Hobby People’s
WACO Biplane EP
Two wings and a round engine place this model on top of your “gotta have” sport scale electric list!
PHOTOGRAPHY: LARRY KRUSE I
am a sucker for biplanes. There’s noth- ing like seeing and hearing a plane with two wings and a round radial en- gine take to the air. Every plane with two wings evokes thoughts of aviation’s Golden Age, when beauty of line and the rumble of multi-cylinders made flying more than just a way to get from one place to the other a little faster than before. That’s prob- ably why I have at last count five biplanes in my current model flying stable, each with its own personality, and each contributing in an aesthetic and technological way to its own period state-of-the-art appearance. Those reasons are also probably why the
first announcement and photo of Hobby Peo- ple’s bright red WACO Biplane EP, put it right at the top of my “gotta have” list—and my order went out. To say that the plane is an exact scale replica of any of the WACO planes that have been designed since the original company was founded under the Weaver Aircraft Company name in 1920, would be a stretch. However, it most closely resembles the current YMF series which be- gan being produced by the WACO Classic Aircraft Company in 1986 and is still being produced today. In fact, the company prides itself on the only radial-engined FAA and
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EASA certified open cockpit sport biplanes still being produced. The neat thing about Hobby People’s lat-
est bipe offering, despite the lack of a specific model designation, is that it is unmistakably a WACO in overall looks and appearance, and has just enough scale detail to satisfy the sport or park flyer looking for something a little different. Right down to the wheel pants, rounded rudder shape, and dummy radial engine, the plane will never be mis- taken for anything but a Golden Age WACO by those with some knowledge of the plane. Common reference to the array of the many, many different biplane variations built by the Waco Aircraft Company in Troy, Ohio from 1920 to the late 1940s has fallen to the lower case “Waco” spelling. However, for our purpos- es here we will continue to reference the upper case “WACO” as a tribute to the original acronym for the company name, and because that is the way Hobby People has chosen to market their version. Also, in terms of pro- nouncing the company name and the model, it is “wah-co”, and is not related to the city in Texas, pronounced “way-co”. The airplane name traces its roots both to the company acronym and the Waco Field Airport, close to the city where the company began.
By Larry Kruse
AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span:
Wing area: Airfoil: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Motor: ESC:
Battery:
R/C sport scale biplane foam and plastic
39 inches (top) 35.5 inches (bottom)
454.4 sq. in. flat-bottomed 31 inches 32 ounces
10.1 oz./sq.ft. 2830 900 Kv
30-amp 3S 1500 mAh Li-Po
Radio: Tactic TTX 650 with TR 624 RX Manufacturer:
Hobby People
18480 Bandilier Circle, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 800-854-8471
www.hobbypeople.net MARCH 2014
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