I have the use of a basketball court with an area of about 95' x 80'. I like the idea of the Jenny, but is it the best one for small indoor flying area?

From : Don Stackhouse

ALL of the current production RK models and all of the ones in development that have been flown (can't speak for the ones that haven't fought their way out of the computer and into a physical prototype yet!) have been flown in a basketball court smaller than that one, and in most cases made their very first flights in a basketball court.

That said, some of them are more comfortable in that size space than others. For example, I've flown the DC-3 in a basketball court, and flying was fine, but it's so doggone fast and efficient that getting it to come down in the space available was tricky. The new Boeing B-17 and our prototype Northrop XB-35 also need a little more room to maneuver. In a small room, those models typically need to land while circling, touching down on one main wheel. The problem is one of both speed and roll rate. Getting one of these way out in one corner at only a few feet of altitude, then leveled off for a straight landing approach and straight touchdown in the space available can be done, but requires excellent technique.

Some of the other models work well but because of their speed require that you stay mentally on your toes. The shorter-winged and heavier WW II fighters are often in this category, particularly the Me 109, and to a lesser extent the Mustang and P-40B.

The other ones for the most part are comfortable in small spaces, as are the Triplane and the Camel. The Corsair's wing makes a lot of lift, and handles small spaces well. The long-wing A6M2 Zero is one of my personal favorites for tight areas, with one of the tightest turning radii and best low speed performance and efficiency of the series (typically 12-18 minutes of cruise on a 110 mah 7-cell NiMH pack).

Perhaps surprisingly, the Lockheed Electra is even better in tight spaces, with a turing radius and low speed performance and handling as good or better than even the A6M2 Zero, high speed for outdoors that's almost as good as the DC-3 (the fastest of the presently in production RK models), tremendous efficiency (typically around 20 minutes or more of economy cruise on a 7-cell 170 mah NiMH pack), great weight carrying ability (Joe uses his to drop skydivers, typically about 6 drops per charge on that same 170 mah pack), and outstanding stability and control response. It's probably one of the most versatile models in the entire series.

The awards for best choices for tight spaces have to go to the Jenny, the Cub and the Curtiss-Wright Junior, not necessarily in any particular order. All three of these have lots of wing span for their weight and relatively low weights, great lifting ability and surprisingly good durability. If I had to pick one of the three I think I'd pick the Junior, but it's a very close call. All three are very good, and nearly equal in performance and handling. The Jenny is probably the most photogenic of the three, with all that scale detail. The Cub and Junior are more efficient (they don't have to drag two sets of wings through the air), so their flight times are somewhat longer. On a 110 mah NiMH pack we typically get around 10 minutes or so on the Jenny, while 15 or more is typical of the Cub and Junior.

I was flying the Junior the day before yesterday in a space about 30' x 60' without problems. Not quite enough to do figure 8's easily, but otherwise quite comfortable. I've also flown it in a high school basketball court about 40' x 80' of usable space, with a beam across center-court about 8' above the floor and with about a half-dozen other airplanes in the air with it simultaneously, with no problems. I've also flown it outdoors in measured 10 kt. winds with no trouble. I've flown the Cub in measured winds of 12kts. with gusts to 15 with not much trouble. The Jenny does surprisingly well in a breeze as well, although not quite as good as the other two. I'd say it's comfortable outdoors up to about 5-8 knots.

In answer to your question, yes, the Jenny would be an excellent choice for your flying area. The J-3 Cub, the Junior, the Electra and the A6M2 Zero would also be excellent choices.

Don Stackhouse
DJ Aerotech