August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 39
he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 39
he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
Mr. NiCd’s BATTERIES AMERICA
www.batteriesamerica.com
Spring & Summer ‘03 Specials
Please check our website for the NEW
PLATINUM POLYMER battery packs !
Electric Flight packs, R/C packs, & more!
New Hi-Cell electric flight Ni-MH packs!
Great for indoor park flyers, etc! Specify Shape: A=sideX side;
B=twin-stick; C=two rows; D=four sticks. JST conn.=$3.00 xtra
Cell Type size 7.2 volt 8.4 volt 9.6 volt
AP-150AAAH 1/3AAA,150mAh $23.95 $26.95 $29.95
AP-350AAH 1/3 AA, 350mAh $23.95 $26.95 $29.95
AP-650AAH 2/3 AA, 650mAh $23.95 $26.95 $29.95
AP-1000AH 2/3 A, 1000mAh $24.95 $27.95 $30.95
AP-brand Nickel-Metal Hydride cells. Free tabs (specify)
AP-150AAAH 150mAh (1/3 AAA, 3.84 gms) $ 2.25 ea.
AP-170AAAH 170mAh (1/2 AAA, 5 gms) $ 1.95 ea.
AP-350AAH 350mAh (1/3 AA, 7.9 gms)NEW $ 2.50 ea.
AP-650AAH 650mAh (2/3 AA, 14.2 gms) $ 2.50 ea.
AP-1000AH 1000mAh (2/3 A, 21.2 gms) $ 3.00 ea.
LITHIUM ION flight packs & smart chargers !
QN-012BC charger BP-Li8412 pack QN-012DC charger
BP-Li8412 pack 7.2v 1200mAh w/JST. (3 oz) $19.95
QN-012BC 2-hour Smart Charger (AC) for Li-ION $19.95
QN-012DC 2-hr Smart mobile portable charger (DC) $19.95
MOTOR PACKS- w/ SANYO Ni-Cd cells (no connector):
Shapes (see top): (A)=side X side; (B)=twin-stick; (C)=two rows;
(D)=four sticks. Add deans ULTRA connector for $5.00 extra
Cell Type size 7.2 v 8.4 v 9.6 v 10.8 v 12.0 v
N-500AR(2/3 A) $20.00 $24.00 $28.00 $32.00 $36.00
KR-600AE(2/3A) $17.00 $20.00 $23.00 $26.00 $29.00
SANYO Receiver Packs w/ Connector! (Flat or Square)
Choose Futaba, JR-HITEC-Z, or traditional AIRTRONICS plug.
4.8 volt 700mAh (Standard AA NiCd) $ 9.95 ea.
4.8 volt 1100mAh (long-life AA NiCd) $13.95 ea.
4.8 volt 1300mAh (Sub-C NiCd) $13.95 ea.
4.8 volt 1400mAh (long-life A NiCd) $14.95 ea.
4.8 volt 1600mAh (AA Nickel Hydride!) $15.95 ea.
New & improved HEAVY 22-guage R/C connectors !
Specify Futaba FM, JR-HITEC-Z, or AIRTRONICS
Male (Battery / Servo, 3-wire) w/12” lead $ 2.00 ea.
Female (Receiver, 3-wire) w/12” lead $ 2.00 ea.
3” or 6” Extension (1 male, 1 female) $ 3.25 ea.
12” Extension (1 male, 1 female) $ 3.50 ea.
24” Extension (1 male, 1 female) $ 4.00 ea.
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Switch Harness (2 male, 1 female) $ 6.50 ea.
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hitec 3-pin or 2-pin, or Airtronics 3-pin plug for $3.00 extra per pack.
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9.6 volt 1100 mAh (square / side by side) $22.95 ea.
SANYO Ni-Cd cells (Plain or w/Solder tabs) Red= Fast Charge
N-500AR 500mAh (2/3A Fast Chg) $ 2.50 ea.
KR-600AE 600mAh ( 2/3A Extra ) $ 1.95 ea.
N-700AAC 700mAh (AA Button Top) $ 1.50 ea.
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CP-2400SCR 2400mAh (Sub-C Fast Chg) $ 4.95 ea
Mail, Phone, Fax, or E-mail us. Pay w/ MC, VISA, DISC, AMEX
CALL OR WRITE FOR OUR FREE CATALOG
BATTERIES AMERICA 2211-D Parview Rd,
Middleton, WI 53562. To order, call TOLL FREE:
1-800-308-4805
Inquiries: 608-831-3443 / Fax: 608-831-1082
Website: www.batteriesamerica.com
E-mail to us at: [email protected] S&H: $7.00 min.
DON’T LOSE YOUR
PLANE IN THE SUN!
• Fly close to the sun with
comfort, increased color
acuity and greater depth
perception.
• Can be worn with or without
prescription glasses.
• Maximum UV-A, UV-B and IR protection.
• Optically perfect, ultra clear vision.
•Total wraparound to protect from side glare,
UV, wind, debris and most hazards.
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08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 39
he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 39
he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 39
he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 29,30,31,33,34,35,36,39,40
August 2003 29
THE NORTH AMERICAN F-86D Sabre, the Northrop F-89
Scorpion, and the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were the mainstays of the
Air Defense Command’s fighter-interceptor force during the 1950s.
The F-86 filled the bulk of the Air Defense Command role with its
use in 20 of the 30 wings that made up the force. It continued to
serve into the mid-1960s with the Air National Guard (ANG) as
more modern equipment replaced it in the US Air Force.
There are many good books available if you want to delve into
this great airplane’s history. My first experience with the F-86 was
in 1956 when I was a crew chief on an F-86A in the California
ANG, hence the paint job. Also, the ANG uses all block letters;
since I cut all of my own lettering decals, it is much easier to make
Chief test pilot Bart Klapinski (L) and designer/builder Don
Hutchinson after a successful test hop. Bill Heyworth photo.
■ Don Hutchinson
Famous Korean
War-era fighter is
perfect for sleek
CL Precision
Aerobatics model
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:24 pm Page 29
30 MODEL AVIATION
this style with no curved lines.
We fly a P-40 event (for any profile
model, with a .40 maximum engine size)
here in Texas, so my strategy was to design
an F-86A with a Fox .35 up front. It flew so
well that I just had to do a full-fuselage
version, and the F-86D was the natural
choice with that big spinner on the nose
simulating the radome. You also get a little
more propeller clearance with the higher
thrustline.
I sketched a wing and tail of the desired
areas, then I scaled up the profile view
from the reference (cited at the end of
A scale APU houses the starting battery. Judges love these little details!
Where’s the pilot? This shot shows the Sabre’s great stability. It’s a nicely balanced package. Elwyn Aud photo.
this section) in the proper length to fit
them. The wing is not quite in the correct
location, requiring an inch of built-in
dihedral to get the leadouts in the right
position for the proper vertical center of
gravity (CG) location for Control Line
(CL) flight.
The wing and tail sweeps are
considerably less than the full-scale
aircraft’s, but the fuselage profile is
accurate. The overall effect is a good
caricature, and it flies surprisingly well!
The model was initially powered with an
O.S. .40 FP, which I later exchanged for an
O.S. .46 LA. This is a direct replacement if
you swap the plastic backplate with the
metal one from the .40. Another great
engine choice for this model is the Magnum
XL .36. It is powerful, light, and still allows
use of the thinner .015 lines; the .46
requires the .018 cables.
The reference is the book North
American F-86D/K/L Sabre Jet part 1 by
Ray Wagner. If you can’t get it locally, try
Zenith Books at (800) 826-6600. The
book’s stock number is 130211C. It will
help you to have a book with many photos
to use for reference.
CONSTRUCTION
The F-86’s construction is conventional,
so if you have built other CL Precision
Aerobatics (Stunt) models from drawings
like these you shouldn’t encounter any real
snags along the way.
I’m fortunate enough to live
approximately 25 miles from Riley
Wooten’s Lone Star Balsa factory (115
Industrial, Lancaster TX 75134;
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:25 pm Page 30
August 2003 31
Except for the wood propeller, the model could easily be mistaken for a full-scale F-86 on “the ramp.” Drop tanks are a nice touch.
information: [972] 218-9663; order: [800]
687-5555; Web site: www.lonestarmodels.
com), so obtaining good wood is not
a problem for me.
To keep the weight down, you will need
to use discretion when choosing materials
and building techniques. With the wing
tanks in place the model ended up right at
50 ounces. That is more than I had hoped
for, but the model seems to handle it well.
Although the construction is
conventional, I may get there by methods
that are slightly different from what you are
used to. If you follow specifications and
MIL-TP-41 (make it like the print for once),
you shouldn’t go too far astray. I like to
start with the wing, so let’s begin.
Wing: The original model’s wing was built
on a fixture that I made, but it can also be
built using the Lost Foam method. A Lost
Foam template set was used to draw the ribs
accurately on the plans. You can get the F-
86D Lost Foam cradle set from Robin’s
View Productions (Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; Tel.: [610] 746-0106); the
instructions for construction will be
included. A comprehensive video about the
Lost Foam wing-building system is also
available.
Cut two sets of ribs using the templates
on the drawing. Cut ribs 1 and 4 from hard
balsa and the rest from lighter stock. Cut
slots for the leadouts in the left wing ribs,
and cut a small hole in each of the right
wing ribs for venting. You also need to
prepare two pieces of trailing edge (TE).
Get some key stock in 3⁄8-, 1⁄4-, 3⁄16-, and
1⁄8-inch sizes from your local hardware store
Type: Semiscale CL Stunt
Wingspan: 56 inches
Engine: .40-.46 two-stroke glow
Flying weight: 50 ounces
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: Silkspan, carbon mat, dope
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:26 pm Page 31
The wingtip detail shows the
front leadout “stinger” and
adjustable rear leadout. The
inset shows the slider
mechanism inside the tip
block.
The dark areas on the fuselage and wing are where Don covered the balsa with .2-ounce
carbon mat. The material was adhered with modeling dope.
to use for shaping. These are 12-inch-long
square steel bars. They are inexpensive and
work much better than wire.
Using the edge of the table or a smaller-size
stock as a guide, you can sand balsa stock to
any angle you want. I build my wings on a
piece of plywood and make fixtures to hold the
leading edges (LEs) and TEs. The TE fixtures
are designed to be pinned along the TE line on
the drawing line; the LE in its fixtures just sort
of floats until you start gluing the ribs in place.
Place square blocks on the wing centerline to
act as stops for the LEs and TEs. Pin the TE to
the fixtures, and put the LE close to the right
spot.
I also use a fixture to space the ribs. It looks
like the bottom half of a shoe box with the sides
removed, exactly the width of the space
between the ribs. Set the fixture against the
centerline blocks to position rib 2, tack-glue it
in place, then sequentially move the fixture and
put in the remaining ribs until you get to the tip.
The fixture keeps the ribs accurately spaced and
vertical.
Put in the top spar, then remove the wing
from the fixtures to put in the lower spar and
finish-glue all of the joints. Build the other
wing, then join them with an inch of dihedral at
each tip rib.
Begin installing all of the sheeting. I
preform my LE sheeting by soaking it with
water and wrapping it around a 41⁄2-inchdiameter
plastic pipe until it’s dry. This allows
it to lay in place nicely. Put the aluminum
leadout tube in the LE before sheeting the
second surface.
I mock up the leadout guide and temporarily
install the bellcrank, then I run a piece of thread
through the guide and over the wing to the spot
where the tube goes. Use a piece of sharpened
1⁄16-inch wire through the tip mock-up to pierce
the LE, then drill out to 3⁄32 inch and put in the
tube. Angle the inside end of the tube like a
hypodermic needle before you install it so that
you can poke the leadout through it easier later.
The remainder of the wing construction is
clear-cut. Make sure that the plywood bellcrank
mounts are flush with the edges of the ribs so
that the 1⁄16-inch center-section sheeting can be
glued to them well. The bellcrank with leadouts
and pushrod assembly is installed before
closing the top center-section sheeting.
The leadout guide is epoxied into the tip
block before it is stuck on. The design of the
“stinger” positions the leadouts so that only the
rear line needs to be adjustable. Mine ended up
close to the middle of the slot.
The wing-tank hard points are made from
aluminum stationary binding posts, drilled and
tapped 4-40, and 3⁄32 aluminum tube epoxied in
place. Many F-86Ds flew without the wing
tanks, so they are optional on the model; I built
the tanks because they look cool!
Control System: Let’s discuss this since we
just installed it. I make all of my own parts,
including the bellcrank and control horns. The
horns are made from 3⁄32-inch wire, 1⁄8-inch
brass tubing, and 1⁄16 x 1⁄4-inch K&S brass. I
braze the joints. The leadouts are 135-pound,
seven-strand fishing leader. I buy 30-foot
spools of it from fishing shops that handle
saltwater gear.
My pushrod is an aluminum arrow shaft
with a 4-40 rod and clevis at the elevator end
and a short piece of 1⁄16-inch wire at the
August 2003 33
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 33
The nose detail is shown with the cowl removed. Notice the removable nose gear,
tank, and overflow vent. Don custom-made the “tongue” muffler.
The fuselage’s contour changes from convex to concave around the stabilizer. The
wide section below the rudder on the full-scale F-86 held a parachute.
Some of the cockpit details include a mock ejection seat, an ADF unit, and an
instrument panel. The panel and consoles are photocopies from a book.
bellcrank end. I know that this flies in the face
of conventional wisdom, but using 1-inch and
longer horns reduces the control pressures to a
safe point. I use a good steel clevis, which
allows me to go into the tailpipe to adjust the
elevators. I do not recommend doing this on
any model bigger than an O.S. .40 FP.
About the different setup for connecting the
flap horn, because the bellcrank axle is so close
to the flap horn on a swept wing, a
conventional setup would have larger-thannormal
errors between flap and elevator travel.
This system makes the flaps track the elevators
accurately. It’s not my idea; Bob Palmer used
it in his Go-Devils in 1948!
The tail surfaces and flaps are built up to
give them rigidity and light weight. Use the
key stock to bevel the top and bottom edges of
the 1⁄4 square elevator LE pieces. Place the key
stock twice the width of the part from the table
edge to get exactly the correct angle. Lay out
the LE, bottom sheet, and ribs, sand the ribs
down to the TE, then prop up the TE 1⁄8 inch
before you attach the top sheet so they do not
end up with washin built into them.
The 1⁄8 x 1⁄4-inch tubing where the horns go
is necessary because the control horns undulate
back and forth as the surfaces move up and
down, and it is easy and works well. The
fin/rudder is built flat with only the rudder
tapered. With all of that area and the fact that
we fly in a circle, you have plenty of effective
rudder offset in flight!
Fuselage: Let’s go here now that we have all
of the appendages covered. Start with a pair of
nice 4- to 5-pound-density balsa sides. Cut
them to shape, then mark the bulkhead
locations. Be accurate when cutting the sides
for the positive incidence in the stabilizer. Sand
the taper toward the tail, then carefully hollow
the insides between the bulkheads aft of F5 to
what will be approximately 1⁄8-inch thickness
after contouring the outsides later.
Lay in the 1⁄16 hard-balsa doublers. While
they are curing, make all of the bulkheads.
Assemble the fuselage upside-down, then put
on the top and bottom bulkheads. All of the
little pieces of sheet and blocks to do up the
front end are typical, so you should have no
problems with them.
I differ from the norm in that I prefer a
firewall mount for the engine. This eliminates
the heavy beams and leaves a great deal of
room for the fuel tank. The nose gear is
mounted on a removable plate so you can get
the tank in and back out if necessary.
Lay in the preformed sheet-balsa pieces
between the bulkheads. The cowl is blocked up
and attached with the two 4-40 screws through
F3B, and the whole fuselage is sanded and
contoured nice and smooth.
I covered the wing LE sheeting with .2-
ounce carbon-fiber mat all the way to the
center and covered the stabilizer with silkspan
all the way across before attaching it to the
fuselage. Using the mat instead of silkspan
gives me almost no sagging sheet between the
ribs when doping later.
Install the wing and stabilizer, then install
the rudder and the curved sheet pieces under
the wing. I also covered the fuselage with the
mat to avoid sagging between bulkheads. I
covered the open bays of the wing with
Polyspan, and I used silkspan on the rest.
For cockpit detailing I made photocopies of
34 MODEL AVIATION
08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 34
August 2003 39
an instrument panel and side consoles from
the reference book. I made a simple ejection
seat and a dummy ADF (automatic directionfinder)
unit and cabin-pressurization regulator
that are mounted behind the seat. The Sig WC
811 canopy turned out to be an ideal fit for
this model.
I recommend mixing epoxy and
microballons for fillets. The full-scale aircraft
didn’t have fillets at the wing/fuselage joint,
so keep these to a small radius. The filleting at
the stabilizer/rudder location flows from
concave to convex. Check the many photos in
the reference text to get this area looking
realistic.
Finish: I finished my F-86 with modeling
dope. I started with Randolph nitrate clear,
applied filler coats of nitrate/zinc stearate,
then followed with several coats of silver
butyrate dope. I painted the center parts of the
F-86’s wings gray for corrosion control. The
antiglare panel is olive drab.
I made the lettering using blank decal
paper; it is blue with only the glue on it. I get
mine from T&A Hobby Lobby (3512 W.
Victory Blvd., Burbank CA 91505; Tel.:
[818] 842-5062). I believe that shop gets it
from Sig Manufacturing, although it is not
listed in the Sig catalog.
I spray four coats of butyrate dope on the
paper, then I lay a paper pattern over it. Using
a new #11 X-Acto blade, I cut through the
paper, just into the dope, like when making
tissue letters for a Free Flight model. I cut
away each letter or pattern with
approximately a 1⁄8-inch border around it, and
I have nice water-soluble decals without the
clear background around them.
I use a little decal set when applying the
characters, and I wipe up any excess decal
glue with a damp rag after they have dried.
They lay down great, and you can spray
butyrate clear over them with no problem! I
also did the insignia this way because I
wanted them to be the correct size.
This model begs for ink lines, but I can’t
seem to get into the right mind-set to do it;
and I don’t have the Rapidograph pens. Once
all of the decals are in place, I spray roughly
four coats of Randolph butyrate clear all over
the model, including the canopy, and follow it
with a little bit of polishing—another area I
tend to take lightly!
Flying: How does it fly? I don’t feel that I’m
qualified to say; I rarely practice and have
never flown an acknowledged “great” model.
I did take the F-86 to the Golden State Stunt
Championships in October 2000 and had the
opportunity to have resident expert test pilot
Bart (“Wheaties Welch”) Klapinski evaluate
it. (George “Wheaties” Welch was the North
American Aviation test pilot who flew the
first flights in the full-scale F-86A and D
aircraft.)
Bart reported that “The F-86 flies quite
well, as it does nothing funny at all. It’s a
groovy airplane, tracks well in both round and
square maneuvers, is a good-looking model,
and could easily win some contests.”
Canadian F2B (Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale Stunt) team
member Chris Cox also gave it a go, and
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08sig2.QXD 5.23.03 2:11 pm Page 39
he gave the following review.
“Ease of making round maneuvers round.
I have flown many high-end competition
models that would not do as nice a round
maneuver. All in all, an absolute joy to fly!
More than capable of winning. The only
advice I need to give is hold some downelevator
to keep the nose wheel on the ground
until the model is about ready to lift off. This
will keep the nose from turning in on you as
the model is released.”
The F-86D builds into a nice-looking model
that is different from the usual “Stunt
machine.” There are dozens of different paint
schemes you could use. If you make a
dummy APU (auxiliary power unit) that
plugs into the side of the fuselage for starting,
as I did, and have former Air Force personnel
for judges, you can have a great deal of fun
with your Sabre and maybe even take home
some hardware with it! MA
Don Hutchinson
4 Mistywood Ct.
Mansfield TX 76063