Douglas C-47 (oz1250)

About this Plan

Douglas C-47. Scale twin.

Note see also Douglas C-47 (oz1176)

This version of the Musciano plan also includes the 'Racing Raft' boat design on page 2.

Note: the scaling of this plan is probably not as the original. This seems to be a Walt Musciano design that originally had 48in span, which was then later redrawn and enlarged by Uncle Willie to 53in span.

Update 19/7/2022: Added article, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Any two engines of from .14 to .23 cubic inch displacement can be successfully installed in our model C-47. These powerplants can be installed inverted, upright or in pancake fashion, either beam or bulkhead mounted. We used OK Cub 19 engines and these powered the model in a most realistic manner. When either engine stops the craft does not drop sharply but can actually sustain flight if it is 'led' slightly by the flyer.

Despite the four-foot wingspan the model does not appear cumbersome and therefore we felt it was not necessary to install removable wings, etc.

This craft is no harder to construct than the conventional single-engine scale control liner. The first item to make is the center section of the wing. Trace the ribs onto the sheet balsa and cut them to shape with a single-edge razor blade. Now, cut the spars to the correct size. The center section covering should be cut to shape from sheet balsa. It will be necessary to butt-join at least three sheets of balsa to form the correct wing chord. Cement the two spars to the lower covering, followed by the ribs. Do not neglect to allow a space for the outer wing spar stubs which slide in place later. The covering is held to the spars and ribs with straight pins until the cement is dry.

Bend the 1/8 landing gear to shape with pliers. Each main gear is bent in one piece. The ends meet in the wheel hub. Install the wheel and then bend the 1/16 wire strut in the shape of a fork and bind and solder it to the main gear. The landing gear is attached to the center section by means of a plywood sandwich. Note that these plywood pieces are not of the same width because of the lower camber of the wing.

Cement the main landing gear strut between the plywood and clamp together until dry. Cement this assembly firmly to the lower covering and forward spar. Plenty of the adhesive should be used in order to insure a secure installation. It will be found that it is necessary to cut two 1/8 wide notches in the covering in order to allow the landing gear strut to fit in its proper location. The auxiliary 1/16 strut should not be firmly attached to the wing but should merely pierce the lower covering in order to be able to move when the main gear flexes during take-offs and landings.

While the landing gear installation is drying thoroughly, the upper covering should be prepared. Bevel the leading and trailing edges of the lower covering so as to fair with the rib upper camber. Cement the covering to the front spar, holding in place with pins. Apply plenty of cement to the ribs, spar and bevel on the after end of the center section and cement the covering to it, again holding in place with pins until dry. Repeat this for the forward portion of the center section.

Trace and cut the keel and formers to shape from sheet balsa and firmly cement the keel to the exact center of the center section. When cutting the keel make certain that the notches for the stabilizer, wing and bellcrank are cut out as shown. The first two must be done very accurately in view of the fact that the wing and tail angles of incidence depend on these cut-outs. Cement the fuselage formers to the keel at this time..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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