Sukhoi Su-26MX (oz10710)

About this Plan

Sukhoi Su26MX. Radio control scale model. Wingspan 72-1/2 in, wing area 949 sq in. For 1.20 4-stroke or .90 2-stroke engines.

Discontinued 1993 kit from Carl Goldberg models.

Quote: "When it was introduced, the outstanding Russian SUKHOI took the aerobatic world by storm! Never before have aerobatic enthusiasts had a machine so capable that it appears to have no limits. It enables the pilot not only to execute maneuvers with exceptional precision, but allows him to invent new maneuvers, as well! We have so completely captured the essence of this extraordinary, competition-worthy aircraft that any good sport flyer will be able to experience the thrill of true unlimited aerobatics with his GOLDBERG SUKHOI.

IMPORTANT: When selecting a power plant for your SU-26, do not put in a larger-than-recommended engine. This will cause undo stress to the airframe and may result in structural failure. Remember, a bigger engine does not necessarily mean better performance."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Note there is a kit manual available as a free download from the 'Discontinued' section of the Great Planes website at http://www.greatplanes.com/manuals/discontinued.php but this seems to be the manual for the later v2 kit, not the v1 kit (1993). The most important difference is the mounting of the landing gear either to the fuse or to the wing.

Update 23/12/2024: Added kit review from RCM&E December 1995, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Sukhoi 26 MX. Building and flying Carl Goldberg's 72-1/2 in sport scale model of the stunning Russian aerobat.

The rounded lines of the elegant Sukhoi 26 have caught the eye of many modellers around the world as an attractive alternative to the multitude of Extras and Ultimate that are available in model form. Many models of this powerful looking air-craft have been produced, but is still more of a rarity than its aforementioned aero batic cousins. So if you build this kit, you should be guaranteed an eye-catching model of an aircraft that is not be too common at your local flying field - at least until your club-mates have had the chance to buy and build one for them-selves!

Sukhoi spec: With a wingspan of 72-1/2 in, 949 sq in of wing area and that long rounded nose, the CGM model of the Sukhoi 26 MX builds into quite a large aircraft. It adopts the tried and tested building techniques of its stablemates from Goldberg, the Ultimate and Extra 300, featuring a built up wing and tail feathers, and a lite-ply box fuselage, rounded off with 1/32 ply deckings and a huge ABS cowl.

Priced at £189.95 the kit is neatly presented in a stout colour box, with the large bundles of wooden parts separated from the other contents by cardboard dividers to minimise dam-age in transit. Included are large ABS mouldings for the cowling and under-belly fairing, a bubble canopy, a hard-ware pack including all fixings and control linkages, rolled full size plans of the highest standard, and two comprehensive instruction books.

The first of these is standard in all CGM kits and gives general advice on installing R/C gear and flying R/C mod-els. The second runs to 50 pages and covers the construction of the Sukhoi in step by step fashion, each step being accompanied by a clearly drawn sketch. Each section begins with a list of the items needed for the part of the airframe to be built, togeth-er with 'maps' of each wooden sheet showing where the parts will be found. You shouldn't get lost building this one!

To finish her off you will need to buy wheels, a fuel tank, a 3 inch spinner, wheel collars and covering. Equipment required is a four function R/C system and a .90 two stroke engine or 1.20 four stroke. Irvine Engines, the UK distributors of Carl Goldberg Models, kindly lent us an Irvine 120 two stroke for this review, so our example has what can only be described as a 'healthy' reserve of power!

Open the book: After clearing a generously sized building board (this model has a 6 foot one piece wing!) the first step is to build the horizontal sta-biliser from 1/4 x 5/16 balsa strip directly over the plan. Once the framework is complete, it is sheeted with 5/64 balsa and put to one side whilst the elevators are built, this time from 3/8 sq balsa.

The fin and rudder are built in the same manner, the fin also being sheeted with 5/64" sheet. With all the tailplane parts now completed, their lead-ing edges are rounded off and the trailing edges bev-elled for hinging. Included in the kit are some inge-nious ply sanding tools to help in the shaping process.

Big, big wing! The wing is all built up, using balsa ribs and sheeting, with 3/8 square bass spars. Construction starts by gluing together the edges of the 5/64 sheeting to make 9 in wide by 36 in long panels. From these are cut the trailing edge sheets which are pinned to the plan, together with the 1/8 x 1/4 forward aft spar.

The wing ribs are glued on top of this spar and the sheeting. Strangely only every other rib is provided with a leading edge tab to raise it to the correct height off the building board, the inter-mediate ribs being allowed to 'float' in mid air. Care must be taken to ensure that these ribs lines up with the tabbed ribs and are at the correct height. Why Goldberg have scrimped on these tabs is a mystery as there is plenty of spare balsa on each rib sheet and tabs could easily have been provided for all..."

Supplementary file notes

Kit manual (v2), complete, 39 pages.
Review.

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