Selecting Scale for the models

When creating a scale model, it is obvious that the scale of the model has to be decided.  The reason I mention this obvious fact is that many models today are of different scales.  Unlike in modelling of plastic minatures or toy trains,  a flying field can be filled with models of different scales sitting next to each other and flying next to each other.  The possibility of comparing the characteristics of the models is lost, the scale effect of each model during its flight is the only thing that is preserved.

Many fighter jets have a wing span of about 10 metres, so if they model versions have the same span, they are roughly to the same scale.  During the creation of my models here, however, I have decided to stick to a particular scale in each case.  These models do not represent models in the real world, but are an approximation to flying models that fly very well, I might add, and are not too expensive especially the smaller ones.

Lets compare some of the models out there and the scales they are built to, including the costs and other details.

As can be seen here, the models constructed vary widely in scale, from 1:10 to 1:28 for the P51 Mustang.   Prices are under $200 for the airframe, which is acceptable,  not too expensive, and with a 64 mm EDF for most of these.  I would find micro models more affordable, however these wil be modelled separately under the 1:25 or so scale.

What scale to choose? The 1:10 scale seems the most reasonable, meaning that the F-15,  F-16, F9F  will be larger than the models that are commonly sold out there and will need more power for the same speeds, although speeds are faster than required for scale, and power in some cases is more than needed, so the smaller original motors could be used with the larger size. Battery life is another thing. The Mig-15 and Sabre, among others, will be smaller than those listed here, which means higher wing loading, faster flight with the same gear, however, again, with smaller size, the motor size and battery size can be reduced to maintain the same wing loading or less, preserving the power to weight and slow flight characteristics.

All of the above is pure speculation, since I have no experience in designing, building or flying RC aircraft apart from a little time on twin motor toy and quadcopter.  The CRRCSIM environment may be useful for working out the feasibility of these models.