AMA Plans Service Showcase
Flying Dutchman
A footnote in aviation history yields a perfect first RC Scale project.
This design is not only easy to build and fly, but it also captures the feel of an era in aviation history that was both exciting and poignant.
There were many small airplane companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s that produced a wide variety of unusual and innovative aircraft. Most of those companies were short-lived, and the wonderful airplanes they built soon faded into history as mere footnotes to a new industry. Such was the case with the Szekely Flying Dutchman.
The low-wing, single-seat aircraft was powered by a three-cylinder engine and featured a cantilever wing with no dihedral. It had an advertised price of $2,200 in 1929. Production of this airplane fell victim to the stock market crash; at least three are known to have been produced.
The Flying Dutchman has all the required attributes of a great-flying RC scale model, and this one by Phillip Kent is a beauty. It spans 79 inches and requires a .60–.75 four-stroke engine and a four-channel radio system. The constant-chord, straight wing is simple to build, as is the flat-sided fuselage.
Recapture the birth of sport aviation with your own Golden Era model. Don't forget to wear a silk scarf while flying it!
- Construction article published in the September 2000 Model Aviation (MA).
- Plans available through the AMA Plans Service: set 895, $42. See page 199 for ordering details.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
