The Nemesis

I'm certainly not good at silk, I like it's strength. I really wasn't happy with the wood quality of the kit. If your making a combat model, strength is important. There's a lot to be said about the older die cut kits. I'm really not a fan of the laser kits. Charred edges don't take glue well and the wood selection is always punky.

Well now this looks real interesting, I'm gonna be following along on this build for sure..Do post dumpster carnage pics!

Nice looking start to the build Ken nice combat lines.
As always good tips and advide for others building; The dowells for the engine mounts and the cable from the mounts to the bellcrank or pinnining the engine mounts to the bellcrank platform make great sense. With all the pull tets and such things can fail still and its only a containment strategy that stops it becoming free! Great idea and advice.
Look foward to the rest of the build.

GaryB
'Yabby'

Built and flew a couple of those Nemesis back in the day. Really a great combat design and flyer. All mine used Super Tigres . My last Fox powered ship was a Big Iron with a .35X with the needle bearings.
                                                                         Mike1484

Hi Ken,

That Nemasis is a nice looking plane.

I was looking at old plans and came across,
Wiley Wooten's original Voodoo. Looking at the plans, it scares me ! Just looking at the plans !
I have some OSFX.25s, that have only tasted a bit of %25nitro.
9-4 prop at +16K, with muffler easy. Is this anywhere close to the hp you run on these planes?

I thought Combat pilots were somehow far superior at flying those 'twitchy' planes....
Now I learn,
Get the CG right,
Mere mortals,
Might have a chance...
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Dave, the Voodoo is pretty old school. I built a nice one for vintage combat a few years back powered with a BB G.21/.35 Super Tiger.The Voodoo was effective for it's time. It slows a bit in the corners, Riley's Sneaker in my opinion flew much better. The Voodoo was designed for .35's using a hard tank. Not very long after it's introduction came the .35X and .36X's which ran better using pacifiers. The Voodoo has a fairly thin airfoil and this is when the pods were being placed onto the wing to allow room for the pacifiers. I've managed to get a rocket tube inside of mine and I've extended the booms.

As for the OS FX .25, that's a powerful .25. I use them in speed limit combat but our speed limit is 75 mph. I use the FX .25 with a 8x4 prop and a necked down venturi but it still becomes a handful to tame it into the speed limit. I have a few fast combat planes in which as told to me initially is that the FX .25 weighs the same as the Nelson .36. Use the FX to trim out your fast and using it on 52' lines will offer near same speed as the Nelson. The New England combat flyers fly a different form of speed limit combat in which is 80 mph. The FX works very well for this.

In addition, the cost of the FX is or I should say was quite high. The Magnum XLS .25 is a direct copy of that engine which cost less and I found it to be superior to the OS. Currently, I have 4 FX .25's with the liners that have peeled. Now, they're still running but probably not 100%. The piston liners for the FX's are quite expensive. The other problem with running ball bearing engines is if you stuff it in the ground. You can't just fire up a ball bearing engine without totally screwing it up. A bushed engine just requires a quick syringe flush whereas a BB engine needs to be taken apart and flushed.

I also did the extended boom thing with the Voodoo, it helped but the Sneaker was a better flyer. I used the ST. Combat and the ST G21 .35 on them. Also built and flew the Demon, the Raunchy, and a bunch of local designs. Everyone was going high aspect ratio crazy and even though they turned tight with good speed retention they were a bit fragile. The Nemesis was stronger and had a superb airfoil. Some of the Fox combat engines had drive washers that looked like a cup that covered over the front bearing. It helped keeping dust out of the bearing and keeping the string from the streamers from tangling in the front bearing / drive washer area.
        Mike1484

Hi Ken,
I learned allot, from your post,
Thanks.
I have seen the F2Ds go at the Balsa Beaver field. Scares me.
No way I could fly with them. (I like watching!)
I also do not like 'level laps' between 'stunts' in a Stunt contest.
I like just a sport flight. If I try a cloverleaf, it will be mid tank.
I agree on the MagXLS.25. The Mag XLS.15 is a beauty too.
We ran 15% on our OSFX.25s. Never saw a liner peel.
Most got 'dirtnapped' too!
I am curious,
How much more power does one of your 'big block' .35/.40s put out,
To an OSFX.25 @9-4 and ~16K. ?
Twice as much?

I am looking for a 36in span, .25 power, 60ft line 'Sport Flyer'...
I am learning about CL Combat wings,
And, I like it...
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Hey Dave. Try to get one of those F2D planes off the guys. I keep getting broken ones for free. It is the same guys that go to Toronto and Dresden. The 80 mph combat on 60 ft lines they use a .25 like Ken. The F2D is a .15. I have one of the Fora .15s and it is great, just slightly out of control, the way I like it. They go very well with an LA .15 and even better with the blue head XLS .15 on 52 ft. lines. I just fly them by myself. The guys are pretty serious and intimidating for beginners to just jump in now. I was spectating at the combat matches in the mid 1970s when I flew speed, and these are the same guys now with more practise. They are great guys though and will help you if you want it. The F2D planes are much better flyers than the stuff from the 1950s, and don't always break when you stuff them into the ground. (midairs go to powder) There is also the Russian/Ukranian 1/2A models too that are more modern than the old stuff. Also a foam one from the US if the guy is still making them. He is still active, but is a bit older than me I think. The Yuvenkos are ARFs and about $50. Things are thrown off now but there may be some separate ones you can get from the guys, not just a pack of ten. Alan

aspeed wrote:Hey Dave.  Try to get one of those F2D planes off the guys.  I keep getting broken ones for free.  It is the same guys that go to Toronto and Dresden.  The 80 mph combat on 60 ft lines they use a .25 like Ken.  The F2D is a .15.  I have one of the Fora .15s and it is great, just slightly out of control, the way I like it.  They go very well with an LA .15 and even better with the blue head XLS .15 on 52 ft. lines. I just fly them by myself.  The guys are pretty serious and intimidating for beginners to just jump in now.  I was spectating at the combat matches in the mid 1970s when I flew speed, and these are the same guys now with more practise.  They are great guys though and will help you if you want it.  The F2D planes are much better flyers than the stuff from the 1950s, and don't always break when you stuff them into the ground. (midairs go to powder) There is also the Russian/Ukranian 1/2A models too that are more modern than the old stuff.  Also a foam one from the US if the guy is still making them.  He is still active, but is a bit older than me I think.  The Yuvenkos are ARFs and about $50.  Things are thrown off now but there may be some separate ones you can get from the guys, not just a pack of ten. Alan

Man Id love to lay hands on one of those Yuvenko 1\2a wings..think anybody might have one at Toledo?

Hi Alan(aspeed)
All the CL Combat people I have met, are really great.
I figured that they all have magical wrists, that can somehow get a 'twitchy' plane to fly straight.
I am learning here, that a CL Combat plane might be fun to fly, just for fun.
The F2D engines do scare me, (in a very strange hypnotic way...)
Balsa Beaver field is over an hour away.
Dresden is a camping trip, on my bucket list.
I get all the new 'tech' stuff...
I have some balsa that needs building...
A local 'speed shop', can get me nitro and methanol. BeNol is easy.
I am half the way there...
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Toledo may have something in the swap area. I got a foam 1/2A one and an old foam slow combat there. Some Toronto guys sleep over at the Beanfield. I did a couple times to test out the bed in the van, and save the 1 1/4 hr drive. How much and where is this nitro? Once in a while the old fast combats go. Never really seen a match, but let go of one with a Nelson. Pretty noisy. I really think the F2D ones may be as much fun. I ran an old style K&B .40 on a slow combat and thought it was pretty good. Lots of pull and seemed fast for two flights, then powder.

Hi aspeed,

No price on the nitro/meth yet. Off season.
Need to find glass containers.
Used in one of the Kart racing classes, I believe...
Dave

As of the other day, I completed the covering. This has consumed a lot of dope. There's probably close to 10-11 coats on it now with at least another 2 needed. I covered the wing first with a reinforced silkspan. I have no idea what this stuff is but it's hard to tear. I did it for two reasons, one being the effect, the other is that it would assist in filling the weave of the silk. It now has made this wing a flying battering ram. The wing can hardly flex when trying to twist. This concerns me a bit in the event I have to do a little heat and warping. In addition, I see due to switching to taughtening dope that the leading edge is starting to "Horse starve". Hopefully when I switch to Sig Lite Coat it somewhat helps the shrinking subside. I used plasticizer in the dope. The leading edge and nacelle will be black as well as the tail booms.

            I replaced the stab due to the wood being the crappiest stuff I ever seen. This somewhat puzzles me because kit manufacturers must think many of us are naive. I may have mentioned this above. The last thing you want is a stab that's going to cup due to improper wood selection. It's a combat plane which means it could possibly be subjected to a prop strike. You want dense and hard in this application.  My father built a Jr.Nobler in and around 1962, I have some of the yellow silk left from this build. I covered the tail with it. I found this silk to be much more friendly in terms of covering than the pink which I received a few years back. It sanded clean and didn't rack when laying it onto the piece. The pink was a nightmare as it would pull in every direction.

       The silkspan underneath has some reinforcing fibers within it

Love how it turned out Ken!….Modern tech and materials have their place but old school is just classy… Smooth….Colors go great as well….. Good job sir!!!

What do you think is in that silkspan I read where the silk in made from plant fibers , didn't know that but that looks like a kind of glass fiber ? It has a funk look but strong look too .

My son said that the silkspan uses natural fibers. I will say it fairly good strength dry. When it was wet, I had to be careful. When it was doped, I could bounce stuff off it. This has been a neat project and I can't wait to see it fly. I always wanted to build one. It somewhat reminds me a little of the Midwest Matador. I've owned 3 Matadors. I have one kit left and I think it's calling me. Props for my Combat Specials are becoming harder to find.

What props did they use? I thought an 8-8. Should be an APC that size, unless fiberglass ones were the thing later on. I might want to try a .40 on a slow combat plane that has been sitting around for a number of years, and might need a guideline for a prop. Isn't silkspan made from cotton?

A 8x8 is a bit much and it really loads the engine. I had a bunch of Rev-Up 8 1/2 x 7 and 8 1/2 x 6 props which are all wood. They tend to break every now and then. I'm on my last few. The problem with the APC is that they don't make the correct size hub on the 8x8 or the 8x6 for this engine. I believe the big hub is the D-2 which is found on the 7.8x6. I use that prop but they discontinued the original shape and now offer a real thin version which doesn't work as well. Master Airscrew is out because of the reliefs on the back of the hub. I was using a sport version APC 8x8 on the engine I'm putting on this plane and it threw a blade. The crankshaft broke and it went on a very spectacular shaft run. I contacted APC in regards to this and they assured me that the prop I was using was well within the rpm limits of my engine. However, they did say they can't control ground strikes. I can assure you I didn't hit the ground ever and not even landing. One needs to look at the prop after flying. The blades develop white stress marks because the blade is pulling off of the hub.

Finally, decent weather to get some spraying done. I got the black trim on the Nemesis, the stab received multiple clear coats over the yellow silk. Looking forward to getting it in the air.
                           

Paint came out Nice she is shiny !