Description
Accessories are available through the following vendors and not supplied by LCKA:
Ziroli Plans:
-Fiberglass Inlet Ducting
-3 Gear Scale Retract Set
• Canopy
• Scale Wheel / Tire / Brake Set
• F/G 100 Gal. Wing Tank
• F/G 120 Gal. Wing Tank
-F/G Nose Bowl
The Vampire is an all wood design. This construction method was selected for 2) very simple reasons.
- Wood is the MOST common building material and the skills to work with it have been acquired by the overwhelmingly vast majority of model builders.
- Wood is the least expensive building material for aircraft of this size.
The Vampire airframe was fully constructed for under $200.00 (scratch built from BOM – not the laser wood set) As for the flight qualities of the Vampire, it has proven to be the “Piper Cub” of Turbine powered aircraft. Over the several years of competing my 1/5 scale Vampire, I had not discovered a single issue in the flight envelope that needed correction. It is an excellent off grass airplane which only requires 100 ft. to lift off utilizing an 18# thrust Turbine with a WET ramp weight of 26# ! Once airborne, the throttle setting was reduced to 60% available thrust to conserve fuel while yielding scale like speeds.In an 8 minute round at Top Gun, which includes start and taxi to takeoff, the entire flight round consumed 50 of an available 74 oz. Of fuel !! The reason, the Vampire’s very generous wing area and loading compared to its contemporary Fiberglass lawn darts which fly on the engine and not the wing.
The giant scale Vampire plan set clearly illustrate all structure as well as showing installation of flaps and retracts. The Vampire plan shows the installation of Sierra Giant Scale retracts, servos and turbine engine and features removable wing panels. The basic structures use conventional “modeling” tools and materials such as balsa and plywood, and the techniques are straightforward; easily accomplished by anyone with previous model building experience. There are many online building threads at www.rcuniverse.com forums and www.rcscalebuilder.com forums for Kerry Sterner’s plans. The plan includes full-size templates for all the required parts allowing you to cut a complete “kit” before you start construction. The plans have a separate instruction guide and building notes on the plans. If you choose gear or an engine not shown on the plans you should have them on hand when you start construction to make any changes needed for mounting. Nick Ziroli Plans recommends covering the airframe with 1 oz fiberglass cloth and ZAP Z-poxy finishing resin. Nick Ziroli Plans has building and scale accessories available for the Vampire.
