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Small model aircraft powered by SC12 model engine
This little plane is based on (recycled from) the old Keil Kraft Outlaw high wing trainer.
Good little flyer this one, it's based on the now decades old Outlaw kit which was intended as a single channel trainer back in it's day.
The plane uses three channels controlling the rudder, elevator and ailerons. No throttle control is fitted, so the SC12 engine runs full bore throughout the 10 minutes or so flying time.
The wing started out as a standard Outlaw wing with plenty of dihedral and no ailerons. This was chopped down the middle and glued up flat on the board together with a new ply brace. The new join was also reinforced with some carbon fibre tape.
Strip type ailerons were formed by cutting the the trailing edge off the wing, the edges being capped with balsa. Torque rods with soldered on homemade brass horns are used to control the ailerons and the servo is mounted onto the wing via hardwood blocks.
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Old, recycled and grubby, but a great bit of fun to pound around the sky, engine screaming on full throttle.
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Ultra simple little aircraft with three old 128 servos controlling the surfaces.
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Wire can be seen soldered between the brass horns and the metal rods connected to them. The idea is to prevent metal to metal noise interfering with the radio control.
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The tailplane is straight off the old model Outlaw with no changes except for a new covering. The Fuselage and fin are all new for this conversion, the fin being a simple flat piece of sheet balsa hinged with a rudder, while the fuselage is simply a balsa box job with front ply doublers. The tank is a 2oz clunk style bottle type and is mounted in foam cushioning to prevent foaming. Pushrods are used for both tail control surfaces, old Futaba 128 servos being used to move the rear surfaces.
No undercarriage is fitted so the model has to be hand launched and belly landed.
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Spans about 45 inches.
SC12 model engine spins a Master Airscrew 8x4.
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This plane has been around a while now as can be seen from the pictures. It is still a remarkably good flyer and can be aerobated with remarkable accuracy. From straight and level the model can be pulled vertical and will climb for a few seconds before the speed decays too much, the aircraft can then be pushed over, stall turned or pulled back inverted. The roll rate is sufficient for two or three vertical rolls while ascending. Half rolls pulled out with a loop are precise and reward the flyer with a fast low beat up down the field.
Every landing is deadstick with this little model plane, but the glide is fairly shallow and allows plenty of time for landing preparation.
The SC12 is now run on 10 percent nitro glow fuel with synthetic oil. The engine starts easily with this mix either by flicking or with careful use of the starter. To help prevent hydraulic locks while using the starter (a particular thing to avoid with a small engine) I disconnect the tank pressure pipe from the silencer while refilling (stops the fuel from entering the silencer and running into the cylinder).
Models like this are great, cheap to make, cheap to run and no need for a lawnmower (long grass is in fact a good thing with my landings!)
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