Splatt (oz10340)

About this Plan

Splatt. Control line combat model for 1 - 1.5 cc engines.

Quote: "A new design to meet growing demand for club competitions, 7 ounces of zippy combat model for the 1/2A (1.5 cc) class. Splatt, by MJ Platts.

DURING THE PAST YEAR there has been a great increase in 1/2A team racing, and this class is now commonly included in contest programmes. With the introduction of kits to suit the class, 1/2A combat has also jumped in popularity, especially among the juniors and this category will soon be included in the Rally programmes. Anyone who is a regular follower of Club News cannot have failed to notice the regular mention in those columns of 1/2A (or 1.5 cc) combat from many of the go-ahead clubs. The designer of Splatt tells us that in his locality this size of combat has been preferred to the larger class, due probably to the all-round inexpensiveness and the large proportion of juniors among local Sheffield flyers. Many designs have been tried, some original, some scaled down, and all the teething troubles have been overcome.

Splatt is the latest and fastest of the series having done 83 mph (without a streamer) and having promise of yet more speed to come. Its airfoil is rather thick, but trouble was experienced with earlier models shuddering round loops and almost causing loss of control. It could probably be thinned slightly but this is not really recommended. Construction is simple and light, the model weighing 7 oz ready to fly, its balance point is well forward, making the model most stable yet very agile.

Should anyone shrink at the thought of an apparently 'weak' combat model, this design buried itself to the hilt vertically in solid earth, sustaining only split tissue and a broken leading edge where it hit a stone!

Construction. The fuselage, cut from 3/8 in hardwood, is the first part to be prepared. This can be left solid if a built-up tank is used, but must be cut away at least for the vents if a Mercury pressure tank is fitted, for simplicity, but the bearer shape at the front must be maintained. The extra fillet (see front view) round the crankcase makes the bearers almost indestructible. A 3/16 in sq leading edge is cemented centrally in place at 90 deg. to the fuselage..."

Splatt, Aeromodeller, May 1961.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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