Terry (oz674)

About this Plan

Graupner Terry. RC 3 channel trainer. The kit came with a flat-bottom foam wing, 1050mm span and 200mm chord.

Update 28/3/2023: Added kit review from MAN September 1976, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Field & Bench Review: Graupner Terry kit, World Engines's Las Vegas Digital System, OS Max .10 TV engine. By Robert Langelius.

Usual high standards of West Germany's top kit manufacturer make the Terry kit a fine project.

The Johannes Graupner Company of West Germany, in my opinion, uses modern packaging techniques to the greatest advantage of any company in the modeling industry. The box that the Terry kit comes in is an excellent example of what I mean. A brightly colored, tastefully trimmed picture of the completed model just cries out from the box top: build me just like this. The first time I saw that picture I not only wanted to build the machine - I wanted it to turn out just as it appears in the picture. And most people who have seen the completed model exclaim on how attractive it is.

When you open that seductive box, you're pleasantly surprised to find that the wing comes in two sections of poplar-covered foam, precisely cut to match the leading and trailing balsa pieces, and the dihedral angles are cut exactly as are the tapered tips - the fit is outstanding.

Being used to balsa, the poplar covering was a surprise. Originally it is about 1/64 thick and mottled in appearance, but when sanded to a good finish it appears to be about 1/100 thick, very strong and with surprisingly little weight. The wing is assembled in approximately an hour and a half, then ready for sanding. My two sets of wings both had about 1-1/2° washout (a coincidence?).

The fuselage was a pleasure to construct. The die cutting and milling are excellent, and the wood is of fine quality.

Since all Graupner kits are manufactured in Germany, their basic construction directions are printed in German. A second booklet is printed in English, French and Italian and corresponds exactly with the illustrated German booklet. Parts are numbered to coincide with matching numbered assembly stages, ie the first step is to cement part number 1 to part rtumber 2 and so forth throughout the entire process. A practical cross-reference index describes the part exactly, ie Number 24, lateral brace, quantity 1, pine 2-39/64 x 13/64 x 1/8; making a mistake is virtually impossi-ble.

The plans show a pair of Grundig Vario prop 2-channel installations: rudder/ motor and rudder/elevator. The smaller Las Vegas allows 3- channel operation without penalty; as a matter of fact I have built two of these machines for 3-channel and plan to make a third 'full house.' A newcomer to R/C might find the installation a little difficult if using equipment other than that pictured and should consult his hobby dealer for pointers.

I found that the cabin area was large enough to arrange almost any layout of servos, batteries, receiver, etc.; coincidentally the servo mounting trays that come with the Las Vegas system fit perfectly. I personally prefer to keep everything as far forward as possible and was happy to find that the finished product balanced perfectly. The kit comes with rubber tire wheels and basic hardware that saves the builder another several dollars and makes the initial, slightly higher cost of the kit more acceptable.

I'm going to be very candid about the radio. I was thrilled with the size, weight and cost of the system. It came with airborne nickel cadmium batteries and charger, and dry battery transmitter..."

Supplementary file notes

Review.

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