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    Scratch Building RC Model Airplanes

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    Alex Gurovich
    This document provides guidelines and examples for scratch building radio controlled model airplanes from designing your own plans. It recommends starting with commercially available kits to learn building techniques. The author then shares pictures and descriptions of four airplanes he scratch built, including two virtually identical planes built for himself and an airline employee in Italy. He discusses the unique flying characteristics of each plane. The document aims to inspire and provide tips for those interested in scratch building their own radio controlled model airplanes.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Scratch Building RC Model Airplanes

    Uploaded by

    Alex Gurovich
    1K views28 pages
    This document provides guidelines and examples for scratch building radio controlled model airplanes from designing your own plans. It recommends starting with commercially available kits to learn building techniques. The author then shares pictures and descriptions of four airplanes he scratch built, including two virtually identical planes built for himself and an airline employee in Italy. He discusses the unique flying characteristics of each plane. The document aims to inspire and provide tips for those interested in scratch building their own radio controlled model airplanes.

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    Scratch Building Rc Model Airplanes

    Original Title

    Scratch Building Rc Model Airplanes

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    This document provides guidelines and examples for scratch building radio controlled model airplanes from designing your own plans. It recommends starting with commercially available kits to learn building techniques. The author then shares pictures and descriptions of four airplanes he scratch built, including two virtually identical planes built for himself and an airline employee in Italy. He discusses the unique flying characteristics of each plane. The document aims to inspire and provide tips for those interested in scratch building their own radio controlled model airplanes.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    1K views28 pages

    Scratch Building RC Model Airplanes

    Uploaded by

    Alex Gurovich
    This document provides guidelines and examples for scratch building radio controlled model airplanes from designing your own plans. It recommends starting with commercially available kits to learn building techniques. The author then shares pictures and descriptions of four airplanes he scratch built, including two virtually identical planes built for himself and an airline employee in Italy. He discusses the unique flying characteristics of each plane. The document aims to inspire and provide tips for those interested in scratch building their own radio controlled model airplanes.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    At a glance
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    The document provides general guidelines and examples for scratch building radio-controlled model airplanes from designing plans to building techniques.

    Guidelines include first building kits to learn building techniques, determining appropriate wood thicknesses and types, glue and hardware to use, and assembly methods.

    Examples given include two virtually identical airplanes built for the author and an employee in Italy, as well as a 'Simitar Slo Motion' airplane with unique flight characteristics.

    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!

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