For those that complain about the Alfa's - surface turning radius

[novagator]

I think I firgured out why they take a country mile to turn (at least in model form) Every one I have seen is trimmed wrong. Everyone has their Alfa perfectly horizontal, but all the real Alfas run tail heavy, where the waterline comes almost to the top of the top rudder. I kept looking at the photos and wondered why they always had their bows up so high and the tails so low in the water.

Now the fun part, how do you trim the boat to be tail heavy on the surface but run perfectly horizontal underwater, that way it will turn on the surface.

Check out the photos on Tim's site.

http://www.rc-submarines.com/id102.htm

[bcliffe]

This will probably make some

This will probably make some folks cringe, but here is some advice that Jim Butt provided to me for my 1/96 scale Alfa that I have been slowly working on.

snip
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If you haven't done so yet, I STRONGLY suggest that you convert the lower rudder to "full flying", and not shrouded as the prototype. Prior to doing this, the boat would not turn. I mean not at all. I cut the "shroud" from the hull, and made it part of the rudder. Left the lines in it, so when on display it looked correct, but now I could actually run the boat!
<----
end snip

I have made the mod as described, but the boat won't be seeing water till next year so I can not provide you with an outcome.

Cheers
BC

[novagator]

yeah that is one solution

yeah that is one solution

[bob the builder]

I've got that same thing

[color=#000000]I've got that same thing planned for my 1]

[sam reichart]

I'm not sure if it

I'm not sure if it was luck or what, but my 1/72 Thor ALFA turned on a dime underwater. It ran with a 4 amp hr battery and a WTC 3.5. True, on the surface it carved a fairly wide circle. But man, it was sweet underwater. Isn't that where we're supposed to be most of the time anyway?

[novagator]

I'm not sure if it

I'm not sure if it was luck or what, but my 1/72 Thor ALFA turned on a dime underwater. It ran with a 4 amp hr battery and a WTC 3.5. True, on the surface it carved a fairly wide circle. But man, it was sweet underwater. Isn't that where we're supposed to be most of the time anyway?

True true

[Scale Shipyard / WLU]

Hi Guys]

[color=#000000]Hi Guys]