Strato Streak (oz12623)

About this Plan

Sub Scale Strato Streak. Free flight power model for .010 engines.

Quote: "Interest in high-performance .010 free flight continues to grow. This replica of a 1941 favorite can easily hold its own against contemporary designs.

In the December 1941 issue of Model Airplane News, Louis Garami introduced his Atom .09 powered Strato Streak (oz67). The Atom was, of course, a spark ignition engine, so a coil, condenser and batteries were part of the payload. Flying weight was in the vicinity of 12-1/2 ounces.

Now, over half a century later, we present a tiny clone with a Cox .010 screaming away up front, hauling a ship that at just 1-3/4 ounces weighs less than the pair of pencell batteries the Atom needed!

Shortly after WWII the gent who designed the Atom, Ray Arden, gave us the much more powerful Arden .09, also spark ignition. Then, for an encore, he gave us the glow plug, and spark ignition model engines all but disappeared. It was about 1948, while a student at the University of Kansas, that one of our Jayhawk Sundusters model club members decided to replace the Atom in his Strato Streak with the hot Arden and the Strato Streak became a fantastic performer.

Among the happier experiences of the times was an association with the grand old man, CO Wright of nearby Topeka, Kansas. Mr Wright was at one time AMA president and we younger modelers looked to him for guidance. Well, we did and we didn't. Three of us - Jack Jella, Stinson Smith and I - showed up at a 1948 contest in Independence, Missouri with our pristine Arden powered Strato Streaks. CO lectured us on the fact that a high center of lateral area (all of the vertical surfaces Mr Garami elected to add wherever he found a place) was bad news, and so the Strato Streak was a very poor design. Trouble was, the Missouri thermals had not attended the class on excess CLA, and we placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Class A that day. Smart aleck youngsters that we were, we (respectfully) kept the incident alive at any subsequent discussion on free flight design.

Today, as part of the Old Timer movement, the full-size Strato Streak with an ignition Arden continues to hold its own in competition. The design has become even more successful as an .020 replica. It remains to be seen whether a third generation can prove itself with an .010.

If you have ever built a stick-and-tissue model airplane, the simplicityof design of the Streak should charm you into a new free flight experience. For the fuselage longerons, we elected to use the laminated stick technique so popular with Peanut wingtips, however, 3/32 square and curved balsa sheet front and back should be fine if the laminations don't appeal to you.

A template is the starting place for laminated construction. Spray a piece of 1/16- inch thick illustration board with contact cement and attach the plan. With a knife and #11 blade, cut to the inside of the black fuselage outline, yielding a template. Rub the outside with a wax candle or piece of paraffin..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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