AMA Plans Service — 2012/04
Graceful and versatile, this FF model rises above the rest
The Good Tern was a straightforward, reliable, easy-to-adjust Embryo-class model, built with the option of floats for ROW (rise-off-water) or wheels for ROT (rise-off-table).
Construction followed conventional free-flight model practices. Fuselage parts and tail surfaces were medium square balsa; wings and ribs were cut from straight-grained, soft balsa.
- Float assembly: Author Bill Noonan stated that assembling the floats was much like building two more fuselages. He used waterproof glue to cement all pieces of the floats and attached them to the fuselage with wire legs.
- The front legs were cemented into the floats; the rear were cemented inside the fuselage, then bent and sprung to engage aluminum tubing cemented inside the float.
- The floats could be disengaged from the airplane by forcing the rear struts from the tubing.
Covering and finishing:
- Peck-Polymers white tissue was used for covering and lightly sprayed with rubbing alcohol. After it had shrunk, unwanted tissue was lightly sanded away.
- A coat of diluted clear nitrate dope was applied, followed by an airbrushed coat containing a small amount of silver powder.
- Red and blue trim was achieved by masking and using an airbrush: the port float was painted red and the starboard float blue.
Flight notes:
- Bill found that two loops of 3/16-inch rubber, each approximately 18 inches long, worked well during the test flight.
- He described the model as fun and versatile, noting, "After you build it, you may agree with that old axiom: one Good Tern deserves another."
This model was featured in a construction article in the November 1983 Model Aviation (MA). AMA members can access the magazine’s digital archives on the Academy’s website to read more about it.
The Good Tern is AMA Plans Service listing 424 and is available for $5 plus shipping and handling. See page 159 or go to www.modelaircraft.org/plans.aspx for ordering information.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
