Right Angle - 2004/05

18 MODEL AVIATION
R
I
G
H
T
A N G L E
by Dick Sarpolus
A SuperTigre .90 engine with a Macs Products muffled tuned
pipe provides plenty of power to go vertical!
I LIKE TO design and scratch-build my own aircraft projects,
and I like to keep up with the aircraft that are being commercially
produced in kit and ARF form. These days there seem to be more
new ARFs than kits, and many of the new ARF aerobatic aircraft
feature lightweight construction with techniques that are difficult
for scratch builders to use.
I’m thinking of features such as the full-length light-plywood
fuselage sides that have many cutouts made by die cutting or
If you’re looking
for an easy-to-build
sport aerobatic model,
your search has ended!
laser cutting. Modelers could get large
sheets of the light plywood, lay out similar
weight-saving cutout patterns, and make
the cutouts with a scroll saw, a coping
saw, or a Dremel tool, but it would be a
long process for one scratch-built
aircraft—a process I wouldn’t want to go
through.
I could substitute a built-up structure,
but, again, I don’t look forward to the cutthe-
sticks-and-glue process and prefer to
work with sheet balsa rather than light
plywood. I would also think that some of
those extra-light ARFs would be fragile
for everyday fun use, and I want an
airplane that can handle a reasonable
amount of bouncing around.
With the preceding in mind, I went to
the drafting table and laid out the Right
Angle. It’s an attempt to get a much
lighter than “normal,” good-sized sport
aerobatic aircraft while compromising to
keep it easy to scratch-build and rugged
enough for some less than gentle
treatment.
The important statistics are the Right
Angle’s 62-inch wingspan, 60-inch length,
and roughly 900-square-inch wing area,
which I thought would be lively with a
SuperTigre .90 that I liked.
All the control surfaces are generously
sized and built up for lightness. The wing
has an extra-thick fully symmetrical airfoil
and plenty of drag because I didn’t want
this thing to go too fast. The wing is built
up, with lightening holes in the ribs, LE
sheeting, and top and bottom spars with
vertical-grain I-Beam webbing for
strength.
The fuselage was constructed with
sheet-balsa sides and plywood
doublers up front. There are holes
in the plywood doublers and the
rear section to save weight. The
fuselage is primarily a box,
but it has balsa sheeting up
front for a cockpit area; I
preferred that to gluing a plastic
canopy on top. The engine, hardware,
and radio-equipment installation are
typical. I like the final appearance; it’s a
little more than another Stick.
But is the Right Angle superlight? It
came out at 7 pounds ready to go. I had
hoped for 6.5 pounds or less, but I think I
used too much heavy wood and epoxy.
The lightening holes could be larger and I
could have used more of them, along with
lighter and/or thinner balsa in places.
Bob Hunt reminded me that no building
material is lighter than air, so I did try for
a minimum of structure but wanted to keep
it fairly strong. Hey, 7 pounds on 900
square inches of wing area with a piped
.90 results in a lively airplane, and this one
will do more stuff than I can make it do.
I’m having fun seeing just what it will do.
This model will hover vertically on a good
bit less than full power; now if only I
could work the controls properly to keep it
in a stable hover. I hope to get there.
I’m glad we have dual-rate radios. On
May 2004 19
The author holds his model. It is a man-size airplane, but it is easy to build and
transport. There’s nothing difficult in the way of construction.
Nothing is more beautiful than sunlight shining through transparent covering on a wellcrafted
structure. This is a stable and capable aircraft!
Photos courtesy the author
20 MODEL AVIATION
R
I
G
H
T
A N G L E
Crafting your own
airplane is at least half
the fun of modeling!
This is a great first
building project for
ARF fans.
Make a “kit” of parts; assembly will go quicker. Fixture tabs on bottom of ribs are removed after wing is assembled.
high rate it can get scary, and on low rate I can actually feel
comfortable flying it. This is not a contest airplane; it’s for casual
fun-flying. It would probably be good with anything from a .60
up to a 1.20, as long as you don’t stress it too much with a larger
engine.
If you are a dedicated scratch builder and want a Right Angle,
you’ll probably just grab the plans and some wood and start
cutting parts; it won’t take long. I don’t recommend it for a first
attempt at scratch building. But then again, if you want to give it
a try, why not?
If you’re not into scratch building but would still like to try
the Right Angle, Joe Grasso is a good custom kit cutter. You can
contact him at 8 Quiet Forest, Sylva NC 28779; Tel.: (828) 631-
3693; E-mail: [email protected].
You will need a scroll saw or a band saw to cut the parts to
make your own kit. I used a hole saw in a drill press to cut the
lightening holes in the wing ribs and plywood fuselage doublers.
A hole saw doesn’t work too well in balsa; it made ragged cuts
for me. I’ve been told that sharpening the end of a thin-walled
brass tube makes a good hole cutter for balsa. I drew the
fuselage-side lightening holes onto the wood, cut them out
roughly with a modeling knife, and then finished them with a
Dremel drum sander.
CONSTRUCTION
Wing: Start construction with the wing. I build directly over the
Type: RC sport aerobatic
Wingspan: 62 inches
Engine: SuperTigre .90 with Mac’s
Products muffled tuned pipe
Flying weight: 7 pounds
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: MonoKote
May 2004 21
plans, covering them with waxed paper for protection. Hold the
lower spar in place with lead weights, and pin and glue the wing
ribs in place. You’ll have to shape the TE wood. I did it with a
sharp razor plane and a sanding block; it didn’t take long.
Add the vertical-grain spar webbing before the top spar. Add
the LE, the forward sheeting, the TE sheeting, and the capstrips
before removing the wing panel from the building surface.
You will have to edge-glue some sheet balsa together to
make the LE sheeting because it’s fairly wide. Once you have
sheeted and capstripped the top of the wing, turn it over to
allow the other side’s LE and TE sheeting and capstrips to be
added.
Add the center-section sheeting after you have joined the
wing halves. I cut the slots in the center two ribs of each wing
panel for the plywood joiner with a sharp modeling knife, and I
epoxied the two wing panels together on a flat surface.
Cut notches into the two closely spaced ribs for plywood
servo mounts. I inserted two hardwood blocks through the wing
TE positions for the nylon hold-down bolts. You can glue
cardboard tubes in place for the aileron servo extension cables.
Glue balsa caps on the outer ends of the wing. I did apply a
small amount of fiberglass cloth and epoxy around the LEs and
TEs only in the center-section.
Build the ailerons and the tail surfaces over the plans,
cutting all the strip balsa to fit as required. An option is to use a
one-piece center flap on the wing. This would be an easy
modification, requiring trimming the fuselage bottom behind
the TE to stop the wing flap in the neutral position. Only one
servo would be required to lower the flap. It might be fun to see
what you could do with the flap in various positions.
Fuselage: The fuselage is a conventional box type. Start its
construction by gluing the plywood doublers on the nose
section. Add the 1⁄4-inch-square balsa strips and wing-saddle
pieces to each fuselage side.
Epoxy the firewall and the next three bulkheads in place on
one of the fuselage sides. After you have added the opposite
side, you can pull the sides together in the rear and add the rear
bulkheads. I do not add the rear bottom sheeting until I have
installed the pushrods.
Cut the balsa pieces for the cockpit-area sides a bit oversize
to allow for their lower edges to be beveled to seat on the main
fuselage sides, and then glue them in place. Bevel their top
edges with a sanding block so that the top sheets can be added.
Rounding all the fuselage edges adds to the appearance.
I made the grooved hardwood landing-gear block from
maple with the aid of a small hobby-type table saw. The
forward engine-cowl pieces are added after the radial engine
mount and engine are in place. You could fair the cowl into the
spinner or round off the two fuselage side pieces as I did on the
prototype.
Final Assembly: Fit the fuselage cutout to the wing centersection,
glue the plywood mounting tab into the wing centersection,
and then drill through the wing for the two nylon wingmounting
bolts. Add the horizontal stabilizer and fin, and
square them with the wing and fuselage.
I used Sullivan’s Precision Push Rods with their carbonfiber-
composite inner rods—one for each elevator half and one
for the rudder. The tail-wheel bracket is a light nylon piece with
the tail-wheel wire inserted into the rudder.
I employed a 16-ounce fuel tank and standard Futaba radio
equipment. I used a K&S wire bender to shape the 3⁄16-inchdiameter
wire landing gear, and I like Dave Brown Products
lightweight wheels with foam tires.
Finish: The covering material is MonoKote, and I used the
transparent type for most of the airframe. After doing all that
work to make a light aircraft, I wanted to be able to see the
structure.
Flying: I took my SuperTigre .90 engine with its Macs Products
Scratch-Build,
Kit-Build, or ARF?
If you look through airplane modeling magazines, it’s
obvious that ARFs are where much of the commercial
action is in the RC arena. I’m sure there are more new ARFs
coming onto the market than construction kits, and I’d bet
there is much less kit-building and scratch-building going
on.
Some of the local RC-club members are saying that it
makes more financial sense to buy an ARF airframe than to
assemble a kit. Given the high quality of many of today’s
ARFs and what you get for the money, they could be right.
For trainer aircraft, sport/aerobatic aircraft, or sport/scale
aircraft, an ARF can be a good deal. Even turbine- and
ducted-fan-powered jet models are available in ARF form.
I imagine that serious Pattern competitors, Pylon racers,
and Scale competitors are still building their own airframes,
although more and more prefabricated airplanes are
available. It seems as though it’s the more casual Sunday
fliers—the informal competition fliers—who have taken so
much to the ARFs.
Is this bad for the hobby? Many old-timers believe it is,
and I can understand their feelings. Before the ARFs,
building an airplane was considered an integral part of the
hobby. You had to build to fly, and that’s what we did.
However, things change, and RC-aircraft manufacturing
has changed. Now you can get excellent airplanes prebuilt,
covered, and almost ready to fly. Many longtime modelers
are buying ARFs, and those who are new to the hobby are
certainly getting in fast and easily with the ARFs.
I don’t know what the long-term effects will be, but I’m
guessing that many modelers will buy ARFs, many will
continue to build from kits, smaller numbers will build from
magazine plans, and some will continue to design and build
from scratch. The hobby will go on, and competition flying
will continue, but the rules may change to accommodate the
ARFs that more and more modelers will be using.
I just plain like to spend time in the workshop and out on
the flying field. I like to start with a blank sheet of paper or
work from plans, get the materials together, cut the parts,
and build an airframe. Designing and building will always
be an important part of this great hobby for me. MA
—Dick Sarpolus
muffled tuned pipe from another aircraft. I liked and had faith in
that power system, so I knew it would already be set up and
reliable in this new project.
I set up the controls for all the rudder throw I could get and
dual rates for practically minimum elevator and aileron throw on
low rate, with plenty of movement on the high rate.
The test flight was fun; the Right Angle jumped off the
ground, and it was soon apparent that full throttle would seldom
be needed. With low rates on the controls, it flew like most sport
aerobatic aircraft; high rates gave the tight loops and quick rolls
typical of hot fun-flier airplanes.
Each pilot will set things up to suit his or her preferences. For
some lively fun-flying, the Right Angle might be for you. MA
Dick Sarpolus
32 Alameda Ct.
Shrewsbury NJ 07702
[email protected]
22 MODEL AVIATION
Full-Size Plans Available—see page 199
F u l l - S i z e P l a n s
957 Right Angle ................................................................................................$15.00
RC sport aerobatic model by Sarpolus spans 62 inches
No. 910 3Quarters: RC sport model by Randolph for Norvel .074 spans 45 inches B
No. 911 P-47: RC Scale Electric model by Ryan for Speed 400 spans 31 inches C
No. 912 Simple Simone: CL trainer by Netzeband for glow .15 engine spans 36 inches B
No. 916 Piper Malibu Mirage: Rubber-powered Giant Scale by Fineman spans 431/2 inches C
No. 917 Sir Lancelot: RC sport model by Henry for O.S. .61 spans 72 inches D
No. 918 Skyraider: CL 1/2A Profile by Sarpolus for Norvel BigMig .061 spans 29 inches B
No. 925 Bird-E-Dog: Ernie Heyworth and Ed Lokken’s RC Electric Sport Scale model C
No. 926 JoeCat: RC sport jet by Beshar for Toki .18 DF unit spans 37 inches C
No. 927 Kairos: CL Stunt model by Dixon for .46-.61 engine spans 58 inches C
No. 928 Beta Blue Chip Racer: Rubber-powered FF Scale model designed by Tom Derber B
No. 929 Dewoitine D.338: Multimotor RC Electric Scale by Mikulasko spans 781/2 inches E
No. 930 Westland Lysander: RC Scale model by Baker for .25 spans 56 inches E
No. 931 1959 Ares: Champion RC Aerobatics model by Werwage spans 501/2 inches C
No. 932 Wing400: RC Electric flying wing by Hanley for Speed 400 spans 36 inches B
No. 933 Kepler 450: CL speed-limit Combat model by Edwards for .21-.32 two-stroke A
Plan does not include full-size template shown on page 40 of the August 2002 issue.
No. 934 VariEze: FF Peanut Scale canard by Heckman spans 13 inches A
No. 935 Classic 320: 1/2A Classic Power design by Pailet for Cyclon .049 or equivalent B
No. 936 Prince: RC sport Pattern model by Robelen for O.S. .25 spans 51 inches C
No. 937 Clean Cut: RC sport aerobatic model by Sarpolus spans 90 inches E
No. 938 Diamond Gem: Compressed-air-powered FF sport model by Ken Johnson B
No. 939 Project Extra: RC Scale Aerobatics model by Mike Hurley spans 106 inches **$49.50
No. 940 Cessna No.1: RC Electric Sport Scale by Papic spans 321/2 inches B
No. 941 Mooney and Beechcraft Bonanza CL 1/2A profile sport models by Rick Sarpolus B
No. 942 Zenith CH 801: FF Rubber Scale model by Fineman spans 20 inches A
No. 943 Wildman 60: Old-Time Ignition CL Stunt model by Carter spans 59 1/2 inches C
No. 944 Shoestring: Semiscale RC sport Pattern design by de Bolt spans 60 inches D
No. 945 F-86 Sabre: Semiscale CL Stunt model by Hutchinson spans 56 inches E
No. 946 Electric Zephyr: Electric RC Pylon/sport model by Smith spans 40 inches B
No. 947 Chester Special: O.S. .40-powered CL Scale model by Beatty spans 43 inches **$27.00
No. 948 Moffett Reduxl: High-performance Rubber-powered FF design by Langenberg C
No. 949 Scratch-One: Electric RC sailplane/basic trainer by Aberle spans 45 inches B
No. 950 BareCat 650-C: CL sport Stunt model by Netzeband spans 54 1/4 inches E
No. 951 Douglas O-46A: RC Sport Scale model by Baker spans 54 inches E
No. 952 Lavochkin LaGG-3: Felton’s CL Sport Scale design made from cardboard E
No. 953 USA-1: Multiple-award-winning CL Stunt model by Werwage spans 61 1/2 inches C
No. 954 B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber: Electric FF model by Ken Johnson spans 42 inches B
No. 955 Electric Flash: Electric-powered RC park flyer by Stewart spans 44 inches C
No. 956 Grumman F-4F Wildcat: Jim Ryan’s RC Electric fighter spans 30.6 inches C
Full-size plan list available. A complete listing of all plans previously published in this
magazine through no. 956 may be obtained free of charge by writing (enclose 78¢
stamped, pre-addressed #10 business-size letter envelope) Model Aviation, 5161 E.
Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
**Special Price

18 MODEL AVIATION
R
I
G
H
T
A N G L E
by Dick Sarpolus
A SuperTigre .90 engine with a Macs Products muffled tuned
pipe provides plenty of power to go vertical!
I LIKE TO design and scratch-build my own aircraft projects,
and I like to keep up with the aircraft that are being commercially
produced in kit and ARF form. These days there seem to be more
new ARFs than kits, and many of the new ARF aerobatic aircraft
feature lightweight construction with techniques that are difficult
for scratch builders to use.
I’m thinking of features such as the full-length light-plywood
fuselage sides that have many cutouts made by die cutting or
If you’re looking
for an easy-to-build
sport aerobatic model,
your search has ended!
laser cutting. Modelers could get large
sheets of the light plywood, lay out similar
weight-saving cutout patterns, and make
the cutouts with a scroll saw, a coping
saw, or a Dremel tool, but it would be a
long process for one scratch-built
aircraft—a process I wouldn’t want to go
through.
I could substitute a built-up structure,
but, again, I don’t look forward to the cutthe-
sticks-and-glue process and prefer to
work with sheet balsa rather than light
plywood. I would also think that some of
those extra-light ARFs would be fragile
for everyday fun use, and I want an
airplane that can handle a reasonable
amount of bouncing around.
With the preceding in mind, I went to
the drafting table and laid out the Right
Angle. It’s an attempt to get a much
lighter than “normal,” good-sized sport
aerobatic aircraft while compromising to
keep it easy to scratch-build and rugged
enough for some less than gentle
treatment.
The important statistics are the Right
Angle’s 62-inch wingspan, 60-inch length,
and roughly 900-square-inch wing area,
which I thought would be lively with a
SuperTigre .90 that I liked.
All the control surfaces are generously
sized and built up for lightness. The wing
has an extra-thick fully symmetrical airfoil
and plenty of drag because I didn’t want
this thing to go too fast. The wing is built
up, with lightening holes in the ribs, LE
sheeting, and top and bottom spars with
vertical-grain I-Beam webbing for
strength.
The fuselage was constructed with
sheet-balsa sides and plywood
doublers up front. There are holes
in the plywood doublers and the
rear section to save weight. The
fuselage is primarily a box,
but it has balsa sheeting up
front for a cockpit area; I
preferred that to gluing a plastic
canopy on top. The engine, hardware,
and radio-equipment installation are
typical. I like the final appearance; it’s a
little more than another Stick.
But is the Right Angle superlight? It
came out at 7 pounds ready to go. I had
hoped for 6.5 pounds or less, but I think I
used too much heavy wood and epoxy.
The lightening holes could be larger and I
could have used more of them, along with
lighter and/or thinner balsa in places.
Bob Hunt reminded me that no building
material is lighter than air, so I did try for
a minimum of structure but wanted to keep
it fairly strong. Hey, 7 pounds on 900
square inches of wing area with a piped
.90 results in a lively airplane, and this one
will do more stuff than I can make it do.
I’m having fun seeing just what it will do.
This model will hover vertically on a good
bit less than full power; now if only I
could work the controls properly to keep it
in a stable hover. I hope to get there.
I’m glad we have dual-rate radios. On
May 2004 19
The author holds his model. It is a man-size airplane, but it is easy to build and
transport. There’s nothing difficult in the way of construction.
Nothing is more beautiful than sunlight shining through transparent covering on a wellcrafted
structure. This is a stable and capable aircraft!
Photos courtesy the author
20 MODEL AVIATION
R
I
G
H
T
A N G L E
Crafting your own
airplane is at least half
the fun of modeling!
This is a great first
building project for
ARF fans.
Make a “kit” of parts; assembly will go quicker. Fixture tabs on bottom of ribs are removed after wing is assembled.
high rate it can get scary, and on low rate I can actually feel
comfortable flying it. This is not a contest airplane; it’s for casual
fun-flying. It would probably be good with anything from a .60
up to a 1.20, as long as you don’t stress it too much with a larger
engine.
If you are a dedicated scratch builder and want a Right Angle,
you’ll probably just grab the plans and some wood and start
cutting parts; it won’t take long. I don’t recommend it for a first
attempt at scratch building. But then again, if you want to give it
a try, why not?
If you’re not into scratch building but would still like to try
the Right Angle, Joe Grasso is a good custom kit cutter. You can
contact him at 8 Quiet Forest, Sylva NC 28779; Tel.: (828) 631-
3693; E-mail: [email protected].
You will need a scroll saw or a band saw to cut the parts to
make your own kit. I used a hole saw in a drill press to cut the
lightening holes in the wing ribs and plywood fuselage doublers.
A hole saw doesn’t work too well in balsa; it made ragged cuts
for me. I’ve been told that sharpening the end of a thin-walled
brass tube makes a good hole cutter for balsa. I drew the
fuselage-side lightening holes onto the wood, cut them out
roughly with a modeling knife, and then finished them with a
Dremel drum sander.
CONSTRUCTION
Wing: Start construction with the wing. I build directly over the
Type: RC sport aerobatic
Wingspan: 62 inches
Engine: SuperTigre .90 with Mac’s
Products muffled tuned pipe
Flying weight: 7 pounds
Construction: Balsa and plywood
Covering/finish: MonoKote
May 2004 21
plans, covering them with waxed paper for protection. Hold the
lower spar in place with lead weights, and pin and glue the wing
ribs in place. You’ll have to shape the TE wood. I did it with a
sharp razor plane and a sanding block; it didn’t take long.
Add the vertical-grain spar webbing before the top spar. Add
the LE, the forward sheeting, the TE sheeting, and the capstrips
before removing the wing panel from the building surface.
You will have to edge-glue some sheet balsa together to
make the LE sheeting because it’s fairly wide. Once you have
sheeted and capstripped the top of the wing, turn it over to
allow the other side’s LE and TE sheeting and capstrips to be
added.
Add the center-section sheeting after you have joined the
wing halves. I cut the slots in the center two ribs of each wing
panel for the plywood joiner with a sharp modeling knife, and I
epoxied the two wing panels together on a flat surface.
Cut notches into the two closely spaced ribs for plywood
servo mounts. I inserted two hardwood blocks through the wing
TE positions for the nylon hold-down bolts. You can glue
cardboard tubes in place for the aileron servo extension cables.
Glue balsa caps on the outer ends of the wing. I did apply a
small amount of fiberglass cloth and epoxy around the LEs and
TEs only in the center-section.
Build the ailerons and the tail surfaces over the plans,
cutting all the strip balsa to fit as required. An option is to use a
one-piece center flap on the wing. This would be an easy
modification, requiring trimming the fuselage bottom behind
the TE to stop the wing flap in the neutral position. Only one
servo would be required to lower the flap. It might be fun to see
what you could do with the flap in various positions.
Fuselage: The fuselage is a conventional box type. Start its
construction by gluing the plywood doublers on the nose
section. Add the 1⁄4-inch-square balsa strips and wing-saddle
pieces to each fuselage side.
Epoxy the firewall and the next three bulkheads in place on
one of the fuselage sides. After you have added the opposite
side, you can pull the sides together in the rear and add the rear
bulkheads. I do not add the rear bottom sheeting until I have
installed the pushrods.
Cut the balsa pieces for the cockpit-area sides a bit oversize
to allow for their lower edges to be beveled to seat on the main
fuselage sides, and then glue them in place. Bevel their top
edges with a sanding block so that the top sheets can be added.
Rounding all the fuselage edges adds to the appearance.
I made the grooved hardwood landing-gear block from
maple with the aid of a small hobby-type table saw. The
forward engine-cowl pieces are added after the radial engine
mount and engine are in place. You could fair the cowl into the
spinner or round off the two fuselage side pieces as I did on the
prototype.
Final Assembly: Fit the fuselage cutout to the wing centersection,
glue the plywood mounting tab into the wing centersection,
and then drill through the wing for the two nylon wingmounting
bolts. Add the horizontal stabilizer and fin, and
square them with the wing and fuselage.
I used Sullivan’s Precision Push Rods with their carbonfiber-
composite inner rods—one for each elevator half and one
for the rudder. The tail-wheel bracket is a light nylon piece with
the tail-wheel wire inserted into the rudder.
I employed a 16-ounce fuel tank and standard Futaba radio
equipment. I used a K&S wire bender to shape the 3⁄16-inchdiameter
wire landing gear, and I like Dave Brown Products
lightweight wheels with foam tires.
Finish: The covering material is MonoKote, and I used the
transparent type for most of the airframe. After doing all that
work to make a light aircraft, I wanted to be able to see the
structure.
Flying: I took my SuperTigre .90 engine with its Macs Products
Scratch-Build,
Kit-Build, or ARF?
If you look through airplane modeling magazines, it’s
obvious that ARFs are where much of the commercial
action is in the RC arena. I’m sure there are more new ARFs
coming onto the market than construction kits, and I’d bet
there is much less kit-building and scratch-building going
on.
Some of the local RC-club members are saying that it
makes more financial sense to buy an ARF airframe than to
assemble a kit. Given the high quality of many of today’s
ARFs and what you get for the money, they could be right.
For trainer aircraft, sport/aerobatic aircraft, or sport/scale
aircraft, an ARF can be a good deal. Even turbine- and
ducted-fan-powered jet models are available in ARF form.
I imagine that serious Pattern competitors, Pylon racers,
and Scale competitors are still building their own airframes,
although more and more prefabricated airplanes are
available. It seems as though it’s the more casual Sunday
fliers—the informal competition fliers—who have taken so
much to the ARFs.
Is this bad for the hobby? Many old-timers believe it is,
and I can understand their feelings. Before the ARFs,
building an airplane was considered an integral part of the
hobby. You had to build to fly, and that’s what we did.
However, things change, and RC-aircraft manufacturing
has changed. Now you can get excellent airplanes prebuilt,
covered, and almost ready to fly. Many longtime modelers
are buying ARFs, and those who are new to the hobby are
certainly getting in fast and easily with the ARFs.
I don’t know what the long-term effects will be, but I’m
guessing that many modelers will buy ARFs, many will
continue to build from kits, smaller numbers will build from
magazine plans, and some will continue to design and build
from scratch. The hobby will go on, and competition flying
will continue, but the rules may change to accommodate the
ARFs that more and more modelers will be using.
I just plain like to spend time in the workshop and out on
the flying field. I like to start with a blank sheet of paper or
work from plans, get the materials together, cut the parts,
and build an airframe. Designing and building will always
be an important part of this great hobby for me. MA
—Dick Sarpolus
muffled tuned pipe from another aircraft. I liked and had faith in
that power system, so I knew it would already be set up and
reliable in this new project.
I set up the controls for all the rudder throw I could get and
dual rates for practically minimum elevator and aileron throw on
low rate, with plenty of movement on the high rate.
The test flight was fun; the Right Angle jumped off the
ground, and it was soon apparent that full throttle would seldom
be needed. With low rates on the controls, it flew like most sport
aerobatic aircraft; high rates gave the tight loops and quick rolls
typical of hot fun-flier airplanes.
Each pilot will set things up to suit his or her preferences. For
some lively fun-flying, the Right Angle might be for you. MA
Dick Sarpolus
32 Alameda Ct.
Shrewsbury NJ 07702
[email protected]
22 MODEL AVIATION
Full-Size Plans Available—see page 199
F u l l - S i z e P l a n s
957 Right Angle ................................................................................................$15.00
RC sport aerobatic model by Sarpolus spans 62 inches
No. 910 3Quarters: RC sport model by Randolph for Norvel .074 spans 45 inches B
No. 911 P-47: RC Scale Electric model by Ryan for Speed 400 spans 31 inches C
No. 912 Simple Simone: CL trainer by Netzeband for glow .15 engine spans 36 inches B
No. 916 Piper Malibu Mirage: Rubber-powered Giant Scale by Fineman spans 431/2 inches C
No. 917 Sir Lancelot: RC sport model by Henry for O.S. .61 spans 72 inches D
No. 918 Skyraider: CL 1/2A Profile by Sarpolus for Norvel BigMig .061 spans 29 inches B
No. 925 Bird-E-Dog: Ernie Heyworth and Ed Lokken’s RC Electric Sport Scale model C
No. 926 JoeCat: RC sport jet by Beshar for Toki .18 DF unit spans 37 inches C
No. 927 Kairos: CL Stunt model by Dixon for .46-.61 engine spans 58 inches C
No. 928 Beta Blue Chip Racer: Rubber-powered FF Scale model designed by Tom Derber B
No. 929 Dewoitine D.338: Multimotor RC Electric Scale by Mikulasko spans 781/2 inches E
No. 930 Westland Lysander: RC Scale model by Baker for .25 spans 56 inches E
No. 931 1959 Ares: Champion RC Aerobatics model by Werwage spans 501/2 inches C
No. 932 Wing400: RC Electric flying wing by Hanley for Speed 400 spans 36 inches B
No. 933 Kepler 450: CL speed-limit Combat model by Edwards for .21-.32 two-stroke A
Plan does not include full-size template shown on page 40 of the August 2002 issue.
No. 934 VariEze: FF Peanut Scale canard by Heckman spans 13 inches A
No. 935 Classic 320: 1/2A Classic Power design by Pailet for Cyclon .049 or equivalent B
No. 936 Prince: RC sport Pattern model by Robelen for O.S. .25 spans 51 inches C
No. 937 Clean Cut: RC sport aerobatic model by Sarpolus spans 90 inches E
No. 938 Diamond Gem: Compressed-air-powered FF sport model by Ken Johnson B
No. 939 Project Extra: RC Scale Aerobatics model by Mike Hurley spans 106 inches **$49.50
No. 940 Cessna No.1: RC Electric Sport Scale by Papic spans 321/2 inches B
No. 941 Mooney and Beechcraft Bonanza CL 1/2A profile sport models by Rick Sarpolus B
No. 942 Zenith CH 801: FF Rubber Scale model by Fineman spans 20 inches A
No. 943 Wildman 60: Old-Time Ignition CL Stunt model by Carter spans 59 1/2 inches C
No. 944 Shoestring: Semiscale RC sport Pattern design by de Bolt spans 60 inches D
No. 945 F-86 Sabre: Semiscale CL Stunt model by Hutchinson spans 56 inches E
No. 946 Electric Zephyr: Electric RC Pylon/sport model by Smith spans 40 inches B
No. 947 Chester Special: O.S. .40-powered CL Scale model by Beatty spans 43 inches **$27.00
No. 948 Moffett Reduxl: High-performance Rubber-powered FF design by Langenberg C
No. 949 Scratch-One: Electric RC sailplane/basic trainer by Aberle spans 45 inches B
No. 950 BareCat 650-C: CL sport Stunt model by Netzeband spans 54 1/4 inches E
No. 951 Douglas O-46A: RC Sport Scale model by Baker spans 54 inches E
No. 952 Lavochkin LaGG-3: Felton’s CL Sport Scale design made from cardboard E
No. 953 USA-1: Multiple-award-winning CL Stunt model by Werwage spans 61 1/2 inches C
No. 954 B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber: Electric FF model by Ken Johnson spans 42 inches B
No. 955 Electric Flash: Electric-powered RC park flyer by Stewart spans 44 inches C
No. 956 Grumman F-4F Wildcat: Jim Ryan’s RC Electric fighter spans 30.6 inches C
Full-size plan list available. A complete listing of all plans previously published in this
magazine through no. 956 may be obtained free of charge by writing (enclose 78¢
stamped, pre-addressed #10 business-size letter envelope) Model Aviation, 5161 E.
Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
**Special Price