Tom Wolf's 1/5 Scale Mosquito

[@mosquitofbvi]

Thank you Ben for a really outstanding video production. I am just blown away by the effort you put into this really fine clip. By the way, for those who may notice two items deparing the plane about 2 seconds apart at around the 16 minute mark, those were the right hand landing gear doors from both sides of the plane. Post flight examination revealed less than adequate hinge attachment to the door. This has since been corrected for all four gear doors, with no further problems.

[@BenStrasser]

FOR ALL OF TOM'S FANS, TOM RECENTLY JOINED THE SCALE EVENT IN WANATCHEE WASHINGTON AND ...... FIRST PLACE EXPERT. HIGH POINT WINNER RESULTING IN TAKING HOME THE 2012 NW SCALE CHAMPION TROPHY, BEST MULTI-ENGINE, AND BEST OF SHOW. OUR CONGRATULATIONS TOM. #1 BUILDER AND PILOT!

[@bigbob1699]

A work of art and a thing of beauty ! Please don't ever break it.

[@SICMRR]

Wow a real craftsman always impressed with a build like this and the dedication that goes into it, I live vicariously threw builders like this as I know I could not do it, well done and a crowning achievment for 2 years of work.

[@davidzamora4423]

You did fantastic job on that aircraft!! I have never seen anybody build an aircraft like this!!

[@cmoulder14]

Sorry to hear of Mr Wolf's illness and I hope he's faring well. Beautiful project and a great test flight by someone who knows how a scale model should fly. The Mosquito was always one of my favorites as the "star" of the old movie "The Guns of Navaronne" and is one of my motivations to get involved in the RC hobby a little over 15 years ago. Currently scratch building a Kraft "Kwik Fli" so I will have at least a smidgen of the satisfaction the Mr Wolf felt upon completing this magnificent model.

[@evilelf5967]

Built a few models in my time,but that mozzie is perfectly executed.congrats on an awesome creation.

[@mosquitofbvi]

@maebnus46: No flaps on take off, full flaps (40 deg) for the landing, deployed on downwind. Pulled the power back to idle when I turned final. That was not a good choice. The landing on the next flight was done with power (1/3 throttle) carried almost all the way to touch down and the landing was a greaser. Control setups were similar to my 1/8 scale Mosquito which has the exact same control arrangement (various mixings, etc) Turned out to be almost spot on for the larger plane.

[@richardstokes6827]

What a fantastic r.c model and flying display first time out . I have a mosquito same size .Not finish yet hope it flys as well .

[@craigcowley7560]

Great a joy to see. Need to upload more on this great project. Also happens to be my all time favourite airplane. Just got back into the hobby after more that 30 years. You are an inspiration

[@ronniescott5179]

Great model with a realistic performance, well done

[@angelreading5098]

What a beautiful Mosquitoe that flies really well,nice friendly airfield to fly her from too.

[@taketimeout2share]

Fabulous. When in flight it looks like the real thing! That is the most impressive characteristic. So many models fly like toys.This doesn't.

[@BenStrasser]

Greetings. I just wanted to share some information of great concern to all of us who have admired the design, building and flying abilities of a really nice guy, Tom Wolf. Incidentally, Tom had also done a fantastic job for a L-19 Replica Scale he did of a friends full size airplane. That one includes every patch, scratch and/or worn paint of the original. Even all of the rivets are of the same number and in the same place and it also includes the special "abort" door found on the original aircraft! Anyway, Tom had recently been diagnosed with ALS and has been under the care of his wife Debby and doctors. Our thoughts and prayers are offered daily to Tom, a fine gentleman even in such very difficult times, and his family. We are with you.

[@idleonlooker1078]

I wish him and his family all the best.

[@daykin17]

Thats horrible news, and I wish Tom and everyone that knows him all the best...What we here have witnessed is somewhat of a thing that rarely occurs anymore(unfortunately), and that is a real life definition of a modeler. The term " build" gets thrown around a little loosely nowadays. Assembling an ARF out of a box, is not a build to be clear. Tom is an expert level " Modeler " to be sure, a craftsman, and not everyone can pull it off, but for those who can I have nothing but respect and admiration for. A very very well done Mosquito by Tom. Two thumbs up to Tom and his Mosquito, and honorable mention go's out to Mr Strasser for his film work.

[@tripacer8259]

Amen Brother!

[@tripacer8259]

Unreal!! What a beauty, hats off to the builder/flier too. O.S. BGX's are big ass engines too.

[@RCScaleAirplanes]

Nice model, well presented and flown. Thumbs UP !!!

[@TV-xi6tq]

"Tom Wolf" The Great Master Builder. Thanks so much. from S. Korea

[@lylevasser]

Pure mastery of the medium Tom Wolf!

[@1catbrains]

Great job! To build and fly your very own mosquito must be very gratifying .

[@johnfall9449]

Super work Tom , Congrats

[@phrixos2826]

An awesome plane, there was something that fell off though looked like port side under the wing, at first i thought it was one of the flaps, but im not sure!

[@bert1521]

What has Hotel lift muzac got to do with this great model plane?

[@BenStrasser]

@mosquitofbvi Thanks for your comment. You must have been a member of Tom's 'Team! Fabulous model, isn't it. Wonder how many who might have viewed the video caught that? (For viewers who didn't catch it, occured a second or so after the sun flare) Perhaps some thought it was a bomb drop??? Stay well. Ben

[@theflyinghamster8442]

Beautiful a real credit to you, fantastic !! really enjoyed the whole thing. Thank you

[@michaelscally1871]

Thanks Ben, at least the name of the CD or the group that plays it so I can find it on You Tube and listen to it again, if possible. Michael

[@mosquitofbvi]

@KensAeroden: Thanks! Unfortunately, I won't be making the new Mossie to Hemet this year. I'm going to be taking it to Top Gun, which is only three weeks later than the Hemet Qualifier; I don't want to take any risks that close to Top Gun. I'll be taking the plane to the Gunsmoke Qualifier in early March, and the next competition planned after that is Top Gun.

[@OstrzeUmysl]

Nice ship. Are there any plans for it?

[@wayneparsons3334]

Background music! So appropriate. Where from?

[@drum1805]

OUTSTANDING Tom!!!!!!!! That's a real work of art!!! Maybe it was just me, but I swear at 12:08 it looked like the main gear popped down for a split second. And at 14:43 & 14:48 it looked like some parts came off in flight? Hope not!! Anyway, it looks like it flew real nice and stable, and everything functioned as you designed it too. WTG!!!!!

[@timothymulholland7905]

Very nice. Congratulations!

[@mosquitofbvi]

Update: I just completed the 21st flight of this plane today, which was a test and practice flight in preparation for the next competition, which will be March 1-3 in Mesa Arizona. The plane flew great and there were no issues whatsoever. Perfect flight and perfect landing.

[@Killerplanes]

GORGEOUS!!!! Love to see that in person!

[@sblack48]

Did he scale up the Brian Taylor plan or does Holman have a mossie plan?

[@gevi9080]

Amazing !! ,....Very few people ( Included Myself) knows what it takes to build and fly a model like yours....... Congrats !!

[@void1968able]

The twin exhaust gas adds so much realism to it, like trails.

[@spadlvr]

Great video!

[@falconeaterf15]

Gotta love it when a plane works out!

[@ancientmariner7473]

Best aircraft of WW2.

[@falconeaterf15]

Video has a strong 1970s vibe to it.

[@mosquitofbvi]

@drum1805: Thanks for the very kind comments. Yes, the main gear popped out twice when I pulled some Gs. At the time of the first test flight the gear did not include an up-lock. One has now been added. Also, as noted in one of the other comments, the two right hand gear doors departed soon after the gear was lowered. The doors were found, and the door attachments have been beefed up, and no further problems have been encountered.

[@ghdtv40]

Incredible video - extremely well done, it just matches the incredible airplane! Your attention to detail and all parts of the video are fantastic! Bravo! And for what it's worth, I think a pair of 2 strokes sing a sweeter twin sound than a pair of 4 strokes. Also, they are maybe a bit smaller and lighter than comparable 4 strokes. Overall, great video, great airplane, and great piloting as well.

[@johnpaley8857]

Fantastic..and what great taste in background music

[@michaelgeracci8168]

Great background music either joe sample or fourplay! Great plane also! Keep them coming!

[@smiffy788]

Excellent model, have you got any plans on how you made the retracts? I would like to build one but finding retracts is a problem.

[@nathanielpea5819]

Around 9.40 into this the Gentleman uses a device to (I'm guessing!) measure the RPM of the propellors. Can anyone please tell me A; if that's actually what he is doing? and B; if so what is the device actually called? I'm an interested newbie! TIA

[@richarddarlington1139]

Yes. It's photocell tachometer. Please start with a proper trainer and a qualified instructor. It's the best way to avoid learning bad habits and crashed airplanes. Good luck!

[@SooperFlye]

I could be wrong about this but the pilot figures look like they're from "Best Pilots." A very good choice if true. Give the planes authenticity.

[@alfred.g7521]

Thats the most scale takeoff I have ever seen

[@ianmoseley9910]

great model - would have liked more detail n the build and design choices - e.g. didn't the original have bothe wings as one piece?

[@sblack48]

Ian moseley the original didn't have to fit in a car!

[@sblack48]

Fine piloting, especially for a 1st flight.

[@michaelwilson2662]

That was beautiful

[@stevegauth30]

An unbelievable work of art.

[@mosquitofbvi]

2013 Gunsmoke Scalemasters Qualifier (March 1-3): First place Expert Class and award for highest average flight score.

[@robcrawford9657]

Great Video Nice aircraft!! some of the best ground handling iv'e seen!!!

[@btomas225]

I'm confused. Is this "scratch built" or "plans built"? It says he blew up the plans 175%. Whose plans?

[@sblack48]

They meant it was not from a kit. It’s plans built. Not sure which one.

[@cestmirdofek9115]

taé se z tím bavím skvělá práce nádhera

[@bradgray8064]

Very nice all round. Might I ask what flew off the model while the undercarriage was being lowered? I noticed two distinct departures.

[@mosquitofbvi]

For a video of this airplane flying at Top Gun 2012, search on: Top Gun 2012 Mosquito.

[@michaelscally1871]

What is the name and author of the first song on the video??

[@BenStrasser]

Greetings Michael. The first song on the video is not one you can buy in a CD. It is just one of my many CDs of royalty free video music. If you would like detail let me know and I'll see if I can find it for you.. These files do not provide an "author's name," however, all I would have is just the name of the CD with the production company's name (which may no longer be available) and the name of the piece. One thing that may be of interest to you is that the original song on the CD may in fact sound different than what you hear on the video since it is not unusual that to get a song to fit the video I re-edit the song, perhaps cut out sections or cut in sections from one part to another, and so on. As a musician I normally do that with royalty-free music - which is sold for just that kind of purpose. Indeed, some royalty-free stuff is sold in tracks to make it easier to "reproduce" it for a given video. Sorry I couldn't provide more, but that's the way the royalty-free music catalogues work; just some song names, the same song of different durations from seconds to usually about 3 minutes, and the name of the CD. Ben Strasser

[@therlinjames6407]

Great Build!!!

[@TheCrocidolite]

I love this Model, Great work..

[@jamesbonde4470]

I am in no way close to the caliber of this individual but I learned by accident that the eyes of the pilots are all wrong. Add some red or light brown to each end of each eye and get a much more realistic effect. As is, it's like two gargoyles flying the plane. Real eyes are not pure white, they have blood vessels.

[@BenStrasser]

I"m sure that Tom's Son, who had never painted a pilot or a pilot's eyes before will find your comments helpful. Thanks.

[@johnparr5879]

Expert rc model... Misplaced back ground music.

[@kieranrichmond5864]

Impressive model but it cries out for larger 3-blade props, turning slowly. This would also bring the rudder authority within their combined prop-wash (and sound more realistic).

[@sblack48]

Ok then you need motors that turn slowly. In terms of glow engines no such thing.

[@MrDravenLee]

My fave plane of ww2. Fantastic model building.That guys a great builder.Shoyld of played 633 squadron or mosquito squadron soundtrack.That would make the 100% amazing :)

[@greatunwashed1856]

Wow, just bloody Wow.

[@RichardOpie]

Superb

[@agfagaevart]

name that jazzy music!!

[@BenStrasser]

Sorry to disappoint but the music is from one of 50+ copyright free discs I've purchased for video productions and are not otherwise available. Each of these discs includes perhaps 30 or more recordings, with usually 4 or 5 versions of each tune. One version may be 10 seconds, another 30 seconds, another perhaps a minute and another of "the entire tune." We then take these and cut them up and rebuild them as needed to best fit the video we're working moving internal parts around, cutting out a sequence, taking a beginning sequence and duplicating is somewhere else within the song, etc. The only thing I might recommend is simply to make an audio copy of what's there.

[@chrisbailey4254]

Wicked aeroplane !

[@johnwillis6174]

Amazing job but ---- the sound of those engines ruin it for me. !!

[@MrDaiseymay]

You are pathetic.

[@jameswebb4593]

Great model , good to see details like the pilot and navigator seats staggered . But all the kill crosses overdone. The highest scoring Mosquito ace was Englishman Branse Burbridge , nightfighter pilot. One other minor detail , according to Jimmy Rawnsley the cockpit was so hot that sheepskin clothing was not needed or worn.

[@JahBagaI]

.....Thought I saw a couple of pieces come off the aircraft on its final circuit and pass near to the camera when the U/C was down? No? Nice bird... loads of effort..... good to see.....J B I

[@jesemontalvo2209]

Wow!! Two years proyect !!!😀

[@woolyman2282]

Bravo ! Much enjoyed.

[@gailraby1722]

disappointed about the twin blade propellers, go to all that effort then completely ignore the propellers, in my opinion, the props are very important to this aircraft, their shape is quite unique and their absence really distracts from what a beautiful aircraft this really is.. would it be too difficult to get the three bladed round ended props on it ?

[@gailraby1722]

+Robert T really, just to put 3 bladed props on.. I must be doing something wrong then because I can pick and choose, just swop them over. bit of messing about to get the correct pitch, may lose some performance but not enough to matter. Am I missing something ?

[@9999plato]

Three blade prpops would be so small they would look stupid and out of proportion. For scale judging you may install scale props but for flying 2 blade is definitly more efficient plus you dont want blade trip speeds to go too fast. Once they are spinning who knows how many blades are on it? It's such a minor thing when looking at the fantastic craftsmanship.

[@sblack48]

Scale props on this or any other ww2 aircraft would be huge. The motors would never be able to turn them. What you are suggesting is technically ridiculous.

[@ginomccallan8011]

@@sblack48 Is that always the case? How about Dave Wigley’s Beaufighter - seems about the same size as this Mossie and flew beautifully with scale 3-bladed props. Check out his KZbin vid.

[@sblack48]

@@ginomccallan8011 those props are considerably smaller than scale on the beau and the mossie has even bigger props compared to the airframe. The only Merlin powered warbird I ever saw with a scale 4 blade prop was the old Byron P51 and they did it with a belt reduction. If you have seen a WW2 DC model with an IC engine and a scale prop I would like to see it. Power absorbed is proportional to diameter to the 4th power. That is a pretty powerful term. I would be pretty comfortable claiming that a scale prop, even with 2 blades, is physically impossible. With electric power you have many more options. Gear drives, belt drives and cooler winds. But IC forget it. Please prove me wrong.

[@modelleg]

Quite an achievement.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

As always, these large models fly best, the culmination of many hours research and building, I hope you have the pleasure of flying it for many years to come, only thing to spoil this video was the stupid music, why put that on the sound track and spoil the moment?

[@eaglecommand]

Right on about the music, a lot of people put music to their vids, so much not needed or desired by the viewers.

[@9999plato]

Mute it.

[@thomashockin4128]

awesome!!!!

[@MrDaiseymay]

Fantastic matey, what an achievement. IGNORE THE JEALOUS IDIOTS.

[@martinplanes2053]

Firstly I have to say what an incredible build. However, I find it amazing that when guys go to all this trouble they dont fly scale props!! Their is enough power there to swing em. OK I've just noticed the date of this but come on a two bladed Mossie......ugh

[@sblack48]

Nowhere near the required torque to turn scale sized props with those motors. Any modeller with any experience would understand that. Is this model not enough of an accomplishment to please you? What have you built?

[@peterkirgan6850]

I'm impressed by this well done ! All you need now is a midget to fly it !!! Lol

[@BenStrasser]

@maebnus46 I tried to reply but this was the first time I've tried that. If you didn't receive it contact me directly [e-mail] and I'll forward to Tom so he can respond. I believe 4 strokes were not used because they would have required mods in the nacells/cowl. Ben

[@vincenthewlett4329]

dont look right with a two blade prop.....

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Nice, bet it would sound reaaal nice with a pair of 5 cylinder Mokis

[@idleonlooker1078]

Great model!! For added realism, why doesn't someone shoot at it with a 1/5 scale flak gun? [So, a 1/5 scale of a German 88mm flak gun works out to .17 calibre, = a .17 HMR or .17 Rem loaded with Spitzers!! 😂😂😂]

[@blekoldshaflo2]

Too often I see beautiful scale rc model with ridiculous propeller...

[@lylevasser]

Air molecules do not oblige pilots of miniature aircraft to reduce themselves in scale. So a realistic scale propeller would be ridiculously inefficient.

[@louismcclung466]

It never stops amazing me how someone goes to the trouble to make a detailed scale replica,and then ruins it by using a 2 bladed prop!

[@falconeaterf15]

Louis McClung I agree, but 3 bladed props, and scale spinners are not always available for every type of engine. Also, the theoretical performance of a two blade is better than the three blade, and it's a first flight so the less risks the better. Three blades are common on small electric warbirds, not so much on gas glow engines. Why, I do not know.

[@sblack48]

It never stops amazing me how somebody will put 2 yrs into building a spectacular model and some twit will find fault with it. A 3 blade prop that matches that engine will still be nowhere near scale size so it won’t be representative and anyway who cares? The prop is turning so you can’t see it.

[@tomc303]

great plane , great flight, would have looked nice with some guns on the nose

[@keithmarston9822]

wow bud nice mozzzzie keith m uk gb

[@petergates5170]

WHY OH WHY THE STUPID MUSIC

[@Hootysdad]

Too bad they had to add that stupid music to the video.