Beardmore Inflexible
The wheels on the model are built on 2¹⁄₄-inch disks of ¹⁄₆₄-inch plywood (at left). On the full scale airplane the tires, made by Dunlop, measured seven feet, six inches in diameter. A close-up (above) shows the simplicity of the slab-sided fuselage and nacelles. The round windows on each side of the model are disks of peel and stick plastic trim material.
the trailing edge to reduce strain on the sta- bilizer mount because the gluing area for the stab mount is so small. Bend a ¹⁄₈-inch diameter loop in a length of .025 wire for at- taching the DT line. Drill a hole through the ³⁄₃₂-inch center rib of the stabilizer. Push the .025 wire up from the bottom of the stabiliz- er and put a near 90-degree bend in it so the loop projects ¹⁄₂-inch below the stab. Clip off any excess wire, but leave enough to glue to the top of the rib. Bend ordinary straight pins to make
hooks to hold the rubberbands that will pull the stabilizer upward when the dethermal- izer is activated. Set them into the ³⁄₃₂-inch partial ribs between the first and second ¹⁄₁₆- inch square stab spars. Glue them securely, then glue the rudder into the slot at the front of the stabilizer. Cut a ¹⁄₂-inch length of ¹⁄₁₆-inch diameter aluminum tubing and glue it to the bottom of the fuselage at the tailpost as a guide for the DT line. Press on the button timer’s ac- tuating arm. Install the propellers. Use .047 wire for
the prop shaft. Add the nose block, washers and a 9¹⁄₂-inch Peck Polymers plastic prop.
Put bent pins on each side of the nose block and the fuselage, then use ³⁄₈-inch diameter orthodontic rubberbands to hold the nose block secure. Cut down two small plastic propellers to
five inches and shape them to a nice ap- pearance. Paint them to match the silver Peck Polymers prop. Use thin shanked, flat headed nails for the prop shafts. Put glue in the holes of the wood dowels in the nacelles and press the nails in, allowing enough space for the propellers to turn easily. Carve spinners from scrap balsa, hollowed to clear the nails, then glue them to the props. Paint the spinners olive drab.
Assembly A short rubberband stretched between the
hooks on the root ribs of the wings keeps the wings tight to the fuselage. A tool for pulling the rubberband through the fuselage is handy. Bend a small hook on the end of a .032 wire that is about four inches long. To keep from losing the wire in the grass at the flying field, put a dowel handle on it and paint the handle a bright color. Start the wires of one wing into the holes
in the fuselage. Hang the rubberband on the wing’s hook. Run the hook tool through the fuselage to grab the rubberband, then pull the rubberband through the fuselage and attach it to the hook in the other wing. Set the second wing’s wires into the holes in the fuselage and push the wing flush with the fuselage side. If your rubberband is too long to hold the wings snug to the fuselage, tie a knot or two in the rubberband. Put the dowels of one landing gear strut
into the mounting holes in the bottom of a wing, then flex the landing gear downward to set the .032 wire into the bottom of the strut. Install the strut on the other side the same way. Snap the fuselage end of one wing strut in place, then its wing connec- tion, before adding the second wing strut. There can always be a small difference be-
tween two parts you intend to be identical, these landing gear struts and wing struts, for example. To put the model together ex- actly the same way every time, color code the parts: red-right, black-left. Put a dot of color on the front dowel of each landing gear strut and the bottom edge of each wing strut. Place the stabilizer on its mount with the
The model has all the characteristics of a great scale freeflight model, such as ample dihedral—two inches at each wing tip. The long exhaust pipe on each side of the nose is made from a large diameter drinking straw (above left).
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Unlike some of the aircraft of the time, the full-sized Beardmore Inflexible’s design provides the model with a nose (above right) long enough to allow balance without the need for extra nose weight.
MARCH 2012
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