Super Decathlon 40 (oz10203)

 

Super Decathlon 40 (oz10203) by Don Anderson - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Great Planes Super Decathlon 40. Wingspan 64 in, wing area 694 sq in, for 2-stroke .40-.46 (6.5-7.5 cc) or 4-stroke .48-.70 (7.5-11.5 cc) engine, with 4-channel radio.

This is a discontinued kit from Great Planes. See their page at: https://www.greatplanes.com/discontinued/gpma0185.php for more details, materials list, download of kit manual, etc.

Quote: "The Super Decathlon 40 is a 1/6-scale model of a fullsize Bellanca Super Decathlon, owned by Pete Myers, located at Howell Airport in New Lenox, IL. The airplane was built by Champion Aircraft in 1979. Pete calls his Super Decathlon 'experimental' because he has made a few changes to enhance its acrobatic capabilities, the most noticeable of which are the squared-off 'clipped' wing tips. The normal wingspan would be 32 ft; but due to the special tips, Pete's Decathlon spans only 30.5 ft. You will notice that the model's wingspan has been increased by 5% to enhance the flying qualities.

If you are interested in sport scale competition, you'll be happy to know that color photos of Pete's full-size Super Decathlon are available from Scale Model Research, 2334 Ticonderoga Way, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

The Super Decathlon 40 is easy to build and fly, predictable, highly acrobatic, and has no 'bad habits,' making it a great sport-scale airplane (as long as you don't get carried away with the glue bottle and make it a 'lead sled')! Although the model is sufficiently close to scale that it can place well in sport-scale competition, traditional Great Planes quality and ruggedness is evident throughout, making this an airplane you'll want to take along every time you go to the flying field.

This is not a beginner's airplane! While the Super Decathlon 40 is easy to build and flies great, we must discourage you from selecting this kit as your first R/C airplane. It is fast, highly maneuverable, and lacks the selfrecovery characteristics of a good basic trainer such as the Great Planes PT Series airplanes. On the other hand, if you have already learned the basics of R/C flying and you are able to safely handle an aileron trainer airplane such as the Great Planes Trainer Series or Big Stick Series airplanes, the Super Decathlon 40 is an excellent choice..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 17/10/2019: Added kit review from R/C Scale Aircraft, June/July 1991, thanks to RFJ.

Supplementary file notes

Kit manual (44 pages, complete).
Review.

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Super Decathlon 40 (oz10203) by Don Anderson - model pic

Datafile:
  • (oz10203)
    Super Decathlon 40
    by Don Anderson
    from Great Planes
    64in span
    Scale IC R/C Cabin Civil Kit
    clean :)
    formers unchecked
  • Submitted: 24/06/2018
    Filesize: 1786KB
    Format: • PDFbitmap
    Credit*: DavidFuller
    Downloads: 7274

ScaleType:
  • American_Champion_Decathlon | help
    see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
    ------------
    Test link:
    search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)


    ScaleType: This (oz10203) is a scale plan. Where possible we link scale plans to Wikipedia, using a text string called ScaleType.

    If we got this right, you now have a couple of direct links (above) to 1. see the Wikipedia page, and 2. search Oz for more plans of this type. If we didn't, then see below.


    Notes:
    ScaleType is formed from the last part of the Wikipedia page address, which here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Champion_Decathlon
    Wikipedia page addresses may well change over time.
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    Corrections? Use the correction form to tell us the new/better ScaleType link we should be using. Thanks.

Super Decathlon 40 (oz10203) by Don Anderson - pic 003.jpg
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Super Decathlon 40 (oz10203) by Don Anderson - pic 004.jpg
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Download File(s):
  • Super Decathlon 40 (oz10203)
  • Plan File Filesize: 1786KB Filename: Super_Decathlon_40_oz10203.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 4149KB Filename: Super_Decathlon_40_oz10203_manual.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 1449KB Filename: Super_Decathlon_40_oz10203_review.pdf
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Notes

* Credit field

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Scaling

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