De Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth Doppeldecker 1400mm Laser Cut Balsa Kit

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Very ok...

Apr 24, 2021

Small expensive, good quality.
Attenction... for expert builder!

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DE HAVILLAND DH82A TIGER MOTH BIPLANE 1400MM LASER CUT BALSA

Feb 05, 2021

have not build yet but kit looks ok

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DE HAVILLAND DH82A TIGER MOTH BIPLANE 1400MM LASER CUT BALSA (KIT)

Feb 05, 2021

still have in box

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Good kit manual not so

Jan 28, 2021

Good kit. Manual could use some updating, now it is not always clear what to do. Beginner will have some difficulty building the model.

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Instructions

Jan 25, 2021

Terrible instructions, several extra parts that don't seem to go anyplace.

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pretty good

Jan 02, 2021

Goes together well . Some fiddly bits. MAKE SURE you have the wing tips round the correct way , look at a full size plane . they are incorrect on the original plan . Also add 72 1/2 ribs as they are on a real plane , it looks a lot better. The U/C was TOO big on the original kit , it may have been corrected.

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Flight Review

Apr 16, 2019

After months of procrastinating I finally took it out for its maiden as the weather was perfect. Power is a 650 KV outrunner, swinging a 12x6 prop with 4 cell Zippy. Even with lead added to the front of the cowling and a 4 cell full forward she was slightly tail heavy with the CG coming at the trailing edge of the upper wing fuel tank. However, I was able to compensate in flight with down elevator trim. It flies very scale like and you can really slow it down without falling to earth. This is great on final approach as it glides in and lands so slowly just like the real deal in scale. The 650 KV gives enough power on full throttle for loops, Cuban eights, rolls, etc. It really does perform so much like the full size aircraft in miniature. Since the maiden flights I've added more weight up front and cut out the firewall bulkhead so I can slide the battery right up behind the motor. I referenced other Tiger Moth plans from Outer Zone and the CG is supposed to be ahead of the trailing edge of the upper wing fuel tank. The CG is now about 25 - 30 mm ahead of the wing tank's trailing edge and seems about right. In hind sight, when building, I wish I'd lightened the after fuselage and tail assembly by adding more lightening holes and substituting balsa where possible. This would have reduced the need for so much nose trim ballast.

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Looks good after extensive kit bashing

Jul 06, 2018

OK, she's done and have posted some pics before maiden flight. Files are titled Making it more scale_1, 2, etc. Quite happy with final result. Funny how it's listed at an all time low price now but is of course "out of stock". Seems to be the way with all the good deals.

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Flys well

Apr 22, 2018

Built this kit now and it flys well. Done all the mods ( new u/c, new wheels, wing tips reversed, 72 1/2 ribs added etc ) , I also added aerofoil shape to the fin and tail which improves the look . Elec power NTM prop drive 4248 650 kv on a 4 cell. 12x8 prop. There is a Mk2 version coming out with smaller wheels BUT still the oversize u/c ! and the wing tips still the wrong way round ! Still good value if you are a little patient .

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I guess for the price you have to grin and bear it.

Mar 30, 2018

I generally don't review until I've actually flown the plane in question but this time I'm making an exception as the main discussion really needs to address the build. Anyway, it seems to fly quite well on YouTube. I'm about 80% through the build and let me advise you that you are going to experience many WTF and oh sh*t moments as you try to second guess what the designers had in mind. And I've been building flying models since about 1960. Firstly, there are no instructions per se, just a series of semi-sequential illustrations that leave a lot of guess work. It would be so helpful to have even a few explanatory notes at critical points along the assembly. For example, just wait until you go to hang the ailerons and find that a piece should have been assembled to inside the rear wing spar BEFORE attaching the ribs. And what designer of a reputable kit would provide plywood ribs and balsa spars? While on that topic it would be nice if the ratio of balsa to ply was reversed so you ended up with a reasonably light airframe. But I guess ply is a lot cheaper, thus keeping the kit price very low and making it somewhat of a bargain. Anyway, I'm persevering and kit bashing to get closer to scale. For example, I've made my own true to scale wing tips, fabricated and added the 72 nose ribs, and I'll probably do something with the interplane struts too. Of course, the landing gear just has to go into the bin. I previously built the 36 inch Monocoupe and thought this bigger Moth would be easier but I honestly believe you'd be better off building a quality kit the traditional way on a set of plans or even downloading plans from Outer Zone and scratch building. It might even be quicker. However, all that said, you do get a lot of wood for your money and if you stick with it and do some mods you should end up with a decent big aircraft. However, I think this will be the last click together kit I build no matter how good the precision of the laser cutting.