"The Almost Wright 1903 isn't a scale model, just a replica which means most knowledgeable people will recognize the inspiration and complain about the execution. Some of the rest may think you are a scale genius, but what do they know? Most people will just wonder why you bothered.
Size is 13" span, weight about 6 grams. The model flies like any other A frame twin pusher, which is to say easily adjusted, climbs well, glides like a stone. This one has an even worse L/D than your usual A frame TP due to all the extra struts and wings hanging out. It needs big motors to make up for the extra drag (3/32 - 1/8 tan... for a 6 gram airplane) but it's a sport airplane, not a duration competition machine, so who cares?
I usually use motors about the same length as the motor stick, and wind them to 1250 turns max. (breaking is closer to 1500) because I don't want to tear off a wing or stab with a broken motor. Winding requires a funny stooge or a real helper to hold the props as you stretch wind from the front. I use a converted egg beater in Twin Pusher tradition, but you have more flexibility if you wind one motor at a time. Then you can use different numbers of turns on each side to manage launch turn pattern. With 1250 turns you should get around 45 to 55 seconds. The things will thermal in spite of the awful L/D because they are so light. Number 1 went OOS several years ago. I still have numbers 2 and 3 because I am careful of the air I launch into.
Like the real Wright flyer, this one is unstable if you put the cg too far back the way the Wright brothers did. A cg around 1/4 inch in front of the wing will give you a nice docile model and the stab incidence on the plan will match this cg location. If you put the cg back where the WBs did, your model will be viciously unstable in pitch. it's a real wonder they were able to keep the 1903 Flyer right side up for 59 seconds.
Good flying with replicas for another century at least"
Dick Baxter
This looks like a fun project, and something that can be put together pretty quickly. Thanks for sharing Dick.
Thayer
