Boston Defender (oz12504)

About this Plan

Boston Defender. Rubber Bostonian model.

Quote: "Boston Defender, by Perry Peterson. A 'Bostonian West' version of the Aeronca Defender inspired by Walt Mooney's Peanut version, this sort-of scale model is a good flyer indoors or out. Construction is easy.

This plane is designed for the 14-gram Bostonian rules and was inspired by Walt Mooney's Aeronca Defender (oz4692) published in the November 1963 issue of Model Airplane News. Walt also had a peanut Aeronca Defender (oz12237) published in the April 1977 issue of Model Builder.

No fidelity to scale claims are made. Perhaps we could call this a somewhat semi-scale clipped-wing Defender.

If your club has not started using Bostonian West events at contests, I highly recommend you do so. They are quick and easy to build and fun to fly. There are no restricting scale requirements and you can use any decorating plans and colors you choose. There have been some good Bostonian plans published full size in this magazine in the past, and I hope we see a lot more in the future.

Bostonian events have much interest be-cause the planes all seem to be different. Even if several are from the same plan, the colors and decorating trim keep them from looking alike. One of the peanut scale con-test turn offs in recent years has been the appearance of too many yellow Fikes and white Laceys, looking like a two-design contest.

Before beginning construction, please be advised that this plane shows one-inch di-ameter wheels. If your club interprets the Bostonian rules to mean 3/4-inch wheels rather than wheels of at least 3/4 inch, you will want to use smaller wheels than shown on the plan.

Construction of this plane is quite simple and straightforward. The only thing a beginner may have a problem with is the laminated wing tips and tail outlines. Four strips of .012 by 1/16 basswood (available from Peck Polymers) are used.

Trace the inside outline of wing tips and tail surface onto poster board. Cut out the poster board form and coat the edges with wax to prevent glue sticking. Mix up a solu-tion of 60 percent white glue and 40 per-cent water in a plastic butter tub or cottage cheese container lid. Drag each piece of basswood separately through this solution, letting the edge of the lid remove the excess glue. Stack them on a clean surface as you go. Tape one end of this stack to one end of the poster board template with a small strip of masking tape, keeping the strips pulled tight against the template as you go. Wipe off any excess white glue and apply CA glue (such as Hot Stuff) to both sides of the bass-wood, letting it seep in between the strips. No need to let the white glue dry first, in fact, the CA glue will probably work better while the basswood is still wet. Do all sand-ing before removing the basswood from the template.

I covered my Boston Defender using the diluted white glue method. Make a solution of about 60 percent glue and 40 per-cent water. Use a small soft brush to apply this solution to the outside portion of the framework to be covered. Gently pull it tight and carefully pat down all the edges. Use a very light mist of water to shrink the tissue. Use a plastic squeeze-trigger spray bottle, with the nozzle set for a fine mist. Spray only enough to sag the tissue a little and then dry immediately with a hair dryer so the balsa under the tissue will not warp.

Brush on one coat of thinned non-shrink dope. Apply tissue trim with a brush using thinner to soften the dope, allowing the trim to adhere. Apply one more coat of thinned dope to the entire model.

Use a seven-inch Peck plastic prop cut down to six inches. Let your Defender tly to the left for indoor flying. The prop torque should carry the plane around to the left with little or no rudder offset. Make flight adjustments in small steps, one at a time, using low power. Experiment with motor length and number of turns until you are flying in safe circles just under the ceiling.

Start with a 15- to 18-inch loop of 1/8 FAI rubber for indoor and 15- to 18-inch loop of 3/16 for outdoor flying. You'll soon discover how easy it is to build and fly a Boston Defender."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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