Desperado
An unusual RC model - no question - but it's an excellent flier as those several who have built and flown it will attest, possessing neutral stability that is sought by experienced pilots. For .19 - .40 engines. Many of you know, especially those who have built and flown Simitars and Astrons, that it has been my practice to avoid conventional aircraft. The Astron .40 project (November 1978 RCM) could be recognized as the X-Wing fighter right out of "Star Wars." It was different, and it was a whole lot of fun. It was natural that the follow-on "Battle Star Galactica" Viper-type craft would be very interesting. The Desperado is the result.
A Strong, Lightweight: Foam Wing
THE IDEA of constructing a lightweight but strong foam wing has turned into a very interesting project with especially good results. Moving from one end of the scale to the other is always a challenge. After flying my 6-lb. Simitar 540 with ply-sheeted foam wing (powered by a K&B 7.5) at close to 200 mph, I designed a low-powered .09 Simitar under 30 oz. This was the Simitar Slow Motion with a wing loading of 5.8 oz. per sq. ft. Getting the weight to a minimum involved mostly the wing, which is most of the airframe. My first thought was to use conventional rib-and-spar construction, but cutting a bunch of ribs and then blocking them to align the airfoil with its
The Mystique of the Flying Wing
Probably no one man has more practical experience with flying wing models in the RC field than our author. His Simitar and variants are legend. Our presentation tells about the things that work (and don't work) with these unique models. The wing is the symbol of night. For countless thousands of years, men peered to the sky and wished to become airborne and fly as easily as the birds. Our generation is so fortunate to have experienced man's ability not only to fly but to enter space. Truly, it is remarkable how, in the past 70 years, those first efforts at flight moved so quickly to sophisticated propellers and then to jets and rockets.
Simitar Slow Motion
Evans. I've spent most of the past 14 years specializing in high-performance, fully aerobatic flying wings. I've also been a faithful follower of Bill Winter's "Just For the Fun of It" column, so I was more than a little shocked when, during a chance phone call to Winter, I heard him say he'd like to build a Simitar. It didn't sound like Winter's type. Was he joking? Some of the Simitar variations have hit 160-plus mph. He wasn't joking at all. What he wanted was a wing that had a range of from 15/20 to 60/80 mph; one that would fly on either two, three, or four channels and on rudder or ailerons. He wanted a Free Flighter capable of 360s, hands off, without losing altitude or spiraling down. He wanted a wing that would soar!
It Really Works!
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, in the dynamic field of model aviation, changes have brought about significant progress. Model airplanes have evolved from the very early stick-and-tissue, rubber-powered craft to today's sophisticated foam-and-glass, multi-engined ships with simultaneous, proportional, trimmable control. Every step along the way, someone had to have the courage to be different, the daring to try something new. Too often, though, attempts to implement change are met with resistance. That slows advancements. How often have you come up with a new idea in your place of work, or even at home, only to be met with nonacceptance? Your listener closes his mind to your idea, has an unbudging attitude that it won't work. We tried that before! If it were any good, it would have already been done. (Translation: Someone greater than you would have already have done it!)
