HEYWARD MACDONALD of Charlottesville, Virginia, scratchbuilt
a wonderful electric-powered, 10-foot-span de Havilland
Turbo Beaver using three-views and photographs that he found on
the Internet. He downloaded the airfoil data points and plotted them
into the Excel computer program to fabricate the wing and
horizontal stabilizer ribs. He also drew full-size plans from which to
build.
The de Havilland Beaver is a popular high-wing, radialpowered,
STOL (Short Takeoff & Landing) airplane that de
Havilland Canada designed primarily for use as a utility aircraft. It
was coined a “bush plane,” because it was capable of hauling cargo
and passengers into remote areas.
The Beaver was also used as a crop duster and was widely
adopted by the armed forces as a utility aircraft. If first flew in
1947, and more than 1,600 had been made when production ended
in 1967.
Heyward chose the Turbo
Beaver as his project, since it
is extremely stable and has a
nose structure that is easy to
translate to electric power.
The Beaver’s original radial
engine is now out of
production, which means that
replacement parts are getting
harder to find.
Some aircraft conversion
stations have addressed this
problem by replacing the
radial with a turboprop
engine, such as the Pratt &
Whitney PT6. The added
power and lighter installed
weight, along with the greater
availability of kerosene fuel
than high-octane aviation
gasoline, make this a desirable modification, albeit at a high cost.
Approximately 60 Turbo versions have been converted.
In the world of RC, turboprop aircraft can be good to make into
electric-powered models. Heyward’s model needed no additional
weight to achieve the proper CG.
The following excerpts are from Heyward’s submission to this
column.
“The wings of the Turbo Beaver were the same as the full size
aircraft. On my model, they are cantilevered and have a 3/4 inch
Aluminum tube with a small bit of dihedral. The struts are strong,
with Aluminum bars laminated with balsa and shaped to the same
airfoil as the lifting surfaces.
“I weighed the 3/32 sheet that I had planned to use to sheet the
wings and found that my 1/8 inch sheet was lighter, so the wings are
completely sheeted with 1/8 inch balsa. The wings have large flaps
and ailerons powered by FMA Digital 300
Servos. Additional Aluminum tubes join
the outer wing panels, as I mentioned.
“The fuselage is box-framed with
quarter-formers and 1/16 sheet. Each large
elevator half is powered by its own servo.
The vertical stab on the Turbo Beaver is
huge to provide stability for water
operation. Most Turbo Beavers were
produced with floats. It gives this model a
lot of stability.
“The stab is a zero lift airfoil and not a
simple fin. It too is sheeted, as is the
horizontal stab and elevator.
“The model has a huge cargo bay with
1/16 ply floor, which I can use to mount
loads on that I have not thought of as yet.
I didn’t bother to build the doors and fly
the plane with the large cargo doors off. It
looks kind of neat in the air that way.
“The rear doors are hinged and locked
closed with earth magnets. They provide
access to the receiver, the switch panel
(including the safety arming system) and
the Co-Pilot Flight Stabilization System,
which is really not needed for this plane.
“The electric motor is one of those 63
mm motors from China. I have tested
dozens of them and find some
manufacturers build junk and some build
really fine motors. This is a fine one. I have
run it at 3200 watts and it blew the rakes
off the wall of my garage. I do believe my
SUV was rocking. (That prop would cut a
cow in half, so safety is paramount; ergo,
the safety arming system.)
“The ESC is a 100 amp/12 cell unit. The
battery packs were the 5 cell FMA 5300s.
The FMA Cellpro 10s works beautifully to
keep these battery packs operating for the
long term.
“The wing is in three pieces with the
center part designed to fit the width of a
typical SUV. The struts fit to the tips of the
center section and the outer panels have an
aluminum tube that slides into a fiberglass
tube.
“All that is needed to set up the model
at the airfield is to slide the tubes into the
center wing section and attach the servo.
There are two Ikea furniture torque locks
on each center section tip that serve as
incidence pins and lock the wing panels
together. I can fly in five minutes after
arriving at the field.
“The model is intimidating because of
its size and the sound that big prop makes
when it roars down the runway and lifts off
in about 80 ft and climbs at a steeper angle
than expected, but it flies like a Super Cub.
It maneuvers in the sky in a scale-like
manner and slows down to a crawl,
especially with those big flaps.
“On its first landing, it greased in
without a bounce. The landing gear was
fabricated of 1/4 inch Aluminum and it has
soft five inch wheels.
“This is an amazing sight in the air
and a lot of fun to fly. The model looks
like the real thing in the air. It jumps off
the ground with all that power and 2000
sq in of lifting surface and is very easy
to fly. It is like a slow freight train flying
overhead. It took me 700 hours to design
and build.”
Barry Herthum of Summerfield, North
Carolina, built a 1/3-scale Fokker D.VIII
from a set of Ron Weiss plans. The model
spans 110 inches, has a length of 73 inches,
and has an all-up weight of roughly 30
pounds.
The Fokker is powered by a Zenoah
GT-80 twin-cylinder gas engine and is
equipped with Slimline mufflers that have
been made to accommodate a smoke
system. Barry uses the Sullivan SkyWriter
battery-powered smoke pump to send
smoke fluid into the mufflers. He installed
a pilot from Aces of Iron.
Barry built the model so he can join the
dawn patrol flights at Warbirds Over
Delaware. According to him, the D.VIII is
easy to fly and “handles like a Cub”;
however, Barry claims that it lands like a
chicken with its head cut off.
It seems like you’ve been spoiled by
years of flying WW II models, Barry!
Welcome to WW I aviation.
Having a full-time job, a part-time job, and
authoring this column makes it difficult to
find spare time to work on my RC models.
Nevertheless, I stole a few hours here and
there to press on with the Polikarpov I-16
build.
My most recent progress includes
adding detail features to the cowling. I used
flat brass strip and brass tubing to make the
gun ports and triangular-shaped intake. The
gun ports were easy to make. I merely cut
two sections of an appropriate-size brass
tube, drilled the holes into the cowling, and
glued them in place using thick CA.
I bent a piece of 5/8-inch-diameter brass
flat stock to shape and then soldered it
together to form the “intake.” As with the
gun ports, I used thick CA to glue the
intake in place.
Last, I made the large gun covers from a
5/8-inch-diameter wood dowel that I cut
diagonally and glued to a 1/32 plywood
base. The front halves of the two gun
covers are attached to the cowling, while
the rear halves are attached to the fuselage.
I coated the four pieces with finishing resin
and sanded them before I installed them.
What’s left to complete are the faux
cockpit doors, one on each side, and the
canopy (windscreen). Stay tuned as this
project nears completion.
That’s all for now. Don’t be shy; please let
me know if you have any questions or
concerns. Have a great time at the field! MA
Sources:
International Miniature Aircraft
Association
www.fly-imaa.org
Ron Weiss plans
(631) 427-7312
106 MODEL AVIATION
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/08
Page Numbers: 104,105,106
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/08
Page Numbers: 104,105,106
HEYWARD MACDONALD of Charlottesville, Virginia, scratchbuilt
a wonderful electric-powered, 10-foot-span de Havilland
Turbo Beaver using three-views and photographs that he found on
the Internet. He downloaded the airfoil data points and plotted them
into the Excel computer program to fabricate the wing and
horizontal stabilizer ribs. He also drew full-size plans from which to
build.
The de Havilland Beaver is a popular high-wing, radialpowered,
STOL (Short Takeoff & Landing) airplane that de
Havilland Canada designed primarily for use as a utility aircraft. It
was coined a “bush plane,” because it was capable of hauling cargo
and passengers into remote areas.
The Beaver was also used as a crop duster and was widely
adopted by the armed forces as a utility aircraft. If first flew in
1947, and more than 1,600 had been made when production ended
in 1967.
Heyward chose the Turbo
Beaver as his project, since it
is extremely stable and has a
nose structure that is easy to
translate to electric power.
The Beaver’s original radial
engine is now out of
production, which means that
replacement parts are getting
harder to find.
Some aircraft conversion
stations have addressed this
problem by replacing the
radial with a turboprop
engine, such as the Pratt &
Whitney PT6. The added
power and lighter installed
weight, along with the greater
availability of kerosene fuel
than high-octane aviation
gasoline, make this a desirable modification, albeit at a high cost.
Approximately 60 Turbo versions have been converted.
In the world of RC, turboprop aircraft can be good to make into
electric-powered models. Heyward’s model needed no additional
weight to achieve the proper CG.
The following excerpts are from Heyward’s submission to this
column.
“The wings of the Turbo Beaver were the same as the full size
aircraft. On my model, they are cantilevered and have a 3/4 inch
Aluminum tube with a small bit of dihedral. The struts are strong,
with Aluminum bars laminated with balsa and shaped to the same
airfoil as the lifting surfaces.
“I weighed the 3/32 sheet that I had planned to use to sheet the
wings and found that my 1/8 inch sheet was lighter, so the wings are
completely sheeted with 1/8 inch balsa. The wings have large flaps
and ailerons powered by FMA Digital 300
Servos. Additional Aluminum tubes join
the outer wing panels, as I mentioned.
“The fuselage is box-framed with
quarter-formers and 1/16 sheet. Each large
elevator half is powered by its own servo.
The vertical stab on the Turbo Beaver is
huge to provide stability for water
operation. Most Turbo Beavers were
produced with floats. It gives this model a
lot of stability.
“The stab is a zero lift airfoil and not a
simple fin. It too is sheeted, as is the
horizontal stab and elevator.
“The model has a huge cargo bay with
1/16 ply floor, which I can use to mount
loads on that I have not thought of as yet.
I didn’t bother to build the doors and fly
the plane with the large cargo doors off. It
looks kind of neat in the air that way.
“The rear doors are hinged and locked
closed with earth magnets. They provide
access to the receiver, the switch panel
(including the safety arming system) and
the Co-Pilot Flight Stabilization System,
which is really not needed for this plane.
“The electric motor is one of those 63
mm motors from China. I have tested
dozens of them and find some
manufacturers build junk and some build
really fine motors. This is a fine one. I have
run it at 3200 watts and it blew the rakes
off the wall of my garage. I do believe my
SUV was rocking. (That prop would cut a
cow in half, so safety is paramount; ergo,
the safety arming system.)
“The ESC is a 100 amp/12 cell unit. The
battery packs were the 5 cell FMA 5300s.
The FMA Cellpro 10s works beautifully to
keep these battery packs operating for the
long term.
“The wing is in three pieces with the
center part designed to fit the width of a
typical SUV. The struts fit to the tips of the
center section and the outer panels have an
aluminum tube that slides into a fiberglass
tube.
“All that is needed to set up the model
at the airfield is to slide the tubes into the
center wing section and attach the servo.
There are two Ikea furniture torque locks
on each center section tip that serve as
incidence pins and lock the wing panels
together. I can fly in five minutes after
arriving at the field.
“The model is intimidating because of
its size and the sound that big prop makes
when it roars down the runway and lifts off
in about 80 ft and climbs at a steeper angle
than expected, but it flies like a Super Cub.
It maneuvers in the sky in a scale-like
manner and slows down to a crawl,
especially with those big flaps.
“On its first landing, it greased in
without a bounce. The landing gear was
fabricated of 1/4 inch Aluminum and it has
soft five inch wheels.
“This is an amazing sight in the air
and a lot of fun to fly. The model looks
like the real thing in the air. It jumps off
the ground with all that power and 2000
sq in of lifting surface and is very easy
to fly. It is like a slow freight train flying
overhead. It took me 700 hours to design
and build.”
Barry Herthum of Summerfield, North
Carolina, built a 1/3-scale Fokker D.VIII
from a set of Ron Weiss plans. The model
spans 110 inches, has a length of 73 inches,
and has an all-up weight of roughly 30
pounds.
The Fokker is powered by a Zenoah
GT-80 twin-cylinder gas engine and is
equipped with Slimline mufflers that have
been made to accommodate a smoke
system. Barry uses the Sullivan SkyWriter
battery-powered smoke pump to send
smoke fluid into the mufflers. He installed
a pilot from Aces of Iron.
Barry built the model so he can join the
dawn patrol flights at Warbirds Over
Delaware. According to him, the D.VIII is
easy to fly and “handles like a Cub”;
however, Barry claims that it lands like a
chicken with its head cut off.
It seems like you’ve been spoiled by
years of flying WW II models, Barry!
Welcome to WW I aviation.
Having a full-time job, a part-time job, and
authoring this column makes it difficult to
find spare time to work on my RC models.
Nevertheless, I stole a few hours here and
there to press on with the Polikarpov I-16
build.
My most recent progress includes
adding detail features to the cowling. I used
flat brass strip and brass tubing to make the
gun ports and triangular-shaped intake. The
gun ports were easy to make. I merely cut
two sections of an appropriate-size brass
tube, drilled the holes into the cowling, and
glued them in place using thick CA.
I bent a piece of 5/8-inch-diameter brass
flat stock to shape and then soldered it
together to form the “intake.” As with the
gun ports, I used thick CA to glue the
intake in place.
Last, I made the large gun covers from a
5/8-inch-diameter wood dowel that I cut
diagonally and glued to a 1/32 plywood
base. The front halves of the two gun
covers are attached to the cowling, while
the rear halves are attached to the fuselage.
I coated the four pieces with finishing resin
and sanded them before I installed them.
What’s left to complete are the faux
cockpit doors, one on each side, and the
canopy (windscreen). Stay tuned as this
project nears completion.
That’s all for now. Don’t be shy; please let
me know if you have any questions or
concerns. Have a great time at the field! MA
Sources:
International Miniature Aircraft
Association
www.fly-imaa.org
Ron Weiss plans
(631) 427-7312
106 MODEL AVIATION
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/08
Page Numbers: 104,105,106
HEYWARD MACDONALD of Charlottesville, Virginia, scratchbuilt
a wonderful electric-powered, 10-foot-span de Havilland
Turbo Beaver using three-views and photographs that he found on
the Internet. He downloaded the airfoil data points and plotted them
into the Excel computer program to fabricate the wing and
horizontal stabilizer ribs. He also drew full-size plans from which to
build.
The de Havilland Beaver is a popular high-wing, radialpowered,
STOL (Short Takeoff & Landing) airplane that de
Havilland Canada designed primarily for use as a utility aircraft. It
was coined a “bush plane,” because it was capable of hauling cargo
and passengers into remote areas.
The Beaver was also used as a crop duster and was widely
adopted by the armed forces as a utility aircraft. If first flew in
1947, and more than 1,600 had been made when production ended
in 1967.
Heyward chose the Turbo
Beaver as his project, since it
is extremely stable and has a
nose structure that is easy to
translate to electric power.
The Beaver’s original radial
engine is now out of
production, which means that
replacement parts are getting
harder to find.
Some aircraft conversion
stations have addressed this
problem by replacing the
radial with a turboprop
engine, such as the Pratt &
Whitney PT6. The added
power and lighter installed
weight, along with the greater
availability of kerosene fuel
than high-octane aviation
gasoline, make this a desirable modification, albeit at a high cost.
Approximately 60 Turbo versions have been converted.
In the world of RC, turboprop aircraft can be good to make into
electric-powered models. Heyward’s model needed no additional
weight to achieve the proper CG.
The following excerpts are from Heyward’s submission to this
column.
“The wings of the Turbo Beaver were the same as the full size
aircraft. On my model, they are cantilevered and have a 3/4 inch
Aluminum tube with a small bit of dihedral. The struts are strong,
with Aluminum bars laminated with balsa and shaped to the same
airfoil as the lifting surfaces.
“I weighed the 3/32 sheet that I had planned to use to sheet the
wings and found that my 1/8 inch sheet was lighter, so the wings are
completely sheeted with 1/8 inch balsa. The wings have large flaps
and ailerons powered by FMA Digital 300
Servos. Additional Aluminum tubes join
the outer wing panels, as I mentioned.
“The fuselage is box-framed with
quarter-formers and 1/16 sheet. Each large
elevator half is powered by its own servo.
The vertical stab on the Turbo Beaver is
huge to provide stability for water
operation. Most Turbo Beavers were
produced with floats. It gives this model a
lot of stability.
“The stab is a zero lift airfoil and not a
simple fin. It too is sheeted, as is the
horizontal stab and elevator.
“The model has a huge cargo bay with
1/16 ply floor, which I can use to mount
loads on that I have not thought of as yet.
I didn’t bother to build the doors and fly
the plane with the large cargo doors off. It
looks kind of neat in the air that way.
“The rear doors are hinged and locked
closed with earth magnets. They provide
access to the receiver, the switch panel
(including the safety arming system) and
the Co-Pilot Flight Stabilization System,
which is really not needed for this plane.
“The electric motor is one of those 63
mm motors from China. I have tested
dozens of them and find some
manufacturers build junk and some build
really fine motors. This is a fine one. I have
run it at 3200 watts and it blew the rakes
off the wall of my garage. I do believe my
SUV was rocking. (That prop would cut a
cow in half, so safety is paramount; ergo,
the safety arming system.)
“The ESC is a 100 amp/12 cell unit. The
battery packs were the 5 cell FMA 5300s.
The FMA Cellpro 10s works beautifully to
keep these battery packs operating for the
long term.
“The wing is in three pieces with the
center part designed to fit the width of a
typical SUV. The struts fit to the tips of the
center section and the outer panels have an
aluminum tube that slides into a fiberglass
tube.
“All that is needed to set up the model
at the airfield is to slide the tubes into the
center wing section and attach the servo.
There are two Ikea furniture torque locks
on each center section tip that serve as
incidence pins and lock the wing panels
together. I can fly in five minutes after
arriving at the field.
“The model is intimidating because of
its size and the sound that big prop makes
when it roars down the runway and lifts off
in about 80 ft and climbs at a steeper angle
than expected, but it flies like a Super Cub.
It maneuvers in the sky in a scale-like
manner and slows down to a crawl,
especially with those big flaps.
“On its first landing, it greased in
without a bounce. The landing gear was
fabricated of 1/4 inch Aluminum and it has
soft five inch wheels.
“This is an amazing sight in the air
and a lot of fun to fly. The model looks
like the real thing in the air. It jumps off
the ground with all that power and 2000
sq in of lifting surface and is very easy
to fly. It is like a slow freight train flying
overhead. It took me 700 hours to design
and build.”
Barry Herthum of Summerfield, North
Carolina, built a 1/3-scale Fokker D.VIII
from a set of Ron Weiss plans. The model
spans 110 inches, has a length of 73 inches,
and has an all-up weight of roughly 30
pounds.
The Fokker is powered by a Zenoah
GT-80 twin-cylinder gas engine and is
equipped with Slimline mufflers that have
been made to accommodate a smoke
system. Barry uses the Sullivan SkyWriter
battery-powered smoke pump to send
smoke fluid into the mufflers. He installed
a pilot from Aces of Iron.
Barry built the model so he can join the
dawn patrol flights at Warbirds Over
Delaware. According to him, the D.VIII is
easy to fly and “handles like a Cub”;
however, Barry claims that it lands like a
chicken with its head cut off.
It seems like you’ve been spoiled by
years of flying WW II models, Barry!
Welcome to WW I aviation.
Having a full-time job, a part-time job, and
authoring this column makes it difficult to
find spare time to work on my RC models.
Nevertheless, I stole a few hours here and
there to press on with the Polikarpov I-16
build.
My most recent progress includes
adding detail features to the cowling. I used
flat brass strip and brass tubing to make the
gun ports and triangular-shaped intake. The
gun ports were easy to make. I merely cut
two sections of an appropriate-size brass
tube, drilled the holes into the cowling, and
glued them in place using thick CA.
I bent a piece of 5/8-inch-diameter brass
flat stock to shape and then soldered it
together to form the “intake.” As with the
gun ports, I used thick CA to glue the
intake in place.
Last, I made the large gun covers from a
5/8-inch-diameter wood dowel that I cut
diagonally and glued to a 1/32 plywood
base. The front halves of the two gun
covers are attached to the cowling, while
the rear halves are attached to the fuselage.
I coated the four pieces with finishing resin
and sanded them before I installed them.
What’s left to complete are the faux
cockpit doors, one on each side, and the
canopy (windscreen). Stay tuned as this
project nears completion.
That’s all for now. Don’t be shy; please let
me know if you have any questions or
concerns. Have a great time at the field! MA
Sources:
International Miniature Aircraft
Association
www.fly-imaa.org
Ron Weiss plans
(631) 427-7312
106 MODEL AVIATION
