Polikarpov I-16 Ishak RED 21

[ramses]

I first removed the damaged tissue:





Edges lightly sanded and new tissue and dope applied:





Cut out new decals:



Colored the new tissue with the airbrush:



New decals applied:



Made a winding rod and fitted it into Henk's blast tube in the Polikarpov:



Cheers, Ramses

[ramses]

Since i wanted to fly the Polikarpov at the IIFi2025 i had to detail her more. The pilot was made for me by Martin Huk from the Czech Republic, I painted it with Humbrol:



Made a headrest from thin foam and painted it leather-color with Humbrol. Also made a gunsight from thin foam, balsa, and very thin transparent plastic, a venturi from a plastic tube and balsa and painted it black.
And finally a camera holder from paper, balsa, and a thin plastic tube and painted it black:



Ready for the IIFI2025:















Cheers, Ramses

[ramses]

Ready for IIFI2025, all Polikarpov I-16`s:







Cheers

[ramses]

...and then, on to IIFI2025!
Sitting comfortably at one table with Henk (de Jong) and his wife:





Shortly after arriving, I placed my Polikarpov and the documentation on the judging table.
I don't remember who took this photo, but it's a nice shot of the Polikarpov being judged:



...and then...off we go!
At first, the rubber came off the hook again, and I was really fed up with that! So I made a Czech hook after all, and no more loose motors all weekend!



The first rubber motors were too long, and it was a nice "racecar," but it didn't fly...
Back to a short engine, and that worked, enough power for take off now. New rubber motor in the Polikarpov:



I got the idea to remove the landing gear and try a hand toss.
That way I could at least get some flight points.
But then you have to throw the plane properly, of course.

The Polikarpov is difficult to throw (hold) because of the very large wing fairings.
...and, I threw the Polikarpov nose down into the ground...

A perfectly shot photo of this failed hand toss 



During this throw, the 8" propeller broke, and I didn't have a spare 8" 
I walked around and asked, and many propellers were offered to me, but no one had an 8" one.
And the Polikarpov, with its large nose, really needed one. So sadly no more tries... i thought!
Henk suggested gluing the propeller.
Gluing a propeller sounded strange to me, but of course, I was willing to try anything!
Henk surgically glued the broken blade back together, but that wasn't all.
Tissue was applied and even bamboo braces!

A huge thanks to Henk! This allowed me to try two more times!

On the first competition flight, the Polikarpov veered to the left, just barely took off, and then didn't...
One more competition flight (and attempt at all) to go.
The plane needed to climb more, less left rudder, etc. what am I going to do?
It turned out i did too much at once: too much climb and too much right trim.

The Polikarpov took off, climbed too steeply, stalled (?) and rolled to the right, straight into the wall. There was nobody at that wall but the Polikarpov luckely had no damage!!

And then it was over, no more flights for this I-16 at the IIFI2025... Too bad!!
I expected more from myself, but unfortunately, it didn't work out that weekend.

The Polikarpov is still completely intact (except for the prop), and I'll continue to try  until I get the I-16 nicely trimmed in a gym. The IIFI2025 is over, but the trimming and flying of this Polikarpov isn't yet. Until the next update!

Cheers, Ramses

[ramses]

Sunday I took some atmospheric pictures of the Polikarpov I-16 with wintercamo in the snow:









Cheers, Ramses

[ramses]

I also posted the above photos of the I-16 in the snow on Facebook last weekend.
Peter Fardell's response was: "Love it! (Get it on skis and see if it takes off!)"

I thought that was a great idea!!
So last week I made the skis for the I-16.

Two pieces of medium 1.5mm balsa laminated with the curves in them:



Made a 3 view of skis to the scale of my Polikarpov as a guide:



New prop on the noseplug:



Pivot points made of soft balsa with a thin brass axle inside:



Supports also from balsa:



The full balsa ski`s:





I blackened the bottom of the skis with a marker, and painted the top with a thin silver color. I lightly weathered the skis with a dark gray wash:



Clear matt varnish over the ski`s:



Cheers, Ramses

[ramses]

Rubber bands should keep the skis in the correct position during flight:



The Polikarpov was placed at the correct angle and the rubber bands glued in place:



At the rear, thin black wire is added to limit the deflection:



Finished the ski`s, a new prop on the motor plug and a variation of the Czech hook on the prop shaft:



A video of the landing gear operation:

Cheers, Ramses

[ramses]

Unfortunately, there was only snow on the rough fields and the frozen roads today...
There was hardly any snow on the flat grasslands, so I didn't fly today but took some photos:















Waiting for a new fresh layer of snow!

Cheers, Ramses

[OZPAF]

Beautiful craftsmanship Ramses. I'm looking forward to seeing it flying when you have it trimmed.

Good luck.

John

[Piecost]

Stunning build. I feel that this aeroplane is really characterised by its cowling. You really made a crisp job of that. I also liked the canopy frame made on the same plug as the transparency.

Can you share the propeller hook details, that you had problems with?

I wonder I you played the old IL2 flight simulation; that seemed to have every variation of that plane. The artwork makes a good source of skin artwork and instrument panel detail.