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| DJ Aerotech
Makers of the Finest, High Performance Electrics & Sailplanes! |
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![[ROADKILL WORLD WAR I SERIES FOKKER DR1 TRIPLANE]](roadkill_ww1_img/rk_dr1.jpg) |
And why did we call them ROADKILL???? They are just plain flat! ;-)
Its late August 1917, your in the seat of Camel, the smell of castor oil fills the cockpit while your silk scarf trails out behind.
To your right the beagle flies the other Camel, far below is the Ypres sector and the day seems quiet so far. Suddenly, from
behind you hear spruce cracking, ripping fabric, and a rather odd shaped triplane piloted by Voss dives to your left. What could
it be???
Certainly, DJ Aerotech wouldn't release the Camel without a Fokker DR-1 Triplane to battle against. Together with the Camel,
the DR-1 was the supreme dog-figher of the Great War. Its short wingspan coupled with large area gave the Triplane an exceptional
rate of climb and maneuverability.
Building the Triplane is not too difficult. On the Camel and Jenny the wing struts are designed to act as a jig to
get the wings properly aligned, but the single struts used on the Triplane don't lend themselves to this technique.
Instead we include a laser-cut cardboard jig that holds all three wings in alignment while you glue in the struts
and the fuselage.
Flight times for typical sport flying with my Triplane (the red one in the photos on our website) including some dogfights
with Joe's Camel usually run somewhere around 5 minutes or so, on a good quality 7-cell 120 mah NiMH battery. Roll rate is
very good, and turning radius is very tight (10 ft. dia. turns are pretty normal), pretty much like you'd expect from a
Triplane. The flights aren't hugely long, but for such a nimble and responsive airplane they're plenty long enough.
I haven't clocked it precisely, but cruising speed seems to be a little slower than the WW II warbird RK models,
probably about 10 to 11 mph. I've flown it in my back yard, in a basketball court and in a golf dome and it's very
comfortable in all of those venues. It seems to handle wind and turbulence surprisingly well, up to about 8 knot winds,
maybe a little more. The Triplane doesn't retain energy terribly well (too many extra wings hanging out in the breeze),
so you need power and/or altitude for aerobatics. It will do a fairly nice loop with the right technique, and
does respectable barrel rolls, whip stalls and hammerhead turns and wingovers ("bridges" for you Brits).
I really wasn't sure what to expect the first time I flew the Triplane, and I ended up being very pleasantly
surprised. It does have its quirks, but nothing like I expected, and nothing that required any unusual amount
of flying skill. I would not recommend it as a trainer, but any reasonably proficient sport flyer should do fine.
It's overall handling is really quite delightful, its appearance in flight is quite impressive (it always gets
lots of attention from the spectators at the golf dome in Ft. Wayne), and it quickly became one of my favorite
indoor/backyard models. Of course I might be just a little biased... ;-)
If you do have a prang or two, this airplane seems to handle it very well. The wings and struts of the Jenny, Camel and
Triplane really stiffen up the whole structure, and those short noses are good for buckling strength as well. Overall,
these three are all very durable.
Believe it or not, Don has a long post in our ASK Joe and Don section of our website specifically on the Triplane. For anything
and everything about the Tripe, Please read his post.
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| Triplane Specifications |
| Wingpan |
Length |
Weight |
Wingloading |
# Servos |
Battery |
Price |
| 17.7" |
14.9" |
3.4oz (RTF) |
4.3oz/sq.ft |
2 |
250mah LIPO |
$72.95 |
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***The Fokker DR-1 should NOT be flown with a larger battery than the 120mah NiMH.
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| Kit Highlights! |
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Electric (MPS-2A) motor with gear reduction included! |
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Propeller and spinner are included! |
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Highly prefabricated for very short building times! |
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Laser cut wood parts for an accurate fit! |
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3 - Functions; Rudder, Aileron and Elevator. |
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Complete and accurate plans and building instructions! |
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Click HERE
to see a sample kit!!!
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What is needed to complete the kit!
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Two servos. Such as the Pico, MX-30 or HS-50 |
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A lightweight receiver. Such as GWS-R4P |
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Electronic speed controller & Battery Eliminator Circuit.
Such as Castle Creations "Pixie 7P" |
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7 cell NIMH Battery pack of 120 mah size cells. |
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Medium & Thin CA Glue |
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Building Tools, for example: (Knife, wire snips, needle nose, waxed paper,
soldering iron, X-acto knife, sanpaper, screwdrivers & tape for hinges) |
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DJ Aerotech carries the necessary items to complete your Roadkill kit. Please check
out the Accessories page. We offer a suitable Receiver, Electronic Speed Control
/ Battery Eliminator Circuit (ESC / BEC), Battery Packs, Charger and several Servos for the DJ Aerotech Roadkill models. |
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Photos
Click on thumbnail to enlarge image.
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| IMPORTANT BATTERY INFORMATION |
We are receiving numerous E-mails related to problems flying our Roadkill kits. In every case it is an weight issue
related to using a battery pack too large for the kit. We can't STRESS enough the proper sized battery pack should be used in all
the Roadkill kits. Larger packs WILL yield undesirable flight characteristics. For each of our Roadkill models we post a recommended
NiMH or LI-Poly battery size. These batteries packs have been extensively tested and proven to provide a flyable model based on the
stock motor configuration.
The Li-Poly battery packs MUST be charged with a charger designed to charge Li-Poly battery packs.
(For example: The Apache LiPoly Charger) Failure to do so could result with the battery pack (basement / garage etc...)
catching fire. Also make sure your ESC is compatible with a Li-poly pack, in particular that the cutoff voltage is correct.
The Castle Creations Pixie 7-P is our preferred choice for this.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE... If you have any questions at all about what is the best battery for your model, don't hesitate to send an
e-mail to Joe or Don.
| Do you have more questions?
Check out the ASK J & D section on Roadkill models. |
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