Lamson and Billy Wiggins were flying rudder only
version of the Prototype Boeing fighter. A late in the
war design it never made it into service due to the
unavailability of the intended turbo prop engines. The
appeal of this plane for 2610 scale combat, besides its
pleasing lines, is the 54 inch wingspan and ease of
construction.
with a Norvel, mousse can, one full size servo, a micro and a mini, 280 Mah pack and Hitec
555 receiver. It will be lightened to be legal for the Nationals.
It has not yet been flown but with the S8052 airfoil is should fly fine. The fuse and wings are
both made from Dow Highload 40 foam. The wings are covered with ripstop nylon, the fuse
has four graphite rods and is covered with .75 ounce glass cloth.
This has been a fun project and I can't wait to get it in the air.
It had about seven full flights on it by the time the Nats started. In round one of Scale it mid-aired with one of
Mike Bohlmann's TA152s. Although the aerial impact damage was slight the blow knocked off the wing and
the fuse lawn darted in. If the wing had been tethered the plane could probably have flown in the next round.
After making repairs to it on Saturday it flew four rounds on Sunday. In these four rounds I scored three times
more points than in the previous six. One round was a 440.
The big plane is very easy to see in the sky. It is slower than the smaller planes but it turns so tight and is so
easy to fly that the speed disadvantage may be in fact an advantage for me and my 50 year old reflexes. I
know I could follow, pursue and cut Dr. Evil with this plane and I've never been able to do that with any of my
others.
The big plane is so easy to fly that it allows me to look both ahead of and behind at all times. Many times I set
up a circuit in the middle of the furball and would only come out when a target of opportunity was close by.
In the final four rounds I mid-aired someone and knocked off their rudder without even bobbling; flew into
Victor Cherneski's Hurricane and only broke my prop; and then TBoned AJ's KI and only suffered a slightly
skewed wing while his plane lost its elevator and suffered a badly bent fuse from the crash.
I have another XF8B about 60% done so hopefully there will be two of them at Waverly in September.
Click here for the XF8B CNC Laser Cut Kit