Construction begins with the tail. Andy is cutting the main spar (above left) for the stab. Note that the pins do not go into the wood but define the outline.
W
hen I was a little kid—so little I don’t remember how young I was—my father took me and my big brother to a model airplane meet at a full-scale airport not too far from our home in northwest New Jersey. I re- member seeing CL Combat, FF towliners, and best of all, some RC Pattern planes. I re- member just a few things about Pattern. They were all loud and some had pipes and were really fast. These looked like sleek jets. The rest weren’t as loud or as fast and didn’t capture my attention nearly as much. Ever since then I have loved the elegant lines of airplanes flown during that era of Pattern. For the past few years I’ve been building models in smaller sizes, frequently about 100 square inches and powered by 180-size brushless motors. The Neo is my attempt— with major input and encouragement from Michael Ramsey—to pull together key de- sign elements from some of my favorite Classic Pattern models. The goal was to cre- ate a “new classic,” while integrating some modern design features. The Neo 180’s nose and moments are from Dick Hanson’s legendary Tiporare, the fin styling from Joe Bridi’s Dirty Birdy, and the wings and stab are from Bruce Lund’s Gulf- stream. As for modernizations, we went
Multiple foam building boards (above right) allow several structures to be conveniently built one after the next.
with a nearly-square planform, plug-in wings, separate aileron servos, electric pow- er, and an AS3X brick. One thing we didn’t change: you’ll need to sand the canopy and cowl to shape.
The landing gear is optional as an accom- modation to grass flying fields, but we also show trike gear for those who know that takeoff and landing are supposed to be scored maneuvers. The nose wheel is free castering for simplicity, and works quite well due to the model’s light weight and am- ple rudder authority, as long as air is going across the rudder. The plans also show how Michael built his as a taildragger if you are so inclined. The clearance as shown in either version is suitable for up to about 5-inch props. You may order the short kit from Manzano Laser
manzanolaser.com which will save you about three hours of work.
Construction
Like most micro models, the Neo 180 can be built relatively quickly. My construction (excluding cutting the parts by hand) took one Saturday followed by several evenings, then a Sunday afternoon for covering. This time was extended a little since I was taking photographs, editing the plans and writing this article during the build. But be warned,
it’s not the quick build of something simple like the Shrike 180 was a few months ago. Start construction with the tail feathers from light 1⁄8 balsa. Keep the use of medium/ heavy woods to a minimum (just the spars) in order to lessen the likelihood of a tail- heavy plane. The long tail moment makes this important. After construction, gently sand the rudder and elevator to a taper. The TE should be about 1⁄32 thick. Round the LE and tips. You may also want to punch a few holes in the control surfaces to reduce weight further, as shown in the photos of Michael’s model.
Fuselage
Cut the fuselage sides from a sheet of 1⁄32 balsa. Be sure to accurately cut the notch for
the stab and holes for the wing joiners. Add 1⁄32 ply donuts around the wing joiner holes on the inside surface. On the same inside surface add 1⁄8 square stringers flush along the bottom edge. The top edge has the stringer running flush with the sides in the hatch area and then extending 1⁄16 above to support the upper sheeting. Refer to the side view, noting the overlap at F3. When these dry, add formers F3 and F4 to create the ini- tial box shape. Add 1⁄32 cross-grain sheeting from F3 to
The stab is framed with minimal use of heavy/hard wood (above left). After both sets were built (above right), Michael used a 1⁄2-inch brass tube to cut
FLYING MODELS
lightening holes in non-critical areas. This paid off later as he was able to move the battery farther back.
27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68