Falco Models

Falco Model Drawings

After many requests, we are making some drawings available for model airplane builders. These are our first attempt, and we will add more drawings as time permits.

M1.pdf
Inboard profile

M2.pdf
Fuselage contours

Please let me know what additional information is needed.

Alfred Scott
alfred@seqair.com

Jerry Bates Plans

Many years ago, Bob Sweitzer produced a set of drawings for a 1/4 scale Falco model and offered the drawings for sale. The rights for the drawings have been sold to Jerry Bates, of Mobile, AL. Information on the plans are at:

http://www.scaleaero.com/jbpfalco.htm

Jerry Bates Plans
102 Glenwood St.
Mobile
AL 36606
(251) 478-6720
jerrybates@comcast.net

Many thanks to Craig Linqvist for providing us this information.

Kit Cutters Kits

Kits for models built from the Jerry Bates Plans, listed above.

http://www.kitcutters.com/Bat/BatSuperFalco.htm

Kit Cutters, Inc.
(714) 962-8100
kitcutters@kitcutters.com

I have enjoyed reading about the Falco from your website and brochures, and I am seriously considering building one. In the mean time I decided to put together a paper model of the Falco to hang above my computer for inspiration. Perhaps other Falco aficionados would like to share these so I am including the pdf files which you can post to your web site if you would like to. The pdf files are suitable for printing from a color ink jet printer or a color laser. I use Elmer's white glue to glue the paper pieces together. The real trick to putting the model together is learning how to form the paper using the sharp edge of a table. Use as little glue as possible - the glue makes the paper wrinkle. Pour some glue out on a sheet of paper and then use a tooth pick or an unfolded paper clip to apply the glue. I only had the three views from your brochure to go on, so the bottom surfaces, wing fairing and canopy aren't quite right. I glue a 1.5 gram lead shot weight in the nose to get the cg to the right place.

The drawings were done using Illustrator 8.0 -- I don't have WildTools yet...

With these drawings you can lower the cost of owning a Falco to free and reduce the building time to two hours. Imagine how much more business you can drum up... Let me know what you think.

Sincerely yours,
Ernie Brock
erniebro@pacbell.net

Adobe Acrobat PDF Files
Red Falco Model     Blue Falco Model

It never occurred to us that we would ever have a page like this in our website, but when we received this from Ernie Brock, it was love at first sight. If anyone else has something like this to contribute, please email that sucker toot sweet!

Alfred Scott

Davide Aldini is offering a 1:32 scale resin model of the Falco for $220.00 each. Contact him at l.aldini@ri.tws.it or visit his website at http://utenti.tripod.it/aldini

Italian Models

Airplanes, that is. If any of your cohort cares, there's a company called Pacific Coast Models that specializes in scale models of Italian aircraft.

www.pacmodels.com

I'll bet you could even find an SF-260, though Falco's are rare. Mike Jerram sent me a Belgian Falco kit, 1:72 scale, some time ago. (I normally work in 1:48 scale, occasionally 1:32.) Jerram and I are crazed scale modelers -- he's <really> good--but probably nobody else is...

Stephan Wilkinson

Nothing to do with the Falco, but if you would like to see some other interesting things made of wood in Italy, check out Bartolucci or one of their stores in Italy.

Quarter-scale Falco model by John Shenk

Falco Profile SP
by John Shenk 

My interest in the Falco began in early 1980 when I published the first Falco quarter scale article in the February 1984 issue of Model Airplane News.  From that article, Robert Sweitzer produced a very authentic and detailed set of drawings of the quarter scale model.  I still have that model today.  Since that time I became very interested in RC pattern flying.  Although I never became a proficient pattern flyer, I decided last year to build my rendition of the aerobatic quarter scale Falco pattern plane.  Today there are numerous quarter scale pattern planes for modelers to choose from.  Most of them are almost ready to fly (ARF) with just a few evenings of work to get them flying.  I decided to develop my scratch built quarter scale Falco Profile SP (Super Pattern) model, in the picture above, around these popular planes like the Extra, CAP, Edge, and Yak.

I planned to keep as much of the Falco profile as possible.  This included the body, the wing, fin/rudder, and stab/elevator.  They are nearly the same shape and dimensions as the original full scale Falco.  I did, however, make the body narrower for a single pilot and longer for smoother performance.  To improve aerobatic performance, I used a NACA 0015 airfoil, larger ailerons, reduced dihedral, and squared the wing and stab/elevator tips.  I made the body more box shaped for easier construction and turned the design into a tail-dragger to save weight rather than a tricycle retractable landing gear.  The nose is a little large behind the spinner to cover the Bisson muffler.  The resulting final design came out beautifully and weighed only 13 lbs.  Anyone that knows the Falco recognizes this plane as a Falco even with all of these changes to improve its aerobatic performance.  

My drawings for the model are not of professional quality but were adequate for me to build the plane, and I have a complete list of materials.  I would be glad to share the plans with anyone interested.  If there was enough interest I might be able to find a professional draftsman to produce higher quality drawings.  The plane is a joy to fly if you are a Sunday flyer or a pattern professional.  It will fly any routine the pilot is capable of doing according to my test pilot Elwood Struble.  Even 3D maneuvers are possible with high throw rates.  Because of its lightweight, the plane will be easy to convert to the new electric power systems that are becoming more popular every day.  For more information, my e-mail address is jsshenk@adelphia.net.

Falco Profile SP Quarter Scale Specifications

Wing length = 80 in                                                   Stab/elevator area = 233 sq in
Wing cord = 17.5 in                                                   Fin height top to bottom of fuselage = 15 in
Wing tip = 9.0 in                                                        Rudder width = 6 in bottom 4 in top
Wing area = 1060 sq in                                              Rudder area = 70 sq in
Body max width = 8.0 in                                           Weight = 13 lbs.
Body length - tip of rudder to spinner tip = 72 in.      Wing weight per sq ft. = 1.75 lbs.
Stab tip width = 2.25 in body width = 4.25 in.           Engine = O.S. 1.60
Elevator tip width = 3.25 in body width = 5.25 in.    Static thrust = 15 1⁄2 lbs
Stab length = 31 in                                                     Muffler = Bisson pit style

 

Falco Three-View

Here is a three-view drawing of the Falco.