ScratchBuildingRadio ControlledModelAirplanes p

ByDanPemble MemberOsceolaFlyersRCClub

THEFOLLOWINGPAGESFOUNDONAWEBSITEPROVIDESOMEGENERAL GUIDELINESFORSCRATCHDESIGNINGANDBUILDINGYOURVERYOWN RADIOCONTROLLEDMODELAIRPLANES.INTHECOURSEOFBUILDINGAN AIRPLANEFROMSCRATCH(DRAWINGYOUROWNPLANS, PLANS ETC.) ETC ),THEREIS MUCHTOLEARN&AWHOLELOTOFEXCITEMENTTOBEHADWHENYOU TAKEYOURCREATIONTOTHESKY!!

ASAPREREQUISITETOANYSCRATCHBUILDINGATTEMPTS, ATTEMPTS YOU SHOULDFIRSTHAVEEXPERIENCEDCONSTRUCTINGACOUPLEMODELS FROMCOMMERCIALLYAVAILABLEKITS.THISWILLASSISTYOUIN DETERMININGTHETHICKNESSESOFTHEWOOD(BALSA&PLYWOOD) TOBEUSEDINTHEVARIOUSSTRUCTURALELEMENTSOFYOURPROJECT, THEGLUETYPES,HARDWARETOBEUSED&ASSEMBLYMETHODS ALL ALLOFWHICHWILLHELPASSURETHESUCCESSOFYOURCREATION! GOODLUCK!

FOLLOWINGTHEDESIGNGUIDELINEPAGES,IHAVEINCLUDEDEXAMPLES OFSOMEOFMYOWNSCRATCHBUILTPROJECTS TOGETHERWITHA DESCRIPTIONOFTHEFLYINGRESULTS!

OK HEREAREPICTURES&DESCRIPTIONSOFMY SCRATCHBUILTS!

AsAMcDonnellDouglascommercialairplanetechnicalrepresentative,during1987 1992,IwasassignedtoanairlineinOlbia,Italy,atownofonly40,000,locatedon theIslandofSardiniaintheMediterraneanSea.Havingbeeninradiocontrolled modelairplanessince1980,IactivelypromotedthehobbyduringthisstayinItaly; afterAcouple p y years, ,Ihelped p anumberofyounger y g residentItaliansingetting g gtheir wingsviasomeofmyscratchbuilts! Idesigned&builtthetwovirtuallyidenticalplanesshowninthefollowingphoto usingguidelinessimilartothoseintheprecedingarticle.Ibuilttheairplaneon theleftformyself(theairlinescolors)andthesecondone(red,white,blue)foran airlineemployee. The52inchWingshaveflatbottomedairfoils(nottrueClarkYs).Bothare4 channelcontrolled(engine,elevator,ailerons,rudder/nosewheelsteering).Attheir weightofnomorethanabout3pounds,thestrongOS.25motorsworkedgreat! Theseairplanesflewverywellwithnosurprisesatall!Sincethiswasmyveryfirst design/scratchbuilteffort,Iwasverypleased!

AyoungItalianboywithanitchingtogetstartedinradiocontrolled airplanesvisitedtheflyingsitefrequently.Iofferedtobuildanairplanefor hi and him dh hewasdelighted! d li h d! The50inchwingspan/OS.25airplaneinthefollowingphototurnedout tobejustrightforhim!ThisdesignhasatrueClarkYairfoilandis3channel (engine,elevator,rudder)withrubberbandwingholddowns. TheairplaneflewlikeachampandIwasamazedtoseethisyoungman flyingallonhisownafteronlyafewweeks!Iwasevenmoreamazedto seehimputthisairplaneintoasteepclimbanddocontinuousrollswith rudderonly!

MY4TH SCRATCHBUILTASSHOWNINTHEATTACHEDPHOTOTURNEDOUT TOBEAUNIQUE(IFNOTSOMEWHATPECULIAR!)FLYER,ASATTRIBUTEDTO SEVERALOFMYOWNCARELESSDESIGNERRORS&OVERSIGHTS! THEFIRSTFLIGHTIMMEDIATELYSHOWEDMETHEERROROFMYWAYS! AFTERROTATION&LIFTOFF,IMANAGEDTOMAINTAINWINGSLEVEL& CLIMBTOABOUT150FEET;THEAIRPLANETHENMUSHEDINTOAN UNCONTROLLABLE/UNRECOVERABLESTALL.ISHUTDOWNTHE ENGINE.LUCKILY, ,THEAIRPLANEREMAINEDATWINGSLEVELANDAT ALMOSTZERODEGREESPITCHATTITUDE&GENTLYFLOATEDDOWNTOTHE GROUNDVERTICALLY LIKEAFLUTTERINGLEAF!THEONLYDAMAGEWAS ONEOFTHENOSECHEEK CHEEKCOWLS COWLSBROKEOFF OFF. UNFORTUNATELY,IHADINTENDEDTOHANDTHISAIRPLANEOVERTOITS NEWOWNERAFTERIHADPROVENITSAIRWORTHINESS AIRWORTHINESS,BUTIDELAYED THISDELIVERYCEREMONYINFAVOROFSOMEFURTHERINVESTIGATION ONMYPART.PLEASEREADON.

AFTERGLUINGTHECHEEKCOWLBACKINPLACE PLACE,IDECIDEDTOSHIMTHE ENGINETOADDSOMEADDITIONALDOWNTHRUST;ONTHESECONDTEST FLIGHTTHEREWERENOSTALLTENDANCIES,BUTITTOOKSOMEHORSING ONTHECONTROLSTOGETTHISTHING THING TOCLIMBTOALTITUDE ALTITUDE.ONCEAT ALEVELALTITUDE,IFOUNDTHISAIRPLANETOBEAVERYGENTLEFLYERAT ONLY1/3THROTTLE;IALSONOTEDTHATDURINGSHALLOWTURNS (BANKS) NO, (BANKS), NO REPEATNO, NO UPELEVATORWASREQUIREDATALL&THISWAS ASURPRISE!LANDINGSWEREALMOSTSTRAIGHTDOWNVERTICAL DESCENTSWITHALESSTHAN10FOOTROLLOUT!INFURTHERASSESSING THEUNIQUEFLIGHTCHARACTERISTICSOFTHISMACHINE,INOTEDTHATMY AIRFOILDESIGNISCERTAINLYNOTTHEOPTIMUM;IHADINTENDEDTHE AIRFOILTOBEATRUECLARKY,BUTITDIDNTTURNOUTTHATWAY!( (PLEASE SEETHELEFTHANDWINGAIRFOILCROSSSECTIONINTHEFOLLOWING PHOTO.)OTHERTHANBUILDINGAWHOLENEWWINGFORTHISPROJECT, THEREWASNOTHINGMOREICOULDDO;AFTERHAVINGPROVEDTHATTHIS AIRPLANEWOULDFLY,IHANDEDITOVERTOITSNEWOWNER! AFTERLOGGINGNEARLY50SUCCESSFULFLIGHTS FLIGHTS,THISAIRPLANEWAS TOTALLYDESTROYEDDURINGACRASHLANDINGONANASPHALTRUNWAY!

Talkaboutauniqueflyer!TheSimitarSloMotion.15showninthe followingphotowasoneofthemostfunairplanesIhaveeverbuilt!Its designwasfeaturedintheJan/87issueofModelAviationmagazine. magazine Thewingwasbuiltonafoamcoreasorderedfromtheaddressmentioned i the in h Model M d lAviation A i i construction i article. i l BillEvans E designed d i danumber b of f simitarairplanes.Alldesignsusewingswithsimilarairfoilcrosssections. Thehighpointoftheseairfoilsislocatedjustslightlyaftofthewingleading edge.Thecenterofgravityonthecompletedmodelissetatonlyabout1 inchaftofthewingleadingedge. Elevon(aileron/elevator)controlonthemodelIbuiltutilizedamechanical slidingtrayarrangementwith2servos,asshownintheplans,andthis workedverywell. Theoverallweightofthiscraftwithafull4ouncefueltankwasonlyabout 3lbs lbs.

IusuallyalwaysflewmySloMotionfromsomedriedupsaltflatsalongthecoast oftheMediterraneanSea.Thereweresomestrongupdraftspresenthere perfect conditionsforflyingthisgliderlikemodel. Aftertakeoffandachievingquiteahighaltitude,Icouldloiterataltitudeinpowered flight g withareducedthrottlesetting gforabout10minutesbeforefuelranoutandthe enginestopped.Thencametherealfunpart!Giventhestrongupdraftsandthemostly stallproofcharacteristicsofthewing,Icouldstayairborneforanindefiniteperiod!My longestsingleflightwasprobablyover45minutes!Ilandedonlyoutofconcernfor remainingbatterypower. ManytimeswhileflyingthismodelIwouldtrimittomaintainashallowturn,set theradioonthegroundforextendedperiods,andjustwatchitdocontinuousturns whilemaintaininglevelaltitude!Itwasatruefunflyer! Laterwhile hil residing idi i inOslo, l Norway,Isold ldthis hi model. d l Inoteonthe h AMAPlans l Service i websitethattheplansforthismodelcanstillbeordered(No.535B);thus,Ifullyintend toordertheseplansandgetonwithbuildinganotherone!

Ihopeyouhavefoundthispresentationtobeofinterestandofpossibleuseto you.WhileIdont don tconsidermyselftobeanexpertinradiocontrolledmodel airplanes,Iwelcomeanyquestionsorcommentsyoumayhave.Myemail addressis: jetvet@cfl.rr.com

ALWAYSKEEPTHEBLUESIDEUP!