Gadfly (oz10525)

About this Plan

Gadfly. Free flight sport biplane model.

Quote: "A Sports Biplane for up to 1.5 cc motors and featuring a timer operated rudder. Gadfly by W Lister.

THIS model was designed as an easy to build, rugged sportster to satisfy a desire to have a model that was semi-scale but eye catchingly different. The original has now completed many flights, and never fails to excite attention, both for its looks and also the out of the rut performance that the timer-operated rudder gives it.

Trace the formers from the plan onto the appropriate balsa or ply, cut out, then chamfer the edges carefully to allow for the curvature of the sheet sides.

Select some pliable quarter grain 1/16 in sheet for the sides, cut to shape, and sand lightly before commencing construction. It is essential that the formers are situated exactly as shown, so mark their positions on the inside face of the sides.

All formers aft of the timer are bushed with metal tubing to accommodate the cam operating wire, so insert these, then bend to shape and bind and cement to its former the undercarriage.

Glue the engine bearers and the wing pylon to the appropriate formers, lining up accurately with a set square, and when dry this will form an accurate jig for the rest of the fuselage construction. The sides are now cemented to the bearers, the cam operating wire bent to shape, formers 6, 7 and 8 threaded over same and then cemented in place.

Now add the timer box and fuel tank and do all the necessary soldering on the cam push rod. This completes the tricky part of the construction, everything else being quite straight-forward, the top of the fuselage being planked in the usual way with strips of 1/18 in sheet before the bottom sheeting is added.

The wings and tail are entirely orthodox and will present no problems, so all you have to do is press on in the usual way, and finish the model off with a gay colour scheme, perhaps on the lines of the pre-war American military biplanes. One word of warning, though, don't be too lavish with the colour dope - it's heavy - and too much weight will hamper Gadfly's lively performance. "

Gadfly, Model Aircraft, December 1958

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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