Macchi 202
By Dan Reiss
An Italian fighter that really stands out in a world of repetitious warbird ARFs!
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN REISS
tive stream lined Spitfire and Me-109. Both planes were flying prior to the outbreak of World War II. At that time, the Italian air- craft industry had no such engine that pro- vided that low frontal area. The front line airplane in the Italian air force was the ra- dial powered Macchi M.C. 200. This is sur- prising since the Italian Schneider Trophy racers were powered by both Fiat and Isot- ta-Frascini inline engines. To offset this oversight, Macchi imported a Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline engine and designed the Macchi M.C. 202 around it, taking full ad- vantage of all its previous experience with these engines. In order to expedite the design, a signifi-
A
cant number of parts and tooling from the M.C. 200 were utilized including the wing, empennage and much of the fuselage. What emerged, in a very short period of time, was the higher performing, more aesthetically pleasing M.C. 202 with a top speed that was 60 miles per hour faster than the M.C. 200. The Alpha Romeo Company license-built all subsequent engines. With that bit of history behind us, let’s start building the model. Start with the wing first. Cut out the foam
cores with the supplied templates or you can obtain the cores from
FlyingFoam.com. Mark the location of the ³⁄₈-inch balsa hinge
18 ircraft designers Reginald
Mitchell and Willy Messerschmitt took full advantage of inline air- craft engines with their superla-
support on the top of the cores. Use a sand- ing drum in a Dremel tool mounted in a router attachment to notch the foam. Glue the support in place. Sheet the wing with ³⁄₃₂-inch balsa bonded with Z-Poxy Finishing Resin. Sand the leading and trailing edges even with the cores. Glue the ½-inch balsa leading and ¾-inch
balsa trailing edges in place. Carve and sand them to shape. Glue the ¹⁄₈-inch balsa wing tip rib to the end of the cores. Add the scrap balsa leading and trailing tip edges and the ¼-inch balsa wing tip frame. Sheet the wing tip with ¹⁄₈-inch balsa and sand it to shape. Cut out the ailerons using the cut lines
shown on the plans for the first cut. Make ad- ditional cuts of the ailerons taking into ac- count the thickness of the sheeting, spacing required for the gaps and the angle to allow the ailerons to deflect down. Sheet the ex- posed surfaces with ³⁄₃₂-inch balsa sheet. Check for a good fit. Cut the slots for the Sig hinges SH701. Dry fit them in place and make sure that the aileron moves freely. Epoxy the ¼-inch plywood control horn mount in place. Assemble the aileron servo mount from
the parts shown on the plans. I used Futaba S9101 servos. Drill the maple mounts for the servo screws. Remove the foam for the aileron servo mount. Epoxy the mount to the foam. Surround the opening with four-ounce fiberglass cloth. Cut out the foam for the retracts. Cut LG1 to LG4 from ¹⁄₈-inch plywood and epoxy the
AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Prop:
Engine: Radio:
Servos:
R/C scale
balsa and ply 90 inches
1200 sq. in. 65 inches 21 pounds
40.3 oz./sq.ft.
20–10 or 11 Zinger Brison 3.2 Futaba 9Z
Futaba S9101 & S5101
parts together with ¼-inch square spruce pieces in the four corners to strengthen the assembly. Place the assembly into the wing and, if it extends beyond the bottom surface of the wing, sand it until it is flush with the bottom. Cut LG5 from ½-inch square maple and drill and tap it for 8–32 threads. Screw them to the Spring Air 404 retract and epoxy them in place with the forward LG5 ¹⁄₁₆-inch below the surface. When cured, re- move the retract and bond the landing gear box in place with Gorilla glue.
JANUARY 2012
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