Don Smith Constellation - finished weight ?

[Tony Newman]

I am shortly to start building a Don Smith Constellation span 11ft 2 ins, Belair having supplied the partial kit and the plans.

The plans give no indication of the finished weight. My concern is whether it will exceed 20 Kg. My hunch is that it will be less than 20Kg simply by comparison with Tony Nijhuis 11ft electric Lancaster which weighed 10.7 Kg (23.5 lbs RCME February 2003).

The other big decision is whether to power it by 4 stroke glowmotor or brushless/ LiPo electric power. Les Eagles has a Don Smith Constellation powered by 4 off SC91 four strokes, built from the Belair Kit, which he flew at Cosford last year and their have been pictures of his model in the model magazines.

I would like to talk to Les Eagles, or any person who is familiar with this model, regarding the weight and one or two other issues but do not have his contact details. If any one is able to supply contact details for Les, it would be much appreciated.

Thankyou,

Tony Newman

[tony hooper]

Alan

We have 2 Don Smith Constellations registered through the Over 20kg scheme.
One came out at 24kg and the other tipped the scales a fraction below 20kg.
It is much safer to register a borderline model in the Over 20kg scheme than get further down the road and find that you will have to "backtrack" to meet the Scheme conditions.
Please send me your details and I will progress it for you. This can be done by E mailing me - th.hooper@btopenworld.com