Hi Milton,
I know you are not in the habit of accepting individual requests, but would you ever consider sticking the Tri-motor Avia 51 on floats, or fitting the Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs on the tri-motor? The inline tri-motor would be an awesomely fast aircraft, I think you would agree, and the 3-motor-floater would look awe-inspiring with it's massive floats - it would give some extra grunt on take-off, I am sure!
Craig.
Hi Craig
Thanks for your interest in the "floaters". The Avia 51 could be done fairly easily; the "souped up" 3-engine Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs on the tri-motor is another story. Assuming that you could overlook a few of the major structural weaknesses of the aircraft and its light weight, having 1800 HP on this aircraft would be a fairly challenging project with all the model changes and all new flight model. Speeds achieved with those large floats and light aircraft could present an interesting FM challenge as well.
Wow, thanks Sir Milton for the lovely Avia. Took it up for a flight, beautifully made and nice to fly. Does it normally take off with the tailwheel down? I just couldn't get the tail up and it lifts off all three wheels easily while rolling on takeoff.
The aircraft are powerful for their weight. I tested various T/O scenarios but preferred this setup best overall for all phases of flight. Because of the low stall speeds, low takeoff speeds are the norm and the result is a 3-point takeoff.