Sky Rider (oz11363)
About this Plan
Sky Rider. Radio control aerobatic trainer model.
Quote: "You Have Control. Take the next step in our R/C Pilot Training Course with the Sky Rider. 58 in span aerobatic trainer for 6.5 - 1 cc motors.
HOW long a modeller takes to become proficient at the basic skills of flying a radio control model varies enormously from person to person. Some take to it like the proverbial duck to water but, for others, it is a fairly prolonged, and at times anguished, period. Once these basic flying skills have been mastered and the modeller can reliably take off, or control the model from a hand launch, fly around in a positive manner and land safely back. This is the time that he will be contemplating the next challenge.
To most enthusiasts this will mean a model that is more acrobatic and faster than the basic trainer of the Tyro Major type. Perhaps some of you will be contemplating branching out to specialised aspects of the hobby such as scale or pylon racing. To jump straight from a basic trainer to serious involve-ment in one of these departments is, in my opinion, too great a leap. It is much better to progress gradually, through purpose designed sports training models, and build up to a full confidence in flying before going on to more demand-ing models. The Sky Rider is intended as a suitable second step towards the goal of full flying proficiency.
Design criteria for the model included a reasonable degree of positive stability so that, although you must control it to a greater degree than the Tyro Major (oz10859), it still allows a certain amount of relax-ation at the transmitter. With ailerons fitted to the Sky Rider, it will give you an opportunity to co-ordinate all control functions ie elevator, rudder, ailerons and engine throttle, a task that requires a model that is reasonably easy to fly and without vices.
The Sky Rider was also designed to have a medium wing loading to allow the model to be flown at sensible speeds on the landing approach without suddenly dropping a wing or falling out of the sky. I slightly overdid this factor on the original pro-totype where the wing span was six inches greater and the chord an inch more, although the model flew well enough it looked out of proportion and aileron turns were a little on the slug-gish side.
By using a shoulder wing configuration, as compared with a low wing design, a greater degree of lateral stability is obtained and it also allows the model to be hand launched more easily. A tricycle undercarriage is incorporated for the benefit of those fortunate enough to have a decent take off strip. If you fly from a field with grass that is not too rough and you would still like to have a try at take-off's, I would suggest using a longer nose wheel leg and main undercarriage to give plenty of clear-ance for the propeller on tufts of grass, and to use a size larger in wheels.
The greater virtue of a tricycle under-carriage during take off is that it helps to make the model 'track' a lot straighter than the two wheel variety. This can be of considerable assistance during the period when you are getting used to the change over of operating the rudder on the left hand transmitter stick and the ailerons from the right hand stick (when ailerons are not used the rudder is controlled from the right hand stick). Only small rudder movements will be needed for direction adjust-ments during the take off run, indeed if the model is launched directly into wind, and the wheels are carefully aligned to track straight, no correction may be required. A steerable nosewheel is not shown on the drawing. This is a refinement that allows steerable taxying, but is not essential for take off and landing, and is therefore omitted on the cause of simplicity.
The wings are secured to the fuselage by the 'old fashioned' method of rubber bands - not such a neat method as the peg and bolt systems used on many multi-acrobatic models but very much more forgiving when the model is inadvertently landed wing tip first.
Strip ailerons are incorporated in preference to out-board type, again for reasons of simplicity but the linkage from the aileron servo suggested is built into the wing and connects to a horn in the centre of the strip ailerons. This system of aileron linkage is preferred to the often used centre positioned horns and torque rods. With the latter type of linkage there is danger of damage to the linkage and fuselage sides if the wings are misplaced through a 'hard' landing. The centre horn position on the strip aileron also assists in eliminating aileron 'flutter' when the model is flying at high speed. Flutter occurs when the air flow and pressure on the aileron is sufficient to overcome the force applied
by the servo and linkage; the aileron is pushed back and, together with turbulence around the aileron and hinge line, causes the ailerons to develop a high frequency oscillation. Top hinged strip ailerons, using Kwik Cote or Solarfilm full span hinges tend to suffer less from this problem of 'flutter' as it reduces the turbulence caused by a gap at the hinge line.
For a 'second step' training model the Sky Rider is adequately powered by a .40 R/C engine, (or a really good .35) this will give sufficient power for basic aerobatics and pull the model around fast enough for most modellers at this stage. Remember that excessive power can get you into trouble as well as getting you out of trouble at times. It is a little like a high powered car, once you know how to handle all of the power available, it can assist to obtain maximum manoeuvrability, but in the hands of the novice, this extra power will cause difficulties.
Some modellers may be hoping to progress onto larger models of one type or another and wish to purchase a .60 engine at this stage. Provided one is prepared to limit the power of a larger engine initially it should not prove to be an embarrassment. A simple method of restricting the thrust from the engine is to fit the propellers on backwards, alternatively set the motor servo movement so that it will not open the carburettor fully..."
Sky Rider, RCM&E, August 1973.
Direct submission to Outerzone.
Supplementary file notes
Article pages, thanks to RFJ.
Corrections?
Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)?
That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction
-
(oz11363)
Sky Rider
by David Boddington
from RCME
August 1973
58in span
IC R/C
clean :)
all formers complete :)
got article :) -
Submitted: 08/07/2019
Filesize: 631KB
Format: • PDFbitmap
Credit*: Circlip, RFJ
Downloads: 1417
Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk
User comments
Here is a photo of the Skyrider I built some 20 years ago [more pics 005]. It was nice to build this. I enlarged the small plan that came with the original magazine article. Now 20 years later the kids have grown up, the plane has crashed and the flying site is an industrial estate. Not all sad news - the kids are still fine and about to finish university and obviously in their 20s now. The boy can build just as good as I can. At the time I met the designer of the Skyrider. I mentioned it to be 'vintage r.c.' since he wondered why I had bothered to build it, but the term vintage r.c. was a novelty. I liked the 70s feel of this one, had a period Webra 40 on it and even original 70s solar film covering. It crashed cos the wing broke while looping, this again was result of main spar damage sustained on a slightly rough landing earlier. I could not see the damage, must have been a crack in the wood. If I built it again I would add a 3x6 mm spruce strip to the spar top and underside. If I would have done that at the time I would still own this great flyer.Joost - 22/07/2019
I bought a second hand copy of David Boddington, Radio Controlled Primer, in the playground at school. I scaled up the Pronto plan to form my first trainer, learnt to fly with that and then spent newspaper round money on the Skyrider plan. It took months to save up the £34 for a Merco 61 purchased from H J Nicholls at the Nationals. My building was better by then and the model turned out really well with a neat paint job. Going from 3 to 4 channel was not a great leap and it gave me real confidence. One late winter afternoon it crashed spectacularly and duly blamed on 27Mhz CB interference. Deep down I know the likely cause was downwind disorientation in the low light conditions with an engine that was too powerful for me. The fuselage was bits, the wing had several holes and the paint job was ruined. The gear went back into the Pronto, it hung around the workshop for a while and then got binned. Shame really, today I would have got it in the air again in a few hours. I had such fond memories of the Skyrider it's time to build one again. The original Merco was put in a drawer and seized solid but I have an MDS 38 which is probably better suited. Will let you know how it goes!
Howard - 05/06/2020
Hi there, In 1986 my father scratch built himself a Sky Rider using the David Boddington plane that he had sourced in the David Boddington "Rado control Model Primer" book.
Since I was a child I was determined to build and fly one myself. In 2002, my father and I scratch built my very own Sky Rider [main pic, 006-008]! We used the original plan and built the fuselage accordingly. The only modification that we made was when we built the wing. Instead of building it as a balsa constructed wing, we made formers and cut the wing in 2 sections from Polystyrene. We then made the necessary formers from plywood that govern the dihedral and glued them in place. We laminated the Polystyrene sheets with 1mm balsa sheets which we glued on. This has proved to be highly successful. We bought ready shaped balsa ailerons and fitted them to the wing.
I then covered the plane with Oracover. I installed an O.S 46fx which has proven to have ample power for the plane. I have had many happy years flying my Sky Rider!! The plane is very aerobatic and has provided me with close on 20 years of happy flying :-).
I recently gave the plane an overhaul and stripped off all the covering and recovered it using Oracover again. I am still using the same O.S. 46fx.
I still love flying my Sky Rider as it flies so true. The surface area of the ailerons, rudder and elevator are of a nice size which results in the plane responding nicely on command. It rolls beautifully, flies very well inverted, has ample power for loops, inverted loops, outside loops, Cuban eights etc. It lands beautifully with minimal flaring required. I highly recommend the Sky Rider to those who are wanting an introduction to aerobatics and a plane that is very true to what you instruct it to do.
I have attached photos of my Sky Rider that were recently taken at our club, Cape Radio Flyers in Cape Town, South Africa. Kind regards,
Peter Gardener - 06/04/2021
Pictures of my Sky Rider attached [pics 009, 010]. My partner Miss Blue Eyes chose the colour scheme. Powered by an electric motor it flies well enough but it would be better on four cells. Regards,
David Davis - 17/01/2023
I am going to build one of these one day... I flew a friends one back to the flying field in the '70s when it was too far away and too low. Thanks to the perfectly balanced aerodynamics of the design (steady, predictable, not too heavy) I got it back by sensing whether i got a clockwise or anticlockwise response to the ailerons (just a blob in the sky!) plus a "formula" turn at the start, and good engine control, meaning just enough to hold altitude (better penetration that way). Finally back to an easy landing - on a plane I had never flown before ! I was NOT an experienced flyer back then, which says a lot for the design imho. The engine was an Enya 60, crossflow ported so maybe the same power as a modern 45, comparable to the Merco 61. Now then, old engines seized solid; 99% of these is just gummed up oil and all thats needed is to squirt some glow fuel into the engine and gradually move the crank around. A little heat helps, also a seized carb takes longer; be patient. There. There can be a problem with the crankshaft ball bearings taking longer to free up totally so don't go trying to run it straightaway if at all crunchy. Worst case is rusted ball bearings which was common at one time in the UK due to corrosive "reclaimed" methanol/nitromethane (apparently) - in which case they need replacing (not too hard, look it up). The piston ring is also likely stuck leading to what seems like low compression; again just add more glow fuel via the glow plug hole and be patient; after a few prime-only fires the ring usually unsticks. I have done this to hundreds of old engines. The glow fuel "solvent" trick works for diesels as well.
Jim - 31/07/2023
Add a comment
- Sky Rider (oz11363)
- Plan File Filesize: 631KB Filename: Sky_Rider_RC_oz11363.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 2104KB Filename: Sky_Rider_RC_oz11363_article.pdf
- help with downloads
Notes
* Credit field
The Credit field in the Outerzone database is designed to recognise and credit the hard work done in scanning and digitally cleaning these vintage and old timer model aircraft plans to get them into a usable format. Currently, it is also used to credit people simply for uploading the plan to a forum on the internet. Which is not quite the same thing. This will change soon. Probably.
Scaling
This model plan (like all plans on Outerzone) is supposedly scaled correctly and supposedly will print out nicely at the right size. But that doesn't always happen. If you are about to start building a model plane using this free plan, you are strongly advised to check the scaling very, very carefully before cutting any balsa wood.
Terms of Use
© Outerzone, 2011-2025.
All content is free to download for personal use.
For non-personal use and/or publication: plans, photos, excerpts, links etc may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Outerzone with appropriate and specific direction to the original content i.e. a direct hyperlink back to the Outerzone source page.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. If we discover that content is being stolen, we will consider filing a formal DMCA notice.