IN THE EARLY 1990s, model airplane clubs were
discovering the joys of conducting fun-fly events for
their members and for interclub contests. The idea
was to use one airplane to perform many different and
entertaining “tasks.”
This idea opened the floodgates of new and
simple-to-build designs; among the better ones was
John C. Hoover’s Blitz. This 48-inch-span RC
sportster was designed to accept .28- to .35-size glow
engines and, unlike most RC models, it was
engineered to be built in one piece.
As do most fun-fly designs, the Blitz features a
simple sheet-balsa “box” fuselage. The tail assembly
is also crafted from sheet balsa. The constant-chord
wing features a semisymmetrical airfoil and uses the
normal balsa rib with sheet-balsa TE and LE
construction.
One of this design’s unique features is the
anhedral stabilizer tips. They may or may not improve
the Blitz’s flying characteristics, but they sure look
neat!
This is another model that is so well designed that
it could easily serve as a first construction effort for
the new RC builder. It is also another design that
could easily be converted to electric power.
The Blitz was the subject of a construction article
that was published in the October 1990 MA, and it is
listed with the AMA Plans Service as set 666; the
price is $30. AMA members can go to MA’s Digital
Archives online and read the complete article. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/03
Page Numbers: 135
