificial to modellers generally.

Here are the links to Guix and to Laurent.

Bulconcept Short Kits

 To my deep joy, I found a Stampe SV4 within the Bulconcept listing. At 66" wingspan and a mass of a quoted 4.1Kg/9Lb when fitted with a 6S 4000 electric set up, the design was a modern take on an old modellers favourite. I`ve become used to converting electric based kits to IC power. Regretably, electric power just "doesn`t do it" for me. I much prefer a sputtering four stroke oily fan on the front. For me an electric model lacks soul and I`ve quickly tired of battery changing. Having had an unexplained battery/charger detonation recently in my building area has further exacibated my move towards IC, motorizing my entire fleet of models with IC power. All my electric motors, ESC`s and LiPo batteries are now for sale at reasonable used prices. Make me a sensible offer if you need LiPo type power components. PM or phone me for details.

So this Stampe will be fitted with a 91FS. I have a used one coming from Rob for this model. If you have any .70>1.80 four stroke motors you wish to sell, again please contact me. I`m interested in buying the good, the bad and the ugly with paid prices that reflect age, condition or level of damage. Low time engines in good condition are favoured but I will concider lesser engines for spares or rebuild. Prefered types, SC, ASP, Magnum, OS, Saito. Cash waiting.

Back to the Stampe. I made email contact with Laurent who responded quickly and in English after I appologised profusely about my French ineptitude. Laurent supplied three large full scale plans and a CD-ROM for building instructions. With French VAT and carriage included, I sent Laurent around £65 in Euro currency and about a week later, an A4 envelope arrived here without additional UK VAT or extra postal costs. The plans are CAD drawn to a very high standard and the CD-ROM contains the manual of some 100 pages and has 500 good quality images to assist with the construction. Sadly, everything is written in French so the Google French to English translator has been working overtime. Its not really been a problem though because building a model is an "across language" interest and there is usually only one way a model can come together. Whilst waiting for the Guix Model kit to arrive, I`ve spent the available time ordering quantities of brass tube, steel and ali flat strip material for the model. For those that get a buzz from filing metal into brackets, hard points, cabanes and landing gear, this model makes for a great experience and hours of brain teasing fun. The Hardware Warehouse on the internet has proved to be a wonderful place to order these materials and their prices are excellent with postal delivery being in the super-fast catagory. Highly recommended.

Reverting to the Guix Model kit, this comes as a basic wood kit with the option to buy an extra wood kit. I`ve paid something like £190 in Euros to Guix and have been told the kit has been posted with delivery probably in a weeks time subject to UK Customs clearance. It is not known if I`ll be asked for UK import VAT prior to delivery here. Neither do I know if I`ll be slapped with an additional Royal Mail £8 charge. Despite looking at the UK Gov. web site for import VAT guidance, the words left me confused, befuddled and in a rather tired and emotional state. A brandy helped but this transition phase of the Brexit chaos serves to make matters a proper buggers muddle. So all I can presently do is wait and see if I`ll be clobbered for additional VAT payment......

If you ever decide to buy from Guix, please note the following points. BEFORE you order from the site, ensure you can get the "pays" section to complete as accepting your delivery will be to the UK. (Pays means "which country will the package be sent".) Only click on the UK. Unfortunately on the day I ordered the kit, the site wouldn`t let me input the UK as the consignment address. I later found out from Quix that it would have been more satisfactory if I had just mailed them and started a dialogue with them. Subsiquently a fella at Quix made contact with me in English via my email. At that point all I had to do to correct my error was send him another 12.70E via PayPal. The man I`ve been communicating with speaks very good English so this saved the day. A quick phone call is another option before ordering which would give you an easier journey than the one I experienced. Getting hold of this kit has not been easy but given a few more days of waiting, I hope all should come well. I believe these kits are produced to order, so if you want one of the Guix offerings, you should factor a lead time for production and carriage into your building timetable. I suspect that Brexit, ordering mistakes, Covid, a slow New Year start up and production lead times all added to make this a rather slow transaction. I`ll be wise to it if I order any future kit from Guix. In my opinion, this is just one such example of why it was unwise for the UK to leave the EU.

Tonight the workshop atmosphere positively hums with anticipation as the delivery starts its entry into our UK Customs clearance sheds. Watch this space!

Emma and Ian have cut me registration letters in red vinyl for the fuselage and lower underside of the bottom wing. They are working on the dsign of the Tiger Club motif but that is proving a rather difficult item to reproduce. Conatct Emma direct for all your registration letters. She makes a lovely job of them. "Swiftly and with style" applies. Thanks Em!

Note that all Laurents designes, plans and CD-ROM build manuals are protected by his copyright. Reproduction of any of his intellectual property is not permitted without his express permission. That seems fair enough given that his designs are as a direct  result of his own efforts. Laurent did allow one of his customers to build the original 66" model and then went on to allow him to build a +50% model followed by a +100% model. There are You tube vids showing the two oversized models with the 200% version having a wingspan of 132"!! Stood on its wingtips, the model is more than twice the height of its owner!!!!! It is truely massive and flies superbly. Not one for our Fickleshole site.

Thats it for tonight. Further tales from the building board once this kit eventually arrives.

Mike

 

[Mike.K 60]

Its the middle of February 2021 and I`m still awaiting the kit.......

It is possible to build direct from Laurent`s plan give a good supply of raw material. Sadly, my workshop stock is presently reduced to scraps in the off-cut box. I`ve a delivery being put together by Rob which does include some balsa. I`m concidering upping the balsa order with him and perhaps making a start on a Stampe building it totally from scratch. The kit, if it ever arrives could be built into a second Stampe model. Two models are obviously better than just one and I might need a spare! I`ll wait a few more days to see what occurs with the French kit delivery before ordering further balsa supplies.

In the meantime, I`ve been scratching around fabricating components that I can construct from my dwindling stock of parts and materials. A major restock has to take place soon or I`ll be down to match sticks. I found clear plastic to make a windscreen so my efforts went in that direction. G-AWEF will be modelled for the time it flwe as a single seat aircraft with a simle ali panel bplted down over the front cockpit.

I found the Laurent plan and CD didn`t give any dimensions for the screens. I cussed slightly. Digging into the Aerofred site found a Svenson produced Stampe plan and pleasingly gave the shape of the screen as a flat drawing. By using Ctrl & + or -, allowed me to expand or contract the image to a desired size. A bit of careful measurement off the Laurent plan gave me an approximation of what was required. With the Svenson screen image adjusted to a suitable proportion, I traced the shape directly off the computor screen! Crude but effective, I transfered the tracing to a piece of clear plastic and cut it out with scissors. Two bends along a straight edge gave me what appears to be a perfectly sized, three angle windscreen based on the shape of the fuselage top decking. Only when I`ve managed to build the model fuselage will I be able to be sure about the true proportions of the screen that I`ve already cut. One has to begin somewhere. Any adjustments can be made to make it bigger or smaller as needed with the methodology being identical to the above description. Necessity is indeed the Mother of Invention!

In no particular order of manufacture, the tail wheel assembly was then made with its cover being snaffled from a piece of 0.5mm ali biscuit tin lid! No issues with that. Whilst discussing metal bashing antics, I`ve also aquired a couple of 300mm x 500mm pieces of 0.8mm soft ali sheet. That will be used to form a three section typical Gipsy Major engine cowl with all three panels being easily removable to allow access for the installation or removal of a .91FS glow motor. The front section of the cowl has been made from fourteen 3mm layers of laminated balsa. It is hollowed out to give space for the front end of the .91 and to reduce weight. Final shaping and sanding will take place once I`ve cut the .8mm ali sheeting to shape and size. True scratch built modelling at its traditional best. The laminate will be sealed with epoxy before being sprayed with two pack primer followed by yellow and red Guold fuel proof paint. Quite a lot of work yet to come on that.

Having time on my hands allowed me to plan out the major modification needed at the front end of the fuselage to allow fiting of the .91FS glow motor in place of the Laurent designed electrical set up. I`ve had to increase the width and depth of the F1 bulkhead to accomodate the .91FS and its nylon two part engine bearers. This has entailed redrawing the area to the rear of F1, drawing out the area that would have originally been used to mount the 6S LiPo battery. Removal of part of that plate is to allow a glow fuel tank to be fitted and to allow that tank to be installed so that its centre line aligns with the carburetter spray bar. This has also meant that a lower tank mounting platform has to be installed a couple of inches below the original LiPo platform. Thought has also to be given to engine mount blind nut installation to suit the glow motor used and to permit a sensible throttle push rod to be installed without fouling the fuel tank. That sorted, I then had to decide on what additional reinforcement structure would be needed to absorb the vibration, power and torque of the glow motor. The basis of the rework is now on paper with the remainder of the detail execution occuring as the model progresses. I`ve done loads of this type of work previously so progress should go pretty much without issues.

Whilst waiting for the kit to arrive and still kicking my heals in frustration, I studied the colour scheme of G-AWEF in some detail. Looking at internet images to ascertain where the yellow and red sunburst colour scheme "starts and stops" enabled me to measure, mark and adjust the proportions of the sunbursts to emmulate that found on the full sized G-AWEF. I found that the same geometrical "angle" running from a fixed and universal pin point, lead to a long thin triangle of colour for each and every "Sunburst" required. Once the angle is established, only the length of the triangle alters, ie some sunburst strips are longer than others. A triangular card template then acts as the guide when it comes to cutting covering material off the roll. All one has to do when applying red triangles over the base yellow covering is to ensure that the triangle of colour is cut overlength thereafter being cut to the true length at the trailing edges of the elevators and rudder. In the case of the start point on the fin and the tailplane, these share that same starting point and radiate out to the trailing edges for sealing down with a covering iron before being trimmed to suit that trailing edge detail.

Red quarter circles are applied at the leading edge of the fin and the tailplane which produce the "Sun" in the "Burst" effect. Simple and strikingly visually effective. Look closely at images of the plans attached to this post and you will see the red and yellow separations and how the full effect is laid out. Its not that difficult to lay on and the end result can be very satisfying. Yes, I have sprayed similar paint schemes on full sized aircraft (A Citabria to name but just one example. Citabria is airbatic, spelt backwards...not a lotta people know that!) using almost identival methodology to that described here.

During this period of relative building stagnation, I`ve also studied the CD based build manual in some depth. This will assist me to know the precise direction the build will take and flag up any potentially difficult areas that need special planing and enhanced attention to detail. One of those areas already noted is the placement of the elevator and rudder servos at the tail end of the fuselage. The Cof G for this model is placed at the trailing edge of the centre section of the top wing. This differs from many bi-planes due to the pronounced sweep back of the wings. That being the case, Laurent, the designer of the model indicates that the two full size, standard servos are placed just in front of the tailplane. Once installation has been proven satisfactory, the fuselage is covered and the servos remain installed within the fuselage and are out of sight. There is no access for any adjustment, maintenance or servo removal unless you plunge a scalple through the covering and carry out what you had to do before then ironing a patch over the resulting incision. Most of us would favour the ability to readily get at servos. Sealing the servos in place would possibly go against our natural instinct to afford ourselves that normal quick and easy adjustment. Much as I don`t much like the idea of covering over the elevator and rudder servos, obtaining an easy Cof G will probably over-rule my wish to have the usual simple servo access. Time will eventually produce what is necessary.......

I cannot get away from the fact that the Stampe has always exerted a strong and almost magnetic attraction upon me. Happy airshows at Biggin Hill in the 1970`s watching the aerobatic air aces of the time flying Stampes with the Rothmans team and also those of the Tiger Club have left an indelible mark on my being. Some small wonder then that I need another Stampe model or perhaps even a pair of them. Keep following this thread and hold onto the belief that having two Stampes is better than just owning one!

Mike

 

 

Edited February 14 by Mike.K
Typo correction.

[Mike.K 60]

With appologies for my cross fingered typing last night and the pile of typo mistakes that accumulated. Too late to do a second correction edit.

At long last then, some slightly better news about the kit delivery. 

A week after I was informed the kit had been posted, I contacted GuixModel and said I hadn`t yet received a package tracking number, let alone the kit! The fella at Guix replied quickly to my mail saying that the post Brexit export issues had delayed despatch from the factory but he was now able to provide the tracking number. Its been a hell of a faff getting my kit on its way to the UK and I can`t totally apportion blame to Guix. As the man said, it is the first post-Brexit export that he has had to handle and it hasn`t been easy to get things sorted. Once again though, the matter of paying not only French VAT but also UK import VAT is still unclear and as of tonight, still not resolved as a clear cut answer. Here in the UK, Als` Models are sending out kits and components to foreign lands but WITHOUT UK VAT being applied. The question remains...should I have paid French VAT and will I still have a UK VAT tax liability once this package hits the UK HMRC customs sheds? Only time will tell but its almost guaranteed there will be further hold ups before the kit eventaully lands on my doorstep. So much for a simple and effective post-Brexit transition period. In real life practical terms, this transaction has been a total balls ache! How difficult can a simple kit export/import become and I fear there will still be issues to come before this model arrives.

Had it not been for the fact that I already had the Stampe build plan and build CD from the designer, I might well have cancelled the order and looked for another project. Only my total and complete desire to get my hands on one of these fairly unique Stampe kits stopped me from throwing my teddy out and buying another Seagull ARTF as an alternative model! Whilst I once again wait for this kit to arrive, I`ve continued to order a stack of parts and materials from various sources for this coming Stampe build. This includes yet another seemingly reasonable if elderly OS 90FS motor via eBay, a ton of nuts, bolts, washers and screws, aluminium etch primer, hinges, epoxy and all the usual stuff one needs for construction. Tomorrow, I`ll call Rob and drum up some additional balsa with a view to reproducing the cut laser parts for a second model. The timber needs to be available when the kit arrives to allow me to simply draw around the kit cut parts rather than cause me the long winded nause of tracing and transfering part outlines from the plan in the time honoured fashion.

So this initial stage of getting the Stampe build moving has been difficult, tedious and time consuming. Once the kit arrives, the pace will pick up to my normal build speed and I`ll start to feel better about matters.

No images tonight. Nothing of any value constructed and no images of any note.

Watch this thread.

Mike

Edited February 16 by Mike.K
Yet more typo corrections!

[Mike.K 60]

Some decent update now possible...The kit has arrived without additional UK VAT or indeed Parcel Force handling charges.

The box content was somewhat disappointing. Certainly all the difficult to cut and make, bulkheads, formers and wing ribs were present and correct as a typical "pop out" type rendition. Despite having paid for an "extra wood" kit, I immediately questioned where it was! So what was the total contents? Just what I`ve described and nothing else. No strip wood or sheet material present. 191Euro at 83p to the E didn`t provide what I concidered to be a plausible short wood kit with enough material to even start building. Yes, I do feel a bit short changed. Would I buy again from Guix? Probably not.

Surmising that a groan to Guix would be wasted time, I opened a Sarik site order form and started to round up additional material. Seemingly most of their spruce is produced in Imperial sizes and what metric balsa was available was distinctly limited. My order hit the £220 mark, so I paid up and exited before matters got totally out of control. Three days later the delivery arrived but less the 5mm square balsa ordered. An email sorted that.

Rather flattened, I spoke to Rob who already has some additional timber for me waiting to be despatched. This morning I added a further materials requisition which I`ll further be discussing with him on Tuesday.

To say this Stampe scratch build has started off as a trial is something of an understatement. It is a lot of bovver for a fairly simple model....but then the isssue is compounded in that not only do I need materials to complete the Guix kit BUT also TWO other airframes. I`m going to build an additional model for personal use and my great friend Mick Ross (sold to me for £10 by Rob Newman!) is also in the frame for a kit. The upshot of this is that between us, we will have THREE Stampe models on the build all based on the original Guix kit. It`s become quite an undertaking to get all the required materials together in one place.

Obviously the Guix laser cut parts at least provide patterns around which pen or pencil outlines can be transfered to appropriately sized raw balsa and ply sheet. Having set up something amounting to a production line, I`ve started line copying to the available core materials that are presently to hand. This is slow tedious work and one has to keep control of which parts have been copied and which ones still remain to be transfered to the raw material. Some parts are easier to copy than others. Where slots appear in parts then pencil lead or Biro pen tip thickness can make getting internal markings easily applied. After a couple of days marking out the two extra kits for Mick and I, progress is good if not fast. I`m about 75% complete and another day of effort should get me to the stage where usable kits are to hand. So I flog away at the project knowing that all the effort will produce three very nice models but at a somewhat inflated cost. The price of building bespoke models rather than taking an easy ARTF but limited option....Sadly no one makes an ARTF Stampe.

Here then are a few shots taken when the short kit arrived from Guix. As usual, this thread will be updated as progress with building my "prototype" sets the scene for further models.

Mike

[Mike.K 60]

The build of the Guix kitStampe is moving well now. Seeing the components come together lifts the spirits. Perhaps I was a little cruel when I said I`d probably not buy from Guix again. The waiting and faff of getting this kit rather pulled me down. I`d certainly say the quality and accuracy of the kit is first rate and there has certainly been a considerable amount of development done to ensure the parts go together well. That in itself is well worth acknologing. Should you want one of these kits though, I`d advise ordering well before you require the kit to be with you. Then sit back and wait. What arrives although is of slender proportions, is of high quality. If you accept you will have to add a fair quantity of balsa sheet and strip wood to begin a build, what goes together comes out well.

The rudder complete with laminated 1.5mm balsa curved profile turned out well. The same for the tail plane which again uses laminated leading edge balsa material. Elevator construction is fairly simple. Covered in Cian Yellow Hobby King gloss (as per full sized aircraft) film, the result is impressive and highly pleasing. In addition the centre section of the top wing cabane unit is also complete. Images below show what has been achieved to date.

Tomorrow sees the start of the first of four wings construction. More on that in due course.

Mike

[Mick 0]

£10, you was Robbed

[Mike.K 60]

Wise words indeed from a great friend!

Now onto wing building. Not difficult but fairly repetative. All wing tip lamination dne using 1.5mm balsa strip and super glue. Quite and easy with excess planed off and sanded to shape. Loads of detail work to get right. The Devil is in the detail....Results quite pleasing.

A few pics now of the construction.

[Mike.K 60]

A little more progress made with quite a few hours put in to get the first wing complete.

Images show this part of the story.

Mike

[Mike.K 60]

Final shots of the wing prior to covering. So far so good with carbon rods cut and inserted to permit first assembly of the top wing.

The bottom wing is finished in contrasting black with G-AWEF registration letters on the port main plane. Sadly, the location of the servo arm pokes through the wing right within the letter E. The letters can only be fitted in the location shown and similarly the servo arm comes through the covering in the position that it does. Too late to change that without a major modification. This is a semi-scale club flyer not a pot winning National entry. The model is what it is and `aint what its not! The model will stay as it is seen in the images. "Stand back six feet Sir and squint. The defect is far less noticable"! (Old marine industry excuse for a difficult to solve issue!)

It looks like I`m now ready to begin fuselage construction. Watch this thread for the latest developments.

Mike.

[Mike.K 60]

Significant progress has now been made on the Stampe.

The fuselage is progressing rapidly but many mods have had to be actioned to accomodate the nice vintage rear push-rod OS 90FS IC motor. The model was originally designed for electric power so these mods have been highly necessary. In place of a LiPo a tank floor is fitted to support the glow fuel tank. The original structure around F1 has been completely altered to suit this IC power set up. The fuselage has a lot of "technical" going on in a small space. T-nuts have been inserted within the upper fuselage stringers as hard point fixings for the metal cabane structure. The designer used simple self tapping screws but I`ve never been happy with the idea for fear of splitting the spruce stringers when screwing parts into place. So 3mm T-nuts it is for me together with local reinforcement to ensure wing load will not tear the cabane out of the model. 

Where possible, the whole model is fixed together with M3 or M4 bolts rather than self tapping screws. At least the model can be dismantled without wearing out self tap wood threadings. I also aquired some 4mm OD, 3mm ID threaded metal inserts. These screw into an appropriate size drill hole with a smear of epoxy and enable a simple threaded metal screw fitting  to receive M3 or M4 sized bolts. Most useful and have also been used to secure the forward landing gear struts to the fuselage. The use of these inserts will become clear once I post images of landing gear fitment.

The cowl section on the model is probably the most difficult section to construct. One has to concider engine access as a prime item. Building the motor permanently into the cowl is a non starter as an idea. Access via hinged or removable panels must be ossible. Most popular as an idea is a fully removable cowl. I favour this route. To begin, one has to build the cowl as part of the model then cut it off before building a mounting ring around the rear end of the cowl. That mounting ring eventually gets bolted to the fuselage itself enabling the desired full engine accesability to occcur. The work is time consuming and fairly brain intensive. One has to think three stages forward before ploughing in. Another couple of build sessions should have this difficult item finished and functional.

So a few images now for the fuselage construction. Just a couple of days efffort had the core build done. Then the cowl work started and matters have slowed a little. Once the cowl structure is stable I can cut it from the model and once again access F1 onto which a motor mounting box can be constructed.

The cowl chin piece is a Stampe part I know well from my training as a light aircraft engineer. I know every curve on it! I repaired the ali chin on G-BHFG that was with us a Eagles Aviation at Kemble. That was around 1997. The aircraft had landed on its chin during a taxying accident and had the lower portion severely bashed in. My job was to repair the damage and respray the cowl. The job went well and the plane duely flew again. In fact it was the Stampe used by Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in "The Temple of Doom" film. Suposedly dropped from a Zeppelin airship with the Stampe wearing German Airforce markings, it did the part well. Later at Gloucester Airport, G-BHFG was again landed on its nose, so my repair would have had to have been done again. The differential brakes on the aircraft appear to cause some pilots issues and Stampe landing accidents figure heavily in AAIB mandatory incident report paperwork!

More images and words shortly.

Mike

[Mike.K 60]

Now partially out of lockdown, I`ve done some flying at the CAMF site and also at the Falcon field with my low wing Ultra Stick conversion. Nice to get these models back in the air again. The Stampe came with me on a couple of occasions and has been well received. Another couple of weeks and it will be flyable.

A mass of work has continued on the fuselage with covered and hinged tail feathers and control services fitted together with the unusual internal rear mounted elevator and rudder servos. The elevator has a twin ball linked 3mm rod linking servo to surface whilst the rudder is a short pull-pull installation. Extra gusseting has been added to the fuselage to increase structural ridgidity and help avoid joint slippage. A 2600NiMh battery is fitted half way down the rear fuselage in a place which I hope will help with easy eventual C of G attainment. A remote glow plug cable runs from the forward mounted glow plug on the OS90FS motor to the remote glow plug fitting within the cockpit. This enables a short, stubby ingnition battery to be used for starting without risking catching fingers or battery in a revolving propeller. A plastic Battle of Britain RAF type pilot watches the proceedings!

With just cabanes, brace wires and fuel tank to install, remaining covering will shortly occur. In the meantime, further images of the work over recent days.

Emma is about to provide the twin Tiger Club flying Tiger mascot stickers and is also working on Rothmans insignia for my second Stampe model. Emma does lovely work. Please use her services. You won`t be disappointed.

Mike

 

[Mike.K 60]

More progress. Images again tell the story.

Its slow and somewhat laborious work but results are coming quickly now. I`m hoping just a couple more weeks of effort will have this model flyable.

The weight excluding tank and cowl is now 8.1Lbs/3.67Kg. The dsigners quoted mass is 4.1Kg so I still have a reasonable margin in hand. The Rx/servo 2600 NiMh battery sits on a 2mm ply plate approximately half way along the fuselage towards the tail. Almost totally inaccesible, it lurkes within the fuselage behind the letter W in the registration G-AWEF. Not perhaps where I would like to see the battery located but helpful in obtaining what I hope will be a lead free C of G position.

So far so good. Anyone got any comments?

Mike

[Mike.K 60]

A little more done.

Cowl, rigging and set up now on the agenda. Its going very well.

It will soon be time to begin the second model...this time fully scratch built with Rothmans colours.

Martin Wood is now about to receive a Stampe plan from Laurent. Its in the post.

Images show were we currently are with this No 1 model....whilst the garage continues to fill towards full capacity!
 

Mike

[Mike.K 60]

I see my last post about the Stampe was on 9th April 2021. Following that I took some time out from this model as I experienced "engineers brain drain" and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the mass of small and intracate details needed to bring the model to completion. The answer was to rest the grey cells on a simple and straight forward ARTF referbishment project. Rob sold me a large but sound, albeit rather tired Pacific Aeromodel Gee Bee Sportster. That took a couple of gentle weeks attention before that was ready to fly and I was ready to continue with the Stampe.

With no more excuses left in the box, I recommenced work on the Stampe. To my joy, the model suddenly progressed quickly and fairly easily again. The rigging wasn`t the faff that I`d envisaged and many other jobs completed in short time. My brain drain was just caused by spending too many hours in succession on this particular Stampe build. Its certainly taken a lot more mental effort than building an ARTF. An ARTF takes the need to "think" away from you and all you really do with one is to bolt it together. A scratch build is totally different with the builder having to make or source every part and make decisions about the construction process. Mentally, too much of that can be very tiring and cause the "brain drain" I experienced.  To restore the grey matter, all I needed was a short break from doing any real thinking. Once rested and refreshed, all went well again. It is difficult to estimate the time needed to build this particular model. If I were to take a stab at the figure, I`d say I`ve spent nothing less than a thousand hours on this build with the engine cowl consuming about 15% of that figure. It was quite an epic which turned out vastly better than I was hoping for! It had to be right........an engine cowl is like looking at a prime part of a nice car. Everyone looks at the bonnet before anything else!! My Fly Baby Bipe build also included a period away from the project. The same fatigue issue occured on that construction.

The hardest part of this build was indeed that engine cowl. With nothing available on the commercial market place, I had little option but to build the cowl from ply and balsa. Mega hours of work went into this item....certainly more than the fuselage which was quite a fast construction by comparison.

Pleasingly I made contact with the owner of the full size G-AWEF via the Headcorn based Stampe Display Team. My email was sent to Angus Buchanan who was sole owner and operator of this particular Stampe. Angus was part of the four aircraft display team which has previously been seen at many UK airshows over recent years. Angus responded quickly to my enquiry mail and showed huge enthusiasm for eventually viewing my model of his aircraft. An invitation was extended to visit Headcorn with the model once the Covid issues were less restrictive and once I had flown and set up the model to my satisfaction. I was well pleased with forming my link with Angus and greatly looked forward to the Headcorn visit. Email correspondance continued reguarly with us both chatting away like old friends about G-AWEF.

Then a thunderbolt dropped on Sunday 9th May 2021. Angus had been flying a practice session with his fellow Stampe Team members when the unthinkable occured. Seemingly Angus had flown through a stalled turn but on exit, the aircraft was seen to drop into a spin at low altitude hitting the ground without making a recovery. Angus died instantly in the Stampe that he owned and loved. News agency images show the Stampe had ploughed into the ground in a nose down attitude causing the airframe to disitigrate to the state of total and irrepairable loss. That Angus should perish in such a terrible way came as a huge shock and upset me greatly. I sent my condolences to the family and to the Stampe Team. I also made direct contact with the Team leader Chris. who thanked me for my concern and reaffermed that in due course, he and the other team members would dearly like to see my model of Angus`s Stampe. Following news of this aircrash, it seemed so strange that I could be talking by email to someone just hours before he parted this life and that my last email would never receive a reply. Fairwell Angus. I`m glad to have made your aquaintance even if only over the internet.

Working on my Stampe felt very hollow having learned of Angus`s passing. That said, I badly felt the need to complete my model as a tribute to Angus and also to G-AWEF. Tonight, is 22nd May 2021 and apart from a few brushfuls of red paint needed as touch up finishing, the model is finished and ready to be test flown. This is likely to happen at the Falcon flying field due to the larger field area available at that location. Fickleshole might be just that bit too small for comfort.

My Stampe C of G is all good with the model weighing in at 9.9Lb/4.49Kg dry. The model weighs 400g/0.8Lb more than the designers prototype. That said, my model doesn`t give the impression of being over-weight when lifted. It still feels "light" given its large mass and 66" wing span. Its only a pound and a half heavier than a 60" ARTF Ultra Stick with a 4500mAh 6S LiPo and it has nearly double the wing area. Watching the video of the designers similarly powered electric prototype, it appears nimble and light on its wings. I`d expect my I/C conversion to perhaps have a little more rough weather "penitration".  Sometimes, that is no bad thing. An over-light model can get seriously blown around in choppy weather. This Stampe is a "stand off" scale rendition to be used for general sport flying. It is not intended to do 3D, race around pylons or otherwise be flown in any othe manner than scale. It has a low air-time vintage, (pre Surpass) rear push rod OS 90FS which I feel to be an appropriate and suitable power plant for the job.

So there it is. One French sourced short kit Stampe built and ready to go. Interestingly, Martin Wood is about to start a build from this same French design and I also have another home traced wood kit ready to build as a Rothmans Team aircraft. Emma jumped the gun and has already cut me the vinyl graphics! Thanks Emma. Another build starting soon then....

The Tiger Club motif presently on the Stampe are trial waterslide transfers. Emma is working on producing a higher quality motif which I hope to see shortly. All these things take time. No pain, no gain, etc, etc, etc.

I`ll add further more atmospheric images to this thread once I get the model outside for a photo session.

Mike

Edited May 22 by Mike.K

[Mike.K 60]

Between the monsoons, I took the Stampe outside for a photo session. It looks much more at home in an open air environment. The colours really start to pop under natural light.

Here are some further images then of the Stampe in the open air.

Emma pinged me to show me here latest Tiger Club motifs. A huge improvement on the experimental water slide transfers. Thanks again, Em!

I`ll add further images once the model gets to the flying field.

Mike

[Mike.K 60]

Just a day after finishing this Stampe and clearing the decks of all the building detrietus, another Stampe build has been started!

This second model will be a rendition of one of the 1970`s Rothmans sponsored aerobatic team aircraft seen so reguarly at airshows of the time. I carefully copied the parts used to construct my model of G-AWEF prior to commencement of this second construction. Two balsa and ply kits were pen marked onto a stack of raw sheet material and then set to one side to await a build once G-AWEF had been completed. I retain one of those copy kits with fellow Croydon member, Martin Wood aquiring the second. Eventually, we might see three Stampe models airborne at the same time.

So as I look towards at least another four month build, my parts cutting has just begun. The balsa bits are easy enough to reproduce but the ply part reproduction even with the help of a decent Draper electric fret saw appears to be quite a daunting undertaking. Inevitably this Rothmans Stampe will take rather more work than build G-AWEF which was of course built up from a basic Guix Model short kit.

I`ll open a separate thread on this second Stampe construction, again within the Scale section of this web site.

As the first model moves towards flying, I`ll continue to update this thread as the fun of test flying commences.

Mike

Edited May 24 by Mike.K
Typo correction.